Tonga's first report is very extensive. Especially in the area of health, many tasks arise for the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Tonga also needs to do more in the area of climate protection and preparing children for it, because the country is one of the first and most exposed to climate change and its consequences.

The Committee is concerned that the rate of teenage pregnancies is high and pregnant girls and young mothers are stigmatized. Also, teenage girls have limited access to safe reproductive and sexual health services and education, especially in rural areas and on the outer islands, and to methods of birth control, also due to fear of stigmatization. In addition, abortion is a criminal offence, without any exceptions for cases of rape or incest, and the prohibition leads teenage girls to have recourse to unsafe abortions, with consequent risks for their life and health.

The Committee is seriously concerned at the limited access of children with disabilities to inclusive education, health care, to rehabilitation, early identification and referral programmes, transportation and all public buildings and spaces, and at the situation regarding service delivery in all areas.
To improve the situation, the Committee recommends that the State party ensure that children with disabilities have effective access to public services and spaces and improve physical access to all public and private buildings, spaces, service delivery and transportation in all areas, especially in rural communities and on the outer islands. Tonga should also ensure that all children with all types of disability enjoy inclusive education and that teaching staff are adequately trained. The Committee further recommends to strengthen health-care services for children with disabilities.

To guarantee every child the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee recommends that the State party strengthen primary health care for children, particularly in remote areas and on the outer islands, and take measures to reduce infant and under-5 mortality due to perinatal and neonatal conditions.
The Committee further recommends that Tonga scale up immunization, and provide sufficient investment in suitable technologies, such as drone delivery, and human resource capacities for immunization services as well as increase efforts to improve access to basic health-care services for all children, particularly in rural and remote areas and on the outer islands. Additionally, the Committee recommends that the State party provide more resources to the mobile clinics so that they are more frequently available and reach a wider population. Tonga should also take measures to reduce child mortality due to non-communicable diseases by focusing on both prevention and management and reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases later in life by increasing early childhood obesity prevention interventions that are informed by reliable disaggregated data on children. In addition, it should develop school-based policies for healthy eating and physical education, promote nutritionally balanced meals, including larger amounts of fruits and vegetables in school meals, and continue to discourage school canteens from serving “fizzy” drinks, junk food and food high in sugar.

The Committee is concerned at the high rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviour among adolescents. It is also concerned that children aged 17 or above with intellectual, psychosocial and behavioural problems can be placed in wards together with adults.
Therefore, the Committee recommends that Tonga take urgent action to strengthen efforts to prevent suicidal behaviour among children and adolescents, including by increasing available psychological counselling services and the number of social workers in schools and communities. The Committee also recommends to undertake a study and develop a national strategy to address the issue of suicide, in cooperation with civil society and taking into account the views of children.

Noting that the State party is among the most vulnerable countries in terms of exposure to natural hazards and risk, the Committee is concerned that more could be done to include the special needs of children, including children with disabilities, in planning disaster risk reduction preparedness, response and recovery and that school infrastructure, particularly in remote areas, is not resilient, reliable and accessible in case of natural disaster.
Therefore, the Committee recommends that the State party continue building children’s awareness and preparedness for climate change and natural disasters and review emergency protocols to include assistance and other support for all children, particularly those with disabilities, during emergencies and natural disasters. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the State party improve data and assessments to have an evidence base for risk reduction and preparedness, particularly for the distinct needs and priorities of children with disabilities.

The Committee urges the State party to review and amend the legislation to ensure that children are explicitly protected from commercial sexual exploitation, including pornography, and explicitly prohibit the involvement of children in illicit activities, such as the producing and trafficking of drugs. Further, the Committee urges Tonga to develop and implement the hazardous child labour list, develop a strategy for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour and the enforcement of child labour laws, provide training for labour inspectors to enforce child labour laws and provide sufficient resources for the implementation of those laws. Tonga further needs to determine the conditions in which light work may be permitted and the number of hours during which such employment of children may be undertaken, ensuring that children have sufficient leisure time and do not miss school. Additionally, Tonga should collect data on the nature and extent of and trends in the worst forms of child labour, including commercial sexual exploitation, in order to inform current and future policies and strategies.

The Committee notes that the State party is developing a youth diversion scheme as an alternative to a formal child justice system. However, the Committee is seriously concerned that there is no law governing the administration of juvenile justice and that there is no time limit for pretrial detention of children. Furthermore, the Committee is seriously concerned that children appearing in court generally do not have legal representation and that judges and magistrates are not aware of the provisions of the Convention. In addition, due to budgetary constraints, there is no separate juvenile detention facility, children are mixed with adults and whipping can be administered as a punishment for boys below the age of 16.
To improve the situation, the Committee urges the State party to develop and adopt a youth diversion scheme, with clear timelines for its implementation and designate specially trained judges for children and ensure other relevant personnel receive appropriate education and training. Further, Tonga should ensure the provision of free, qualified and independent legal aid to children in conflict with the law at an early stage of the procedure and throughout the legal proceedings. The Committee further urges to ensure that the 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.

The Committee is concerned that the best interests of the child are not independently assessed and are subsumed into the best interests of the family and the community. Therefore, the Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to ensure that the right is appropriately integrated and consistently interpreted and applied in all legislative, administrative and judicial proceedings, as well as in decisions made by officials, especially judiciary, police, health and education professionals, the family and the community.

Concluding observations on the initial report released on 2 July 2019. More information about education in Tonga: https://neqmap.bangkok.unesco.org