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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.
Scroll to: --------------------------------- Harmful practices, including FGM and early marriages Committee on the Rights of the Child – Concluding Observations 2006 53. The Committee notes with appreciation the efforts undertaken by the State party to prevent the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), including the Law on the Suppression of Female Genital Mutilation of 2003, and that some practitioners have abandoned this practice. However, the Committee reiterates its concern at the de facto persistence of practices harmful to the girl child, including FGM. The Committee emphasizes that FGM is incompatible with the principles and provisions of the Convention. 54. The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen and accelerate its ongoing efforts to prevent FGM and conduct awareness-raising campaigns to combat and eradicate this and other traditional practices harmful to the health, survival and development of children, especially girls. The Committee recommends that the State party introduce sensitization programmes for practitioners and the general public to encourage change in traditional attitudes, and to prohibit harmful practices, engaging with the extended family and the traditional and religious leaders. The Committee also recommends that the State party establish follow-up procedures for the practitioners of FGM who have abandoned their profession and, in this respect, strengthen the links with local authorities in the neighbouring countries, as mentioned during the dialogue with the State party. UN Human Rights Committee CCPR/CO/82/BEN Female genital mutilation: The Committee remains concerned at the persistence of female genital mutilation, particularly in certain parts of the country, which constitutes a serious violation of articles 3 and 7 of the Covenant. It urges the Government to increase its efforts to combat these practices, especially in communities in which they are extremely common. It should effectively ban such practices by means of more awareness campaigns and the criminal prosecution of perpetrators. The State party should provide more accurate information about the percentage of women and girls affected, as well as their distribution by region and ethnic group, and about any criminal proceedings brought against the perpetrators. (Paragraph 11). UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/C.12/BEN/2) Harmful traditional practices: The Committee is deeply concerned at reports of killings of so-called "witch children", including infants with disabilities or whose mothers die following childbirth, which are motivated by traditional beliefs that persist among some groups in northern Benin. (Paragraph 19). It recommends that the State party step up its efforts to prevent and halt killings of so-called "witch children" by including provisions in criminal law to suppress this practice and organizing campaigns to heighten awareness of its criminal nature among local authorities, doctors, midwives and the population at large. The State party is requested to include in its next periodic report updated statistical data on the number of cases of infanticide reported to the police, the number of perpetrators brought to justice and the penalties imposed. Female genital mutilation: The Committee continues to be concerned that, despite the State party's efforts to combat the practice of female genital mutilation (excision), this practice, which violates the rights and physical integrity of women, persists in certain regions of Benin and that the law criminalizing female genital mutilation and the law on sexual and reproductive health have not been enforced. (Paragraph 26) It recommends that the State party provide training for judges, prosecutors and police officers in the strict enforcement of the law prohibiting female genital mutilation and the law on sexual and reproductive health; conduct awareness-raising campaigns to combat and eradicate this traditional practice, which violates the rights and physical integrity of women; and strengthen programmes providing assistance to victims and reorientation and financial support to practitioners of excision who halt their activities. The Committee requests the State party to provide it with information in its next periodic report on the measures taken, together with updated, disaggregated data on the number of reported cases of excision, convictions and penalties imposed on the persons responsible. UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW/C/BEN/1-3) Child marriage: The most important recent measure concerned the adoption of the Code on Persons and the Family which outlawed the levirate, set the legal age for marriage for boys and girls at 18, and established monogamous marriage, parental authority and equal inheritance rights for children, regardless of gender. (paragraph 133) Femaile genital mutilation: The Committee congratulates the State party for the recent legislative reforms to eliminate discrimination against women, including the adoption of law number 3 of 2003 prohibiting the practice of female genital mutilation and the Personal and Family Code in 2004. (paragraph 143) Harmful traditional practices: While welcoming the adoption of the Personal and Family Code in 2004, aimed at eliminating discrimination against women and abolishing many discriminatory provisions of the customary law of Dahomey, including polygamy, levirate marriage and discrimination in inheritance rights and the age of marriage, the Committee remains concerned about the application of customary practices and the consequences thereof. It is also concerned about the prevalence of structural patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted stereotypes that may undermine the effectiveness of the Code and prevent compliance with its provisions. The