Submitted by crinadmin on
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.
Belgium - 11th Session - 2011 Scroll to: National Report 2. Title II of the Constitution of Belgium ("On Belgians and their rights") recognizes many fundamental civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. These constitutional principles have recently been amended once again. Article 22 bis, added in 2000, provides for the moral, physical, psychological and sexual integrity of children. The article was amended in 2008, and now includes the best interests of the child. As of 2002, Article 11 bis introduced equality between men and women by encouraging, inter alia, equal access to elected and public office. In 2005, the abolition of capital punishment was enshrined in Article 14 bis of the Constitution. Article 191 guarantees protection for foreigners commensurate with that afforded Belgian nationals. 13. With regard to children's rights, the National Commission for the Rights of the Child, established in 2005 and operational since 2007, is a platform for dialogue that brings together federal, community and regional authorities as well as associations dealing with children's rights. Its main mission is to draft and submit the periodic report on the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and to contribute to drafting other documents on children's rights which Belgium is obliged to submit to international bodies. The Commission studies and monitors the implementation of recommendations made by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and may make suggestions or non-binding recommendations to the competent authorities.2 There are also several independent institutions at the federated entity level: the Commissioner for the Rights of the Child for the Flemish Parliament and the Delegate-General for Children's Rights within the French Government and Community. They receive and process complaints and may make recommendations relating to their mandate. 16. Belgium cooperates fully with the special procedures of the United Nations Human Rights Council, to which it has extended a permanent invitation, as well as with the treaty bodies to which it regularly submits its periodic reports on the implementation of its obligations. It recently submitted its reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child and to the Human Rights Committee, and took note of their recommendations.4 It has also welcomed the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent (June 2005), the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (December 1998), and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers (October 1997). 25. Education offers freedom of choice, which means that the three Communities and local authorities provide non-denominational primary and secondary education and offer the choice of studying one of the recognized religions or non-denominational moral instruction. Moreover, individuals and corporate entities are free to establish and manage educational facilities which are recognized and subsidized by the Communities according to terms set by decree. All students are entitled to enrol in the school of their choosing (the parents' choice). The Communities have adopted decrees in order to guarantee transparent enrolment processes and objective selection criteria when a school cannot meet demand. 26. Education is mandatory and free. All minors within the compulsory school-age bracket (i.e. 12 years from the age of 6), are obliged to attend school, regardless of their status. Access to primary and secondary education in a Community-organized or subsidized educational establishment is free. There are no direct costs. The Communities have taken steps to reduce indirect costs (e.g. pool admission, cultural and sports activities, photocopies, or loan of textbooks or tools). They also give education grants to underprivileged pupils. Post-secondary education is integrated into the European Higher Education Area as a result of the Bologna Declaration of 1999 which established a single system of post-secondary education (universities and higher institutions). Tuition fees are regulated and student subsidies and loans must guarantee equal access for underprivileged students. 43. Belgium focuses much attention on respecting the rights of asylum-seekers and foreigners and on their social integration. In addition to international and European laws, foreigners' rights are governed by the Act of 15 December 1980 on the entry, temporary and permanent residence and removal of aliens. In 2007, Belgium overhauled its asylum procedures; in addition to incorporating European directives, the main purpose of the changes was to make the asylum process faster and more efficient. The process included the introduction into Belgian law of a subsidiary protection status through a unique procedure allowing the simultaneous consideration of refugee status and subsidiary protection. Another radical reform was the elimination of the admissibility stage of the asylum process. Asylum requests lodged with the Office of the Commissioner-General for Refugees and Stateless Persons are processed individually. During processing, particular attention is placed on vulnerable groups through, inter alia, the appointment of coordinators for gender issues and unaccompanied alien minors. 45. Assistance to asylum-seekers and other categories of foreigners is governed by the Act of 12 January 2007 and administered by the Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum-Seekers (Fedasil), under the supervision of the Secretary of State for Social Integration and Poverty Reduction. The topmost guiding principle in this area is to ensure that all asylum-seekers can lead their life in dignity. It provides for material aid for the duration of the asylum process and the evaluation of individual needs, and defines the right to medical, psychological and legal support. The law also guarantees access to services such as interpretation and training as well as a voluntary repatriation programme. Particular attention is placed on vulnerable groups such as torture victims, the elderly and unaccompanied minors. The latter are first placed in one of the country's two Supervision and Guidance Centres and are then transferred to another suitable facility. 