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El Salvador- Twentieth session - 2014
27 October 2014 - 2.30 p.m. - 6.00 p.m.
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Accepted and rejected recommendations
III. Follow-up to recommendations from the universal periodic review
A. International obligations
6. In 2010, in reply to the recommendations to ratify international instruments, El Salvador undertook to engage in a multisectoral internal consultation process, with the participation of civil society, before referring such instruments to the Legislative Assembly, in order to give more substance to the legislative debates, thus creating conditions for effective implementation when ratification is completed. This exercise was carried out and civil society has had ample opportunity to state its position on ratification of the various international instruments.
7. In fulfilment of this undertaking, consultations were held between 2011 and 2013 with agencies and civil society on the following instruments: [...] (5) the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure [...].
B. Constitutional and legal framework
14. In addition, various pieces of legislation have been adopted, including: [...] (3) the Child and Adolescent Protection Act (2009), (4) the General Act on Young People (2011), [...]
(6) the Special Act on the Protection and Advancement of Salvadoran Migrants and Their Families (2011), [...] the Act on Promotion, Protection and Support for Breast- Feeding (2013)[...].
C. Fundamental freedoms, equality and non-discrimination
22. Technical guidelines for the promotion of the human right to health have been produced, along with complaint mechanisms for acts of discrimination and violations of the right to health, under the National Strategic Multisectoral Plan to Combat HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) 2011–2015. In 2009, a model for a preventive approach to HIV and discrimination was introduced in schools, for teachers and students, and associated teaching guides and an HIV prevention manual for teachers have been produced.
23. With regard to persons with disabilities, in 2010 the National Council for Persons with Disabilities was reorganized to allow for wider representation of civil society — by type of disability — and of associations of families of children with disabilities and foundations working with disability. The Council is to be responsible for drafting a national policy for persons with disabilities.
24. In 2009, in order to guarantee everyone’s right to an identity, El Salvador established a Hospital Family Status Register in 13 hospitals around the country and introduced a form for centralized registration of births for the State and private sectors. In October 2010, the National Registry of Natural Persons launched its identity fairs project, “Register for a better life”, which gives priority to rural areas and areas at high social risk; it has also run projects to guarantee the right to an identity for specific population groups, such as people living in the border areas defined by the International Court of Justice in its 1992 judgment giving dual nationality to residents of those areas, and children whose parents are in prison.
D. Administration of justice and public security
36. The Attorney General’s Office has a Special Prosecutor’s Unit for People Smuggling and Trafficking and has set up the “Missing Angel” (Ángel Desaparecido) alert system,14 which has a free hotline for reporting cases, to search for children and adolescents who may have disappeared for various reasons, including some form of smuggling or trafficking.
37. The Child and Adolescent Protection Act specifically refers to the right of children and adolescents to protection from trafficking and the National Policy on Comprehensive Protection for Children and Adolescents sets out guidelines for action against trafficking in children and adolescents and for guaranteeing and restoring their rights. Since 2009 the Salvadoran Institute for Child and Adolescent Development has run a shelter for child victims of trafficking, where they can get health care, psychological support, food and clothing and legal assistance.
38. As regards citizen involvement and consultation in the preparation of legislation, the Office of the Human Rights Advocate and civil society were encouraged to help in drafting the following legislation: the Sovereignty Act; the Food Security and Nutrition Act; the Public Media Act; the Community Radio Broadcasting Act; and amendments to the Consumer Protection Act. Women’s organizations and feminist organizations were involved in preparing the legal framework to guarantee women’s rights and the associated policies, and the National Policy on Comprehensive Protection for Children and Adolescents was drafted with help from children and adolescents, community organizations, State authorities and officials, care and support bodies, mothers, fathers, teachers, children’s representatives and church representatives.
41. In January 2010 the National Commission on the Search for Children who Disappeared during the Internal Armed Conflict was set up; it has resources to carry out its mandate and is a standing body. Between September 2011 and December 2013 the Commission resolved 36 cases, at an average rate of 1 per month.
Right to health
56. Technical manuals, guidelines and care and internal health-service regulatory protocols have been drafted or revised in order to guarantee rights-based health provision. Protocols have also been drawn up for action in cases of rape of adolescents.
57. The Ministry of Health has a strategic plan to reduce maternal, perinatal and neonatal mortality in 2011–2014, and this has enabled El Salvador to exceed the relevant Millennium Development Goal, which is to attain a maternal mortality rate equal to or below 52.9 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births by 2015; in 2012 the rate was 41.9 deaths per 100,000 live births.
58. Under the Women’s City sexual and reproductive health module, specialist care is provided to women for [...] gynaecological and dental treatment, nutrition guidance, health education, psychological care and post-partum paediatric care.
59. As to children’s and adolescents’ right to health, an inter-institutional monitoring committee has been set up as a forum for coordination and to help the health system adapt o the requirements of the Child and Adolescent Protection Act with regard to the right to life, health, social security and a healthy environment.