Committee expresses similar concerns regarding the effectiveness of the law on female genital mutilation. The Committee is concerned about the status of marriages concluded prior to the Code's coming into force. Universal Periodic Review - 2008 56- 11. Recommended that Benin develop an awareness campaign to address traditional beliefs that are harmful to the rights of children, especially their right to life (Holy See); - 21. Recommended to Benin to accelerate and strengthen its efforts to elaborate laws and policies to deal with female genital mutilation practices (Canada); 18. Recommended that Benin take further steps to establish and implement laws against domestic violence and the trafficking of women and children, and to ensure that existing laws prohibiting female genital mutilation are reviewed and enforced throughout the country (United Kingdom); --------------------------------- Juvenile justice, including separation of children and adults Committee on the Rights of the Child – Concluding Observations 2006 75. The Committee notes efforts made by the State party, including the development of a strategy to set up a juvenile justice system in accordance with the Convention which envisages alternative measures for juveniles in conflict with the law in order to rehabilitate children, foster reintegration into the community and prevent relapse. Nevertheless, the Committee is concerned at reports of inhumane conditions in the juvenile quarters and reports that children can be detained for a long period of time in police stations and detention centres before trial and that children in detention centres are not always separated from adults. The Committee is also concerned at the insufficient number of juvenile judges in the country and the lack of alternative measures to deprivation of liberty. Furthermore, the Committee regrets the lack of a minimum age for criminal responsibility. 76. The Committee recommends that the State party continue to strengthen its efforts to bring the administration of juvenile justice fully into line with the Convention, in particular articles 37, 40 and 39, and with other United Nations standards in the field of juvenile justice, including the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules), the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (the Riyadh Guidelines), the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of Their Liberty (the Havana Rules) and the Vienna Guidelines for Action on Children in the Criminal Justice System and the recommendations of the Committee made at its day of general discussion on juvenile justice held on 13 November 1995 (CRC/C/46, paras. 203-238). In this regard, the Committee recommends in particular that the State party: (a) Strictly enforce existing legislation and legal procedures with more intense and systematic training for judges, counsels for persons under 18, penitentiary staff and social workers on children’s rights and special needs; (b) Urgently establish an age for criminal responsibility at an internationally acceptable level; (c) Ensure that children deprived of their liberty remain in regular contact with their families while in the juvenile justice system, when appropriate; (d) Implement alternative measures to deprivation of liberty, such as probation, community service or suspended sentences, in order to ensure that persons below 18 are deprived of liberty only as a last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time; (e) Consider establishing family courts with specialized juvenile judges; and (f) Facilitate the reintegration of children in their families and communities and follow-up by social services. UN Human Rights Committee CCPR/CO/82/BEN Juvenile justice: The Committee is concerned at the extreme overcrowding of prisons and at the fact that juveniles are not always held separately from adults (articles 7, 10 and 24 of the Covenant). It urges the government to provide special protection for juveniles, and all juveniles, including girls, should be systematically separated from adults. (Paragraph 17) Legal assistance: The Committee is concerned that few people, including minors, are assisted by a lawyer during criminal proceedings, and that such assistance is mandatory only in the Assize Court. It further notes with concern that in the Assize Court a lawyer is appointed only during the final questioning before the actual hearing, a situation that does not guarantee that the right to a defence is respected (article 14 of the Covenant). It urges the State party should ensure that lawyers are trained in adequate numbers, facilitate the access of individuals to legal assistance in criminal proceedings and ensure that lawyers are involved in proceedings from the time of arrest onward. UN Committee against Torture CAT/C/BEN/CO/2 The Committee regrets that, under Beninese criminal law, a minor aged over 13 may be sentenced to deprivation of liberty. The State party should take the necessary measures to raise the age of criminal responsibility to an internationally acceptable level. (pargraph 14) While taking note of the efforts made by the State party to improve prison conditions, the Committee remains deeply concerned about living conditions in detention facilities. The Committee has received reports of overcrowding, corruption of prison officials by detainees, lack of hygiene and adequate food, prevalence of disease and lack of adequate health care. The Committee has also received reports that minors are not kept completely separate from adults and that accused persons are not kept separate from convicted persons (arts. 11 and 16). Without waiting for the national prevention mechanism to be established, the State party should take urgent measures to bring conditions in detention centres into line with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. (Paragraph 18). The State party should allocate all the material, human