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Summary: A compilation of extracts featuring child-rights issues from the reports submitted to the Universal Periodic Review. There are extracts from the 'National Report', the 'Compilation of UN Information' and the 'Summary of Stakeholder's Information'. Also included is the final report and the list of accepted and rejected recommendations. Antigua and Barbuda - 12th Session - 2011 Scroll to: National Report 11. The major international human rights instruments to which Antigua and Barbuda is a party are: the International Convention on the Elimination of all form of Racial Discrimination, Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Convention on the Rights of the Child, United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. 12. The Trafficking in Persons (Prevention) Act 2010 was passed by the nation's Parliament to give effect to the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, 2000; to combat the trafficking in persons within Antigua and Barbuda and through the country's territorial boundaries. The Act makes provision for the protection of victims of trafficking in places of refuge and for the appointment of a Trafficking in Persons Prevention Committee with extensive powers to formulate policies and programmes designed to implement the objects of the Act. 20. There are three schools that were specifically established for three categories of disabled persons - the blind and visually impaired; the deaf and hearing impaired and special children. Computer software designed for these schools is utilized in the education of the students. There exists publically funded transportation to the school for children with special needs. However the provision of this much needed service is hampered by financial constraints. 21. Although there is residential care for children with disabilities there is a limit to the number of children who can be catered for due to lack of funding and insufficient trained care givers. 23. There exists within the Ministry of Social Transformation a Board of Guardians with responsibility for providing a fortnightly stipend to the poor and destitute who are mental pauper patients, discharged lepers, visually impaired persons and eligible children and adults. These persons also receive limited financial assistance to effect repairs to their homes through the Home Improvement Grant and the indigent receive a small funeral grant. 24. It is a stated aim of the Government to implement the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child with particular emphasis on the protection of children who are vulnerable and at risk by supporting the Citizens' Welfare Division in the Ministry of Social Transformation in formulating a Child Care and Protection Policy. The Citizen's Welfare Division operates the Child Care Protection and Family Services Unit. Included in its mandate is the prevention of child abuse and the provision of counseling to children and families. The Unit is actively involved in investigations of child abuse and the placement of children with foster parents who receive a fortnightly stipend for the maintenance of the children. The Division works closely with the justice system in implementing court ordered investigations in respect of children. 25. Collaborating in this process is the Probation Unit which works closely with the Youth Intervention Unit of the Police Force to steer children away from delinquent behaviour. 26. Universal primary and secondary education have been achieved by means of the State providing free education to all children and young persons up to the age of 20 years at the Government owned primary and secondary Schools. Education for children from 5 years to 16 years is compulsary and attendance at school can be enforced by the State. 27. In order to ensure access to information technology Government has established Community Access and Empowerment Centres equipped with laptops for use by children 28. The School Uniform Grant and the School Meals Programme are two of the policy initiatives that Government has implemented under its Social Protection and Social Safety Net Programme. In order to fulfill its mandate to educate all of the nation's children the State provides school uniforms and access to text books at no cost to the students. School lunches are provided to pupils of 19 primary schools located in the lower socio-economic areas of the country.Government spends approximately $2.5 million per year on the School Uniform Programm designed to assist parents by subsidising the cost of educating their children. 30. The Child and Family Guidance Centre was established as a project by the Collaborative Committee for the Promotion of Emotional Health of Children (CCOPE). This organization provides services to emotionally disturbed and abused children and young persons from the age 5 to 17years and their parents. The unit provides psychological evaluation and counseling and makes visits to the homes and schools of the young clients. 