Month: February 2022

In Slovenia, the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child has progressed to very different degrees, and in the Promurje region in particular, the health care system and the associated infrastructure need to be improved. Roma children also enjoy fewer rights and have a lower standard of living than Slovenian children of the same age.

The Committee is concerned about reports received on underage forced marriages of Roma children involving sexual practices violating the children’s dignity. The Committee also notes with concern that Roma girls are often subject to sexual violence and exploitation by family members and there is a lack of adequate programmes for the recovery of these child victims of sexual abuse.

The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that children with disabilities fully enjoy their rights under the Convention, in particular their right to health, education and adequate standard of living. The Committee encourages the State party to allocate the necessary resources for an effective implementation and extension of the above-mentioned programme with a view to guaranteeing to all children with disabilities access to education and health care, opportunities for play and culture, family life, protection from violence, an adequate standard of living and the right to be heard.

The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that all children in the State party have similar access to basic health services, and further increase its efforts in eliminating any ethnic disparity in access to, and provision of, health services in all regions in the State party. In this respect the State party should, inter alia, effectively implement the Strategy for enhancing health and the action plan for reducing inequalities in health in the Promurje region, and conclude similar strategies in all regions concerned in the State party. The Committee encourages the State party to pursue its efforts to combat childhood obesity and intensify measures to raise awareness of healthy nutrition among parents, children and the public in general and promote healthy eating habits particularly among young children and adolescents.

The Committee reiterates its previous recommendation to take effective measures to prevent suicide among young people. Therefore, the State party should accelerate its efforts to finalize the National Programme for Mental Health, with a view to reducing the suicide rate in the State party. The State party is also requested to ensure that child perspectives are incorporated and special psychosocial support programmes are introduced for adolescents in the above-mentioned programme and related action plans. The State party should, moreover, collect disaggregated data on suicide occurrence.

The Committee is concerned about the allegedly growing phenomenon of child begging in the streets and the involvement of children from vulnerable populations, particularly Roma, in forced illegal activities such as theft and the sale of illegal drugs. The Committee is also concerned about the lack of disaggregated data in the State party report. The Committee further expresses its concern that self-employed children are not protected against hazardous work.

The Committee is concerned about the lack of special provisions for children in the State party’s Criminal Code, and expresses its concern about the non-availability of open educational institutions for children aged 14-16 years who are in conflict with the law.
The Committee encourages the State party to pursue its intention to establish special provisions in its Criminal Code for children. In so doing, the State party should bring its juvenile justice system fully into line with the Convention. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the State party strengthen alternative and non-judicial dispute resolutions for young children in conflict with the law. It is also recommended that the State party ensure that deprivation of liberty of these children is taken only as a measure of last resort. The Committee further encourages the State party to improve measures of rehabilitation and social reintegration, and to consider placing children aged 14-16 years who are in conflict with the law in open or semi-open educational institutions.

The Committee recommends that the State party assume primary responsibility for the effective operation of the Children’s Parliament and provide it with adequate human, financial and technical support. The Committee also recommends that the State party ensure that the child’s views are de facto heard in legal proceedings in courts and at Social Work Centres. To this end, the State party should provide opportunities for children’s views to be heard in legal proceedings, among others by expanding the system of a children’s advocate, and should ensure that courts attach due weight to the views of the children concerned.

Concluding observations on the third and fourth periodic reports released on 8 July 2013.More information about education in Slovenia: https://www.gov.si

In the report from Monaco, many points, such as the situation of children with disabilities or refugee children are not mentioned, so little information can be given about the situation of disadvantaged groups. For all other children the situation is very good, there is good health care, free education and efforts are made to prevent sexually transmitted diseases.

The Committee notes as positive the efforts undertaken by the State party to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS and the establishment of the Antenatal and Family Support Coordination Centre. However, the Committee is concerned that sexual and reproductive health education for adolescents, especially in schools, is not systematic. The Committee is also concerned at the lack of adequate data on teenage pregnancy in the State party.

