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Summary: A compilation of extracts featuring child-rights issues from the reports submitted to the second Universal Periodic Review. There are extracts from the 'National Report', the 'Compilation of UN Information' and the 'Summary of Stakeholders' Information'. Also included is the list of accepted and rejected recommendations.
Argentina – 14th Session – 2012 Scroll to: National Report (Read about the first cycle review) 7. In addition, in October 2011 Argentina ratified the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and on 25 July 2012 it will sign the third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure. Thus, apart from this last-named optional protocol, which has only recently been adopted, Argentina has completed its ratification of all the international human rights instruments. 12. The State’s efforts in this area focus on ensuring that all members of the population can exercise their right to health and on guaranteeing access for all by working on a collective basis to mount promotion and prevention initiatives, provide financing and training, and develop the corresponding legal framework. Work in this area has included: The prescription of generic medicines in order to lower costs. Expansion of coverage from 40 per cent to 70 per cent for the medicines required to treat the most common chronic diseases. Free medical coverage for pregnant women and for children up to the age of 6. Provision of hormone-based contraceptives, intra-uterine devices (IUDs) and condoms free of charge. The Prepaid Health-Care Plan Act governs the benefits of 4.5 million users. These private health-care plans may not turn away persons with pre-existing health conditions or older persons. Efforts to stop the spread of the HIV virus were stepped up in 2008–2011; an additional 2,533 condom-distribution centres were set up and expenditure on antiretroviral drugs was increased by 36 per cent. 13. A total of 1,351 schools have been built since 2003. Funding for education has also risen: the 2011 budget allocation amounted to $29,287,000,000 (a 38 per cent increase over the preceding year). Other measures include: the creation of the “Conectar Igualdad” (“hook up with equality”) programme, which has distributed 2 million netbooks to secondary-school students and teachers throughout the country; the repatriation of 850 scientists under the R@ICES (“roots”) programme; and the creation of the Canal Encuentro (the “encounter channel”) under the Ministry of Education, whose objectives are to promote access to knowledge for the entire population of Argentina, provide schools with high-quality televised and multimedia content, and offer innovative tools for facilitating and upgrading teaching and learning processes. 24. There are various family allowances for persons with disabilities: an allowance for families who have a child with disabilities; an allowance in the case of children born with Down’s syndrome; yearly allowances for school expenses for children with disabilities; and an allowance for spouses with disabilities. The Government supports aspiring athletes with disabilities through the various sports federations by providing grants, training facilities, lodging during meets and sports competitions, and assistance for participation in international meets. 28. The National Institute to Combat Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism (INADI) works in five main subject areas: gender, education, health, interculturality and disabilities. Within each area, there are a number of programmes that focus on different issues. INADI also has cross-cutting activities dealing with such topics as sexual diversity, older adults, good practices in public employment and many others. In addition, the Institute has an office that assists and advises people who are subject to discrimination. This office (the Assistance and Advisory Directorate) processes complaints regarding xenophobic, discriminatory or racist behaviour and provides free legal aid to victims. 30. Steps have also been taken to strengthen the implementation of the following programmes: State Consensus on Combating Gender Discrimination, Employment Parity for Women and Men, the MEGA Pilot Corporate Gender Equity Certification Programme, Teacher Awareness for the Non-Discriminatory Implementation of Comprehensive Sex Education, Children and Disability, the Youth Anti-Discrimination Network and the Mobile Playground for Persons with General Developmental Disabilities. 36. The Ministry of Security has issued a number of directives designed to do away with practices that discriminate against women. These directives have dealt with such issues as: a review of women’s and men’s entry into the police and security forces, their length of service and promotions, the lifting of restrictions on the entry of pregnant women and women who are breastfeeding, the adoption of minimum standards for maternity leave and leave for breastfeeding mothers, and the suspension of physical activity. Guidelines have also been issued regarding the treatment, registration and detention of persons in a manner that respects their adopted or self-perceived gender identity. 