[child-rights] CRC 44th session: Committee on Rights of Child concludes forty-fourth session

COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONCLUDES 
FORTY-FOURTH SESSION 

xxxxxxxxxx 
Committee on the Rights of the Child 
ROUND-UP 

2 February 2007 
UNITED NATIONS Press release

COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONCLUDES FORTY-FOURTH SESSION 

Issues Conclusions on Reports of Kenya, Mali, Honduras, Marshall
Islands, Suriname, Malaysia and Chile 

The Committee on the Rights of the Child today concluded its
forty-fourth session and issued its conclusions and recommendations
on the situation of children in Kenya, Mali, Honduras, the Marshall
Islands, Suriname, Malaysia and Chile, 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 Costa Rica and
Kyrgyzstan on efforts to comply with the Optional Protocols to the
Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child
pornography, and on the involvement of children in armed conflict,
were also considered, and concluding observations issued on them. 

At its present session, the Committee also adopted a General Comment
on juvenile justice (CRC/C/GC/10), to help States parties in
developing and implementing a comprehensive juvenile justice policy,
as required by the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 

Also agreed on was an outline for the Committee's next day of general
discussion, to be held on 21 September 2007, on article 4 of the
Convention. Article 4 requires States Parties to undertake all
appropriate legislative, administrative, and other measures for the
implementation of the rights recognized in the Convention. 

The Committee held its fourth informal meeting with States parties on
Thursday, 1 February, in which it discussed its working methods, with
an emphasis on the two-chamber system experience, follow-up to the
Secretary-General's Study on Violence against Children, treaty body
reform, and the relationship of treaty bodies with the Human Rights
Council. 

The mandates of nine Committee Experts expired after the present
session. Those who were not eligible for re-election and would not be
returning included the Chairperson, Jacob Egbert Doek of the
Netherlands, as well as Committee Experts Awa N'Deye Ouedraogo of
Burkina Faso, Norberto Liwski of Argentina, and Alison Anderson of
Jamaica. 

The Committee's next session will be held from 21 May to 8 June 2007
at the Palais Wilson in Geneva. Scheduled for consideration are the
reports of Slovakia, the Maldives, Uruguay and Kazakhstan. Under the
Optional Protocols on the sale of children, child prostitution and
child pornography, Bangladesh, Guatemala, Ukraine and Sudan will
present reports. On the Optional Protocol on the involvement of
children in armed conflict, the reports of Guatemala, Monaco, Norway
and Sweden are scheduled to be examined. 

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

Kenya 

Among the follow-up measures and progress achieved in the second
periodic report of Kenya, the Committee noted with appreciation the
enactment of legislation aimed at promoting and protecting the rights
of the child, such as: the Children Act of 2001 and the creation of
the National Council for Children Services; the Sexual Offences Act
of 2006; and the Refugee Act of 2006. The Committee also welcomed the
ratification or accession to, among others, the African Charter on
the Rights and Welfare of the Child; the International Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; ILO Convention
No. 182 Concerning the Worst Forms of Child Labour; the Optional
Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict; and the
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons,
Especially Women and Children, supplementing the UN Convention
against Transnational Organized Crime. 

The Committee expressed concern at the fact that discrimination
against certain groups of children still existed in policy as well as
in practice in Kenya, particularly with regard to the girl child,
children of certain minorities such as pastoralists and
hunter-gatherers, children with disabilities, refugee children and
the children of asylum-seekers. The Committee also expressed concern
at the de facto discrimination faced by children born out of wedlock,
children infected with and/or affected by HIV/AIDS, orphans, street
children and children born of Kenyan mothers and non-Kenyan fathers.
It was also deeply concerned by the high percentage of children not
registered at birth, especially in rural areas, and the restrictive
measures around birth registration, the discrimination with regard to
the registration of children born out of wedlock and of non-Kenyan
fathers, as well as the lack of mechanisms and infrastructure to
facilitate birth registrations. The Committee noted that, despite a
clear prohibition in Kenyan legislation, reports of torture, cruel,
inhuman and degrading treatment indicated that it still occurred in
practice. In particular, it was concerned over the excessive use of
force and shooting at children in Kisumu in October 2005, and was
further concerned at reports indicating that rapes of girls by law
enforcement agents have not been investigated. The Committee urged
Kenya to: review its legislation; investigate and prosecute all cases
of torture and ill-treatment of children; ensure that child victims
were provided with appropriate services for care, recovery and
reintegration; and continue its efforts to train professionals
working with and for children in the identification, reporting and
management of cases of ill-treatment. 