The Committee is concerned that domestic legislation and practice still do not guarantee free medical assistance to foreign children residing in the State party for fewer than five years.
To guarantee every child the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee recommends that the State party undertake all necessary measures, including legislative measures, to ensure that all children, including non-nationals, enjoy the same access and quality of health services.

The Committee recommends that the State party establish and implement regulations to ensure that the business sector complies with international and national human rights, labour, environment and other standards, particularly with regard to the rights of the child. The Committee recommends that the State party give special attention to the requirement of enterprises to undertake child-rights due diligence in their chain of suppliers and customers, including outside of the territory of the State party. It also recommends that the State party establish effective and accessible procedural safeguards against business enterprises implicated in violations of children’s rights.

The Committee urges the State party to bring its juvenile justice system fully in line with the Convention and with other relevant standards. In particular, the Committee urges the State party to consider repealing the recent amendment to the Penal Procedure Code which allows children of under 13 years of age to be placed in police custody for the needs of investigation and promote alternative measures to the justice system wherever possible and ensure that detention is a measure of last resort and for the shortest possible period of time. Also, Monaco should ensure the provision of qualified and specialized legal aid to children in conflict with the law at an early stage of procedure and throughout the legal proceedings and that court judges, lawyers, police officers and social assistants receive appropriate and systematic education and training on juvenile justice.

While the Committee welcomes permitting naturalized Monegasque men and women to pass their nationality on to their spouse, it remains concerned about the restriction that prevents naturalized women from transmitting Monegasque nationality to their children in the event of a divorce. The Committee urges the State party to pursue its efforts to adopt legislation establishing the same right for men and women to pass on the Monegasque nationality to their children, regardless of the manner in which the nationality was acquired.

Concluding observations on the second and third periodic reports released on 29 October 2013.
More information about education in Monaco: https://en.service-public-particuliers.gouv.m

The report from Lithuania leaves many issues open for which the current situation of children's rights cannot be understood. In the named areas, it is noticeable that children should have more of a say and that there is a need for improved birth services.

The Committee is concerned about the lack of information on sexual and reproductive health and child-friendly services available to adolescents in the country, as well as the inaccessibility of contraception and confidential tests and treatments for sexually transmitted infections.
The Committee recommends that the State party introduce sexual and reproductive health education into the school curriculum as a mandatory subject and provide adolescents with easy access to contraceptives and confidential tests and treatments.

The Committee urges the State party to ensure the conformity of its legislation, policies and practices, in order to effectively address the needs of children with disabilities in a non-discriminatory manner. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to implement its legal provisions on inclusive education by training teachers, providing schools with the necessary equipment and raising awareness among school staff, children and the general public on the rights of children with disabilities, especially those with mental disabilities. The Committee further recommends that the State party take prompt and effective measures to investigate all allegations of abuse and ill-treatment of children with mental disabilities, to prosecute and punish the perpetrators and to provide assistance for the recovery and rehabilitation of victims.

The Committee welcomes the Children’s Health Promotion Programme, but is concerned that the budget allocations to maternal and child health-care programmes are continuously decreasing, making such programmes less accessible. The Committee is also concerned that women who choose to deliver at home do not receive the assistance or care they need during the delivery and post-partum.
To improve the situation, the Committee recommends that the State party take measures to increase its budget allocations for maternal and child health programmes. The Committee also recommends that the State party ensure that women who choose to deliver at home receive proper maternal care by providing access to emergency obstetric care, trained care at delivery and post-partum care.

The Committee is concerned that the rates of suicides among adolescents remain high. Therefore, the Committee reiterates its previous recommendation that the State party increase its efforts to raise awareness about and prevent suicide among adolescents and continue to improve the quality and capacity of mental health services.

The Committee recommends that the State party establish a comprehensive juvenile justice system, including juvenile courts, on the basis of a comprehensive legal framework, as well as diversion measures to prevent children in conflict with the law from entering the formal justice system, and develop more alternatives to trial, sentencing and execution of punishment, such as community service and mediation between victim and offender in order to avoid stigmatization and for the effective reintegration of juvenile offenders. The Committee also recommends to ensure that all stakeholders who work with children in criminal proceedings are trained and informed about the specificities of the juvenile justice system, including judges and lawyers and that the legal assistance provided by public lawyers is of a high quality.