G.Women’s rights
60. El Salvador has constructed a national framework for equality, comprising, inter alia, the Act on Equality, Equity and Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Special Act on a Violence-Free Life for Women, which recognize women as rights holders and define femicide and other crimes related to gender-based violence. The Education Act and the Act on the Teaching Profession have been amended so as to facilitate the detection and prevention of gender violence in schools and a step-by-step guide to students wishing to report or make a complaint of sexual violence has been produced.
62. Amendments to the Criminal Code are now being considered in respect of the offences defined in article 201 (failure to fulfil child support obligations) and article 338-A (non-compliance in cases of domestic violence), with a view to reinforcing the protection of women and children from physical, psychological and economic violence. Consideration is also being given to an amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure, to add a new article 16-B stating that the Code is to be interpreted in a comprehensive manner, taking due account of the Act on Equality, Equity and Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Special Act on a Violence-Free Life for Women.
71. On the promotion of sexual and reproductive rights, the Policy on Sexual and Reproductive Health was institutionalized and a Unit for Comprehensive and Integrated Sexual and Reproductive Health Care was set up by the Ministry of Health to cater for women at different stages of life. In addition, the Child and Adolescent Protection Act incorporates children’s and adolescents’ right to receive sexual and reproductive health information and education in accordance with their physical, psychological and emotional development, to be imparted mainly by their parents.
82. Under the Act on a Violence-Free Life for Women, the Institute of Forensic Medicine is required to present annual indicators, based on the expert examinations carried out, of (a) the prevalence of cases of femicide, (b) the effects of physical, psychological and sexual violence on women victims of violence, (c) the effects of exposure to violence and assault on the children and adolescents in the care of women victims of violence, (d) an evaluation of the frequency, the objective danger presented by the aggressor and the risk of a recurrence.
H. Children’s rights
83. The State of El Salvador has made gradual provision for resources for the effective implementation of the Child and Adolescent Protection Act. In 2011–2014, resources were made available for the establishment of 15 child protection boards, 3 special children’s courts and 1 special children’s appeals court. In addition, family and children units have been set up in the Counsel General’s Office and Gesell chambers have been acquired, thanks to international cooperation.
84. In May 2011 the National Council for Children and Adolescents was established, with responsibility for the design and monitoring of the National Policy on Comprehensive Protection for Children and Adolescents, which was adopted in May 2013 for the period 2013–2023.
85. The Council coordinates the National System for the Protection and Effective Defence of Child and Adolescent Rights, which comprises the Council itself, local children’s and adolescents’ rights committees, child protection boards, associations for the protection and care of children, the Salvadoran Institute for Child and Adolescent Development, the Counsel General’s Office, the Office of the Human Rights Advocate, and members of the Shared Care Network, i.e., all civil society organizations and State agencies that work with children’s issues, which has made for a significant inflow of human, technical and financial resources.31
86. Policies and plans to protect children’s and adolescents’ rights have been promulgated: the National Youth Policy and Plan of Action (both for 2011–2024); the National Policy on Justice, Public Security and Civic Harmony (2010); the Inclusive Education Policy (December 2010) and the National Strategy for Prevention of Violence (2013). The Ministry of Justice and Public Security has set up the General Directorate for Social Prevention of Violence and for a Culture of Peace and, in 2012, the Office for the Prevention of Violence was set up by executive decree.
87. Under the National Policy on Comprehensive Protection for Children and Adolescents, the Council has several strategies to prevent and deal with violence of any kind against children and adolescents. In 2013 it launched the “Mark my life” radio, television and press campaign to inform and sensitize the population regarding children’s and adolescents’ right to physical, psychological and sexual integrity. A video, “Your rights, my word”, was also produced, with a view to creating a culture of respect for children’s and adolescents’ rights in El Salvador.
88. To improve access to education, the monthly subscriptions, and indeed all payments for education from preschool to secondary nationwide, including in rural areas, have been abolished and the proposal to make the State school-leaving certificate free of charge was adopted. The inclusive full-time attendance model has now been applied in response to the need to involve youngsters in community development projects, using a high-quality learning model that sets aside time for acquiring knowledge of other kinds, in a holistic approach to education. For implementation of this project the areas identified are ones where poverty rates are high and violence more frequent.
89. In 2013 work started on the design and implementation of a teachers’ strategy in support of inclusion, which is intended as input to inclusive education in schools and classrooms and as a boost to quality educational provision for students at risk of exclusion.
90. The Flexible Education Schemes Programme, which aims to ensure that students stay in school, is also having a positive impact on women as it opens up the possibility for them to complete their secondary schooling and move on to higher studies or technical training; between 2011 and 2012, 20,549 women in urban areas benefited from the programme, and 3,998 in rural areas.
