Month: February 2022

Violence is a major issue in the report from Congo, despite the ban on corporal punishment. Female genital mutilation is carried out, children with albinism have to fear for their lives and perpetrators who abuse and neglect children are hardly punished.

The Committee remains concerned that female genital mutilation is still practised among some West African communities living in the State party. The Committee also expresses its concern that child and forced marriages continue to be practised in the State party.
The Committee recommends that the State party adopt legislation to prohibit such harmful practices and take well-targeted measures to ensure the eradication of female genital mutilation in all communities living on its territory, including through widespread awareness-raising campaigns, and also recommends that the State party criminalize female genital mutilation. It calls on the State party to encourage children to report those practices to health professionals and competent authorities. The Committee also recommends that the State party take active and practical measures to enforce the legal prohibition of child and forced marriage.

The Committee expresses its concern that many children with disabilities, especially in rural areas, remain at home and receive no schooling owing to the lack of practical measures to ensure that the national education system has the necessary capacities to facilitate their access to and to integrate them into the education system. To improve the situation, the Committee recommends that the State party take practical measures to encourage the inclusion of children with disabilities in the mainstream educational system and in society, strengthen special training for teachers and make the physical environment, including schools and all other public areas, accessible for children with disabilities. Also, Congo should improve and strengthen early detection and treatment services in the health and education sectors.

The Committee welcomes the strategies adopted by the State party to reduce the high maternal and child mortality, to manage childhood illness, to improve the treatment of malnutrition and to reduce malaria. The Committee also notes with appreciation the role of civil society organizations and the media in the national strategy for empowering households and communities for the promotion of good nutritional and health practices.
Nevertheless, the Committee expresses its concern that there are a number of constraints on the implementation of those strategies and that preventable and treatable diseases, including diarrhoea, continue to be among the main causes of infant and child mortality. The Committee is also concerned at the limited geographical coverage of health services, the insufficient number of socio-health facilities and staff, and insufficient supplies of medicine. To guarantee every child the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee urges the State party to overcome the constraints preventing the implementation of existing strategies by, inter alia, ensuring the provision of primary health-care services for all pregnant women and children, focusing on the development of accessible health-care services with trained health-care providers and on interventions to reduce preventable and other diseases, particularly diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections and undernutrition. Health-care services should include access to sanitation and clean drinking water.

The Committee notes with satisfaction the information provided by the State party’s delegation relating to the existence of oil extraction and forest concession contract clauses that provide for the adoption of measures to protect the rights to health and education of children living in the areas of industrial activity. Nevertheless, the Committee is concerned that it is not mandatory under national law to carry out environmental and social impact assessments prior to the approval of investment projects likely to have an impact on children’s rights, particularly as a consequence of forced displacement and expropriation, pollution and damages to cultural assets and traditions.
To further improve the situation, 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, environmental and other standards, particularly with regard to children’s rights.

The Committee welcomes the information concerning improvements to the juvenile observation centre and its decree of remit and functioning, the availability of children’s judges and the recent use of daytime sociocultural reintegration centres for some children in detention. Nevertheless, the Committee is concerned that children’s judges are not always available and that children are placed in detention with adults, often in very difficult conditions. It is also concerned that children face difficulties in gaining access to legal aid. Therefore, the Committee urges the State party to establish specialized juvenile court facilities and procedures with adequate human, technical and financial resources, ensure that specialized judges for children are available throughout the State party and that all public officers dealing with juvenile justice receive appropriate education and training. Congo should also ensure the provision of qualified and impartial legal aid to children in conflict with the law at an early stage of the procedure and throughout the legal proceedings and promote alternative measures to detention, such as diversion, probation, mediation, counselling or community service, wherever possible, and ensure that detention is used as a last resort and for the shortest possible time and that it is reviewed on a regular basis with a view to ending it.

The Committee notes with appreciation the birth registration strategic plan for the period 2009–2013 and the abolishment of fees for late birth registration as mentioned by the State party delegation during the dialogue. Nevertheless, the Committee remains concerned about the large number of children that are still not registered, the existence of unofficial payments attached to late birth registration, the insufficient number of civil registry offices in remote areas and the insufficient awareness of the importance of registration. It also notes with concern that the one-month limit for families to register births increases difficulties and costs for families. To improve the situation, the Committee urges the State party to establish an efficient and accessible birth registration system covering its entire territory, including by empowering chiefs of villages in remote areas to register civil status, so that all children are registered immediately after birth. The Committee also urges the State party to ensure that undue payments are not imposed.

In Germany, significant numbers of girls are exposed to female genital mutilation. In addition, the prescription of psychostimulants for ADHD or ADD patients is extremely high. Children with disabilities, especially girls, are exposed to violence, and coal mining has a negative impact on children's health.

The Committee is concerned about the significant number of girls living in the State party who are affected by genital mutilation or at risk of either being temporarily sent to a country where genital mutilation is practised or being exposed to it within the State party. The Committee also notes with concern that medical staff are often not well informed about genital mutilation and preventive and protective measures, and are therefore unable to give advice and provide help. To improve the situation, the Committee urges the State party to draft a national policy and strategy against female genital mutilation and to provide training on the prevention of and response to female genital mutilation for all relevant professional groups. Also, Germany should strengthen and organize further information dissemination and awareness-raising campaigns to prevent the practice. In that regard, particular focus should be placed on campaigns targeting girls at risk, informing them about access to help and advice. The Committee recommends to further strengthen measures for the elimination of female genital mutilation in its international cooperation programmes by, inter alia, extending financial and technical assistance to countries where female genital mutilation is practised.

