COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONCLUDES FORTY-EIGHTH SESSION

The Committee on the Rights of the Child today concluded its forty-eighth session, issuing its conclusions and recommendations on the situation of children in Georgia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Sierra Leone and Eritrea, whose reports on efforts to comply with the Convention on the Rights of the Child were considered during the session. The reports of the United States and the Republic of Korea 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 the United States, the Republic of Korea and the Philippines, on the involvement of children in armed conflict, were also considered, and concluding observations issued on them.

In closing remarks by Committee Chairperson Yanghee Lee and Committee Rapporteur Lothar Krappman it was noted that the Committee was facing a significant backlog in consideration of reports once again and had decided to request approval from the General Assembly to work in two chambers, beginning in October 2009. The Committee was aware that this has significant budgetary implications, and a statement of programme budget implications – elements of which have been brought to the attention of the Committee- would be attached to the decision.

Regarding ongoing discussions among the non-governmental organization community related to the possible establishment of an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child for individual complaints and inquiries, the Committee had had the opportunity to discuss that issue several times. The Committee would like to welcome the initiative and encourage States parties to consider the issue seriously, and they looked forward to further discussions in that regard.

The Committee's next session will be held from 15 September to 3 October 2008 at the Palais Wilson in Geneva. Scheduled for consideration are the reports of Bhutan, Djibouti, and the United Kingdom under the Convention. Under the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Uganda, Tanzania, Lithuania and Austria will present reports. On the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, the reports of Uganda, Tanzania and United Kingdom are scheduled to be examined.

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

Georgia

Having reviewed the third periodic report of Georgia under the Convention, the Committee noted with appreciation the legislative and programmatic measures taken with a view to implementing the Convention, including: the Law on Combating Domestic Violence, Prevention of and Support to Victims, in June 2006; the Law on Adoption, in May 2008; the Safe School Programme, introduced in 2007; and the Action Plan for Child Care (2008-2011). The Committee also welcomed the ratification/accession by Georgia to a number of international instruments, including the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings; and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Despite Georgia's efforts to address the situation, the Committee remained concerned about information indicating that children continued to be victims of arbitrary detentions, police brutality and ill-treatment in detention facilities. Another concern was that corporal punishment in the home remained lawful in Georgia and it continued to occur in the home as well as schools and institutions. Georgia should adopt legislation explicitly prohibiting all forms of corporal punishment of children in all settings, and conduct awareness-raising and public education campaigns against it. The Committee was deeply concerned that a large number of children were customarily placed in institutions due to the lack of adequate services and financial support to families or the absence of social service alternatives, and that most of the children in residential care were in fact not orphans. Georgia should expedite the deinstitutionalization programme, while at the same time conditions in existing institutions should be improved.

Another grave concern were the high rates of neonatal deaths and premature births, in particular, among the minority groups. Also, many children had limited access to medical care as a result of geographic restrictions, and there were marked disparities in the quality of water. The Committee urged Georgia to improve ante- and post-natal care and to develop campaigns to inform parents about basic child health and nutrition. Other concerns included a lack of sufficient protection of the rights of children in isolated refugee communities, and the situation of internally displaced children, who continued to face serious socio-economic deprivation. The Committee recommended that Georgia, inter alia, integrate internally displaced children and families into the State social assistance schemes as a matter of priority; take measures to close segregated schools for internally displaced children, and integrate them in mainstream schools without delay; and ensure that appropriate alternative accommodation was made available to all residents, especially families with children, upon the closure of collective centres, while seeking long-term solutions. Among a number of juvenile justice concerns, the Committee deeply regretted Georgia's decision of to lower the minimum age for criminal responsibility from 14 to 12, and strongly urged the reinstatement, as a matter of urgency, of the minimum age of criminal responsibility at 14 years.

Bulgaria

Among follow-up measures undertaken and progress achieved by the Bulgaria in its second periodic report, the Committee noted the enactment of the Child Protection Act in 2000 and the establishment of the State Agency for Child Protection, as well as the adoption of the Child Protection Policy in 2000. The Committee also welcomed the signature of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol in 2007.

