Author: Jette Nietzard

India has many problems in implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the child mortality rate is high and instead of fighting structural problems or initiating a mind shift in society, for example, children with disabilities are treated with medication and placed in special institutions instead of making society more inclusive.

The Committee is seriously concerned at the lack of access to sexual and reproductive information and services, including modern contraception methods, by adolescent girls and the consequently high rate of teenage pregnancies, widespread use of female sterilization and unsafe abortions in the State party. To improve the situation, the Committee recommends to take measures to ensure that adolescent girls and boys have effective access to confidential sexual and reproductive health information and services, such as modern contraception and legal abortions for girls, in practice. In that context, the State party should guarantee that the views of pregnant teenagers are always heard and respected in abortion decisions.

The Committee is deeply concerned at the high rate of abandonment of children with disabilities by their parents. It is further concerned at the lack of coordination among relevant ministries in planning and implementing programmes for children with disabilities as well as at the State party’s approach to children with disabilities, which is mostly centred on institutional care and medical treatment.
The Committee urges the State party to adopt a human rights-based approach to disability and specifically recommends that it develop a national plan of action for children with disabilities which integrates all the provisions of the Convention as well as indicators to measure outcomes and ensure effective coordination among relevant ministries for its implementation. India should also allocate adequate human, technical and financial resources to support parents of children with disabilities with the aim of preventing the abandonment of children with disabilities and take adequate measures to ensure that children with disabilities fully enjoy their rights as enshrined in the Convention, including access to education, health care and social services.

The Committee notes the various policies and programmes in place in the State party to improve children’s health and their access to health services. However, it is deeply concerned about the persistence of disparities in the quality of and access to health services between urban and rural areas as well as the State party’s increasing reliance on the private sector to provide health services. It is also concerned about the high cost of health services for the population and the lack of regulation of the quality of services provided. The Committee is also concerned at the high neonatal mortality rates and the fact that these deaths represent 50 per cent of the 1.4 million children under 5 years who die annually in the State party as well as the high rate of maternal mortality and the fact that 55.3 per cent of women between 15 to 49 years have anaemia. India also has a high level of chronic malnutrition (stunting), wasting (acute malnutrition) and underweight among children, in particular children under 5 years. In addition, there is a low improvement in the immunization rate and only 21 per cent of children are fully vaccinated. Further, communicable diseases are prevalent among children, all of which are the leading causes of child morbidity and mortality, and there is an insufficient access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, in particular in rural areas, along with the widespread practice of open defecation and its negative impact on the health of children (around 88 per cent of diarrhoea deaths among children under 5 years are linked to these factors).

The Committee is concerned about the forced displacement of a large number of children and their families and the loss of their ancestral lands owing to manufacturing operations, in particular families and children living in the area of the POSCO steel plant and port facilities in the state of Odisha. It is also concerned at the lack of information about safeguards to guarantee compliance with the Convention and international human rights standards.
Therefore, the Committee recommends that the State party establish and implement regulations to ensure that the business sector complies with international and national human rights, labour, environment and other standards, particularly with regard to children’s rights. The Committee further recommends that the State party establish a clear regulatory framework for industries operating in the State party to ensure that their activities do not negatively affect human rights or jeopardize environmental and other standards, especially those relating to children’s rights.

The Committee urges the State party to bring its juvenile justice system fully into line with the Convention and provide the Juvenile Justice Boards with adequate human, technical and financial resources, designate specialized judges for children and ensure that such specialized judges receive appropriate education and training. Also, India should ensure the provision of qualified, independent, free or subsidized legal and other appropriate assistance to children in conflict with the law, at an early stage of the procedure and throughout the legal proceedings.
In cases where detention is necessary, India should ensure age-appropriate separation of children in Observation and Special Homes and ensure that children in conflict with the law are not detained together with children in need of protection or with adults, and that detention conditions are compliant with international standards, including with regard to access to education and health services.

The Committee expresses its concern at the generally low rate of birth registration as well as the disparities in birth registration rates across the State party and the insufficient awareness among the relevant authorities and the population about the importance of universal birth registration. The Committee is also concerned at the discordance between the birth registration rate and the issuance of birth certificates.

The Committee is concerned at the high percentage of people living below the poverty line, despite the gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the State party. It is concerned at the prevalence of poverty among children, in both urban and rural areas, as well as the large disparities in the standard of living among children, with children in disadvantaged and marginalized situations being particularly vulnerable.

Concluding observations on the third and fourth periodic reports released on 7 July 2014. The Committee deems the State party’s declaration on article 32 of the Convention to be unnecessary.

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Indonesia needs to improve its implementation of children's rights. Girls are subjected to female genital mutilation, there have been forced evictions of families who now have no adequate housing or access to sanitation. International standards regarding child labour are not respected and children with disabilities are discriminated against.

The Committee notes that female genital mutilation (FGM), including the practice of so-called female circumcision, is not explicitly prohibited. It is gravely concerned about the large number of girls who have been victims to female genital mutilation (FGM). Therefore, the Committee urges the State party to adopt legislation to fully prohibit FGM in all its forms and to provide physical and psychological recovery programmes for victims of FGM, as well as establish reporting and complaints mechanisms accessible to girls who have been victims, or fear becoming victims, of the practice.