The Committee is concerned about the findings of a recent study undertaken by the State party, according to which girls with disabilities are frequently at risk of violence, including sexual violence.
The Committee recommends that the State party take every necessary measure to prevent all forms of violence against children with disabilities, paying particular attention to the safety of girls with disabilities. In that regard, the Committee recommends that the State party provide particular protection and complaints mechanisms for children with disabilities who have become victims of violence.
The Committee notes with concern that children with disabilities from migrant families often do not receive the same support as their peers without a migration background, owing to a lack of information and/or their parents’ difficulties in accessing the necessary forms and applications, and/or ignorance lack of awareness about the disability.

The Committee is concerned at new morbidities in children which are being insufficiently addressed, related to attachment disorders, and to an increase in children’s emotional and behavioural problems, owing to pressure to succeed at school.
The Committee recommends that the State party undertake advocacy and awareness-raising programmes targeting schools and families, emphasizing the importance of physical exercise, and healthy eating habits and lifestyles. It should also take all the necessary steps to address the existing disparities in health outcomes. Special attention should be paid to children and young people in vulnerable situations, especially those from socially disadvantaged or migration backgrounds.

The Committee is concerned about the over-prescription of psychostimulants to children and about excessive diagnoses of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or attention deficit disorder (ADD), and in particular the forced removal of children who are diagnosed/misdiagnosed with ADHD or ADD from their families and their subsequent placement in foster care or psychiatric hospitals, where many of them are treated with psychotropic medication.
To improve the situation, the Committee recommends that the State party ensure that the placement of children in foster care or psychiatric hospitals is used as a last resort only, following a proper diagnosis and provide families with access to psychological counselling and emotional support. Also, Germany should establish a system of independent expert monitoring of the diagnosis of ADHD and ADD and of the use of drug treatments for children, ensure that relevant health authorities determine the root causes of inattention in the classroom and improve the diagnosis of mental health problems among children. In addition, the Committee recommends to put a stop to the practice of labelling children as “having a psychiatric problem” in cases that are not validated by medical evidence.

The Committee notes that the State party uses a significant amount of coal to produce power and is concerned about the negative impact that coal emissions have on children’s health. The Committee is also concerned about the lack of adequate measures taken by the State party against German companies that conduct business abroad and reportedly violate children’s rights and other human rights.
Therefore, the Committee recommends that the State party establish a clear regulatory framework for the industries operating in the State party to ensure that their activities do not negatively affect human rights or endanger environmental and other standards, especially those relating to children’s rights. Germany should also take into consideration the best interests of the child when adopting budgetary measures such as the allocation of subsidies for businesses that affect children’s rights. Additionally, Germany should examine and adapt its civil, criminal and administrative legislative framework to ensure that business enterprises and their subsidiaries operating in or managed from the State party’s territory are legally accountable for any violations of children’s rights and human rights.

The Committee notes with satisfaction the legislative amendment prohibiting children in detention from being placed with persons up to the age of 24. However, the Committee regrets that not all Länder apply the principle of “deprivation of liberty as a last resort”.

While noting the measures undertaken by the State party to investigate cases of child abuse committed by church officials, the Committee is concerned that several cases have not been investigated.
The Committee recommends that the State party take all the necessary measures to expedite the investigation and prosecution of cases of child abuse allegedly committed by church officials.

Croatia has provided information on almost all fields, which gives a good picture of the child rights situation in the country. There are regional differences, especially in the health sector, and school education is not compulsory until the end of secondary education.

The Committee is concerned about the lack of long-term, systematic health education, including on sexuality, responsible sexual behaviour and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. To improve the situation, the Committee recommends that Croatia strengthen measures to raise awareness on sexual and reproductive health, with special attention to sexually transmitted infections, and ensure systematic health education.

The Committee welcomes the measures taken by the State party to ensure inclusive education for children with disabilities. The Committee is however concerned that cross-sectoral coordination and standardized developmental screening protocols and tools are lacking, resulting in missed opportunities for early childhood intervention as well as that the number of children with disabilities in institutional care is increasing and adequate treatment and care are lacking in the institutions. It is further concerned that there have been incidents of ill-treatment of children with disabilities in some health care institutions and that many schools do not provide the necessary conditions for inclusive education, funding for teaching assistants is not always available, and teachers and other school personnel are not sufficiently trained. Also, abandoned children with disabilities are primarily placed in health-care institutions, not in children’s institutions, and are therefore not included in official data of children available for adoption.
To improve the situation, the Committee urges the State party to adopt a human rights-based approach to disability and specifically recommends that it improve and strengthen early detection and treatment services in the health and education sectors, ensure adequate training of personnel working in health-care institutions on the medical practice regarding respect for the dignity of children with disabilities, and carry out regular inspections of institutions with long-term placement. Croatia should also strengthen its efforts to establish State-wide inclusive education, including through the allocation of necessary resources, and ensure regular training for teachers and other school personnel.