39. On the subject of violence inflicted upon women and girls in the course of armed conflicts, Argentina supported the adoption of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace and security, together with other related resolutions. The Government’s draft national plan for the implementation of resolution 1325 is to be adopted once the eight ministries concerned have signed off on it. 40. Argentina took a step forward in respect to the recognition of the right to an identity when it promulgated Decree No. 278 of 2011, which provides for the establishment of an administrative system for registering the births of infants and children up to the age of 12. It also sets out a specific policy tailored to members of indigenous communities. 41. In 2011 a programme was implemented to build local capacity for ensuring that children and adolescents have full access to justice. This programme, which was cofunded by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Chief Public Defender’s Office, includes a specific component geared to indigenous children and adolescents. As part of this component, rights advocacy work has been done on the ground in two indigenous communities in Chaco Province. 51. Assisting victims and providing them with care after they testify is the responsibility of the Unit for the Prevention of the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Human Trafficking of the Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family (SENNAF) of the Ministry for Social Development. SENNAF also provides legal and economic aid to foreign trafficking victims in order to help them settle in Argentina or return to their country of origin, as they choose. 52. Most of the provinces in the country have set up teams to assist trafficking victims. These teams are usually attached to the provinces’ human rights secretariats, which also work to rescue and identify trafficking victims and to provide them with assistance and follow-up services. The Federal Council for Children, Adolescents and the Family has a victim assistance protocol, and in 2012 the provinces signed on to the SENNAF guidelines for the coordination of efforts to assist trafficking victims. 72. The National Human Rights Directorate of the Ministry of Security works in cooperation with judicial authorities and the Public Prosecution Service. For example: (a) It assists investigators in cases involving the abduction of children under 10 years of age, wrongful confinement of minors, falsification of public documents or suppression of identity; (b) It has set up the Special Judicial Assistance Group to obtain DNA samples in cases involving the abduction of children and the suppression of identity; (c) It has also established the Special Collections Group to handle documents having a historical or judicial value. 85. In Unit 31 of the Federal Prison Service, which houses women and mothers with children up to 4 years of age, regular meetings are held by prison staff, other technical teams and members of the Correctional and Social Sciences Comparative Studies Institute (INECIP) to discuss inmates’ needs. This has proven to be a highly valuable experience that helps to reduce violence while promoting respect and responsible attitudes on the part of both prison staff and inmates. 88. Act No. 24.660 on custodial sentences has been amended to allow for sentences of house arrest for women prisoners who have children under 5 years of age living with them. The impact of this provision is on the rise, with a year-on-year increase of 77.4 per cent in its application in 2011. 89. A programme is in operation that permits women inmates to meet with their children outside of prison facilities so that they can visit in an appropriate setting that will help them to preserve and consolidate their family relations, in accordance with article 8 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 107. The appointment of an ombudsperson for children and young people is pending. 108. Members of the Oversight Committee on the Institutional Treatment of Children and Adolescents regularly visit the different centres where dependants of the State reside in order to ensure that the rights of children and adolescents are being respected. This committee makes referrals, lodges complaints and requests reports from the institutions involved. The National Directorate for Vulnerable Groups of the Human Rights Secretariat follows up on these reports and provides assistance in the implementation of recommendations set forth therein. The Directorate also makes inspections of this sort in the various provinces and in Buenos Aires. 109. The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights has instructed security forces to ensure that they abide by human rights standards in cases where a person under 18 years of age is arrested on suspicion of committing a crime. 110. As of June 2010, 1,730 children and adolescents were being held in custodial institutions, chiefly in Buenos Aires, the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and Córdoba. It has been provided that children and adolescents who have to be held temporarily should be lodged in certain police stations that have been identified as being the most appropriate facilities for that purpose until such time as a new building to provide temporary lodging can be constructed. 