91. Steps have also been taken to involve various sectors in the Literacy Plan and Programme across the country. The project is supported by bodies such as the National Literacy Commission and departmental and municipal literacy commissions. The overall rate of illiteracy in El Salvador has dropped by 5.23 per cent, from 17.97 per cent to 12.74 per cent.
92. The Child and Adolescent Protection Act and the National Policy on Comprehensive Protection for Children and Adolescents both apply the principle of equality as their guiding principle. The National Policy includes among its strategies and action lines extension of the coverage of programmes that foster the values of solidarity, tolerance and cultural identity in children and adolescents, and the development of educational curricula that take due account of the indigenous peoples’ traditional culture, aim to promote and strengthen their identity and sense of belonging, encourage inclusion at the local and national levels, with due respect for sociocultural differences, and promote and spread the use of the indigenous languages and artistic and cultural events of various kinds.
93. As regards action to promote non-discrimination and the rights of children and adolescents living with HIV, the National Policy provides for the launch of HIV awareness- raising, information and training programmes, for families, teachers, the staff of public institutions and the general public, in order to do away with such discrimination.
94. For children and adolescents with disabilities, the National Policy provides for action to ensure their inclusion, the recovery of their health and appropriate rehabilitation services. The National Council has devised audiovisual material on the promotion and dissemination of their rights, with the direct involvement of children and adolescents with disabilities, and has made accommodations at its main headquarters to ensure accessibility for persons with disabilities. Another significant event was the publication in 2012 of the Child and Adolescent Protection Act in Braille.
95. As to the inclusion of LGBTI persons, during the national consultations on the drafting of the National Policy on Comprehensive Protection for Children and Adolescents, a sexual diversity focus group of adolescents was formed to provide input to the formulation of strategies and lines of action.
96. In reply to the recommendation that El Salvador should amend the Family Code to raise the minimum age for marriage to 18 and define forced marriage as a crime, current family law in El Salvador makes the fact of being under 18 one of the absolute impediments to marriage.32 In addition, domestic law includes forced marriage as one possible component of the offence of trafficking in persons.
97. With regard to child labour, the Child and Adolescent Protection Act establishes a framework of regulations and safeguards aimed at the elimination of child labour and the protection of adolescent workers. In 2010 a “Road map to make El Salvador a country free from the worst forms of child labour” was published.
98. The National Committee on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, which was created in 2005 and is coordinated by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, is working on instruments to address and monitor the worst forms of child labour. Under the coordination of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, it has developed the National System of Information on Child Labour and devised a concept of child labour that covers its various types and its worst forms; it also makes applicable at the national level the guidelines contained in Ministerial Decision No. 241, issued in 2011 by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, which lists the hazardous activities and work that may not be carried out by children and adolescents.
99. A project on eliminating child labour in El Salvador by means of economic empowerment and social inclusion has been put in place for 2010–2014, in order to strengthen the capacity of various government agencies to plan and carry out action to combat child labour, and to promote strategic and effective action to deal with it. The project involves various civil society organizations and strategic players at the national level.
100. The Ministry of Labour has an inter-agency protocol on the prevention of child labour and the withdrawal of children and adolescents from child labour, including mechanisms for referral and coordination between the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and other key players; it defines the scope of action for agencies working to eliminate child labour.
101. The National Policy includes lines of action that constitute guidelines for the preparation of plans, programmes and projects to prevent and eliminate child labour and for the design of mechanisms for protection from child labour and from other activities for the purposes of economic exploitation.
102. As to school discipline, the Child and Adolescent Protection Act prohibits corporal punishment and abuse and physical and psychological ill-treatment of any kind; it also prohibits any form of punishment for students who are pregnant or become mothers.
I. Migrants and refugees
105. In 2011, in recognition of the importance of the Salvadoran migrant population, the Special Act on the Protection and Advancement of Salvadoran Migrants and Their Families was adopted; the Act established the National Council for the Protection and Advancement of Migrants and Their Families, which has been working since October 2012 with various government sectors, academia and civil society.
107. In 2012 a study on international migration, children and adolescents in El Salvador was completed and provided information on those who are left looking after children and adolescents when one or more of their parents migrate, and how they are affected; another study, entitled “Hope travels without a visa”, on young people and undocumented migration in El Salvador, elucidated the risks faced by youngsters who migrate without papers.
108. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has launched a Programme for Reintegration of Returning Migrants, which helps in detecting human rights violations and serious offences; it coordinates with the Directorate-General for Migration and Alien Affairs under the “Welcome home” programme, to ensure the best conditions for arrival by air of at-risk cases and children and adolescents, with support for care provision from the network of consulates and the Ministry of Health.
109. In order to safeguard the rights of migrant children, particularly when unaccompanied or in an irregular situation while in transit through national territory, they are referred to the agency responsible for their protection. If they are accompanied by a family member the principle of family reunification applies and they are dealt with in a migrant centre, where they are given medical and psychological care, food and recreation. The State of El Salvador recognizes the complexity of migration, and particularly the rise in the numbers of unaccompanied migrant children, and it is therefore the focus of inter- agency efforts, under the leadership of the National Council for Children and Adolescents, and a campaign entitled “Don’t risk your lives” has been launched to discourage children and adolescents from migrating.
