Author: Jette Nietzard

Tuvalu is a middle-income country, but it still uses too little money to effectively implement children's rights. Organizations and government institutions such as the National Advisory Committee on Children's Rights need more human, technical and financial resources, and all processes, especially budgeting, must include children. Other problems include increasing poverty and climate disasters, which threaten a healthy future. The children on the outer islands are much worse off than those living more centrally.

The Committee recommends that the State party decriminalize abortion and ensure access to safe abortion and post-abortion care services for adolescent girls, making sure that their views are always heard and given due consideration as part of the decision-making process, as well as strengthen its programmes on sexual and reproductive health education and expand them across the country, targeting adolescent girls and boys, with special attention paid to preventing early pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Tuvalu should also provide free, confidential and adolescent-responsive sexual and reproductive health services to all adolescents.

The Committee is concerned that the laws and policies regarding children do not sufficiently take into account the rights of children with disabilities. It is also concerned about the lack of information on the situation of children with disabilities and the insufficient progress made in ensuring their access to specialized health care and services and to inclusive education.
Therefore, the Committee urges the State party to harmonize national legislative and policy frameworks with the human rights model of disability to uphold the rights of children with disabilities, including by setting up a comprehensive strategy for the full inclusion of children with disabilities into society, and undertake a study on the situation of children with disabilities, including their access to services and support, and use the findings to inform the implementation of the Convention and its national legal and policy frameworks. It further urges Tuvalu to ensure access for children with disabilities, including those with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, to inclusive education in mainstream schools, with adequately trained teachers and professionals to provide individual support to them as well as provide support and services in the community to enable families to care for children with disabilities. Tuvalu should also take measures to improve the accessibility of public buildings, facilities, services and transportation for children with disabilities to facilitate their inclusion in society on an equal basis with others.

While welcoming the decline in infant and under-5 mortality rates, the high coverage of pre- and postnatal health care for mothers and the efforts to deploy medical personnel on every island, the Committee remains concerned about the disparities in health services between Funafuti and the other islands and at the reliance on government-funded overseas treatment schemes, which leads to less budget funding being allocated to strengthening the State party’s primary and preventive health-care system. The Committee is also concerned that anaemia is affecting 61 per cent of children under 5 years of age, alongside 29 per cent of pregnant women.
To guarantee every child the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee recommends that the State party strengthen and expand its primary and preventive health-care system, and address disparities between the islands in access to quality health care and services, including by allocating sufficient financial resources and ensuring the availability of qualified health-care staff across the country. It also recommends to strengthen measures to eliminate preventable infant and under-5 mortality and undertake a study on the causes of anaemia among young children and pregnant women and, based on the findings, formulate and implement programmes to address the issue, and inform the Committee of the outcomes in the next periodic report.

The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that the special vulnerabilities and needs of children, as well as their views, are taken into account in developing policies and programmes addressing the issues of climate change and disaster risk management and that Tuvalu collect disaggregated data identifying the types of risk faced by children in the occurrence of a variety of disasters, in order to formulate international, regional and national policies, frameworks and agreements accordingly. Tuvalu should also strengthen the implementation of national policies for sustainable safe water supplies and sanitation, including the sustainable and integrated water and sanitation policy, with a view to increasing access to sufficient safe drinking water and providing adequate sanitation, including in the outer islands and strengthen measures to increase children’s awareness and preparedness for climate change and natural disasters, including by strengthening climate change education in schools across the country. In addition, Tuvalu should provide opportunities for children to effectively participate in discussions and decision-making related to climate action.

The Committee notes the low number of cases in which children under 18 years of age have been formally charged with offences under the Penal Code, mainly owing to conflicts being addressed through community mediation. However, the Committee is concerned that cases of child offenders are dealt with in the general criminal justice system without the protections provided by the Convention.
To improve the situation, the Committee urges the State party to provide systematic training for judges, prosecutors, police officers and other professionals on the provisions of the Convention. It also recommends to expedite the coming into force of the child welfare and protection bill and enforce its child justice provisions that explicitly prohibit the corporal punishment and life imprisonment of child offenders.

The Committee is concerned about the low rates of birth registration, especially in the outer islands, the fees imposed on late registrations, the lack of effective measures to ensure the registration of the births of children of unmarried parents and the low level of public awareness of the importance of birth registration.
The Committee recommends that the State party intensify its efforts to ensure that all children in its territory, including the children of unmarried parents and children in the outer islands, have access to birth registration, including through setting up mobile registration units, abolishing all birth registration fees and raising awareness among the general public of the importance of birth registration.

Concluding observations on the second to fifth periodic reports released on 31 March 2020. More information about education: Situation of children in Tuvalu

In Canada, Aboriginal and African Canadian and Immigrant children are particularly exposed to discrimination. Furthermore, the cost of education is high. However, the basic needs of the majority of children in the State party are met.