46. Each identified unaccompanied minor is assigned a guardian, appointed by the Ministry of Justice, who represents the minor throughout the legal process and ensures, inter alia, suitable accommodation, schooling, health care and psychological support. Depending on their wards' best interest, guardians also assist them in all the residency permit procedures. 49. Regarding the fundamental rights of foreigners illegally residing in Belgium, emergency medical care is guaranteed, as is primary education for children. The same material assistance provided to asylum-seekers is also granted to any foreign minors residing illegally in the Kingdom with their parents in cases where the parents are unable to fulfil their maintenance duty. 51. Minors accompanied by their families are, as a rule, not detained in closed centres but live with their families in open housing facilities while they await either refoulement, admission to the territory, a residency permit, voluntary repatriation, admittance by another member State, or removal to their country of origin or a country where they are permitted to live. Families in open housing benefit from needs-appropriate services. All families can leave the facility as long as an adult member remains there at all times. The right to a private and family life is guaranteed and children can attend school. Support staff help families, inform them of their rights and obligations, and assist them in legal procedures, and if warranted, in preparing their return to a third country, including a reintegration plan. Only in cases where family members fail to cooperate in the refoulement or actual removal can they be detained in a closed centre. 54. In Belgium, the rights of the child come under the jurisdiction of both the Federal State and federated entities, which have jointly or independently established coordination and reporting mechanisms in order to review and monitor child rights policies. Federal State Governments and the federated entities are responsible for coordinating these policies. They draft regular reports on progress in this regard and, in addition to monitoring policies, develop numerous action plans, including priorities and policy initiatives. 55. The Children's Rights Commissioner in the Flemish Parliament and the Delegate- General for Children's Rights of the French-speaking Community are responsible for monitoring the proper implementation of child rights legislation. This responsibility is shared by the new Ombudsman for the German-speaking Community and the Federal Ombudsman; the latter may also, as part of its remit, receive complaints that might affect children's rights. In addition to these independent bodies, Belgium has implemented the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child by establishing the National Commission on the Rights of the Child, so making it possible to monitor the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child more closely in Belgium. 56. Belgium has worked to establish a juvenile justice system based on protection and education. A minor who commits an "act categorized as an offence" is referred to a juvenile court, which has specialized judges at its disposal, in addition to a broad range of specific measures for minors. The youth protection legislative reforms of 2006 made it possible to establish in law a number of alternative measures to placement that had developed in practice. Under exceptional circumstances, a juvenile judge can decide to relinquish a case when it involves a minor under 16 years of age at the time of the incident and when the juvenile court deems that a protective or educational measure would be insufficient. A specific chamber in the juvenile court deals with such cases. Juveniles sentenced to imprisonment or detention, serve their sentence in detention centres for minors. 57. Each community regulates youth welfare within its jurisdiction by decree. Within each community, specialized welfare mechanisms have been established to help juveniles at risk or in danger. Moreover, they are responsible for the implementation of judicial measures to assist juveniles and minors who have committed offences. They enact legislation in respect of the institutions that care for young people, which they organize or subsidize. 58. Children are the subject of a specific provision in the Constitution, which recognizes, among other things, their participation in decision-making. Children's views are taken into account in judicial and administrative proceedings (including with regard to adoption, divorce, unaccompanied foreign children and guardianship), and in the development of school policies and (local) youth policies. 59. Children benefit from comprehensive health-care coverage. In addition, in recent years medical care has been better reimbursed. Two action plans have been developed to improve child nutrition and physical activity and to address the impact of the environment on health. In terms of more specific policies, particular attention is given to the campaign against tobacco, drug and alcohol abuse, suicide prevention and the promotion of breastfeeding, healthy diet and exercise. 80. In order to achieve that objective, the circular sets out the role of those involved in the various stages of the procedure (police and inspection services, the Aliens' Office, special reception centres for the victims of trafficking in human beings, public prosecutors and auditorat magistrates). The circular relates chiefly to the detection and referral of victims to victim reception centres, the reception, support and assistance available at such centres and the various stages of the procedure whereby victim status is granted, or not (period of reflection, course of the proceedings and residence status of victims). It also provides for specific complementary measures in respect of unaccompanied minors who are victims, taking into account their particular situation and their vulnerability. The circular is currently being evaluated to determine whether or not it is appropriate to adopt new measures or to clarify them. The task force on minors travelling alone has investigated possible courses of action with a view to limiting the risks run by minors, including the risk of being a victim of trafficking, and has developed a mapping system in order to improve cooperation between the various competent authorities. 