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Summary: A compilation of extracts featuring child-rights issues from the reports submitted to the Universal Periodic Review. There are extracts from the 'National Report', the 'Compilation of UN Information' and the 'Summary of Stakeholder's Information'. Also included is the final report and the list of accepted and rejected recommendations. Haiti - 12th Session - 2011 Scroll to: National Report 17. The Republic of Haiti is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and a party to numerous international human rights instruments adopted by the United Nations, including: (e) The Convention on the Rights of the Child (ratified on 23 December 1994); (k) The International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention (No. 182) concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (ratified on 19 July 2007); Trafficking in human beings poses a major challenge for Haiti. A total of 173,000 Haitian children, 60 per cent of them girls, are used as domestic servants, a practice that has similarities with trafficking. Various measures have been taken to tackle this phenomenon: From the legislative point of view, a law on the prohibition and elimination of all forms of abuse, violence, maltreatment or inhumane treatment directed at children, which came into force in 2003, forbids the employment of children under 12 years of age as domestic servants. Moreover, Haiti has ratified the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, and an implementing bill on the subject has already been tabled before the Haitian Parliament. Another bill aimed at updating Haiti's adoption law has also been presented to the legislature and the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is in the process of being ratified. From the administrative point of view, a number of measures have been taken, including the establishment, in May 2003, of a Haiti National Police brigade for the protection of minors, the establishment of nine children's shelters in the country's departments, strengthening of the structures of the Institute of Social Well-Being and Research (IBESR), sensitization campaigns on the protection of child rights, the opening of a telephone line, commonly known as SOS Enfant, for alerting the authorities to cases of child abuse, and the establishment of family reintegration programmes for abused children living in permanent shelters. After the earthquake of 12 January 2010, child victims of trafficking were repatriated to Haiti through the joint efforts of the Haitian authorities and the International Organization for Migration. These children rejoined their families. 31. Haiti ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 23 December 1994. According to figures published by the most recent survey available on the subject (EMMUS-IV 2007), 81 per cent of Haitian children are entered in the civil registry. The registration of births is a major problem in Haiti and a series of measures have been taken to decrease substantially the number of unregistered children: From the legislative point of view, decrees were issued in 1995 and 2005 to allow late registrations using a simplified procedure. As a result of this measure, some four million individuals, including a significant number of children, have been able to register. From the administrative point of view, various sensitization campaigns have been run to encourage parents to register their children at birth, particularly in rural areas. The offices responsible for collecting birth registrations are currently being reorganized. On a trial basis, a birth registrar has been assigned to the main hospitals in three of the country's towns and a mobile birth registration officer has been appointed. New birth registration offices have also been opened in the country's communes. The phenomenon of street children, which exists mainly in Port-au-Prince, was exacerbated after the earthquake of 12 January 2010. Several projects have been developed to address this violation of the fundamental rights of children. As a result, it has been possible to accommodate some street children in shelters. Owing to lack of resources, however, the scope and impact of these measures have remained minimal. Access to health care, which is a fundamental right explicitly recognized in articles 19 and 23 of the Constitution, remains a perennial challenge for the Haitian Government. Indeed, measures taken to reduce infant mortality, improve medical services and deliver medical assistance to the highest possible number of people in the event of illness have had mixed results on account of the country's population growth and its political and economic difficulties. However, concrete measures rolled out in various campaigns between 1986 and 2009 significantly reduced infant and child mortality. HIV prevalence also markedly fell as a result of joint efforts by the Haitian authorities and the international community. The prevalence of malaria, which is endemic in Haiti, stands at around 3.5 per cent. There are currently 798 hospitals in the Haitian network (including university hospitals, hospital centres, health centres, etc.) and funding is awaited for projects to increase this number and improve nationwide health coverage. 