31. The National Parenting Resource Centre is another CCOPE project run by volunteers. This organization educates parents in parenting skills, conducts workshops to businesses in stress, time and conflict management, provides training to trainers, pre and post natal counseling to teenaged mothers from 13 years to 16 years old. The Centre helps these teen mothers in their efforts to gain re-admission into schools to continue their formal education The Centre also assists the babies with their material needs. 32. The Centre conducts an adult mentoring support programme for boys between five and 17 years who need a role model and remedial classes for both boys and girls in Reading, Mathematics and English. These children also benefit from a music programme recently launched by the Centre. 33. In order to enhance the economic independence of teen mothers and unemployed women the Centre conducts a craft programme. 38. AIDS is the seventh leading cause of death of persons between ages 15 and 49 years in Antigua and Barbuda. In order to address this the Ministry of Health established an AIDS Secretariat which coordinates the campaign of prevention and education, treatment and counseling. With the objective of combatting the sigma associated with HIV/AIDS and issues of discrimination against infected persons the Government has established a human rights desk to deal specifically with complaints of stigma and discrimination experienced by infected persons in their homes and public and private institutions. The Ministry collaborates with the Caribbean HIV/AIDS Alliance in the implementation of their programme among members of the population who are most at risk for contracting the disease. 43. A key national priority is securing social protection and poverty alleviation. To accomplish this, the Government has embarked upon several projects with local, regional and international partners through the National Poverty Reduction Strategy (NPRS) and the Social Safety Net system comprising a network of programmes with the objective of improving the means of economic advancement. Already referenced in achievements are some of the programmes – the School Uniform Grant; the School Meals Programme In addition to these are the Home Improvement Grant; the Poverty Alleviation Grant; the GRACE Programme; Job Training initiatives; the Senior Citizens Utility Subsidy Programme and the Peoples Benefit Programme that are implemented by PDV Caribe and funded with resources made available through the Petro Caribe arrangement. 44. The Government recognises that education is key to social transformation and is implementing measures to ensure that education at all levels is improved and strengthened. These measures include the inspection and licensing of early childhood facilities that meet the basic criteria for operation. It is the objective of Government to achieve full Universal Secondary Education by 2013. 47. The achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is a key national priority. Essentially the MDGs are eradicating extreme hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving maternity health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other communicable diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability and promoting a global partnership for development consistent with the promotion of the human rights of its citizens and residents. The Government has designed a social transformation plan indended to address seven priority areas namely increasing student achievement at all levels in the education system; bringing about improvement in the health of all persons, improving the condition of vulnerable groups, securing safety of persons and property; promoting the economic vitality of businesses; increasing the productivity of the public sector; and advancing cultural recreational opportunities. 50. The Labour Department conducts periodic inspections of workplaces to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Labour Code securing the health and safety of workers and the employment of young persons under the age of 18 years. 2. In 2004, the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) recommended that Antigua and Barbuda ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. 11. CRC recommended that Antigua and Barbuda continue and strengthen the legislative review in order to ensure full compliance with the Convention and particularly to amend legislation to respect and recognize the principle of respect for the views of the child within custody disputes and other legal matters. 13. UNICEF noted Antigua and Barbuda's legislative review to ensure compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child as well as the enhancement of the rights of the child in various legal provisions: Sexual Offence Act (1995), Domestic Violence Act (1999) and Magistrates Code of Procedure (1993) but nevertheless the legislative reform was slow. 14. In line with CRC's recommendations of 2004, in 2007, a report of the UNICEF reported that Antigua and Barbuda implemented sexual offences legislation and noted the Child Care and Protection Act (2003), which defined a child as a person under 18; defined abuse and neglect; established a Child Care and Protection Agency; and laid down procedures for investigating and reporting abuse and neglect of a child and for licensing, registration and supervision of childcare facilities. 