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

UNITED NATIONS
Press Release
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CRC
31st session
26 September 2002

The Committee on the Rights of the Child today examined the second
periodic report of Ukraine on how that country was giving effect to
the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Presenting her country's report, Valentyna Dovzhenko, Head of the
State Committee on Family and Youth Policy of Ukraine, said the
difficulties arising from the transitional situation of Ukraine had
had a direct impact on the level of social protection of citizens,
particularly children. Despite that, the Government had been
endeavouring to ameliorate the living conditions of the population.
The level of poverty had been another factor hampering the
development of social services to both children and adults.

Committee Expert Elisabeth Tigerstedt-Tahtela, in a preliminary
concluding remark, said that many laws had been adopted in the
country, which was a good thing, however, they should all be
implemented. The Committee understood the difficulties encountered by
the Government as a result of the Chernobyl disaster. Concerning
economic development, she said the Government should give priority to
the best interests of the child and children should be at the heart
of development.

The Ukrainian delegation was also made up of Mykhailo Skuratovskyi,
Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations Office at
Geneva; Lada Pavlikovska, Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of
Justice; Olexander Yaremenko, Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry
of Finance; Zinaida Kyianytsia, Deputy Head of the State Committee on
Family and Youth Policy; Ivanna Markina, Second Secretary at the
Permanent Mission of Ukraine in Geneva; and Roksolana Ivanchenko,
Third Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Committee will issue its concluding observations and
recommendations on the report of Ukraine towards the end of its
three-week session, which will close on 4 October.

As one of the 191 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of
the Child, Ukraine is obligated to submit periodic reports to the
Committee on how it is implementing the provisions of the treaty.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Friday, 27 October, it is
scheduled to take up the initial report of Moldova (CRC/C/28/Add.19).

Report of Ukraine

The second periodic report of Ukraine, contained in document
CRC/C/70/Add.11, highlights the measures taken by the Government to
promote and protect the rights of the child since the initial report
was submitted in 1995. It stresses that the complex demographic
situation has been characterized by a low birth rate. While in 1993
there were 10.7 births per 1,000 inhabitants, by 1997 the rate had
fallen to 8.7 births. The death rate is higher than the birth rate
throughout the country.

The report notes that in the present acute social and economic
crisis, all age groups in the population find themselves in
difficulties, but the most damage has been suffered by the economic
system for ensuring the conditions of the reproduction of the rising
generation.

On the sale, trafficking and abduction of children, the report says
that a criminal code established criminal responsibility for the
abduction or substitution of another person's child for purposes of
gain. According to the statistics, the number of recorded crimes
concerning the abduction of another person's child is insignificant:
there were 17 cases in 1997.

Presentation of Report

VALENTYNA DOVZHENKO, Head of the State Committee on Family and Youth
Policy of Ukraine and Head of the delegation, said that the
Government of Ukraine viewed the presentation of its second periodic
report to the Committee as an important event. It highlighted the
practical measures adopted in the field of the protection and
promotion of the rights of the child. The recommendations made by the
Committee during its examination of Ukraine's initial report had been
implemented, and other important achievements had also been made.

The difficulties arising from the transitional situation of the young
State had had a direct impact on the level of social protection of
citizens, particularly children, Mrs. Dovzhenko said. Despite that,
the Government had been endeavouring to ameliorate the living
conditions of the population. The level of poverty was another factor
hampering the development of social services both to children and
adults.

Mrs. Dovzhenko said that the Government of Ukraine had been exerting
more efforts in promoting the rights of the child through the
adoption of legislation which had been brought in line with
international standards. Other targeted programmes had also been
implemented to develop the family structure and to take care of
orphans.

Since the initial report of Ukraine was considered by the Committee
in 1995, the Government had adopted 15 laws with the view to
strengthen the protection and promotion of the rights of the child,
Mrs. Dovzhenko continued. Those laws covered the prevention of
domestic violence in the family and the family code, among other
things. The Government had also ratified International Labour
Organization Convention No. 182 on the elimination of the worst forms
of child labour.

The Government had taken preventive legal measures against
trafficking in persons, including children, and continued to
cooperate with international organizations working in that area, Mrs.
Dovzhenko said. In addition, national legislation had been
strengthened against any form of torture or degrading treatment of
persons; the practice of corporal punishment in the family had been
banned; and crimes by adolescents had been reduced through steps
taken in the field of social protection.

Following the concerns expressed by the Committee on the issue of
health in the country, the Government had taken measures to improve
the reproductive health conditions and had improved the health of
adolescents, she said. Last week, further measures had been taken in
improving the iodization of salt. The infant mortality rate had been
brought down to 11.2 per thousand in 2001. However, due to the
Chernobyl nuclear disaster, 1,931,100 children had been classified as
victims of the disaster; of that number 553,800 children were living
in radiation- contaminated areas; and the level of illness was 2.5
times higher than in other regions.

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

The Committee Experts raised questions on the first cluster of the
main subjects concerning general measures of implementation;
definition of the child; and general principles.