The Committee is concerned about the number of pregnant girls and teenage mothers who drop out of school, which leads to poorer outcomes for their children.

The Committee urges the State party to establish as soon as possible a system of global and disaggregated data collection on children with disabilities, which will enable the State party and all its provinces and territories to establish inclusive policies and equal opportunities for all children with disabilities. The Committee also urges to ensure that all children with disabilities have access, in all provinces and territories, to inclusive education and are not forced to attend segregated schools only designed for children with disabilities.
Canada should also ensure that children with disabilities, and their families, are provided with all necessary support and services in order to ensure that financial constraints are not an obstacle in accessing services and that household incomes and parental employment are not negatively affected. Canada should take all the necessary measures to protect children with disabilities from all forms of violence.

The Committee notes as positive the free and widespread access to high-quality health care within the State party. However, the Committee notes with concern the high incidence of obesity among children in the State party and is concerned at the lack of regulations on the production and marketing of fast foods and other unhealthy foods, especially as targeted at children.
The Committee recommends that the State party address the incidence of obesity in children, by, inter alia, promoting a healthy lifestyle among children, including physical activity and ensuring greater regulatory controls over the production and advertisement of fast food and unhealthy foods, especially those targeted at children.

The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen and expand the quality of interventions to prevent suicide among children with particular attention to early detection, and expand access to confidential psychological and counselling services in all schools, including social work support in the home. In addition, Canada should establish a system of expert monitoring of the excessive use of psycho stimulants to children, and take action to understand the root causes and improve the accuracy of diagnoses while improving access to behavioural and psychological interventions. The Committee also recommends that the State party consider the establishment of a monitoring mechanism in each province and territory, under the ministries of health, to monitor and audit the practice of informed consent by health professionals in relation to the use of psychotropic drugs on children.

The Committee recommends the consultations with companies on their plans to address environmental and health pollution and the human rights impact of their activities and their disclosure to the public.

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 child rights. In particular, it recommends that the State party ensure the establishment of a clear regulatory framework for, inter alia, the gas, mining, and oil companies operating in territories outside Canada to ensure that their activities do not impact on human rights or endanger environment and other standards, especially those related to children’s rights. The Committee further recommends the monitoring of implementation by companies at home and abroad of international and national environmental and health and human rights standards, and that appropriate sanctions and remedies are provided when violations occur with a particular focus on the impact on children.

The Committee urges the State party to ensure that no person under 18 is tried as an adult, irrespective of the circumstances or the gravity of his/her offence, and it urges Canada to ensure the protection of privacy of children within the juvenile justice system. Canada should also develop guidelines for restraint and use of force against children in arrest and detention for use by all law enforcement officers and personnel in detention facilities, including the abolishment of use of tasers.
In addition, the Committee urges Canada to conduct an extensive study of systemic overrepresentation of Aboriginal and African Canadian children and youth in the criminal justice system and develop an effective action plan towards eliminating the disparity in rates of sentencing and incarceration of Aboriginal and African Canadian children and youth, including activities such as training of all legal, penitentiary and law enforcement professionals on the Convention. Further, Canada should ensure that girls are held separately from boys and that girls are monitored by female prison guards so as to better protect girls from the risk of sexual violence and exploitation.

The Committee is concerned that income inequality is widespread and growing and that no national strategy has been developed to comprehensively address child poverty despite a commitment by Parliament to end child poverty by 2000. The Committee is especially concerned about the inequitable distribution of tax benefits and social transfers for children. Furthermore, the Committee is concerned that the provision of welfare services to Aboriginal children, African Canadian and children of other minorities is not comparable in quality and accessibility to services provided to other children in the State party and is not adequate to meet their needs.

The Committee welcomes the recent return of Omar Kadr to the custody of the State party. However, the Committee is concerned that as a former child soldier, Omar Kadr has not been accorded the rights and appropriate treatment under the Convention. In particular, the Committee is concerned that he experienced grave violations of his human rights, which the Canadian Supreme Court recognized, including his maltreatment during his years of detention in Guantanamo, and that he has not been afforded appropriate redress and remedies for such violations.

Concluding observations on the third and fourth periodic reports released on 6 December 2012. While the Committee positively acknowledges the State party’s efforts towards removing its reservations to article 37(c) of the Convention, the Committee strongly recommends to withdrawal of its reservation to article 37(c).

In Greece, children from minority groups or refugee children enjoy fewer rights than Greek children. Children with disabilities are also not fully accepted by society. Another major problem is the high level of poverty and the associated restrictions on health services.

The Committee urges Greece to enhance the availability of contraceptive services and promote sex education targeted at adolescents, with special attention to the prevention of early pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.

