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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: ---------------------------------- Committee on the Rights of the Child - Concluding Observations 2004 62.The Committee welcomes the decision of the State party’s President, to make the fight against child sexual exploitation a priority of his Government. However, the Committee is deeply concerned by the wide occurrence of sexual exploitation and related issues, as also noted in the report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography following his mission to Brazil in 2003 (E/CN.4/2004/9/Add.2). 63The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Encourage and facilitate the reporting on incidents of sexual exploitation, investigate, prosecute and impose appropriate sanctions on any perpetrator of the alleged violations; (b) Provide protection to victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking, especially prevention, social reintegration, access to health care and psychological assistance in a culturally appropriate and coordinated manner, including by enhancing cooperation with non-governmental organizations and with neighbouring countries; and UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Last reported: 13 February – 2 March 2012 Concluding Observations published: 23 February 2012 Trafficking: While taking note of the State party initiatives to address trafficking in persons such as the establishment, in March 2011, of a parliamentary inquiry commission (CPI) to investigate the causes and consequences of internal and international trafficking in Brazil and the preparation of a Second National Plan to Combat Human Trafficking, the Committee is concerned at the lack of information about the extent of the phenomenon of trafficking in women and girls. It is also concerned about the lack of a comprehensive and concerted approach to combat trafficking in persons. It regrets that the State party has not yet adopted a comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation as recommended by the Committee in its previous concluding observations (CEDAW/C/BRA/CO/6, para. 24). It is particularly concerned at information received stating that women and girls are exploited for the purposes of prostitution and employment in some regions where large development projects are being implemented and about the sexual exploitation of women and girls in touristic zones in the northeast of the country (Para 20). UN Human Rights Committee Last reported: 6 and 27 October 2005 Concluding Observations published: 2 November 2005 Trafficking: The Committee is concerned about persistent trafficking in women and children, the alleged involvement of some officials in acts of trafficking, and the lack of effective witness and victim protection mechanisms (arts.8, 24 and 26).The State party should reinforce international cooperation mechanisms to fight trafficking in persons, prosecute perpetrators, provide protection and redress to all victims, protect witnesses and root out trafficking-related official corruption (Para 15). ---------------------------------- Access to education and discrimination Committee on the Rights of the Child - Concluding Observations 2004 58. The Committee welcomes the efforts undertaken by the State party to improve school attendance and the positive results regarding the access of girls to school. The Committee also takes note of the steps made to include issues related to personality development, human rights and citizenship into school curricula. However, it remains concerned about the remarkable disparities of access, regular attendance, dropouts and retention of children in schools across the country affecting particularly the poor, the mestizo children, those of African descent and children living in remote areas. The Committee is further concerned about the low quality of education in many schools to the extent that there are many children who, despite several years of school attendance, cannot read and write or do basic calculations. 59. The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Increase its expenditure on education and ensure the allocation (b) Strengthen its efforts to improve the quality of education, inter alia, by revising school curricula, introducing child-centred and active teaching and learning methods and integrating human rights education; (c) Increase the completion rate of primary education and ensure that primary education always be free of charge; (d) Seek technical cooperation from, inter alia, UNESCO and UNICEF. UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Last reported: 13 February – 2 March 2012 Concluding Observations published: 23 February 2012 Education: While taking note of the information provided by the State party, which indicates that Brazilian women are more educated than men and that illiteracy rates among women are lower than among men, the Committee is concerned about the persistent inequalities in the access to education for women and girls based on their race, ethnicity and socio-economic background. It also takes note of the various programmes aiming at bringing a gender perspective to the field of education, such as the Women and Science Program, which targets students from secondary and higher education. However, it regrets, inter alia, the lack of detailed sex-disaggregated data on the rates of enrolment and completion of primary school as well as information on the sex-segregation of the curricula, in particular in technological education in higher levels; programmes in place, aimed at decreasing the illiteracy