The Committee is concerned about the uneven geographical coverage of health services for children, the shortage of health-care professionals, and the lack of adequate support for children in need of mental health-care systems. The Committee is further concerned that, despite legislative improvements allowing parents to stay in the hospital with their children, accommodation facilities are still limited and treatment of hospitalized children is not always adequate.
To guarantee every child the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to ensure that all children enjoy equal access to health services, with particular emphasis on children in rural areas and from minority groups as well as that Croatia allocate adequate human resources to maintain the quality of health care. It further recommends to strengthen its efforts to ensure that, in practice, children are not separated from their parents and that they are treated in accordance with the rights set out under the Convention, including the right to privacy, confidentiality and to be heard, when they are hospitalized.

The Committee recommends to take all necessary measures to ensure adequate support for children in need of mental health care.

The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to provide families with the necessary support to enable them to fulfil their obligation towards their children and to ensure their well-being and development. In particular the Committee recommends that the State party further strengthen assistance and support services to parents and legal guardians in their child-rearing responsibilities and promote measures to support working parents, including considering collaboration with the business sector.

The Committee is concerned that insufficient funds and organizations are available to carry out alternative measures, children are subject to prolonged pretrial detention and detention centres are not regularly visited by judges, despite their legal obligation to carry out such visits. It is further concerned that children are still detained together with adults in some institutions, conditions of detention facilities for children and reformatories are inadequate and adequate training of those involved in the administration of juvenile justice is lacking.
To improve the situation, the Committee urges Croatia to ensure that detention is used as a last resort and for the shortest possible period of time and that it is reviewed on a regular basis with a view to withdrawing it. In cases where detention is unavoidable, Croatia should ensure that children are not detained together with adults, that detention conditions are compliant with international standards, including with regard to access to education and health services, and that centres are regularly visited by judges. The Committee further urges to ensure that all persons involved in the administration of juvenile justice receive appropriate education and training.

The Committee notes information provided by the State party about various activities aimed at realizing children’s rights to rest and leisure and to engage in play and recreational activities, but it is concerned about the lack of adequate play spaces and facilities in many communities, that they are not properly regulated, and about the increasing phenomenon of children having to pay for leisure activities.

Concluding observations on the third and fourth periodic reports released on 13 October 2014. More information about education in Croatia: https://eacea.ec.europa.eu

The Committee notes the particularly severe effects of the ongoing armed conflict, political instability and presence of armed groups in the State party, the reinforcement of sectarian and ethnic divisions and the rise of religious extremism, which have led to severe violations of children’s rights and constitute a serious obstacle to the implementation of the rights enshrined in the Convention, particularly worsened by terrorist acts committed by criminal groups belonging to the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The Committee reminds the State party of the continuity of international human rights obligations and that the rights under the Convention apply to all children at all times. The Committee also reminds the State party that it bears the primary responsibility to protect its population and should therefore take immediate measures to stop the use of excessive and lethal force against civilians and to prevent further violence against children, including killing and injury.

Iraq is at war, which is a poor prerequisite for ensuring children's rights. Children themselves are killed or used by armed forces. There is not enough food and a lack of schools and health care coverage and many children have to leave their homes. In addition, there is severe discrimination against girls, the death penalty is carried out against children, and religious minorities are forced to convert.

The Committee is concerned about the persistent and extreme gender-based discrimination which girls experience from the earliest stages of their lives and throughout their childhood and which exposes them to domestic violence, psychological and sexual exploitation and abuse, early, forced and temporary (muta’a) marriage, and little access to education. The Committee further urges the State party to apply a zero-tolerance policy towards gender-based crimes committed in the name of so-called “honour” and ensure a prompt and effective investigation into all cases.

The Committee is concerned about the situation of children with disabilities being particularly worsened by the current conflict, as well as about the continuing societal discrimination and stigma towards children with disabilities. In particular, it is concerned about school buildings being insufficiently accessible for children with disabilities, the absence of appropriate learning materials, the shortage of specially qualified teachers and the lack of adequate early childhood development services for children with disabilities. It is further concerned about the insufficient access of children with disabilities to social services and to financial support.
The Committee urges the State party to adopt a human rights-based approach to disability, placing particular focus on children who have become injured during conflict, and specifically recommends that it ensure effective inclusive education and allocate all the necessary human, technical and financial resources for its implementation. Furthermore, the Committee recommends to undertake awareness-raising programmes on eliminating discrimination against children with disabilities, and strengthen its enforcement mechanisms for ensuring compliance with its legislation prohibiting such discrimination.

The Committee notes with appreciation that there has been a significant increase in immunization coverage and institutional delivery since 2006, but regrets the high rate of under-5 mortality, the high prevalence of chronic undernutrition and maternal mortality, especially concerning underage mothers, in rural areas and the central and southern regions. This includes the increased emergence of communicable and non-communicable diseases, including the high risk of a polio and measles outbreak, and a high rate of malnutrition among internally displaced children. The Committee is also concerned that, while the armed conflict is having a devastating impact on the availability and quality of health care, the State party devotes a low percentage of the federal budget to its health-care system.
The Committee is further concerned about the increase in drug abuse among adolescents, and the unavailability of drug prevention services that address the needs of adolescent drug users.