The Committee was concerned at the particularly high HIV infection
rates among adolescent girls and children under the age of five
years, and was further concerned over the extremely high number of
HIV/AIDS orphans and child-headed households. The Committee
recommended that Kenya strengthen its efforts in combating the spread
and effects of HIV/AIDS, in particular by effectively implementing
its National Strategic Plan, policies and guidelines on HIV/AIDS,
infant and child feeding and the programme for preventing
mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS; provide all pregnant women
with adequate health and social services free of charge;
systematically include comprehensive information about HIV/AIDS and
sex education to youth, including confidential counselling and
testing and the promotion of contraceptive use; and expand assistance
to children orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS. Finally, the
Committee reiterated its concern that female genital mutilation was
still widely practiced, especially among certain indigenous and
minority groups, and recommended that Kenya strengthen its measures
regarding the practice and early marriages and ensure that the
prohibition was strictly enforced. It also recommended that Kenya
conduct awareness-raising campaigns to combat and eradicate this and
other traditional practices harmful to the health, survival and
development of children, especially girls. 

Mali 

Among follow-up measures undertaken and progress achieved in the
second periodic report of Mali, the Committee noted with appreciation
the enactment of legislation, including a law of 2006, making birth
registration free; a decree of 2005 providing free antiretroviral
therapy; an Order of 2002, establishing the Child Protection Code; an
Act of 2004, creating the National Centre for Documentation and
Information on Women and the Child; and decrees of 1999 and 2002,
laying down the conditions for the establishment and operation of
private reception, listening, counselling and accommodation centres
for children. The Committee also welcomed the ratification or
accession of Mali to numerous international human rights instruments,
including the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of
the Child, in 2002; the Optional Protocol to the Convention against
Torture, in 2005; the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and
Inter-country Adoption, in 2006; and ILO Convention No. 182,
concerning the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, in
2000. 

The Committee regretted the absence of a comprehensive national plan
of action for children covering all areas of the Convention, and was
concerned that the budgets allocated for children represented a very
low percentage of the gross domestic product of Mali. The Committee
was further concerned that discrimination against girls and certain
groups of children still existed in practice, particularly with
regard to children with disabilities, children born out of wedlock,
children of disadvantaged families and street children, including
garibou. It urged Mali to adopt appropriate measures, including
legislative, as well as a comprehensive strategy to combat
discrimination on any ground and against all vulnerable groups of
children including via educational public campaigns aiming at
changing negative social attitudes in that regard. It also
recommended that Mali continue its efforts of systematic birth
registration for all children born within the national territory by,
inter alia, strengthening the equipment of the mobile units,
especially in rural and remote areas in order to reach the most
disadvantaged populations. 

The Committee was concerned that Malian law failed to prevent and
penalize child abuse and neglect. Furthermore, it was concerned that
there was a lack of psychological and social support, and an absence
of legal and material assistance for victims. The Committee
recommended that Mali adopt an inclusive and rights-based legal
framework which addressed child abuse and neglect; develop
awareness-raising campaigns, with the involvement of children; and
provide a 3-digit, toll-free, 24-hour national help line for
children, among other things. The Committee also urged Mali to
implement legislative measures regarding the prohibition of female
genital mutilation and the prohibition of traditional marriage
practices, including early and forced marriages, which were harmful
to children and ensured that perpetrators were brought to justice,
and to reinforce its sensitization programmes for practitioners and
the general public to encourage change in traditional attitudes. The
Committee remained deeply concerned about the high and increasing
number of street and begging children (garibous) in Mali. It noted
that these child beggars were pupils under the guardianship of
Koranic education teachers called marabouts, and was concerned at
their vulnerability to all forms of violence, sexual abuse and
exploitation and economic exploitation. The Committee recommended
that Mali undertake a study and assessment of the situation of those
children and develop and implement, with the active involvement of
concerned children and non-governmental organizations, a
comprehensive policy which addressed the root causes, in order to
discourage, prevent and reduce child begging, and that it seek
technical assistance from UNICEF in that regard. 