The Committee urges the State party to amend its legislation to ensure that discrimination on the grounds of disability is expressly prohibited and ensure that all provisions resulting in de facto discrimination of persons with disabilities are repealed. Also, the Committee urges to conduct awareness-raising and educational campaigns aimed at eliminating all kinds of de facto discrimination, in particular attitudinal and environmental barriers, against children with disabilities, inform and sensitize the public about the rights and special needs of children with disabilities and ensure that children with disabilities are provided with adequate financial support and have full access to social and health services. Indonesia should further ensure that children with disabilities can fully exercise their right to education and take all necessary measures to provide for their inclusion in the mainstream school system as well as collect specific and disaggregated data on children with disabilities, so as to adapt policies and programmes to their needs.

To guarantee every child the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee urges the State party to increase its health budget and expand access to primary health-care services across all provinces. It should ensure that those services are accessible and affordable for populations in both urban and rural areas, independent of their economic background. Indonesia should in particular ensure the provision of primary health-care services for all pregnant women, including access to antenatal care, safe delivery care, emergency obstetric care as well as postnatal care, as well as for children, focusing on interventions to reduce preventable and other diseases, particularly diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections and undernutrition, and promote good feeding practices for infants and young children. The Committee also urges the State party to strengthen and expand access to preventive health care and therapeutic services for all pregnant women and children, particularly infants and children under the age of 5, including universal immunization services, oral rehydration therapy and treatment for acute respiratory infections.

The Committee urges the State party to make every effort to ensure that children who work do so in accordance with international standards. In particular, it urges the State party to ensure that no child is exposed to any hazardous conditions or the worst forms of child labour, and that the involvement of children in labour is based on genuine free choice, in accordance with international regulations, subject to reasonable time limits and does not in any way hamper their education.
The Committee also urges Indonesia to amend legislation to criminalize forced labour and regulate the work of children between 16 and 18 years of age, vigorously pursue the enforcement of all minimum-age standards, appoint sufficient labour inspectors and provide them with all the necessary resources, including child labour expertise, to monitor the implementation of labour standards at all levels, in all parts of the country and in every kind of informal work. Indonesia should also amend legislation to ensure that domestic workers can benefit from all existing labour rights and receive special protection, including free legal aid, with regard to the particular conditions and dangers that they are subject to, such as sexual harassment, as well as ensure that thorough investigations and robust prosecutions of persons violating labour laws and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions are imposed in practice.

The Committee is concerned at the large number of children sentenced to jail even for petty crimes, and that they are often detained with adults in poor conditions. The Committee is also concerned at the lack of social reintegration measures for children in conflict with the law.
To improve the situation, the Committee recommends that the State party ensure that all professionals responsible for the implementation of the juvenile justice law receive the necessary training thereon and ensure allocation of all the appropriate human, technical and financial resources to allow effective implementation of the law.
Indonesia should also ensure that deprivation of liberty is used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest amount of time, children are not detained with adults and detention conditions are compliant with international standards, including with regard to access to nutrition, clean water and sanitation, education and health services.

The Committee is concerned about incidences of forced evictions of families, including children, without offering adequate reparation or alternative housing. Furthermore, the Committee deeply regrets that under the State party’s legislation, forced evictions may be carried out even if they lead to homelessness.
The Committee urges the State party to take all necessary legal measures to ensure that forced evictions are carried out only as a measure of last resort, always subject to adequate alternatives and that under no circumstance may evictions lead to homelessness.

The situation of internally migrated children in Kyrgyzstan is not good. Many do not have access to adequate housing or health care. Also of concern are the many children who work instead of going to school and many unwanted pregnancies among minors.

The Committee is concerned about the large numbers of unwanted pregnancies among adolescent girls owing to low awareness of contraception options among adolescents and a lack of access to contraceptives. The Committee is also concerned that schools do not provide classes on sexual and reproductive health.
Therefore, the Committee recommends that the State party adopt a comprehensive sexual and reproductive health policy for adolescents and ensure that age-appropriate 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. It also recommends that the State party provide adolescents with confidential services and easy access to contraceptives.

The Committee recommends that the State party take all the necessary measures to develop a policy on deinstitutionalization and prevent excessive institutionalization of children with disabilities by providing all the necessary support to families with children with disabilities and ensure sufficient alternative family and community-based care options for children with disabilities deprived of family environment. It also recommends to raise the awareness of the public, in particular children, about the rights of children with disabilities and take measures for their successful integration into society as well as to ensure that social benefits for families with children with disabilities are sufficient to cover the basic needs of such children. Kyrgyzstan should also provide inclusive education for children with disabilities by training teachers, providing schools with necessary equipment and raising the awareness of school personnel, children and the public in general of the rights of children with disabilities. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the State party ensure prompt and effective investigation into cases of deaths of children with disabilities in care institutions and establish an independent monitoring of care institutions, in particular of the health-care services provided to children in such institutions.

The Committee is concerned that no programmes cover children above the age of 14 years. The Committee is also concerned about the increasing number of deaths of children in the first 24 hours of admission to hospital as a result of curable diseases, such as pneumonia and diarrhoea, and the high number of children who suffer from malnutrition.
The Committee recommends that the State party take measures to ensure that all children up to the age of 18 years are covered under the State party’s programmes for children and have access to health-care services free of charge. It recommends that the State party take measures to prevent deaths of children as a result of preventable and curable diseases, by educating parents and providing easy access to early medical intervention. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the State party take measures to ensure that no child in the country is undernourished and that all children have access to adequate and sufficient nutritious food.