While noting that the right to be heard is included in a number of the State party’s laws, the Committee is concerned that there are gaps in the implementation of these laws and that the right of the child to express his or her opinion is often considered to be a mere formality.

In the report, many points are not dealt with in detail. Italy is facing big problems regarding the situation of migrant children, but has already implemented children's rights in the field of education. Climate change and cooperation with other countries are not addressed. A new law concerning unaccompanied children that was co-developed by NGOs is still not implemented. Also, access to healthcare and family-type forms of placements are disparate in different regions.

In Italy, children with disabilities are not segregated. But an efficient system for diagnosing disabilities is not implemented. The Committee recommends to undertake awareness-raising campaigns in order to combat stigmatization of and discrimination against children with disabilities and to promote a positive image of such children.

The Committee recommends to raise awareness about the importance of vaccinations and ensure comprehensive immunization coverage against childhood diseases.

No comprehensive system exists to monitor the state of mental health of children. Children with neuropsychiatric disorders have limited access to appropriate mental health care.
The Committee recommends to Italy to set up an effective monitoring system for child and adolescent mental health, and conduct a study on the root causes of the increase in the diagnosis of attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and the prescription of drugs to treat them.

The Committee recommends that the State party take measures to prevent statelessness and ensure the effective implementation of the law regulating the acquisition of Italian citizenship at birth to otherwise stateless children and adopt legislation to improve statelessness determination procedures in accordance with international standards.
Also, Italy should take measures to improve the situation of undocumented or stateless children belonging to those communities.

The Committee takes note of the current and unfolding political crisis in the State party, which is currently led by a transitional government, and the negative effect this has had on the development and implementation of relevant legislation, policy and programmes for children.

In Madagascar, freedom of expression is restricted and children's opinions are not included in political decisions. Twins are subject to prejudice, resulting in abandonment and death. The predominantly poor have additional problems accessing health care and education.

The Committee is concerned about high levels of teenage pregnancies and low levels of contraceptive use. To improve the situation, the Committee recommends that the State party continue and strengthen efforts to ensure access to family planning and sexual and reproductive health services and improve sexual and reproductive health education in all schools.

The Committee recommends that the State party urgently address the high level of discrimination against children with disabilities and take all available measures to ensure that the rights of such children are realized. In particular, the Committee recommends the State party to eradicate impunity for abuse of children with disabilities by ensuring investigation, prosecution and appropriate sentencing of perpetrators of such abuse as well as expand and strengthen awareness-raising activities for the community at large, aimed at combating prejudice and discrimination against children with disabilities. The Committee further recommends to strengthening the monitoring of situations of children with disabilities in the home, including training social workers on detecting signs of sexual abuse and take all available measures to improve the access to education for children with disabilities. Madagascar should also strengthen implementation of programmes and policies on inclusive education to improve the numbers of children with disabilities who have access to education as well as increase access to appropriate health care for children with disabilities, including by providing training in relevant skills to health-care workers and encouraging families to access health-care services for children with disabilities.

The Committee urges the State party to conduct a rapid assessment of the health system, in particular at the community level, to urgently review its functioning and ensure that priority areas, including maternal- and infant-mortality-reduction activities, have secure and consistent funding. The Committee also urges the State party to strengthen social and financial support to children at risk of malnutrition and improve the systems at community level to monitor child growth and undertake relevant nutrition interventions through basic health centres in order to detect and address acute and chronic malnutrition. In addition, the Committee urges to expand and strengthen preventive programmes against malaria with a particular focus on protecting mothers and children and strengthen programs to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS with a particular focus on adolescents and prevention of mother-to-child transmission. Madagascar should also ensure access to adequate maternity health-care services and access to emergency obstetric care to all pregnant women, particularly those living in rural and remote areas, and ensure that such centres are provided with adequate human, technical and financial resources.

The Committee notes the lack of information on any regulatory framework regarding social and environmental responsibility of business corporations and industries to prevent possible negative impact of their activities on children.