Honduras 

Following its consideration of the third periodic report of Honduras,
the Committee welcomed the adoption of the National Plan of
Opportunities for Children and Adolescents in 2005. The Committee
further welcomed the establishment of an inter-institutional
Commission against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and
Adolescents in 2002. Finally, the Committee welcomed Honduras'
adherence to a number of international instruments, including the
Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in
2002; the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial
Discrimination, in 2002; the Convention on Migrant Workers, in 2006;
ILO Convention No. 182, concerning the elimination of the worst forms
of child labour, in 2001; and the Inter-American Convention on the
Forced Disappearances of Persons, in 2005. 

The Committee noted that its concerns expressed in previous
concluding observations about the use of the biological criterion to
set different ages of maturity between boys and girls (i.e. that
childhood ends at 12 years for males and 14 for females, while
adolescence starts at these ages and ends at 18 years) remained
valid. The Committee was also concerned at the persistence of
traditional patriarchal cultural attitudes that discriminated against
girls, making them more vulnerable to human rights violations. The
Committee urged Honduras to continue revising its legislation; to
combat discrimination by ensuring equal access to education, health
care facilities and poverty alleviation programmes and pay special
attention to the position of the girls; and to carry out
comprehensive public education campaigns to prevent and combat all
forms of discrimination. 

The Committee was extremely concerned at the very high number of
disappearances and extrajudicial killings of children, including at
hands of members of the police force, and in particular that many of
the perpetrators had so far remained unpunished. The Committee
recommended that Honduras continue to carry out a thorough
investigation on the allegations of disappearances and extrajudicial
killings of children and prosecute and adequately punish those
responsible for these heinous acts. Furthermore, Honduras should
systematically collect data and information on all violence and abuse
against children and notably extrajudicial killings; ensure that the
necessary earmarked budgets were provided to the special unit created
to investigate those crimes; provide the family of the victims with
adequate support and compensation; and address the root causes of
these violent acts, including poverty and marginalization. The
Committee noted the information that due to a repressive policy in
combating "maras" the crime of "illicit association" had been
interpreted too broadly. In that connection, the Committee was deeply
concerned at the information that beatings during and after
apprehension of persons below 18 were common. It was further
concerned at the information that some of the children victims of
extrajudicial killings appear to have been tortured before being
killed. The Committee urged Honduras to take all necessary measures
to prevent that children are subjected to torture or any other cruel,
inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment in all circumstances,
and in particular during or after their apprehension by
law-enforcement officials. 

Marshall Islands 

In a technical review of the second periodic report of the Marshall
Islands, the Committee noted with appreciation the enactment of the
following legislation: the Adoption Act of 2002, which ensured the
protection of children through legal safeguards and the creation of a
supervisory agency; the Sale of Tobacco to Minors Act of 2003,
prohibiting the sale of tobacco to persons under 18; the amended
Birth Registration and Marriage Registration Act, which raised the
legal age of marriage for girls from 16 to 18 years, bridging the
disparity between the minimum legal age for the marriage of boys and
girls; and the amended Criminal Code, which prohibited the use of
corporal punishment against children as a disciplinary measure in
penal institutions. The Committee also welcomed the State party's
ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Form of
Discrimination against Women. 

The Committee was concerned at the absence of a national plan of
action covering all areas of the Children's Convention, the absence
of a holistic policy framework governing all aspects of children's
well being, and the limited financial and human resource capacity of
the National Nutrition and Children's Council. It also remained
concerned that the principle of non-discrimination was not fully
implemented for children living in outer islands and in disadvantaged
urban communities, especially with regard to their access to adequate
health and educational facilities, and that many children in urban
areas were left unattended at home. Furthermore, the Committee
remained concerned that single parenthood and teenage pregnancy are
still common in the Marshall Islands. Furthermore, the reduction and
subsequent termination of social work services, as well as at the
lack of funding under the Compact Agreement available for child abuse
prevention, were a cause for concern. 