L. Mechanism for follow-up of the universal periodic review
118. The above actions and measures were coordinated and carried out within the institutional framework that has been amply described in this report: the National Council on AIDS; the National Council for Persons with Disabilities; the National Council on Comprehensive Care for Older Persons; the National Council for Children and Adolescents; the National Council for the Protection and Advancement of Migrants and Their Families; the National Council on Trafficking in Persons; the National Education Council; the National Youth Council; and the National Council on Food and Nutrition Security.
L. Mechanism for follow-up of the universal periodic review
118. The above actions and measures were coordinated and carried out within the institutional framework that has been amply described in this report: the National Council on AIDS; the National Council for Persons with Disabilities; the National Council on Comprehensive Care for Older Persons; the National Council for Children and Adolescents; the National Council for the Protection and Advancement of Migrants and Their Families; the National Council on Trafficking in Persons; the National Education Council; the National Youth Council; and the National Council on Food and Nutrition Security.
M. Cooperation with United Nations special procedures and mechanisms: voluntary pledges and undertakings
121. In its oral presentation to the universal periodic review, El Salvador issued a standing open invitation to the United Nations special procedures, an invitation that also applied to Organization of American States (OAS) procedures, and as a result has had visits from: the Special Rapporteur on violence against women (March 2010), the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (August 2010), the Rapporteurship on the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty (October 2010), the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (November 2010), the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples (August 2012), the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (February 2012),[...] the Rapporteur on the Rights of the Child (May 2013),[...] the Special Rapporteur on human rights and disability (November 2013).
122. The following periodic reports have been submitted: [...] the initial report on the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (2010), the combined third and fourth reports on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (2010) [...]the initial report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2010), [...]and the second report on the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (2014).
I. Background and framework
B. Constitutional and legislative framework
5. Several treaty bodies welcomed the adoption of the Child and Adolescent Protection Act of 2009 (LEPINA). In 2013, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was concerned that the Act did not include specific actions to protect children with disabilities. The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) recommended its effective implementation.
6. In 2011 the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography recommended that the Government increase awareness-raising about and training on the LEPINA for all relevant actors; establish the legal obligation of the private sector (telecom companies, Internet service providers, search engines) to report violations on their networks and block access to offending sites.
7. In 2010, CRC recommended that El Salvador complete the harmonization of its national legislation with OP-CRC-SC, and criminalize the sale of children for the purpose of illegal adoption, for the engagement of the child in forced labour and for the transfer of organs of the child for profit.
C. Institutional and human rights infrastructure and policy measures Status of national human rights institutions
10. CRC was concerned that PDDH had suffered threats and recommended that El Salvador protect its activities from any undue interference or external pressure and follow up its recommendations.
III. Implementation of international human rights obligations, taking into account applicable international humanitarian law
A. Equality and non-discrimination
16. CRC regretted that discriminatory attitudes and social exclusion still affected children living in rural areas, indigenous children and children from economically excluded families. Adolescents were often mistakenly depicted as the main cause of violence affecting the country. CRC recommended that El Salvador address the stigmatization of children, especially adolescents.
B. Right to life, liberty and security of the person
19. The Working Group on arbitrary detention noted that, 20 years after the signing of the Peace Accords, there was widespread awareness of the need to continue to make progress regarding the observance and promotion of human rights and the establishment of democracy and the rule of law. The country had to deal with the organized violence of the gangs and groups involved in drug trafficking that had driven crime rates to particularly high levels. The Working Group noted the widespread impunity and the failure of the repressive policies. CRC was extremely concerned at the very high number of killings of children, many of whom were members of “maras” (gangs). It urged El Salvador to address the high level of crime and violence.
20. CRC shared the concerns of the Committee against Torture about allegations of torture and ill-treatment of children, especially in the context of the fight against gangs. It recommended that El Salvador take all necessary measures to prevent children from being subjected to torture and ill-treatment in all circumstances.
27. CRC recommended that El Salvador develop a comprehensive policy to prevent violence against children and expressly prohibit corporal punishment by law in all settings.
29. The United Nations system in El Salvador has reported that child labour among persons aged between 5 and 17 increased by 8.9 per cent between 2010 and 2012. In 2014, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) reiterated its concern at the persistence of child labour, especially in domestic work, and at reports it had received according to which large numbers of children of both sexes were working in hazardous jobs. The HR Committee and CRC expressed similar concerns. CRPD was particularly concerned at the exploitation of persons with disabilities, especially children, for the purpose of begging.
30. CRC recommended that El Salvador ensure that children were never exposed to any of the worst forms of child labour, combat the economic exploitation of children, and ensure that national legislation on the minimum age for admission to employment conformed to applicable international standards.