51. After the earthquake of 12 January 2010 and the ensuing proliferation of camps for internally displaced persons, the Ministry took a number of steps to combat violence against women, including: The conduct of a quantitative and qualitative study in the camps on the scale of violence against women The organization of a national awareness and prevention campaign on the rape of women and girls in the camps The supply of motorcycles to the National Police in the Ouest, Sud-Est and Nippes departments in order to facilitate their work in the area of combating violence against women and girls The organization of training and awareness seminars for members of the Haiti National Police on the problem of violence against women and girls The organization of a training workshop for women trainers on medical assistance for women and girls who are victims of violence The establishment of a unit in the Ouest Coordination Office to direct women victims of sexual and/or marital violence towards institutions able to offer them support (psychosocial, legal and medical assistance, temporary accommodation and social reintegration of victims of violence and their children) The establishment of a system for the collection of data and periodic reports on violence against women and girls. Primary education is compulsory and free under the Constitution, but the Haitian State is not yet in a position to guarantee full compliance with this constitutional provision on account of its limited resources. However, a National Action Strategy for Education for All, covering five core areas for the period 2008–2015, was developed by the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training with the aim of: Promoting greater equity in the development and protection of young children. Promoting greater equity of access to formal and non-formal education/ 53. As part of the implementation of this strategy, there are plans to build 400 primary schools, together with full preschool facilities, by 2015. Before the earthquake of 12 January 2010, some 4,025 additional classrooms, accounting for 26 per cent of the current public school network, had been built or refurbished. After the disaster, in which a substantial number of schools were destroyed, various measures were taken with a view to reopening classes and holding State examinations. To that end, subsidies were granted to schools that had been damaged or destroyed and teams of psychologists were made available to traumatized students. In August 2010, moreover, an operational plan was formulated for the period 2010–2015 in order to adapt the aforementioned national action strategy to the post-earthquake situation. 54. A committee on educational adjustment and social support was established in 1993 with a view to undertaking activities for the integration of young persons with disabilities into the Haitian education system. Special pilot classes were incorporated into three public schools in order to take in students with mild psychological and mental disorders and learning difficulties. The number of students with disabilities passing the State examinations has risen substantially since 2007. 55. Poor nutrition has been diagnosed as a cause of failure at school in Haiti. A National School Canteen Programme (PNCS) was therefore developed in partnership with international cooperation agencies for the purpose of supplying hot meals to public schools and food for cooking to private schools that so request. 56. The President of the Republic, Mr. Michel Joseph Martelly, has made a firm and solemn commitment to education. An education support fund was created on 26 May 2011 and a geographical department was selected to pilot public policies designed to achieve universal education for Haitian children. A combined periodic report on implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was submitted in 2009. Haiti intends to submit within a reasonable time its outstanding reports to treaty bodies, in particular its second and third reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, due in 2007, and its fourteenth to eighteenth periodic reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, due in 2008. In order to resolve the problem of prison overcrowding, the Haitian Government has embarked on the construction of prison facilities complying with international standards, such as: Establishment of a juvenile unit in Port-de-Paix; The Head of State, President Martelly, officially launched the National Education Fund on 26 May 2011, with a sum of approximately $360 million over five years to fund free primary schooling. This Fund will be primarily constituted from levying a charge of 5 centimes on incoming international telephone calls and of $1.50 on money transfers. The levy on telephone calls should bring in $180 million over five years and that on transfers should guarantee about the same amount over the same period. In order to meet its international human rights obligations, the Haitian Government would welcome the support of the international community in the following areas: (c) Support for the refurbishment and construction of women's prison facilities and for the establishment of juvenile correctional facilities, as prescribed by law. 16. In 2011 UNICEF reported that several plans of action had been adopted particularly, the 2007 National Plan of Education for All and the 2006 Child Protection National Plan. 24. In 2011 UNICEF noted that de facto discrimination remained high against specific groups of vulnerable children such as girls, restaveks, children from poor families, street children, children with disabilities and children living in rural areas. 25. In 2003, the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was concerned at the persistence of discriminatory legal rules regarding children born out of wedlock, including the fact that they were denied the right to know the identity of their father. 