rate of women over 15 years (9.8%); and the absence of information related to leading causes of school dropout of girls, such as domestic work and teenage pregnancies. UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Last reported:12 June 2009 Concluding Observations adopted: 19 May 2009 The Committee notes that illiteracy rates remain a problem in the State party and that inequalities persist in literacy levels between the white and black populations. The Committee is further concerned that the average illiteracy rate is significantly higher in rural areas in the north of the State party. (art. 2, para. 2) The Committee urges the State party to strengthen remedial action to address the problem of illiteracy, particularly in rural areas and in the Afro-Brazilian community. (Para 12) Report by the UN Working Group on the Right to Development Report published: 23 January 2004 Education: The social protection strategy directed at the poor and excluded includes mainly conditional cash transfer programmes such as the Bolsa-Escola, the programme to eradicate child labour (PETI), the rural pensions programme (for the old or disabled) and, more recently, the Zero Hunger initiative. Bolsa-Escola was started in 1995 and now covers more than one third of all school-age children in the age group 6-15 years, with the objective of promoting school enrolment and attendance. It provides for a standard transfer for up to three children per family to families with per capita incomes of less than half the minimum wage. Evaluations have revealed that the programme may have brought down the number of poor children not in school by half. It has been indicated that improved coverage, larger transfers and administrative convergence with similar initiatives (PETI) would help improve the effectiveness of the programme. Moreover, under the present cost-sharing arrangement with the federal Government, many of the poorest municipalities, where the need for this programme is the greatest, are not able to benefit from this initiative. PETI was initiated in order to address the problem of child labour in urban and rural areas. It also involved cash grants to families with working children of school age (7-14 years) whose per capita income was less than half the minimum wage, in return for the children attending school for at least 80 per cent of the required attendance as well as programmes of after-school activities. As a result of this programme, participation in which is limited to four years, the proportion of working children fell from 20 per cent in 1992 to 15 per cent in 1999. The programme is seen as a well-designed initiative that has continued relevance, given the magnitude of the problem. The disability and old-age. Report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Racism, Doudou Diène Country visit: 17 – 26 October 2005 Report published: 28 February 2006 Education: The Special Rapporteur, in seeking to assess the political will to combat racism at the highest level, had the honour and the pleasure to meet with President Lula da Silva. He appreciated the President’s frank recognition of the existence of racism and its influence on the mentality and everyday life of Brazilian society and the strong expression of his political will to eradicate it. The President recognized that the law is not sufficient, assessed the resistance and obstacles to any meaningful change and pointed to the challenge of deeply transforming the current mentalities. In this context, the law on the teaching of African history in primary school was adopted. In the last few years, institutions and programmes specifically in charge of combating racial discrimination were established, including an affirmative action programme in universities and the establishment in 2003 of the Special Secretariat for the Promotion of Racial Equality (SEPPIR). The President admitted that very much still remains to be done. (para 10) ---------------------------------- Committee on the Rights of the Child - Concluding Observations 2004 52. The Committee welcomes the State party’s efforts to improve Brazil’s health level, in particular the establishment of the Minimum Healthcare Allocation (PAB) in 1998. The Committee further notes the reduction of the incidence of child mortality as well as the positive changes observed in the child profile and in the HIV/AIDS incidence. Nevertheless, it is concerned at the low percentage of the population who are covered by at least one health plan and at the inequality in access to health services. The Committee is also concerned about health conditions, particularly of children who reside in rural areas, resulting in marked disparities in the quality of health services provided and of the lower socio-economic segments of the population in the North and North-east regions. 