COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONCLUDES FORTY-FIFTH SESSION

The Committee on the Rights of the Child today concluded its forty-fifth session, issuing its conclusions and recommendations on the situation of children in Slovakia, the Maldives, Uruguay and Kazakhstan, all of whose reports on efforts to comply with the Convention on the Rights of the Child were considered during the session. The reports of Sudan, Guatemala, Ukraine and Bangladesh on efforts to comply with the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and the reports of Monaco, Norway, Sweden and Guatemala on the involvement of children in armed conflict, were also considered, and concluding observations issued on them.

Four new members of the Committee were sworn in at the beginning of the session: Agnes Akosua Aidoo of Ghana; Luigi Citarella of Italy; Maria Herczog of Hungary; and Dainius Puras of Lithuania. In addition, at its first meeting a new Bureau was elected: Committee Expert Yanghee Lee, of the Republic of Korea, was elected as Chairperson; Kamel Filali of Algeria, Rosa Maria Ortiz of Paraguay, Awich Pollar of Uganda, and Jean Zermatten of Switzerland were elected to serve as Vice-Chairpersons; and Committee Expert Lothar Krappmann of Germany was elected as Rapporteur.

The Committee's next session will be held from 17 September to 5 October 2007 at the Palais Wilson in Geneva. Scheduled for consideration are the reports of Sierra Leone and Venezuela. Under the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Bulgaria, France and Spain will present reports. On the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, the reports of Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Qatar, Spain and Syria are scheduled to be examined.

Final Observations and Recommendations on Reports Presented Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child

Slovakia

Among follow-up measures and progress achieved in the second periodic report of Slovakia, the Committee welcomed the adoption of a number of acts relating to children’s rights, including the Family Act; the Act on Social and Legal Protection of Children; the Criminal Procedure Code; and the amendment to the Civil Procedure Code. The Committee also welcomed the adoption of legislation providing protection for the rights of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum, and the initiation of the Children’s Rights Monitoring Project of the Slovak National Centre for Human Rights. The Committee noted with appreciation that, since consideration of its initial report, Slovakia had ratified, inter alia, both Optional Protocols to the Convention – on the involvement of children in armed conflict (in 2006), and on the sale of children, child pornography and child prostitution (in 2004); the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption; the Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Cooperation in Respect to Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children; and the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.

The Committee remained concerned that the general principle of the best interests of the child was not explicitly included in all legislative and administrative measures and programmes relevant to children in Slovakia. It also remained concerned that the weight given in practice to the views of the child was limited owing to traditional societal attitudes towards children, especially within the family. While the Committee noted with appreciation the expansion of the "Child Security" telephone hotline, that hotline operated only four hours a day and was not operational on a national scale. In that connection, the Committee regretted that no information had been provided as to whether or not reporting child abuse or other forms of violence against children was mandatory. Finally, the Committee noted with concern that while the law prohibited violence against women and children, it was not effectively enforced.

The Committee was concerned that the already large number of children in institutional care had increased and that the Roma constituted the majority of that population. It also noted with concern that in facilities such as youth diagnostic centres, and children’s and youth re-education homes, relaxation or protection rooms were often misused as a form of punishment. The Committee was also concerned that most government residential homes were long-term rather than short-term facilities, and that children from such homes had difficulty integrating into society at age 18 and were at increased risk of falling victim to trafficking. In particular, the Committee noted with concern the continued negative stereotypes of, and attitudes towards, the Roma minority, including their children, in all aspects of society, and which had additionally been manifested in some of Slovakia's references to the Roma community in its report to the Committee. The Committee urged Slovakia to recognize the rights of persons, including children, belonging to minority groups and to consider adopting a comprehensive legal act providing protection of the rights of such persons. In particular, it urged Slovakia to ensure that children belonging to minority groups had equal access to education, health and other services as other children. The Committee was also concerned at the high level of rape of children between the ages of 7 and 18, even in protective environments such as families and schools. In that connection, it was concerned at the fact that the Slovak judicial legislation and practice did not explicitly penalize sexual exploitation of children and that, despite its legal prohibition, child prostitution remained a problem in Romani settlements with the worst living conditions.

The Maldives

Having completed its review of the second and third periodic reports of the Maldives, the Committee welcomed the Maldives ratification or accession to international instruments that positively impacted the implementation of the rights of the child, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its Optional Protocol on 19 September 2006; the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women on 13 March 2006; the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on 20 April 2004 and to its Optional Protocol on 15 February 2006; and the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography on 10 May 2002 and on the involvement of children in armed conflict on 29 December 2004.