The Committee is concerned about the significant number of children suffering from varying degrees of post-traumatic stress disorder. Therefore, the Committee recommends that Iraq set up programmes and train specialists to support children who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and ongoing conflict-related stress.

The Committee notes with concern that many regions are affected by a high toxic level of lead, mercury contamination and depleted uranium pollution, which has led to a high infant mortality rate and an increase in cancer rates and birth defects among children.
The Committee recommends that the State party make every effort to remove all types of war remnants and disseminate information among children and the general public about the different types of war remnants, and undertake protection measures. Furthermore, children who have been injured or fall ill should be provided with all the necessary health care.

The Committee notes that the worst forms of child labour are forbidden in the State party. The Committee, however, regrets the weak and insufficient implementation of this prohibition and is deeply concerned about reports according to which a significant number of children between the ages of 3 and 16 are engaged in child labour, many of them in hazardous conditions, vulnerable to violence and sexual abuse.
The Committee urges the State party to enact legislation to ensure that child labour, including in the informal economy and family businesses, is in full compliance with international standards in terms of age, working hours, working conditions, education and health, as well as to ensure the full protection of children against all forms of sexual, physical and psychological harassment. The Committee also recommends that Iraq establish programmes to reintegrate children who are illiterate and/or have been involved in child labour into mainstream education as well as strengthen the implementation of labour laws by establishing labour inspections, including in the informal sector, and ensure that anyone violating legislation on child labour be held accountable.

The Committee is concerned about reported acts of torture and other cruel or degrading treatment or punishment committed against children by the police.
The Committee is also highly concerned about the increasing number of children in detention, especially in pretrial detention for long periods, and the particularly poor living conditions to which they are subjected, including overcrowding, exposure to physical and sexual abuse and insufficient access to medical services. The Committee is particularly concerned about reports of girls sentenced to death being held in the Karrada juvenile detention facility until they turn 18 and then being transferred to death row, despite the Juvenile Welfare Act not permitting life imprisonment or the death penalty for children. Therefore, the Committee urges the State party to bring its juvenile justice system fully into line with the Convention and other relevant standards and develop facilities and programmes for the physical and psychological recovery and the social reintegration of juveniles.

The Committee expresses serious concern about the high prevalence of corruption and the lack of accountability mechanisms in the State party and the resulting detrimental impact on children’s rights. The Committee urges Iraq to take firm measures to prevent and eradicate corruption and prosecute State and local officials for acts of corruption.

The Committee abhors and condemns the targeted and brutal killings of children by the so-called ISIL and in particular the killing or severe injury of a very large number of children as a result of the current fighting, including by air strikes, shelling and military operations by the Iraqi Security Forces, and as a result of landmines and explosive war remnants. This includes deaths from dehydration, starvation and heat in conflict-affected areas.

Concluding observations on the second to fourth periodic reports released on 3 March 2015. More information about education in Iraq: http://www.irfad.org

The Committee recognizes the impact of the conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic on the State party’s socio-political and economic situation, the internal tensions within the State party’s political system that have negatively affected its ability to provide the public services necessary to all children in the State party, and the decreasing funds being made available by the international community for Syrian refugees.

Lebanon has taken in many refugees and thus protected children, however, after the explosion in the port of Beirut 2020, the situation is worsening and there is much more poverty than before. The health and education systems are weak and there is not enough food for everyone.

The Committee urges the State party to help end the revictimization of girl victims of rape who may be pressured into marrying the perpetrator.

The Committee is concerned about children with disabilities continuing to face discrimination and not being integrated effectively into all areas of social life, including the education system, in particular Palestinian and Syrian refugee children, as well as inadequate health-care services, in particular in public hospitals, and inadequate and insufficient rehabilitation services, in particular for Syrian refugee children. Lebanon also needs to work on the lack of financial assistance and other support services to families of children with disabilities and the high rate of institutionalization of children with disabilities, inadequate care in residential care institutions and abuse and violence by service providers, including sexual abuse.
To improve the situation, the Committee urges the State party to adopt a human rights-based approach to disability and inter alia recommends that it strengthen efforts to take all the necessary measures to ensure that children with disabilities are integrated fully into all areas of social life.

The Committee recommends that the State party continue to strengthen efforts to ensure access to quality health care, by expanding the national network of primary health centres to cover all primary health centres in the State party and ensure adequate provision of prenatal and postnatal care in all governorates of Lebanon, and address the high rate of mortality of infants born to Syrian refugees.
The State party should also strengthen the national immunization programme in order to address emerging needs stemming from the crisis in the Syrian Arab Republic, and continue to improve access to clean water and sanitation for disadvantaged communities, in particular refugees, and address risks of communicable diseases and other health concerns. The Committee further recommends to increase access to affordable health care for all families in situations of poverty, address discrepancies in quality of care and coverage in areas outside of Beirut and Mount Lebanon and strengthen the regulation of the pharmaceutical sector and all health-care service providers in terms of quality and pricing.

