Togo

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