19. CRC encouraged Antigua and Barbuda to establish an independent mechanism to monitor the implementation of the Convention; to deal with children complaints in a child-sensitive and expeditious manner; and to provide remedies for children rights' violations. 20. CRC welcomed the National Committee on the Rights of the Child (2000) to facilitate the implementation of the Convention but expressed concern at the lack of clear and well-structured coordination among the various bodies involved in coordinating and evaluating the Convention's implementation and recommended that Antigua and Barbuda establish a single inter-ministerial and inter-sectorial mechanism. 21. UNICEF noted that although the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child was addressed by the Ministry of Social Transformation and the National Implementation Committee on the Rights of the Child (NICRC), the provision of independent monitoring to the Convention's implementation was not integrated into the Ombudsman's Office. 22. UNICEF noted the establishment of the Alliance for the well-being of Children. 23. CRC urged Antigua and Barbuda to develop and implement a comprehensive national action plan for the full implementation of the Convention It recommended that Antigua and Barbuda prioritize budgetary allocations to ensure children rights to the maximum extent using a rights-based approach, and encouraged it to reflect and implement the principle of the best interests of the child in all policies and programmes. 24. UNICEF stated that a National Strategic Development Plan was drafted but not finalized and that no comprehensive national action plan to implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child existed.i However, it noted the National Policy and Regulatory Framework and National Service Standards on early childhood. 25. CRC encouraged Antigua and Barbuda to establish a comprehensive policy for children with disabilities. 29. CRC recommended that Antigua and Barbuda develop a data collection and indicators' system disaggregated by gender, age and residence parishes, with specific emphasis on children who are particularly vulnerable, including children living in poverty, children with disabilities and children from single-parent families and use this information when formulating laws, policies and programmes. 34. UNICEF noted that the second, third and fourth reports to the CRC and the fourth and fifth reports to the CEDAW Committee were overdue. 35. CERD expressed concern about the Constitutional definition of racial discrimination (article 14) as it did not include "national or ethnic origin" among the prohibited grounds of discrimination, inviting the country to include them.ii CRC regretted that the grounds of discrimination mentioned in the Constitution were not in full compliance with article 2 of the Convention and that no additional legislation existed that explicitly prohibited all forms of discrimination. 36. CRC and UNICEF were concerned that girls, children with disabilities, children living in poverty, children born out of wedlock and informally adopted children suffered from discrimination and disparities in accessing basic services.iii CRC recommended that Antigua and Barbuda ensure the implementation of existing laws guaranteeing non-discrimination and adopt appropriate legislation to ensure that all children enjoyed all the rights. 37. UNICEF reported that Antigua and Barbuda's Sexual Offences Act (1995) outlawed incest, sharing CRC's concern that such Act did not afford the same protection to boys as it did to girls and that the offences against the Person Act protected only girl children from rape and not boys. 44. In 2007, PAHO reported that in 2001–2005 women represented 82 per cent of all calls received to hot line services, emotional abuse being the most common complaint. In that same period, 31 sexual molestation cases were reported; 29 of the victims were of 3 to 14 years' old. 45. CRC and UNICEF were concerned that no specific domestic laws protected children against psychological violence; that no official places of safety for child victims of abuse existed, being usually held at police stations; about the lack of adequate complaint filing mechanisms for child victims of abuse and neglect; that prosecution for abuse and neglect faced major infrastructural problems in the legal system; and that domestic legislation did not provide for mandatory reporting of suspected cases of abuse and neglect.iv CRC recommended that Antigua and Barbuda prevent child abuse and neglect, by establishing mechanisms to receive, monitor and investigate complaints in a child-sensitive manner; ensure prosecution of perpetrators of child abuse and neglect; provide physical and psychological recovery services and social reintegration to sexual abuse victims and child victims of abuse, neglect, ill-treatment, violence or exploitation; and prevent victims' criminalization and stigmatization. 46. CRC was concerned at the low rate of prosecutions of those who sexually exploited children and the few public campaigns on sexual exploitation laws.v It noted that, given Antigua and Barbuda's reliance on commercial tourism, children's sexual exploitation should be a concern and recommended that it develop a policy addressing children's sexual exploitation, including risk factors; avoid criminalizing child victims of sexual exploitation; ensure perpetrators' prosecution; and implement preventive and victims' recovery and reintegration policies and programmes. 