Summary: This report extracts mentions of children's rights issues in the reports of the UN Special Procedures. This does not include reports of child specific Special Procedures, such as the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, which are available as separate reports.
Please note that the language may have been edited in places for the purpose of clarity.
Français
Scroll to:
____________________________
Independent Expert on the human rights situation in Chad
Mónica Pinto
(E.CN.4/2005/121)
Country visit: 7-17 October 2004
Report published: 27 January 2005
- Juvenile justice: detention of minors. The prison, which was inherited from colonial times, houses around 900 persons, including 20 women and a dozen minors. More than half the inmates are awaiting trial. The perimeter is guarded by 15 members of the security forces whose role is limited to ensuring security along the perimeter. Inside, the prison is run by the inmates. The prisoners are organised in a hierarchy on the basis of the prevailing power structure. At the time of the Independent Expert's visit, women, girls and their children were housed in a separate wing. The same was true of minors, though the CNDH report states otherwise. A group of former officials were also held separately from the remaining prisoners. The authorities indicated that there is a 24-hour clinic with only one nurse. Visits to prisoners have to be paid for, except in the case of lawyers. It is worth noting the disparity between the amount indicated by the Director, on average 100 CFA francs [around 20 US cents], and that mentioned in the CNDH report, of between 500 and 700 CFA francs; each prisoner pays 50 CFA francs by the State; it consists largely of ground millet rolled into balls (paragraph 27).
- Attacks on young women. Many comments were received during the field mission concerning religious intolerance, which is growing daily. The Independent Expert was told that non-Muslims are attacked when they wear Western clothes - especially young women - or otherwise behave in a non-Islamic manner. Sometimes, distrust grows between the Christian and Muslim communities. The secular State does not seem capable of handling this situation. At all events, the administration marks the Muslim holy day on Friday as well as observing Saturday and Sunday as days of rest (paragraph 39).
- Discrimination against women and girls. There is no gender equity in Chad. In Chadian tradition, girls are brought up with a view to marriage. Yet at home and in family relations, the division of responsibilities generally favours the man. The roles are not interchangeable. During conversations in the refugee camps in Farchana region, where the population belongs to the same ethnic groups as in Chad, men complained that women who left the camp to collect wood were raped. Yet it occurred to none of them to accompany the women in future or even to carry out the task in their place (paragraph 50).
- Forced and early marriage, and female genital mutilation. Article 9 of Act No. 006/PR/2002 on the promotion of reproductive health prohibits all forms of violence such as female genital mutilation, early marriage, domestic violence and sexual abuse of individuals. Yet matters are different in practice. Information supplied by the Association of Women Jurists, which is a component of the women's associations' Liaison and Information Unit, and the explanations given to the Independent Expert by the Chair of the Higher Council of Islamic Affairs, are inconsistent. While the women lawyers argue for women's right to inherit from their husbands and not to marry against their will, the Higher Council of Islamic Affairs maintains that "in our Chadian customs, there is no forced marriage". Indeed, it points out that a father must consult his daughter before giving her in marriage. Yet the national poverty reduction strategy indicates that, even if the law permits girls to marry from the age of 13, 30 per cent of women say they were forced to marry against their will (paragraph 51).
Lastly, according to the Islamic authorities, only natural excision is permitted under Koranic law, which also offers a justification for it. While the political authorities did not wish to speak of excisions "as they are forbidden by law", the Muslim authorities emphasised that there are no cases where such practices are refused or rejected. Neither side accepted or commented on the arguments put forward by the Independent Expert concerning the possibility of improving sterilisation of the instruments used in such practices, or the possibility that they might be carried out in hospital (paragraph 53).
- Discrimination against girls in education. As a result of socio-cultural inertia, women are viewed as mothers, spouses and housewives, so that they hardly participate at all in national decision-making. In October 1999, 30 per cent of women explained that their husbands did not want them to work, and 21 per cent said that their husbands refused to allow them to go to their work. This view of society gives rise to discrimination in favour of boys at the time of school enrolment. In this way, women receive no education, even though they make up the largest part of the country's labour force, and this holds back output. They are generally unable to own or inherit land. Yet it is they who have to cope when poverty worsens (paragraph 55).
- Illiteracy/low enrolment. It was emphasised during almost all the meetings attended by the Independent Expert that one of the causes of underdevelopment and failure to respect human rights is the fact that 80 per cent of the population is illiterate. Infrastructure is inadequate. Chad has 3,653 primary schools, of which 3,100 are in the interior, 209 secondary schools and 36 high schools. On average there are 70 pupils per class and per teacher. Only 57 per cent of children aged between 6 and 11 go to school. The school curriculum does not correspond to the needs of the country or to the modern age (paragraph 60).