On the issue of discrimination, the Committee noted with concern that children born out of wedlock were not entitled to equal rights and that they faced both de facto and de jure discrimination in their everyday life in the Maldives. It was also disappointed that the persistence of stereotypical attitudes concerning the roles and responsibilities of women and men still constituted an impediment to the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by girls in the Maldives, and was concerned that children with disabilities had limited access to social and health care services, and few opportunities for inclusive education. The Committee regretted that insufficient measures were being taken to address the serious problem of violence against children, child abuse, including sexual abuse, and ill-treatment of children. It urged the Maldives, among other things, to undertake a national study on domestic violence, ill-treatment of children and child abuse, including sexual abuse in the family; that it develop a comprehensive national strategy to prevent and respond to those issues; and that it establish effective procedures and mechanisms to receive, monitor and investigate complaints, and to prosecute cases of ill-treatment. The Committee was also seriously concerned at the rapidly growing drug addiction problem in the Maldives. It noted with concern the information that the average age of first use of drugs was 12 years, but that even younger children were known to have started using drugs and, in particular, that heroin was the drug of first use for many children. Moreover, the Committee regretted the Maldives' approach to address the problem of child drug addiction by treating children as criminals and not as victims.

The Committee noted with concern that the administration of juvenile justice in the Maldives was still based on the principle of punishment and detention, rather than on the restorative model providing measures for rehabilitation and reintegration of children; that the minimum age of criminal responsibility was too low, at 10 years; that children from the age of seven could be held liable for haddu offences, and consequently could be exposed to a death penalty; that corporal punishment was lawful as a sentence for crime and for disciplinary purposes; that there was a lack of alternative measures and sentencing options to the deprivation of liberty;
that existing regulations did not provide for hearing of the child during criminal proceedings;
and that children were detained in very poor conditions in Dhoonidhoo Detention Centre.

Uruguay

Following its review of the second periodic report of Uruguay, the Committee noted with appreciation the adoption of many legislative and programmatic measures taken with a view to implementing the Convention, including the adoption of the National Code on Childhood and Adolescence; the adoption of the Sexual Exploitation Act; the establishment of the Consultative Honorary Council for Children and Adolescents; and the programmes INFAMILIA and PANES (Programa de Atención a la Emergencia Social). The Committee also wished to welcome the ratification or accession by Uruguay to a number of international human rights instruments relevant to children's rights, including the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction; the Convention on the Protection of Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; ILO Convention No. 182 concerning the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour; the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child; the Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoption; and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

Among its concerns, the Committee regretted that Uruguay had neither elaborated a comprehensive national plan of action on children’s rights, nor had an independent national human rights institution in order to provide an accessible complaint and monitoring mechanism for the implementation of children’s rights. The Committee remained concerned that children born out of wedlock continued to be stigmatized and discriminated against, as unmarried underage parents might not have custody over their children, and that such children were not assigned the names of their biological parents. Furthermore, it was concerned that children were discriminated against because of their appearance (including their way of dressing) and that Afro-descendants children also suffered from discrimination. The Committee was also concerned over the high number of children deprived of liberty and over reports indicating cases of torture and degrading treatment by law enforcement officials of children while held in detention. The Committee recommended that Uruguay adopt pending legislation as soon as possible explicitly prohibiting all forms of corporal punishment of children in all settings, including the home. Uruguay should also take all measures to ensure the enforcement of the law, conduct capacity-building of professionals working with children, carry out awareness raising and public education campaigns against corporal punishment, and promote non-violent, participatory methods of childrearing and education.

The Committee was concerned over the high rate of children in institutions and the insufficient provision of family type alternative care measures. The Committee urged Uruguay to reinforce mechanisms for monitoring the number of cases and the extent of violence, sexual abuse, neglect, maltreatment or exploitation of children; that it ensure that professionals working with children received training on their obligation to report and take appropriate action in suspected cases of domestic violence affecting children; that it strengthen support for victims of violence, abuse, neglect and maltreatment; and that it extend national coverage of a 24-hour three digit toll free child helpline service. The Committee was very concerned over the high number of street children, the lack of social services and reintegration measures available and the stigma they continued to suffer due to their social condition. Further, it was concerned that sexual exploitation and the sale of children was a rising problem in Uruguay, especially in tourist areas and along the borders, which required further preventive and reintegration measures for the victims. Finally, on juvenile justice, the Committee was concerned over the conditions in places of detention, extended periods of pre-trial detention, the absence of a specialised juvenile justice system, and that the deprivation of liberty of juvenile offenders was not used as a measure of last resort.