26. In 2009 CEDAW was also concerned at the practice of incest or rape by fathers, uncles or other close adult male relatives of young girls on the pretext of warding off "other males the family does not know". 33. In 2011, the Deputy High Commissioner stated that the crowded and degrading conditions, the very poor sanitary facilities, and insufficient nutrition and access to medical services in prisons were shocking, in particular the fact that inmates have an average living space of just 0.6 square metres, that 60 per cent of inmates have been in pretrial detention, some for years, and that minors, some as young as 13 years old, are held in prisons, against provisions in Haitian laws. 35. In 2011, the independent expert reiterated that since the humanitarian crisis began, the issue of violence inflicted on women and girls had been at the heart of the international community's concerns. Numerous reports by the United Nations and national and international human rights organizations detailed the phenomenon of domestic and inter-family violence, the role of gangs operating inside and around the camps and the impunity with which the perpetrators of violence against women act. 37. In 2009 CEDAW had also raised concerns about the high number of women victims of traffickingi and had urged Haiti inter alia to intensify its efforts to combat all forms of trafficking in women and girls. 38. During his official missions in 2010 and 2011, the attention of the independent expert had been drawn to the situation of child victims of human trafficking within Haiti or abroad. An unresolved problem was that of the large number of illegal or undeclared children's institutions, where families sometimes left their children in the hope of ensuring that they received better care. However, the legal status of such centres was not verified and no assessment was made of the quality of care and accommodation provided or whether the institutions might be misused for commercial ends or trafficking. The independent expert recommended that steps be taken to exercise proper control with respect to illegal children's centres and that measures be taken to close facilities that do not comply with the relevant legislation. 39. According to the independent expert, children continued to face the threat of abduction, illegal adoption or sexual violence. A number of unaccompanied children remained in the camps, while others had been taken in by other families under circumstances that encouraged the practice of pressing them into domestic service, a problem that predated the humanitarian crisis and had been amply documented by experts and specialist organizations. The independent expert recommended that action be taken to implement his previous recommendations in the context of efforts to combat the placement of children in domestic service, together with the recommendations contained in the report by the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery. In 2003, CRC had expressed similar concerns-. 40. In 2011, the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations expressed the hope that the bill on the trafficking of children would be adopted as a matter of urgency. 41. In 2011, the Deputy High Commissioner called for greater resources to be devoted to the institutions charged with the protection of children, and also for the legal framework to be tightened so that incidents of human trafficking can be investigated and the traffickers held legally responsible, and for Parliament to place the required legislative initiative high on the parliamentary agenda. 42. In 2011, UNICEF reported that children as young as 10 years old were reportedly being used in areas affected by armed violence, to carry guns, serve as lookouts or to courier drugs. Children were reportedly being used, for instance, to provide early warning to members when security forces are conducting operations, carry weapons and intervene in armed confrontations, convey messages, act as spies, collect ransom during kidnapping, carry out arson attacks or destroy private and public property, as well as undertake various other services for the groups. 53. In 2011, UNCT noted that despite efforts to strengthen the civil registry, it continued to suffer from serious deficiencies. Access to birth, marriage and death certificates was extremely limited. Between 20 and 40 per cent of children were not registered. People whose homes were destroyed in the earthquake often also lost essential legal identification and property ownership documentation, while the destruction of government buildings and pre-existing problems severely limited the State's capacity to replace them. The falsification of documents was prevalent and combined with capacity and corruption problems to deny respect for related rights for hundreds of thousands of Haitians. 54. In 2003, CRC had already expressed concerns at the large number of children whose birth was not being registered and by the fact that the parents had to pay fees for birth certificates. 65. In 2011, UNCT noted that the majority of children in Haiti did not attend school before the earthquake due to the lack of resources and availability of public school facilities. Indeed, a large majority of educational services were delivered by the private sector and Government capacity and role as regulator of the public and private education system was very limited. This situation worsened with the earthquake, which also interrupted the education of nearly 2.5 million children. In many cases, children had lost parents who had been responsible for paying school fees. Despite considerable efforts in 2010, education services remained inadequate, inefficient and suffered from low standards. The lack of legal documentation for a majority of children prevented them from registering for national exams and accessing secondary or tertiary education. 