While welcoming the establishment of the position of Ombudsman at the national and regional levels, the Committee was, however, concerned that the Office of the Ombudsman had no specific mandate to monitor, promote and protect the rights of the child and that there were insufficient resources assigned specifically to children’s issues within the office. The Committee was also deeply concerned at the persistent discrimination against Roma children, as well as children living in institutions and children with disabilities, in particular with regard to access to education, healthcare and housing. The Committee was further deeply concerned about the high rate of early pregnancies and the high abortion rate among adolescents which indicated that abortion might be used as a method of contraception.

The Committee recommended that Bulgaria strengthen its efforts to develop a centralized system for comprehensive collection of data on the rights of all children up to the age of 18 with a specific emphasis on vulnerable groups of children, including Roma children. The Committee also recommended that it ensure that children be provided with the opportunity to be heard in any judicial, including civil (family, divorce) and penal matters, and in administrative proceedings affecting them. The Committee further recommended that Bulgaria strengthen its central adoption authority and other bodies dealing with the adoption process, with a view to provide public awareness about adoption and the conditions for adopting to the public at large and to ensure that the child’s best interests are the paramount consideration in all adoption procedures.

Sierra Leone

Regarding Sierra Leone’s second periodic report under the Convention, the Committee welcomed the creation of a national Human Rights Commission in 2004. It also welcomed the implementation of a number of programmes and projects related to child rights issues, including the orphans and other vulnerable children’s programmes and the Cross Border Family Tracing and Reunification Programme. Further welcomed was the ratification by Sierra Leone of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography in 2001, and of the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, in 2002.

The Committee noted with appreciation that the newly operational Human Rights Commission had a broad mandate to examine all cases of human rights abuse, including those affecting children. However, it noted that there was no section within the Commission to focus specifically on children’s rights. While noting with appreciation the ongoing and increasing efforts to educate the public on the need for non-discrimination, particularly against the girl child and children with disabilities, the Committee regretted nevertheless that the Constitution continued to allow discrimination against women and children, particularly in matters relating to marriage and inheritance, through restrictions and privileges available under customs and tradition. The Committee was further concerned that corporal punishment was not prohibited and, in fact, was widely practiced in homes, schools or alternative care contexts and detention centres.

The Committee recommended that Sierra Leone take all necessary measures to address the issue of children who became orphans due to HIV/AIDS and to provide adequate care and support to families caring for orphans and other children without parental care. It was also recommended that the Government take the necessary steps to ensure that health care was both accessible and affordable for all children and that it continued to conduct appropriate training for health workers. The Committee further urged Sierra Leone to undertake, as a matter of priority, efforts to address the problems of infant and maternal mortality, malnutrition, acute respiratory infections, and diarrhoea. and to take measures to protect children from, inter alia, malaria including by ensuring that they sleep under insecticide-treated mosquito nets.

Eritrea

Having reviewed the combined second and third periodic reports of Eritrea, the Committee welcomed a number of positive developments in the reporting period, inter alia: Proclamation No. 158 of 2007 aimed at abolishing female genital mutilation; and efforts made to reduce the number of infant and under-five mortality rates. The Committee also welcomed Eritrea's accession to the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child – on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; and on the involvement of children in armed conflict – on 16 February 2005.

The Committee remained concerned that allocated resources were insufficient to effectively improve the implementation and protection of children’s rights, and noted the considerable military expenditure in contrast to allocations to education and health. It was seriously concerned over the limitations placed upon certain organisations of civil society and regretted the severe administrative and practical restrictions on international and national non-governmental organizations. On discrimination, the Committee was concerned that regional disparities remained, and that de facto discrimination against certain groups of children persisted, particularly with regard to girls, children living in poverty, and children affected by and/or infected with HIV/AIDS. The Committee recommended that Eritrea make combating discrimination against vulnerable groups a national priority.

The Committee was deeply concerned over measures by Eritrea to confiscate certain orphanages and kindergartens, as well as the detention of children belonging to certain religious denominations that were not recognized by the State, and urged Eritrea to lift such restrictions, release children detainees and respect the rights of children belonging to all religious denominations. Corporal punishment was still widely practised in the home, the schools and in other settings, and the Committee was seriously concerned over the information that children were victims of torture, cruel and degrading treatment by the police and military. Concerning health issues, despite improvements regarding infant, under-five and maternal mortality rates, the Committee remained deeply concerned that those remained very high and that medical facilities were still primarily concentrated in the urban areas. Of serious concern was the very high incidence of female genital mutilation, which still affected nearly 90 per cent of girls. While noting awareness raising efforts about the harmful impact of female genital mutilation, the Committee was concerned that such measures needed to be strengthened and mainstreamed in a sustainable manner.


