Gambia

The report from the Gambia shows that, among other things, much remains to be done in the area of child labour. Further, efforts must be made in ending discrimination against girls and female genital mutilation. On the other hand, progress has been made in the education system, for example through the introduction of free education, including at secondary level.

The Committee is deeply concerned about the high prevalence of female genital mutilation that still exists in the country, as well as the absence in the legislation of explicit criminalization of the practice. To improve the situation, the Committee urges the State party to adopt legal provisions fully criminalizing the practice of female genital mutilation and to provide physical and psychological recovery programmes for victims of female genital mutilation, and establish reporting and complaints mechanisms accessible to girls who have been victims, or fear becoming victims, of the practice.

The Committee is further concerned about the lack of integration into school curricula of reproductive health education, the lack of sufficient youth centres which provide youth-friendly reproductive information and services, and the low knowledge of HIV transmission and prevention among the population. Additionally, the Committee is concerned about the legal provisions considering abortion as an offence except to save the life of a pregnant woman, which result in the likelihood of pregnant girls and women who are affected by HIV/AIDS seeking risky illegal abortions.

The Committee is concerned about the high level of discrimination against, and stigmatization of, children with disabilities as well as the lack of adequately prepared and equipped schools to receive children with disabilities, in particular in rural areas. Also, the Committee is concerned about the inadequate provision of infrastructure and personnel for access of children with disabilities to health care. Therefore, the Committee urges the State party to further encourage the inclusion of children with disabilities in society and in the mainstream educational system, including by making schools more accessible. Also, the Gambia should strengthen awareness-raising programmes, including campaigns, for the community at large, aimed at combating the high level of discrimination against, and stigmatization of, children with disabilities.

To guarantee the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee recommends that the State party ensure that sufficient resources are allocated to the health sector and are used effectively. The Committee as well recommends that the State party develop and implement comprehensive policies and programmes for improving the health situation of children and facilitating greater and equal access to high-quality primary health services for mothers and children in all areas of the country. The Gambia should also take all effective measures to increase the number of trained medical and other health personnel, and facilitate cooperation between trained medical personnel and traditional healers, especially midwives. Also, the Committee recommends that the State party improve access to maternal care services by improving health infrastructure and increasing the availability and accessibility of emergency obstetric and neonatal care and skilled birth attendants at lower- and district-level health facilities. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the State party strengthen efforts to address malnutrition and diseases of children, including by strengthening educational programmes, campaigns to inform parents about basic child health and nutrition, hygiene and environmental sanitation and reproductive health, and by providing sufficient drugs, including rapid diagnostic tests and malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoeal rehydration drugs. Gambia should further strengthen its efforts to increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation.

The Committee welcomes the measures taken by the State party to protect children from violations of their rights arising from tourism activities and the establishment of community child protection committees across the country and of adolescent neighbourhood watch groups in communities around the Tourism Development Area. Furthermore, the Committee welcomes the development of a manual for training on and the eradication of child labour and sexual exploitation in the tourism industry and the introduction of the Tourism Code of Conduct to hotels, motels and restaurants within the Tourism Development Area. However, the Committee is concerned about the persistent violations of children’s rights arising from tourism activities.
To further improve the situation, the Committee recommends that the State party examine and adapt its legislative framework (civil, criminal and administrative) to ensure the legal accountability of business enterprises and their subsidiaries operating in the State party ́s territory, especially in the tourism industry, and establish monitoring mechanisms for the investigation and redress of children’s rights violations, with a view to improving accountability and transparency. The State Party should further strengthen its awareness-raising programmes, including campaigns, in the tourism industry and among the public at large on the prevention of child sex tourism and strengthen its international cooperation against child sex tourism through multilateral, regional and bilateral arrangements for its prevention and elimination.

The Committee welcomes the establishment of five children’s courts throughout the country, alternative measures to detention, the raising of the age of criminal responsibility, and the abolition of the use of corporal punishment in the juvenile justice system. However, it is concerned about the establishment of only three equipped children’s courts out of the five courts provided for in the Children’s Act, the lack of separate detention facilities for boys and girls and the lack, in most police stations, of separate pre-detention facilities for children and adults. It is also concerned about the limited use of legal aid due to the insufficient human resources allocated to the National Agency for Legal Aid and the low level of awareness among the population of the existence of legal aid, especially in civil cases. Furthermore, the Committee is concerned about the need for continuing and strengthening the training of the police, magistrates and social workers on the provisions of the Children’s Act and on international standards regarding the administration of the juvenile justice system.
To improve the situation, the Committee recommends to expeditiously establish specialized juvenile court facilities in each of the five regions of the country, and provide them with adequate human, technical and financial resources. Also, the Committee recommends that the State party ensure that specialized judges receive appropriate education and training and, in cases where detention is unavoidable, ensure that children are not detained together with adults, and that girls are separated from boys. Gambia should also ensure that children in detention maintain regular contact with their families.

The Committee is concerned about the discrimination against children born out of wedlock, who cannot inherit from the estate of their fathers as the “personal law” does not recognize their inheritance rights.

Concluding observations on the second and third periodic reports released on 20 February 2015. More information about education: Constitution of Gambia