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Summary: A compilation of extracts featuring child-rights issues from the reports submitted to the first 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.
Jamaica - 9th Session - 2010
8th November, 2.30pm to 5.30pm
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National Report
Compilation of UN information
Summary of Stakeholder information
Accepted and rejected recommendations
16. As of December 2009, the Government has invested in the developmental needs of 320,000 beneficiaries, 70 percent of whom are children (ages 0 – 18). While the main beneficiaries of the Programme are children, it also benefits the elderly, persons with disabilities, pregnant and lactating women, and a small number of indigent adults of working age.
21. Although there are socio-economic challenges which affect the ability of some individuals to fully access education facilities, public primary education in Jamaica continues to be free and is mandated by law. Over the past 5 years, enrolment rates at the primary level have been consistently high, growing from 95.9 per cent in 2004/05 to full enrolment in 2009.4 In an effort to ensure continued universal access at the primary level, there are ongoing efforts aimed at, inter alia, infrastructural development, providing nutritional and educational material support, as well as increasing the cohort and enhancing the quality of teaching and learning in the education system. It should also be noted that the Ministry of Education provides textbooks free of cost to primary schools.
22. A School Feeding Programme has been in existence since 1976 to provide needy students with nutritional support to encourage attendance at school and to enhance their learning capabilities. The School Feeding Programme, which is totally financed by the Government of Jamaica, is an integral part of the Government’s Social Safety Net Programme. It is progressively being expanded to reach more needy children as the Government strives to improve basic and primary education. Private Sector Organizations, through the Adopt-A-School Programme, are encouraged to assist in the school feeding programme.
23. In 2007, tuition fees at the secondary level5 were abolished in an effort to ensure that all Jamaican children can access public secondary education. Although the Government still endorses the subscription of auxiliary fees, its policy is that no child should be denied access to schooling on the basis of the non-payment of fees. The number of students enrolled in secondary institutions saw a 1.6 per cent increase over the 2007/08 academic year. The Government has also made a policy commitment to ensure universal access for all secondary level students by 2016 and to retain students at the secondary level until the age of 18. Scholarships are awarded by the Government and private sector organizations to provide financial support to students for the duration of their secondary level education. Students can also obtain textbooks under a loan programme.
26. There is a National Cultural Policy (2003) that seeks, inter alia, to promote cultural diversity in Jamaica. To this end, the Policy encourages participation in areas such as the celebration/commemoration of indigenous cultures as well as the promotion of folklore and traditional knowledge as part of the school curriculum and community based organizations.
27. It should also be noted that there is a Culture in Education Programme (CIEP) which seeks to enrich curriculum delivery by using culture as the context, content and methodology for learning. The Programme, which began in 2002, seeks to ‘ground’ children in the realities of the Jamaican culture through the performing arts. The Programme also seeks to encourage the study of, reflection on, and use of national images, symbols, heroes as well as participation in commemorative and celebratory events marking local and national achievements.
38. The Government of Jamaica, through its policies and programmes has adopted the lifecycle approach from childhood to youth development. The Child Care and Protection Act of Jamaica (2004) defines children as those from 0-18 years of age. However, the specific cohort which is defined as Youth, falls within the age group 15-24 years, as specified in the National Youth Policy. This accords with the Commonwealth Youth Programme’s definition of Youth as 15 -24 years. The Youth population as defined by the United Nations is 15 -18 years.
39. The group 0-24 years which covers children and youth represents 44% of the Jamaican population and therefore has been a focal point in social development programmes. This is a very diverse group with diverse challenges and opportunities and is not homogeneous in any way.
40. Policies and programmes are designed and implemented using a three-pronged integrated approach - Childcare and Protection, Education, and Socio –cultural and economic development. There are various policies and programmes in place and are being implemented by Government Ministries, Agencies and Departments, Quasi governmental groups and civil society groups supported by international partners.
41. The Act of 2004 seeks to protect children from acts of abuse, neglect, exploitation and ill treatment and also makes provision for educational, physical, religious and emotional needs of the child. Parental and state responsibilities in the welfare of the child are defined in the Act. Applicable penalties for breaches and failure to discharge these duties are outlined.
42. The government, through legislation and various regulations have instituted and strengthened its institutional framework to effectively implement and monitor the care and protection of children. The following are examples of such institutions in place:
• The Child Development Agency (CDA) – The primary government Agency charged with the responsibility for children in need of care and protection particularly those who have been abused, neglected and abandoned and those with behavioural challenges. At the end of 2009 there were just over 5,900 children in state care – Foster care, Family reintegration, at home supervision order, private and government operated children’s Homes and Places of Safety.
