Author: Jette Nietzard

In Algeria, patriarchal structures prevent girls from achieving their goals. Religious freedom and freedom of expression are also restricted. Improvements must also be made in the penal system, in health care and in the area of child labour in order to implement children's rights.

The Committee urges the State party to design and implement an inter-sectoral public policy for health, sexual and reproductive rights aimed at adolescents within and outside the educational system and taking into account sexual and reproductive rights, healthy sexuality, prevention of unplanned pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, and the accessibility and use of condoms and other contraceptives.

The Committee urges the State party to review the situation of children with disabilities in terms of their access to suitable health-care and education services and adopt as a matter of priority a comprehensive policy to develop inclusive education. In this regard, the Committee urges the State party to acknowledge that the disabling factors reside in the environmental and attitudinal barriers created by society, and that all children with disabilities are subjects of their own rights. The Committee further urges Algeria to ensure that the development of inclusive education is given priority over the placement of children in specialized institutions, paying particular attention to children with mental and multiple disabilities. Algeria should also provide sufficient numbers of specialist teachers and professionals providing individual support into all schools and ensure that all professionals are adequately trained so that all children with disabilities can effectively enjoy their right to quality inclusive education as well as ensure transportation and support in classrooms, and the accessibility of educational materials, curricula, and school environments. In addition, the Committee urges the State party to ensure that enforceable remedies are provided to children with disabilities and their families who have been refused access to inclusive education, or who have been denied the provision of reasonable accommodation with respect to education.

The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that appropriate resources be allocated for the health sector, and develop and implement comprehensive policies and programmes for improving the health situation of children and to facilitate greater and equal access to quality primary-health services by mothers and children in all areas of the country in order to end the disparities in health-care provision between the different areas. The Committee also urges the State party to take more effective measures to address the nutritional status of young children. The Committee draws the attention of the State party to the fact that ensuring decent conditions of work for professionals in the health sector is essential to the provision of quality services for children.

The Committee reiterates its recommendation that the State party continue to take effective measures to put an end to the economic exploitation of children, in particular in the informal sector, and to take urgent measures to remove children from hazardous work in the agriculture sector, from street work and domestic work.

The Committee urges the State party 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 education and vocational training. Algeria should also ensure capacity-building and specialization of all the justice actors, including judges, prison officers and lawyers, on the provisions of the Convention and should develop social reintegration programmes for children in conflict with the law.

The Committee urges the State party to establish by law the minimum age for voluntary recruitment into the national armed forces under which recruitment of children would be prohibited with no exceptions, thus ensuring that persons under the age of 18 do not serve in the Algerian armed forces.
The Committee urges the State party to take concrete steps to facilitate and give legitimate recognition to human rights defenders and their work, including those who report child rights violations for appropriate State party’s action, to ensure that non-governmental organizations and journalists can safely carry out their functions in a manner consistent with the principles of a democratic society.

The Committee notes with concern that the State party has maintained its declaration on article 14, paragraphs 1 and 2, which amounts to a reservation to the Convention. The Committee is also concerned that the State party has still not reviewed its declarations on articles 13, 16 and 17. Concluding observations on the third and fourth periodic reports released on 18 July 2012.

The Committee notes that years of political instability followed by a 14-year civil war that ended in 2006 led to severe destruction of physical and social infrastructure, disruption of governmental and social institutions, displacement of the vast majority of the population internally and externally as well as severe loss of human capital, all of which constitute obstacles to the full implementation of the Convention.

Both freedom of expression and the principle of action according to the best interest of the child are not sufficiently implemented, but the prevailing thinking is that adults know what is best for children. More also needs to be done in the health care of pregnant women. In many fields, the Convention on the Rights of the Child is not implemented far enough.

The Committee urges the State party to criminalize female genital mutilation and develop a comprehensive strategy with clear goals and targets to eradicate this practice while addressing special measures towards communities that continue to practise it. The Committee further urges Liberia to strengthen efforts to raise awareness of the harmful impact of female genital mutilation and early and forced marriages on the psychological and physical health and welfare of the girl child, and on the need to prevent these, while promoting positive cultural practices in childhood.