53. The Committee urges that the State party continue to develop the health system, ensuring the provision of the highest standard of health for all children, paying special attention to children in rural and geographically remote areas as well as those belonging to low-income families. UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Last reported: 13 February – 2 March 2012 Concluding Observations published: 23 February 2012 Healthcare: The Committee acknowledges that the country’s health services are under expansion and that the State party has implemented a number of measures aimed at reducing the maternal mortality rate, such as the establishment of the Rede Cegonha (Stork Network) programme (2011). However, it is concerned that this programme might not sufficiently address all causes of maternal mortality as it merely focuses on care services for pregnant women. It regrets that women who undergo a illegal abortions continue to face criminal sanctions in the State party and that women’s’ enjoyment of sexual and reproductive health and rights is being jeopardized by a number of bills under consideration in the National Congress, such as Bill No. 478/2008 (Estatuto do Nascituro). The Committee is further concerned at the feminization of the HIV/AIDS infection (Para 28). UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Last reported:12 June 2009 Concluding Observations adopted: 19 May 2009 Health: The Committee is concerned that maternal mortality rates remain extremely high and that the risk of maternal death disproportionately affects marginalized communties, particularly Afro-Brazilians, indigenous women and women from rural areas . Furthermore, the Committee notes that these disparities are attributable, in part, to the inequitable distribution of emergency obstetric care facilities and to the fact that health-care funding fails to pay adequate attention to disadvantaged populations. The Committee is particularly concerned that the majority of maternal deaths are preventable with adequate medical care. (art. 12, paras. 1 and 2(d) Report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Racism, Doudou Diène Country visit: 17 – 26 October 2005 Report published: 28 February 2006 Health: The Ministry of Health is actively collaborating with SEPPIR: they jointly created a Mixed Committee composed of representatives of the Government, black researchers, leaders of social movements, which proposes programmes to the Ministry. It promoted for example, the launching of a programme to fight sickle cell anaemia, which is prevalent in the black population, as well as a programme to train black leaders on how to get involved in this Committee, which is essential for the functioning of the process. A programme to reduce the high mortality rate of black children and women was also established, as well as a campaign to fight against institutional racism within the Ministry. Concerning the sterilization of black women, the problem is being addressed but the situation is still worrisome. Blacks are also the most affected by mental health problems, mainly depression and violence, and by drugs. At the municipal level it is often still difficult to offer proper health services, especially in remote areas. (para 15) Report by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier de Schutter Country visit: 12 – 18 October 2009 Report published: 19 February 2009 Child Malnutrition: Child malnutrition was substantially reduced between 1996 and 2006, in particular among children from the north-east region and, in general, among children of lower income families. The average stunting (height-for-age) rate observed was 7 per cent: this was higher for boys (8.1 per cent) than for girls (5.8 per cent), slightly more frequent in rural (7.5 per cent) than in urban (6.9 per cent) areas, with a much higher prevalence in the north of Brazil (14.7 per cent), than in the rest of the country. The mother’s educational level had greater bearing than income level differentials: in families where the woman had less than three years of schooling, the prevalence of stunting was eight times higher than in families where the mother had completed 12 years of schooling. Income differentials between the highest and lowest quintiles were associated with three times greater prevalence of stunting in the lowest quintiles. The average rate of wasting (weight-to-height ratio) was 1.4 per cent, and the rate did not exceed 3 per cent in any group, thereby suggesting that acute forms of malnutrition are now under greater control in the country. The prevalence of underweight children (according to weight-to-age) was 1.9 per cent nationally, although it reached 4.5 per cent in the case of children with mothers with little schooling and belonging to the lowest income quintile. Low intake of vitamin A was also observed in 17.4 per cent of children under the age of five: the highest prevalence rates were observed in the impoverished north-east (19 per cent) and comparatively wealthier south-east (21.6 per cent). Urban areas also saw higher prevalence rates than rural ones. This data also indicates that nearly 21 per cent of the population, on average, was anaemic and prevalence bore no correlation to income group or race. Considerable regional variations were observed, although the two poorest regions displayed opposite outcomes: the north had the lowest (10.4 per cent) and the north-east the highest (25.5 per cent) levels of prevalence in the country. Urban children were, on average, more at risk of anaemia than rural ones. Lastly, the risk of obesity reached a national average of 7.3 per cent. (para 7) ---------------------------------- Juvenile Justice: Pre-trial detention, conditions and gender discrimination Committee on the Rights of the Child - Concluding Observations 2004 68. The Committee notes the establishment of juvenile courts. Nevertheless, it is concerned at the lack of clear guarantees for a fair and speedy trial and of the enforcement of rules for pre‑trial detention. The Committee is also concerned that socio-educative measures are not frequently applied and therefore, as a result, a large number of persons below age 18 are in detention, and at the very poor conditions of detention. The Committee is also concerned at the numerous reports of ill-treatment of young inmates, the very limited possibilities for the rehabilitation and reintegration into society of juveniles following judicial proceedings; and the sporadic training of judges, prosecutors and prison staff in children’s rights. 