and budgetary resources necessary for this purpose and give priority to: (c) Reorganizing prisons so that accused persons are detained separately from convicted persons and improving conditions of detention of minors, ensuring that they are detained separately from adults in all circumstances. --------------------------------- Committee on the Rights of the Child – Concluding Observations 2006 61. The Committee notes with appreciation the various efforts undertaken by the State party, including the adoption of the national plan of action entitled “Education for All” and the Ten Year Development Plan for the Education Sector which, according to the delegation, will be revised. The Committee welcomes the plan to allocate grants to cover the costs of education for all children in the country and the recent reforms focusing on improved financial management of education resources. Nonetheless, the Committee has a number of specific concerns in relation to the high illiteracy rate, the large number of dropouts, overcrowding in classrooms, the low transition rate to secondary school, unqualified “community teachers”, the insufficient number of trained teachers and available school facilities, the insufficiency of budget allocations for pre-primary, primary and secondary schools, the poor quality of education, and the sexual violence and harassment in schools. The Committee is also concerned that the curricula of the Koranic schools are not in conformity with article 29 of the Convention. 62. In the light of articles 28 and 29 of the Convention and taking into account the Committee general comment No. 1 (2001) on the aims of education, the Committee recommends that the State party continue to allocate adequate financial, human and technical resources in order to: (a) Revise the Ten Year Development Plan for the Education Sector and ensure that resources are allocated accordingly to ensure its effective implementation; (b) Take all appropriate measures to ensure that primary education is free, both in terms of direct and indirect costs, and take measures to prevent children from dropping out of primary education; (c) Take actions to prevent corporal punishment, sexual violence and harassment in schools; (d) Pay specific attention to gender, socio-economic and regional disparities in access to and full enjoyment of the right to education, including by introducing specific measures to ensure that children from economically disadvantaged households are not excluded and have equal opportunities; (e) Reinforce the implementation of the Essential Learning Package to accelerate girls education and take effective measures to reduce the growing gender disparity in literacy levels, including measures aimed at altering cultural conceptions that literacy is aimed primarily at boys; (f) Continue to take measures to increase enrolment rates in secondary education and technical and vocational training; (g) Increase the number of trained teachers, especially female, provide further school facilities, especially in rural areas and strengthen efforts to improve the quality of education through providing appropriate and continuous training to teachers, including “community teachers”; (h) Design and implement a programme of activities providing alternative educational opportunities for non-enrolled children and dropouts, include gender issues, life skills and knowledge/awareness on HIV/AIDS in teacher training with improved supervision and on-the-job counselling of teachers by school inspectors; (i) Continue to include human rights training, in particular the rights of children, into the school curricula; (j) Take measures to ensure that the curricula of the Koranic schools are in conformity with article 29 of the Convention and incorporate these schools in the general educational system; and (k) Improve statistical gathering and analysis. UN Human Rights Committee CCPR/CO/82/BEN Human rights education: The Committee notes the efforts made by the State party to increase public awareness of human rights but is concerned that these efforts have been limited. As expressly stipulated in article 40 of the Constitution, it urges the State party to integrate human rights education in the primary, secondary, higher and vocational education curricula and, in particular, in the training programmes of the security forces. (Paragraph 25). UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/C.12/BEN/2) Education: The Committee is concerned about reports of low secondary school attendance and low primary school attendance in rural areas, particularly with respect to girls. (Paragraph 27) It recommends that the State party take effective measures to increase the primary and secondary school enrolment rate, particularly in rural areas and with respect to girls, by increasing the number of classrooms and teachers, funding the provision of school textbooks and lunches and conducting public campaigns to promote awareness of the importance of education, including for girls. UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW/C/BEN/1-3) Education: The Committee is concerned at the poor educational infrastructure and the insufficient number of schools and teachers, which constitute particular obstacles to the education of girls and young women. The Committee expresses its concern about the low rate of enrolment of girls in schools, preference for the education of boys and the high dropout rate of girls due to pregnancy and early and forced marriage. The Committee is especially concerned about the extremely high rate of illiteracy among women and girls, 81 per cent for women and girls between the ages of 15 and 49. The Committee urges the State party to increase its investment in education, including through international donor assistance, and to raise awareness of the importance of education as a human right and as a basis for the empowerment of women. It also encourages the State