The Committee recommends that the State party develop and launch active awareness-raising programmes including campaigns with a view to changing the societal misconceptions about children with disabilities and eliminating stigmatization. It also recommends that Liberia ensure that children with disabilities have equal access to education and provide sufficient numbers of specialist teachers and professionals providing individual support in all schools and ensure that all professionals are adequately trained so that all children with disabilities can effectively enjoy their right to quality inclusive education.
Liberia should also take effective measures to ensure immunization and access to basic health care to children with disabilities, as well as to reproductive health services, and provide adequate support to children with disabilities and their families, inter alia, to avoid children with disabilities being sent into residential care.

The Committee recommends that the State party continue to strengthen its efforts to improve access to basic health-care services for all children and pregnant women, particularly in rural areas, and devise and implement a strong primary health-care system to cover the whole country. The Committee further recommends to take concerted measures to reach areas characterized by disparities in health services, facilities and health outcomes and pay attention to the quality of care and provide well equipped health-care facilities and clinics with trained health workers. In addition, Liberia should work with families, children, community and religious leaders to strengthen health education and to promote positive attitudes and healthy behaviours that may contribute to reducing the prevalence of infections, improving nutrition and reducing maternal and child mortality.

The Committee recommends that Liberia require assessments, consultations and disclosure by companies on plans to address environmental and health pollution.

The Committee regrets that multinational companies in the country, notably those operating in the rubber and steel producing industries, are operating in the absence of clear regulatory frameworks to ensure that international human rights, labour, environment and other standards are adhered to in order to protect workers and families and communities affected by their activities. In particular, the Committee is concerned that children are being engaged by their families in hazardous work in order to meet production quotas imposed by the companies, yet data on child employment is not collected and analysed for remedial action. It is also concerned that issues related to relocation affecting families and communities in mining areas, such as compensation for private properties to be left behind, new lands for housing, farming, and settlements, and access to other natural resources for income and subsistence, are not discussed with or communicated to the persons concerned, nor are they disclosed to the public.

The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to establish well-resourced juvenile courts at all county levels, and appoint trained juvenile judges in all regions of the State party and ensure that all children accused of a crime are accorded their right to due process. It further recommends to take a holistic approach to addressing the problem of juvenile crime (e.g. addressing underlying social factors) advocated in the Convention and take all necessary measures to establish separate detention facilities for juveniles, including through technical cooperation. Liberia should also implement post-release programmes for reintegration of juveniles, in order to facilitate their reintegration into society and prevent recidivism.

The Committee is highly concerned that corruption remains pervasive in the State party, as recognized by the State Party’s delegation. Corruption continues to divert resources that could otherwise improve the implementation of the rights of the child and weakens the efficiency and efficacy of budgetary allocations for children. The Committee urges the State party to take immediate measures to combat corruption and strengthen institutional capacities, including trained investigators and prosecutors and the Anti-Corruption Commission, to effectively detect, investigate and prosecute corruption.

Concluding observations on the second to fourth periodic reports released on 13 December 2012.
More information about education: Preschool in Liberia

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

In Thailand, there are strong regional disparities, especially in the North-East and South, regarding access to social, health and educational services for children. There is also a need to fight corruption and end discrimination against children from minority groups.

The Committee is seriously concerned that teenage pregnancy is a growing problem which also leads to increasing numbers of illegal abortions. To improve the situation, the Committee recommends that Thailand intensify its efforts to raise awareness of the negative consequences of early pregnancy and abortions and strengthen its adolescent reproductive health programmes, including life skills education.

The Committee welcomes the growing number of schools with inclusive education for children with disabilities. Notwithstanding, the Committee is seriously concerned about the large number of children with disabilities who are not in school and that youth policies do not identify them as special target groups. The Committee is also concerned at the limited proportion of children with disabilities who receive education beyond the pre-primary level.
The Committee recommends that the State party review the situation of children with disabilities in terms of their access to education services and give effective priority to the development of inclusive education over the placement of children in specialized institutions. It also recommends that the State party properly target children with disabilities in youth policies.

The Committee welcomes the achievements of the State party in implementing the Universal Healthcare Coverage Scheme, which ensures free medical treatment for most diseases for all Thai nationals, including children, and in improving overall child nutrition. However, it remains seriously concerned about severe disparities in nutritional status among children depending on their families’ economic status, mothers’ education, linguistic background and geographic location. The Committee is also concerned that despite some improvements, iodine deficiency remains widespread.
The Committee urges the State party to accelerate measures to improve the nutrition of all children irrespective of their families’ economic status, mothers’ education, Thai or non-Thai linguistic background and geographic location in urban, rural or remote areas. In this regard, it encourages the State party to conduct an analysis of the causes and extent of under-nutrition of children in disadvantaged social groups. In addition, it recommends that the State party improve the nutritional status of children and ensure compliance and universal consumption of iodized salt.