69. The Committee recommends that the State party continue its efforts to improve the system of juvenile justice in all states of the federation in line with the Convention, in particular articles 37, 40 and 39, and other United Nations standards in the field of juvenile justice, including the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Last reported: 13 February – 2 March 2012 Concluding Observations published: 23 February 2012 Juvenile justice: The Committee expresses its concern about the significant increase in the number of women and girls in prison in the State party. It takes note that a large proportion of them have been imprisoned for committing drug trafficking related offences, in particular for having transported drugs (mules) at the request of their partners. The Committee is further concerned at the precarious conditions and overcrowding of some detention facilities; the difficulties faced by women prisoners’ to access to justice, including the lack of interpretation services for indigenous women; the increasing reports of sexual violence in the prisons; and, the lack of adequate health facilities and services for female inmates, in particular pregnant women (Para 32). The Committee urges the State party to: a) Take measures to reduce the number of women in conflict with the law, including through targeted prevention programmes aimed at addressing the causes of women’s criminality; b) Address the situation of women and girls in detention through the development of comprehensive gender-sensitive policies, strategies and programmes, aimed at facilitating their access to justice and ensuring the respect of their fair trial guarantees, in particular for indigenous women; and providing educational, rehabilitative and resettlement programmes for women and girls; and c) Improve the conditions of women’s detention facilities according to international standards, to solve the overcrowding difficulties in the prisons, guarantee separate residence facilities for men and women inmates; and ensure the provision of adequate health facilities and services, in particular for pregnant women (Para 33). Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Country visit: 19 to 30 September 2011 Protocol published: 5 July 2012 Juvenile justice: From pregnant inmates and mothers with babies in prison, the SPT received allegations of lack of obstetrics care and delay in applying the necessary vaccines to infants, in contradiction with Brazilian laws (Para 48). The SPT recommends that pregnant women be given regular advice on their health by a qualified health practitioner. The SPT recommends that children living with their mothers in prison be provided with on-going healthcare services and that their development be monitored by specialists (Para 49). During its visit to institutions for children and adolescents, the SPT observed bruises and other types of untreated injuries. Injuries were allegedly dismissed and frequently covered up by medical staff as accidents. The SPT considers this to be in contradiction with ethical principles subscribed to by the medical profession.21Medical staff interviewed acknowledged the presence of guards in medical consultations with children or adolescents (Para 50). The SPT also received numerous and consistent allegations from children and adolescents of torture and ill-treatment suffered upon arrest and during police custody. Children and adolescents alleged that the torture and ill-treatment committed by the military police took place upon arrest and the methods included slaps, kicking and boxing on all parts of the body. A female prisoner reported that she had been raped by two police officers while in police custody (Para 80). As for the treatment in police custody, one inmate stated that the methods of torture used during his interrogation included suffocation by placing his head in a plastic bag, electroshocks, psychological threats and cold showers for six days. The SPT also received allegations of ill-treatment during police custody such as the obligation to sleep on the floor in a filthy cell without proper access to sanitation, water and food, and the denial of health care, including for children and adolescents allegedly wounded by the police (Para 81). The SPT received many complaints relating to the intrusive and humiliating search procedures in place for visitors, including elderly women and children, who were requested to undergo strip searches and intimate searches. Another recurrent complaint was the significant delays in issuing visitor cards (Para 118). The SPT recommends that the State party ensure that strip searches and intimate searches shall and comply with criteria of necessity, reasonableness and proportionality. If conducted, bodily searches shall be carried out under adequate sanitary conditions, by qualified personnel of the same sex, and shall be compatible with human dignity and respect for fundamental rights. Intrusive vaginal or anal searches shall be forbidden by law. Issuing of visitors’ passes should be sped up (Para 119). The SPT was concerned by allegations received that mothers with children in prison were deprived of their right to keep custody of their child after the age of two, who in some cases had been put up for adoption (Para 120). The SPT recommend that decisions to allow children to stay with their mothers in prison shall be based on the best interests of the children, and be based on careful individual