Kazakhstan

Among follow-up measures and progress achieved in the second and third periodic reports of Kazakhstan, the Committee noted the enactment of the decision of January 2006 establishing the Committee for Protection of Children’s Rights; the State programme for the reform and development of health care in Kazakhstan for 2005-2010; the State programme for the development of education for 2005-2010; and the programme to reduce poverty for 2003-2005. The Committee also welcomed Kazakhstan's ratification of the following international human rights instruments in January 2006: the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation or the Prostitution of Others.

While the Government had made efforts to eradicate acts of maltreatment and degrading punishment in boarding schools, homes, and detention centres, the Committee remained concerned about reports that such brutal and humiliating behaviour still existed and that the possibility of reporting such treatment and the compensation for such violations of child rights was still limited. The Committee also regretted that there was no specific legal prohibition of corporal punishment in foster care, military schools, kinship care and the workplace and that despite legal prohibitions for some areas children were still victims of corporal punishment. The Committee was also concerned that progress had not been made in reducing the large number of abandoned and homeless children, the number of children placed in institutions, and the conditions in those institutions, as well as reports that many children lacking parental care were apprehended and placed in the same closed facilities as children suspected or accused of criminal wrongdoing. It recommended that Kazakhstan develop alternative care policies, regulations and practices placing greater emphasis on reunification and rehabilitation programmes and that it made sure that such children were never placed in prison-type institutions. Regarding violence and abuse, the Committee recommended that Kazakhstan, among other things, develop and implement a comprehensive strategy for the prevention and reduction of child abuse and neglect; that it develop and implement an effective system for reporting of cases of child abuse and neglect; and that it provide a 3-digit, toll-free, 24-hour national helpline for children.

The Committee was deeply concerned that a large number of children with disabilities were in schools without special equipment and professional competence for the needs of those children and that the predominant method used to address those problems was still establishing boarding schools. The Committee also regretted that insufficient efforts had been made to effectively improve the situation of refugee children. It was deeply concerned that no adequate efforts had been made to respond to the highly problematic situation of street children, in particular owing to their vulnerability to trafficking and economic and sexual exploitation. The Committee was further concerned at the high instance of children engaged as sex workers, including a high number of very young children, who were also subjected to violence, abuse and trafficking, and that only a negligible number of cases reached the courts. The Committee recommended, among other things, that Kazakhstan increase its awareness raising campaigns on sexual exploitation, prostitution and child abuse; that it implement appropriate policies and targeted programmes for the prevention, recovery and social reintegration of child victims; and that it undertake in-depth studies and research to identify the scope, extent and root causes of sexual exploitation of children to facilitate the implementation of effective strategies.

Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography

Sudan

Following its review of the initial report of Sudan on the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, the Committee noted with appreciation the programmes for the return and reintegration of children working as camel jockeys from the Gulf States; the restructuring of the Committee for the Eradication of the Abduction of Women and Children in 2002, including the provision of additional resources to enhance its effectiveness; the implementation of the programme formulated by the National Council for Child Welfare in the framework of the national plan of action to combat violence against women, in November 2006; the establishment of a child and women protection unit in the Khartoum State police service and the plan to extend that project to other parts of the country; and the criminalization of slavery and forced labour in the Sudan’s legislation. The Committee welcomed Sudan's ratification of the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict; ILO Convention No. 182 concerning the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour; and the Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime.

The Committee regretted that information on the extent and prevalence of the sale and trafficking of children and of child prostitution and child pornography in Sudan was insufficient, and that there was no centralized system of data collection on child protection issues. It also noted that the level of awareness about the Optional Protocol and its provisions was still low. The Committee was concerned that the sale of children was only considered as an offence complementary to other offences in the Sudanese Criminal Code; that there were no provisions criminalizing the production, distribution, dissemination, import, export, offer, sale or possession of child pornography; that Sudan’s Criminal Code did not contain a specific provision outlawing trafficking in persons; and that there was no provision criminalizing transfer of organs of the child for profit. On a separate legal issue, the Committee recommended that Sudan abolish the principle of double criminality in order to allow the prosecution of any case where its nationals had committed abroad an offence covered under the Optional Protocol.