The Committee is concerned about the large number of children, mostly without a birth certificate, working in hazardous conditions 7 days a week, 10 hours a day. It is particularly concerned that working children, especially those living in care institutions, are often subjected to physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
The Committee urges the State party to remove from its legislation the requirement of 10 days’ notification prior to the visit of labour inspectors and to organize regular unannounced inspection of private and State employment sites and ensure that any person who may be below the age of 18 years is not subjected to hazardous working conditions. The Committee urges the State party to ensure regular visits and monitoring of care institutions to detect signs of forced labour and/or physical, emotional and sexual abuse and bring those responsible to justice.
Further, the Committee recommends that the State party establish a system of juvenile courts with specialized staff and with a restorative justice approach, avoid unlawful detention of children and ensure that legal safeguards are implemented for the detained children. Kyrgyzstan should also ensure independent court review of decisions on placements in the adaptation and rehabilitation centre for juveniles and Belovodsky Special Boarding School. Additionally, the Committee recommends to provide children placed in those institutions with freedom of movement, including the freedom to leave and return at their will, ensure that under no circumstances are children detained together with adults as well as make sure that detention of children is used as a last resort and allow regular visits from the families of children in detention.

The Committee is extremely concerned about widespread torture and ill-treatment of children by the representatives of law enforcement in detention facilities and closed institutions, including solitary confinement being imposed on them for up to seven days. In particular, the Committee is concerned about the case of Nookat in 2008, where families, including children, were subjected to torture for their alleged membership in the Hizbut Tahrir religious group. The Committee is also concerned about the lack of complaint mechanisms and effective investigations into cases of torture and ill-treatment of children in detention facilities and closed institutions and during the investigation process.

The Committee is concerned about reports that children born to parents who do not possess valid identity documents, in particular Lyuli mothers or mothers without a residence permit, are denied birth registration. The Committee is also concerned by reports of excessive bureaucratic and illegal demands made in the process of restoring birth certificates.
The Committee urges the State party to ensure that all children born in its territory are registered and provided with standard birth certificates immediately without any undue barriers, irrespective of the availability of their parents’ identity documents or residence permits. The Committee also recommends that the State party simplify the procedure for birth registration and ensure that no illegal demands are made in the process of restoring birth certificates.

In Morocco, the poorer children have it much worse, their access to health and education is limited. Girls have to put their health at risk because abortions are criminalized. No information is released by Morocco on the situation of children in the occupied Western Sahara.

The Committee notes with concern that, while the incidence of HIV remains very low in the State party, less than two thirds of boys and only one third of girls are reported to be aware that condom use can prevent infection with HIV/AIDS. It is also seriously concerned that the criminalization of abortion leads to dozens of teenage girls every year undergoing illegal unsafe abortions, at the risk of their lives.

The Committee recommends that Morocco organize the collection of data on children with disabilities and develop an efficient system for diagnosing disability, which is necessary for putting in place appropriate policies and programmes for children with disabilities. Also, Morocco should set up comprehensive measures to develop inclusive education and ensure that inclusive education is given priority over the placement of children in specialized institutions and classes. To this end, the Committee urges the State party to urgently remove children with disabilities who have been placed in centres de sauvegarde. It further recommends to take immediate measures to ensure that children with disabilities have access to health care, including early detection and intervention programmes, as well as train and assign specialized teachers and professionals in integrated classes providing individual support and all due attention to children with learning difficulties.

The Committee is concerned that maternal and infant mortality rates remain high and huge disparities in health status persist between children from urban areas
and those from rural areas, with children living in rural areas reportedly being at twice the risk of death as children living in urban areas. Also, the infant mortality risk is 2.5 times as high among children from the poorest quintile compared to those from the richest quintile and forty-two per cent of the children living in the Migrant Reception Centre are underweight, and many are reported to present serious or contagious medical pathologies.
The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that sufficient resources are allocated for the health sector and are used effectively. It further recommends that the State party develop and implement comprehensive policies and programmes for improving the health situation of children and facilitating a 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 access. Also, Morocco should take more effective measures to address maternal and infant mortality and the nutritional status of young children.

The Committee is concerned that, while tourism constitutes one of the main pillars of the State party’s economy, the State party has not yet adopted measures to protect children from violations of their rights arising from tourism activities.
The Committee recommends that the State party examine and adapt its legislative framework concerning legal accountability of business enterprises and their subsidiaries operating in or managed from the State party’s territory, especially in the tourism industry. It also recommends to establish monitoring mechanisms for the investigation and redress of violations of children’s rights, with a view to improving accountability and transparency. Morocco should further undertake awareness-raising campaigns with the tourism industry and the public at large on the prevention of child sex tourism and widely disseminate the charter of honour for tourism and the World Tourism Organization global code of ethics for tourism among travel agencies and in the tourism industry. Additionally, Morocco should strengthen its international cooperation against child sex tourism through multilateral, regional and bilateral arrangements for its prevention and elimination.

The Committee urges the State party to ensure that detention, including pretrial detention, is used as a measure of last resort and for the shortest possible period of time, even in cases of very severe crimes, and that it is reviewed on a regular basis with a view to withdrawing it. Also, Morocco should ensure that children in conflict with the law are provided with qualified and independent legal aid at an early stage of the procedure and throughout the legal proceedings, including in the case of flagrant offences. The Committee further urges Morocco to ensure capacity-building and specialization of all the justice actors, including judges, prison officers and lawyers, on the provisions of the Convention and develop properly funded social reintegration programmes for children in conflict with the law.