The Committee is concerned that exploitation of natural resources, including through the mining sector, extractive and forestry industries and the tourism sector, does not always benefit the local community, including its children, and brings such harmful effects to families and children as economic exploitation of children and sex tourism, resettlement of communities without appropriate services and harm to the environment and wildlife.
The Committee recommends that the State party establish and implement regulations to ensure that the business sector complies with international and domestic standards on corporate social responsibility. In doing so, the Committee encourages the State party to focus on the protection of the rights of the child and to investigate and provide remedies in reported cases of abuse by corporations and their executives.

The Committee urges the State party to establish special jurisdiction for children, including child-friendly courts and other procedures as well as ensure that children and adults are separated in prison. Madagascar should also ensure that the judiciary apply child-friendly procedures to protect and respect the best interest of the child as well as that judiciary, prosecutors and other relevant professionals receive systematic and specialized training in juvenile justice. In addition, the Committee urges Madagascar to ensure that children in prison are provided with appropriate nutrition, health services and access to education and to establish a programme of reintegration of children after release from prison or institutions.

The Committee notes the programmes by the State party to protect twins, particularly in the region of Mananjary, against ill-treatment and discrimination. However, the Committee remains seriously concerned about persistent traditional beliefs that twins bring bad luck, and the continued practice of ill-treatment, rejection and abandonment of twins in the Mananjary region, leading, in some cases, to the death of children. The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to stop the ill-treatment, rejection and abandonment of twins, including through legislation and increased awareness-raising in the society at large, which should involve traditional leaders. In addition, the Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to ensure that the placement in institutions of twins must be a measure of last resort.

Namibia suffers greatly from climate change and poverty in the country. Children are abandoned due to unwanted pregnancies and refugee children and children with disabilities do not have the same access to health services and education.

The Committee expresses grave concern at the abandonment of new-born children (or “baby-dumping”) and infanticide in the State party, often resulting from the high number of teenage pregnancies, child rape and inadequate access to sexual and reproductive health care and information.
Namibia should address the root causes of teenage pregnancies, strengthen support for pregnant adolescents and provide them with adequate sexual and reproductive health services.

The Committee urges the State party to adopt a human rights-based approach to disability and specifically recommends that it ensure that all legislation on children include a specific prohibition of discrimination on the ground of disability, and develop holistic and coordinated programmes across ministries on the rights of children with disabilities. It further recommends to ensure that children with disabilities are able to exercise their right to education, and provide for their inclusion in the mainstream education system to the greatest extent possible, including by providing teachers with special training, by increasing facilities for children with disabilities and by making schools more accessible.
Namibia should also provide effective remedies in cases of violations of the rights of children with disabilities, and ensure that those remedies are easily accessible to all children with disabilities. In addition, the Committee recommends that Namibia strengthen efforts to ensure that necessary professional and financial resources are available, especially at the local level, and promote and expand community-based health services programmes.

The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to ensure that all children enjoy the same access to and quality of health services. It further urges the State party to address socioeconomic disadvantages and other root causes for the existing health deficits. In particular, the Committee recommends that the State party strengthen efforts to address, as matter of urgency, the high rates of malnutrition of children, and develop educational programmes, including campaigns to inform parents about basic child health and nutrition, hygiene and environmental sanitation and reproductive health. In addition, Namibia should improve access to maternal care services, particularly in rural areas, by improving health infrastructure and increasing the availability and accessibility to emergency obstetric and neonatal care and skilled birth attendants at lower- and district-level health facilities. The Committee further recommends that the State Party take special measures to ensure that pregnant adolescents have easy access to sexual and reproductive health care.

The Committee is alarmed by the high levels of suicides among children in the State party. The Committee notes with grave concern the Ministry of Health and Social Services’ assessment that the suicide rate among youth has increased in recent years. The Committee is also concerned at the lack of data on mental health problems, the inadequate availability of trained mental health practitioners in schools and rural areas, and the limited awareness among professionals working with children on the importance of identifying and addressing mental health concerns.

The Committee takes note of the fact that the State party is one of the countries most affected by climate change and the increasing impact of natural hazards, such as floods, storms and drought, leading to changes in the disease patterns, reduced agricultural outputs and food insecurity.

