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Summary: The violations highlighted are those issues raised with the State by more than one international mechanism. This is done with the intention of identifying children's rights which have been repeatedly violated, as well as gaps in the issues covered by NGOs in their alternative reports to the various human rights monitoring bodies. These violations are listed in no particular order.
Juvenile justice: children aged 16-18 may be tried as adults UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observation, June 2010) The Committee expresses particular concern that: The Committee urges the State party to ensure that juvenile justice standards are fully implemented, in particular, articles 37(b), 40 and 39 of the Convention, as well as the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (Beijing Rules), the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (Riyadh Guidelines) and the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty (Havana Rules). In particular, the Committee urges the State party to take into account the Committee's general comment No. 10 (2007) on children's rights in juvenile justice. It also urges the State party to: UN Human Rights Committee Last reported: 14 and 15 October 2010 Concluding Observations adopted: 26 October 2010 The Committee expresses concern that, although the Youth Protection Act of 8 April 1965 was amended in 2006, it still provides for referral orders whereby minors between the ages of 16 and 18 may be tried as adults (arts. 14, 24 and 26).
The Committee recommends that the State review its legislation with a view to preventing minors between the ages of 16 and 18 from being tried as adults. (paragraph 23) UN Committee against Torture Last reported: 12 and 13 November 2008 Concluding Observations adopted: 19 November 2008 The Committee remains concerned that persons under the age of 18 can be tried as adults. It is also concerned that a holistic approach to the problem of juvenile crime, including with respect to prevention procedures and sanctions, has not been sufficiently taken into consideration by the State party. It recommends that the State party establish a system of juvenile justice that fully integrates into its legislation and practice the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and ensures that persons under the age of 18 are not tried as adults. (paragraph 17) The lack of comprehensive legislation prohibiting domestic violence UN Human Rights Committee Last reported: 14 and 15 October 2010 Concluding Observations adopted: 26 October 2010 The Committee expresses concern that domestic violence persists in the State and that it has still not adopted comprehensive legislation relating to it.
The Committee recommends that the State should increase its efforts to combat domestic violence by, inter alia, adopting comprehensive legislation to combat domestic violence and ensuring that victims have immediate access to mean of redress and protection. (paragraph 9) UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Last reported: 12 and 13 November 2007 Concluding Observations adopted: 20 and 21 November 2007 The Committee notes that corporal punishment of children within the family has not yet been included in the Criminal Code as a specific offence.
The Committee recommends that the State party adopt specific legislation criminalising acts of domestic violence and prohibiting all forms of corporal punishment of children within the family. (paragraph 33) UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Last reported: 21 October 2008 Concluding Observations published: 7 November 2008 The Committee is concerned about the lack of information on convictions and penalties for violence against women and girls. It recommends enforcing legislation on violence against women, implementing a national strategy on the issue. The State party should also organise training activities for parliamentarians, the judiciary, public officials, law enforcement personnel, teachers and health-service providers to sensitise them and to provide adequate support for victims. It should also enhance its cooperation with NGOs working in the area and include information on the number and nature of reported cases, convictions and types of sanctions imposed on perpetrators and compensation provided for victims in its next report. (paragraphs 31 and 32) UN Committee against Torture Last reported: 12 and 13 November 2008 Concluding Observations adopted: 19 November 2008 The Committee is concerned that not enough is being done to combat trafficking of women and children, particularly in terms of addressing root causes and allocating a sufficient portion of the budget to tackling the problems. There are also gaps in international cooperation in this area. Furthermore, trafficked persons can only be granted residence status if they cooperate with the judicial authorities. The Committee recommends that Belgium ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, adopted in 2005. It encourages the State party to focus not only on criminal justice measures and the prosecution of traffickers but also on the protection and rehabilitation of victims; increase its efforts to address the root causes of trafficking in persons; strengthen international cooperation, in particular with countries of origin, trafficking and transit, in order to ensure successful prosecutions; assist victims through counselling and reintegration measures; ensure that adequate human and financial resources are allocated to policies and programmes in this area; ensure that adequate support services are provided to victims, including those who do not cooperate with the authorities; consider granting victims of human trafficking temporary residence permits. (paragraph 25) UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Last reported: 21 October 2008 Concluding Observations published: 7 November 2008 The Committee is concerned that the root causes of trafficking of women and girls are not addressed sufficiently by the State party, that resources allocated to this problem are still insufficient and that a comprehensive and coordinated plan at the national level is lacking. It is also concerned about insufficient international cooperation in bringing perpetrators to justice and the fact that Belgium grants specific residence permits only to those victims of trafficking in human beings who collaborate with the judicial authorities. The Committee urges the State party to ratify the Council of Europe's Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, which it signed in 2005. It urges the State party to focus not only on criminal justice measures and the prosecution of traffickers, but also on the protection and rehabilitation of victims of trafficking. It encourages the State party to increase its efforts to combat the root causes of trafficking, to enhance international cooperation, especially with the countries of origin to ensure effective prosecution, to assist the victims through counselling and reintegration efforts and to ensure that adequate resources (human and financial) are allocated to policies and programmes in this area. The Committee urges the State party to ensure the provision of adequate support services to victims, including those who do not cooperate with the authorities, and invites the State party to give consideration to granting victims of trafficking temporary permits to remain in the country. (paragraphs 41 and 42) UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Last reported: 25 and 26 February 2008 Concluding Observations adopted: 5 March 2008 The Committee welcomes a new law which makes