[child-rights] CRC 31st Session: Second periodic report of Sudan

UNITED NATIONS
Press Release

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xxxxxxxxxxCOMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONSIDERS THE SECOND PERIODIC
REPORT OF SUDANxxxxxxxxxx

CRC
31st session
24 September 2002

The Committee on the Rights of the Child today examined the second
periodic report of Sudan, with a delegation affirming the
Government's commitment to the promotion and protection of the rights
of the child.

Ibrahim Mirghani, Permanent Representative of Sudan to the United
Nations Office at Geneva, said that his country was fully committed
to the promotion and protection of child rights. He noted that peace
efforts were gaining momentum after the country had suffered from a
civil war since 1983. Children had been the primary victims of the
war.

Atiyat Mustafa, Secretary-General of the National Council for Child
Welfare of Sudan, said that her Government believed that mutual
cooperation and common understanding were the best approach for a
constructive dialogue and achievement of the common good and the best
interests of the child. She said that the child and the family were
critical areas of concern in Sudan's development strategies and
plans.

In a preliminary concluding remark, Committee Expert Ibrahim Abdul
Aziz Al-Sheddi said that the members of the delegation deserved the
appreciation of the Committee for the information they had supplied.
The fact was that now the situation had been diagnosed in all its
aspects, the appropriate suggestions could be made in the form of
recommendations by the Committee. He hoped that peace would prevail
in the country by the time the next periodic report was considered by
the Committee.

The Sudanese delegation was also made up of Sulafeddin Salih,
Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid of Sudan; Ahmed Elmufti, Chairman
of the Committee on Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children
(CEWAC); Omer Siddig, Deputy Permanent Representative of Sudan to the
United Nations Office at Geneva; and Nazar Abdu and Ali Khalifa, from
the Ministry of Justice.

The Committee will release its final concluding observations and
recommendations on the report of Sudan before closing its three-week
session on 4 October.

Sudan, as one of the 191 States parties to the Convention, is
obligated to submit periodic reports to the Committee summing up the
efforts it has undertaken to give effect to the provisions of the
treaty.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 25 September,
it will devote the whole day, in private, to the consideration of
draft concluding observations and recommendations on reports already
examined during the current session. It will meet in public at 10
a.m. on Thursday, 26 September, to start its consideration of a
report from Ukraine (CRC/C/70/Add.11).

Report of Sudan

The second periodic report of Sudan (document CRC/C/65/Add.17)
enumerates the various activities undertaken by the State party in
its efforts to implement the provisions of the Convention. The report
says that the steps and measures adopted by the Government of Sudan
with a view to implement the Convention stem from its faith in the
human values and inherited traits which God bestowed as an honour on
the human race. The end of the conflict and fighting in the country
signals a true beginning for the protection of human rights and for
guaranteed security, stability and socio-economic growth.

On the issue of marriage of Muslims, the report notes that article 34
of the Personal Status of Muslims Act of 1991 stipulates that a
guardian may give a mature women in marriage if she consents to the
husband and to the dowry. Her statement of her maturity is accepted
unless it is conspicuously false. A 10-year-old male is permitted to
marry if it is demonstrated that the marriage is likely to be in his
interest. A guardian may not, however, give a 10-year-old girl in
marriage without the consent of the judge. The marriage of
non-Muslims is regulated by the Marriage of Non-Muslims Act of 1926.

The report further notes that gender-based differences, exclusions
and preferences are non-existent in law and in administrative
practices, labour relations, education and health. On the contrary,
all children have equal rights. One of the most important child
welfare measures adopted was the establishment of the National
Council for Child Welfare, which is responsible for following up on
the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The
Constitution and Sudanese laws guarantee that the child is protected
against all forms of discrimination, punishment and harm. Sudan
devoted attention to the best interests of the child long before the
Convention came into being.