The Committee notes the State party’s information that as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has complied with its international obligations to guarantee the safety of uranium activities. However, it is concerned that multinational and national companies in the country, notably the mining and uranium-producing industries, are operating in the absence of clear regulatory frameworks to ensure that international human rights, environmental and other standards, especially relating to child and women’s rights, are adhered to, in order to protect natural resources such as land, air and water and the persons, families and communities affected by high levels of radioactive toxicity and pollution. In addition, the Committee notes with concern that the Environmental Management Act, which has important safeguards relating to environmental impact assessments prior to licensing and monitoring compliance with the law, has also not entered into force. It also notes with concern that issues relating to the environmental and health impact of uranium mining are neither discussed nor communicated to the persons concerned or disclosed to the public.

The Committee urges the State party to establish children’s courts in all regions of the State party and to provide all professionals working in the juvenile justice system with
training on the Convention and other relevant international standards.
The Committee further urges Namibia to protect the rights of children deprived of their liberty and improve their conditions of detention and imprisonment, in particular by establishing special prisons for children with conditions suited to their age and needs, and ensuring the provision of social services in all detention centres in the country, and, in the meantime, guarantee separation of children from adults in all prisons and pretrial detention centres throughout the country. Namibia should also gather information on the number and legal situation of children in detention, their conditions of detention and cases of children who have been provided with legal assistance, and to make such information publicly available.

The Committee welcomes the State party’s countrywide campaign to raise awareness of children in street situations and integrate them back into schools. The Committee, however, is concerned at reports that children in street situations are regularly subject to exploitation, abuse, discrimination and stigmatization, as well as to arrest and detention by police. In addition, the Committee is concerned at the institutionalization of children in street situations in the State party.

Concluding observations on the second and third periodic reports released on 16 October 2012.
More information about education:
Namibian Constitution

In Algeria, patriarchal structures prevent girls from achieving their goals. Religious freedom and freedom of expression are also restricted. Improvements must also be made in the penal system, in health care and in the area of child labour in order to implement children's rights.

The Committee urges the State party to design and implement an inter-sectoral public policy for health, sexual and reproductive rights aimed at adolescents within and outside the educational system and taking into account sexual and reproductive rights, healthy sexuality, prevention of unplanned pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, and the accessibility and use of condoms and other contraceptives.

The Committee urges the State party to review the situation of children with disabilities in terms of their access to suitable health-care and education services and adopt as a matter of priority a comprehensive policy to develop inclusive education. In this regard, the Committee urges the State party to acknowledge that the disabling factors reside in the environmental and attitudinal barriers created by society, and that all children with disabilities are subjects of their own rights. The Committee further urges Algeria to ensure that the development of inclusive education is given priority over the placement of children in specialized institutions, paying particular attention to children with mental and multiple disabilities. Algeria should also provide sufficient numbers of specialist teachers and professionals providing individual support into all schools and ensure that all professionals are adequately trained so that all children with disabilities can effectively enjoy their right to quality inclusive education as well as ensure transportation and support in classrooms, and the accessibility of educational materials, curricula, and school environments. In addition, the Committee urges the State party to ensure that enforceable remedies are provided to children with disabilities and their families who have been refused access to inclusive education, or who have been denied the provision of reasonable accommodation with respect to education.

The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that appropriate resources be allocated for the health sector, and develop and implement comprehensive policies and programmes for improving the health situation of children and to facilitate greater and equal access to quality primary-health services by mothers and children in all areas of the country in order to end the disparities in health-care provision between the different areas. The Committee also urges the State party to take more effective measures to address the nutritional status of young children. The Committee draws the attention of the State party to the fact that ensuring decent conditions of work for professionals in the health sector is essential to the provision of quality services for children.

The Committee reiterates its recommendation that the State party continue to take effective measures to put an end to the economic exploitation of children, in particular in the informal sector, and to take urgent measures to remove children from hazardous work in the agriculture sector, from street work and domestic work.