111. Act No. 26.061, which provides for the comprehensive protection of children’s and adolescents’ rights, reflects the principles set forth in the Convention on the Rights of the Child relating to assistance and protection for this segment of the population. Work continues on the strengthening of the Comprehensive System for the Protection of the Rights of Children and Adolescents. This system is made up of all the agencies, units and services that design, plan, coordinate, guide, implement and oversee national, provincial or municipal policies, whether under Government or private management, on the promotion, defence, support, protection and restoration of the rights of children and adolescents. It has succeeded in bringing about regulatory adjustments, carrying out institutional re-engineering processes, conducting human resource training and capacity-building sessions, making improvements in budget allocations and eliciting the active participation of different NGOs. 112. Policy efforts in respect of adolescents who have committed or are alleged to have committed criminal offences have included ongoing measures to strengthen the National Directorate for Adolescent Offenders, which is tasked with orienting national policy, coordinating policies with the provinces, providing training for technical services, improving building infrastructure and promoting alternatives to the deprivation of liberty in the case of children. 113. A programme for monitoring the implementation of international human rights instruments in respect of children and adolescents has been set up within the Human Rights Secretariat, and a survey of comprehensive protection laws and regulations at the provincial level was undertaken in 2009. The information gathered in that survey indicates that most of the provinces have brought their local laws and regulations into line with international human rights standards. There are, however, still some local laws that are based on the tutelary doctrine and some practices persist that should be modified in the light of international standards. 114. The Human Rights Secretariat has worked with a number of the provinces to carry forward a comprehensive reform of the juvenile criminal system that provides for institutional support and mentoring, human rights training for personnel, regular visits and coordination with different governmental agencies. 115. Within the framework of the Meeting of High-Level Human Rights Authorities of MERCOSUR and Associated States, work continues on the proposed NIÑ@SUR Initiative, whose aim will be to promote compliance with the Convention and other global and regional human rights instruments. This initiative will also focus on fostering dialogue and cooperation among member States in connection with the monitoring and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. 116. The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights has established a committee to reform and update the laws governing the juvenile criminal system. The Federal Council for Children, Adolescents and the Family has submitted a request for legislative action with regard to the amendment of the Juvenile Criminal Regime Act (Act No. 22.278/22.803), the modification of laws governing criminal procedure at the provincial level and coordination with the relevant agencies with a view to the development of alternatives to deprivation of liberty, monitoring of cases in which minors are deprived of their liberty, and respect for children’s rights. In July 2009, a bill on the legal regime applying to persons under 18 years of age who are in conflict with the law won general approval. This bill, which is in line with international standards in this area, is now in the Chamber of Deputies. 124. The objectives of the National Food Security Plan are as follows: Provide food assistance to families in a vulnerable position by distributing staple foodstuffs and food stamps or cards. Facilitate the own-production of foodstuffs, the supply of the necessary equipment and the self-supply of fresh produce for families and institutions (food kitchens, community centres, schools, etc.). Improve safety and hygiene in community food kitchens. Promote decentralized funding. Take action in the areas of education about nutrition, health care and family action to support nutrition and child development. Annual food support is now provided to approximately 1,800,000 households. 