The Committee welcomes the State party’s information that business and industry contribute resources and facilities to social welfare, including health care and education of children. The Committee is however concerned that the impact on children of business and fast-growing heavy industries, manufacturing, textiles and export agriculture has not been fully assessed. The Committee is particularly concerned that, while tourism constitutes a large part of the country’s economy, the State party has not yet adopted comprehensive measures to protect children from violations of their rights, such as in child sex tourism, child prostitution, child pornography and child labour, arising from tourist activities and facilities. The Committee also regrets the lack of legal institutional framework to regulate the activities of companies doing business in Thailand and of Thai companies operating abroad to ensure effective responses to issues of health and nutrition, economic and sexual exploitation, pollution and environmental degradation that can undermine the well-being of children.

The Committee recommends that that the State party ensure that children are detained separately from adults, that they have a safe, child sensitive environment and that they maintain regular contact with their families. Thailand should also strengthen the training of judges and judicial personnel on the principles and provisions of the Convention and the Optional Protocols and develop social reintegration programmes for children in conflict with the law.

While noting as positive the efforts made by the State party to combat corruption, the Committee is concerned about the reports indicating that corruption remains pervasive among, inter alia, municipal and local government officials and law enforcement personnel, and thus diverts resources that could enhance the efficacy of government policies and programmes to implement the rights of the child.
The Committee urges the State party to strengthen its efforts to combat corruption at all levels and sectors, including by developing and implementing a vigorous anti-corruption policy, carrying out anti-corruption campaigns and strengthening institutional capacities to effectively detect, investigate and prosecute cases of corruption.

The Committee welcomes the withdrawal by the State party of its reservation concerning article 7 of the Convention in December 2010. The Committee regrets, however, that the State party has not withdrawn its reservation concerning article 22. Concluding observations on the third and fourth periodic reports released on 17 February 2012. More information about education in Thailand: https://wenr.wes.org

The report from Panama shows that much remains to be done before the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is implemented. One problem is that many adults see children as violent, so society needs to be protected from them, not as rights holders. In addition, resettlement of indigenous populations has occurred without considering whether it is in the best interest of the children. Indigenous children additionally often do not have access to culturally sensitive health services in their language. Often there is no basic sanitation or clean drinking water in areas where indigenous people live.

The Committee recommends to raise awareness on the harmful effects of the practice of cohabitation between girls and older men, and especially of early pregnancies and their repercussions, on the physical and mental health and well-being of girls. It also recommends to investigate the possible existence of female genital mutilation in its indigenous population in the border area with the Colombian coast and — if the findings prove the existence of this practice on the territory of the State party — take the necessary measures to end the practice.

Concerning reproductive health, the Committee recommends to adopt a comprehensive gender-sensitive communication strategy on sexual and reproductive health targeting adolescents, parents and society at large, and provide free, confidential, adolescent-responsive and non-discriminatory information on sexuality and reproduction, both online and in person, paying special attention to preventing early pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. The State party should further decriminalize abortion in all cases, ensure that girls have access to safe abortion and post-abortion services, and review legislation to safeguard the best interests of pregnant girls and ensure that their views are always heard and are given due consideration in abortion-related decisions.

The Committee recommends that the State party reinforce measures to develop inclusive education, including by allocating adequate financial resources for their implementation, increasing the number of trained and assigned specialized teachers and professionals in inclusive classes in rural and indigenous areas, and ensuring that inclusive education is given priority over the placement of children in specialized institutions and classes. It also recommends that Panama strengthen efforts to grant all children with disabilities access to adequate housing, guaranteeing physical safety, adequate space, protection against threats to health and against structural hazards, including cold, damp, heat and pollution, and accessibility.
Panama should also take immediate measures to ensure that children with disabilities throughout the country have access to appropriate health care, including to early detection and intervention programmes and to social services. In addition, the State party should undertake awareness-raising campaigns aimed at government officials, the public and families to combat stigmatization of and prejudice against children with disabilities, and promote a positive image of such children as well as develop family support mechanisms to enable families to help children with disabilities to exercise their rights, including mechanisms addressing women in detention who are responsible for children with disabilities.