The Committee urges the State party to ensure immediate removal of children from adult detention facilities and place them in a safe, child-sensitive environment where they are treated humanely and with respect for their inherent dignity, and can maintain regular contact with their families, and are provided with education and vocational training. Algeria should also ensure capacity-building and specialization of all the justice actors, including judges, prison officers and lawyers, on the provisions of the Convention and should develop social reintegration programmes for children in conflict with the law.

The Committee urges the State party to establish by law the minimum age for voluntary recruitment into the national armed forces under which recruitment of children would be prohibited with no exceptions, thus ensuring that persons under the age of 18 do not serve in the Algerian armed forces.
The Committee urges the State party to take concrete steps to facilitate and give legitimate recognition to human rights defenders and their work, including those who report child rights violations for appropriate State party’s action, to ensure that non-governmental organizations and journalists can safely carry out their functions in a manner consistent with the principles of a democratic society.

The Committee notes with concern that the State party has maintained its declaration on article 14, paragraphs 1 and 2, which amounts to a reservation to the Convention. The Committee is also concerned that the State party has still not reviewed its declarations on articles 13, 16 and 17. Concluding observations on the third and fourth periodic reports released on 18 July 2012.

The Committee notes that years of political instability followed by a 14-year civil war that ended in 2006 led to severe destruction of physical and social infrastructure, disruption of governmental and social institutions, displacement of the vast majority of the population internally and externally as well as severe loss of human capital, all of which constitute obstacles to the full implementation of the Convention.

Both freedom of expression and the principle of action according to the best interest of the child are not sufficiently implemented, but the prevailing thinking is that adults know what is best for children. More also needs to be done in the health care of pregnant women. In many fields, the Convention on the Rights of the Child is not implemented far enough.

The Committee urges the State party to criminalize female genital mutilation and develop a comprehensive strategy with clear goals and targets to eradicate this practice while addressing special measures towards communities that continue to practise it. The Committee further urges Liberia to strengthen efforts to raise awareness of the harmful impact of female genital mutilation and early and forced marriages on the psychological and physical health and welfare of the girl child, and on the need to prevent these, while promoting positive cultural practices in childhood.

The Committee recommends that the State party develop and launch active awareness-raising programmes including campaigns with a view to changing the societal misconceptions about children with disabilities and eliminating stigmatization. It also recommends that Liberia ensure that children with disabilities have equal access to education and provide sufficient numbers of specialist teachers and professionals providing individual support in all schools and ensure that all professionals are adequately trained so that all children with disabilities can effectively enjoy their right to quality inclusive education.
Liberia should also take effective measures to ensure immunization and access to basic health care to children with disabilities, as well as to reproductive health services, and provide adequate support to children with disabilities and their families, inter alia, to avoid children with disabilities being sent into residential care.

The Committee recommends that the State party continue to strengthen its efforts to improve access to basic health-care services for all children and pregnant women, particularly in rural areas, and devise and implement a strong primary health-care system to cover the whole country. The Committee further recommends to take concerted measures to reach areas characterized by disparities in health services, facilities and health outcomes and pay attention to the quality of care and provide well equipped health-care facilities and clinics with trained health workers. In addition, Liberia should work with families, children, community and religious leaders to strengthen health education and to promote positive attitudes and healthy behaviours that may contribute to reducing the prevalence of infections, improving nutrition and reducing maternal and child mortality.

The Committee recommends that Liberia require assessments, consultations and disclosure by companies on plans to address environmental and health pollution.

The Committee regrets that multinational companies in the country, notably those operating in the rubber and steel producing industries, are operating in the absence of clear regulatory frameworks to ensure that international human rights, labour, environment and other standards are adhered to in order to protect workers and families and communities affected by their activities. In particular, the Committee is concerned that children are being engaged by their families in hazardous work in order to meet production quotas imposed by the companies, yet data on child employment is not collected and analysed for remedial action. It is also concerned that issues related to relocation affecting families and communities in mining areas, such as compensation for private properties to be left behind, new lands for housing, farming, and settlements, and access to other natural resources for income and subsistence, are not discussed with or communicated to the persons concerned, nor are they disclosed to the public.