The Committee notes that the State party has adopted laws and established services and institutions with the aim of supporting children with disabilities, promoting their social participation, including joint learning in schools, and developing their independence. However, the Committee remains concerned that deep-rooted discrimination still exists and that measures for children with disabilities are not carefully monitored, as well as that statistical data on children with disabilities in the State party is still unavailable. It is deeply concerned at the widespread use of institutionalization, which is mainly because of a lack of day-care and community services for children with the most serious forms of disabilities. The Committee is further deeply concerned about the recently reported case of the Children’s Care Centre in Lechaina, regarding children with disabilities living under inhumane and unacceptable conditions, including being systematically sedated and subject to practices such as being tied to their beds, and the use of cage beds due to a shortage of staff. Therefore, the Committee inter alia recommends to make every effort to provide programmes and services for children with disabilities with adequate human and financial resources and periodic monitoring of placement of children with disabilities, and to adopt, as a matter of priority, measures to ensure that no children with disabilities are placed under such inhumane conditions. Furthermore, placement in residential institutions should be the last resort, depending on the needs of the child.

The Committee is concerned that the right to health and access to health services is not respected for all children, with regard to the fact that some health services have to be paid in cash and in advance.
The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that all children have access to health care. The Committee further recommends that the State party collect data on its basic national health indicators, and strengthen its health infrastructure, including through the recruitment of additional nurses and social workers. The Committee notes with concern the limited knowledge among adolescents about reproductive health; persistent problems of youth suicides, and alcohol, drug and tobacco use by adolescents in the State party.

The Committee is concerned at the revelation of the identity of either victims or perpetrators of crimes in the media through the publication of data from the court records of cases involving minors, while their cases are being examined by court, and through the publication of images or information concerning the personal situation of children accommodated in child-protection institutions.

The Committee urges the State party to decriminalize begging by children while taking steps to ensure that such a change would not be exploited by adults who may use children to beg and to adopt specific legal provisions in order to provide protection for minors 15-18 years of age in the juvenile justice system. Greece should also conduct a thorough analysis of the overrepresentation of foreign and Roma children in the juvenile justice system and provide these children with the necessary legal safeguards.

The Committee notes that the recession and the current financial and economic crisis are taking their toll on families and on public social investment, including on the prospects of implementing the Convention, especially with regard to article 4 of the Convention. In this respect, the Committee reminds the State party that, in time of fiscal constraint, efforts must be made to sustain and expand social investment and social protection of those in the most vulnerable situations and to employ an equitable approach, giving priority to children.

The Committee notes that youth unemployment in the State party is running at 40 per cent, one of the highest rates in Europe, and rising as the economy rapidly shrinks, and that school drop-out rates are increasing among all children, but especially among Roma children, with uncertain development prospects for children neither in school nor working.

Concluding observations on the second and third periodic reports released on 13 August 2012.More information about education in Greece: https://eacea.ec.europa.eu

The report from Andorra does not provide information on health care or accessibility to education in the country. Unequal treatment of children from Andorra and refugee children can be identified and must be reduced in order to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Committee is concerned about the existing patriarchal attitudes, practices and stereotypes that discriminate against girls. The Committee is also concerned about the punitive abortion law that could lead adolescents to seek other alternative solutions in the neighbouring countries. The Committee also regrets the lack of information on adolescent health, including on reproductive and sexual health of adolescents, in the State party’s report.
The Committee recommends that the State party review the provisions of the Penal Code concerning abortion to decriminalize abortion under certain circumstances, such as pregnancies as a result of rape, with a view to guaranteeing the best interests of pregnant teenagers. The Committee further urges the State party to increase the availability of confidential and youth-friendly health services throughout the country, to enhance the availability of contraceptive services, including in all educational institutions, and to promote sex education targeted at adolescent girls and boys, with special attention to the prevention of early pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.

The Committee notes with appreciation the significant legislative, institutional and policy measures taken to ensure that children with disabilities enjoy the same protection and rights as other children in the State party. However, it is concerned that children with disabilities continue to experience social discrimination.
To improve the situation, the Committee recommends that the State party reinforce efforts to raise awareness and sensitize the public about rights and special needs of children with disabilities to help remove cultural and social barriers. Andorra should increase budget allocations to provide children with disabilities with equal access to adequate social and health services, including psychological support, counselling services, parental guidance for families of children with disabilities, and tailored services for children with learning difficulties and behavioural disorders, and raise awareness about all services available.

The Committee recommends that the State party take all measures to ensure that the involvement of children in all contexts is in full compliance with the international child labour standards, in terms of their age, working hours, their working conditions, their education and health. Andorra should also impose applicable sanctions against persons violating the existing legislation on child labour.

The Committee notes as positive the information provided by the State party that the child detainee, who was the only one deprived of liberty in 2012, was fully separated from adults.
Noting that very few numbers of children are incarcerated in detention centres, the Committee recommends that the State party ensure that children are accompanied and cared by professionals, and that they are always held entirely separate from the adult detainees, including when they are permitted to use common areas of the detention facility.