66. CRC in 2003 and CEDAW in 2009 had recommended that Haiti inter alia continue its efforts to ensure that all children, especially girls, had equal access to educational opportunities, paying special attention to those living in rural and remote areas. 68. UNHCR noted that the earthquake exacerbated problems related to civil identity documentation, with larger numbers of the population at risk of statelessness. Although there was no quantitative data available, it was likely that hundreds of thousands of IDPs had lost their identity documents in or after the earthquake and were in need of new civil documents. Without adequate birth and civil registration systems in place, many protection risks were heightened, especially in relation to children (e.g. child trafficking, abduction and illegal adoption). 70. In 2011, UNCT noted that whether in camps or in host families, throughout the post-earthquake period, displaced persons faced problems of access to employment, health care, food and water, shelter and education. Women, girls and occasionally boys had experienced a heightened vulnerability to sex- and gender-based violence. The elderly and persons with disabilities had been identified by organizations and by national authorities as having even more restricted access to services. The UNCT noted however that human rights concerns affecting people living in camps or host families were often the same as those affecting the wider population, notably the hundreds of thousands of people living in slums. Joint Submission 1 (JS1) stated that Haiti had ratified several of the core human rights treaties and the core ILO Conventions but did not ratify the international Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention against Torture and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. La Plateforme des Organisations Haïtiennes des Droits Humains (POHDH) a recommandé à Haïti de ratifier la Convention internationale sur les droits de tous les travailleurs migrants et les membres de leur famille. 4. Amnesty International (AI) recommended that Haiti adopt and implement without delay a Children's Code incorporating the provisions of international human rights treatiesii, while Joint Submission 3 (JS3) urged Haiti to pass the law on the integration of persons with disabilities. 24. OPC a indiqué qu'un décret de 2005 avait modifié le régime des agressions sexuelles et avait éliminé en la matière les discriminations contre les femmes dans le Code pénal.iii POHDH a indiqué que la la loi-cadre sur la violence faite aux femmes n'avait pas été adoptée.iv AI referred to the adoption, in 2005, of the 2006-2011 National Plan to Combat Violence Against Women but indicated that little had been achieved in implementing these commitments.v POHDH a ajouté que les rapports sociaux de sexes basés sur les préjugés et la violence demeuraient un problème majeur. JS3 alleged that rape of women and girls had dramatically escalated after the earthquake. 27. AI, HRW, JS1, Joint Submission 9 (JS9) and Restavèk Freedom (RF) referred to the issue of child domestic workers (restavèk).vi Although a 2003 law prohibited the employment of child domestic workers, AI and RF noted that the phenomenon persisted.vii RF stated that this law failed to include penalties for violating the law.viii HRW stated that these children were often unpaid, denied education, and physically and sexually abused. Unaccompanied minors and orphans, who increased in number after the earthquake, were vulnerable to this form of forced labour.ix RF described the living conditions of these children and noted that the majority were girls.x RF notably recommended that Haiti enforce the law against restavèk and develop a plan of action, in consultation with civil society to address the root causes of the restavèk situation. 28. POHDH a rapporté que la traite d'enfants était un phénomène très important surtout à la frontière avec le pays voisin, lequel phénomène avait été accentué depuis le séisme.xi RF noted the complete lack of anti-trafficking legislation. 29. While noting that it was unclear whether or not corporal punishment was lawful in the home, Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children (GIEACPC) hoped that the review will highlight the importance of enacting and implementing prohibition of corporal punishment of children in the home and other settings. 33. OPC a indiqué qu'il existait un système de juridiction pour les mineurs et un centre de détention pour les garçons qui était en reconstruction et agrandissement suite à son effondrement.xii OPC a fait état de la formation académique dont les mineurs détenus bénéficient.xiii JS3 noted that, while the Penal Code prohibited the incarceration of children under 16 years old, younger children were routinely held in prison; minors were not segregated from the adult population; and that pre-trial detention was used to detain juveniles.xiv JS3 added that institutions of remedial education, as required under the Penal Code for children below 16 years, were non-existent. 34. JS3 notably recommended that Haiti establish at least 3 children courts in the country and develop alternative methods of holding children accountable for their illegal acts by focusing more on rehabilitation, and less on punitive measures. 