The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to establish well-resourced juvenile courts at all county levels, and appoint trained juvenile judges in all regions of the State party and ensure that all children accused of a crime are accorded their right to due process. It further recommends to take a holistic approach to addressing the problem of juvenile crime (e.g. addressing underlying social factors) advocated in the Convention and take all necessary measures to establish separate detention facilities for juveniles, including through technical cooperation. Liberia should also implement post-release programmes for reintegration of juveniles, in order to facilitate their reintegration into society and prevent recidivism.

The Committee is highly concerned that corruption remains pervasive in the State party, as recognized by the State Party’s delegation. Corruption continues to divert resources that could otherwise improve the implementation of the rights of the child and weakens the efficiency and efficacy of budgetary allocations for children. The Committee urges the State party to take immediate measures to combat corruption and strengthen institutional capacities, including trained investigators and prosecutors and the Anti-Corruption Commission, to effectively detect, investigate and prosecute corruption.

Concluding observations on the second to fourth periodic reports released on 13 December 2012.
More information about education: Preschool in Liberia

The report from Togo gives little indication of discriminated groups in the country. Female genital mutilation still exists and must be fought more strongly. Legislation on child labour and children in prison needs to be revised.

The Committee urges the State party to adopt a reproductive health policy for adolescents and ensure that reproductive education is widely promoted and targeted at adolescent girls and boys, with special attention to the prevention of early pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.
The Committee welcomes the efforts made by the State party to combat female genital mutilation, the prevalence of which has significantly decreased. The Committee is however seriously concerned that female genital mutilation (FGM) is still widely practiced in certain communities and perpetrators of FGM are not brought to justice, despite the criminalization of the practice.

The Committee recommends that the State party adopt an integration policy, allocate adequate resources to strengthen services for children with disabilities, support their families and train professionals in the field. The State party should in particular take effective steps to combat isolation and social stigmatization of children with disabilities and bring perpetrators of killings and any form of violence against children with disabilities to justice. The Committee further recommends that Togo ensure the collection and use of adequately disaggregated and comprehensive data in the development of policies and programmes for children with disabilities. Togo should also review the situation of children with disabilities in terms of their access to suitable health care and education services and give effective priority to the development of inclusive education over the placement of children in specialized institutions.

The Committee is concerned about the high rate of child mortality which often results from preventable and treatable diseases such as malaria, respiratory illnesses, diarrhoea and vaccine-preventable diseases.
To improve the situation, the Committee recommends that the State party prioritize the allocation of financial and human resources to the health sector with a special emphasis on primary health care, in order to ensure equal access to quality health services by all children, including children living in the remote areas. Togo should also take immediate action to address preventable health problems among children.

The Committee is concerned that the legislation in the State party lacks the provisions to ensure the protection of child rights, in accordance with international standards, with regard to protecting, respecting and remedying violations of human rights, including the rights of children, by business entities.
The Committee recommends that the State party promote the adoption of effective corporate responsibility models by providing a legislative framework requiring companies domiciled or operating in Togo to adopt measures to prevent and mitigate adverse human rights impacts of their operations in the country, including by their supply chain or associates. The inclusion of child rights indicators and parameters for reporting should be promoted and specific assessments of business impacts on child rights should be required.

The Committee urges the State party to take all necessary measures to ensure that no child is subjected to abuse and torture when in contact or in conflict with the law, especially during the stage of arrest and investigation. It also urges Togo to ensure immediate removal of children from adult detention facilities and place them in a safe, child-sensitive environment where they are treated humanely and with respect for their inherent dignity, and can maintain regular contact with their families, and are provided with food, education and vocational training. Togo also needs to strengthen efforts to establish specialized courts throughout the country and ensure that the review of criminal cases concerning children is conducted by judges trained accordingly, until juvenile courts are established in all provinces. In addition, the Committee recommends to establish juvenile liaison bureaux throughout the State party and ensure that they are provided with the necessary human, financial and technical resources. While waiting for these liaison bureaux to be fully operational, the Committee recommends to designate at least one police officer specialized in children’s rights and juvenile justice in each police and gendarmerie unit.