In terms of protection, the Committee was concerned that children victims of the offences under the Optional Protocol might not always be considered and treated as victims in Sudan. Among other things, the Committee recommended that Sudan ensure that child victims of offences under the Optional Protocol were neither criminalized nor penalized, and that all possible measures be taken to avoid their stigmatization and social marginalization. Furthermore, all necessary measures should be taken to ensure that the criminal justice system gave primary consideration to the best interest of the child in such cases. The Committee also recommended that Sudan give priority to allocating budgetary resources so that adequate services were available for child victims, including physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration, and that it provide appropriate training and capacity-building for all those professionals working with child victims of the abuses covered by the Protocol. Finally, the Committee was concerned that abductions of children continued to occur for forced recruitment, forced labour and sexual exploitation, especially in Darfur and South Sudan. The Committee encouraged Sudan to continue its efforts to strengthen its international judicial and police cooperation activities for the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution and punishment of those responsible for acts involving the sale of children, child prostitution, child pornography and child sex tourism.

Guatemala

Among positive aspects in the initial report of Guatemala, the Committee noted with appreciation the adoption of the Integral Law for the Protection of Children and Adolescents in 2003; and the adoption of a National Plan of Action to Combat Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in 2001. The Committee further commended Guatemala's accession to or ratification of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime in April 2004; the Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoption, in March 2003; the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, in May 2002; and ILO Convention No. 182 concerning the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, in October 2001.

The Committee remained concerned about the insufficient coordination among bodies mandated to implement the Optional Protocol, and regretted the lack of mechanisms for the periodic evaluation of its implementation. The Committee was also concerned over the general lack of awareness raising and prevention campaigns in Guatemala on the provisions and offences covered in the Protocol, and noted with concern that the practices of purchasing sexual services from children and the selling of child pornography continued to be common and socially tolerated. The Committee noted with great concern the high numbers of children affected by commercial sexual exploitation in Guatemala – estimated by the Government at 15,000 victims – and regretted the lack of documentation and reliable disaggregated data on the prevalence of sale, trafficking, child prostitution and child pornography. The Committee encouraged Guatemala to intensify its efforts to provide adequate budgetary allocations for coordination, prevention, promotion, protection, care, investigation and suppression of acts covered by the Protocol. Furthermore, it recommended that adequate resources for legal assistance and physical and psychological recovery of victims be allocated.

The Committee repeated its concern over the lack of criminalization of offences covered in the Protocol, and over Guatemala’s interpretation of its Constitution, which placed serious limitations on extraditions for those offences. The Committee was deeply concerned over the lack of investigations and prosecutions for offences covered by the Protocol. It was particularly concerned by the failure to undertake effective measures to protect child victims, and noted reports that child victims were penalized and institutionalised during prolonged periods awaiting decisions in their cases. Furthermore, the Committee noted that resources for interdisciplinary social reintegration and physical and psychosocial recovery measures for child victims were insufficient. Finally, the Committee was concerned that during operations to rescue child victims of sexual exploitation the control of the age of the victims was inadequate. Owing to serious concerns about inter-country adoption in Guatemala, the Committee reiterated its recommendation that Guatemala suspend all adoptions and urgently undertake measures to comply with the Protocol, article 21 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the provisions of the Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoption. The Committee also urged Guatemala to investigate and prosecute individuals responsible for the sale of children for the purpose of adoption.

Ukraine

After reviewing the initial report of Ukraine, the Committee noted with appreciation Ukraine's ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 2006; its ratification of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction in 2006; the creation, within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, of a department to combat offences relating to trafficking in persons in 2005; the entry into force of the Organizational and Legal Conditions for the Social Protection of Orphans and Children Deprived of Parental Care (Implementation) Act in 2005; and the ratification of the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its two protocols, on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, and against the smuggling of migrants, in 2004.

The Committee was concerned that the general principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child had not been taken into account in the design and implementation of the measures adopted by Ukraine under the Protocol. It was in particular concerned that children’s views were not given due consideration in all matters affecting them. The Committee recommended that Ukraine speedily adopt its National Plan of Action and that it develop a specific plan of action aimed at measures needed to prevent and suppress the crimes of sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. It also recommended that adequate and earmarked resources be allocated for the development of training materials and courses in all parts of the country for all relevant groups of professionals involved in the implementation of the Optional Protocol. Furthermore, the Committee recommended that Ukraine make the provisions of the Optional Protocol widely known, particularly to children and their families.