• The Office of the Children’s Advocate (OCA) was established pursuant to the Child Care and Protection Act and became operational in 2006. The primary role of the OCA is to advocate for the rights of children, providing legal representation and bringing non-criminal court proceedings on behalf of children or in the best interest of the child. The OCA also receives complaints and conduct investigations into allegations made by or on behalf of children. During 2009 the OCA received just over 300 direct complaints from children and on behalf of children, all of which are being reviewed and many have already been completed.
• The Office of the Child Registry was established in 2007 primarily to receive, record and provide referral services and direction for all complaints and reports on child abuse and neglect. During 2009 the OCR received approximately 6,150 reports.
This represented a significant increase over the previous period. One of the contributing factors is the increased advocacy and vigilance on behalf of the rights of children and the success of the public education and media campaign. Reports received are referred to the: CDA, OCA and JCF Centre for Investigation of Sexual Offenses and Child Abuse (CISOCA).
• Examples of Other interventions are: The Child Pornography Prevention Act 2009; the Cybercrimes Act 2010; the Sexual Offences Act and the Sexual Offenders Registry.
• There are also several policies and plan of action that have emerged from the various legislation while others are in the developmental phase. Many monitoring systems and various institutions and strategies have been implemented to mitigate the risk to which children are exposed. Despite these initiatives and interventions, the Government of Jamaica and the Jamaican society is challenged by the number of cases that have been outlined, and the Government continues to work assiduously to address these issues in a coordinated manner with involvement of national parenting bodies and other civil society groups and institutions.
43. The National Centre for Youth Development (NCYD) was established in 2000 and is the government department with responsibility to monitor the implementation of the National Youth Policy. The key principles underpinning the work of the NCYD are the rights of the youth to opportunities to optimize their growth and development and the right to participation in decision making that affects their well being.
44. There are currently five Youth Information Centres that are managed by the NCYD and caters exclusively to the needs of young persons, enhancing their access to services and information through the use of computers and peer mentoring. An additional five centres are under construction in selected urban areas.
58. Although suspended, the Hospital-Based Child Abuse Mitigation Project, which was established by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with UNICEF from 2004 to 2008, was considered a best practice model - the only of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean9. The project sought, inter-alia,
• to develop and implement a hospital-based model to identify and refer victims of violence;
• to improve parenting skills and conflict resolution; and
• to develop and implement an intervention model within the child’s environment
(home, school, church).
60. The Early Childhood Commission and the Ministry of Health have been working together to develop a Child Health and Development Passport for Jamaica under the National Strategic Plan for Early Childhood Development. The Passport (CHDP) will be used to monitor the growth and development in children from birth to seventeen (17) years as well as provide anticipatory guidance for parents/guardians.
61. The country has made progress in reforming the education sector. Since 2009, the Government has embarked on a Competence-Based Transition Policy that is designed to ensure that students transitioning from the primary to the secondary level are capable of doing so based on their demonstrated skills and competencies.
62. Human Rights is addressed and recognised as an important aspect of the educational curriculum. Among the issues to which children are exposed are the rights of the child, the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees, as well as the rights and freedoms of citizens as contained in the Jamaican Constitution.
77. The Government is also working to reverse the current practice of the incarceration of children in police lock-ups and to implement measures to protect children in juvenile correctional facilities, in keeping with recommendations emanating from the Commission of Enquiry on the Armadale incident in which 7 wards of the state lost their lives in a deadly fire in May 2009. These recommendations include ensuring that housing facilities correspond with international standards; the identification of additional space to properly house wards; the development of procedures, for example evacuation procedures, in the event of emergencies; the expansion of rehabilitation programmes to include structured long term therapeutic and cognitive programmes; and training for Correctional Officers at juvenile institutions.
78. In respect of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the country is unlikely to meet targets on gender equality, the empowerment of women, reducing biodiversity loss as well as achieving significant improvement in the lives of inner-city residents. Additionally, although the country has achieved a reduction in absolute poverty and universal access to primary education, there are challenges in providing the necessary means to ensure universal access to secondary education, improving the quality of the outputs from the system, ensuring a safe teaching/ learning environment through the management of antisocial behaviour in schools and the availability of adequate financial resources.
96. As at February 2010, there were 395 juveniles in state correctional institutions (correctional and remand centres). Of this amount, 317 are boys and 78 are girls. In addition, there were 68 children (64 males and 4 females) in police lock-up. To respond to these and other concerns, including those arising from the Armadale Enquiry, and to ensure that children placed in correctional facilities will be exposed to appropriate programmes to address their behavioural challenges and development needs, several new measures will be undertaken as described below.