125. In 2009 the non-contributory per-child allowance was introduced as part of the social protection system. This allowance is paid out on a monthly basis to one of a child’s parents if that parent is working in the informal market or is unemployed, does not receive any other sort of social benefit payment and has no more than five children. Since its inception, school enrolment has risen by 25 per cent. 126. Another non-contributory monetary benefit is the allowance paid to pregnant women, also as part of the social protection system. This benefit is paid out monthly to pregnant women starting from the twelfth week of pregnancy and continuing until the infant’s birth or the interruption of the pregnancy. Eligible recipients are pregnant women who are unemployed, who work as temporary “reservation of post” employees, who are registered in the simplified tax regime for self-employed persons (the monotributo system), or who work in the informal economy or in domestic service and earn a sum equivalent to or less than the adjustable minimum wage. In order to be eligible for this benefit, women must attend the prenatal check-ups provided for under the “Plan Nacer” (“birth plan”). 127. The linkage of the “Plan Nacer” with the per-child allowance was a breakthrough policy development for the country which has established a direct tie-in with health-based conditional cash transfer programmes (enrolment in the “Plan Nacer”, regular check-ups and complete vaccination schedules). 2. In 2010, the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) recommended that Argentina consider ratifying the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of Intercountry Adoption. 3. CRC welcomed that the interpretative declaration made by Argentina on article 24 (f) regarding family planning had been abolished in 18 provinces and encouraged Argentina to ensure that this ensues in the remaining 6 provinces. 24. CRC was concerned at persistent reports of discrimination, social exclusion and abuse of indigenous children. It noted that disparities affecting the north-eastern and north-western provinces may lead to discrimination. 28. The HR Committee also noted that despite the information provided by the State party with regard to measures taken to improve living conditions in the country’s prisons, the conditions in many of them remained a source of concern for the Committee. Those conditions included a high rate of overcrowding, violence inside prisons, the poor quality of services and insufficient satisfaction of basic needs, in particular with regard to hygiene, food and medical care. CEDAW noted information regarding a high number of women in prison, the persistence of violence against women detainees, the recurrence of vaginal searches and inspections, and instances of women being killed while in detention. CRC expressed concern at reports of human rights violations having occurred in mental health institutions and at the occurrence of suicides and self-inflicted injuries of children in detention, notably in the province of Buenos Aires. 31. CRC recommended that Argentina prohibit by law all violence against children, including corporal punishment in all settings. 32. In 2011, the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, noted that the law on trafficking (No. 26.364) had limitations given the fact that victims over 18 had to prove that they did not give their consent to engage in activities to which they were subjected, and that short sentences were given to convicted traffickers. The Special Rapporteur recommended that the proposed amendments to the law on trafficking be approved and that the Parliament take action to give constitutional status to the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. 35. UNHCR considered that measures should be adopted to ensure that refugees and asylum seekers, in particular women and girls, do not fall victim to human trafficking or migrant smuggling. CEDAW and CRC expressed similar concerns. 43. CRC urged Argentina to ensure that juvenile justice standards are fully implemented; adopt a new law on juvenile justice consistent with the Convention and international standards; and seek technical assistance and other cooperation from the United Nations Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice. 44. The HR Committee highlighted serious shortcomings in the operation of custodial institutions for children, including instances of collective punishment and strict confinement, and expressed its concern over the current juvenile criminal justice system, which, inter alia, made excessive use of internment. 45. CRC recommended that Argentina continue to take measures to ensure the access by all children to free birth registration and implement a specific birth registration strategy for indigenous communities. 46. CRC recommended that Argentina ensure that uniform regulations on foster care and extended family care be adopted and used in the entirety of its territory. 56. CRC welcomed the introduction in 2009 of the Universal Family Allowance per Child for Social Protection for families of those employed in the informal market and the unemployed. 57. CMW recommended that Argentina review the required length of residence for non-contributory social benefits; consider extending the universal child allowance to children of migrant workers in an irregular situation; and consider extending non-contributory social benefits to migrant workers and their families in an irregular situation in cases of extreme social vulnerability. 