47. CEDAW raised its concern about the lack of information on prostitution and trafficking of women.vi UNICEF stated that neither precise data nor comprehensive study on child trafficking existed.vii CRC recommended that Antigua and Barbuda undertake a study about the trafficking phenomenon, including of children. 48. In 2011, the ILO Committee of Experts noted the shelter and services offered to victims of trafficking. It requested Antigua and Barbuda to identify those foreign victims under 18 and to ensure rehabilitation and social reintegration services to all child victims of trafficking of all nationalities. 50. CRC recommended that Antigua and Barbuda ensure that children engaged in lawful domestic work do not work under harmful conditions and have access to education; prevent and eliminate unlawful work; and implement child labour policies and legislation.viii UNICEF stated that there was a lack of child labour policies and legislation and that preventive measures in this regard still needed to be implemented to ensure CRC's recommendations. 51. CRC and UNICEF were concerned about the Corporal Punishment Act and the 1973 Education Act, which provided for corporal punishment; and that corporal punishment was still widely practised in the family, schools and other institutions.ix CRC recommended that Antigua and Barbuda repeal or to amend both Acts; prohibit corporal punishment by law; conduct awareness-raising campaigns about the impact of children's corporal punishment, involving children and media in the process; and ensure positive, participatory, non-violent forms of discipline consistent with the child's dignity. 52. In 2011, the ILO Committee of Experts observed as a problem the children's involvement in the drugs production and trafficking and stated that while the Misuse of Drugs Act (2008) prohibited the production, supply, possession, cultivation or trafficking of narcotics it did not prohibit the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 for the commission of illicit activities, particularly drug-related offences, urging Antigua and Barbuda to explicitly prohibit it in legislation. 55. CRC and UNICEF were concerned at the very low minimum age of criminal responsibility, set at 8; at the possibility to sentence a person under 18 to life imprisonment for murder or treason; that detainees under 18 were not separated from adults; that a juvenile (defined as a person under 16) could be tried as an adult if charged with an adult for a homicide; that a juvenile of 8 could be requested to appear before the court; that no separate facilities for persons under 18 existed, being placed in adult prisons, which were reported to be overcrowded and in poor condition; and that the Juvenile Court Act (section 7) stipulated the detention of a juvenile in "any place of safety, including a prison" if he/she is deemed to be "of such an unruly character or so depraved a character".x CRC recommended that Antigua and Barbuda review the legislation and policies to ensure the full implementation of juvenile justice standards. 57. CRC expressed concern that the process to establish legal paternity of children born out of wedlock, where the biological father did not legally recognize the child, constituted an impediment to the right of the child to an identity and/or to know both parents, and recommended that Antigua and Barbuda create accessible and expeditious procedures and provide mothers with necessary legal and other assistance.xi UNICEF considered the above situation also as discriminatory. 58. CRC was concerned that no safe houses or places of alternative care existed for boys suffering from parental neglect or needing to be removed from their family environment, being generally placed in juvenile offenders' facilities. It recommended that Antigua and Barbuda review such practice and establish a Government-run institution to accommodate boys in need of care, ensuring their physical and psychological needs, including health, education and safety. 63. UNICEF stated that the views of the child were not systematically respected in administrative and judicial decisions and noted the few mechanisms in school for adolescents to participate in governance activities and assume leadership positions. 65. In 2011, the ILO Committee of Experts noted that the minimum age for admission to employment in Antigua and Barbuda's legislation, i.e. 14 years, was not in conformity with the age specified by the country when ratifying the ILO Convention No. 138, i.e. 16 years., and urged Antigua and Barbuda to ensure the adoption of the draft Labour Code, whose section E2 was amended to define a child as a person under 16. 67. CRC expressed concern at the lack of a comprehensive, legally based and regulated social security system and recommended that Antigua and Barbuda revise and/or establish social security and family policies and strategies for using social safety net benefits to further children's rights. 68. CRC noted that social services were under resource strain, particularly the health service, and recommended that Antigua and Barbuda improve the health infrastructure to ensure access to basic health care and services, including basic medicines for all children. 