The Committee recommended that the Marshall Islands undertake
measures to address the deficiencies in the area of education, inter
alia, by increasing budgetary allocation to ensure access to free
primary and quality education in all regions and to improve the
physical infrastructure of educational facilities; strengthening
efforts to bridge the gaps in the availability of education
throughout the country, including the availability of school
materials, drinking water, sanitation and transportation; promoting
female enrolment and ensuring the reduction of the drop-out rate;
providing assistance to children from disadvantaged families;
strengthening vocational programmes for children; facilitating access
to early childhood education; and including human rights education in
the school curricula. On juvenile justice, the Committee recommended
that the Marshall Islands adopt legislation setting a minimum age for
criminal responsibility of at least 12 years, and consider increasing
it in conformity with the principles enshrined in the Convention;
ensure that persons below 18 that were detained as a measure of last
resort, were placed in a setting in which the conditions of
deprivation of liberty were in full compliance with international
standards; and take measures to establish a Juvenile Court and ensure
that judges, and other professionals working with children in
conflict with the law were adequately trained. 

Suriname 

Among follow-up measures and progress achieved in the second periodic
report of Suriname, the Committee welcomed Chile's ratification of
the following instruments: ILO Convention No. 182 on the worst forms
of child labour, in 2006; the Ottawa Convention on Landmines, in
2002; and the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment
and Eradication of Violence against Women, in 2002. The Committee
also welcomed the finalization of the comprehensive Sector Wide
Approach Plans for the education, health, housing and agriculture
sectors. 
The Committee was deeply concerned at the very slow process of
enacting and implementing legislative changes, and that corporal
punishment continued to be used in the schools, and was not
prohibited in homes or alternative care contexts. While the Committee
welcomed Suriname's subsidy programmes for households below a certain
income level, it was concerned that the financial provisions of such
programmes were very low and that children of families in crisis
situations, and particularly in female-headed households, might end
up in care facilities or police detention. In that connection, the
Committee shared Suriname's concern that there was a high level of
institutional care in the country. It was also concerned that the
Division for Youth Care had functioned poorly over the past years due
to lack of qualified staff and budget cuts, and that the shelter for
girls has been closed since 1994. Moreover, it regretted that no
legal provisions had been made as of yet for the supervision and
inspection of private institutions or for periodic review of
placement of children in institutions, that there was no independent
complaint mechanism for children in alternative care institutions,
and that the "kweekjes" system of informal foster care continued. 

The Committee shared Suriname's concern over the alarming increase in
physical or sexual child abuse in the country and the fact that
changes to the legislation on sexual consent had not been approved,
leaving children in a situation where they could not be adequately
protected. The Committee reiterated its prior recommendation that all
appropriate measures be taken to introduce mandatory reporting of
abuse, including sexual abuse, of children. The Committee further
recommended that Suriname take the necessary measures to reform
legislation on sexual consent so as to provide children with adequate
protection against sexual abuse, and the necessary measures to
eliminate the shortage of alternative care and counselling services
for children who have been abused and other vulnerable children. The
Committee also noted with concern that early pregnancy, arranged
marriages, drug and alcohol abuse, and mental health concerns among
teens were increasing. It was particularly concerned about the
information that AIDS has become one of the leading causes of
mortality among children below the age of five years and that most
children infected or affected by HIV/AIDS were placed in residential
care facilities since there were no policies in place to strengthen
the capacity of families and the community to provide care and
support to these children. The Committee recommended that Suriname
take appropriate legislative measures to address the issue of sexual
exploitation; ensure that child victims were not criminalized or
penalized; and implement appropriate policies and programmes for the
prevention, recovery and social reintegration of child victims. 

Malaysia 

Among positive aspects in its initial report, the Committee commended
Malaysia for its notable improvement in economic and social
development, including continuous investments in health services, the
protection infrastructure and the educational system. It noted with
appreciation the establishment of the Ministry of Women, Family and
Community Development in 2001, and the subsequent expansion of its
responsibilities to include child issues and social development in
general. The Committee welcomed the adoption of the Child Act 2001,
which was guided by the principles of the Convention and aimed at
providing every child with care, protection and psychosocial
assistance. Furthermore, it noted with appreciation the establishment
of Child Protection Teams to coordinate support services at the
community level for children in need of care and protection and
families in crisis. 