60. UNCT expressed the view that one of the most crucial challenges to achieving the Millennium Development Goals continued to be the reduction of maternal mortality, the main cause of which was abortion complications. Although the tendency towards a gradual reduction in infant mortality had continued, it would be difficult for the country to achieve goal 5, to reduce the maternal mortality rate by three quarters between 1990 and 2015 (from 52 to 13 per 100,000 live births). Moreover, the fertility rate among adolescents remained high. There was a link between the probability of maternal death and early adolescent pregnancy, and this had implications for neonatal and child health, since the child of an adolescent mother was four to five times more at risk of neonatal morbidity and mortality. UNCT recommended that policies for guaranteeing universal access to sexual and reproductive health should be strengthened and efforts to ensure that comprehensive sex education was included in the curriculum of all educational establishments in the country should be continued, with the aim of reducing the high adolescent pregnancy rate. CEDAW, CESCR, CRC and the HR Committee expressed similar concerns or made similar recommendations. 63. UNCT acknowledged that, in terms of education access and coverage, Argentina had very favourable indicators. However, there were substantial limitations on access to initial education and continuation in secondary school. UNCT added that regional and socioeconomic differences were very significant: at the national level the enrolment rate in preschool education for the richest quintile of homes was 74 per cent, while it dropped to 53.7 per cent for the lowest quintile. CESCR and CRC expressed similar concerns. 64. UNCT also mentioned inequalities and violations in respect of the right to education of indigenous children and adolescents. The main problems were the inadequate availability of education, especially in secondary schools, the standard of basic education provided to the indigenous population at all levels, and teacher training. The percentage of the indigenous population without an education was almost double the national average. The Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples highlighted the need to expand existing bilingual intercultural education programmes with the participation of indigenous peoples in order to genuinely promote indigenous languages and cultures. 65. CRC recommended that Argentina ensure that children with disabilities are included in the education system and in health insurance plans, as well as take all necessary measures to ensure the implementation of legislation providing services for children with disabilities and consider adopting specific legislation on the issue. 5. Regarding recommendations Nos. 12 and 13, less than half of Argentina’s provinces had harmonized their legislation with the Protection of Children and Adolescents Act. Moreover, there was a conflict between that act and the Juvenile Justice Act. 15. SOS Children’s Villages-Argentina reported that progress had been made on child rights legislation. However, some provinces still did not have an appropriate legal framework and the Civil Code needed to be harmonized with child rights legislation. 18. SOS Children’s Villages-Argentina, Campaña Argentina por el Derecho a la Educación, CDIA and Joint Submission 5 drew attention to the fact that, after six years, the State had still not appointed an ombudsman for child and adolescent rights. 36. The Comité Argentino de Seguimiento y Aplicación de la Convención Internacional de los Derechos del Niño (CASACIDN) acknowledged that programmes had been set up and funds allocated for the protection of children’s rights. However, many proposals had not moved beyond the drawing board, and those programmes that had been implemented were fragmented and had overlapping objectives and target groups. In the field of prevention and promotion, there were no policies in place to alert the general public to the crimes of child trafficking, sexual exploitation of children, sale of children, child prostitution and use of child pornography. 37. CASACIDN recommended that the State follow, in its policies, programmes and laws, the regionally and internationally agreed definitions of commercial sexual exploitation, sale and trafficking of children, sexual tourism and child pornography. 38. Joint Submission 8 noted the large numbers of child victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking. It cited the disappearances of girls and young women, some of whom had later been found dead. Babies were stolen and sold, and prostitution flourished in the ports of Patagonia. 39. MDT noted that efforts to address trafficking in persons did not cover transgender persons. Every month, young transgender persons between the ages of 13 and 18 years arrived in Tucumán and were absorbed into the prostitution system. 40. Stressing that State officials were often involved in the above-mentioned illegal activities, Joint Submission 8 recommended that the Government adopt measures to combat sexual exploitation and trafficking in persons and clamp down on corruption and the involvement of officials in such activities. 