party to take steps to overcome traditional attitudes that constitute obstacles to girls' education. It recommends that the State party take steps to ensure equal access of girls and young women to all levels of education, to retain girls in school and to strengthen the implementation of re-entry policies providing for girls to return to school after pregnancy. The Committee recommends that the State party make every effort to improve the literacy level of girls and women through the adoption of comprehensive programmes, in collaboration with civil society, at the formal and non-formal levels and through adult education and training. The Committee encourages the State party to take temporary special measures, in accordance with article 4, paragraph 1, of the Convention and the Committee's general recommendation 25, to accelerate the improvement of women's and girls' educational situation. (paragraph 155) Universal Periodic Review - 2008 - 22. Recommended to Benin to give more importance to the schooling of girls in its education programmes, which would certainly contribute to combat female genital mutilation (Mauritania); - 26. Recommended that Benin intensify its efforts to favour support and material assistance to the most marginalized families and the most underprivileged families to effectively guarantee the rights of children through a sufficient standard of living and the right to education inter alia (Belgium); -------------------------------------- Committee on the Rights of the Child – Concluding Observations 2006 71. While welcoming the ongoing efforts by the State party to combat child trafficking, including the new Law on the Suppression of Trafficking in Children, the National Policy and Strategy on Child Protection, and the National Study on Child Trafficking, the Committee is concerned at the information that a high number of children under 18, especially adolescent girls, are still being trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation and domestic labour in other countries. UN Human Rights Committee CCPR/CO/82/BEN Child trafficking: While noting the efforts made by the State party, the Committee expresses its concern at the alarming practice of placing children with a third party as an act of mutual assistance or family or community solidarity (vidomégons), which has become a source of trafficking and economic exploitation of children within Benin. It notes with concern that Benin has become a country of transit, origin and destination for international trafficking in children (articles 7, 16 and 24 of the Covenant). It urges the State party to increase its efforts to combat trafficking in children and provide the Committee with more detailed information about this phenomenon, in particular an estimate of the number of children involved. It should create mechanisms to monitor the placement of children, increase public awareness and bring criminal proceedings against those engaged in the trafficking in and economic exploitation of children. (Paragraph 24). UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/C.12/BEN/2) Trafficking: The Committee recommends that the State party continue and step up its efforts to combat human trafficking by ensuring adequate access to victim assistance and witness protection programmes and by providing training for police officers, prosecutors and judges in the strict enforcement of the relevant criminal law provisions. The Committee also recommends that the State party consider adopting a law against trafficking in adults, allocate sufficient funds for implementation of the national plan of action to combat child trafficking and for local child protection committees and increase cooperation with neighbouring States. (paragraph 39) UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW/C/BEN/1-3) Trafficking: While welcoming the adoption of measures to prevent and combat trafficking in children, the Committee is concerned that similar measures have not been undertaken with regard to trafficking in women. It urges the State party to take measures to combat trafficking in women through the adoption and implementation of a comprehensive strategy, including national laws and subregional cross-border initiatives, to prevent trafficking, punish offenders and protect and rehabilitate victims. Universal Periodic Review - 2008 19. Recommended to Benin to better apply the existing laws concerning trafficking in children and human being (Canada); --------------------------------------- Committee on the Rights of the Child – Concluding Observations 2006 67. The Committee is deeply concerned at the prevalence of child labour among young children under the age of 14, at the traditional practice of domestic servants or vidomégons, and at the increased number of children working in the informal sector. 68. The Committee urges the State party to: (a) Undertake surveys throughout the territory with a view to establishing, inter alia, the number of working children, their age, occupations, the number of working hours and the remuneration received; (b) Strictly enforce provisions of the Labour Code pertaining to children, combined with information on legislation regarding child labour and the creation of appropriate educational opportunities for children; (c) Strengthen community based mechanisms to prevent and monitor internal child trafficking and economic exploitation, in particular in the informal sector, and, at the same time, undertake preventive actions to improve living conditions and economic opportunities for families, in the rural areas as well as high-risk zones paying particular attention to less privileged families; and (d) Continue to cooperate with the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour of the International Labour Organization (ILO/IPEC). UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/C.12/BEN/2) Child labour: The Committee is deeply concerned about the