31. CRC was concerned at the increasing number of children working or living in the street and their increased vulnerability to recruitment by gangs. It recommended that El Salvador set up a comprehensive policy to prevent children from living and working in the street. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has expressed concern at threats and forced recruitment by gangs.
C. Administration of justice, including impunity, and the rule of law
35. CRC was concerned at the lack of a juvenile justice system in accordance with the Convention.
39. The United Nations system in El Salvador has expressed great concern at the attack on 4 November 2013 against the PRO-BÚSQUEDA Association for Tracing Children Missing as a Result of the Armed Conflict, in which information essential to the search for those children was destroyed.
D. Right to marriage and family life
41. CRC reiterated its concern that the Family Code still allowed marriage to be contracted by children as young as 14 years. It recommended that the minimum age for marriage for both girls and boys be set at 18 years.
42. CRC was concerned at the lack of birth registration, especially in rural and remote areas, and CRPD was concerned that children, adolescents and adults with disabilities living in rural areas remained unregistered and did not have identity documents.
43. CRC was concerned that there were not yet any formally established administrative procedures for adoption. It recommended that El Salvador adjust procedures in line with the Convention, OP-CRC-SC and the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of Intercountry Adoption.
44. CRC regretted that the number of children placed in institutions and care centres was high and was concerned at allegations of ill-treatment in some of those centres.
G. Right to social security and to an adequate standard of living
58. CESCR is concerned at the fact that the special health and maternity scheme for domestic workers, set up in 2010, is voluntary and does not cover other persons working in the informal sector.
H. Right to health
63. CRC was concerned that access to health was still a serious issue, especially in rural areas.
64. The HR Committee expressed concern that the current Criminal Code criminalized all forms of abortion, and that legal proceedings had been brought against some women seeking treatment in public hospitals. It recommended that El Salvador amend its legislation on abortion and suspend the prosecution of women for the offence of abortion. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and CRC shared similar concerns.
67. CESCR expressed its concern at the scarcity and inadequacy of sexual and reproductive health services, particularly for girls and women, which despite certain improvements continue to give rise to high maternal mortality and teenage pregnancy rates. It has recommended that the State redouble its efforts to bring down the high rate of teenage pregnancies and ensure the accessibility and availability of sexual and reproductive health services, particularly in rural areas. CRC expressed similar views.
I. Right to education
69. CRC was concerned at the decrease in the budget allocated to education; the low level of attendance of adolescents in secondary education, which increased the risk of them being recruited by gangs; the discrepancy in the access to education between urban and rural areas and between girls and boys; the persistence of illiteracy; and the high number of young girls and boys who dropped out of school. The HR Committee urged El Salvador to improve the attendance rate of children, especially that of girls in rural areas, at all levels of education. UNESCO encouraged El Salvador to continue its efforts in combating discrimination in education, particularly discrimination against girls and women, to intensify its efforts to address dropout rates, and to promote equality in access to education.
70. In the view of the United Nations system in El Salvador, secondary education is facing enormous challenges due to a lack of infrastructure and an atmosphere of violence which prevent travel to schools and raise the costs of transport associated with education.
71. The United Nations system in El Salvador has recommended undertaking an analysis of the latest progress and outstanding needs in educational programmes and planning.
72. The United Nations system in El Salvador has indicated that 23 per cent of women in rural areas are illiterate, compared with 18 per cent of men. This inequality in access to literacy according to gender and area represents one of the most serious challenges. Literacy training needs to be focused on women in rural areas.
73. CRPD was concerned at low school enrolment rates among children with disabilities. It recommended that El Salvador develop an inclusive education model.
74. The United Nations system in El Salvador notes that the goal of extending comprehensive sex education to 100 per cent of teachers still remains to be achieved. Another challenge is that of formalizing updates to the syllabus in comprehensive sex education for nursery and middle schools, at the Ministry of Education.
L. Minorities and indigenous peoples
81. The HR Committee was concerned at the marginalization of indigenous peoples and the absence of special measures to promote their rights. CRC was concerned at the discrimination faced by indigenous people in their daily lives and at their cultural invisibility.
M. Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers
86. UNHCR reported that between 2009 and 2011, over 90,000 Salvadorians had been deported from countries in North America, including a considerable number of children.
88. UNHCR noted that in the past months, there had been an increase in the number of families with children seeking asylum in El Salvador and that there had been a flow of separated or non-accompanied children deported back from North American countries. UNHCR recommended that the Government adopt formal child protection procedures, including for best interest determination, and consider the best interests of the child in all decisions throughout the immigration and refugee processes that affected children. CMW and CRC have expressed similar concerns.
89. CMW has expressed its concern at the discriminatory treatment to which migrant workers in an irregular situation are subjected in the east of the country, and it has recommended that all migrant workers and members of their families in the country enjoy the rights provided for in the Convention.