92. In addition, Belgium has a national plan of action on social inclusion and to combat poverty, as do all member States of the European Union. With regard to the 2008–2010 plan, since no clear decline in poverty has been noted in Belgium in recent years, the key challenges pinpointed in 2006 have been pursued, namely: • Economic activation and diversity: more workers among risk groups • Sustainable and affordable quality housing for all • Action against child poverty: escaping the poverty trap 94. Lastly, in the context of the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion, Belgium established three priorities for itself in 2010: • Family and child poverty • Minimum wage and housing • Assistance for the homeless and housing assistance Coming soon! Coming soon! Accepted and Rejected Recommendations The following recommendations were accepted: A - 100.10. Take into consideration the recommendations made by the Belgian Parliamentary Special Commission on "the treatment of sexual abuse and acts of paedophilia within a relation of authority, in particular in the Church" aiming at better ensure the rights of the juvenile victims of sexual offences and in particular to increase the limitation period applicable to crimes of rape of or sexual assaults on minors (France); A - 100.11. Redouble effort to achieve the appropriate implementation of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, in particular with regard to full exercise of right to education, and the protection of minors from sexual abuse and exploitation and, above all, to put an end to detention of foreign children in closed detention centres, in accordance with the decision of Minister of Migration Policy and Asylum (Ecuador); A - 100.12. Continue efforts to strengthen its international cooperation to prevent and punish actsinvolving the sale of children, child prostitution, child pornography and child sex tourism (Moldova); A - 100.15. Include homeless women and children, including unaccompanied children of foreign origin as priority beneficiaries into poverty reduction strategy (Kyrgyzstan); A - 100.22. Ensure full integration of persons with disabilities into socio-economic and political affairs, particularly equal access to job opportunities, promoting of their right to education, adequate resources for care and support for children with psychosocial disabilities in the family and in the community, and finally, to ensure their accessibility to public transportation and buildings (Thailand); A - 100.50. Promote equal access to education through inclusive policies in the education system aimed at children from poor, foreign and minority families (Mexico); A - 100.51. Strengthen the asylum procedures by, among others, improving legal assistance for asylum-seekers, expediting the procedures, and responding to specific needs of asylum-seekers who are children, women and the elderly (Thailand); A - 100.52. Find long-term solutions to avoid situations where asylum-seekers, especially women and children, have to live in degrading conditions (Norway); A - 100.54. Continue to give special attention to the rights of children and women asylum seekers, in particular by providing shelter, and ensuring their protection from violence (Indonesia); A - 101.5. Take action to eliminate sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (Bangladesh); A - 101.6. Provide adequate support to sexually exploited or at-risk children (Islamic Republic of Iran); A - 101.7. Develop a strategy to eradicate the process of child trafficking, child prostitution, and child pornography in the process of the development of the national plan of actions on combating trafficking in human beings (Belarus); A - 101.8. Effectively address through legislation and policies the sexual exploitation of children, including child pornography (Egypt); A - 101.9. Allocate substantial resources and give special attention to children of the most vulnerable groups in the society (Afghanistan); A - 101.11. In consultation and cooperation with relevant partners, take appropriate measures to implement the National Plan of Action for Children (Hungary); A - 101.15. Ensure effective coordination at the federal, regional and community levels for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Poland); A - 101.22. Stop detention of minors in adult prisons (Islamic Republic of Iran); A - 102.10. Develop a comprehensive and coordinated national strategy to combat all forms of violence against women and girls, as recommended in 2008 by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Kyrgyzstan); The following were rejected: R - 102.7. Accelerate the process of withdrawal of declarations under article 2 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child concerning non-discrimination principle, which limits the enjoyment of the Convention rights by children who do not have Belgian nationality (Kyrgyzstan); R - 102.8. Renew its action plan against the sexual exploitation of children for commercial purposes (Canada); R - 103.7. Establish a national mechanism to coordinate and implement policies and programmes to combat child exploitation (Canada); R - 103.8. Revise its penal code to ensure that its legislation on child pornography covers representation of a child by whatever means for primarily sexual purposes (Pakistan); R - 103.9. Specify child trafficking as a separate crime in criminal legislation as recommended by the Committee on the Rights of the Child (Belarus); R - 103.12. Take specific steps to strengthen the institution of the family, including raising awareness among the youth of traditional understanding of the family and its social values (Belarus); R - 103.13. Consider lifting the ban on headscarves in schools (Malaysia); No recommendations were left pending.
2nd May, 10am to 1pm
UN Compilation
Stakeholder Information
Accepted and Rejected Recommendations
UN Compilation