The Committee was concerned at the slow pace of enacting and
reforming laws related to the implementation of the Convention.
Furthermore, it was concerned about the existence of disparities in
national laws: for example, in the Children and Young Persons
(Employment) Act, a child was defined as any person under 14, while
the Child Act 2001 defined a child as a person under 18. The
Committee welcomed the information that Malaysia would amend the
Essential (Security Cases) Regulations of 1975 to abolish the
imposition of capital punishment on children. However, it noted with
grave concern that Malaysia had not yet withdrawn its reservation to
article 37 of the Convention (prohibiting torture and regulating
deprivation of liberty situations for children). The Committee urged
Malaysia to immediately abolish all forms of cruel, inhuman or
degrading punishments, including caning and other form of corporal
punishment imposed on persons having committed a crime when under the
age of 18 years and as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions. 

The Committee noted with grave concern that domestic violence,
including violence against children in the family, remained a serious
problem in Malaysia and that, due to the strong social and cultural
taboos, victims and witnesses rarely reported those cases. The
Committee urged Malaysia, inter alia, to develop a comprehensive
national strategy to prevent and respond to domestic violence,
ill-treatment of children and child abuse; that it further adopt
adequate measures and policies to contribute to changing attitudes
and cultural practices; that it strengthen the existing mechanisms
and procedures to receive, monitor and investigate complaints on
child abuse and neglect; that it prohibit by law all forms of
corporal punishment in the home; and that it continue to sensitize
and educate parents, guardians and professionals working with and for
children to the harmful impact of violent forms of "discipline". The
Committee was alarmed at the high number of migrant domestic workers
in Malaysia, including child domestic workers who worked under
conditions that were hazardous and interfered with their education.
The Committee recommended, among other things, that Malaysia amend
the Children and Young Persons (Employment) Act and other relevant
laws and regulations to ensure that acceptable conditions of
permissible work were clearly and strictly detailed and that the
national labour provisions fully complied with international labour
standards, and that it vigorously pursue enforcement of minimum-age
standards and ensure that all working children, including those in
the informal sector, had access to free and compulsory primary
education as well as to secondary education. 

Chile 

Having considered the third periodic report of Chile, the Committee
noted with appreciation the adoption of many legislative and
programmatic measures taken to implement the Convention, including:
the Constitutional reform of 2003 extending compulsory schooling to a
minimum of 12 years; the establishment of the Universal Access to
Healthcare with Explicit Guarantees healthcare plan; and the
establishment of Offices for the Protection of the Rights of
Children. It also welcomed the ratification or accession by Chile to
the Inter-American Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities, in 2002; the two
Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in
2003; the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in
Persons, Especially Women and Children, to the UN Convention against
Transnational Organized Crime, in 2004; and the Convention on the
Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their
Families, in 2005. 

The Committee reiterated its concern that the State party had not
completed the process of the reform of the Juvenile Act of 1967 in
order to provide comprehensive protection for all children and
establish a clear distinction between children in need of protection
and children in conflict with the law, in procedural and other
actions. It also reiterated its concern over the absence of an
independent National Human Rights Institution in order to provide an
accessible complaint and redress mechanism for children. The
Committee urged Chile to continue to support the National Commission
on Political Imprisonment and Torture, in order to ensure that all
cases of abuse of persons during the military rule, including of
those who were children at the time, were fully investigated and that
victims were provided with adequate and comprehensive reparations.
The Committee encouraged Chile to ratify the Optional Protocol to the
Convention against Torture and the Statue of the International
Criminal Court. In that regard, the Committee was concerned that
children continued to be submitted to cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment by law enforcement officials, including in detention
facilities. Furthermore, it was concerned over reports indicating
excessive use of force and arbitrary detentions by police during
student demonstrations in 2006. 