70. In 2007, PAHO noted in a report that the infant mortality rate decreased from 22 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2004 to 16 in 2005, due to improved prenatal and child care services.xii CEDAW expressed concern about the high rate of perinatal mortality. 72. CEDAW was concerned about the high level of teenage pregnancy.xiii CRC was concerned about the insufficient attention to adolescent health and recommended that Antigua and Barbuda strengthen developmental, mental and reproductive health counselling services and make them known and accessible to adolescents; incorporate reproductive health education in the school curriculum, particularly at the secondary level, inform adolescents about their reproductive health rights and the prevention of STDs, including HIV/AIDS, and early pregnancies; and support pregnant teenagers, through community structures and social security benefits. 73. In 2007, PAHO reported that in Antigua and Barbuda the number of new AIDS cases increased from 32 in 2001 to 62 in 2005. In 2002, 1.65 per cent of the adult population was living with HIV/AIDS and, of an estimated 1,128 persons living with HIV/AIDS, 99.7 per cent were between 15–49 years old.xiv UNICEF noted the establishment of an AIDS Secretariat and the free of charge provision of anti-retroviral drugs to patients with HIV/AIDS.xv CEDAW reported the lack of special measures for women with HIV/AIDS. 74. CRC remained concerned at the growing incidence of substance abuse by children and recommended that Antigua and Barbuda combat such drug and alcohol abuse through public education awareness campaigns and ensure children's access to effective structures and procedures for treatment, counselling, recovery and reintegration. 76. CRC remained concerned about a variety of problems in the public school system and recommended that Antigua and Barbuda, inter alia, facilitate all children's access to education by building more schools; improve the school materials' provision; increase school attendance and reduce the high dropout and repetition rates, with the children's participation. 77. In 2010, UNICEF noted that the universal education system became operational in September 2010; that secondary school entrance examinations will no longer form the basis for allocation of limited secondary school places; and that measures related to appropriate curricula and learning environment improvements were taken.xvi In 2004, CRC had particularly recommended that Antigua and Barbuda abolish the entrance examination system to guarantee all students access to public secondary schools. 78. In 2010, UNICEF reported that immigrant children now can freely access primary and secondary levels.xvii In 2007, CERD had noted that children of non-citizens continued to be excluded from State schools for the first two years in Antigua and Barbuda due to lack of resources; and that no mechanisms existed to ensure that no child was denied access to education, recommending that Antigua and Barbuda systematically review any exclusion and set up an independent mechanism to ensure that all children enjoyed the right to education. 79. In 2010, UNICEF stated that the Ministry of Education has routinely facilitated teen mothers' return to school.xviii In 2004, CRC was concerned that pregnant teenagers did not generally continue their education and were often forced to leave school and had recommended that Antigua and Barbuda provide education opportunities for them. 80. CEDAW was concerned about the selection by female students of stereotypical subjects and their greater exposure within the school system to domestic skills and boys to technical skills. 81. CRC recommended that Antigua and Barbuda integrate children with disabilities into the regular educational system and into society by special training for teachers and making the physical environment (schools, sports, leisure facilities and other public areas) accessible. 82. UNICEF indicated that sports were included in the Draft Education Policy Document (1994) as part of the education but no specific laws ensured the child's right to rest and leisure. 85. CRC acknowledged Antigua and Barbuda's challenges, namely the increasing debt burden and vulnerability to natural disasters, which impeded the full realization of children's rights. 88. CRC recommended that Antigua and Barbuda seek technical assistance from UNICEF to develop a national action plan to implement the Convention;xix from UNICEF and OHCHR to establish an independent National Human Rights Institution;xx from UNICEF to develop a data collection and indicators' system;xxi from UNICEF and WHO to prevent child abuse and neglect;xxii from UNICEF and WHO to address problems faced by children with disabilities;xxiii and from UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO regarding adolescent health issues. 2. AB-APD informed that the Government and NGO presented a draft bill on "The Child Care and Protection Agency Bill, 2003", which sought to protect children of both sexes who might be in situation of abuse. 4. AB-APD reported the implementation of a National Multi-Sectorial Committee on the Rights of the Child to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the rights of the child. 