Final Observations and Recommendations on Reports Presented Under the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict

United States

Following its consideration of the initial report of the United States on the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, the Committee welcomed the State party's contributions to projects for the rehabilitation and reintegration of child soldiers in several countries experiencing conflict or in post-conflict situations, as well as information from the United States indicating the extended application to the military justice system of the abolition of the death penalty for persons who committed a crime while under 18 year of age by the Supreme Court in 2005 (Roper v. Simmons). The Committee also welcomed the ratification by the United States of the Convention's Optional Protocol on sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, in 2002; and of ILO Convention No. 182 concerning the Prohibition of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, in 1999.

While taking note of the amended policy in this regard, the Committee was concerned that the United States had failed to prevent the deployment of volunteer recruits below the age of 18 years to Afghanistan and Iraq in 2003 and 2004. It was further concerned over reports indicating the targeting by recruiters of children belonging to ethnic and racial minorities, children of single female-headed households, as well as children of low income families and other vulnerable socio-economic groups, as well as reported misconduct and coercive measures used by recruiters. Among others, the Committee encouraged the United States to review and raise the minimum age for recruitment to 18 years. Also, noting the extensive use of Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps in high schools, and that children as young as 11 could enrol in Middle School Cadet Corps training, the Committee recommended the that any military training for children took into account human rights principles, that it was monitored by the Department of Education, and that military-type training for young children was avoided.

Regarding the considerable numbers of children in United States-administered detention facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Committee regretted that not all detained children had access to education. It was concerned over the number of children detained over extended periods of time, in certain instances for one year or more, without adequate access to legal advisory services or physical and psychological recovery measures, as well as reports indicating the use of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detained children. There were similar reports concerning detention of children at Guantanamo Bay. The Committee was seriously concerned that children who had been recruited or used in armed conflict, rather then being considered primarily as victims, were classified as “unlawful enemy combatants” and had been charged with war crimes and subject to prosecution by military tribunals, without due account of their status as children. It recommended, among others, that the United States ensure that children were only detained as a measure of last resort and that the overall number of children in detention was reduced. If in doubt regarding the age, young persons should be presumed to be children. Finally, noting that the United States was the world’s largest arms exporter, it recommended the inclusion of a specific prohibition in domestic legislation with respect to the sale of arms when the final destination (end use) was a country where children were known to be, or might potentially be, recruited or used in hostilities.

Republic of Korea

Among positive aspects in the Republic of Korea's initial report under the Protocol, the Committee noted with appreciation the amendment made in December 2004 to the Military Service Act which raised the minimum age for voluntary enlistment for active service in the armed forces from 17 to 18; the amendment to the Air Force Regulations which removed the provision allowing for the involvement of persons under 18 in armed conflict; and the establishment of the Child Rights Monitoring Centre, in 2006. The Committee also welcomed the Republic of Korea's ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, in November 2002. Furthermore, the Republic of Korea's activities in the area of international cooperation, including the provision of financial support for action to protect children involved in armed conflict, were noted with appreciation.

The Committee regretted the lack of a children's rights division within the National Human Rights Commission of Korea that allowed for adequate monitoring and promotion of the Optional Protocol. And, while welcoming the amendment of the Military Act which adjusted the minimum age for voluntary enlistment from 17 to 18, the Committee was concerned that there were no specific provisions criminalizing the compulsory recruitment or involving in hostilities of a person under the age of 18. It also remained concerned about the absence of an identification mechanism for asylum-seeking and refugee children who might have been recruited or used in hostilities, and regretted the lack of a specific strategy for their physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration. In that connection, tt noted with concern the extremely low rate of asylum recognition by the Republic of Korea, including those of asylum-seeking children coming from conflict areas.

The Committee recommended that the Republic of Korea explicitly prohibit by law the violation of the provisions of the Optional Protocol regarding the recruitment and involvement of children in hostilities; that it ensure that all legislation was fully harmonized with the provisions of the Optional Protocol; and that it ensure that all military codes, manuals and other military directives were in accordance with the provisions and the spirit of the Optional Protocol. Republic of Korea was further recommended to enact relevant legislation to prohibit trade of small arms and light weapons to countries with current or recent armed conflict that might involve children as participants.