The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures, including affirmative action policies, to address the economic disparities affecting rural regions and urban suburbs and leading children to unequal enjoyment of their rights. The State party should assess the impact of its social protection programmes and review them to ensure that they are sustainable and accessible to children in the most vulnerable and disadvantaged situations, and should consider holding targeted consultations with families, children, and children’s rights civil society organizations on the issue of child poverty.

Concluding observations on the third and fourth periodic reports released on 14 October 2014.While welcoming the withdrawal of the State party’s reservation to article 14, paragraph 1, of the Convention, the Committee regrets that this reservation has been replaced by an interpretative declaration, which continues to affect the implementation of the rights guaranteed in this article. More information about education in morocco: https://www.moroccoworldnews.com

Violence is a major issue in the report from Congo, despite the ban on corporal punishment. Female genital mutilation is carried out, children with albinism have to fear for their lives and perpetrators who abuse and neglect children are hardly punished.

The Committee remains concerned that female genital mutilation is still practised among some West African communities living in the State party. The Committee also expresses its concern that child and forced marriages continue to be practised in the State party.
The Committee recommends that the State party adopt legislation to prohibit such harmful practices and take well-targeted measures to ensure the eradication of female genital mutilation in all communities living on its territory, including through widespread awareness-raising campaigns, and also recommends that the State party criminalize female genital mutilation. It calls on the State party to encourage children to report those practices to health professionals and competent authorities. The Committee also recommends that the State party take active and practical measures to enforce the legal prohibition of child and forced marriage.

The Committee expresses its concern that many children with disabilities, especially in rural areas, remain at home and receive no schooling owing to the lack of practical measures to ensure that the national education system has the necessary capacities to facilitate their access to and to integrate them into the education system. To improve the situation, the Committee recommends that the State party take practical measures to encourage the inclusion of children with disabilities in the mainstream educational system and in society, strengthen special training for teachers and make the physical environment, including schools and all other public areas, accessible for children with disabilities. Also, Congo should improve and strengthen early detection and treatment services in the health and education sectors.

The Committee welcomes the strategies adopted by the State party to reduce the high maternal and child mortality, to manage childhood illness, to improve the treatment of malnutrition and to reduce malaria. The Committee also notes with appreciation the role of civil society organizations and the media in the national strategy for empowering households and communities for the promotion of good nutritional and health practices.
Nevertheless, the Committee expresses its concern that there are a number of constraints on the implementation of those strategies and that preventable and treatable diseases, including diarrhoea, continue to be among the main causes of infant and child mortality. The Committee is also concerned at the limited geographical coverage of health services, the insufficient number of socio-health facilities and staff, and insufficient supplies of medicine. To guarantee every child the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee urges the State party to overcome the constraints preventing the implementation of existing strategies by, inter alia, ensuring the provision of primary health-care services for all pregnant women and children, focusing on the development of accessible health-care services with trained health-care providers and on interventions to reduce preventable and other diseases, particularly diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections and undernutrition. Health-care services should include access to sanitation and clean drinking water.

The Committee notes with satisfaction the information provided by the State party’s delegation relating to the existence of oil extraction and forest concession contract clauses that provide for the adoption of measures to protect the rights to health and education of children living in the areas of industrial activity. Nevertheless, the Committee is concerned that it is not mandatory under national law to carry out environmental and social impact assessments prior to the approval of investment projects likely to have an impact on children’s rights, particularly as a consequence of forced displacement and expropriation, pollution and damages to cultural assets and traditions.
To further improve the situation, the Committee recommends that the State party establish and implement regulations to ensure that the business sector complies with international and national human rights, labour, environmental and other standards, particularly with regard to children’s rights.

The Committee welcomes the information concerning improvements to the juvenile observation centre and its decree of remit and functioning, the availability of children’s judges and the recent use of daytime sociocultural reintegration centres for some children in detention. Nevertheless, the Committee is concerned that children’s judges are not always available and that children are placed in detention with adults, often in very difficult conditions. It is also concerned that children face difficulties in gaining access to legal aid. Therefore, the Committee urges the State party to establish specialized juvenile court facilities and procedures with adequate human, technical and financial resources, ensure that specialized judges for children are available throughout the State party and that all public officers dealing with juvenile justice receive appropriate education and training. Congo should also ensure the provision of qualified and impartial legal aid to children in conflict with the law at an early stage of the procedure and throughout the legal proceedings and promote alternative measures to detention, such as diversion, probation, mediation, counselling or community service, wherever possible, and ensure that detention is used as a last resort and for the shortest possible time and that it is reviewed on a regular basis with a view to ending it.

The Committee notes with appreciation the birth registration strategic plan for the period 2009–2013 and the abolishment of fees for late birth registration as mentioned by the State party delegation during the dialogue. Nevertheless, the Committee remains concerned about the large number of children that are still not registered, the existence of unofficial payments attached to late birth registration, the insufficient number of civil registry offices in remote areas and the insufficient awareness of the importance of registration. It also notes with concern that the one-month limit for families to register births increases difficulties and costs for families. To improve the situation, the Committee urges the State party to establish an efficient and accessible birth registration system covering its entire territory, including by empowering chiefs of villages in remote areas to register civil status, so that all children are registered immediately after birth. The Committee also urges the State party to ensure that undue payments are not imposed.