The Committee notes with concern the information provided by the State party that the impact of the economic crisis on families, particularly the rise in unemployment, has put pressure on families and led to a significant increase in incidents of domestic violence against children and women. In particular, the Committee is concerned by the State party’s findings that the number of cases of children at risk of abuse and negligence has increased in recent years. The Committee is further concerned that the child protection system is still insufficient to provide proper prevention, identification, reporting, referral, investigation, treatment, rehabilitation and follow-up on all cases of child abuse and neglect.

Concluding observations on the second periodic report released on 3 December 2012.More information about education in Andorra: https://all-andorra.com

Albania needs to invest more in education and health to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The treatment of girls and Roma children must also be improved.

The Committee recommends that the State party address as a matter of priority the situation of extreme marginalization of children with disabilities in the State party. In particular, the Committee recommends that the State party undertake long-term awareness-raising programmes in order to change and combat negative societal attitudes prevailing against children with disabilities. The Committee also recommends to set up mechanisms for early detection and multidisciplinary intervention services for children with disabilities and their families and take all the necessary measures to increase their access to preschool education. Albania should further ensure that all children with disabilities, including children with mental, hearing and speech disabilities receive proper financial support and care from the State and that support to families is no longer restricted to one child per family. The Committee further recommends that Albania develop a comprehensive national strategy on disability, promoting the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all children with disabilities, with special focus on time-bound measures to ensure that children with disabilities access mainstream education.

The Committee urges the State party to 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. In particular, the Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to address child malnutrition, focusing primarily on the most disadvantaged categories of children and on nutrition education and access to quality food. The Committee further recommends to Albania to ensure that access to basic health care is not conditional upon the mother’s membership in the social security schemes and take all necessary measures to counter the pervasive practice of health workers and doctors asking for informal payments. In addition, Albania should strengthen the link between maternal and child health services, including paediatric institutions, and the collaboration of these services and the early childhood care institutions.

The Committee is concerned at the absence of specialized health services for adolescents, including mental health services, and the fact that existing counselling services are not used by adolescents.

The Committee recommends to take all the necessary measures to address air pollution and contamination of drinking water.

The Committee urges the State party to strengthen its efforts to eradicate child labour, particularly in its worst forms, by addressing the root causes of economic exploitation through poverty eradication and education. In particular, the Committee urges the State party to strengthen the labour inspectorate and provide labour inspectors with all the necessary support, including child labour expertise, with a view to enabling them to monitor effectively, at the State and local levels, the implementation of labour law standards.
Albania should also ensure that the Gërdec incident is thoroughly investigated and those responsible are effectively prosecuted.

The Committee urges the State party to establish specialized juvenile courts with adequate human, technical and financial resources throughout the country, introduce specialized judges for children in all the regions and ensure that such specialized judges receive appropriate education and training. The Committee further urges the State Party to ensure that children are no longer detained in police stations together with adults and without access to a lawyer and that all cases of mistreatment are properly investigated and punished. The Committee further recommends to organize regular training for law enforcement personnel, including police and prison administration staff, in order to ensure that they all have a thorough understanding of provisions of the Convention and are aware that violations are not acceptable and will be investigated, and that perpetrators are liable to prosecution.
In addition, the Committee recommends to take urgent measures to address the conditions of detention in pretrial detention centres for juveniles and also ensure that all children deprived of liberty have effective access to education and health services, including mental health care.

The Committee is deeply concerned about the persistence of “blood feuds” resulting from the application of customary law known as “Kanun” and, in particular, the killing of children and the confinement of a large number of children for fear of being killed, especially in the northern areas of the State party. In that regard, the Committee expresses deep concern that in May 2012, a 14-year-old girl was killed in a “blood feud”.

In Iceland, the child rights situation is very good, with few exceptions. Participation must be improved and health care can also be improved.

The Committee is concerned that the number of pregnancies and abortions among girls under the age of 18 is relatively high, which may be attributed to a general lack of knowledge of reproductive health, access to contraceptives and counselling services on reproductive health.
The Committee recommends that the State party raise awareness among adolescents about reproductive health and negative impacts of early pregnancies and abortions, and provide access to contraceptives and counselling services on reproductive health, including psychological counselling.

The Committee is concerned that access to services by children with disabilities may be limited by public allocations.
Therefore, the Committee recommends that the State party continue and strengthen measures to include children with disabilities in all areas of life as well as ensure that children with disabilities are provided with all necessary support and services without undue delay and financial constraints should not be an obstacle in accessing services. Iceland should further ensure that data collected on persons with disabilities is disaggregated also by the nature of the disability, age and gender.

