UNGASS

The UN General Assembly will hold a special session on the world drug problem from 19 to 21 April 2016 at UN Headquarters in New York. A coalition of child rights organisations has released a joint statementoutlining concerns around the upcoming session including the failure of the current draft outcome document to address children’s rights issues. The statement explains why and how the outcome document should be amended to include an explicit commitment of Member States not to criminalise children for drug use and to respect and implement access to justice standards.

To sign on, email anna.tomasi@defenceforchildren.org.
 

Special Procedures

Regularly updated calendar about Special Procedure visits.

Treaty bodies

CESCR

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights held its 57th session from 22 February to 18 March. It reviewed three States’ compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Canada: The Committee expressed concern over the persistence of violence against women and girls; the higher likelihood that indigenouschildren are placed in child care institutions; and the continuous low educational and academic attainment by indigenous and African-Canadianchildren.

Kenya: The Committee expressed concern over the fact that the newly adopted Protection against Domestic Violence Act is not effectively enforced and that domestic violence is still pervasive, particularly against women, children and persons with disabilities and that the majority of cases of domestic violence go unreported. The Committee also expressed concern over the prevalence of chronic malnutrition and the high level of stunting; and the fact that inadequacies in the public schooling system have led to the proliferation of so-called “low-cost private schools” which in turn result in segregation or discriminatory access to education.

Namibia: The Committee expressed concern over the significant prevalence of alcohol consumption and drug use among school-agedchildren. The Committee was also concerned that, as customary law governs 80 percent of marriages, children are vulnerable to early marriage; and that Namibia has not yet investigated any reports of harmful practices, such as sexual initiation, performed in certain regions of the country.

During the session the Committee also adopted two General Comments:

• General Comment 22 on the right to sexual and reproductive health (Art 12); and

• General Comment 23 on the right to just and favourable conditions of work (Art 7).

Read a blog post by the Global Initiative on Economic, Social and CulturalRights on the new General Comment 23.
 

CEDAW

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women held its 63rd session from 15 February to 4 March. It reviewed eight States’ compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Czech Republic: The Committee expressed concern over the low number of prosecutions and convictions of perpetrators of trafficking in women and girls; the deprivation of liberty of asylum-seeking, refugee or irregular migrant mothers with children; and the fact that women and girls continue to be underrepresented in technical schools and scientific research work, as well as in academia, particularly at the senior level.

Haiti: The Committee expressed concern over the fact that despite the alarmingly high number of women victims of trafficking in Haiti, specific legislation criminalising trafficking is still in draft form and has not yet been submitted to Parliament. The Committee was also seriously concerned at the practice of incest or rape by fathers, uncles or other close adult male relatives of young girls on the pretext of warding off “other males the family does not know”.

Iceland: The Committee expressed concern over the continued prevalence of stereotypical educational choices by women and girls as well as by men and boys, resulting in underrepresentation of women and girls in fields of study that are traditionally dominated by men; and the lack of guaranteed childcare for children aged nine months to two years.

Japan: The Committee expressed concern over the fact that stereotypes continue to be the root cause of sexual violence against women and that pornography, video games and animation such as manga promote sexual violence against women and girls; and the high rate of abortion and suicide among teenage girls and women.

Mongolia: The Committee expressed concern over the fact that women and girls with disabilities do not have access to shelters for victims of violence; the persistence of violence in schools and school dormitories, in particular sexual violence and abuse, which results in a high number teenage pregnancies and a lack of comprehensive education on sexual and reproductive health and rights, including on responsible sexual behaviour; and of family planning services and the high level of unmet contraception needs among women and girls.

Sweden: The Committee expressed concern over the recent reversal of the asylum policy and policies restricting the granting of residence permits and family reunification, which may have particularly negative consequences for women and children asylum-seekers. The Committee was also concerned that a high number of girls suffer from discrimination and sexual harassment in schools; and, despite progress achieved, migrant girls, girls belonging to minorities, in particular Roma, and Sami girls continue to face difficulties in accessing education.

Tanzania: The Committee expressed concern over the high prevalence of harmful practices, including child and/or forced marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM) in certain regions, ceremonies for girls which lead to abuse, the practice of prescribing sex with girls or women with albinism as a cure for HIV, ritual killings and attacks on persons with albinism, including women and girls, the use of their body parts for the purpose of witchcraft, and the stigma and social exclusion suffered by mothers of children with albinism. The Committee also expressed concern over the impunity for perpetrators of sexual violence and the reluctance of girl victims of sexual violence to report cases of abuse to the police because of the stigma surrounding sexual violence.

Vanuatu: The Committee was concerned over the lack of procedural accommodation of the justice system for women and girls with disabilities, such as accessible information, provision of sign language interpreters and alternative forms of communication. The Committee also expressed concern over the absence of a law to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, in particular women and girls.

The Committee also held a half-day general discussion on gender-related dimensions of disaster risk reduction and climate change.

Deadlines for submissions

Committee on the Rights of the Child: 1 July for the review of Bhutan, Cameroon, Lebanon, Mongolia, Romania under the Convention on theRights of the Child; Bhutan, Russian Federation, United States of America under the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; and Bhutan, United States of America under the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict.

Human Rights Committee: 27 May for the review of Argentina, Burkina Faso, Denmark, Ecuador, Ghana, Kazakhstan, and Kuwait and; 8 April for the list of issues for Thailand, Turkmenistan, Italy and Serbia or list of issues prior to reporting for Belgium, Norway and Lithuania.

Committee against Torture: 4 July for the review of Burundi, Cape Verde, Honduras, Kuwait and Mongolia; and 17 October for the review of Armenia, Ecuador, Finland, Monaco, Namibia, Sri Lanka and Turkmenistan and the list of issues prior to reporting for Australia, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Montenegro, Sweden, Ukraine and United States of America.