Despite government efforts to counter intra-family violence, the
Committee was concerned that the incidence of violence and sexual
abuse against children was rising, and it regretted the lack of
updated statistics on victims of reported cases of violence,
especially sexual and intra-family, the limited number of
investigations and sanctions in relation to such cases and the lack
of available physical and psychological recovery and social
reintegration measures. The Committee urged Chile to reinforce
mechanisms for monitoring the number of cases and the extent of
violence, sexual abuse, neglect, maltreatment or exploitation,
including within the family, schools, in institutional or other care;
ensure that professionals working with children received training on
their obligation to report and take appropriate action in suspected
cases of domestic violence; strengthen support for victims of
violence, abuse, neglect and maltreatment in order to ensure their
access to adequate services for recovery, counselling and other forms
of reintegration; and support national coverage of a 24 hours three
digit toll-free child help line service, in order to be able to reach
out to children in remote areas throughout the country. 

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

Costa Rica 

Following its consideration of the initial report of Costa Rica, the
Committee noted with appreciation the setting up, in 1999, of a unit
to combat sexual exploitation of children within the Ministry of
Public Security of Costa Rica, and of a specialized unit within the
Judicial Investigation Department. It also noted with appreciation
the establishment of the National Commission to Combat the Commercial
Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents, and the
participation of non-governmental organizations in that Commission.
Also appreciated was the setting up in 2006 of the "Programme for the
Integral Care of Children and Adolescents At Risk and in Vulnerable
Situations", a project implemented by the National Child Welfare
Agency offices at local level, and the ratification, in 2003, of the
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its two
supplementing protocols, to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking
in Persons, Especially Women and Children, and against the Smuggling
of Migrants. 

The Committee was concerned that, despite Costa Rica's efforts, there
still appeared to be a wide tolerance towards the offences covered by
the Optional Protocol. It was further concerned that possession of
child pornography was not yet fully covered under the State party's
criminal law, although a Bill to that effect had been submitted to
the Congress, and that a rights-based victim care system that took
account of sex and age was still lacking, and that the protection and
care of child victims suffered from a shortage of resources. It was
additionally concerned that the practice of purchasing sexual
services from children is still socially acceptable especially among
men and that Costa Rica is increasingly becoming a popular
destination for sex tourism. The Committee recommended that Costa
Rica continue to take measures to tackle the increasing problem of
sex tourism involving children, including by strengthening
awareness-raising campaigns containing specific messages on child
rights and on the existing sanctions on child abusers. Costa Rica
should also take appropriate measures aimed at effectively
prohibiting the production and dissemination of material advertising
the offences described in the Protocol. 

Kyrgyzstan 

Among positive aspects in Kyrgyzstan's initial report, the Committee
noted with appreciation the Agreement on Labour Activity and Social
Protection of Migrants Employed in Agriculture in Border Areas,
signed by Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in 2002; the Presidential Decree
of 2002 on measures to combat the smuggling and trafficking of
persons in the Kyrgyz Republic; and the adoption of the Code of the
Kyrgyz Republic on Children in 2006. 

The Committee welcomed the establishment of the "New Generation"
programme on trafficking in and commercial and sexual exploitation of
children, however, it was concerned at the absence of a specific plan
of action in this area. Furthermore, the Committee was concerned that
existing financial resources provided to the "New Generation"
programme were insufficient and that the coordination and cooperation
between different bodies was not fully effective. The Committee was
also concerned that measures undertaken for the physical and
psychological recovery of child victims of sale, child prostitution
and child pornography were exclusively carried out by
non-governmental organizations and that no funds were specifically
allocated by the State party for the support of child victims. The
Committee recommended that Kyrgyzstan 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 those children. It recommended that
Kyrgyzstan pay particular attention to the situation of vulnerable
groups of children who were at particular risk of being exploited and
abused. More attention should also be devoted to raising awareness
among those children of their rights. The Committee encouraged
Kyrgyzstan to undertake regional an international judicial, police
and victim-oriented cooperation activities with other States with a
view to preventing and combating the sale of children, child
prostitution and child pornography. 

Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict 

Costa Rica 

Among positive aspects in the initial report of Costa Rica, the
Committee welcomed that, since the armed forces were abolished in the
1949 Constitution, national law prohibited both voluntary and
compulsory enlistment; and that only persons over 18 could be
recruited in the police forces – which were in any case of
civilian nature. The Committee also welcomed Costa Rica's
ratification of: the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale
of children, child prostitution and child pornography; ILO Convention
182 concerning the Worst Forms of Child Labour; and the Rome Statute
of the International Criminal Court. 

