BARBADOS: Children's Rights in the UN Treaty Body Reports

Summary: This report extracts mentions of children's rights issues in the reports of all UN Treaty Bodies and their follow-up procedures. This does not include the Concluding Observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child which are available here: http://www.crin.org/resources/treaties/index.asp

Please note that the language may have been edited in places for the purpose of clarity.

 


UN Human Rights Committee
CCPR/C/BRB/CO/3
Last reported: 21 and 22 March 2007
Concluding Observations published: 11 May 2007

Corporal punishment: The Committee is concerned that corporal punishment is still available as part of judicial sentences and is permitted within the penal and education systems.

The State party should take immediate measures to eliminate corporal punishment as a legitimate sanction in its law and to discourage its use in schools. The State party should also take all necessary measures towards the eventual total abolition of corporal punishment. (Paragraph 12).

____________________________________________________

UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

 

____________________________________________________

UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

CERD/C/BRB/CO/16
Last reported: 2005
Concluding Observations published: 27 March 2005

Education: While taking note of the State party's observation that education in Barbados is "socially guaranteed", the Committee expresses concern that the right to education as well as other economic and social rights are not adequately protected in domestic law.

The Committee recommends to the State party that it ensure equal enjoyment of economic and social rights including the right to education contained in article 5 (e) of the Convention. (Paragraph 16)

____________________________________________________

UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

(CEDAW/C/BRB/CO/5-8)

Last reported: 20 July 2015
Concluding observations issued: 21 July 2017

Principal areas of concern and recommendations

Trafficking and exploitation of prostitution

The Committee notes with appreciation the establishment of a special unit on trafficking in the Royal Barbados Police Force in 2013, however, it regrets the failure of the State party to respond to questions raised during the dialogue. The Committee notes with concern that the State party remains a source and a destination country for women and girls, including non-nationals, subjected to trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labour due to high unemployment, increasing levels of poverty and weak implementation of anti-trafficking legislation (para. 25).

The Committee recommends that the State party: strictly enforce its legislation on trafficking in persons and increase the financial resources allocated to the implementation of laws and programmes to combat trafficking, and expedite the adoption of National Policy on Trafficking and the Policy and Procedures Manual for Protection of Victims of Trafficking; build the capacity of the judiciary, law enforcement officers, border police, social workers and health professionals on early referral of victims of trafficking, including non-nationals, to appropriate social services and gender-sensitive protocols for their treatment; address the root causes of trafficking by enhancing educational and economic opportunities for women and girls and their families, thereby reducing their vulnerability to exploitation by traffickers; intensify efforts aimed at bilateral, regional and international cooperation to prevent trafficking, including through information exchange and harmonization of procedures to prosecute traffickers; and establish sufficiently funded and equipped shelters and crisis centres for women victims and provide reintegration programmes and alternative income-generating opportunities for women victims of trafficking, as well as exit programmes for women who wish to leave prostitution (para. 26).

Education

The Committee notes with appreciation the high literacy rate among women. It also welcomes the achievement of gender parity at the primary and secondary levels of education, as indicated in “Barbados: Education for All 2015 National Review”. However, the Committee notes with concern: the high rates of school dropout among adolescent girls at the secondary level of education often due to early pregnancy, the absence of written policy to be applied in school on pregnant students, the compulsory expulsion from schools of pregnant girls after 5 months of pregnancy, which reinforces negative stereotypes, as well as the lack of measures taken to ensure re-entry and retention following childbirth; that despite the information provided by the State party’s delegation on the ongoing initiatives leaded by the Ministry of Education, to end corporal punishment in schools, as well as the cooperation with UNICEF on the Schools’ Positive Behaviour Management Programme since 2010, corporal punishment is culturally accepted and widely practiced in schools; the concentration of women and girls in traditionally female dominated fields of study and their underrepresentation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics; and the lack of information on education for women and girls with special needs (para. 31).

The Committee recommends that the State party: adopt a written policy to ensure that pregnant women and girls may remain at school after the fifth month of pregnancy and that young mothers can return to school following childbirth; explicitly prohibit corporal punishment at school and ensure that the prohibition of corporal punishment is adequately monitored and enforced and strengthen teacher training and practice on positive discipline; eliminate negative stereotypes and structural barriers to enrolment of girls in non-traditional fields of education such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics and provide career counselling for girls and boys on non-traditional career paths; and ensure access to mainstream education for women and girls with special needs (para. 32).