Noting the limited availability of mental health services outside Beirut and Mount Lebanon, the Committee recommends that the State party strengthen the quality and availability of mental health services and programmes, increase the number of specialists in children’s mental health, ensure adequate facilities and strengthen outpatient services for psychosocial care and rehabilitation in all governorates.

The Committee is seriously concerned about the persistence of child labour in the State party, in particular in the North and in the Beqaa Valley, and among Palestinian and Syrian refugee children. The Committee urges the State party to take measures to prevent children from being economically exploited, in particular with respect to the minimum age for hazardous work, and harmonize the minimum age of 14 for work with the age of 15 for compulsory education. Also, Lebanon should strengthen labour inspectorates and monitoring mechanisms in the formal and informal sectors and make available data on the number of inspections and violations publicly.

While welcoming various legislative and policy initiatives to assist children in conflict with the law, the introduction of alternative measures to detention by the Ministry of Justice, and rehabilitation and vocational programmes launched by the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Committee is still concerned about the lack of due process, including access to legal aid, conditions of detention facilities and reports of torture and ill-treatment of children in detention, in particular at the Roumieh and Moubadara prisons.
The Committee urges the State party to bring its juvenile justice system into line with the Convention and, in particular, recommends that the State party ensure the provision of qualified and independent legal aid to children in conflict with the law at an early stage of the procedure and throughout the legal proceedings and promote alternative measures to detention, taking into consideration gender differentiated programmes for boys and girls, with a view to progressively ceasing all detention of children.
In cases where detention is unavoidable, Lebanon needs to ensure that children are not detained together with adults and that detention conditions are compliant with international standards, including with regard to access to education and health services, with a particular focus on the Roumieh and Moubadara prisons.

The Committee commends the State party for its overall high net enrolment rates, for raising the age of compulsory education to 15 years, for expanding early childhood education and for adopting numerous initiatives to ensure Syrian refugee children have access to education, including through the implementation of the “Reaching All Children Through Education” initiative. However, it is seriously concerned about inadequate funding for public schools, relatively low educational achievements of children from economically disadvantaged communities, low retention and high dropout rates, in particular among Palestinian and Syrian refugee children.

Concluding observations on the fourth and fifth periodic reports released on 22 June 2017. More information about education in Lebanon: https://www.unicef.org

In the United Arab Emirates, despite the wealth, there are no free kindergartens and the charity towards asylum seeking children or children with disability could further increase. The implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is not given enough (financial) resources, and especially the free development of girls is challenged by patriarchal laws and violence.

The Committee is concerned that the only ground for allowing abortion in the State party is a woman’s or girl’s life being in danger, abortion being criminalized in all other situations. The Committee recommends that the State party adopt a comprehensive sexual and reproductive health policy for adolescents and ensure that sexual and reproductive health education is part of the mandatory school curriculum and targets adolescent girls and boys, with special attention paid to preventing early pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections and fostering responsible sexual behaviour, particularly among boys and men.

The Committee welcomes all the circulars adopted to adapt the school environment for children with visual impairments (e.g., by providing school books in Braille) or autism and provide specific training to teachers. It is concerned, however, that priority is still given to the provision of special education, including in mainstream schools, over the development of a fully inclusive educational system. The Committee is also concerned about the lack of disaggregated data on children with disabilities and about the lack of measures to include them in recreational, sport and cultural activities, which remain mostly segregated.
To improve the situation, the Committee urges the State party to adopt a human-rights-based approach to disability and to collect disaggregated data on children with disabilities in order to develop efficient policies and strategies for these children and adequately monitor the implementation of those policies. The State party should also set up a comprehensive strategy for the inclusion of children with disabilities in the mainstream educational system, as well as in recreational, sport and cultural activities and society at large.

The Committee recommends to regulate the marketing of unhealthy food, especially when such marketing is focused on children, regulate the availability of such food in schools and other places, provide children with accurate and objective information about substance abuse, and develop specialized and youth-friendly drug-dependence treatment and harm reduction services.

The Committee welcomes the numerous achievements of the State party in the field of child health. The Committee is concerned, however, about the consequences of the high consumption of petroleum on children’s health, in particular about air pollution and lead poisoning. The Committee recommends that the State party assess the negative consequences of petroleum consumption on children’s rights and address the situation with adequate measures.

The Committee, while noting that the employment of children under the age of 15 is prohibited, is concerned that this prohibition does not apply to certain sectors of the economy, such as agriculture. To improve the situation, the Committee recommends that the State party clearly prohibit labour by children under the age of 15 in all sectors of the economy.

The Committee remains concerned that the new federal bill on juvenile justice contains derogatory language regarding children in conflict with the law as well as that the State party does not clarify the criteria used to determine whether cases involving children over the age of 16 years are referred to civil courts or to sharia courts.
The Committee urges the State party to bring its juvenile justice system fully into line with the Convention and other relevant standards, and in particular to clarifying that all children in conflict with the law should be brought before juvenile justice, and not religious, courts. Also, the Emirates should ensure the provision of qualified and independent legal aid to children in conflict with the law at an early stage of, as well as throughout, any legal proceedings.

