DENMARK: Children's Rights in the UN Special Procedures' Reports

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.

UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Manfred Nowak

(A/HRC/10/44/Add.2)

Date of visit: 2-10 May 2008
Report published: 18 February 2009

Mr Nowak identified the following concerns:

• The use of solitary confinement must be minimised, in accordance with the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. (para 44, p.16)

• Female genital mutilation remains a concern. Mr Nowak notes that in June 2008, a Danish couple of Sudanese origin were arrested on suspicion of having taken their two daughters to Sudan in 2003 for circumcision. (para 51, p.18)

Mr Nowak highlighted the following successes:

Initiatives to accommodate the special needs of children of imprisoned parents. Mr Nowak highlighted the Government's liberal visiting policies, and its efforts to encourage contact between prisoners and their children by establishing a child-friendly environment, such as play areas and family rooms where inmates may stay together with their partner and children. (paras 31, 32, 72 pp.12, 25)