assessment. The SPT further requests the State party to provide clarification on the practice of placing children for adoption, and on the application of child custody legislation in these situations (Para 121). UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Sir Nigel Rodley Country visit: 20 August – 12 September 2000 Report published: 30 March 2001 Pre-trial Detention: The Special Rapporteur received information on the “Unidade de Atendimento Inicial” of São Paulo, commonly referred to as Braz, where all juvenile offenders are initially taken for screening before being transferred to a FEBEM unit. It was reported that some minors waited for weeks and even months in basic conditions of detention (which were shown to the Special Rapporteur on videotapes) for their sentence to be pronounced. Minors were said to be held half-naked, sitting in complete silence on the bare concrete floor with their hands behind their heads all day long. It was reported that minors are beaten by guards if they break the rule of silence. Beatings and humiliations were said to be common. (para 42) (…) Padre Severinoi supposed to be a pre-trial juvenile detention centre and to be used as a place where minors are detained up to 45 days (see below) before being transferred to other DEGASE institutions, if necessary. The Director nevertheless recognized that 40 per cent of the detainees were actually serving sentences. The Director said that 90 per cent of the minors held at that time had access to education, at the same time admitting that only sentenced juveniles had access to educational and recreational activities. During his visit, the Special Rapporteur saw some youths taking lessons in different classrooms while three were working on sewing machines in a workshop. According to non-governmental organizations which visit juvenile detention centres on a regular basis, and as later confirmed by the minors interviewed, this was the very first time that such classes were taking place in Padre Severino. (para 62) Visits: Minors were said to be in the yard most of the day, from 5.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.. Only visits from their parents were said to be allowed, on Sundays. A number of the older youths complained about the fact that their wives and children were not allowed to visit them. A large number of the minors complained of having been beaten and slapped on the face by guards, allegedly because of attempted escape, fights between inmates or non-respect of the internal disciplinary rules, in particular the rule of silence at night which was said to include a prohibition on using the toilet. It was alleged that guards often asked them on which parts of the body they would prefer to be beaten. Some still bore marks, mainly haematomas on the head/face, shoulders and back, and also more serious injuries, such as open wounds, consistent with their allegations (see annex). Some were said to have recently been threatened with a gun by some of the night-shift guards. According to the information received, some children had spent up to two months in the punishment cells in which they were said to be locked 24 hours a day. They had to share a mattress with one or two other detainees. (para 64) UN Special Rapporteur on Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Leandro Despouy Country visit: 13 – 25 October 2004 Report published: 22 Feburary 2005 Lack of Access to Justice: Lack of access to justice is more of a problem for social groups who suffer from discrimination or marginalization. The Special Rapporteur heard many accounts of court cases involving people from these groups who claimed that the initial violation of their rights had been compounded by their victimization by the judicial system, which reproduces the same discrimination and the same prejudices in the administration of justice. The people most affected are children and young persons, women, people on low incomes, indigenous people, homosexuals, transvestites, the Quilombola, people of African descent, the sick and members of social movements such as landless workers and environmentalists. (para 24) ---------------------------------- Violence against children, including sexual abuse Committee on the Rights of the Child - Concluding Observations 2004 48. The Committee is deeply concerned at the high number of children victims of violence, abuse and neglect, including sexual abuse, in schools, in institutions, in public places and in the family. 49. The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Carry out preventive public education campaigns about the negative consequences of ill-treatment of children; (b) Take the measures necessary to prevent child abuse and neglect; (c) In addition to existing procedures, establish effective child-sensitive procedures and preventive mechanisms to receive, monitor and investigate complaints, including through the intervention of social and judicial authorities where necessary, to find appropriate solutions, paying due regard to the best interests of the child; (d) Give attention to addressing and overcoming sociocultural barriers that inhibit victims from seeking assistance; (e) Seek assistance from, among others, UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO). UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Last reported:12 June 2009 Concluding Observations adopted: 19 May 2009 Violence: The Committee is concerned at the prevalence of sexual abuse of and violence against children, particularly girls, and at the absence of information on measures taken to address this phenomenon or to assist child victims of abuse. (art. 10, paras. 