The Committee remains concerned that children of a mother who is a national of the United Arab Emirates and a father who is not cannot acquire the nationality of the State party and are at great risk of becoming stateless. The Committee is also concerned that the criminalization of sexual relations outside marriage prevents the registration of children born out of wedlock and may lead to their abandonment.

Further, the Committee observes that the State party’s adoption of narrow interpretations of Islamic texts in some areas may impede the enjoyment of some rights protected under the Convention.

Concluding observations on the second periodic reports released on 30 October 2015. More information about education in UAE: https://www.ebnnursery.com and https://u.ae

The Committee notes that Abkhazia, Georgia and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia, remain outside the effective control of the State party, which is a serious obstacle to the implementation of the Convention in those regions.
The report from Georgia is relatively short and therefore does not go into much depth. Problems include child abuse and inadequate child protection. In addition, sex-selective abortions take place and Georgia has high rates of infant mortality and stillbirth.

The Committee urges the State party to combat the practice of sex-selective abortion, including by addressing its root causes and the long-term implications for society, expanding family planning services and carrying out awareness-raising activities on the detrimental impact of sex selection and on the equal value of girls and boys.
Taking note of the high rate of early pregnancies and the absence of sexual and reproductive health education in school curricula, and development in the context of the Convention, the Committee recommends that the State party ensure that the strategy for reproductive health includes a specific focus on adolescent health and that the State party expedite its adoption. Also, Georgia should develop and implement a policy to protect the rights of pregnant teenagers, adolescent mothers and their children and combat discrimination against them.

While welcoming efforts for the integration of children with disabilities in social, recreational and cultural activities, the Committee is seriously concerned by limited availability of early identification and intervention programmes, the system exclusively based on health needs determining disability status, which ignores some developmental disabilities of infants and young children, and the absence of an effective referral system based on cooperation between medical personnel, social workers and service providers. It is also concerned about the slow progress in the deinstitutionalization of children with disabilities in rural areas and incomplete data on children with disabilities. There is also a low awareness in the families concerned of the services available for children with disabilities and the limited access to health, education and care services for children with disabilities, especially those with autism, Down syndrome and severe disabilities, as well as for children in rural areas.

The Committee remains concerned at the high rates of infant mortality and stillbirth and the low technological capacity of pre- and postnatal health care and reports of the continued prevalence of malnutrition, anaemia and other micronutrient deficiencies, as well as obesity in children and the limited coverage of the educational health visits made by primary health-care professionals, leading to inappropriate childcare practices.
To guarantee every child the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee urges the State party to strengthen efforts to decrease rates of infant mortality and stillbirth by, inter alia, improving ante- and postnatal care and enhancing the capacity of health-care providers all over the country.

The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to combat all forms of child labour, including in the informal sector, and urges the State party to restore the labour inspectorate, thus strengthening the monitoring of prohibitions of child labour based on the law.

The Committee recommends that the State party guarantee adequate human, technical and financial resources for specialized juvenile court facilities and ensure that specialized professionals receive continuous education and training as well as further promote alternative measures to detention and ensure the availability of sufficient possibilities for community work and mediation.

The Committee recommends that the State party develop and implement national guidelines on HIV disclosure counselling for children and improve follow-up treatment for HIV-infected mothers and their infants to ensure early diagnosis and early initiation of treatment. Georgia should also improve access to quality, age-appropriate HIV/AIDS, sexual and reproductive health services.

The report from Bahrain leaves open the situation of refugee and intersex children. However, it is clear that the country needs to take action against obesity and improve its juvenile justice system.

The Committee recommends to decriminalize abortion in all circumstances and ensure access to safe abortion and post-abortion care services for adolescent girls, making sure that their views are always heard and given due consideration as a part of the decision-making process. Also, the Committee recommends to prioritize the roll-out of the reproductive health and puberty programme for adolescents (Kabarna) to all schools, and ensure that it includes education on preventing early pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, as well as life-skills education on preventing substance abuse.

The Committee recommends that the State party continue to promote a human rights-based approach to disability, and undertake a comprehensive study, with data disaggregated by, inter alia, age, sex, type of disability, ethnic and national origin and geographic location, on the situation of children with disabilities and analyse the effectiveness of the implementation of the Convention and the existing laws and policies. Also, Bahrain should ensure that laws, policies and programmes, including the education development plan, guarantee all children with disabilities the right to inclusive education in mainstream schools as well as continue to give priority to measures that facilitate the full inclusion of children with disabilities, including those with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, in all areas of public life, including leisure activities, community-based care and provision of social housing with reasonable accommodation.

To guarantee every child the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee recommends that the State party continue targeted interventions to prevent and treat iron-deficiency anaemia and sickle-cell anaemia among children, including by expanding its programme for fortifying flour with iron and folic acid; ensuring early diagnosis and treatment for children with sickle-cell anaemia; evaluating and strengthening awareness-raising activities aimed at preventing the incidence of sickle-cell anaemia among children, and allocating sufficient resources to the nutrition section of the Department of Public Health. Bahrain should also intensify measures to combat obesity and raise awareness about healthy nutrition among parents, children and the general public, promote healthy eating habits, particularly among young children and adolescents, and develop regulations regarding the marketing of unhealthy food that have a negative effect on children’s health as well as strengthen measures to reduce the premature birth rate and to eliminate preventable infant mortality. The Committee further recommends to develop and implement a national programme on providing treatment for mothers affected by HIV to prevent mother-to-child transmission and ensuring early diagnosis and early initiation of treatment of children.