The report says that the fundamental problems encountered in
guaranteeing the best interests of the child are the embargo, both
declared and undeclared, against Sudan, the civil war, the
interferences of neighbouring countries, the external debt burdens,
poverty and the inadequacy of foreign aid and assistance. Sudan very
much hopes that international organizations will assist in
implementing the programmes formulated in that connection and in
implementing the Convention in general.

Presentation of Report

IBRAHIM MIRGHANI, Permanent Representative of Sudan to the United
Nations Office at Geneva, said his country was fully committed to the
protection of human rights and the people of Sudan had dedicated
their lives to human rights. The Government had a mission to
cooperate with all human rights treaty bodies by submitting periodic
reports on time. He paid tribute to the former United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, for providing the
Government of Sudan with technical assistance to promote human
rights. He said that from now onwards the reports of Sudan would be
up to the expectation of the international bodies. Sudan wished to
benefit from the wisdom and advice of the Committee.

Sudan had been suffering from a civil war since 1983. Children had
been among those who suffered the most from the conflict; many had
been compelled to abandon their schools and join the ranks of
fighters. The rebels had destroyed 1,100 schools and other
infrastructure which benefited children. Recently, 3,000 children had
been handed over to UNICEF by the rebel groups but more children were
still being held against their will.

The Government of Sudan was willing to resolve the problem
peacefully, even at the cost of living as two nations co-existing as
neighbours. The series of negotiations held by the Government and the
rebel leaders was now leading to a peaceful settlement of the
situation. The new United States Administration and the European
Union were contributing to the peace efforts.

ATIYAT MUSTAFA, Secretary-General of the National Council for Child
Welfare of Sudan, said that her Government believed that mutual
cooperation and common understanding were the best approach for a
constructive dialogue and achievement of the common good and the best
interests of the child. The child and the family were critical areas
of concern to Sudan's development strategies and plans. To honour its
commitment, the Government of Sudan immediately after signing the
Convention on the Rights of the Child had established the National
Council for Child Welfare, the major focal point for the monitoring
and implementing of the Convention in the country.

Ms. Mustafa said that the Government of Sudan recognized that the
ultimate prerequisite for child protection was peace. The cruel civil
war which had been imposed on Sudan for years was the major cause for
most, if not all, the difficulties encountered in the enjoyment by
Sudan's children of their full rights. Tedious efforts had been
exerted by the Government in order to bring about a peaceful
settlement. A peace agreement was signed with a considerable number
of the fighting factions in 1997, and a cease-fire agreement was
reached.

A national plan of action for child survival and development for the
year 1992-2001 was set forth following the ratification of the
Convention, Ms. Mustafa said. The evaluation of its implementation
had shown that infant mortality rates had dropped from 108 per
thousand to 82 per thousand, and under-five mortality rates had been
reduced from 145 per thousand to 132 per thousand. There was an
increase in birth registration coverage reaching 60 per cent and the
county was developing the civil registry to guarantee registration
for all citizens, particularly children.

Ms. Mustafa continued to state that in response to the resolution of
the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-fifth session in 1999,
which called for the eradication of the abduction of women and
children in Sudan, the Government had established in May 1999, the
"Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children".

Experts' Questions on General Measures, Definition of the Child, and
General Principles

The Committee Experts started questioning the members of the Sudanese
delegation on the first cluster of issues concerning general measures
of implementation; definition of the child; and general principles.

An Expert thanked the delegation for its frank discussion of the
problems Sudan was facing so that the Committee Experts had a clear
understanding of the situation. He said that although the Government
of Sudan was committed to the rights of the child and was complying
with the Convention by implementing its provisions, there were still
shortcomings in areas of programmes to increase general awareness.
The Government lacked the appropriate resources to fully implement
the provisions of the Convention. In addition, the war situation and
the wide geographical surface of the country hampered the Government
from fully realizing the rights of the child.