In Germany, significant numbers of girls are exposed to female genital mutilation. In addition, the prescription of psychostimulants for ADHD or ADD patients is extremely high. Children with disabilities, especially girls, are exposed to violence, and coal mining has a negative impact on children's health.

The Committee is concerned about the significant number of girls living in the State party who are affected by genital mutilation or at risk of either being temporarily sent to a country where genital mutilation is practised or being exposed to it within the State party. The Committee also notes with concern that medical staff are often not well informed about genital mutilation and preventive and protective measures, and are therefore unable to give advice and provide help. To improve the situation, the Committee urges the State party to draft a national policy and strategy against female genital mutilation and to provide training on the prevention of and response to female genital mutilation for all relevant professional groups. Also, Germany should strengthen and organize further information dissemination and awareness-raising campaigns to prevent the practice. In that regard, particular focus should be placed on campaigns targeting girls at risk, informing them about access to help and advice. The Committee recommends to further strengthen measures for the elimination of female genital mutilation in its international cooperation programmes by, inter alia, extending financial and technical assistance to countries where female genital mutilation is practised.

The Committee is concerned about the findings of a recent study undertaken by the State party, according to which girls with disabilities are frequently at risk of violence, including sexual violence.
The Committee recommends that the State party take every necessary measure to prevent all forms of violence against children with disabilities, paying particular attention to the safety of girls with disabilities. In that regard, the Committee recommends that the State party provide particular protection and complaints mechanisms for children with disabilities who have become victims of violence.
The Committee notes with concern that children with disabilities from migrant families often do not receive the same support as their peers without a migration background, owing to a lack of information and/or their parents’ difficulties in accessing the necessary forms and applications, and/or ignorance lack of awareness about the disability.

The Committee is concerned at new morbidities in children which are being insufficiently addressed, related to attachment disorders, and to an increase in children’s emotional and behavioural problems, owing to pressure to succeed at school.
The Committee recommends that the State party undertake advocacy and awareness-raising programmes targeting schools and families, emphasizing the importance of physical exercise, and healthy eating habits and lifestyles. It should also take all the necessary steps to address the existing disparities in health outcomes. Special attention should be paid to children and young people in vulnerable situations, especially those from socially disadvantaged or migration backgrounds.

The Committee is concerned about the over-prescription of psychostimulants to children and about excessive diagnoses of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or attention deficit disorder (ADD), and in particular the forced removal of children who are diagnosed/misdiagnosed with ADHD or ADD from their families and their subsequent placement in foster care or psychiatric hospitals, where many of them are treated with psychotropic medication.
To improve the situation, the Committee recommends that the State party ensure that the placement of children in foster care or psychiatric hospitals is used as a last resort only, following a proper diagnosis and provide families with access to psychological counselling and emotional support. Also, Germany should establish a system of independent expert monitoring of the diagnosis of ADHD and ADD and of the use of drug treatments for children, ensure that relevant health authorities determine the root causes of inattention in the classroom and improve the diagnosis of mental health problems among children. In addition, the Committee recommends to put a stop to the practice of labelling children as “having a psychiatric problem” in cases that are not validated by medical evidence.

The Committee notes that the State party uses a significant amount of coal to produce power and is concerned about the negative impact that coal emissions have on children’s health. The Committee is also concerned about the lack of adequate measures taken by the State party against German companies that conduct business abroad and reportedly violate children’s rights and other human rights.
Therefore, the Committee recommends that the State party establish a clear regulatory framework for the industries operating in the State party to ensure that their activities do not negatively affect human rights or endanger environmental and other standards, especially those relating to children’s rights. Germany should also take into consideration the best interests of the child when adopting budgetary measures such as the allocation of subsidies for businesses that affect children’s rights. Additionally, Germany should examine and adapt its civil, criminal and administrative legislative framework to ensure that business enterprises and their subsidiaries operating in or managed from the State party’s territory are legally accountable for any violations of children’s rights and human rights.

The Committee notes with satisfaction the legislative amendment prohibiting children in detention from being placed with persons up to the age of 24. However, the Committee regrets that not all Länder apply the principle of “deprivation of liberty as a last resort”.

While noting the measures undertaken by the State party to investigate cases of child abuse committed by church officials, the Committee is concerned that several cases have not been investigated.
The Committee recommends that the State party take all the necessary measures to expedite the investigation and prosecution of cases of child abuse allegedly committed by church officials.

Croatia has provided information on almost all fields, which gives a good picture of the child rights situation in the country. There are regional differences, especially in the health sector, and school education is not compulsory until the end of secondary education.

The Committee is concerned about the lack of long-term, systematic health education, including on sexuality, responsible sexual behaviour and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. To improve the situation, the Committee recommends that Croatia strengthen measures to raise awareness on sexual and reproductive health, with special attention to sexually transmitted infections, and ensure systematic health education.