prevalence of child labour, including economic exploitation and frequent abuse of children working as domestic servants or "vidomegons". (Paragraph 20) The Committee urges the State party to indicate in its next periodic report the measures taken to combat child labour and end the practice of "vidomegon", and the outcome of such measures, and provide information on assistance given to the victims of these practices and their families. ------------------------------------- Child Health, including malnutrition Committee on the Rights of the Child – Concluding Observations 2006 51. The Committee notes with appreciation the various health programmes and projects undertaken by the State party, including the Bamako Initiative, the results of the successful immunization programme and the integrated approach to child survival, the high level of antenatal care and the reasonably high level of assisted births. However, the Committee is concerned that infant, neonatal and maternal death rates remain very high. It is also concerned at the high incidence of malnutrition in the State party. UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/C.12/BEN/2) Child health: The Committee is very concerned about the high maternal and infant mortality rate, especially in regions where health infrastructure is inadequate, and about the fact that women and girls have limited access to reproductive health services and antenatal assistance in rural areas. (Paragraph 25) It recommends that the State party step up its efforts to ensure that pregnant women and girls receive proper medical care during pregnancy and during and after childbirth and have access to reproductive health services and antenatal assistance, including in rural areas, and that they are made aware of the importance of sexual and reproductive health. The Committee also recommends that the health of infants be monitored regularly. UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW/C/BEN/1-3) Health: While noting the efforts made by the State party to improve reproductive health care to women, the Committee remains concerned about the lack of access to adequate health care for women and girls, particularly in rural areas. It is concerned about the causes of morbidity and mortality in women, particularly the number of deaths due to illegal abortions, and about inadequate family planning services and the low rates of contraceptive use. The Committee expresses its concern that women require the permission of their husbands to obtain contraceptives and family planning services. It recommends that the State party take measures, in accordance with general recommendation 24 on women and health, to improve and increase women's access to health care and health-related services and information, particularly in rural areas. It calls on the State party to improve the availability of sexual and reproductive health services, including family planning, with the aim also of preventing clandestine abortions, and to make available, without requiring the permission of the husband, contraceptive services to women and girls. It further recommends that sex education be widely promoted and targeted at girls and boys, with special attention to the prevention of early pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. (paragraph 157) UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Food insecurity: In terms of nutrition, women and children are the most affected groups. In 2006, 60 per cent of women aged 15–49 years were suffering from anaemia, and 10 per cent were underweight (body mass index of 18.5 or less). Under-nutrition and poor health in mothers take a toll on infants and young children. Thus, 78 per cent of young children (aged 6 months to 5 years) suffer from anaemia.3 Between 2001 and 2006, 23 per cent of young children were underweight, and the prevalence of growth retardation increased from 31 per cent of young children in 2001 to 38 per cent in 2006. The acute malnutrition rate was 4.7 per cent in 2005 (5.5 per cent for boys, and 3.9 per cent for girls). While some departments are more affected than others — Atacora, Plateau, Ouémé and Atlantique, for example — none has an acute malnutrition rate exceeding 10 per cent. However, more than 30 per cent of children suffer from chronic malnutrition in every department, with the exception of Littoral. Chronic malnutrition is more widespread among children in rural areas (40.4 per cent) than among their urban counterparts (29.9 per cent).4 In 2000, a national survey revealed that vitamin A deficiency affects the vast majority of children aged 12–71 months (73 per cent). (Paragraph 7) --------------------------------- Low levels of birth registration Committee on the Rights of the Child – Concluding Observations 2006 36. The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to ensure that birth registration is made accessible to all parents within the State party. The Committee also recommends that the State party provide support to the local authorities to promote a higher level of birth registration, eventually with auxiliary registry officers at village level, and launch a national campaign of mobile court hearings making complementary decisions on late birth declarations, which should be free of charge. UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/C.12/BEN/2) The Committee is concerned by information that 25 per cent of Beninese children have not been registered at birth, which reportedly hinders their access to health services and education. (Paragraph 12). The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen measures to ensure that all children are registered at birth by requiring pubic authorities and health and education services to register them, issuing birth certificates to unregistered children and abolishing registration fees. ------------------------------------------ Committee on the Rights of the Child – Concluding Observations 2006 46. While welcoming efforts undertaken to combat all forms of abuse and violence against children, the Committee remains concerned at the acute problem of violence against children and child abuse within families. The Committee is also concerned at the limited measures and mechanisms to prevent and combat ill-treatment, neglect and abuse of children, the lack of adequate financial and human resources, the insufficient number of adequately trained personnel to prevent and combat abuse, as well as the lack of awareness and information, including statistical data on these practices. 