An Expert said that the report was prepared in line with the
guidelines of the Committee and it was self-critical. However, it did
not clearly reflect the situation of children since the initial
report had been presented. There were reports of a lack of the full
enjoyment of freedom of expression in Ukraine, as well as of
trafficking in persons, which could have a negative impact on the
rights of the child.

The Expert asked, among other things, if the new legislation adopted
by the Government was rights-based; and if it reflected the
principles of non-discrimination and the best interests of the child.
Because of the declarative nature of Ukrainian legislation, the
provisions of the international conventions were not fully
implemented. The delegation was invited to comment on the issue.

What was the priority for the poverty reduction strategy, the Expert
asked.

Another Expert said that the country had been going through a
transitional process since the initial report was considered by the
Committee in 1995. Concerning the autonomous regions of Ukraine,
particularly in the Crimea, the Expert asked how the Government was
monitoring the implementation of the provisions of the Convention
there. She said that the death rate of children was more than the
birth rate. What was the reason for this? Taking into consideration
the Chernobyl disaster, what other causes were behind the rise in the
death rate of children? Concerning the activities of non-governmental
organizations, there were reports of restrictions by Government
authorities. Could the delegation comment on that?

An Expert asked if the Government had acted on the recommendations of
the Special Session of the General Assembly on Children held in New
York in May this year. Had the Government designed a national plan of
action on the issue? A study had been carried out, in conjunction
with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), on the
inconsistency of Ukrainian legislation with the provisions of
international treaties. Could the delegation comment further on this
issue.

What was the status of the Convention in the domestic legislation of
the country, an Expert asked. In 2001, the Human Rights Committee had
concluded that in the event of a clash between the national and
international laws, national law prevailed. The delegation was
invited to provide further information on that question. Did the
Government define the level of poverty in the country? If so, what
was the poverty line? How many people lived below that line?

Country Response

In response to questions raised by the Committee's Experts, the
members of the Ukrainian delegation said that the Convention on the
Rights of the Child had been published in the Russian and Ukrainian
languages and it had been distributed widely. The Convention was
ratified by Ukraine in 1990, a year before it became independent.

The implementation of any legislation depended on the machinery of
each implementing authority of the Government, the delegation said.
Decrees were needed to implement articles of a law. For example,
there were 700 regions whose budgets were different from one another
and which needed different decrees at the State, ministerial and
regional levels.

In August 1991, when the country emerged as an independent State,
there had been only one pioneering organization serving children, the
delegation said. At present, there were 104 national and 2,000
regional youth organizations, in addition to a number of child
organizations throughout the country.

The Government envisaged to adopt a children's code to embrace the
various legislation designed for the protection and promotion of the
rights of the child, the delegation said. In accordance with the
Committee's recommendations, the Government had endeavoured to
incorporate the teaching of the rights of the child in schools. About
60 per cent of children in the country knew the Convention and its
contents.

With regard to the results of the Special Session of the General
Assembly held in May, the delegation said that thanks to the
assistance extended by UNICEF, the Government was able to pursue its
national plan of action to promote the rights of the child.

The Government had adopted measures to assist needy families and
their children by providing them with funds, the delegation said. All
families considered to have low incomes received assistance. The
authorities were envisaging to review the law on family assistance to
include single-parent families and to raise the amount allocated to
the families in general. The most recent programme to help families
was the one adopted last year to assist orphans and street children.
About 1.6 million children from needy families received hot meals
every day.

There was no discrepancy between the national Constitution and that
of the Crimean autonomous region, the delegation said. A State
Committee on Family and Youth Policy was functioning in the Crimea
and similar projects for children were being executed in all regions.

Experts' Questions on Civil Rights and Freedoms, Family Environment,
and Alternative Care

Committee members continued to raise questions on the second cluster
of main subjects concerning civil rights and freedoms; family
environment; and alternative care. They asked, among other things,
about discrimination and social attitudes against children infected
with HIV/AIDS; about the de facto discrimination against disabled
children; the educational and health situation of the Roma minority,
if it was included in the list of national minorities; discrimination
against Roma children; the decrease in the number of marriages; the
conditions of institutional care for children; the sexual
exploitation of Ukrainian adolescents outside the country; and about
police brutality.

Response by Delegation of Ukraine

In response to the questions raised by Committee Experts, the members
of the Ukrainian delegation said that all children in the country
were equal and they enjoyed the rights enshrined under the
Convention. With regard to children belonging to the Roma minority,
which was among 110 national minorities recognized by the State,
their rights were respected as were the rights of all other children
in the country. The Constitution prohibited any form of
discrimination against individuals or groups. Roma people were
Ukrainians and they were not seen differently from others.

The legislative system of Ukraine was similar to systems that existed
in other countries, the delegation said. However, there might be a
difference in the status of international treaties. Concerning
Ukraine, national law prevailed when international and national laws
contradicted each other. Nevertheless, such laws going against the
implementation of international laws were later reviewed. Ukraine was
a party to the Vienna convention on the status of international
treaties.

Deprivation of liberty of an adolescent for a serious crime could not
exceed 10 years according to the new criminal code, the delegation
said. The use of capital punishment had been banned by the new
criminal code. In addition, the new criminal code defined criminal
liability for rape, unnatural satisfaction of sexual needs, sexual
relations with a person who had not reached puberty, and corruption
of a minor.