The Expert continued to say that the rights of children were not
fully integrated into the various legislative acts. What mechanisms
were used by the various councils to monitor the implementation of
the rights of the child? Were those councils independent
institutions? How were complaints of the violations of the rights of
children settled? How did the central council coordinate the work of
the various provincial councils? What was the degree of cooperation
with non-governmental organizations? UNICEF had expressed
dissatisfaction with the level of cooperation in Sudan; what measures
had been taken to increase cooperation.

Another Expert noted that the report had criticized the international
human rights agencies and some non-governmental organizations on the
manner in which they operated in the country. Turning to other
matters, the Expert asked whether the provisions of the Convention
were part of the Sudanese legal system. He said that the age of
marriage for girls and boys was different; and the age for criminal
responsibility was also different in many cases.

An Expert said that the war in Sudan had been one of the obstacles to
the full implementation of the Convention, adding that the southern
part of the country was not under the full control of the central
Government. He asked if Sudan had appealed for assistance from the
United Nations to create an unimpeded corridor to reach people in the
conflict areas? The National Council for Child Welfare had a role
involving dialogue, but was there a follow-up to those negotiations?
Did it investigate cases of human rights violations or follow-up on
them.

Referring to the 3,000 child soldiers handed over to UNICEF, another
Expert wondered why those children were not returned to their
parents. Were they taken to other countries? If not, where were they
now? Had the teaching of human rights, particularly concerning
children, been integrated into school curriculum? Was there an
institution competent to receive complaints and investigate them?
What measures were taken to prevent discrimination against children
born out of wedlock and to alleviate the wide discrimination against
the girl child? Was the experience of a children's parliament to be
repeated in other areas of the country?

An Expert said that the federal system introduced by the Government
of Sudan had created 26 States and 380 provinces and districts; how
did those entities receive their share of the national resources to
their programmes aimed at promoting the rights of the child?
International assistance destined to Sudan had sharply declined. What
additional resources were available for the promotion of the rights
of the child. Could the Government use its own economic resources to
promote child rights?

Another Expert said that the Government had problems obtaining
resources which were essential to the implementation of the rights of
the child. In addition, the high number of displaced children due to
the conflict needed resources to help resettle them. She wanted to
know if there were cases of violations of child rights which the
commission or the advisory body on child rights was presently
investigating.

A speaker asked about Sudan's position on the ratification of the
Hague conventions and other human rights conventions which were
essential to reflect the country's determination in its promotion of
human rights and which would given impetus to its efforts. The
delegation said that 65 per cent of children were in school; but how
could the remaining children know of their rights? The fact that
children were not in school facilitated their abduction to join the
rebel ranks. The right to life, survival and development of the child
was a concern to the Committee; did the Government of Sudan focus on
those principles?

Country Response

In response to the questions raised by the Committee Experts, the
members of the delegation said that the Sudanese Government had
signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the involvement of
children in armed conflict and it would soon ratify it.

Concerning dividing resources among the different States, the
delegation said that some of the States, although they possessed
ample resources at their disposal, did not know how to use them. The
Government, therefore, was attempting to help them to use the
resources that were available.

There were international non-governmental organizations working in
the field of child rights and the Government was cooperating with and
coordinating their work, the delegation said. Information concerning
children was funnelled to the national coordinating body, which in
turn put it in a network accessible to all organs dealing with child
rights.

On the legal status of the Convention, the delegation said that a law
had been adopted to make it part of national legislation. With regard
to the age of criminal responsibility, a child of seven years or less
had no criminal responsibility. Article 3 of the Penal Code
stipulated that a mature person meant any person showing the
unmistakable physical signs of proof that he or she had reached
puberty, which could apply to a child having attained 15 years of
age. Any person having attained 18 years of age was considered
mature, even if he or she showed no such signs of maturity.

The Government had estimated the number of abductees to be 14,000,
the delegation said. Efforts had been exerted to recuperate those
abductees and international assistance was essential in that field.

