Mozambique

In the Mozambique report, an exciting point stands out: They have a ministry for gender, children and social welfare. This can be positive, as it means that discrimination categories are thought of together, or the ministry can be so overloaded that measures are not being implemented effectively.

Besides that, the condition of health services and education is disastrous. Also, in Mozambique, children with disabilities are stigmatized and discriminated and they have limited access to education and social assistance.

The Committee expresses its deep concern about the extremely high rate of child marriage, including forced marriage, and the practice of initiation rites for girls. Therefore, the Committee recommends that the State party develop comprehensive awareness-raising campaigns, in cooperation with civil society organizations, on the harmful effects of child marriage and initiation rites on the physical and mental health and well-being of girls.

The Committee also expresses deep concern about the high teenage pregnancy rate, very low levels of contraceptive use and limited access to safe abortion services. To improve the situation, the Committee recommends to ensure girls’ access to family planning services, affordable contraceptives and safe abortion and post-abortion care services, and ensure that their views are always heard and given due consideration in abortion decisions.

The Committee is concerned about stigmatization and discrimination against children with disabilities and their limited access to education and social assistance. Therefore, the Committee recommends that the State party adopt a human right- based approach to disability and that it set up a comprehensive strategy to eliminate discrimination against children with disabilities. It also recommends that the State party redouble its efforts to ensure that all children with disabilities have quality, inclusive education in mainstream schools, ensuring that schools are equipped with the necessary trained human resources, accessible infrastructure and teaching materials adapted to the needs of children with disabilities.

The Committee is concerned about limited access to quality health-care services, in particular in rural areas, inadequate health infrastructure with regard to electricity, water and sanitation facilities and a shortage of qualified health-care personnel and medicines. Of further concern is the prevalence of preventable diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, which also contribute to the persistently high rates of neonatal and under-5 mortality, and the growing number of unvaccinated children. To guarantee the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee recommends to ensure the availability of qualified health personnel and recommends to improve immunization rates by establishing more vaccination centres.

The Committee recommends to implement comprehensive policies and strategies for mental health promotion, mental disorder prevention and early identification of mental health issues.

Natural disasters have a negative effect on children. Therefore, the Committee recommends to ensure that the specific vulnerabilities and needs of children, as well as their views, are taken into account in the development of policies and programmes addressing the issues of climate change and disaster risk management. Furthermore, the Committee recommends to increase children’s awareness of and preparedness for climate change and natural disasters by incorporating these issues into the school curriculum and teacher training programmes.

The minimum age of employment is 15 years, but many children work before turning 15 years. Therefore, the Committee recommends Mozambique to strengthen its labour inspectorate in order to strengthen the monitoring of employment practices and effectively implement the laws and policies on child labour, particularly in the agricultural and mining sectors.

The Committee urges the state party to designate specialized judges for children and record the number of children under 18 years of age in prison and other forms of detention separately from the number of persons under 21 years of age. Also, Mozambique should ensure that, in cases where detention is unavoidable, children are not detained together with adults and that detention conditions comply with international standards, including with regard to access to education and health services.

While welcoming the progress in clearing landmines and reducing the under-5 mortality rate, the Committee remains concerned about the large number of children who are victims of traffic accidents and the high rate of child mortality due to preventable diseases.