Health

The Committee notes with concern that the austerity measures taken by the State party have had negative effects on women’s access to health services. It is further concerned about: the lack of age-appropriate and comprehensive education on sexual and reproductive health and rights, including on responsible sexual behaviour, as well as of family planning services and the high level of unmet contraception needs among women and girls; the limited information available to lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and girls on sexual and reproductive health and rights, and the insufficient training of medical personnel on the special needs of LBTI women (para. 35).

In line with its General Recommendation No. 24 (1999) on women and health, the Committee calls on the State party to: ensure appropriate budget allocations to the health sector and improve women’s access to high-quality health care and; intensify age-appropriate school education on sexual and reproductive health and rights as well as dissemination of information on family planning and available, accessible and affordable contraceptive methods and family planning in order to reduce the number of unwanted and early pregnancies; improve access for LBTI women and girls to information on sexual and reproductive health and rights and train the medical personnel to respond to their specific health needs (para. 36)

Marriage and family relations

The Committee is concerned: that although the legal minimum age of marriage is 18 years for both women and men, girls who are 16 and 17 years can marry with the consent of their parents; that corporal punishment is a continuing practice at home affecting girls; and about reports of girls running away from home and the lack of information on the causes and the measures taken by the State party to address this phenomenon (para. 45).

The Committee recommends that the State party: enforce the strict application of the legal minimum age of marriage of 18 years and allow exceptions for girls and boys having reached the age of 16 years only subject to judicial authorization; take strong actions, including, inter alia, amending relevant legislation, to ensure the prohibition of corporal punishment at home; address the phenomenon of runaway girls and undertake a study on and tackle its root causes (para. 37).

___________________

(CEDAW/C/BAR/4)
Last reported: 13 August 2002
Concluding Observations published: 23 August 2002

Education: The Committee commends the State party for providing free education, cash grants, school uniforms and grant assistance for textbooks for those in need in order to facilitate school attendance and to ensure that children, in particular girl children, up to the age of 16 years receive an education. It notes with satisfaction the female literacy rate of approximately 97 per cent. (Paragraph 222).

Health: The Committee also commends the State party for viewing health care as a fundamental right and for providing a range of family health services in the polyclinic setting, including free ante- and post-natal care for all citizens and residents of the country. It also commends the State party for the services that target women and girls, for example the Maternal and Child Health Programme, which monitors progress throughout pregnancy. (Paragraph 224).

Trafficking: The Committee is concerned at the limited information provided on trafficking in women and girls and their exploitation in prostitution in the State party's report. The Committee is concerned that there is no data on prostitution and that the issue is not being addressed. (Paragraph 235).

The Committee recommends the introduction of policies to ensure the prosecution of, and strong penalties for, those who exploit prostitutes. In view of the growing emphasis on tourism in the State party, the Committee requests it to provide in its next report comprehensive information and data on the trafficking of women and girls and their exploitation in prostitution and the measures taken to prevent and combat these activities.

HIV and AIDS: The Committee urges the State party to address the gender dimensions of HIV/AIDS, including the power differential between women and men, which often prevents women from insisting on safe and responsible sex practices. It encourages the State party to strengthen its efforts to raise awareness and educate women and girls on ways of self-protection. (Paragraph 248).

Teenage pregnancies: The Committee is concerned about the increasing number of teenage pregnancies and its consequences for girls' enjoyment of the rights guaranteed by the Convention, particularly in the spheres of education and health.

The Committee recommends that the State party increase efforts to include age-appropriate sex education in school curricula and to conduct awareness campaigns so as to prevent teenage pregnancy. The Committee requests the State party to include information on the impact of programmes to prevent teenage pregnancy in its next periodic report. (Paragraphs 249 and 250)

____________________________________________________

UN Committee against Torture

 

____________________________________________________

UN Committee on Migrant Workers

 

____________________________________________________

UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

 

____________________________________________________

UN Committee on Enforced Disappearance

 

____________________________________________________

Countries

Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.