Asked if the Government or the agency dealing with complaints had
received complaints from children, the delegation said that no such
grievances were received from children themselves. However, there
were complaints of the violation of child rights lodged by
non-governmental organizations on behalf of victims.

Experts' Questions on Civil Rights and Freedoms, Family Environment
and Basic Health and Welfare

The Committee Experts continued to raise questions on the second
cluster of issues concerning civil rights and freedoms; family
environment and alternative care; and basic health and welfare. They
asked, among other things, about the refugee children living in
camps; the situation of children who were abducted and returned; the
condition of raped women; the practice of corporal punishment,
particularly judicial ruling for whipping of children; the situation
of Muslim and non-Muslim orphans and the process of their adoption
and placing them in foster families; and discrimination against women
and girls and measures to raise awareness in order to redress this
situation.

Response of Delegation of Sudan

In response to questions raised by Committee Experts, the members of
the delegation said that many families were reluctant to report to
the competent authorities cases of rape, which made it difficult to
establish a clear picture of the situation. However, whenever such
incidents were reported the perpetrators were prosecuted and the
victims were rehabilitated psychologically. In addition, the
Government was building juvenile homes and courts which were also
destined to deal with cases involving children.

Concerning internally displaced children, the delegation said that
regional strategies had already been designed with the cooperation of
UNICEF and the regional Director had already visited the Nuba
Mountains region to assess the situation. In addition, the Government
continued to work in cooperation with several international
non-governmental organizations.

The National Council for Child Welfare had made a number of
suggestions concerning the rights of the child, including the release
from prison of mothers with children. It had also been looking into
the compatibility of national laws with international treaties in
general.

Concerning children born out of wedlock -- "illegitimate children" as
referred to by the delegation -- or children born from unknown
fathers, the delegation said that they could be considered as
Sudanese; and such children, if no one was taking care of them, would
be retained in care institutions before being put up for adoption.

Disabled children faced a lot of difficulties in the past, the
delegation said. However, at present they were trained in accordance
with their physical and mental capacities in various vocations. There
was no discrimination because of their disabilities. The channelling
of those children into the mainstream of social development was
expensive and time consuming.

Asked about the situation of abducted children, the delegation said
that abductions were carried out by the Lord Resistance Army fighting
the Government of Uganda and the children were abducted from Uganda
and taken by the Army. The second kind of abductions were the ones
taking place during tribal conflicts over water resources and grazing
rights in certain regions of western and southern Sudan. The
Government had been appealing to international organizations to help
it overcome the problem. So far, 150,000 cases of abductions had been
reported while 600 cases had been settled. The concerned tribes had
identified themselves about 14,000 cases of abduction.

The Sudanese Government had established a commission to put an end to
the abduction of women and children, the delegation said. The
commission, which was working in cooperation with the international
community, had set up programmes to eradicate the phenomenon, with
the aim of returning to their homes abducted children whose parents
lived in rebel-controlled areas. Several children were returned home
by air, with the help of UNICEF.

With regard to refugee children, the delegation said that women and
children were the most affected in the process of internal and cross
country displacement. The United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees played an important role when it came to persons crossing
the border to other countries. Sudan was cooperating with the Special
Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of internally
displaced persons. In Uganda, where a number of factions were
fighting with each other, the cases of abductions still remained
unsolved.

In addition the war in southern Sudan had had a major impact on the
rights of the child, the delegation said. Several hundred schools had
been closed in the region because of lack of security. Further, the
presence of anti-personnel landmines in the fields had also hampered
the free movement of children. Many children had fled the country to
neighbouring countries for fear of forced recruitment by the rebel
groups. In some of the countries, some of the Sudanese refugees had
left their camps and they were taken to a non-African country, which
of course was an illicit step.

Experts' Questions on Education, Leisure and Cultural Activities, and
Special Protection Measures

The Committee Experts raised the last round of questions on the main
subjects of education; leisure and cultural activities; and special
protection measures.