Final Observations and Recommendations on Reports Under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography

United States

Having concluded its examination of the initial report of the United States under this Optional Protocol, the Committee welcomed the wide range of activities of international assistance and cooperation, including technical cooperation, training, awareness-raising and assistance to victims provided by the Trafficking in Persons Office, with the aim of monitoring and combating trafficking in persons. It also welcomed the Innocence Lost Initiative aimed at combating child prostitution in the country through a partnership between relevant authorities, as well as the passing of numerous pieces of legislation, including the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 2000, which strengthened state programmes to prosecute those responsible for child prostitution and enhanced assistance to victims; the PROTECT Act of 2003, which expanded extraterritorial jurisdiction for these crimes; and the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, 2006, which increased penalties for child sex offenders and eliminated statutes of limitations for criminal offences against children.

The Committee was concerned that preventive efforts were mostly limited to specific areas of the country and did not cover sufficiently large groups of vulnerable children, such as children living in poverty, migrant children, indigenous children and children living in difficult family situations. The United States should strengthen its efforts to address the root causes, such as poverty and marginalization, contributing to the vulnerability of children to the sale of children, child prostitution, child pornography and child sex tourism, and particular attention in preventive efforts should be given to protect children who were especially vulnerable to such practices. The Committee was further concerned at the information that prostitution of children was a widespread and increasing phenomenon in the United States, as well as that enforcement of child prostitution laws was quite low at state level and that the resources allocated for protection programmes, training and education were not sufficient.

The Committee was also concerned that the United States was one of the world’s largest producers, distributors and consumers of child pornography and that the incidence of cyber-crimes involving children, facilitated by the emergence of new technologies, was on the rise. Among recommendations, the United States should improve enforcement of the existing legislative framework on child pornography; intensify its efforts to take the necessary measures to address the rapidly changing nature of technology; and strengthen its measures to identify and assist child victims of child pornography. Another concern was information that there were instances where child victims, especially those who are victims of trafficking within the United States and those used in prostitution, might be penalized or criminalized, since state laws had not yet uniformly exempted children, notably those involved in prostitution, from arrest and prosecution. The United States ensure that all persons below the age of 18 victims of any of the offences under the Optional Protocol were as such neither criminalized nor penalized at Federal or state level.

Republic of Korea

With regard to the initial report of the Republic of Korea under this Optional Protocol, the Committee noted with appreciation the adoption of the following measures: the Act on Protection of Youth from Sexual Exploitation, in 2000; the Act on the Punishment of Procuring/Intermediating Prostitution and Associated Acts, in 2004; the Act on the Prevention of Prostitution and Protection of Victims, in 2004; the amendment to the Civil Code, raising the minimum age of marriage to 18; and the Comprehensive Measures on Harmful Environment for Youth. It also welcomed the establishment of the Child Rights Monitoring Centre, in 2006, and the Hotline 1366, pursuant to the Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes and protection of Victims, in 2001.

The Committee regretted that neither the Five-Year Basic Plan for Youth Protection (2002–2006) and the National Plan of Action for Protection and Promotion of Human Rights (2007-2011) contained strategies and programmes specifically related to the Optional Protocol. Relevant groups of professionals were also not systematically provided with adequate training in all areas of the Optional Protocol, and awareness about the Optional Protocol remained low among those groups of professionals as well as the public at large. Concerned that, as set out in its report, “the Republic of Korea has been listed as one of the violators of human rights of children in island nations in the South Pacific such as Kiribati”, the Committee recommended that the State party undertake further measures to prevent sex tourism, in particular by earmarking additional funds for public campaigns for that purpose.