The Committee noted that Ukraine had allocated funds for the programme to support foster care. However, it regretted that Ukraine did not provide adequate budgetary allocations for support to families, and that there was a disproportionate allocation to programmes that institutionalized children. The Committee was concerned at the absence of a separate juvenile justice system that could deal with children victims of the crimes related to the Protocol. It was also concerned about the information that child victims of crimes covered by the Optional Protocol were often stigmatized, socially marginalized and might be held responsible, tried and placed in detention. The Committee recommended that Ukraine ensure that child victims of exploitation and abuse were neither criminalized nor penalized, and that all possible measures be taken to avoid the stigmatization and social marginalization of these children. In that connection, the Committee was concerned that the status of the victim was not well defined in the Ukrainian Criminal Code, and that legislation did not provide clear and sufficient sanctions for physical and psychological pressure during interrogations of child victims. Furthermore, the Committee was concerned that sanctions, even where adequate, were mostly not enforced. Regretting that there were still numerous corruption-related obstacles to a transparent procedure for legal adoptions, the Committee urged Ukraine to accede to the Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoption. It also recommended the establishment of a 3-digit, 24-hour, toll-free helpline to assist child victims and their families and that that service be supported with adequate and quick psychological and practical arrangements so as to protect children from becoming victims of sale, child prostitution and child pornography.


Bangladesh

Among positive aspects in the initial report of Bangladesh, the Committee noted with appreciation the programme of repatriation and reintegration – which took place since August 2005 with the support of UNICEF – of about 200 children who were involved in camel racing in the United Arab Emirates; Bangladesh’s agreement to issue birth certificates to all refugee children, also retroactively; and the cooperation between the Government and national and international non-governmental organizations in various activities, including awareness raising and dissemination of the Optional Protocol. The Committee also welcomed that Bangladesh had ratified the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (in September 2000); ILO Convention No. 182 concerning the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (in March 2001); and the 2002 South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Convention on Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution.

The Committee was concerned that commercial sexual exploitation of children was a serious problem which continued to grow in Bangladesh, especially in the form of child prostitution and trafficking for that purpose. The Committee recommended that Bangladesh continue giving adequate importance, including at the financial level, to projects aimed at addressing the root causes – such as poverty, underdevelopment and cultural attitudes – contributing to the vulnerability of children to sale, prostitution, pornography and sex tourism. The rate of birth registration was still very low, especially in rural and remote areas, and the Committee was further concerned that there were cases of children born to refugees married to Bangladeshi nationals who were not recognized as Bangladeshi and might remain in a situation of statelessness. The Committee recommended that Bangladesh ensure that every child had a valid birth certificate; that it intensify its efforts to verify accurately the age of children and tackle the falsification of identity documents; and that it intensify its efforts to protect children from early and forced marriages, which often might also have the elements of practices prohibited under the Protocol, i.e. sale of children and/or child prostitution.

The Committee noted with concern that children aged between 16 and 18 years were not covered by the 2000 “Suppression of Violence Against Women and Children Act”; that not all types of sale of children were covered under Bangladeshi legislation; that child pornography and child prostitution were not adequately defined and punished; and that legislation did not seem to adequately cover exploitation of boys in prostitution. It was also concerned at the information that victims of the practices covered by the Protocol, notably child prostitution, were sometimes charged with immoral behaviour and detained until their case was heard, and that after the trial, especially boy victims were often placed in child correctional centres. The Committee recommended that Bangladesh take all necessary measures to ensure that, in the treatment by the criminal justice system of children who were victims of the offences described in the Protocol, the best interests of the child should be a primary consideration; and that it ensure the protection of child victims and witnesses at all stages of the criminal justice process. The Committee further recommended that Bangladesh establish an independent and effective Ombudsman for Children to deal, inter alia, with complaints from and on behalf of children in a child-sensitive and expeditious manner and provide remedies for violations of children’s rights under the Protocol. The Committee further recommended the establishment of a 3-digit, toll-free 24-hour national helpline for children, ensuring that it had an outreach component for the most marginalized groups, including in less accessible areas.

Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict

Monaco

Following a technical review of the initial report of Monaco, the Committee noted with appreciation that that members of the Prince’s Guard and the Fire Brigade, which were the only bodies having military status in the principality, had to be at least 21 years of age. Furthermore, the Committee noted with appreciation Monaco’s activities in the area of international cooperation, including the provision of financial support for action to protect the rights of children in armed conflict.

The Committee noted the steps taken by Monaco to disseminate information on relevant human rights instruments and its efforts to raise public awareness on issues related to the respect for and promotion of human rights. The Committee recommended, however, that Monaco also disseminate specific information on the provisions of the Convention and the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict.

The Committee noted that, since Monaco did not maintain an army, no legislative amendments to implement the Protocol had been made or were planned. However, in order to strengthen international measures for the prevention of the recruitment of children and their use in hostilities, the Committee recommended that Monaco consider establishing extraterritorial jurisdiction over war crimes which involved conscripting or enlisting children under the age of 15 into the armed forces, or using them to participate actively in hostilities, if such crimes were committed by or against a Monegasque national or a person who otherwise had a close link with Monaco; and that it proceed with its ratification of the Statute of the International Criminal Court. Given the potential connection between the sale of children and their recruitment into armed groups, the Committee also recommended that Monaco proceed to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Sale of Children, which it had signed on 26 June 2000. In addition, Monaco should consider becoming a party to ILO Convention No. 182 concerning the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, which, in Article 3, urged the adoption of measures for the prohibition and elimination of forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict as one of the worst forms of child labour.

Norway

Having undertaken a technical review of the initial report of Norway, the Committee welcomed the amendments to the Home Guard Act and the Compulsory Military Service Act of 19 January 2001 and to the Penal Code Act of 18 June 2002 to ensure that Norway met the minimum age requirements that applied for taking direct part in hostilities, compulsory recruitment to the armed forces and recruitment and use of soldiers in armed groups that were distinct from the armed forces of the State. It commended Norway for its active role as facilitator in a number of peace and reconciliation processes around the world, and its efforts to strengthen the realization of human rights in conflict and post-conflict situations and in peace processes. The Committee welcomed Norway's strategy for children and young people in the South entitled “Three Billion Reasons”, which reinforced Norway’s extensive economic, political and diplomatic efforts in Africa, Asia and Latin America to prevent armed conflict, promote peaceful solutions to conflicts and build lasting and stable peace, as well as Norway’s commitment to prevent the recruitment of children to armed forces and to promote the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of child soldiers, as well as their protection and rehabilitation.

Regarding volunteers under the age of 18 in the Home Guard Youth, despite safeguards, the Committee was of the view that those kinds of activities with “a military element” for children were not in full conformity with the spirit of the Optional Protocol. While noting that the volunteers of the Home Guard Youth were not subject to military discipline, the Committee, nevertheless, was concerned that that exemption from military disciplinary authority was based on a practice, but was not clearly prohibited by law.

The Committee noted that the majority of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children came to Norway from conflict areas and that, for example in 2004, 60 per cent of the examined applications were rejected. In that connection, the Committee noted with concern that Norway did not provide asylum-seeking and refugee children, including children who have been recruited or used in hostilities, who were returned from Norway to their home countries, with an adequate follow-up strategy. The Committee recommended that Norway take measures to ensure that children who had been recruited or used in hostilities and were living in reception centres were provided with adequate support and supervision, as well as adequate psychological and psychiatric care; that Norway expand provision of parental guidance programmes in reception centres and expedite its efforts to implement an instrument for the screening of traumas and post-stress syndromes among refugee children, including children recruited or used in hostilities; that Norway consider establishing a unified national guardian system for unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee children, including children who had been recruited or used in hostilities; and that Norway consider centralizing the responsibility for all unaccompanied asylum-seeking children under one child-rights oriented authority, such as the Child Welfare Services, in order to secure an equal provision of services.

Sweden

Following a technical review of the initial report of Sweden on the Optional Protocol on children and armed conflict, the Committee commended Sweden for contributing to projects for the rehabilitation and reintegration of child soldiers in many conflict and post-conflict countries. The Committee noted with appreciation the amended provision of the Swedish Penal Code, which entered into force on 1 July 2004, on trafficking in human beings which extended the criminalization of all forms of trafficking in persons, including trafficking within national borders, to other forms of exploitation, such as war service and forced labour. The Committee noted with appreciation Sweden’s active role in advocating a straight-18 ban on the use of children as soldiers in the working group on a draft optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflicts, and subsequently promoting the universal ratification of the Optional Protocol. The Committee also noted with appreciation that Sweden contributed to the implementation of the guidelines on children and armed conflict adopted by the European Union’s General Affairs and External Relations Council in December 2003.