I. Information provided by the accredited national human rights institution of the State under review in full compliance with the Paris Principles
14. Significant efforts have been made to reconstruct the public-sector hospital network and increase health-care coverage. The fall in maternal mortality is positive: following 51.8 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2010, the figure was down to 44.3 in 2012.17 Nonetheless, investment in health care barely accounts for 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).
II. Information provided by other stakeholders
A. Background and framework
2. Constitutional and legislative framework
21. The Women’s Studies Centre (CEMUJER) noted that El Salvador had a significant legal framework in the area of women’s, children’s and adolescents’ rights, including the Child and Adolescent Protection Act of 2009, in force since 2012, the Act on Equality, Fairness and Elimination of Discrimination against Women, of 2011, and the Special Act on a Violence-Free Life for Women of 2010, in force since 2012. The enforcement of these laws was weakened by a lack of clear political will to follow up on them, including the fact that they include no specific budgetary allocations.
22. Joint submission 8 (JS8) recommended that the State should clearly define the budget for the implementation of the Child and Adolescent Protection Act26 and conduct a campaign to promote awareness of the Act and of mechanisms for access to justice for children and adolescents.
Institutional and human rights infrastructure and policy measures
24. CEMUJER stated that the weakening of the Salvadoran Institute for the Advancement of Women and of the National Council for Children and Adolescents was an obstacle to effective implementation of new legislation in that area. The Institute’s budget had been cut; furthermore, there had been unexpected and irregular changes in its policies and management.
25. Joint submission 6 (JS6) welcomed the adoption of the national policy for the comprehensive protection of children and adolescents but noted that the comprehensive protection system had not yet been implemented sufficiently to safeguard the best interests of children.
2. Right to life, liberty and security of the person
36. CEMUJER said that violence against women was escalating in El Salvador and that impunity and the lack of access to justice for victims were widespread. A rape was committed every three hours. In 70 per cent of reported cases, the victim was a child or adolescent; 90 per cent of the victims were female. A woman was murdered every ten hours and two of every three women who disappeared were subsequently found murdered. Intimate partner abuse also resulted in large numbers of deaths.
39. According to JS8, official figures showed that over 191,000 children were working in El Salvador and 110,626 of them were in situations of hazardous labour. Levels of child labour were higher in rural areas (62.6 per cent). The State had established a road map calling for the worst forms of child labour to be eliminated by 2015 and for all forms of child labour to end by 2020.
39. According to JS8, official figures showed that over 191,000 children were working in El Salvador and 110,626 of them were in situations of hazardous labour. Levels of child labour were higher in rural areas (62.6 per cent). The State had established a road map calling for the worst forms of child labour to be eliminated by 2015 and for all forms of child labour to end by 2020.
40. JS8 expressed concern at the lack of attention to children’s “labour-market integration” into organized crime and economic exploitation in rural areas; the latter made them vulnerable to health risks from exposure to agrochemicals. There had also been insufficient focus on domestic labour performed by girl children. JS8 recommended improved support for working children through programmes to help offer ways of strengthening family finances.
41. As for children living or working in the streets, joint submission 4 (JS4) expressed regret regarding the lack of integrated care and comprehensive studies on this issue and reported that street children were the victims of violence and sexual exploitation.55 JS4 recommended that the State should, pursuant to the recommendations formulated at the first cycle of the UPR, facilitate access to justice for children and adolescents living or working in the streets; combat the impunity of those responsible for any form of violence against children, including sexual abuse; and create awareness programmes on the prevention of child abuse.
42. JS4 drew attention to cases of unnecessary verbal and physical violence by police officers and the Metropolitan Police Force against children living or working in the streets. JS4 recommended that the Government should continue to respond to the recommendations formulated at the first cycle of the UPR and intensify its efforts to provide training in non-violent treatment of children living or working in the streets.
43. The Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children (GIEACPC) recalled that, at the time of its first UPR, the Government had accepted the recommendation that corporal punishment should be prohibited in all settings.61 Nonetheless, such punishment was not clearly prohibited in the home, other care settings and certain childcare establishments because the law provided for the right to “correct children’s conduct”. GIEACPC urged the members of the Universal Periodic Review Working Group to recommend explicitly to El Salvador that it should expressly remove the “right to correct” from all relevant legislative provisions.
Administration of justice, including impunity and the rule of law
44. JS8 noted that, beginning in 2010, some articles of the Juvenile Offenders Act had been replaced by more repressive measures, such as the increase from 7 to 15 years of the maximum period of detention for adolescents guilty of certain offences. There were no reintegration programmes and detention centres had insufficient infrastructure. JS8 recommended that the State should adopt a restorative justice approach for young people rather than a merely punitive one and should implement comprehensive tailor-made programmes which would take into account the characteristics of the detainee population and the prevalent environment of violence.