To guarantee every child the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee recommends that the State party reinforce measures to guarantee access to quality health care in regions and communities with the lowest coverage in order to redress the sharp inequalities in health standards, including by ensuring that indigenous children have access to culturally sensitive health services in their language. It also recommends to strengthen efforts to provide prenatal and postnatal care to address the high rates of mortality of infants and children aged 5 years and younger, and the still high maternal mortality rates. Panama should also take specific measures to disseminate information on and guarantee access to special services for children affected by the Zika infection in all regions of the country, and to avoid discrimination against them as well as regularly monitor and assess the effectiveness of policies and programmes on child food security and nutrition, including school meal programmes and initiatives promoting access to safe drinking water, and promote initiatives targeting indigenous peoples.

The Committee recommends that the State party take measures to prevent evictions and displacement of indigenous families and children, ensure that the policies, projects and practices on development and governance of land, including those which may entail relocation, are in line with relevant international standards and provide redress to those families and children evicted or displaced from their lands, including those affected by construction of the Barro Blanco Dam on the Tabasará River. It also recommends to establish a clear regulatory framework for electric, mining, agro-industrial, tourism and other investment projects, banks and companies operating in the State party, as well as for Panamanian companies operating abroad, to ensure that their activities do not negatively affect children’s rights or endanger environmental and other standards.

The Committee expresses serious concern at the absence of measures taken by the State party to reinstate the provision that forbids the extension of pretrial detention.
To improve the situation, 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 strongly recommends that the State party reintroduce the provision that forbids the extension of pretrial detention without exceptions and guarantee children in conflict with the law access to qualified and independent legal aid from an early stage and throughout the legal proceedings.

The Committee recommends that the State party re-establish the authorization to form student groups in order to grant adolescents the right to peaceful assembly.

Concluding observations on the fifth and sixth periodic reports released on 28 February 2018. More information about education in Panama: https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com

The Committee reiterates its observation (CRC/C/15/Add.205, para. 5) that the State party, as a consequence of events that occurred in 1974 and that resulted in the occupation of part of the territory of Cyprus, is not in a position to exercise control over all of its territory and consequently cannot ensure the application of the Convention in areas not under its control.

The report from Cyprus provides little information on health status and discrimination against certain groups. On the positive side, there is free education at almost all levels and the establishment of a youth parliament.

The Committee welcomes the State party’s Ministry of Education and Culture establishing a mechanism for identification and support of children with learning difficulties, emotional and other problems. However, it is concerned that the State party has no definition of inclusive education incorporated into its law. It is further concerned that there are insufficient measures to ensure that mainstream schools are accessible to all children with disabilities.
Therefore, the Committee recommends that the State party establish a clear legislative definition of inclusive education. It further recommends that the State party adopt measures, including reasonable accommodation in all schools, to ensure that children with disabilities are able to exercise their right to education, and provide for their inclusion in the mainstream education system.

While welcoming the State party’s National Drug Strategy 2009–2012 to monitor the improvement of the actions by its services and organizations involved in countering drug use, the Committee remains concerned at the high rate of children consuming alcohol, tobacco, drugs and other harmful substances.
The Committee recommends that the State party systematically collect comprehensive information on the consumption of alcohol and tobacco among children, and take the necessary measures for the effective enforcement of the prohibition of the sale of such products to children.

The Committee is concerned that the monitoring and protection of children employed as domestic workers remains inadequate, with no legislation requiring the compulsory registration of child domestic workers and the current labour inspectorate not having the mandate to carry out inspections on the working and living conditions of children in such employment.
To improve the situation, the Committee recommends to ensure adequate safeguards for children employed as domestic workers, including mandatory registration of such employment and the empowerment of labour inspectorates to carry out spot checks on the working and living conditions of children in such employment.

The Committee recommends that the State party establish a juvenile justice system, including juvenile courts that have adequate human, technical and financial resources and adopt a holistic and preventive approach to addressing the problem of juvenile offenders and its underlying social factors, with a view to supporting children
at risk at an early stage. Cyprus should also ensure that children, including those between the ages of 14 and 18 years, are not subject to the adult justice system, regardless of the nature of the offence committed.