42. The Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children (GIEACPC) observed that during the first review of Argentina a recommendation to prohibit corporal punishment appeared in the body of the UPR Working Group report but was not included in the summary of recommendations. So there was no record of the Government’s position. Besides, GIEACPC acknowledged that corporal punishment had been explicitly prohibited in penal institutions. However, it remained lawful in the home and alternative care settings. 47. CELS reported that the juvenile justice system was still incompatible with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as it did not guarantee due process for minors accused of crime. 48. SOS Children’s Villages-Argentina acknowledged that a deinstitutionalization process had been introduced for the benefit of children who had to be temporarily removed from their families. However, the manner of its implementation was inconsistent with the principle of the best interests of the child and did not follow rigorous procedures. The organization recommended applying the United Nations Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, in particular with regard to working with the families of origin. 67. Joint Submission 2 was concerned about the considerable rate of alcohol and drug addiction, whose main victims were adolescents and young adults between 10 and 25 years. This problem affected all social classes, but mainly poor people. 68. Amnesty International, Joint Submission 1 and Joint Submission 4 stated that abortion-related complications were the primary cause of maternal mortality in Argentina and that the majority of victims were very young women with limited resources. Joint Submission 4 pointed out that every year over 500,000 abortions were performed and public hospitals recorded almost 60,000 admissions due to unsafe abortions. 69. Amnesty International further explained that, according to article 86 of the Criminal Code, women and girls for whom pregnancy posed a mental or physical health risk, or whose pregnancy was the result of rape, were entitled to a legal abortion. This article had been inconsistently interpreted. In March 2012, the Supreme Court clarified the content of article 86 establishing that any victim of rape should have access to safe abortion, and that a judicial order was not required to provide this treatment. However, some local authorities had expressed disagreement with the Supreme Court judgement and it was not clear whether it would be obeyed. 70. FUSA recommended that the State guarantee access to non-punishable abortion, in accordance with the “Guide for the Comprehensive Care of Non-Punishable Abortions” of the Ministry of Health and the Supreme Court judgement of 13 March 2012, and that it initiate a parliamentary debate to amend legislation that criminalizes women who terminate an unwanted pregnancy. 71. Joint Submission 4 stated that there were widespread appeals for the legalization of abortion, to grant women access to voluntary termination of a pregnancy up to 12 weeks of gestation, without discrimination, in public hospitals. 73. FEIM reported a significant increase in HIV/AIDS among women, particularly in the 15–24 and 15–19 age groups, where the ratio of infected men to women was 9:10 and 8:10 respectively. FEIM added that HIV-positive people faced discrimination in sexual and reproductive health services. 74. CADE acknowledged that investment in education had been steadily increasing. However, the funding arrangements for education, based on the federal system, allowed inequalities to become entrenched. For example, in 2009, Salta Province had invested five times less per student (Arg$ 2,800) than Tierra del Fuego Province (Arg$ 13,700). 75. Joint Submission 2 was concerned about the quality of teaching in public schools. There were high rates of absenteeism and change among teachers and these paid little attention to the completion of the curriculum. Joint Submission 2 also considered that school dropouts remained important. Most affected were young people from poor and rural families who left school to seek work. 76. Joint Submission 6 stated that, although the right of indigenous peoples to intercultural education was legally recognized, it had not been realized in most provinces. Joint Submission 2 welcomed the implementation, between 2008 and 2012, of 14 bilingual and intercultural educative structures in San Juan. 77. CADE reported that only 29.3 per cent of students with disabilities were receiving an education in mainstream schools. It recommended that national and local education standards be harmonized with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 78. CADE acknowledged that Argentina had adopted legislation to ensure access to education for foreigners, regardless of their migration status. However, foreign children faced various difficulties in exercising their right to education. In addition, the failure of the curriculum to cover the topic of migration allowed discriminatory attitudes to persist. 79. MDT regretted that transgender girls and adolescents suffered violence and sexual harassment in school at the hands of classmates and teachers. 80. FALGBT expressed the view that religious education continued to be one of the main perpetuators of prejudice, discriminatory discourse and harassment in the school environment. 