Solomon Islands

The Solomon Islands have reproductive health issues with a high number of teen pregnancies. In addition, the outer islands and rural areas are also worse off in terms of health, with higher under-5 and maternal death rates.

The Committee is concerned about the high rate of teenage pregnancies, increased rates of pregnancy-related complications and of sexually transmitted infections among adolescents as well as abortion being a criminal offence without any exceptions for cases of rape or incest. The Committee is further concerned about the limited access of teenage girls to safe reproductive and sexual health education and services, especially in rural areas and the outer islands, and the limited access to birth control methods, also due to fear of stigmatization as well as the limited availability of HIV testing and treatment and high levels of sexually transmitted infections.
Therefore, the Committee recommends that the State party adopt a comprehensive sexual and reproductive health policy for adolescents that pays attention to all aspects of prevention, including sexually transmitted infections and early pregnancies. Solomon Islands also should decriminalize abortion in all cases and ensure access to safe abortion and post-abortion care services, irrespective of whether abortion is legal or not, and ensure that the views of the girl are always heard and respected in abortion decisions.

The Committee is further concerned about the limited access to inclusive education, transportation, public spaces and service delivery in all areas, especially in rural schools and communities.
Therefore, the Committee urges the State party to adopt a human rights-based approach to disability, set up a comprehensive strategy for the inclusion of children with disabilities and strengthen the legislative framework by adopting comprehensive legislation for the protection and promotion of the rights of children with disabilities. Also, the Solomon Islands should improve access to all public buildings, spaces, service delivery and transportation in all areas, especially in rural communities.

The Committee, while noting the progress made in some areas, including on tuberculosis and malaria, is concerned at the high infant, under-5 and child mortality rates due to neonatal causes and preventable causes, such as diarrhoea, malaria and pneumonia as well as the low vaccination coverage, particularly in rural areas and outer islands.
The Committee is further concerned about inadequate funding, the insufficient number of well-trained health workers for children and pregnant women and poor access to health-care services, particularly in rural and remote areas, which all present significant barriers to the improvement of children’s health.
To guarantee every child the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee recommends that the State party take measures, such as a specific programme for the management of childhood illnesses, to reduce infant, under-5 and child mortality due to preventable diseases, such as malaria and diarrhoea. It also recommends to strengthen its efforts to improve access to basic health-care services for all children, particularly in rural and remote areas, and provide more resources to the mobile clinics so that they are more frequently available and reach a wider population.

The Committee is concerned at the inadequate resources of and poor conditions at the National Psychiatric Unit, lack of rehabilitation services for the mental health of children and insufficient number of personnel specialized in children with mental health issues.
To improve the situation, the Committee recommends that the State party expedite the adoption of the Mental Health Treatment Act and the National Mental Health Policy, specifically providing for the treatment of children with mental health issues. It also recommends that the State party provide sufficient financial and human resources for the mental health of children and take all measures necessary, including regional cooperation, to improve conditions at the National Psychiatric Unit, provide rehabilitation services and increase capacity and the number of personnel specialized in children with mental health issues.

Noting that the State party is particularly vulnerable to climate change, the Committee is concerned that the State party has not included climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in the school curriculum and does not have school-based early warning systems in place. The Committee states that more could be done to include the special needs of children, including children with disabilities, in planning disaster risk reduction preparedness, response and recovery, and that school infrastructure, particularly in remote areas, is not resilient and accessible in case of natural disaster.

The Committee is seriously concerned that there is no policy that addresses child labour and no social programmes to prevent child labour and support children involved in that practice. It is also concerned that cases of child labour have been reported in the logging, tourism and fishing industries and that there is no child-specific complaints mechanism that is able to effectively receive, monitor and investigate reports on cases of child exploitation.
To improve the situation, the Committee urges the State party to develop and adopt a policy on child labour and a hazardous labour list and to take the measures necessary to ensure that no child under 18 years of age engages in hazardous labour, including in the agriculture, logging, tourism and fishing industries, and put in place social programmes that target the elimination or prevention of child labour, especially its worst forms.

The Committee is seriously concerned that there is a lack of specialized judges or system for children in conflict with the law and there is a need for further capacity-building and support in relation to diversion, the police and judiciary for the full implementation of inter-agency protocols for children in conflict with the law. It is further concerned that juvenile detention facilities do not have separated services and spaces from adults, especially for the purposes of health care, sports, leisure and meals.
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 recommends that the State party increase efforts to ensure that all children in conflict with the law are dealt with by specialized juvenile courts and judges, ensure they receive appropriate training and provide them with adequate human, technical and financial resources. Solomon Islands should further ensure the separate detention of children from adults, and that all legal safeguards for children in such cases are protected and respected.

The Committee notes that the State party has made some progress in birth registration coverage of children. However, it remains seriously concerned at difficulties and delays in registration in part because the registration service is mostly centralized in the capital and because of penalties for late registration. The Committee is also concerned at the accuracy, as acknowledged by the delegation of the State party during the dialogue, of the registration details for children born to unmarried parents and to adolescent mothers.

Concluding observations on the second and third periodic reports released on 28 February 2018. More information about education on Solomon Islands: https://www.mfat.govt.nz