The Committee welcomes the State party’s abolition of so-called “artiste” visas for the entertainment sector. However, the Committee is concerned that significant problems persist with trafficking in human beings, including children, in particular trafficking of women for sexual exploitation mainly in bars, nightclubs and so-called cabarets. Therefore, the Committee urges the State party to raise the awareness of the public, strengthen early detection and prevention mechanisms and ensure full protection for all children victims of sexual exploitation and abuse, including in the family and outside.

The implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is failing in Azerbaijan due, among other things, to a high child mortality rate. In addition, the observance of children's privacy and the granting of the right to expression and religion are not being implemented far enough.

The Committee recommends to intensify efforts to provide adolescents with education on sex and reproductive health and improve the accessibility of contraception.

The Committee urges the State party to undertake awareness-raising campaigns on eliminating discrimination against children with disabilities, and consider enacting legislation explicitly prohibiting such discrimination as well as to establish a clear legislative definition of disability, including for learning, cognitive and mental disabilities, with the aim of accurately identifying children with disabilities to effectively address their needs in a non-discriminatory manner. Azerbaijan should also prohibit the relinquishment of new-born infants and/or children to State care on the sole basis that they have a disability, to complement this prohibition with the strengthening of support measures for parents to care for their children with disabilities, and, where such placement in care is considered, to ensure that it is done with full regard to the principle of the best interests of the child.

The Committee urges the State party to allocate all necessary human, technical and financial resources to expeditiously improve the availability and quality of primary health care. In doing so, the State party is further urged to ensure that such health-care services are equitably accessible, particularly to children living in rural areas and socio-economically challenged situations. The Committee also recommends that the State party undertake a comprehensive study on the specific causes of child mortality, taking its findings into consideration when implementing measures to reduce and prevent such mortality.

The Committee recommends that the State party take legislative and institutional measures to ensure that the business sector in the country respect child rights, including by providing a legislative framework that requires companies domiciled in Azerbaijan to pay particular attention to respecting child rights, particularly those companies involved in the extractive and cotton-producing industries. Azerbaijan should, inter alia, also adopt measures to help business enterprises prevent and mitigate adverse human rights impacts in their operations in the country and abroad, whether by their supply chains or associates.

The Committee recommends that the State party consider enacting a law on juvenile justice through an open consultative process which includes civil society and fully addresses the resource and technical needs for its operation; and, until a juvenile justice system is established, ensure the training of all its legal, penitentiary and law enforcement professionals on the Convention. The Committee further recommends to consider establishing a specialized police service for children, particularly with regard to training on child-sensitive investigations and interrogations. Azerbaijan should also ensure that all persons under the age of 18 in custody, particularly females, are separated from adults and it should also take urgent steps to substantially improve the conditions of detention of persons under the age of 18, and bring them into full conformity with international standards.

The Committee urges the State party to expeditiously further strengthen its mechanisms to transparently monitor corruption at all levels and sectors, and improve the awareness of and accessibility to safe channels for reporting it. The Committee recommends that in the context of corruption in the areas of birth registration, health care and education, the State party consider measures for ensuring that information on its anti-corruption hotline is clearly visible at places where persons may seek such services. The Committee also recommends that the State party consider further strengthening its enforcement laws and mechanisms with a view to ensuring the prompt punishment of perpetrators of corruption with commensurate sanctions.

In the Czech Republic, especially Roma children are exposed to discrimination that must be abolished. There is also much to be done in the area of mental health, as suicide is the most common cause of death among young adults. The legal situation with regard to reproductive rights can be rated as good.

The Committee welcomes the right of girls above 16 years of age to abort without the consent of a legal guardian. To further improve the situation, the Committee recommends that the State party implement comprehensive adolescent sex and reproductive health education at school, with a focus on the promotion of human rights, gender equality, respect and contraceptive use and the prevention of adolescent pregnancy, high-risk sexual behaviour and sexual and intimate partner violence. It also recommends to ensure that the notification of legal guardians in case of abortion is done with prior and informed consent of the girl concerned and is consistent with her right to privacy.

The Committee urges the State party to adopt a human rights-based approach to disability, to set up a comprehensive strategy for the inclusion of children with disabilities and to improve the coordination and interconnection between the social, health-care and legal protection authorities charged with caring for children with disabilities and train staff to initiate appropriate care options and enable timely referrals. The Committee further urges Czechia to strengthen support for the parents of children with disabilities, to meet the demand in urban, rural and remote areas, reduce regional disparities and ensure the right of those children to grow up in their family environment, including by increasing the availability of early care, home nursing and relief services, creating a network of community and outpatient health-care services, training and ensuring an adequate number of specialist personnel, providing timely and adequate socioeconomic support to all children with disabilities, regardless of their age and type of disability, and improving outreach to parents about the services available.