The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to build a national system of social protection that would provide a holistic and effective response to children’s poverty and vulnerability, and to this aim, provide parents and families with material assistance and support programmes, particularly with regard to nutrition, clothing and housing, and increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation. The Committee also urges the State party to ensure that its next Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper is integrated with its national plan of action on children and that it specifies tangible measures to address child poverty.

Concluding observations on the third and fourth periodic reports released on 8 March 2012. More information about education in Togo: https://borgenproject.org and Preschool in Togo

In Thailand, there are strong regional disparities, especially in the North-East and South, regarding access to social, health and educational services for children. There is also a need to fight corruption and end discrimination against children from minority groups.

The Committee is seriously concerned that teenage pregnancy is a growing problem which also leads to increasing numbers of illegal abortions. To improve the situation, the Committee recommends that Thailand intensify its efforts to raise awareness of the negative consequences of early pregnancy and abortions and strengthen its adolescent reproductive health programmes, including life skills education.

The Committee welcomes the growing number of schools with inclusive education for children with disabilities. Notwithstanding, the Committee is seriously concerned about the large number of children with disabilities who are not in school and that youth policies do not identify them as special target groups. The Committee is also concerned at the limited proportion of children with disabilities who receive education beyond the pre-primary level.
The Committee recommends that the State party review the situation of children with disabilities in terms of their access to education services and give effective priority to the development of inclusive education over the placement of children in specialized institutions. It also recommends that the State party properly target children with disabilities in youth policies.

The Committee welcomes the achievements of the State party in implementing the Universal Healthcare Coverage Scheme, which ensures free medical treatment for most diseases for all Thai nationals, including children, and in improving overall child nutrition. However, it remains seriously concerned about severe disparities in nutritional status among children depending on their families’ economic status, mothers’ education, linguistic background and geographic location. The Committee is also concerned that despite some improvements, iodine deficiency remains widespread.
The Committee urges the State party to accelerate measures to improve the nutrition of all children irrespective of their families’ economic status, mothers’ education, Thai or non-Thai linguistic background and geographic location in urban, rural or remote areas. In this regard, it encourages the State party to conduct an analysis of the causes and extent of under-nutrition of children in disadvantaged social groups. In addition, it recommends that the State party improve the nutritional status of children and ensure compliance and universal consumption of iodized salt.

The Committee welcomes the State party’s information that business and industry contribute resources and facilities to social welfare, including health care and education of children. The Committee is however concerned that the impact on children of business and fast-growing heavy industries, manufacturing, textiles and export agriculture has not been fully assessed. The Committee is particularly concerned that, while tourism constitutes a large part of the country’s economy, the State party has not yet adopted comprehensive measures to protect children from violations of their rights, such as in child sex tourism, child prostitution, child pornography and child labour, arising from tourist activities and facilities. The Committee also regrets the lack of legal institutional framework to regulate the activities of companies doing business in Thailand and of Thai companies operating abroad to ensure effective responses to issues of health and nutrition, economic and sexual exploitation, pollution and environmental degradation that can undermine the well-being of children.

The Committee recommends that that the State party ensure that children are detained separately from adults, that they have a safe, child sensitive environment and that they maintain regular contact with their families. Thailand should also strengthen the training of judges and judicial personnel on the principles and provisions of the Convention and the Optional Protocols and develop social reintegration programmes for children in conflict with the law.

While noting as positive the efforts made by the State party to combat corruption, the Committee is concerned about the reports indicating that corruption remains pervasive among, inter alia, municipal and local government officials and law enforcement personnel, and thus diverts resources that could enhance the efficacy of government policies and programmes to implement the rights of the child.
The Committee urges the State party to strengthen its efforts to combat corruption at all levels and sectors, including by developing and implementing a vigorous anti-corruption policy, carrying out anti-corruption campaigns and strengthening institutional capacities to effectively detect, investigate and prosecute cases of corruption.

The Committee welcomes the withdrawal by the State party of its reservation concerning article 7 of the Convention in December 2010. The Committee regrets, however, that the State party has not withdrawn its reservation concerning article 22. Concluding observations on the third and fourth periodic reports released on 17 February 2012. More information about education in Thailand: https://wenr.wes.org