6. AB-APD reported that, while the Government repeatedly expressed its commitment to children's rights, its efforts to protect those rights in practice were limited. 11. Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) reported that the Offences against the Person Act of 1873 prescribed the death penalty for murder but that sentence shall not be pronounced if it appeared to the Court that at the time when the offence was committed the offender was under the age of eighteen. CRIN also mentioned that the Government of Antigua and Barbuda stated that this prohibition applied to the offence of treason under the Treason Act of 1984, although this was not explicitly stated in that Act. 12. Despite the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children (GIEACPC) noted that corporal punishment was lawful in the penal system (as a sentence for crime); in the home; in schools (under the Education Act 1973); as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions (under the Prison Act 1956 and the Training Schools Act 1891); and in alternative care settings.xxiv GIEACPC hoped that the Review will highlight the importance of prohibiting all corporal punishment of children in all settings, including in the home and as a sentence of the courts, and urge the Government to enact legislation to achieve this as a matter of priority. 13. CRIN and GIEACPC recalled that the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in 2004 recommended Antigua and Barbuda to immediate repeal/amend the Corporal Punishment Act, the Education Act, together with explicit prohibition of corporal punishment in all settings. 14. AB-APD reported that violence against women was treated as a matter of public concern and non-governmental social welfare groups focused on the problem. AB-APD indicated that the 1999 Domestic Violence Act prohibited domestic violence, rape and other sexual offenses and provided penalties in this regard. It added that the Directorate of Gender Affairs sought to increase women's awareness of their rights; instituted a domestic violence program that included training for police officers, magistrates, and judges; ran a domestic abuse hotline; and worked with a non-governmental organization to provide safe havens for abused women and children. 15. AB-APD noted that the Sexual Offences Act 1995 increased the age for consenting to sexual activities from 14 to 16 years for both sexes. The Sexual Offences Act also criminalized marital rape and included provisions for hearing in camera all rape cases and all cases involving minors. This Act also addressed the issue of incest which had not been addressed in the existing Offences against the Person Act. 16. AB-APD reported that child abuse remained a problem. 19. CRIN reported that child offenders may not be sentenced to death but may be sentenced to corporal punishment; to life imprisonment or detention "during Her Majesty's pleasure". CRIN had no information regarding the numbers of child offenders sentenced to life imprisonment or to detention "during Her Majesty's pleasure". 20. GIEACPC and CRIN pointed out that there were many laws allowing male juvenile offenders to be sentenced to whipping as part of or as an alternative to the specified punishment for offenders under the age of 16, including the Offences Against the Person Act 1873, the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1887, the Railways Offences Act 1927, the Magistrates Code of Procedure Act 1892, the Corporal Punishment Act 1949, and the Juvenile Act 1951.xxv CRIN mentioned that official figures on the number of child offenders sentenced to corporal punishment appeared to be unavailable. 21. CRIN and GIEACPC recalled that the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in 2004 recommended Antigua and Barbuda to bring juvenile justice legislation into line with international human rights standards, particularly article 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 22. CRIN hoped that the Human Rights Council will recommend Antigua and Barbuda to repeal all legal provisions authorizing corporal punishment as a sentence of the courts for persons under 18 years of age at the time of the offence; to explicitly prohibit life imprisonment and indeterminate detention ("during Her Majesty's pleasure") of child offenders, including when such imprisonment is in lieu of the death penalty; and to legislate for the detention of children to be imposed only as a last resort and for the shortest possible duration. 23. AB-APD reported about an uncovered child pornography and prostitution ring in 2001 with high-ranking members of society implicated. A task force with representatives from the government and non-governmental sectors was created to investigate the matter but no cases have been prosecuted and several were dismissed because the complainant failed to appear. 30. AB-APD stated that boys/men did not avail themselves of the services of Family Planning as readily as women and that Family Planning was considered to be the responsibility of women. 