To guarantee every child the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee recommends that the State party evaluate the child and adolescent health strategy currently in force and formulate, with the participation of children, a subsequent strategy and an action plan with a dedicated budget and a monitoring mechanism. It further recommends to adopt legislation on the provision of school health services and ensure their coordination as well as ensure that all children, regardless of their age and nationality, have the right to have their parent or legal guardian stay with them during hospitalization and medical procedures, including by reviewing legislation, policies and programmes.

The Committee notes that suicide is the second leading cause of mortality among those 15 to 24 years of age. Therefore, the Committee recommends that Czechia continue allocating adequate resources to prevent suicide among children and address its root causes and take advantage of the mental health care reform and the development of the mental health action plan to establish measurable and time-bound indicators and a mechanism to assess and monitor the quality of services for children, ensure respect for the rights and dignity of children in psychiatric hospitals, develop community services, including for early intervention and for the provision of continuous support to children with severe mental health problems, encourage children to seek mental health services and ensure that they can do so without stigma. Czechia should also prepare guidance for the transition from child to adult mental health services, for children requiring continuing care and collect and analyse disaggregated data on the availability of mental health services for children.

While noting a high level of air pollution, in particular due to the carbon-intensive economy, the Committee recommends that Czechia conduct an assessment of the impact of air pollution on children’s health and regulate the maximum concentrations of air pollutant emissions, establish monitoring mechanisms and introduce deterrent sanctions for non-compliance as well as strengthen awareness-raising of environmental health and climate change among children.

The Committee encourages the State party to meet the internationally agreed target of 0.7 per cent of its gross national income allocated for official development assistance and to prioritize children’s rights in its international cooperation agreements.
Also, the Committee recommends that Czechia establish and implement regulations to ensure that the business sector, including the tourism industry, complies with international human rights and children’s rights standards, including by reviewing the national action plan for business and human rights and relevant legislation as well as ensure the effective monitoring of such regulations and appropriately sanction and provide remedies when violations occur.

The Committee urges the State party to align its child justice system fully with the Convention and other relevant standards and in particular to strengthen the prevention of crime among children, paying particular attention to girls. The Committee further urges the State Party to ensure that children under 15 years of age are not treated as offenders, benefit from high-quality, free and independent legal aid, access to their case files, evidence and the right to appeal and are never placed in closed institutions for young offenders.
The Committee also recommends to ensure that detention is used as a measure of last resort, for the shortest possible period of time and is reviewed on a regular basis and when detention is unavoidable, ensure that children in conflict with the law are not detained together with adults or with other children in institutional care.

The Committee urges the State party to implement targeted policy measures to address the causes of poverty and improve living conditions among Roma families and ensure that they have access to public health insurance and adequate housing support. The Committee further urges the State Party to ensure that Roma children have access to high-quality education, including preschool education, and that they remain in and complete school, develop a school desegregation plan, promote diversity in schooling, reduce the number of Roma children in special education and establish safeguards against misplacement. Czechia should also identify, investigate and effectively address all cases of exploitation, abuse and hate crime in relation to Roma children, hold accountable those responsible and intensify awareness-raising efforts to prevent such violations.

Concluding observations on the fifth and sixth periodic reports released on 22 October 2021. More information about education in Czech Republic:
https://www.mzv.cz

Fiji is already making efforts to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in, for example, by reducing mortality rates. But children need to be more vocal on climate change issues, for example, and there is a need for more inclusive schools and fewer teenage pregnancies.

While acknowledging the measures taken to inform children about sexual and reproductive health, the Committee is very concerned about the high rate of teenage pregnancies.
To improve the situation, the Committee recommends that the State party adopt a comprehensive sexual and reproductive health policy for adolescents and ensure that sexual and reproductive health education is part of the mandatory school curriculum and targeted at adolescent girls and boys, with special attention given to preventing early pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

The Committee urges the State party to adopt a human rights-based approach to disability, and specifically recommends that it ensure that all children with disabilities receive adequate financial support, and increase budget allocation to ensure the equal access of children with disabilities to adequate social and health services, placing particular focus on children in remote areas. Also, Fiji should raise awareness about the risk of violence and sexual exploitation faced by children with disabilities, and take all necessary measures to increase the protection of children with disabilities within communities, the home and institutional settings. The Committee further recommends to ensure that the development of inclusive education is given priority over special schooling, that teachers are trained accordingly, and that full access to secondary education is provided to children with disabilities. In addition, the Committee recommends to undertake greater efforts to make available all the professional specialists necessary, in particular in remote areas, and increase the allocation of human, technical and financial resources in that regard.