The Committee was concerned that Sweden’s dissemination and training activities regarding the Optional Protocol were generally limited to the armed forces and military training. It recommended that Sweden develop systematic awareness-raising, education and training programmes on the provisions of the Optional Protocol for all relevant professional groups working with and for children, such as teachers, authorities working for and with asylum-seeking and migrant children coming from countries affected by armed conflict, lawyers and judges. Regarding volunteers under the age of 18 taking part in the voluntary defence organizations’ total defence-oriented youth activities, the Committee noted that such volunteers undertook firearms training. The Committee was of the view that those kinds of activities with “a military element” for children were not in full conformity with the spirit of the Optional Protocol, which emphasized that conditions of peace and security were indispensable for the full protection of children.

The Committee recommended that Sweden ensure that its domestic laws, guidelines and practice on exports of arms and other military equipment explicitly prohibited the direct and indirect export of arms and military equipment to countries where persons who had not attained the age of 18 might take a direct part in hostilities either as members of their armed forces or of armed groups distinct from the State. The Committee also recommended that Sweden consider amending the Special Representative for Unaccompanied Children Act (2005) in order to accelerate the appointment of a representative to unaccompanied children who had been recruited or used in hostilities and applying asylum in Sweden within 24 hours of the child's arrival in Sweden. It further recommended that Sweden provide all rostered representatives with adequate training paying particular attention to the psychosocial needs of children who had been recruited or used in hostilities.

Guatemala

Among positive aspects in the initial report of Guatemala, the Committee noted with appreciation the declaration made by Guatemala upon its ratification of the Optional Protocol that the minimum age for compulsory recruitment into the armed forces of Guatemala was 18 years. It also appreciated the adoption of the Integral Law for the Protection of Children and Adolescents in 2003, and Guatemala's stated intention to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The Committee further commended Guatemala's accession to or ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography on 9 May 2002; and ILO Convention No. 182 concerning the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, in October 2001.

The Committee was concerned that there was no clear prohibition of the recruitment of children below the age of 18, and no specific provision in criminalizing forced recruitment below that age. The Committee recommended that Guatemala develop systematic awareness-raising, education and training on the provisions of the Optional Protocol for children through the educational curricula and for all relevant professional groups working with asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children from countries affected by armed conflict. The Committee especially stressed the need to train the armed forces, taking into account the extensive forced recruitment of children, especially indigenous children, that had taken place by the military and paramilitary groups during the armed conflict from 1962 to 1996. The Committee remained concerned that, due to the number of children who lacked birth registration, uncertainty about the age of young recruits might result in the recruitment of children under the age of 18. Finally, the Committee noted the high prevalence of and easy access to arms for persons under the age of 18. The Committee was also concerned about reports of the use of corporal punishment in military schools, and that such punishment was not explicitly prohibited by law. In view of that, the Committee was concerned that adequate impartial complaints mechanisms for children attending military schools appeared to be lacking. Among other things, the Committee recommended that Guatemala formally prohibit corporal punishment, and that it provide children attending military schools with adequate access to independent complaints and investigation mechanisms.

The Committee was particularly concerned over the paucity of information and data on the number of children forcibly recruited by military and paramilitary groups during the armed conflict and the lack of investigations into the responsibility of those responsible for such acts. It was further concerned that the budget necessary for the implementation of reparations measures, in particular for rehabilitation, compensation, physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of children who had been involved in hostilities, was inadequate. The Committee was also concerned that the work of the National Commission for the Search of Disappeared Children and the National Reparations Programme had been slow and inefficient, and that inadequate resources had been allocated for the full compliance with sentences of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights relating to cases of child victims during the armed conflict. The Committee recommended that appropriate financial and human resources be allocated for the full implementation of comprehensive reparations measures, and of the recommendations of the Commission For Historical Clarification, especially the allocation of funding and human resources for the National Commission for the Search of Disappeared Children and the National Reparations Programme. Furthermore, the Committee encouraged Guatemala to adopt pending legislation establishing an autonomous Commission for investigating disappearances, including of children.

For use of the information media; not an official record

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