47. In the light of article 19, the Committee urges the State party to: (a) Conduct a comprehensive study to assess the nature and extent of ill-treatment and abuse of children, develop indicators and design policies and programmes to address it; (b) Improve the reporting of cases of violence against children and child abuse, for example by establishing mandatory reporting for professionals working with and for children and to train professionals, such as teachers, law enforcement officials, health professionals, social workers and judges, in identifying, reporting and managing child abuse and ill-treatment cases; (c) Establish effective procedures and child-sensitive mechanisms to receive, monitor and investigate complaints, including intervention where necessary, and to prosecute cases of abuse and ill-treatment, ensuring that the abused child is not victimized in legal proceedings and that his/her privacy is protected; (d) Strengthen the systems of service delivery related to child protection, particularly the Brigade for the Protection of Minors (la Brigade pour la Protection des Mineurs) through allocation of human and financial resources; (e) Introduce awareness-raising and education campaigns, with the active involvement of children themselves, in order to prevent and combat all forms of child abuse, including sexual abuse, with a view to changing public attitudes and prevailing cultural practices in this respect; (f) Increase its support to and collaboration with the toll-free national helpline in order to ensure that the helpline reaches more children, including in the remote areas, inter alia by extending it to a 24-hour daily service with a 3-digit toll-free number, raising awareness amongst children and allocating resources, including financial, to ensure that the helpline can assist children in emergency situations; (g) Continue to provide adequate care, full physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration for child victims of violence; and (h) Seek technical assistance from, inter alia, UNICEF. UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW/C/BEN/1-3) Violence: The Committee is concerned about the absence of policies and programmes, including legislation, to address violence against women and the economic exploitation and ill-treatment of young girls employed as domestic servants. The Committee is particularly concerned about the perception prevalent in the State party that violence against women, particularly domestic violence, is a private matter, and about the reluctance of women to report incidents of violence committed against them. The Committee also expresses its concern about the paucity in the report of information and statistics on violence against women. It urges the State party to accord priority attention to the adoption of comprehensive measures to combat violence against women and girls, in accordance with its general recommendation 19 on violence against women. The Committee calls on the State party to enact legislation on domestic violence, including marital rape, and legislation concerning all forms of sexual abuse, and to ensure that women and girls, including domestic servants, who are victims of violence have access to immediate means of redress and protection and that perpetrators are prosecuted and punished. The Committee recommends that training be undertaken for the judiciary and public officials, particularly law enforcement personnel, and for health-service providers, so as to ensure that they are sensitized to all forms of violence against women and can adequately respond to it. It also recommends the implementation of awareness-raising campaigns, through the media and public education programmes, and working towards a zero-tolerance policy on all forms of violence against women. The Committee requests the State party to provide information in its next report on the laws and policies in place to deal with violence against women, and on the impact of such measures. (paragraph 149) UN Committee against Torture CAT/C/BEN/CO/2 Violence: While taking note of the State party's legislative efforts, in particular to eradicate ill-treatment of children, the Committee remains concerned about reports of trafficking, exploitation, prostitution, female genital mutilation, rape and killing of newborn babies. The Committee regrets the lack of statistical data on reports of violence against children and related convictions (arts. 1, 2, 12 and 16). It urges the State party to take effective measures to combat and eradicate torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment by adopting a holistic approach to the problem. The State party should take all necessary measures to ensure strict implementation of the relevant legislation by prosecuting and punishing those responsible for such acts. The State party should consider setting up an observatory on the rights of the child, resume consideration of the bill on "vidomegons" and strengthen the system of care for child victims of violence. (Paragraph 22). ------------------------------------------ Committee on the Rights of the Child – Concluding Observations 2006 9. The Committee welcomes the measures taken to strengthen the legal framework on the rights of the child and to bring the national legislation into conformity with the Convention, notably the Persons and Family Code and the draft Children’s Code. However, the Committee notes that the national legislation in some areas, inter alia corporal punishment, has still not been brought into full conformity with the Convention. 