The Committee welcomes the decrease of the under-5 mortality rate, the infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rate.
The Committee regrets the geographic disparities regarding infant and under-5 mortality, with under-5 mortality being significantly higher in the Eastern and Northern Divisions, particularly due to the remoteness of villages and the lack of easily accessible health services.
To guarantee every child the to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to further reduce the under-5 and infant mortality rates, in particular by focusing on preventive measures and treatment, including immunization and improved nutrition and sanitary conditions, in particular in remote areas. It further recommends to enforce its efforts to improve prenatal care and further reduce maternal mortality, including by increasing the training of midwives and ensuring the generalization of specific actions to prevent post-partum bleeding and other major causes of maternal death. Additionally, Fiji should pay particular attention to the urban/rural divide and ensure that all children enjoy the same access and quality of health services, including in remote and rural areas, and take specific measures to reduce the disparity in service access.

The Committee urges the State party to undertake research on suicide risk factors among children, including the root causes of depression, and use the results of such research to develop a comprehensive system of services specifically addressed at children, including stress management services and mental health promotion and prevention activities, with a view to ensuring the effective prevention of suicidal behaviour. Furthermore, the Committee urges the State party to ensure that all children have equal access to social workers and psychological counselling services. In taking these measures, Fiji should place particular attention on children from Indo-Fijian communities.

The Committee welcomes the introduction of the National Climate Change Policy and the establishment of the National Climate Change Coordinating Committee, and further appreciates the increased efforts by the State party to provide forums where children are taught about climate change and measures to address climate change. However, the Committee notes with concern that insufficient measures are taken to enable children to have their voices heard and contribute to decisions made with regard to climate change. The Committee is highly concerned about the impact of climate change on children and their families, in particular those living in Fijian communities in coastal and low-lying areas, where climate change is resulting in the loss or salinization of land and fresh water resources, and reduced opportunities for agriculture and subsistence living. The Committee also draws attention to reports indicating that children face more acute risks from disasters and are more vulnerable to climate change than adults.

The Committee urges the State party to take every necessary measure to tackle the root causes of child labour while at the same time implementing and further strengthening its legal framework to eradicate child labour, including in the informal and private sectors. It also urges the State party to ensure that the involvement of children above age 15 in labour is based on genuine free choice and subject to adequate safeguards in accordance with the Convention and international standards. The Committee further recommends to employ and train sufficient labour inspectors, and to ensure that thorough investigations and robust prosecutions of persons violating labour laws are carried out and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions are imposed in practice.
Additionally, Fiji should collect data on child labour and the incidence of hazardous child labour and working conditions, disaggregated by age, sex, geographical location and socioeconomic background, and to use that data to develop effective policies and strategies to prevent and eliminate all forms of child labour.

The Committee urges the State party to bring its juvenile justice system fully into line with the Convention. In particular, the Committee urges the State party to establish additional specialized juvenile court facilities and designate specialized judges for children, and ensure that those specialized judges receive appropriate education and training and ensure that no life sentences are imposed on children. Furthermore, the Committee urges the State Party to promote alternative measures to detention and ensure that detention is used as a last resort and for the shortest possible period of time, and that it is reviewed on a regular basis with a view to withdrawing it. Fiji should also ensure that detention conditions are compliant with international standards, including with regard to access to education and health services.

The Committee welcomes the State party’s efforts in tackling birth registration and notes with appreciation that the new Constitution guarantees the right to birth registration and citizenship. However, the Committee regrets that birth registration is still not free and that late registration is penalized with a fee. The Committee is furthermore concerned about reports indicating a decline of birth registration in the past two years, in particular in remote islands.

Concluding observations on the second to fourth periodic reports released on 13 October 2014. More information about education in Fiji: https://www.rnz.co.nz

In Jordan, girls in particular do not have it easy, as they are continued to be killed in the name of so-called honour. Palestinian children also have great problems, they are not given the same rights as other refugees. In addition, the health system can be improved and poverty must be fought.