The Committee welcomes the measures taken by the State party to ensure inclusive education for children with disabilities. The Committee is however concerned that cross-sectoral coordination and standardized developmental screening protocols and tools are lacking, resulting in missed opportunities for early childhood intervention as well as that the number of children with disabilities in institutional care is increasing and adequate treatment and care are lacking in the institutions. It is further concerned that there have been incidents of ill-treatment of children with disabilities in some health care institutions and that many schools do not provide the necessary conditions for inclusive education, funding for teaching assistants is not always available, and teachers and other school personnel are not sufficiently trained. Also, abandoned children with disabilities are primarily placed in health-care institutions, not in children’s institutions, and are therefore not included in official data of children available for adoption.
To improve the situation, the Committee urges the State party to adopt a human rights-based approach to disability and specifically recommends that it improve and strengthen early detection and treatment services in the health and education sectors, ensure adequate training of personnel working in health-care institutions on the medical practice regarding respect for the dignity of children with disabilities, and carry out regular inspections of institutions with long-term placement. Croatia should also strengthen its efforts to establish State-wide inclusive education, including through the allocation of necessary resources, and ensure regular training for teachers and other school personnel.

The Committee is concerned about the uneven geographical coverage of health services for children, the shortage of health-care professionals, and the lack of adequate support for children in need of mental health-care systems. The Committee is further concerned that, despite legislative improvements allowing parents to stay in the hospital with their children, accommodation facilities are still limited and treatment of hospitalized children is not always adequate.
To guarantee every child the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to ensure that all children enjoy equal access to health services, with particular emphasis on children in rural areas and from minority groups as well as that Croatia allocate adequate human resources to maintain the quality of health care. It further recommends to strengthen its efforts to ensure that, in practice, children are not separated from their parents and that they are treated in accordance with the rights set out under the Convention, including the right to privacy, confidentiality and to be heard, when they are hospitalized.

The Committee recommends to take all necessary measures to ensure adequate support for children in need of mental health care.

The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to provide families with the necessary support to enable them to fulfil their obligation towards their children and to ensure their well-being and development. In particular the Committee recommends that the State party further strengthen assistance and support services to parents and legal guardians in their child-rearing responsibilities and promote measures to support working parents, including considering collaboration with the business sector.

The Committee is concerned that insufficient funds and organizations are available to carry out alternative measures, children are subject to prolonged pretrial detention and detention centres are not regularly visited by judges, despite their legal obligation to carry out such visits. It is further concerned that children are still detained together with adults in some institutions, conditions of detention facilities for children and reformatories are inadequate and adequate training of those involved in the administration of juvenile justice is lacking.
To improve the situation, the Committee urges Croatia to 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. In cases where detention is unavoidable, Croatia should ensure that children are not detained together with adults, that detention conditions are compliant with international standards, including with regard to access to education and health services, and that centres are regularly visited by judges. The Committee further urges to ensure that all persons involved in the administration of juvenile justice receive appropriate education and training.

The Committee notes information provided by the State party about various activities aimed at realizing children’s rights to rest and leisure and to engage in play and recreational activities, but it is concerned about the lack of adequate play spaces and facilities in many communities, that they are not properly regulated, and about the increasing phenomenon of children having to pay for leisure activities.

Concluding observations on the third and fourth periodic reports released on 13 October 2014. More information about education in Croatia: https://eacea.ec.europa.eu

The Committee notes the particularly severe effects of the ongoing armed conflict, political instability and presence of armed groups in the State party, the reinforcement of sectarian and ethnic divisions and the rise of religious extremism, which have led to severe violations of children’s rights and constitute a serious obstacle to the implementation of the rights enshrined in the Convention, particularly worsened by terrorist acts committed by criminal groups belonging to the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The Committee reminds the State party of the continuity of international human rights obligations and that the rights under the Convention apply to all children at all times. The Committee also reminds the State party that it bears the primary responsibility to protect its population and should therefore take immediate measures to stop the use of excessive and lethal force against civilians and to prevent further violence against children, including killing and injury.

Iraq is at war, which is a poor prerequisite for ensuring children's rights. Children themselves are killed or used by armed forces. There is not enough food and a lack of schools and health care coverage and many children have to leave their homes. In addition, there is severe discrimination against girls, the death penalty is carried out against children, and religious minorities are forced to convert.

The Committee is concerned about the persistent and extreme gender-based discrimination which girls experience from the earliest stages of their lives and throughout their childhood and which exposes them to domestic violence, psychological and sexual exploitation and abuse, early, forced and temporary (muta’a) marriage, and little access to education. The Committee further urges the State party to apply a zero-tolerance policy towards gender-based crimes committed in the name of so-called “honour” and ensure a prompt and effective investigation into all cases.

The Committee is concerned about the situation of children with disabilities being particularly worsened by the current conflict, as well as about the continuing societal discrimination and stigma towards children with disabilities. In particular, it is concerned about school buildings being insufficiently accessible for children with disabilities, the absence of appropriate learning materials, the shortage of specially qualified teachers and the lack of adequate early childhood development services for children with disabilities. It is further concerned about the insufficient access of children with disabilities to social services and to financial support.
The Committee urges the State party to adopt a human rights-based approach to disability, placing particular focus on children who have become injured during conflict, and specifically recommends that it ensure effective inclusive education and allocate all the necessary human, technical and financial resources for its implementation. Furthermore, the Committee recommends to undertake awareness-raising programmes on eliminating discrimination against children with disabilities, and strengthen its enforcement mechanisms for ensuring compliance with its legislation prohibiting such discrimination.

The Committee notes with appreciation that there has been a significant increase in immunization coverage and institutional delivery since 2006, but regrets the high rate of under-5 mortality, the high prevalence of chronic undernutrition and maternal mortality, especially concerning underage mothers, in rural areas and the central and southern regions. This includes the increased emergence of communicable and non-communicable diseases, including the high risk of a polio and measles outbreak, and a high rate of malnutrition among internally displaced children. The Committee is also concerned that, while the armed conflict is having a devastating impact on the availability and quality of health care, the State party devotes a low percentage of the federal budget to its health-care system.
The Committee is further concerned about the increase in drug abuse among adolescents, and the unavailability of drug prevention services that address the needs of adolescent drug users.