10. The Committee recommends that the State party continue to strengthen its efforts to provide better legal protection for children and ensure that relevant domestic laws are in full conformity with the principles and provisions of the Convention. It further recommends that the State party expedite the adoption of the Children’s Code and the revision of the Penal Code and the Penal Procedure Code. UN Committee against Torture CAT/C/BEN/CO/2 Corporal punishment: While noting that the State party's legislation prohibits corporal punishment in schools (Circular No. 100/MEN/CAB of 1962), the Committee remains concerned about the absence of legislation prohibiting such punishment in the family and in institutions other than schools. The Committee is also concerned at the frequent use of this practice in education in Benin (art. 16). (Paragraph 22). The State party should extend legislation prohibiting corporal punishment to the family and to institutions other than schools. The State party should ensure that legislation prohibiting corporal punishment is strictly enforced and awareness-raising and educational campaigns should be conducted to that effect. ---------------------------------------------- Children with disabilities: discrimination in education Committee on the Rights of the Child – Concluding Observations 2006 49. While noting measures undertaken by the State party, in particular the implementation of the programme of action for 2001-2006, the Committee reiterates its concern at the persisting de facto discrimination, lack of statistical data on the number of children with disabilities and insufficient educational opportunities for these children. 50. The Committee recommends that the State party, taking into account the United Nations Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (General Assembly resolution 48/96) and the recommendations adopted by the Committee on its day of general discussion on the rights of children with disabilities held on 6 October 1997 (see CRC/C/69): (a) Complete the survey on persons with disabilities; (b) Consider developing and adopting a national policy or strategy on persons with disabilities, paying particular attention to children with disabilities; (c) Consider creating an inter-institutional plan with the support of local government and civil society and thereby strengthen cooperation between teachers, school management, parents, children and the society at large; (d) Provide all children with disabilities with access to adequate social and health services, including community based support and services, the physical environment, information and communication, and continue its efforts to standardize the provision of service; (e) Allocate the necessary resources for programmes, medicines, trained staff and facilities for all children with disabilities, especially the ones living in rural areas; (f) Provide the necessary financial resources for the development of education for children with special needs and further encourage their inclusion into the general educational system and into society; (g) Collect adequate statistical data on children with disabilities and use disaggregated data in developing policies and programmes to promote equal opportunities for them in society, paying particular attention to children with disabilities living in rural areas; and (h) Promote awareness and tolerance concerning children with disabilities throughout communities and disseminate information that would assist in eliminating the traditional practice of infanticide. Universal Periodic Review - 2008 - 31. Recommended to Benin to develop a national policy and further measures concerning disabled persons in order to give disabled children access to social and health
Last reported: 21 / 22 October 2004
Concluding Observations published: 1 December 2004
Last reported 5 May 2008
Concluding Observations published 9 June 2008
Last reported 7 July 2005
Concluding Observations published 22 July 2005
Last reported: 21 / 22 October 2004
Concluding Observations published: 1 December 2004
Last reported 15 and 16 November 2007
Concluding Observations published on 19 February 2008
Last reported: 21 / 22 October 2004
Concluding Observations published: 1 December 2004
Last reported 5 May 2008
Concluding Observations published 9 June 2008
Last reported 7 July 2005
Concluding Observations published 22 July 2005
Last reported: 21 / 22 October 2004
Concluding Observations published: 1 December 2004
Last reported 5 May 2008
Concluding Observations published 9 June 2008
Last reported 7 July 2005
Concluding Observations published 22 July 2005
(paragraph 151)
Last reported 5 May 2008
Concluding Observations published 9 June 2008
Last reported 5 May 2008
Concluding Observations published 9 June 2008
Last reported 7 July 2005
Concluding Observations published 22 July 2005
Olivier de Schutter
A/HRC/12/33/Add.3
Country visit: 12 to 20 March 2009
Report published: 22 December 2009
35. While noting the measures undertaken to implement the Committee’s previous recommendation, including the establishment of Registry Offices at District (arrondissement) level and the conduct of awareness raising campaigns, the Committee is concerned that many children are still not registered at birth, in particular children living in remote rural communities and children from disadvantaged families.
Last reported 5 May 2008
Concluding Observations published 9 June 2008
Last reported 7 July 2005
Concluding Observations published 22 July 2005
Last reported 15 and 16 November 2007
Concluding Observations published on 19 February 2008
Last reported 15 and 16 November 2007
Concluding Observations published on 19 February 2008