The Committee expresses its concern about the criminalization of abortion in all circumstances, a situation which leads adolescent girls to resort to unsafe clandestine abortion at the risk of their lives. The Committee is also concerned about the lack of information on the measures taken by the State party to improve adolescent health, including through sexual and reproductive health education.
Further, the Committee urges the State party to decriminalize abortion and review its legislation with a view to guaranteeing the best interests of pregnant teenagers, and to ensure that the views of the child are always heard and respected in abortion decisions. The Committee also recommends that the State party adopt a comprehensive sexual and reproductive health policy for adolescents and ensure that sexual and reproductive health education is part of the mandatory school curriculum and targeted at adolescent girls and boys, with emphasis on preventing early pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

The Committee urges the State party to adopt and promote the social and human rights-based approach to disability, which acknowledges that the disabling factors reside in the environmental and attitudinal barriers created by society, and that all children with disabilities are the subjects of their own rights and can become active participants and contributors to society. The State party should organize the collection of appropriate data on children with disabilities which are necessary for the development of policies and programmes for children with disabilities. Also, Jordan should set up a comprehensive policy to develop inclusive education and ensure that inclusive education is given priority over the placement of children in specialized institutions, paying particular attention to children with mental and multiple disabilities. In addition, the Committee urges to recruit sufficient numbers of specialized teachers and professionals to provide individual support in all schools, and ensure that all professionals are adequately trained so that all children with disabilities can enjoy effectively their right to good quality inclusive education. Furthermore, the Committee urges the State Party to take all necessary measures to ensure the inclusion of children with disabilities in leisure and cultural activities.

The Committee welcomes the significant progress made in reducing maternal and child mortality, as well as the recognition by the State party that further efforts are needed to reduce the under-5 mortality rate. The Committee is, however, seriously concerned about the alarming rates of malnutrition of children in the Za’atari camp and the malnutrition which continues to disproportionately affect children living in remote areas and belonging to the poorest segments of the population. It is also concerned about infectious diseases, which remain the leading causes of child morbidity, and that universal health insurance coverage of children has not yet been achieved.
The Committee recommends that the State party ensure equal access to good quality health services by all children, through the adoption of measures aimed at prioritizing children in the most disadvantaged and marginalized situations, and by addressing child malnutrition and infectious diseases. The State party should also take the necessary measures for all children to be properly covered by health insurance.

The Committee is concerned about the lack of information on the measures taken by the State party to improve adolescent health, including through the improvement of mental health youth services.

The Committee is concerned that thousands of children, mainly boys, are still working in the wholesale and retail trade and agriculture sectors and that child labour is widespread among Syrian refugees. Also, a number of girls engaged as domestic workers face harsh conditions and are highly exposed to physical and sexual abuse and the reinforcement of the child-labour unit has not resulted in increased convictions of those who exploit children.
To improve the situation, the Committee urges the State party to accelerate efforts to eliminate child labour. The State party should prioritize the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour, in particular girls working as domestic workers. The State party should ensure that legal proceedings are engaged against those who exploit children economically.

The Committee expresses its concern about the information provided by the delegation that children under the age of 15 cannot lodge complaints of violations of their rights if they are not assisted by their parents or their guardians. The Committee is also concerned that mechanisms to support children in reporting their claims have yet to be established.
The Committee urges the State party to take all necessary measures to ensure children’s access to justice and effective remedy. The State party should, inter alia, develop safe, well-publicized, confidential and accessible reporting mechanisms for children, coupled with help-oriented services that offer public health and social support, and remove the condition that children must be assisted by their parents to make a complaint. The Committee also urges the State party to ensure that persons receiving children’s complaints are provided with clear guidance and training and that child-sensitive investigation procedures are established.

While welcoming the significant progress made by the State party in terms of human development, the Committee is concerned that children overwhelmingly bear the brunt of poverty in the State party and remain insufficiently covered by the National Aid Fund. The Committee is also concerned that progress made by the State party over the reporting period to combat poverty is challenged by the adoption of financial policies aimed at reducing the national budget deficit. The Committee is further concerned that, owing to their lack of status, many Palestinian families live in poverty in the State party without access to the National Aid Fund or to free basic services.

Concluding observations on the fourth and fifth periodic reports released on 8 July 2014. More information about education in Jordan: https://moe.gov.jo