provisions to improve efforts to combat trafficking in persons. However, the Committee notes the absence of detailed statistical information on investigations, prosecutions and convictions of human traffickers. It also notes the lack of measures to protect and provide adequate reparation to victims. The Committee recommends that the State party reinforce its measures to adequately prevent, combat and punish human trafficking, especially of non-citizens, and to provide, in its next report, detailed statistical information on the subject, including on protection and reparation provided to the victims. (paragraph 20) UN Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography Ms Ofelia Calcetas-Santos, Report published: 22 December 1999 The Special Rapporteur made the following recommendations: Corporal punishment is not prohibited in the home UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, June 2010) The Committee is concerned that the State party has not taken the necessary measures to ensure that corporal punishment in the family and non-institutional childcare settings is explicitly prohibited by law. In light of its general comment No. 8 (2006) on the right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment and its previous recommendations (CRC/C/15/Add.178, paragraph 24(a)), the Committee urges the State party to prohibit corporal punishment of children in all settings, notably in family and in non-institutional childcare settings as a matter of priority. The Committee also recommends that the State party conduct awareness- raising campaigns and parenting education programmes to ensure that non-violent alternative forms of discipline are used, in a manner consistent with the child's human dignity. (paragraphs 39 and 40) UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Last reported: 12 and 13 November 2007 Concluding Observations adopted: 20 and 21 November 2007 The Committee notes that corporal punishment of children within the family has not yet been included in the Criminal Code as a specific offence. The Committee recommends that the State party adopt specific legislation criminalising acts of domestic violence and prohibiting all forms of corporal punishment of children within the family. (paragraph 33) UN Committee against Torture Last reported: 12 and 13 November 2008 Concluding Observations adopted: 19 November 2008 The Committee notes with concern the lack of any coordinated national strategy or programme to combat all forms of violence against women and girls, as well as the persistence of corporal punishment of children within the family and the fact that this practice is not prohibited by law. The Committee recommends that the State party adopt and implement a national strategy for the elimination of violence against women and girls, and to strengthen its cooperation with NGOs working in this area. The State party should take the necessary steps to include provisions banning corporal punishment of children within the family in its legislation. The State party should guarantee women and children who have suffered violence access to complaint mechanisms, punish the perpetrators of such acts in an appropriate manner and facilitate victims' physical and psychological rehabilitation. (paragraph 24) The ban on wearing headscarfs in schools which may increase discrimination UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Last reported: 21 October 2008 Concluding Observations published: 7 November 2008 The Committee is concerned that the ban on wearing headscarves in schools may increase discrimination and impede equal access to schools. The Committee recommends paying special attention to the needs of girls belonging to religious and ethnic minorities and ensuring that they have equal access to schooling. It also recommends a genuine dialogue with religious and ethnic communities. (paragraphs 35 and 36) UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Last reported: 25 and 26 February 2008 Concluding Observations adopted: 5 March 2008 While noting that in the State party the authority to decide whether girls can wear headscarves in schools belongs to each school board, the Committee is concerned about the equal enjoyment of the right to education by all girls in Belgium.
The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that the procedure implementing school regulations always emphasises dialogue in order to prevent such regulations from denying any student the right to education, and to ensure that everyone can always exercise that right. (paragraph 21) Children's rights to legal counsel when being questioned by an investigating judge is not always respected UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, June 2010) The Committee expresses particular concern that: The Committee urges the State party to ensure that juvenile justice standards are fully implemented, in particular, articles 37(b), 40 and 39 of the Convention, as well as the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (Beijing Rules), the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (Riyadh Guidelines) and the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty (Havana Rules). In particular, the Committee urges the State party to take into account the Committee's general comment No. 10 (2007) on children's rights in juvenile justice. It also urges the State party to: UN Committee against Torture Last reported: 12 and 13 November 2008 Concluding Observations adopted: 19 November 2008 While taking note of reforms to legislation which give minors the right to legal counsel when being questioned by an investigating judge, the Committee is deeply concerned that the requirement that legal counsel or a trusted adult be present during questioning of minors is rarely respected. The Committee recommends that the State party implement a pilot project to question minors via audio and video-taping, but stresses that this initiative cannot replace the presence of a third party during hearings involving minors. The State party should continue its efforts to ensure that minors have a lawyer and a trusted adult present at every phase of a proceeding, including during questioning by a police officer. (paragraph 16) The rights of unaccompanied children are not guaranteed UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, June 2010) While noting the efforts of the State party to house homeless children during the winter, the Committee expresses concern at reports of increasing number of homeless women and children, including unaccompanied children of foreign origin, and at the absence of an integral response to address their situation. The Committee welcomes the initiatives taken to address the current reception crisis in the State party, in particular the establishment of a multidisciplinary task force on minors travelling alone and the opening of two centres for the reception of asylum-seeking unaccompanied and separated children in April 2007. The Committee is, however, concerned that: The Committee urges the State party to: UN Committee against Torture Last reported: 12 and 13 November 2008 Concluding Observations adopted: 19 November 2008 The Committee notes the creation within the Aliens Office of a special unit for unaccompanied minors with responsibility for processing their applications for residency. It also takes note of certain other activities, including the creation of specialised centres to deal with unaccompanied minors and the planned creation of the Guardianship Service for Unaccompanied Minors. The Committee recommends that the government accelerate its efforts to provide unaccompanied minors with assistance, accommodation and follow-up. (paragraph 7)