38. OPC a rapporté que le cadre normatif régulant le régime familial était générateur d'insécurité et d'injustice sociale pour les enfants issus de la forme d'union prédominante du pays: «le plaçage».xv POHDH a recommandé l'adoption des lois sur le plaçage et la filiation et la paternité et la maternité responsable. 39. OPC a indiqué que la question de l'adoption d'enfants avait regagné d'intérêt après le séisme. HRW echoed concerns raised about improper processing of inter-country adoption in violation of domestic and international standards. 51. HRW indicated that, already weak prior to the earthquake; the health system had struggled under increased pressure.xvi OPC a indiqué que les besoins de 60 pour cent de la population en matière de santé primaire n'était pas pourvus.xvii OPC a rappelé qu'une épidémie de choléra avait frappé le pays depuis octobre 2010.xviii HRW stated that 4000 people died from that epidemic by early February 2011.xix JS3 stated that the Government's response to providing preventive services for children was widely inadequate.xx HRW recommended that Haiti rebuild the health sector to ensure access to universal primary health care for all. 53. JS3 noted that the earthquake left Haiti coping with a great number of physically disabled people, including children.xxi JS1 reported that many of these children were abandoned because of the costs associated with caring for them, and because of a history of shunning the disabled. 60. Asanble Vwazen Solino (AVS) and JS3 noted that the Constitution provided for free compulsory primary education. 61. OPC a indiqué qu'un Plan national d'éducation et de formation et un programme visant au renforcement de la qualité de l'éducation avaient été adoptés.xxii AVS noted that the earthquake destroyed or badly damaged at least half of the nation's 15,000 primary and 1,500 secondary schools and that the entire school system shut down for three months following the earthquake. Efforts to build temporary schools within camps were often blocked by landowners who feared that the camps will turn into permanent settlements.xxiii Istituto Internazionale Maria Ausiliatrice (IIMA) a indiqué que ces centres n'étaient pas adéquats.xxiv POHDH a indiqué que l'éducation était privatisée à 92 pour cent. Plus de 500 000 enfants en âge d'aller à l'école n'y avaient pas accès, le taux d'analphabétisme était élevé, le personnel était insuffisant et mal repartis, la formation des enseignants diminuait et les ressources didactiques de base étaient quasi-inexistantes.xxv IIMA a rapporté que la discrimination des filles était frappante pour l'accès à l'éducation. 62. HRW noted that, prior to the earthquake, only about half of primary school-age children in Haiti attended school.xxvi AVS indicated that school fees varied widely depending on the school, education level and whether the school was in an urban or rural area. While public schools had lower costs, numerous "hidden" fees—for school maintenance, uniforms, books, and teacher-salary augmentation—put even public education out of the reach of many parents.xxvii AVS added that rural areas had not insufficient and inadequately funded school, what constituted one push factor behind unsustainable population migration to more urban areas. 63. HRW recommended that Haiti develop and implement a plan towards the realization of universal primary education.xxviii POHDH a notamment recommandé à Haïti de créer des écoles primaires gratuites sur tout le territoire.xxix OPC a recommandé à Haïti de mettre sur pied un plan de carrière pour les enseignants.xxx AVS recommended that Haiti increase the national budgetary allocation for education to at least 25 per cent; implement special efforts, particularly in rural areas, to ensure that young girls are provided the same access to education as boys; provide instruction in Haitian Creole at all educational levels; provide, regulate and monitor training to all teachers in both the public and private schools; and adequately fund and build the capacity of quality control agencies. 64. JS3 referred to the difficulties met by parents to take their disabled children to schools and indicated that most schools in Haiti were not built with access for disabled children. 69. HRW added that the lack of security was a concern expressed by residents, notably women.xxxi JS3 stated that lack of access to adequate housing continued to affect the security, physical and mental health of children. 71. In 2010, the IACHR granted precautionary measures for all the displaced women and children living in 22 camps notably relating to medical and mental support and protection of victims and to the security in camps.xxxii A number of submissions, including IACHR, underlined the need for the participation of women in planning and implementing policies on violence in camps.xxxiii JS2 stated that it was critical for Haiti to implement the IACHR's recommendations and accountability mechanisms for human rights violations. 