49. JS8 recalled that the National Commission on the Search for Children who Disappeared during the Internal Armed Conflict had been created in 2010. As of December 2013, 927 cases had been registered. Of those, 536 children were still recorded as disappeared, 389 cases had been solved and 239 children had been reunited with their families. JS8 said that it was regrettable that access to the files of the armed forces had not been obtained and that the Commission would cease to function on 31 May 2014. It recommended that legislation should be enacted so that the Commission could continue its work; the State should guarantee that all the registered cases would be resolved.
4. Right to marriage and family life
50. JS8, recalling that the Family Code had not yet been amended to raise to 18 years the minimum age for marriage, recommended that the relevant legislation should be amended to ensure that girl children and adolescent girls were not forced into early marriages.
51. JS4 noted that unregistered children had begun to be found in the streets; most of whom were the offspring of families living in the streets. It recommended that the State should protect the right to an identity for children living in the street, ensuring that their births were duly registered.
7. Right to social security and to an adequate standard of living
64. JS7 noted that the lack of suitable food was the main cause of the high levels of undernutrition, which mostly affected children aged from six months to two years. The main causes of poor nutrition were insufficient food production and the fact that much of the population was unable to meet its consumption needs owing to low levels of income and employment.
8. Right to health
68. JS7 stated that abortion was still illegal in all circumstances. This resulted in the continuing incidence of clandestine abortions, which were still one of the main causes of death among women. JS8 reported that teenage pregnancies had been declared an epidemic. In 2012, 25,068 girls aged between 10 and 19 had given birth in the country’s health-care centres. CEMUJER stated that in 2011, 43.3 per cent of 19-year-old women had experienced pregnancy and 26.4 per cent of the adolescent population had had abortions.
9. Right to education
73. JS4 stated that the Government had failed to fully implement the recommendations on education received at the time of its first UPR. For example, 3 per cent of GDP was dedicated to education while 22 per cent was spent on security. JS7 said that the enrolment rate for primary school was equivalent to 93.7 per cent of children but for secondary education it was only 35.4 per cent. Investment in education remained low, particularly for secondary education in rural areas. JS8 recommended that the State should increase its education budget to 6 per cent of GDP and ensure that education was inclusive and rights-based, with quality and respect. JS5 recommended that emphasis should be placed on rural education, which was currently the most disadvantaged.
74. JS3 drew attention to the climate of fear and anxiety affecting families that were forced to make payments to armed gangs. Children and adolescents were preyed upon by those gangs on the way home from school. The Education Ministry estimated that 335 schools were at high risk in that respect. cases of extortion reported to the police in 2013 totalled 954.
75. JS4 noted that school dropouts and reluctance to attend school were persistent and related to the problem of gangs. These criminal groups were constantly seeking to recruit children and young people and gang violence had a negative impact on school attendance. The Education Ministry had recorded 289 murders of students in the past four years. Large numbers of children were affected by social violence in the country, to such an extent that they were often forced to leave schools where they felt exposed to violence and insecurity.
76. JS5 recommended that the State should protect students both within and outside educational establishments to ensure that they were not subjected to harassment, extortion, kidnapping or rape.
77. JS1 reported that many students were the victims of bullying and that the State curriculum did not guarantee access to sex and reproductive education free of stigma and discrimination towards the LGBTI community. The State should adopt effective policies to eliminate harassment at school and safeguard the equal right to education for LGBTI people.
12. Migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers
81. JS8 recommended that the State should create social and economic opportunities to promote the development of families, employment opportunities, settled residence and quality education. The State should conduct high-level talks with countries having Salvadoran population groups to facilitate family reunification and thereby reduce risks to children and adolescents.