An Expert said that the illiteracy rate in Sudan was alarming and the
Government should do something to reverse the growing tendency in
that regard. Although the Government had been positively engaged in
the promotion of education, half of the primary school age children
were not attending schools because of lack of places. Similarly, only
21 per cent of children were going to secondary schools. The Expert
also stressed the need to review the situation of the practice of
corporal punishment.

Another Expert said that although the rate of HIV/AIDS was low
compared to the neighbouring countries, the Government should take
preventive measures against the transmission of the disease. In
addition, she said that she did not see in the report information
about breast-feeding by Sudanese mothers. Further, Sudanese children
were smuggled out of the country to serve as camel jockeys, which
sometimes led to accidents involving death. Many families in Sudan
were not using iodinized salt which resulted in iodine deficiencies.

Concerning the practice of female circumcision, an Expert asked about
the results obtained in that area in changing the attitude of the
population. In addition to awareness increasing, the Government
should be able to provide alternative work for those who were engaged
in the practice of circumcision. She welcomed the signing by Sudan of
International Labour Organization Conventions 138 and 182 concerning
minimum age for admission to employment and the elimination of the
worst forms of child labour, and encouraged the Government to ratify
them as soon as possible.

Other Committee Experts also raised questions on issues such as the
criminalization of vagrancy, particularly street children; punishment
by flogging, amputation and beheading; the use of police brutality
against children; the high number of street children; and the use of
child soldiers by the Allied Forces militia, among other things.

Country Response

In response to questions raised by Committee Experts, the members of
the Sudanese delegation said that some families preferred to keep
their children away from school in order to send them to work. A
campaign against illiteracy had been going on and the literacy rate
had reached 62 per cent by the end of 2001, the delegation said. In
addition, in order to drop the high rate of non-enrolment in schools,
the Government had been helping parents to obtain other sources of
income to replace the ones they received from the work of their
children.

The General Act of 1992 had prohibited the use of corporal punishment
in schools, the delegation said.

In order to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS, the Government was
encouraging the use of preservative methods, the delegation said. The
use of pharmaceutical products were so expensive that victims of
HIV/AIDS had no access to them.

The breast-feeding programme was supported by baby friendly hospitals
and communities, the delegation said.

The magnitude of child smuggling to the Gulf areas was much
exaggerated, the delegation said, adding that the cooperation of the
international community was necessary to avert such practices. In
some cases, parents were involved in taking their children from the
country to the Gulf countries to be used as jockeys.

The problems of child labour and street children were common in most
African countries, including Sudan, the delegation said. In Khartoum,
about 34,000 street children were identified, with the majority
returning to their homes periodically.

The Government had been dealing with the problem of iodine deficiency
in the western and southern part of the country, the delegation said.
Because of such deficiencies, the number of people with goitre
prevalence was high. A programme was being implemented to improve the
situation.

With regard to the practice of female genital mutilation, the
delegation said that the Government had taken a series of legal
measures to eradicate it. The various political parties had also been
rallying for the eradication of the phenomenon of female
circumcision. The relevant laws enacted by the authorities prohibited
the use of any surgical operations by any non-professional personnel
outside the medical system. The Government had also adopted a
strategy to eradicate the use of female genital mutilation in the
shortest period possible.

Preliminary Concluding Remarks by Committee Expert

IBRAHIM ABDUL AZIZ AL-SHEDDI, Committee Expert, said that the members
of the delegation deserved the appreciation of the Committee for the
information they had supplied. The fact was that now the situation
had been diagnosed in all its aspects, the appropriate suggestions
could be made in the form of recommendations by the Committee. He
hoped that once the Committee's recommendations were released, the
Government would be able to disseminate them to all concerned bodies
and individuals. He also hoped that peace would prevail in the
country by the time the next periodic report was be considered by the
Committee.

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