The Committee was deeply concerned that that the Prevention of Prostitution and Protection of its Victims Act treated child victims of prostitution as offenders, although, according to the State party, it was “unlikely” that child victims of prostitution would be prosecuted. It was recommended, inter alia, that the Government take all necessary measures to ensure that child victims of any of the offences under the Optional Protocol were as such neither criminalized nor penalized, and that all possible measures be taken to avoid their stigmatization and social marginalization. Here, the Committee regretted that the social reintegration and physical and psychosocial recovery measures for child victims currently in place were inadequate, and that there was no mechanism to evaluate such programmes. Furthermore, there had not been sufficient clarification as to whether the recovery and rehabilitation programme for victims of sexual exploitation which subjected them to “corrective education” for over four weeks in a selected institution was in fact voluntary, and if not, whether it was a criminal or civil procedure. The Committee was particularly concerned that such programmes might, in fact, hamper the psychological recovery of child victims of sexual exploitation. The Republic of Korea was urged to ensure that adequate and appropriate administrative measures, social policies and programmes were in place to protect all children that were vulnerable to the offences referred to in the Optional Protocol and to allow for the full physical, psychological, and social recovery of child victims, with their full participation. This should include boys as well as girls, and be undertaken in a multilingual format, in particular, taking into account the most common countries of origin of migrant sex workers and victims of trafficking.

Philippines

With respect to the initial report of the Philippines under the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, the Committee welcomed the information that several pieces of legislation contained provisions preventing children from being compulsorily recruited into armed forces or other armed groups as well as from directly participating in hostilities. Noted with appreciation in particular were the Special Protection Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act; the Anti-Trafficking of Persons Act; the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act; and the law on the Elimination of Child Labour. The Committee further welcomed the work of the Inter-Agency Committee Children in Armed Conflict; the Memorandum of Agreement on the Treatment and Handling of Children Involved in Armed Conflict, which provided for rehabilitation and reintegration of those children; the Comprehensive Programme Framework for Children in Armed Conflict; and the creation, in February 2006, of the Sub-Committee on Children Affected by Armed Conflict and Displacement, aimed at promoting child welfare focusing on armed conflict and displacement.

The Committee remained concerned that because of the difficulties in ensuring adequate birth registration in remote areas and among certain minority groups, children might be recruited under the age of 18. It was also concerned that, despite expressed commitments against such recruitment, children continued to join armed groups, both government-linked paramilitary groups and other non-state opposition armed groups, mainly due to poverty, indoctrination, manipulation, neglect or absence of opportunities. Also, high school students, usually 15 or 16 years of age, continued to be required to undergo at least one year of Citizenship Advancement Training (formerly known as Citizen’s Army Training) as a prerequisite for graduation. The Committee was concerned that that training promoted militarism and was contrary to the Philippine's peacebuilding education and to the spirit of the Protocol. The Committee was also concerned that, in spite of an important legislative framework to prohibit child recruitment, there was a lack of effective implementation, especially in conflict areas as well as at the fact that so far there had been no prosecution for recruitment or use of children in armed conflict.

The Committee was further concerned that Republic Act 7610 provided for the arrest and prosecution of children for reasons related to the armed conflict, and at reports of ill-treatment of children occurring at the moment of their apprehension and/or during their deprivation of liberty. It recommended, inter alia, that the Philippines amend Republic Act 7610 so as to ensure that children were not criminalized for the fact of having been recruited or used in hostilities; and that if children in armed conflict were arrested and prosecuted for having committed a crime, trials strictly followed safeguards and procedures outlined in international standards on juvenile justice.

Committee Membership

The Committee is made up of 18 Experts of high moral standing and recognized competence in the field of children's rights. The following members, nominated by the States parties to serve in their personal capacity, have been elected or re-elected to the Committee: Agnes Akosua Aidoo (Ghana); Alya Ahmed Bin Saif Al-Thani (Qatar); Joyce Aluoch (Kenya); Luigi Citarella (Italy); Kamel Filali (Algeria); Maria Herczog (Hungary); Moushira Khattab (Egypt); Hatem Kotrane (Tunisia); Lothar Friedrich Krappmann (Germany); Yanghee Lee (Republic of Korea); Rosa María Ortiz (Paraguay); David Brent Parfitt (Canada); Awich Pollar (Uganda); Dainius Puras (Lithuania); Kamal Siddiqui (Bangladesh); Lucy Smith (Norway); Nevena Vuckovic-Sahovic (Serbia); Jean Zermatten (Switzerland).

Ms. Lee is the Chairperson of the Committee; Mr. Filali, Ms. Ortiz, Ms. Aidoo and Mr. Zermatten are Vice-Chairpersons; and Mr. Krappmann is the Rapporteur.


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