The Committee is concerned about the significant number of children suffering from varying degrees of post-traumatic stress disorder. Therefore, the Committee recommends that Iraq set up programmes and train specialists to support children who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and ongoing conflict-related stress.

The Committee notes with concern that many regions are affected by a high toxic level of lead, mercury contamination and depleted uranium pollution, which has led to a high infant mortality rate and an increase in cancer rates and birth defects among children.
The Committee recommends that the State party make every effort to remove all types of war remnants and disseminate information among children and the general public about the different types of war remnants, and undertake protection measures. Furthermore, children who have been injured or fall ill should be provided with all the necessary health care.

The Committee notes that the worst forms of child labour are forbidden in the State party. The Committee, however, regrets the weak and insufficient implementation of this prohibition and is deeply concerned about reports according to which a significant number of children between the ages of 3 and 16 are engaged in child labour, many of them in hazardous conditions, vulnerable to violence and sexual abuse.
The Committee urges the State party to enact legislation to ensure that child labour, including in the informal economy and family businesses, is in full compliance with international standards in terms of age, working hours, working conditions, education and health, as well as to ensure the full protection of children against all forms of sexual, physical and psychological harassment. The Committee also recommends that Iraq establish programmes to reintegrate children who are illiterate and/or have been involved in child labour into mainstream education as well as strengthen the implementation of labour laws by establishing labour inspections, including in the informal sector, and ensure that anyone violating legislation on child labour be held accountable.

The Committee is concerned about reported acts of torture and other cruel or degrading treatment or punishment committed against children by the police.
The Committee is also highly concerned about the increasing number of children in detention, especially in pretrial detention for long periods, and the particularly poor living conditions to which they are subjected, including overcrowding, exposure to physical and sexual abuse and insufficient access to medical services. The Committee is particularly concerned about reports of girls sentenced to death being held in the Karrada juvenile detention facility until they turn 18 and then being transferred to death row, despite the Juvenile Welfare Act not permitting life imprisonment or the death penalty for children. Therefore, the Committee urges the State party to bring its juvenile justice system fully into line with the Convention and other relevant standards and develop facilities and programmes for the physical and psychological recovery and the social reintegration of juveniles.

The Committee expresses serious concern about the high prevalence of corruption and the lack of accountability mechanisms in the State party and the resulting detrimental impact on children’s rights. The Committee urges Iraq to take firm measures to prevent and eradicate corruption and prosecute State and local officials for acts of corruption.

The Committee abhors and condemns the targeted and brutal killings of children by the so-called ISIL and in particular the killing or severe injury of a very large number of children as a result of the current fighting, including by air strikes, shelling and military operations by the Iraqi Security Forces, and as a result of landmines and explosive war remnants. This includes deaths from dehydration, starvation and heat in conflict-affected areas.

Concluding observations on the second to fourth periodic reports released on 3 March 2015. More information about education in Iraq: http://www.irfad.org

The Committee recognizes the impact of the conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic on the State party’s socio-political and economic situation, the internal tensions within the State party’s political system that have negatively affected its ability to provide the public services necessary to all children in the State party, and the decreasing funds being made available by the international community for Syrian refugees.

Lebanon has taken in many refugees and thus protected children, however, after the explosion in the port of Beirut 2020, the situation is worsening and there is much more poverty than before. The health and education systems are weak and there is not enough food for everyone.

The Committee urges the State party to help end the revictimization of girl victims of rape who may be pressured into marrying the perpetrator.

The Committee is concerned about children with disabilities continuing to face discrimination and not being integrated effectively into all areas of social life, including the education system, in particular Palestinian and Syrian refugee children, as well as inadequate health-care services, in particular in public hospitals, and inadequate and insufficient rehabilitation services, in particular for Syrian refugee children. Lebanon also needs to work on the lack of financial assistance and other support services to families of children with disabilities and the high rate of institutionalization of children with disabilities, inadequate care in residential care institutions and abuse and violence by service providers, including sexual abuse.
To improve the situation, the Committee urges the State party to adopt a human rights-based approach to disability and inter alia recommends that it strengthen efforts to take all the necessary measures to ensure that children with disabilities are integrated fully into all areas of social life.

The Committee recommends that the State party continue to strengthen efforts to ensure access to quality health care, by expanding the national network of primary health centres to cover all primary health centres in the State party and ensure adequate provision of prenatal and postnatal care in all governorates of Lebanon, and address the high rate of mortality of infants born to Syrian refugees.
The State party should also strengthen the national immunization programme in order to address emerging needs stemming from the crisis in the Syrian Arab Republic, and continue to improve access to clean water and sanitation for disadvantaged communities, in particular refugees, and address risks of communicable diseases and other health concerns. The Committee further recommends to increase access to affordable health care for all families in situations of poverty, address discrepancies in quality of care and coverage in areas outside of Beirut and Mount Lebanon and strengthen the regulation of the pharmaceutical sector and all health-care service providers in terms of quality and pricing.