The Committee welcomes the regulation by the Ministry of Health and Social Security exempting children below the age of 18 from health-care and hospital fees. Further, the Committee appreciates that obesity among children and young people has decreased, but is concerned that it remains a problem.
To improve the situation, the Committee recommends that the State party continue educating the public about healthy nutrition and negative impacts of obesity on a child’s health and development.

The Committee is concerned that there is a growing number of children in the State party who are being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or related conditions, leading to an increase in the prescription of psychostimulant drugs. It is also concerned that the waiting lists for mental health diagnosis and treatment are long. To improve the situation, the Committee recommends to improve the accuracy of the diagnosis of children with such problems and strengthen mental health services for children and guarantee access to examinations and treatment needed, including by improving the capacity of treatment and diagnostic centres as well as pay greater attention to other kinds of treatment, including psychological, educational and social measures, and strengthen the support to parents and teachers.

The Committee notes with concern that, while compulsory education in the State party lasts until 16 years of age (although may be completed earlier), the minimum age of employment remains 15 years of age. The Committee is also concerned that some children in the State party begin working at an early age, reportedly at 13–14 years. Although this work may be light in nature, it may be undertaken under bad conditions and inappropriate work arrangements that expose them to long working hours, high rates of work accidents and harassment, and often give them more responsibility than is fitting with their age.

The Committee recommends that the State party bring the juvenile justice system fully in line with the Convention.
The Committee also recommends that the State party ensure, through adequate legal provisions and regulations, that all children victims and/or witnesses of crimes, including those perpetrated by State and non-State actors, are provided with the protection required by the Convention. The Committee recommends the State party to encourage courts to make use of the Children’s House for obtaining testimonies from children.

The Committee takes note of the deep financial crisis undergone by the State party since the crash of its banking system in 2008, which had a severe impact on its ability to maintain the level of public investment and employment, which in turn impacted on children and their families, especially on lower income families. However, the Committee notes with appreciation the State party’s fiscal efforts to protect the rights of children, especially regarding special protection measures, and that it intends to redress the budget cuts to social investment, including education and health, as its financial and economic situation steadily continues to improve.

Concluding observations on the third and fourth periodic reports released on 23 January 2012.The Committee welcomes the withdrawal of the reservation concerning article 9 of the Convention in February 2009. The Committee regrets, however, that the State party has not withdrawn its reservation concerning article 37. More information about education in Iceland: https://work.iceland.is and https://www.government.is

China practices continuous discrimination against Tibetan and Uyghur children and violations of their rights. Moreover, patriarchal structures prevail in the country and girls are often aborted or killed after birth and are generally deprived of their rights. In addition, tensions between Hong Kong and China negatively impact children's rights.

The Committee is deeply concerned about the pervasive discrimination against girls and women in mainland China and the persistent patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted stereotypes and practices that perpetuate discrimination against girls. The Committee is further concerned that due to long-standing traditions and cultural influences that perpetuate boy preference and unequal status of girls, sex-selective abortions, female infanticide and abandonment of girls remain widespread, resulting among others in a high male-to-female sex ratio.

The Committee is disturbed by reports of forced sterilization and abortions in mainland China targeting, among others, teenage girls, carried out by local family
officials in the context of the implementation of the one-child policy, practices which contravene the fundamental principles and provisions in the Convention.

With respect to mainland China, the Committee notes as positive the adoption of various policies that promote the rights of children with disabilities. However, it notes with concern that the State party continues to adopt a medical approach to disability and that the services for children with disabilities are centred mostly on institutions for physical “rehabilitation”. The Committee is concerned about the lack of screening programmes for early detection of disabilities in all areas of the State party. With regard to Macao, China, the Committee is concerned that children with disabilities experience de facto discrimination and have limited access to inclusive education and well-trained, motivated teachers. It is further concerned about the lack of disaggregated data on children with disabilities in Hong Kong, China, and that reports indicate that they are commonly excluded and discriminated against, including by teachers, and bullied by their peers.

The Committee welcomes the improvements in immunization rates, as well as the significant reduction in maternal and child mortality in mainland China and the increase of births in hospitals, including in rural areas. However, it is deeply concerned about the persistence of health disparities between urban and rural areas, among migrant children and between and within different regions, particularly in western China. It is further concerned about the gaps in the allocation of health resources between urban and rural areas and the quality of health care for children living in remote and poor areas and children of migrant workers.
The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen efforts to address, as matter of urgency, the existing disparities in health outcomes and resource allocations in order to ensure that all children in mainland China enjoy the same access to and quality of health services, paying special attention to children in vulnerable situations, especially children living in poverty and rural areas and children of migrant workers. In particular, it recommends that the State party take all measures to eliminate child and maternal mortality in mainland China, including by improving health infrastructure and the availability of and accessibility to emergency obstetric and neonatal care and skilled birth attendants at primary health facilities in rural and poor areas.