97. An audit of all juvenile correctional institutions will be conducted and new juvenile remand and correctional centres will be established. There will also be a review of the recruitment policy for correctional officers, the staffing requirements at correctional institutions as well as a review of the training curriculum for officers assigned to juvenile facilities. In addition, a review is being carried out in relation to juvenile correctional and remand facilities, now under the jurisdiction of the Correctional Services, being placed under the Child Development Agency. A National Inspectorate will also be established to monitor conditions within child care facilities and to ensure adherence to the Child Care and Protection Act. The Ministry of National Security and the Department of Correctional Services, as part of a medium-to-long term initiative, will be developing a Youth Offender Strategy aimed at identifying and implementing new approaches to help children who are deemed to be out of control.
98. The Government will continue to focus its attention on transforming the education system to improve the quality of education. The proposed Compulsory Education Policy (CEP) is one of the measures to be employed in this regard. It will seek to address such issues as: i) mandatory attendance; ii) regulation of programmes; iii) raising students’ performance levels to international standards; and iv)preparing students for the world of work. Components of the policy include:
(a) The National Education Trust (NET) which is focused on providing critically needed school spaces; (b) the Universal Secondary Education (USE) programme which is focused on providing at least five years of secondary education for all students; and (c) the Career Advancement Programme (CAP) which is focused on providing opportunities for all students (ages 16-18) to identify, understand, choose and prepare for careers and occupations of their choice.
99. In respect of special education for children who are visually and hearing impaired; mentally challenged; physically and learning disabled; gifted and talented, there is a draft National Policy on Special Education. The Policy will guide the implementation of the special education mandate of making adequate and appropriate provisions that will ensure access and equity in the planning and delivery of special education services. In addition, provision is being made for each school to have a Special Educator on staff. Through then Special Education Unit in the Ministry of Education and support from other state agencies, budgetary allocations are made to support Special Education.
101. In an effort to reduce the stillbirth rate, infant mortality and provide for the healthy development of the child, priority attention will be given to implementing the Strategic Plan on Safe Motherhood Programme (2007 – 2011) which focuses on four specific areas: an enabling policy environment, quality of care, surveillance and health promotion.
5. In 2003, CRC expressed concern about the low legal age of criminal responsibility (12 years) and recommended that Jamaica raise it to an internationally accepted age.
10. In 2003, CRC regretted that some of the recommendations in its previous concluding observations have been insufficiently addressed, particularly those concerning, inter alia, the incorporation of the principles and provisions of the Convention into national legislation, the monitoring and coordination of the implementation of the Convention, the resources for children, non-discrimination, violence and abuse against children.
20. In 2003, CRC was concerned at the sexual exploitation and trafficking of children, including street children, and the lack of adequate laws and policies in this regard. It recommended that Jamaica: take appropriate legislative measures and develop an effective and comprehensive policy addressing the sexual exploitation of children, including the factors that place children at risk of such exploitation; and implement appropriate policies and programmes for the prevention, recovery and reintegration of child victims.
21. In 2009, the ILO Committee of Experts observed that, although Jamaica’s legislation prohibits the sale and trafficking of girls under the age of 18, boys under 18 years are not protected, and requested Jamaica to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that the sale and trafficking of both boys and girls below 18 was effectively prohibited.
22. A 2006 United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children pointed to the situation in Jamaica which revealed the extent to which violence affected Jamaican children: girls were primarily the victims of sexual violence; children of both sexes were exposed to high levels of violence in their communities; both boys and girls were commonly punished in violent ways, generally starting at age two, but boys were often punished more frequently and harshly.37 In 2010, while commending the banning of corporal punishment in schools, the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture noted that there were no legal provisions banning corporal punishment in the domestic sphere. He was concerned that the use of corporal punishment appeared to be deeply entrenched in Jamaican society.
24. In 2010, the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture was concerned at the lack of a clear definition or criteria for the identification of an uncontrollable child and the wide discretion given to the judiciary to make this decision, and at the fact that children in conflict with the law, those deemed uncontrollable, and those in need of care and protection from the State were held together in detention facilities without distinction. Another concern was the fact that in some detention facilities, children were held together with adults. He stated that children should be placed in specialized facilities, adequately equipped and staffed, where their special needs could be met.
25. In 2003, CRC was concerned at the fact that the level of birth registration had decreased in previous years. It recommended that Jamaica more effectively enforce the Registration Act and facilitate late registration.
26. In 2006, CEDAW was concerned that the legal minimum age of consent for marriage was 16 years, with parental consent or that of a guardian. It called upon Jamaica to raise the minimum age of marriage to 18 years; monitor the trends in teen pregnancies; implement programmes for the prevention of teen pregnancy; and provide social services to pregnant teens.
30. Concerning child labour, CRC recommended in 2003 that Jamaica, inter alia, take the necessary measures to reduce and eliminate it, including by introducing a separate legal provision prohibiting the employment of children under the age of 18 in hazardous work; and take action to implement all policies and legislation relevant to child labour, inter alia, through campaigns and education for the public on protection of the rights of children. In 2001, CESCR expressed similar concerns.