____________________________
Representative of the Secretary General on the human rights of internally displaced persons
Walter Kälin
(A/HRC/13/21/Add.5)
Report published: 22 December 2009 (Translated from French by CRIN)
- Impunity and violence against children. As stated in the Secretary-General's report to the Security Council, the human rights situation in Chad remains worrying, especially the impunity prevailing in the east which severely limits humanitarian access and action. Many reports have also highlighted cases of violence against vulnerable groups, particularly displaced children and women by armed opposition groups, the militarisation of sites of internally displaced persons (IDP) and the forced recruitment of children in the sites and surrounding areas (paragraph 27).
- Insufficient State Infrastructure. The Representative regrets that today the Chadian State is not present in a satisfactory manner in areas affected by displacement, which would allow to meet the needs for assistance and protection of displaced persons who are under its jurisdiction. Taking into account the recent construction of 26 schools, 15 literacy centres, kindergartens and several community health centres in the east, and being aware of the limited resources of a country affected by armed conflict, the Representative regrets the absence of a legal framework, a government strategy, a clear allocation of responsibility and a clear mechanism for effective coordination with a strong presence on the ground. It also regrets the lack of budgetary contributions provided for activities for the displaced. The Representative recalls that Chad became an oil exporter in 2003, a highly profitable economic activity, and, in this context, he believes that the Government should use part of that revenue to fund activities for displaced persons (paragraph 35).
- Children involved in armed conflict. The Representative was also informed of the militarisation and the loss of the humanitarian nature of IDP camps near the border between Sudan and Chad by the various parties to the conflict. The presence of armed groups in and around sites has led to higher levels of forced recruitment of children, gender-based violence and in some refugee sites, the suspension of humanitarian aid because of the insecurity (paragraph 58).
The Representative is particularly concerned by reports that displaced children are still being recruited by armed groups, sometimes at a very young age. In this regard, the Representative was informed that on 1 November 2008, five children between the age of 13 and 16 were recruited by the Chadian National Army (Armée Nationale Tchadienne, ANT) on the IDP site of Koubigou. He is also worried about the reports received on the sale of children to armed forces, which is a serious human rights violation. He reminds the Government, as a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its two Optional Protocols, of its obligation to prosecute all violations against children's rights. In addition, the Representative notes that the weakness of school infrastructure, the inadequate education provided, the lack of extracurricular activities and vocational education makes children an easy target for armed groups (paragraph 60).
In this context, the Representative welcomed the memorandum of understanding on the protection of child victims of armed conflict and their long-term reintegration into their communities and their families, signed in April 2007 between the Government of Chad and UNICEF, under which both parties have agreed to work together to ensure protection and services to children associated with armed forces of the ANT and armed groups. It urges the Government to take immediate steps to facilitate the demobilisation of children in all parts of the ANT and other Chadian security forces, and child soldiers identified among the fighters as prisoners of war in clashes in early May 2009. In this regard, he calls on all concerned actors to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, to proceed urgently with the demobilisation of children and to refrain from any attempt to enlist them in armed groups (paragraph 61).
Finally, the Representative is concerned about reports received in 2008 about 95 people, most of whom would be displaced children who became victims of attacks on their physical integrity by the explosion of mines or unexploded ordinance (paragraph 64).
- Birth registration. The Representative expressed his concerns about the fact that the majority of displaced children do not have a birth certificate and about the recurring problems of birth registration, including those of Sudanese children and other children born in the Republic of Chad who, however, have the official right to be registered and acquire Chadian nationality. In accordance with the recommendation of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Representative encourages the Government of Chad to continue its registration efforts, even if late, of the birth of all children, including children of refugees, especially Sudanese children born in the country and displaced and nomadic children (paragraph 63).
- Gender-based and sexual violence. The gender-based violence, including rape by armed groups or members of their communities, early marriage, female genital mutilation and domestic violence suffered by displaced girls and women, remain a real challenge. But violence cases based on gender remain very poorly documented and require more attention from the Chadian authorities and the international community in order to provide better protection for displaced women and girls (paragraph 65).
In this context, the Representative welcomes the fact that this issue is specifically provided in the mandate of MINURCAT, the recent deployment of an OCHA expert on gender in Abeche and the beginning of a mission by the NGO International Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), which aims to assess the situation of women and girls in displacement sites. It encourages the Government of Chad to systematically gather qualitative and quantitative data on gender-based violations and put in place the strategies and legislative measures needed to address the issue of sexual violence (paragraph 66).
- Education and access to medical care. Regarding the issue of education, the Representative notes with concern that many children are deprived of their rights for reasons that are in themselves violations of child rights, such as early marriage, forced recruitment or child labour. Currently 40% of displaced children are not enrolled in primary school. Moreover, in many cases children have no access to medical and health services, including routine immunisation and follow up on their malnutrition. Pending the securing of areas of return, the Representative encourages the Government and development actors to facilitate the integration of the displaced persons by the host communities and implement self-sufficient programs that benefit communities affected by the move (paragraph 69).
____________________________