81. FALGBT welcomed the establishment by law, in 2006, of a comprehensive sex education programme. However, between 2008 and 2011, little or no progress had been made in implementing the programme. According to CADE, one of the problems was that each district had the autonomy to apply the programme according to its own circumstances. Joint Submission 1 recommended that federal and provincial policies be coordinated to achieve effective delivery of comprehensive sex education. MDT recommended incorporating diversity of sexual feeling and expressions of gender identity in the application of the law on comprehensive sex education. No recommendations were accepted by Argentina. No recommendations were rejected by Argentina. The following recommendations are pending or no clear decision was taken: P - 99.1. Ratify the new optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Portugal); P - 99.8. Transpose thoroughly and implement child legislation at the provincial level (Portugal); P - 99.10. Consider the request put forward by the Federal Council for Children, Adolescent and the Family to adjust the provincial procedural legislation for the establishment of non-custodial measures (Chile); P - 99.11. Establish and appoint an Ombudsman on the rights of girls, boys and adolescents (Honduras, Russian Federation, Trinidad and Tobago); P - 99.17. Continue to implement programmes and measures intended to guarantee the right to health and the right to education (Cuba); P - 99.19. Renew its efforts to protect vulnerable groups, particularly persons with disabilities, women and children (Iraq); P - 99.64. Enhance and strengthen its measures, policies and institutional coordination in the implementation of the law on trafficking in persons, especially that of women and children, in order to prevent and punish this international crime (Ecuador, Indonesia, Libya, Malaysia, Republic of Moldova, Singapore); 4 4 The recommendations as read during the interactive dialogue: Strengthen its policies and institutional coordination to combat trafficking in persons in order to prevent and punish this international crime (Ecuador); Enhance their efforts in combatting trafficking in persons (Indonesia); Continue to strengthen efforts against trafficking in persons, provide information about it, and provide shelter for the trafficked victims (Libya) Intensify its efforts in the implementation of the law on the trafficking in persons, especially that of children and women (Malaysia); Take more effective measures to combat trafficking in persons (Republic of Moldova); Continue its efforts in combating human trafficking, especially of women and children (Singapore). P - 99.66. Prohibit by law all kinds of violence against children including corporal punishment in all settings (Bulgaria); P - 99.67. Increase the efforts to combat all forms of violence against children in all spheres (Republic of Moldova); P - 99.74. Adopt the necessary measures to guarantee universal birth registration, with a particular emphasis on indigenous boy and girls (Mexico); P - 99.75. Continue to strengthen the measures to guarantee children access to free birth registration(Uruguay); P - 99.87. Incorporate the social protection scheme, the “Universal Child Allowance” into law and extend it to cover children of marginalized groups including migrant workers and children of parents deprived of their liberty (Austria); P - 99.92. Introduce legal and other measures to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity stemming from unsafe abortions (Netherlands); P - 99.93. Strengthen efforts to reduce the maternal mortality rate, giving particular emphasis to reducing the number of deaths caused by unsafe abortions (Norway); P - 99.96. Strengthen the use of existing legal and administrative provisions which guarantee sexual and reproductive health, with the goal of better protecting the rights of women, including the prevention of maternal mortality (Uruguay); P - 99.97. Continue attaching great importance to education and solve effectively the problem of children dropping out of school, so as to guarantee their right to education (China); P - 99.101. Take the necessary measures to promote a greater inclusion of persons with disabilities in the areas of education and employment (Spain); P - 99.103. Consider adopting specific legislation to ensure that children with disabilities are included in education as well as in health systems (Jordan); P - 99.104. Take further steps to ensure that children with disabilities be included in the development of the education system and in health insurance plans, as well as to take all necessary measures to ensure the implementation of legislation providing services for children with disabilities (Thailand); P - 99.115. Revise the minimum required length of legal residence for migrants to access a disability or elderly pension and for their children to benefit from the program of universal child allowance (Mexico);
Monday 22nd October 2008 - 2.30 p.m. - 6.00 p.m
Compilation of UN information
Summary of Stakeholder information
Accepted and Rejected Recommendations
Summary of stakeholders' information
Accepted and Rejected Recommendations