The Committee remains concerned about the limited access to and long waiting periods for mental health services available for children in mainland China and Hong Kong, China.
The Committee recommends that, in all areas under its jurisdiction, the State party expand preventive and therapeutic mental health services for adolescents and that it adopt comprehensive child mental health policies and ensure that mental health promotion, counselling and prevention of mental health disorders in primary health care, schools and communities are integral features in each policy.

The Committee is deeply concerned about the incidence and prevalence of lead poisoning of children in mainland China, which has resulted in permanent mental and physical disabilities among hundreds of thousands of children, especially in poor and rural areas. The Committee is particularly concerned about the lack of remedial solutions for the affected children and their families, reports of threats against individuals seeking treatment and information and of refusals to provide appropriate treatment for the affected children.
The Committee recommends that the State Party strengthen the implementation of regulations in mainland China to ensure that the business sector complies with international and national human rights, labour, environment and other standards, particularly as regards child rights. The Committee further recommends that the State party immediately conduct a nationwide, publicly accessible assessment to determine the extent of lead poisoning affecting children and communities across the country, and design a comprehensive public health strategy to tackle chronic lead exposure and its long-term consequences. In addition, China should effectively monitor the implementation of the regulatory framework for the industries, including chemical factories operating in the State party, to ensure that their activities do not affect children’s rights and have adverse impact on children; and ensure appropriate sanctions and remedies are provided when violations occur.

The Committee recommends that in all areas of its jurisdiction, the State party strengthen its efforts to build a system of restorative and rehabilitative juvenile justice. With regard to mainland China, the Committee urges the State party to ensure that no child is deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily and that the best interests of the child shall be the primary consideration in any action.

The Committee further recommends to abolish the institutionalized system of re-education through labour and work study schools, which allows for the widespread application of administrative detention of children; and end the use of incommunicado detention of children, including by immediately closing all secret detention facilities, such as black jails. Also, China should ensure that children arrested and deprived of their liberty are brought before an independent judicial authority to examine the legality of their arrest and detention within 24 hours of their arrest, are provided with adequate free and independent legal assistance immediately and can contact their parents or close relatives.

The Committee is deeply disturbed by an alarming escalation of self-immolations by Tibetan children and the State party’s failure to prevent such loss of life by addressing the deep underlying causes and long-standing grievances of Tibetans. It is further concerned about reports of detention and imprisonment of Tibetan children accused of “inciting” self- immolations, and of harassment and intimidation of families of victims, which could exacerbate the situation and lead to more self-immolations.

The Committee is deeply concerned that despite the constitutional guarantees of freedom of religious belief for ethnic and religious minorities, the State party continues to introduce regulations and policies that impose severe restrictions on cultural and religious freedoms of various groups of children, including Tibetan and Uighur children and children of Falun Gong practitioners. In particular, the Committee is deeply disturbed by frequent reports indicating that Tibetan and Uighur children and children of Falun Gong practitioners seeking to exercise their right to freedom of religion and conscience are arrested, detained and subject to ill-treatment and torture.

Concluding observations on the third and fourth periodic reports released on 29 October 2013. More information about education in China: https://www.chinaeducenter.com

The report from Kuwait puts a strong focus on the welfare of Bidoon children, who enjoy free education as part of the state program, but otherwise live in poor conditions, without health care and often suffering from discrimination.

The Committee expresses its concern that abortion is allowed only when the mother’s life is threatened and is criminalized in all other circumstances. Therefore, the Committee recommends that the State party review its legislation concerning abortion, with a view notably to guaranteeing the best interests of pregnant teenagers, and ensure by law and in practice that the views of the child always be heard and respected in abortion decisions.

The Committee recommends that the State party adopt urgent measures to address the situation of Bidoon children with disabilities in terms of their right to have access to suitable health care, education and rehabilitation services depending on their particular disability. Kuwait should also develop a comprehensive national strategy to expand inclusive education in order for all children with disabilities to benefit from a quality inclusive education system, irrespective of their different capacities, and provide to all schools sufficient numbers of specialist teachers and professionals offering individual support and ensure that all professionals are adequately trained so that all children with disabilities can effectively enjoy their right to quality inclusive education. The Committee further recommends to adopt concrete measures to eliminate obstacles and barriers to indoor and outdoor facilities and undertake awareness-raising campaigns aimed at the government, the public and families to promote the positive image of children and adults with disabilities and their role as active participants in and contributors to society.

To guarantee every child the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee urges the State party to take immediate measures to ensure that all Bidoon children receive without delay all medical care and treatment required by their health condition.

The Committee notes with concern the absence of a legislative framework to regulate mental care. In this context, the Committee is seriously concerned at reported cases of girls with no mental illness arbitrarily placed by their families in mental care institutions for indeterminate periods of time.
The Committee urges the State party to adopt without delay a law regulating mental care. It also urges the State party to ensure that girls arbitrarily placed in mental care be removed without delay from mental care institutions and that proper medical screening be systematically conducted before admitting girls to hospitals.