1 and 3) The Committee recommends that the State party implement its measures against child sexual abuse, especially the abuse of girls,through, inter alia, monitoring, reporting, prosecution as well as through information campaigns targeting parents, communities and children. The Committee also recommends that instances of abuse and neglect of children be properly investigated within a child-sensitive inquiry and judicial procedure in order to ensure better protection of child victims, particularly the protection of their right to privacy. The Committee recommends that measures be taken to provide support services to children in legal proceedings, and for the physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of the victims of rape and other sexual abuse or violence. (Para 22) UN Special Rapporteur on Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Leandro Despouy Country visit: 13 – 25 October 2004 Report published: 22 Feburary 2005 Violence: It is alleged that cases of sexual abuse and domestic violence, including against adolescents, are not dealt with by the appropriate authority or with due care by the different actors in the administration of justice. On the contrary, in some areas a prevailing machismo tends to lay the blame on the victims of these offences. For example, one judge ruled in a case concerning the sexual exploitation and abuse of a 14-year-old girl that “she was no beginner when it comes to sex and was able and old enough to get away from her aggressor”. (para 27) The Special Rapporteur is deeply concerned about the cases of violence and sexual abuse involving individuals from the judicial and political spheres and shares the views on this subject of the Joint Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry of the National Congress, which was set up in 2003 to investigate violence against children and young persons in Brazil and the networks that sexually exploit them. The Commission reports as follows: “We find the involvement of figures of authority such as politicians and judges particularly alarming. As public officials, they can be expected to be committed to protecting society and rights in general, and the rights of children and young persons in particular ... The political influence of these individuals poisons the whole system of responsibilities, leading to absolute impunity for exploiters [of children]. It is difficult to file complaints, conduct competent investigations and try anyone who is charged ... In some cases the authorities are not directly involved in sexual exploitation but they are nevertheless accomplices either by omission or collusion. Graft becomes a factor in the impunity of many abusers who, even when they have been caught, manage to obtain their release thanks to local political influence.” (para 31) Report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Racism, Doudou Diène Country visit: 17 – 26 October 2005 Report published: 28 February 2006 Violence: Black women are also subjected to violence. Living in poor areas with very low revenues, they are the victims of drug dealers and domestic violence. They do not denounce their husband, out of fear of violent reactions: some have been burnt or shot by their husbands. Black women are also subjected to violence and exploitation as domestic workers: one fifth of them work as domestic workers, without the protection of labour laws, are underpaid and have no right to social security or other basic rights. Seventeen per cent of them are not paid. Generally in the labour market, black women are paid 40 per cent of a white man’s salary for the same work. Also, around 30 per cent of black women have been subjected to sterilization following a governmental policy. Some mothers live without knowing the fate of their children, as in the case of the mothers of the 11 adolescents from Favela Acari who disappeared in 1993: a military police officer is suspected of having killed them and although some evidence was found, the investigations got nowhere. Some mothers learned that their children had been killed, but no justice was rendered. (para 37) ---------------------------------- Committee on the Rights of the Child - Concluding Observations 2004 60.The Committee welcomes the Programme to Eradicate Child Labour (PETI), however it is deeply concerned at the high rates of informal employment of children, in particular in domestic labour. 61 The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Strengthen the Programme to Eradicate Child Labour by supporting income‑generating initiatives for the families of children attended by the programme; (b) Improve the labour inspection system and in particular empower it to monitor and report on the practice of domestic labour by children; (c) Provide former child workers with appropriate recovery and educational opportunities. UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Last reported:12 June 2009 Concluding Observations adopted: 19 May 2009 Child labour: The Committee is concerned that child labour continues to be widespread in the State party, despite the measures taken and the reduction in the cases of child labour for the 5-9 years age group.