Committee on the Rights of the Child Concludes its Consideration of the Report of the Republic of the Congo
The Committee on the Rights of the Child today concluded its consideration of the combined fifth and sixth periodic report of the Republic of the Congo.
Irène Marie Cécile Mboukou Kimbatsa, Minister of Social Affairs, Solidarity and Humanitarian Action of the Republic of the Congo, introducing the report, said that in a general context marked by the negative effects of COVID-19 and certain conflicts around the world, the Republic of the Congo had continued its efforts to meet its obligations to improve the well-being of children, in particular by strengthening the legal and institutional framework for the promotion and protection of children's rights.
She noted the adoption of texts to implement law no. 4-2010 of 14 June 2010 on the protection of children, including a draft decree setting out the list and nature of work and the categories of enterprises prohibited to children, as well as a draft order establishing an alert system against the violation of children's rights.
Among the challenges that her country still had to overcome, the Minister mentioned the lack of financial means for redistributive social transfers, deficiencies in the statistical system, and the implementation of free education, which had been slowed down due to the economic crisis.
Benoît Van Keirsbilck, Coordinator of the Committee's task force on the report of the Republic of the Congo, asked about the status of the implementation of the 2010 law on the protection of the child, a "generous law" which was largely based on the Convention, but which had still not entered into force 14 years later, he noted. He asked about the coordination of government action on the protection of children's rights.
The allocation of resources was a crucial issue, Mr. Van Keirsbilck said, asking for an explanation of the apparent decline in budgets for children. He also regretted that the report contained very few disaggregated statistics – which he said were essential for the adoption of good policies.
Other experts asked about childbirth registration, the elimination of corporal punishment, and children with disabilities, among other issues.
In response to questions, the delegation said that a commission had been set up by decree with the task of completing the adoption of the three decrees to implement the 2010 law on the protection of children by 2024 at the latest. These three implementing decrees had not yet been validated and were still pending. Although there was a weakness in the coordination of public action and in the collection of statistics, efforts were currently being made by the authorities to collect all relevant statistics.
All regions in the country had services to register the birth of children, the delegation said. Families which were late in making this declaration, especially illiterate indigenous families, received assistance from the State’s social services to carry out the necessary procedures. There was no longer corporal punishment in Congolese schools. Social workers intervened in families in cases of apparent violence. The 2010 law criminalised corporal punishment in all contexts in the Republic of the Congo and provided for prison sentences and fines for violators.
In concluding remarks, Mr. Van Keirsbilck said the aim of this exercise was to establish a dialogue with the State party and ensure that it fully implemented the spirit of the Convention. Each country faced challenges, and this was also the case for the Republic of the Congo. The State party would soon receive the Committee’s concluding observations touching on a number of departments and ministries and there was a need for general coordination to ensure their implementation. A number of issues would be highlighted, including the ratification of a number of treaties that were still being discussed. He thanked the delegation, saying that the dialogue had been very interesting and productive.
Ms. Mboukou Kimbatsa, in concluding remarks, said the Congo had come to share information, to learn and to make improvements. If a joint committee was established, the Congo would be able to regularly update the Committee about developments, including on the 2010 law and the articles that were not in line with the Convention. The Congo was striving to move forward and to align itself with international standards. However, much remained to be done.
The ninety-fifth session of the Committee is being held from 15 January to 2 February. Summaries of the public meetings of the Committee can be found here, while webcasts of the public meetings can be found here. The programme of work of the session and other documents related to the session can be found here. The Committee on the Rights of the Child will issue its concluding observations on the report at the end of the session.
The Committee will next meet in public at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, 17 January, to start its consideration of the combined sixth and seventh periodic report of Bulgaria (CRC/C/BGR/6-7).
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CRC24.002E