The Committee expresses concern that children are generally not perceived as rights holders in Kuwaiti society and that their participation in the public sphere and their opportunity to have their voices heard in decision-making processes are absent at the policy level and insufficient at the family, school and institutional and community levels.

The Committee notes as positive the adoption of the Private Sector Labour Code which prohibits the employment of children under the age of 15. The Committee is however concerned that, due to the marginalized situation of their families, Bidoon children drop out of school and work on the streets or as domestic workers.
The Committee urges the State party to address the root causes of poverty and of the economic exploitation of Bidoon children and ensure that families living in poverty receive financial support and free and accessible services and that their children do not drop out of school.

The Committee urges the State party to refrain from lowering the age where deprivation of liberty can be imposed and to ensure that detention is used as a measure of last resort and for the shortest possible period of time, and that it is reviewed on a regular basis with a view to its withdrawal. Kuwait should also take immediate and concrete measures for all girls detained on the ground of “possible perversity” to be released without delay and review all laws that have permitted their detention; and ensure by law and in practice that children, both victims and accused, are provided with effective and adequate legal and other assistance at an early stage of the procedure and throughout the legal proceedings and that interpreters are provided for children who do not speak Arabic at all stages of the judicial process.

The Committee notes as positive the establishment in 2010 of the Central System to Resolve Illegal Resident Status, the issuance of birth certificates for some Bidoon children and the assurances given by the delegation that the situation of Bidoon families will be resolved in the next five years. The Committee is nevertheless deeply concerned about the persistent discrimination against Bidoon children, with a great proportion of them being deprived of their basic rights, in particular their rights to birth registration and access to health care, social services and education, and living in precarious conditions in the State party.

Concluding observations on the second periodic report released on 29 October 2013.More information about education in Kuwait: https://borgenproject.org and
https://www.kuwaiteducation.info

Much of the report from Israel revolves around the territories occupied by Israel and the resulting devastating child rights situation in those territories. Additional children are dying and being injured as a result of the armed conflict, and infrastructure in Israel and the occupied territories is being destroyed, limiting the availability of health care and education.

The Committee recommends that the State party reconsider the model of parental choice and establish a formal process, with strict procedural safeguards, designed to assess and determine the best interests of the child with disabilities and ensure that the right of children with disabilities to be heard and have their views taken into account is fully respected in this process. The Committee further recommends that Israel develop a comprehensive national strategy on children with disabilities with the view to expanding inclusive education to all children who could benefit from it. Particular attention should be paid to children in the most disadvantaged situations, among them children with autism. Israel should also ensure the provision of adequate human, financial and technical resources for schools to effectively provide inclusive education for children with disabilities.

To guarantee every child the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee urges the State party to take all necessary measures to ensure that all children enjoy this right without discrimination. The Committee also recommends that the State party guarantee safe and unconditional access by all children and pregnant women living in the OPT to health services, including emergency medical care, and ensure the availability of adequate medical supplies and trained personnel. This recommendation also applies to Bedouin children in the Negev. The Committee urges the State party to cease its attacks against hospitals and medical facilities and to urgently allow entry into Gaza of all the necessary material for the reconstruction of medical infrastructure and to ensure timely transfer without delay of all children and pregnant mothers in need of medical care outside the OPT. The Committee also urges the State party to adopt immediate measures for the restoration of safe drinking water and adequate sanitation services and ensure unimpeded access of humanitarian agencies which provide those services until the restoration is completed.

The Committee is concerned about the critical water shortage faced by Palestinian children and their families and by Bedouin children in the Negev due to prohibitions of access to natural resources, restrictions on water utilization and destruction of water services including traditional cistern-based water infrastructure essential for maintaining the Bedouin people’s nomadic and agricultural way of life.

The Committee emphasizes that the illegal long-lasting occupation of Palestinian territory (OPT) and the Syrian Golan Heights, the continued expansion of unlawful settlements and construction of the Wall into the West Bank as well as land confiscation, destruction of houses and livelihood of Palestinians constitute severe and continuous violations of the rights of Palestinian children and their families, feed the cycle of humiliation and violence and jeopardize a peaceful and stable future for all children of the region.