(art. 10, para. 3) The Committee recommends that the State party: (Para 23). (a) Intensify its efforts to combat child labour; (b) Ensure that child labour is effectively prosecuted; (c) Take measures to rehabilitate victims of child labour; (d) Provide, in its next periodic report, information on the steps taken to address the problem of child labour, as well as the impact of such measures. (Para 23) ---------------------------------- Violence against street children Committee on the Rights of the Child - Concluding Observations 2004 64. The Committee expresses its grave concern at the significant number of street children and the vulnerability of these children to extrajudicial killings, various forms of violence, including torture, sexual abuse and exploitation, and at the lack of a systematic and comprehensive strategy to address the situation and protect these children, and the very poor registration of missing children by the police. 65. The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Develop a comprehensive strategy to address the high number of street children, with the aim of reducing and preventing this phenomenon; (b) Ensure that street children are provided with adequate nutrition and shelter as well as with health care and educational opportunities in order to support their full development, and provide them with adequate protection and assistance. UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Last reported:12 June 2009 Concluding Observations adopted: 19 May 2009 The Committee is concerned that, despite the State party’s efforts to address the phenomenon of street children, many children continue to live on the streets where they remain vulnerable to abuse, including sexual abuse, and to other forms of exploitation. (art. 10, para. 3) The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Take effective measures to address the root causes of the phenomenon of street children; (b) Take effective and appropriate measures to ensure that street children have access to education, shelter and health care; (c) Address the sexual abuse and other exploitation of street children through the prosecution of perpetrators of abuse and the reintegration of victims into society; (d) Include information, in its next periodic report, on the measures taken to address the situation of street children and any progress made in this respect. (Para 24) UN Human Rights Committee Last reported: 6 and 27 October 2005 Concluding Observations published: 2 November 2005 Street children: The Committee is concerned about the situation of street children and the absence of information and measures needed to remedy their plight (arts.23 and 24).The State party should adopt effective measures to combat the phenomenon of street children and the abuse and exploitation of children in general, and establish public awareness-raising campaigns regarding children’s rights (Para 19). ---------------------------------- Discrimination against Roma Children UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Last reported: 23 February-12 March 2004 Concluding Observations adopted: 28 April 2004 Roma children: The Committee is concerned by allegations concerning discrimination faced by Gypsies with regard to birth registration and access to schools for their children. In the light of general recommendation XXVII on discrimination against Roma (Gypsies), the Committee invites the State party to clarify this matter (Para 17). UN Human Rights Committee Last reported: 6 and 27 October 2005 Concluding Observations published: 2 November 2005 Roma community: The Committee is concerned about the lack of information on the Roma community and allegations that this community suffers discrimination, in particular with regard to equal access to health services, social assistance, education and employment (arts.2, 26 and 27). The State party should provide information on the situation of the Roma community and the measures taken to ensure their practical enjoyment of rights under the Covenant (Para 20). ---------------------------------- Committee on the Rights of the Child - Concluding Observations 2004 71.The Committee welcomes the fact that social organization, customs, languages, creeds and traditions are recognized to indigenous communities in the Constitution of 1988. However, as noted by the State party, the Indian Statute promotes for an integration which is not in accordance with the principle of respect for diversity of cultures. The Committee also welcomes the fact that, according to law 10.406/02, indigenous people are no longer considered “relatively incapable citizens”. It also welcomes the efforts made by the State party to stimulate bilingual education. However, the Committee is deeply concerned by the low standard of living of indigenous children, low educational opportunities and quality of health services, and malnutrition. Report by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Indigenous People, James Anaya Country visit: 18 – 25 August 2008 Report published: 26 August 2009 Health: Extreme poverty and a range of social ills (even malnutrition and starvation in some cases) now plague the Guarani-Kaiowá and Nhandeva peoples of Mato Grosso do Sul. The state has the highest rate of indigenous children’s death due to precarious conditions of health and access to water and food, related to lack of lands. In 2007 the federal Government established the Dourados Indigenous Actions Management Committee, which has taken a number of initiatives to address the nutritional, health and other social welfare concerns of indigenous peoples in the state, through partnerships forged with various federal agencies and local authorities. (para 47) Also sexual violence, education...
of budgets at all levels, while devising policies that take into account the Committee’s General Comment No. 1 on the aims of education;
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 and the Guidelines for Action on Children in the Criminal Justice System.