The Committee recommended that Costa Rica explicitly prohibit by law
the recruitment of children under the age of 15 years into armed
forces or groups and their direct participation in hostilities;
explicitly prohibit by law the violation of the provisions of the
Optional Protocol regarding the recruitment and involvement of
children in hostilities; establish extraterritorial jurisdiction for
those crimes when they were committed by or against a person who was
a citizen of or had other links with the State Party; and stipulate
explicitly that military personnel should not undertake any act that
violated the rights enshrined in the Optional Protocol regardless of
any military order to that effect. The Committee noted Costa Rica's
view that, due to the absence of conflicts and of armed forces,
measures concerning the disarmament, demobilization or social
reintegration of child soldiers were not relevant. However, Costa
Rica was a country of destination of asylum-seekers and migrants,
including children - some of whom might come from countries affected
by armed conflict – and the Committee regretted the lack of
information about measures adopted with regard to their
identification, physical and psychological recovery and social
reintegration. In that regard, it recommended that Costa Rica
identify refugee, asylum-seeking and migrant children entering Costa
Rica who might have been recruited or used in hostilities contrary to
the Protocol; that it carefully assess the situation of those
children and provide them with immediate, culturally sensitive and
multidisciplinary assistance for their physical and psychological
recovery and their social reintegration; and that it include
information on measures adopted in that respect in its next report. 

Kyrgyzstan 

Following its review of the initial report of Kyrgyzstan, the
Committee noted with appreciation Kyrgyzstan's ratification of seven
human rights treaties, ratification of ILO Convention No. 182
concerning the elimination of the worst forms of child labour in
2004, and the adoption of the Code of the Kyrgyz Republic on Children
in June 2006. The Committee welcomed that mandatory Military Service
in Kyrgyzstan began at age 18 and that no derogation was accepted,
and that the Criminal Code provided criminal penalties for the use of
minors in armed conflicts. 

The Committee was concerned that there was no specific provision
providing extraterritorial jurisdiction in case of recruitment of a
child of Kyrgyz nationality outside the country, or recruitment of
children by a Kyrgyz citizen, or a person that had other links with
the State party, outside Kyrgyzstan. Moreover, the Committee was
concerned that small arms and light weapons might be exported to
countries where persons who have not attained the age of 18 took a
direct part in hostilities. The Committee recommended that Kyrgyzstan
speedily establish a permanent mechanism to coordinate the policies
and activities on children's rights, including the appropriate and
effective coordination and regular evaluation of the implementation
of the Optional Protocol. Furthermore, the Committee recommended that
children attending military schools be provided with access to a
complaint and investigation mechanism, and that Kyrgyzstan provide
further information on training in the use of weapons in regular
schools. Finally, the Committee encouraged the State party to
continue and strengthen protection for asylum seeking, refugee and
migrant children living in Kyrgyzstan who might have been recruited
or used in hostilities in their country of origin. 

General Comment on Juvenile Justice 

In a General Comment on Children's Rights in Juvenile Justice
(CRC/C/GC/10), the Committee noted that the Convention on the Rights
of the Child required State parties to develop and implement a
comprehensive juvenile justice policy. The objectives of the General
Comment were to encourage States parties to develop and implement a
comprehensive juvenile justice policy to prevent and address juvenile
delinquency based on compliance with the Convention, and to seek in
that regard advice and support from the Interagency Panel on Juvenile
Justice, with representatives of the Office of the High Commissioner
for Human Rights, UNICEF, the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime and non-governmental organizations, established by Economic and
Social Council resolution 1997/30. It also sought to provide States
parties with guidance and recommendations for the content of this
juvenile justice policy, with special attention to prevention of
juvenile delinquency, the introduction of alternative measures
allowing for responses to juvenile delinquency without resorting to
judicial procedures, and the interpretation and implementation of all
other provisions in articles 37 and 40 of the Convention. Finally, it
aimed to promote the integration of other international standards in
a national and comprehensive juvenile justice policy, in particular
the UN Standard Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice, the
UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of Their Liberty,
and the UN Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency. 
__________ 

For use of the information media; not an official record