The Committee strongly urges the State party to guarantee that juvenile justice standards apply to all children without discrimination and that trials are conducted in a prompt and impartial manner, in accordance with minimum fair trial standards. The Committee also urges the State party to dismantle the institutionalized system of detention and use of torture and ill-treatment of Palestinian children at all stages of the judicial procedure. All those who have been involved in this illegal system should be brought to justice and punished if found guilty. The Committee also urges the State party in particular that it review and amend all laws that allow the sentencing of Palestinian children to 20 years of prison for having thrown stones, remove from detention all children that are held there for this reason, ensure that detained children have effective access to an independent judicial review of the legality of their arrest and detention within 24 hours of their arrest, are provided with adequate free and independent legal assistance immediately after their arrest, and can contact their parents or close relatives. Israel should also ensure that children accused of having committed security offences are only detained as a measure of last resort, in adequate conditions in accordance with their age and vulnerability and for the shortest possible period of time. In case of doubt on having reached the age of criminal responsibility, children have to be presumed to be below this age. In addition, the Committee recommends to ensure that all confessions written in Hebrew and signed or adopted by a Palestinian child be rejected as evidence by the courts and that decisions are no longer made solely on the basis of confessions from children as well as that Israel ensure that all detained Palestinian children are separated from adults and are held in appropriate conditions and with access to education in facilities located in the OPT.

The Committee is concerned that, when regulating surrogate motherhood arrangements, the State party has paid insufficient attention to the rights and interests of children born as a result of assisted reproduction technologies, particularly with the involvement of surrogate mothers.

The Committee takes into account the national security concerns of the State party. More information about education in Israel: https://www.haaretz.com

Uzbekistan must make improvements in the areas of freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and privacy and respect for the opinions of children. In addition, corruption in the country must be fought in order to implement children's rights.

While noting that students can seek advice from school nurses on reproductive health, there is no mandatory and comprehensive sex education in school curricula as it is considered to be “against national values”.

The Committee urges the State party to adopt a human rights-based approach to disability and specifically recommends that it undertake awareness-raising programmes, including campaigns, on eliminating discrimination against children with disabilities, and strengthen its enforcement mechanisms for ensuring compliance with its legislation prohibiting such discrimination. It further recommends to establish a system for disaggregated data collection and analysis on children with disabilities to guide the development of policies and programmes to ensure the full and equal fulfilment of the rights of children with disabilities. Additionally, the Committee recommends that the State Party establish a clear legislative definition of disability which is in compliance with the Convention, including for learning, cognitive and mental disabilities, with the aim of accurately identifying children with disabilities in order to effectively address their needs, including for inclusive education, in a non-discriminatory manner.

Uzbekistan should also adopt a social model approach, addressing attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinder the full and effective participation of children with disabilities in society on an equal basis, including by adapting curricula and implementing disability-friendly building-codes, and training all professionals working with or for children with disabilities accordingly.

To guarantee every child the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee recommends that the State party undertake further reforms for strengthening its health sector, including by ensuring adequate measures for eliminating the practice of informal fees and realizing the constitutional Right to qualified medical care free of charge for all persons. Uzbekistan should also ensure the allocation of adequate human, technical and financial resources in all State health-care facilities to ensure the availability of, inter alia, required medicines, utilities and hygiene materials. In addition, the Committee recommends to undertake a comprehensive study on the specific causes of infant, child and maternal mortality and use its findings for implementing concrete measures to reduce and prevent such mortality and increase the State party’s allocation of human, technical and financial resources for vaccinations to ensure their long-term sustainability independent of donor funding.

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. In particular, it 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 and women’s rights. Uzbekistan should also ensure effective implementation by companies, especially industrial companies, of international and national environment and health standards, effective monitoring of implementation of these standards and appropriately sanctioning and providing remedies when violations occur, as well as ensure that appropriate international certification is sought as well as require companies to undertake assessments, consultations, and full public disclosure of the environmental, health-related and human rights impacts of their business activities and their plans to address such impacts.

The Committee urges the State party to establish a juvenile justice system, including juvenile courts, on the basis of a comprehensive legal framework for a juvenile justice system, as well as diversion measures to prevent children in conflict with the law from entering the formal justice system. The Committee also urges to 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 as well as to ensure the proper and timely investigation of all cases of alleged mistreatment and subject perpetrators of such mistreatment to commensurate sanctions. Uzbekistan should further ensure that detention is a measure of last resort and for the shortest possible period of time, and that it is reviewed on a regular basis with a view to its withdrawal as well as also ensure that children are not, including in relation to police custody, detained together with adults. Additionally, in instances where detention is unavoidable, Uzbekistan should ensure that the conditions for this are compliant with international standards and ensure that all children deprived of their liberty have effective access to education and health services.

The Committee remains gravely concerned about the severity and pervasiveness of corruption in the State party, particularly regarding birth registration and the issuance of birth certificates, access to health care and education, which constitutes a serious obstacle to the effective use of the State party’s resources and the implementation of the Convention. Furthermore, the Committee is concerned that current sanctions against perpetrators of corruption are insufficient.

Concluding observations on the third and fourth periodic reports released on 10 July 2013. More information about education in Uzbekistan: LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN and Preschool in Uzbekistan