72. HRW recommended that Haiti continue to provide, and increase where necessary, security in camps to protect camp residents, especially women and children.xxxiv JS8 noted failure in protecting women and children in camps. Accepted and Rejected Recommendations The following recommendations were accepted: No recommendations were accepted. The following recommendations were rejected: No recommendations were accepted. The following recommendations were left pending: P - 88.5 Ratify the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention against Torture and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (Poland); P - 88.7 Ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Norway); P - 88.8 Consider ratifying or acceding to, as appropriate, the two Optional Protocols to CRC (Uruguay); P - 88.9 Sign as soon as possible the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Djibouti); P - 88.10 Continue its work to ratify the Law on Adoption and the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Honduras); P - 88.11 Ratify and implement the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Switzerland); P - 88.21 Adopt and implement without delay a Children’s Code incorporating the provisions of international human rights treaties, in particular the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, and ILO Convention No. 138 on the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment (Poland); P - 88.35 Ensure that the rights of women and girls are protected during the recovery process, including protecting them from violence (Australia); P - 88.40 Take the most appropriate measures to better protect children with disabilities (Djibouti); P - 88.42 Provide greater protections and assistance for member of vulnerable groups and uphold the rights of vulnerable groups by combating gender-based violence, child labour, statelessness, and human trafficking more broadly (United States); P - 88.49 Engage fully with civil society in tackling the issues of housing and justice, and women’s and children’s rights (United Kingdom); P - 88.60 Place emphasis on implementing strong policies to effectively fight all forms of stereotypes and discrimination against girls and women, thereby ensuring their right to social and economic security (Trinidad and Tobago); P - 88.64 Improve the conditions in prisons, try all persons held in preventive detention within a reasonable period of time and ensure that juveniles are not held in pre-trial detention (Slovenia); P - 88.73 Strengthen the protection of minors by providing separate places of detention for adults and minors, by supporting the activities of social organisations to combat child forced labour and by ensuring basic education for all (Belgium); P - 88.74 Take continued action to combat violence against women and girl children (Sri Lanka); P - 88.75 Undertake new actions to put an end to violence against women and girls and do its utmost to eliminate discriminatory practices (Luxembourg); P - 88.78 Take all the measures necessary, in particular by reinforcing the current structures, to play a leadership role to prevent and combat violence against women and children, including sexual abuses, especially in the displacement camps (Canada); P - 88.82 Provide better training to police when dealings with girls victims of sexual violence (Djibouti); P - 88.85 Adopt the bill on Trafficking of Children (Honduras); P - 88.86 Pass implementing legislation before the Parliament for the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (Australia); P - 88.87 Intensify its efforts to combat all forms of trafficking in women and girls through, inter alia, the adoption of the bill on all forms of trafficking, ensuring that the new law provides for the prosecution and punishment of perpetrators of such acts and the effective protection of victims (Uruguay); P - 88.88 Introduce legislation to prohibit trafficking in children (Djibouti); P - 88.90 Intensify bilateral and multilateral cooperation with neighbouring countries to combat acts of trafficking in women and girls (Uruguay); P - 88.91 Continue its efforts to combat child domestic labour and trafficking in children (Burkina Faso); P - 88.92 Take further steps to deal with the problem of child domestic workers and abolish children abuse (Turkey); P - 88.93 Take all necessary measures to eliminate the practice of children in domestic servitude, which had been referred to by the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery as a “modern form of slavery” (Sweden); P - 88.94 Reinforce measures designed to prevent and combat the widespread economic exploitation of children, in line with country’s international commitments, notably ILO Conventions No. 138 and 182, with particular focus on minors living in earthquake-hit and rural areas (Slovakia); P - 88.95 Review its legislation on the minimum age for child labour in order to avoid domestic exploitation (Democratic Republic of the Congo); P - 88.96 To put in place everything to combat child exploitation notably to follow up on the recommendations made by the Independent Expert on this subject (Luxembourg); P - 88.97 Take further concrete measures to improve the dangerous situation for street children (Sweden); P - 88.115 Improve the adoption system by ratifying the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption and reflecting it in internal regulations; strengthening resources for the social welfare institute (IBERS); banning individual adoption and implementing recommendations by UNICEF and the Action Plan suggested by the Montreal group (Spain); P - 88.126 Increase its efforts to make sure that all children have access to primary education, while continuing its partnership for the National School Canteen Programme to address the serious problem of child malnutrition (Thailand); P - 88.127 Prioritize policy measures towards achieving universal, free and compulsory primary education, paying especial care to children with disabilities and those living in rural areas (Slovakia); P - 88.128 Gradually increase measures to reduce illiteracy rates of boys and girls, and develop programs specifically aimed at reducing dropout rates using, perhaps, incentives for families through financial or food support (Uruguay); P - 88.129 Pay special attention to access to education of children with disabilities (Hungary);
13th October, 9am to 12pm
UN Compilation
Stakeholder Compilation
Accepted and Rejected Recommendations