Noting the limited availability of mental health services outside Beirut and Mount Lebanon, the Committee recommends that the State party strengthen the quality and availability of mental health services and programmes, increase the number of specialists in children’s mental health, ensure adequate facilities and strengthen outpatient services for psychosocial care and rehabilitation in all governorates.

The Committee is seriously concerned about the persistence of child labour in the State party, in particular in the North and in the Beqaa Valley, and among Palestinian and Syrian refugee children. The Committee urges the State party to take measures to prevent children from being economically exploited, in particular with respect to the minimum age for hazardous work, and harmonize the minimum age of 14 for work with the age of 15 for compulsory education. Also, Lebanon should strengthen labour inspectorates and monitoring mechanisms in the formal and informal sectors and make available data on the number of inspections and violations publicly.

While welcoming various legislative and policy initiatives to assist children in conflict with the law, the introduction of alternative measures to detention by the Ministry of Justice, and rehabilitation and vocational programmes launched by the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Committee is still concerned about the lack of due process, including access to legal aid, conditions of detention facilities and reports of torture and ill-treatment of children in detention, in particular at the Roumieh and Moubadara prisons.
The Committee urges the State party to bring its juvenile justice system into line with the Convention and, in particular, recommends that the State party ensure the provision of qualified and independent legal aid to children in conflict with the law at an early stage of the procedure and throughout the legal proceedings and promote alternative measures to detention, taking into consideration gender differentiated programmes for boys and girls, with a view to progressively ceasing all detention of children.
In cases where detention is unavoidable, Lebanon needs to ensure that children are not detained together with adults and that detention conditions are compliant with international standards, including with regard to access to education and health services, with a particular focus on the Roumieh and Moubadara prisons.

The Committee commends the State party for its overall high net enrolment rates, for raising the age of compulsory education to 15 years, for expanding early childhood education and for adopting numerous initiatives to ensure Syrian refugee children have access to education, including through the implementation of the “Reaching All Children Through Education” initiative. However, it is seriously concerned about inadequate funding for public schools, relatively low educational achievements of children from economically disadvantaged communities, low retention and high dropout rates, in particular among Palestinian and Syrian refugee children.

Concluding observations on the fourth and fifth periodic reports released on 22 June 2017. More information about education in Lebanon: https://www.unicef.org

In the United Arab Emirates, despite the wealth, there are no free kindergartens and the charity towards asylum seeking children or children with disability could further increase. The implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is not given enough (financial) resources, and especially the free development of girls is challenged by patriarchal laws and violence.

The Committee is concerned that the only ground for allowing abortion in the State party is a woman’s or girl’s life being in danger, abortion being criminalized in all other situations. 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 targets adolescent girls and boys, with special attention paid to preventing early pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections and fostering responsible sexual behaviour, particularly among boys and men.

The Committee welcomes all the circulars adopted to adapt the school environment for children with visual impairments (e.g., by providing school books in Braille) or autism and provide specific training to teachers. It is concerned, however, that priority is still given to the provision of special education, including in mainstream schools, over the development of a fully inclusive educational system. The Committee is also concerned about the lack of disaggregated data on children with disabilities and about the lack of measures to include them in recreational, sport and cultural activities, which remain mostly segregated.
To improve the situation, the Committee urges the State party to adopt a human-rights-based approach to disability and to collect disaggregated data on children with disabilities in order to develop efficient policies and strategies for these children and adequately monitor the implementation of those policies. The State party should also set up a comprehensive strategy for the inclusion of children with disabilities in the mainstream educational system, as well as in recreational, sport and cultural activities and society at large.

The Committee recommends to regulate the marketing of unhealthy food, especially when such marketing is focused on children, regulate the availability of such food in schools and other places, provide children with accurate and objective information about substance abuse, and develop specialized and youth-friendly drug-dependence treatment and harm reduction services.

The Committee welcomes the numerous achievements of the State party in the field of child health. The Committee is concerned, however, about the consequences of the high consumption of petroleum on children’s health, in particular about air pollution and lead poisoning. The Committee recommends that the State party assess the negative consequences of petroleum consumption on children’s rights and address the situation with adequate measures.

The Committee, while noting that the employment of children under the age of 15 is prohibited, is concerned that this prohibition does not apply to certain sectors of the economy, such as agriculture. To improve the situation, the Committee recommends that the State party clearly prohibit labour by children under the age of 15 in all sectors of the economy.

The Committee remains concerned that the new federal bill on juvenile justice contains derogatory language regarding children in conflict with the law as well as that the State party does not clarify the criteria used to determine whether cases involving children over the age of 16 years are referred to civil courts or to sharia courts.
The Committee urges the State party to bring its juvenile justice system fully into line with the Convention and other relevant standards, and in particular to clarifying that all children in conflict with the law should be brought before juvenile justice, and not religious, courts. Also, the Emirates should ensure the provision of qualified and independent legal aid to children in conflict with the law at an early stage of, as well as throughout, any legal proceedings.

The Committee remains concerned that children of a mother who is a national of the United Arab Emirates and a father who is not cannot acquire the nationality of the State party and are at great risk of becoming stateless. The Committee is also concerned that the criminalization of sexual relations outside marriage prevents the registration of children born out of wedlock and may lead to their abandonment.

Further, the Committee observes that the State party’s adoption of narrow interpretations of Islamic texts in some areas may impede the enjoyment of some rights protected under the Convention.

Concluding observations on the second periodic reports released on 30 October 2015. More information about education in UAE: https://www.ebnnursery.com and https://u.ae