Country | Samoa |
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Optional protocol | on the involvement of children in armed conflict, on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, on a Communication Procedure |
Safety | |
Corporal punishment | Corporal Punishment is legal in the home, alternative care settings, day care and schools. |
Overview of the child rights situation | The report on Samoa contains a comprehensive part regarding the health sector, advising in particular to strengthen efforts regarding HIV prevention, free medical care and overcoming negative attitudes towards mental health problems. |
Female genital mutilation and reproductive rights | The Committee recommends to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS with a view to changing negative attitudes and stereotyping and to promote access to free HIV testing and antiretroviral therapy, paying particular attention to pregnant adolescents and children born to mothers with HIV. The Committee further recommends that the State party adopt a comprehensive sexual and reproductive health policy for adolescents that pays attention to all aspects of prevention, including the prevention of sexually transmitted infections and early pregnancies. Additionally, the Committee recommends that the State party provide the results of the review of the current model of sexual and reproductive health education, in line with which children are educated by their parents, and develop strategies to progressively make sexual and reproductive health education part of the mandatory school curriculum. |
Discrimination | |
Situation of children with disabilities | The Committee notes with appreciation the establishment of the National Disability Centre and the draft minimum service standards for primary and secondary schools, all of which aim to make schools accessible to children with disabilities and to ensure a safe learning environment for such children. The Committee is concerned, however, about the stigmatization of children with disabilities, including children with mental disabilities, owing to cultural attitudes. |
Education | |
Free kindergarten | Not clear |
Free primary and secondary school | No |
Health | |
physical health | To guarantee every child the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee recommends that the State party expand access to free medical care and treatment for all children as well as consider implementing policy changes and awareness-raising initiatives among parents to increase the coverage of children vaccinated against preventable diseases in the State party. The Committee further recommends to ensure that there are enough well-trained health workers for all children and pregnant women, as well as obstetric neonatal care facilities. Additionally, the Committee recommends that Samoa strengthen its efforts to improve access to basic health-care services for all children, in particular in rural and remote areas, and provide more resources to mobile clinics so that they can reach more people in rural areas. Samoa should also ensure that all schools have access to clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene facilities as well as health and physical education teachers and include the specific needs of children with disabilities in all programmes relating to access and use of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities. |
Relation to other countries | |
mental health | The Committee is concerned that the mental health of adolescents still does not receive enough attention in the State party, that there are negative attitudes towards mental health issues in society and that there is a shortage of specialized personnel, such as child psychologists. It is also concerned about the high rate of suicide among adolescents, often related to depression and teenage pregnancy. |
Impacts of climate change | The Committee takes note of the policies and action plans in place to address climate change and manage national disasters. It is concerned, however, that more could be done to take into account the special needs of children, including children with disabilities, when planning disaster risk reduction preparedness, response and recovery programmes. |
Business sector | The Committee welcomes the establishment of the working group on child labour. The Committee is concerned, however, that the “hazardous child labour list” (a list of labour activities hazardous to children) has not yet been adopted, that children continue to work as vendors and that school absenteeism remains a challenge and is often forced by parents. The Committee is also concerned that children are not sufficiently aware of the existence of child-specific complaints mechanisms able to effectively receive, monitor and investigate reports of child exploitation. |
Situation of juvenile justice | 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 ensure, in cases where detention is unavoidable, that children are not imprisoned together with adults, do not share accommodation with prison staff and that detention conditions are compliant with international standards, including with regard to access to education, health services, water, sanitation and food. Samoa should also prohibit forced labour for juvenile detainees, ensure that adequate time is allocated to their education and vocational training and raise the awareness of judges and police officers about the needs of children and about alternatives to detention. |
Specific observations | The Committee notes that the State party has made some progress in terms of birth registration coverage among children under 5 years of age, from 48 per cent in 2009 to 59 per cent in 2014, and that there is a new computerized registration system with a number of features for detecting false registrations. It remains concerned, however, that the number of registered births continues to be low and that there are differences in the number of birth notifications depending on whether a child is born in a national health facility or in a village with the help of traditional birth attendants. The Committee is also concerned that birth registration is not free and that the stigmatization of young and unwed mothers hinders the registration of correct information, as when children are reportedly registered by their grandparents. |
Additional background | Concluding observations on the second to fourth periodic reports released on 12 July 2016. Samoa has a reservation to article 28 (1) (a) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. |
Last Updated (date) | 1st of March, 2022 |