The Committee recommends to ensure a uniform and integrated system of child and adolescent mental health services throughout the State party, equipped with sufficient human, technical and financial resources, and set up an effective monitoring system for child and adolescent mental health.

The Committee recommends that the State party establish and implement regulations to ensure that the business sector, including multinational corporations domiciled in the State party, complies with international and national human rights, labour, environment and other standards in relation to children’s rights. In particular, it recommends that the State party establish a clear regulatory framework for the industries operating in the State party to ensure that their activities do not negatively affect children’s rights.

While the Committee welcomes the establishment of a special investigation unit in 2012 to investigate allegations of torture, it remains deeply concerned at the arbitrary detention of children, reports of the ill-treatment of children by police and in detention centres, including through the use of tear gas during the riot in Jau prison in 2015, and the alleged use of torture by law enforcement officials to elicit confessions from children in detention.

The Committee urges the State party to bring its juvenile justice system fully into line with the Convention and other relevant standards. In particular, the Committee urges the State party to adopt the bill on correctional justice for children, which would, inter alia, introduce juvenile courts, raise the age of criminal responsibility to an internationally acceptable level and prohibit the imposition of the death penalty or life imprisonment for crimes committed by persons under 18 years of age, and in the meantime, halt all executions of persons who committed crimes while under 18 years of age. Also, Bahrain should ensure the provision of qualified, free and independent legal aid to children in conflict with the law from the beginning of the investigation and throughout the legal proceedings, and grant access to a lawyer and to family immediately after arrest.

Noting with concern that the law in the State party provides automatic solutions for the residence (hadana) of children after divorce or separation, without an individual assessment of their best interests, that the law regulates residence and other family relations differently for girls and boys, and that fathers have priority in the guardianship of their children, the Committee recommends that the State party review its legislation relating to the residence (hadana) of the child to ensure that all decisions taken are based on the principle of the best interests of the child, and that the views of children, girls and boys alike, are taken into account.

Concluding observations on the fourth to sixth periodic reports released on 27 February 2019. More information about education in Bahrain: https://www.moe.gov.bh

The overall situation in the Maldives is rather poor for children's rights. Children are sentenced to death, there is a great religious intolerance and girls experience great oppression due to the patriarchal system, rape is not punished and only for special reasons abortions are allowed. There is no information on health care in the report.

The Committee is concerned that abortion requires the consent of the spouse and is permitted only in a few cases as well as that there is no universal access to reproductive health-care services, and unmarried girls face difficulties due to the social condemnation and criminalization of out-of-wedlock pregnancy, which increasingly leads to illegal and unsafe abortions, putting the lives and health of adolescent mothers at great risk.
To improve the situation, the Committee recommends to adopt a comprehensive sexual and reproductive health policy for adolescents and ensure that sexual and reproductive health education is part of the mandatory school curriculum and targeted at adolescent girls and boys, with special attention given to preventing early pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the Maldives decriminalize abortions in all circumstances and review its legislation with a view to ensuring children’s access to safe abortion and post-abortion care services, including by removing the provision for spousal consent, and ensure that the views of the pregnant girl are always heard and respected in abortion decisions.

The Committee remains concerned about the stigmatization of children with disabilities, the absence of disaggregated data on children with disabilities, and their lack of access to health services. Therefore, the Committee urges the State party to adopt a human-rights-based approach to disability, set up a comprehensive strategy, based on disaggregated statistical data, for the inclusion of children with disabilities and ensure that all children with disabilities are included in the disability registry and remove any existing financial or other obstacles to such registration. Maldives should also strengthen its efforts to implement the inclusive education policy and ensure that inclusive education is given priority over the placement of children in specialized institutions and classes as well as strengthen its efforts to ensure that children with disabilities have access to health care, including early detection and intervention programmes.

According to a 2006 nationwide study, 66 per cent of children and adolescents in the State party suffered from issues related to mental health and, according to a 2009 survey, 22.2 per cent of students in the State party had made a plan for attempting suicide during the 12 months preceding the survey, but no specialized mental health services for children and adolescents have been established in the State party to date. To improve the situation, the Committee recommends to provide specialized mental health facilities and services for children and adolescents.

The Committee is concerned that, while tourism constitutes the main pillar of the State party’s economy, and child prostitution is reported to take place in the tourist environment of beaches, safari boats and guesthouses, the State party has not yet adopted measures to protect children from violations of their rights that may arise from tourism activities, especially child sex tourism.
The Committee recommends that the State party examine and adapt its legislative framework to ensure the legal accountability of business enterprises and their subsidiaries operating in or managed from the State party’s territory, especially in the tourism industry, and undertake awareness-raising campaigns with the tourism industry and the public at large on the prevention of child sex tourism.