31. AB-APD indicated that education was free, universal and compulsory through the age of 16 years. However, schools faced many shortages and parents had to provide desks, chairs and uniforms and often purchase books. Accepted and Rejected Recommendations - The following recommendations were accepted: A - 67.9. Continue to work in favor of the vulnerable groups, in particular children and women, taking into account the international obligations already contracted (Nicaragua); A - 67.10. Continue with the implementation of policies and good practices that contribute to improving the living conditions of people with disabilities, children and the elderly (Ecuador); A - 67.16. Integrate children with disabilities into the regular educational system and into society by special training for teachers and making the physical environment (schools, sports, leisure facilities and other public areas) accessible (Slovenia); A - 67.25 Review the legislation and policies to warrant the full observance of international juvenile justice standards and cooperate with UNICEF on this matter (Hungary); A - 67.26. Provide for a child-sensitive, accessible complaint mechanism, ensuring a proper redress, rehabilitation and social reintegration for the child victims of abuse (Slovakia); A - 67.27. Implement measures to facilitate the handling and investigation of complaints in an understandable fashion for children; ensure the adequate prosecution of perpetrators of child abuse and neglect; and provide services for physical and psychological recovery as well as the social reintegration of victims of sexual abuse (Uruguay); A - 67.32. Request technical assistance from the United Nations to meet its international human rights obligations, as stated by the Committee on the Rights of the Child (Chile); The following recommendations were rejected: R - 69.9. Prohibit corporal punishment of children in all settings (Slovenia); R - 69.10.Criminalize the corporal punishment of children in all circumstances and places (Uruguay); R - 69.11. Prohibit all forms of corporal punishment of children in any setting including the home and as a sentence of the courts (Uruguay); R - 69.12. Introduce a legal prohibition of corporal punishment as a punitive and corrective measure in the school system and in the family (Spain); R - 69.13. Consider taking necessary measures aimed at prohibiting all forms of corporal punishment (Brazil); R - 69.14. Consider the elimination of corporal punishment of children under 18 and ensure the compliance of its legal system with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Chile); R - 69.15. Enact legislation, which prohibits all corporal punishment of children in all settings, including as a sentence in the courts and ensure that positive and non-violent forms of discipline are promoted through awareness raising campaigns about the impact of corporal punishment on children (Hungary); R - 69.16. Explicitly prohibit under criminal law life imprisonment and indeterminate detention of child offenders (Hungary); The following recommendations were left pending: P - 68.5.Ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance; Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict (Uruguay); P - 68.21. Ensure the implementation of existing laws guaranteeing non- discrimination and adopt appropriate legislation to ensure that all children enjoy all rights, as recommended by the Committee on the Rights of the Child (Israel); P - 68.22. Establish a comprehensive policy for children with disabilities, as recommended by the Committee on the Rights of the Child (Israel); P - 68.23. Raise the age of criminal responsibility (Brazil); P - 68.24. Lift the age of criminal responsibility (Germany); P - 68.25. Raise its crime responsibility threshold to comply with international standards (Slovakia); P - 68.26. Raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility and establish detention facilities exclusive for minors, separate from those for adults (Spain); P - 68.27. Further intensify efforts to adopt international standards in promoting and protecting human rights in the domestic legislation, including by reviewing the minimum age for criminal responsibility and adopting the juvenile justice standards (Indonesia); P - 68.28. Strengthen the framework for protecting children's rights, particularly through measures to prevent child abuse, exploitation and violence against children, and consider revising the juvenile justice system to raise the age for criminal responsibility according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Mexico); P - 68.29. Address the issue of poor conditions in prison and detention centres in particular by ensuring the separation of juvenile offenders from adult inmates (Slovakia); P - 68.30. Take steps to ensure that prisoners and detainees under the age of 18 are housed separately from the general prison population (Canada) P - 68.33. Request technical assistance and technical cooperation to the United Nations in order to, among other objectives, develop a national action plan to implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child, establish an independent national human rights institution, carry out public policies that prevent abuse and neglect of children, and address the problems faced by children with disabilities (Uruguay);
4th October, 10am to 1pm
UN Compilation
Stakeholder Compilation
Accepted and Rejected Recommendations