Accepted and rejected recommendations
The following recommendations were accepted by El Salvador
103. The recommendations formulated during the interactive dialogue/listed below have been examined by El Salvador and enjoy the support of El Salvador:
103.16 Put in place more concrete measures to combat violence against women and children (Thailand);
103.18 Improve the detention conditions of minor offenders, including better protection against institutional violence, and promote access to education and rehabilitation programmes to ensure future reintegration in society and full respect of their rights (Canada);
103.19 Continue its efforts to prevent children from being subjected to torture and ill-treatment in all circumstances (State of Palestine);
103.20 Genuinely articulate the Child and Adolescent Protection Act (2009), providing it with the necessary human and financial resources for its effective implementation at all levels of government (Spain);
103.21 Establish effective measures to implement the Law on the Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents so as to eradicate the violence suffered by children, girls and adolescents (Costa Rica);
103.22 Establish indicators to assess and follow up the effective implementation of the national policy on the protection of children and adolescents (2013–2023), adopt education policies to prevent dropouts at all levels and reintegrate deported children (Mexico);
103.23 Put further effort and attention into the prevention of violence against children, expressly prohibit corporal punishment by law in all settings, eliminate the worst forms of child labour and prevent children from living in the street (Estonia);
103.24 Develop a comprehensive policy to prevent violence against children, including all necessary measures to prevent children from being subject to torture and ill-treatment, to living and working in the streets and being subjects to threats and forced recruitment by gangs. (Germany);
103.25 Intensify efforts to eliminate, to a large extent, all possible forms of violence against children and institute comprehensive policies that guarantee the rights of children, including children with disabilities, irrespective of gender (Ghana);
103.26 Further develop and implement comprehensive policies to prevent violence against children (Turkey);
103.27 Promote measures aimed at preventing child labour and violence against children, in compliance with the ILO conventions and the other relevant international instruments (Italy);
103.28 Further strengthen the efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour, especially in the rural areas (Poland);
103.29 Continue its efforts to eradicate child labour in cooperation with UNICEF and relevant international organizations (Singapore);
103.30 Strengthen its policies relating to children labour and the elimination of the economic exploitation of children (Trinidad and Tobago);
103.31 Prepare and adopt a comprehensive policy to assist and prevent children from living in the street (Slovenia);
103.37 Further progress to overcome the causes of extreme poverty, a major factor in the cases of juvenile delinquency and human trafficking, especially of the young by a firm implementation of the 2013 national policy on trafficking in persons. (Holy See);
103.41 Ensure that all women and girls have access to sexual and reproductive health services (Spain);
103.43 Intensify efforts to better organize existing infrastructure and facilities relating to education so as to ensure that all children have equal access to education in both urban and rural areas (Greece);
103.44 Allocate greater budget to improving educational facilities, especially in the rural areas, and promote school enrolment at all levels (Thailand);
103.45 Step up its measures in promoting and protecting the rights of children living in rural areas including through ensuring equal access to education between children living in urban and rural areas (Malaysia);
103.46 Promote literacy, especially in rural areas, and focus these efforts on women and girls (Estonia);
103.47 Work on increasing the attendance rate of children at all levels of education, also with the aim of hampering and weakening the capability of criminal organizations to attract youngsters in the vicious circle of illegal activities and violence (Italy);
103.48 Strengthen its efforts to address the discrepancies in access to education between girls and boys, as well as the high drop-out rates from schools (Portugal);
103.49 Further develop more inclusive school programmes to ensure better integration of children with disabilities and indigenous children (Angola);
103.50 Further promote education for children, especially in the rural areas and at secondary level (Sierra Leone);
103.51 Establish an effective policy to guarantee the implementation of non- discriminatory sex education throughout the education system and at all levels, in line with current up-to-date scientific information and from a human rights approach (Colombia);
103.52 Continue strengthening its institutional framework in conformity with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of));
103.53 Continue its efforts in providing the necessary care for persons with disabilities, including children with disabilities (Malaysia);
103.58 Adopt official procedures to establish the best interests of the child in all processes, in particular in those referring to immigration and refugees, using as a guideline, inter alia, general comment No. 14 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (Chile);
103.59 Support the ongoing process of protection of children and adolescents by raising awareness of the ramifications of illegal migration, and provide for the adequate care and facilities necessary for their repatriation and reintegration into society (Egypt);
103.60 Implement a national programme to support minors, to reduce the flows of migration (Russian Federation);
103.61 Cooperate at the regional level to find a solution to the very serious problem of the growing number of unaccompanied minors from El Salvador that immigrate to other countries of the region (France).
104. The following enjoy the support of El Salvador, which considers that they are already implemented or in the process of implementation:
104.4 Develop a comprehensive policy in order to remove obstacles to the effective implementation of existing laws protecting women and children (Norway);
104.5 Enforce existing legislation on women’s, children’s and adolescents’ rights (Sierra Leone);
104.6 Continue and strengthen actions put in place to improve the rights of children and women, and the right to health for all its population (Cuba);
104.7 Continue implementation of the national policy for a comprehensive protection of children and adolescents for the period 2013–2023 (Algeria);
104.8 Allocate adequate resources for programmes ensuring the full enjoyment of the rights of children and adolescents (Australia);
104.9 Take all necessary steps towards the full implementation of the national system of integral protection of children and adolescents, including through appropriate funding, as provided for in the national policy for the promotion of the integral protection of children and adolescents (Brazil);
104.10 Promote greater participation and empowerment of young people in decision-making processes that contribute to the development of the country (Nicaragua);
104.19. Take all necessary steps to ensure the effective implementation of legislation seeking to combat violence against women and girls, and take specific measures to protect those who are victims of violence based on their sexual orientation and gender identity (Ireland);
104.20 Take all necessary measures to guarantee the full and effective implementation of laws on the protection of women and girls so as to strengthen the rights of victims, but also to fight against the impunity of perpetrators of violence against them (Luxembourg);
104.24 Continue to implement legal and administrative measures to protect women and girls from domestic and sexual violence (Singapore);
104.25 Strengthen the implementation of the Law for Integral Protection of Children and Adolescents (Germany);
104.26 Consider conducting a campaign to promote awareness of the Child and Adolescent Protection Act of 2009 and of the mechanisms for access to justice for children and adolescents (Poland);