The Committee is gravely concerned that the Juvenile Court sentenced five children to death in three separate cases (one case in 2013 and two cases in 2015).
The Committee further urges the State party to bring its juvenile justice system fully into line with the Convention and other relevant standards. In particular, the Committee urges the State party to adopt without further delay the Juvenile Justice Act, ensuring that its provisions fully comply with the provisions and principles of the Convention, as well as other international standards on the administration of juvenile justice, including hearing of the child during criminal proceedings. Maldives should also abolish flogging as a sentence for crime and ensure that children are not detained together with adults and that detention conditions are compliant with international standards, including with regard to access to education and health services. Also, the Committee urges the State party to expeditiously establish throughout its territory specialized juvenile court facilities and procedures with adequate human, technical and financial resources, designate specialized judges for children and ensure that such specialized judges receive appropriate education and training.

The Committee is concerned that customary and religious interpretations of the best interests of the child that are not in conformity with the Convention prevail in the State party and lead to serious violations of children’s rights. The Committee notes with serious concern that the non-reporting of child sexual abuse is considered as preserving the so-called “honour” of the child and therefore serving his or her best interests.
The Committee is seriously concerned about reports of religious intolerance towards non-Muslims and non-believers, and the general impunity enjoyed by those who commit violence against adults and children promoting religious tolerance. The Committee is also concerned about reports that religious extremism is on the rise in the State party and that it has a severe impact on the rights of children to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

Concluding observations on the fourth and fifth periodic reports released on 14 March 2016. The Committee encourages the State party to consider withdrawing its reservations to articles 14 (1) and 21 of the Convention. More information about education on Maldives: https://www.unicef.org and https://avas.mv

In Buthan, extensive discrimination against girls is remarkable. In addition, the situation of children of Nepalese ethnic origin is seriously concerning.

The Committee recommends that the State party adopt a comprehensive sexual and reproductive health policy for adolescent girls and boys, with special attention on preventing early pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Bhutan should also promote access to information and services for girls and boys to reduce adolescent pregnancies and increase access to contraceptives, particularly in rural areas, and conduct awareness-raising campaigns on the harmful effects of teenage pregnancies. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the State party decriminalize abortions in all circumstances and review its legislation with a view to ensuring girls’ access to safe abortion and post-abortion care services. Their views should always be heard and given due consideration in abortion decisions.

The Committee welcomes the studies conducted by the State party regarding the situation of and the services available to children with disabilities and the creation of 14 inclusive education schools. The Committee is concerned about the limited measures taken to promote inclusive education of children with disabilities.
To improve the situation, the Committee urges the State party to adopt a human rights-based approach and framework to disability and develop and implement a comprehensive strategy on the rights of children with disabilities, with their full and meaningful participation. Also, Bhutan should develop an efficient system for diagnosing disability at an early stage and establish comprehensive measures for implementing inclusive education and, in particular, ensure that inclusive education is given priority over the placement of children in specialized institutions and classes across the whole country. The Committee further urges Bhutan to train teachers and education staff in inclusive education, enabling them to provide the individual support that is required by children with disabilities, and undertake awareness-raising campaigns aimed at government officials, the public and families to combat the stigmatization of and prejudice against children with disabilities and promote a positive image of such children.

The Committee recommends to strengthen the provision of dietary food supplements in the school feeding programme to address iron deficiency, especially among adolescent girls. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the State party develop programmes of education and awareness-raising on the harmful effects of smoking, alcohol and substance abuse among adolescents and on the promotion of healthy lifestyles, and provide counselling and rehabilitation services for adolescents who smoke and engage in substance abuse.

The Committee recommends to develop a comprehensive national policy on child mental health, ensuring that mental health promotion and child-friendly mental health services are available in primary health care, schools and communities.

The Committee welcomes the adoption of the second National Adaptation Programme of Action to reduce climate change-related risks and vulnerabilities, and it recommends that the State party ensure that the special vulnerabilities and requirements of children, as well as their views, are taken into account when developing policies and programmes addressing the issues of climate change and disaster risk management. Bhutan should also increase children’s awareness and preparedness for climate change and natural disasters by incorporating these issues into the school curriculum and teachers’ training programmes and develop sustainable systems for water management and supply to address the drying up of spring water sources and prevent children from having to carry water to help their families.

The Committee recommends that Bhutan formulate and implement regulations to ensure that the business sector, in particular private education providers and the tourism industry, complies with international and national human rights and labour standards with regard to children’s rights. The Committee further recommends that Bhutan should undertake awareness-raising campaigns with the tourism industry and the public at large on the prevention of child sex tourism and disseminate widely the charter of honour for tourism and the World Tourism Organization Global Code of Ethics for Tourism among travel agents and in the tourism industry.

The Committee recommends that the State party review the Penal Code to give discretion to judges, in cases where deprivation of liberty is unavoidable, to consider less than half the sentence of an adult, and ensure that deprivation of liberty is only used as a measure of last resort and for the shortest time possible. Also, the Committee recommends to ensure that detention conditions are compliant with international standards, including with regard to access to education and health services, and establish specialized juvenile court facilities and procedures with adequate human, technical and financial resources, designate specialized judges for children and ensure they receive appropriate education and training. Bhutan should also ensure the provision of qualified and independent legal aid to children in conflict with the law at an early stage of the procedure and throughout the legal proceedings.

The Committee notes that the Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of religion and recommends that the State party ensure to every child the right to practice freely his or her religion or belief.