There was an increase in the number of public institutions offering
social, remedial and psychological assistance to children, the
delegation said. There were at present 88 shelters for juveniles and
5 medical and social rehabilitation centres. In recent years, efforts
to establish family-like children's homes and foster families had
been considerably intensified. Approximately 100,000 children were
deprived of a family environment and they were living in
institutions; and there were more than 100,000 orphans living in
boarding schools.

The delegation said that there were approximately 60,000 families in
Ukraine which were unable to care for their own children; 25 per cent
of those were families with a large number of children; and 35 per
cent were single parent families. In order to prevent child
abandonment and support children living in disadvantaged families,
the State Committee had approved regulations to help disadvantaged
families.

The Government has reduced the age of admission to employment from 16
to 15 years to allow children to work, the delegation said. Some
400,000 children were currently engaged in various kinds of jobs in
the country. Children worked to help their families, and the
Government ensured that the work they carried out was not dangerous
for their health.

Asked if adopted children had the right to know their biological
parents, the delegation responded by saying that if the parents were
not deprived of their parental rights, the child had the right to
have contacts with them. Currently, Ukraine had 27,000 children ready
for adoption whose names were retained in the "adoption bank" with
their full identities and descriptions. The names of the adopted
children were not changed after the process of adoption.

To the regret of the Government, there were 153,000 disabled persons
in the country, the delegation said. The Government had taken
measures to help integrate this category of the population into the
society and to prevent any form of discrimination against them. The
Government had succeeded in reducing the number of disabled persons
in institutions by providing allocations to families who took care of
such persons. Special classes within regular schools had been created
to allow disabled persons to pursue their studies. Only the
disability of 3,000 children was related to the Chernobyl disaster.

Concerning HIV-infected children, the growth of the number was
related to mother-to-child transmission, the delegation said. In
order to deal with the virus, the Government had created special
clinics where HIV/AIDS patients were treated, thanks to the
assistance provided by UNICEF. The use of one-time syringes by
drug-addicts was encouraged to reduce the number of young people
contaminated by the disease.

Experts' Questions on Basic Health and Welfare, Education, and
Special Protection Measures

The Committee Experts put queries under the last cluster of the main
issues on basic health and welfare; education, leisure and cultural
activities; and special protection measures. They asked, among other
things, about sexual abuse of children; the high number of street
children, numbering 100,000; the lack of educational facilities in
many areas; if access to universities was free; special protection
for victims of commercial sexual exploitation; absence of a law
dealing with forced labour; the right to privacy; the administration
of the juvenile justice system; supervision of leisure activities;
corruption in the education system in the form of a bribe by
students; the prohibition of acts of torture by State officials;
detention of children in adult prisons; and the situation of refugee
children.

Country Response

Responding to the questions raised by Committee Experts, the
delegation said that the Government had already ratified the Optional
Protocols to the Convention on the involvement of children in armed
conflicts, and on the sale of children, child pornography and child
prostitution. The authorities had put in place the necessary legal
instruments to complete the adoption of the Protocols before next
month.

The new phenomenon of trafficking in human beings was causing
problems for the Government of Ukraine, the delegation said. However,
the Government had introduced changes to the old criminal code to
cover crimes related to trafficking. In addition, it had created
centres where victims of such acts were rehabilitated. Officials were
also working with the International Migration Organization (IOM) to
deal with the outflow of Ukrainians for the purpose of commercial
sexual exploitation. The Government had signed a number of bilateral
agreements on the exchange of labour with several countries.

The authorities had discovered 35,000 children working and living on
the streets, the delegation said, adding that 28,000 of them had been
put in shelters provided by the Government. At least two-thirds of
the children had families but did not want to return to them. Not all
school-aged children were attending school, but the Government was
encouraging students to attend classes.

With regard to the computerization of school classes, the delegation
said that many educational centres in urban areas had been equipped
with computers. However, despite the directives of the Government,
rural schools were less computerized because of lack of funding.

The new criminal code of 2001 had defined torture according to the
provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to which Ukraine was a party,
the delegation said.

Preliminary Concluding Remarks

ELISABETH TIGERSEDT-TAHTELA, Committee Expert, said that many laws
had been adopted in Ukraine, which was a good thing, however, they
should all be implemented in practice. The Committee understood the
difficulties encountered by the Government as a result of the
Chernobyl disaster. Concerning economic development, the Government
should give priority to the best interests of the child and children
should be at the heart of development. She noted that acts of
violence by state officials should be brought to justice; and
marginalized children should be integrated into the society.

Closing Remarks by Delegation

VALENTYNA DOVZHENKO (Ukraine) thanked the members of the Committee
for their understanding of the problems of the State and for their
wise advice. The Government would continue to improve the living
conditions of its people, particularly those of its children; and to
do that, it would pursue its cooperation with non-governmental and
international organizations. She said that the Government had
abandoned the use of the Chernobyl nuclear power station and had
committed itself not to operate nuclear-related plants. Such a stand
would allow children to live better.

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