31. CESCR in 2001 and CRC in 2003 were concerned about, inter alia, the large proportion of Jamaican families living in poverty especially in rural and inner-city communities; the difficult domestic employment situation and its negative influence on the family situation, e.g. the practice of “child shifting” and situations where one or both parents migrate, leaving children behind; the fact that almost half of all families were headed by female single parents and that their related poverty placed children of these families at particular risk of violations of their rights. In 2006, CEDAW expressed similar concerns, particularly in relation to rural women.
33. In 2006, while commending Jamaica for its demonstrated reduction in maternal mortality, CEDAW called on Jamaica, inter alia, to monitor systematically women’s access to health care, including primary and secondary health-care services; implement as well as raise awareness about existing policy on abortion and enact without delay draft legislation which would provide a legal framework for the existing policy; and target adolescent girls with special emphasis on combating HIV/AIDS.65
34. In 2003, CRC recommended that Jamaica, inter alia, further integrate respect for the rights of the child into the development and implementation of its HIV/AIDS policies; increase its efforts to promote adolescent health and consider means of reducing teenage pregnancy; continue taking all appropriate measures to improve the health infrastructure; intensify its efforts to address environmental health concerns, particularly with regard to air pollution and solid waste management, and increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation; and intensify efforts to improve safety by reducing violence and abuse as well as preventing accidents.
36. In 2003, while welcoming Jamaica’s progress in the field of education, CRC recommended, inter alia, that Jamaica carefully examine the budget allocations for education; intensify efforts to improve the quality of education; seek to further implement participatory measures to encourage children, especially boys, to stay in school during the period of compulsory education; take further measures to facilitate the accessibility to education of children from all groups in society, particularly children from poor backgrounds; take additional steps to address the high illiteracy rates and the poor results in national examinations; take measures to increase school attendance and reduce the high drop-out and repetition rates.
37. In 2006, while commending Jamaica on its achievements in the field of girls’ and women’s education, CEDAW called on it to overcome expeditiously the de facto segregation in the education system, and actively encourage the diversification of educational and professional choices for women and men.
Summary of Stakeholders
20. IACHR stated that children were especially vulnerable to the widespread violence that affects Jamaican society. Children were targeted for kidnapping accompanied by murder and rape. It also stated that the Government’s child-care system suffered from disturbing levels of sexual, physical and mental abuse of children at the hands of caregivers, and urgently required reforms and additional resources.
21. Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children (GIEACPC) stated that in the home corporal punishment was lawful which was in accordance with the common law right to inflict “reasonable and moderate” punishment and neither the relevant statutory legislation nor the Constitution was interpreted as prohibiting corporal punishment in childrearing. Corporal punishment was however prohibited in early childhood institutions (known as basic schools). Legislation which prohibited corporal punishment in all schools was under discussion and, in the interim, schools, were asked to refrain from using corporal punishment.In the penal system, corporal punishment was ruled unconstitutional by the Jamaican Court of Appeal in December 1998. GIEACPC indicated that as of July 2009, a bill had been drafted to repeal the Flogging Regulation Act (1903) and the Crime Prevention Act (1942), both of which provided for flogging and whipping of persons under the age of 18.
31. IACHR and JS2 stated that conditions of detention of juveniles in police holding cells and detention centres did not comply with international standards and was also in contravention of national law. Juveniles were held in overcrowded facilities which lacked activities for children, and were kept together with adults. JS2 recommended that Jamaica: develop plans for each and every child in the custody of the State; separate children in need of care and protection from those accused or convicted of crimes; establish separate homes for different categories of children who are wards of the State, based on their needs; separate monitoring responsibilities for homes and places of safety for child protection and care responsibilities; put in place a policy and procedure for children who are wards of the State and make them aware of this procedure.
32. With regard to the conditions of children in state institutions, IACHR indicated that about 2400 children were housed in 57 children’s homes and places of safety supervised by Jamaica’s Child Development Agency. The child-care system suffered disturbing levels of sexual, physical and mental abuse of children at the hands of caregivers, and urgently required reforms and additional resources. JS2 indicated that the Office of the Children’s Advocate was understaffed and under-resourced, and it failed to ensure that Jamaica complied with its national and international obligations with respect to the rights of the child. It recommended that this office strengthen its efforts to ensure that Jamaica protect the rights of all children.
40. YCSRR stated that there was systematic exclusion of education services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex young people, who faced discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. It recommended that Jamaica: ensure equal access to education and equal treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex young people; and that education was directed to the development of each student and responded to the needs of students of all sexual orientation and gender identities.
Accepted and Rejected Recommendations
The following recommendations were accepted:
A - 98.1. Consider ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (Morocco) ( Mexico); ratify CRC-OP-SC (Spain) (Republic of Moldova) (Haiti), in order to pay special attention to the protection of children (Republic of Moldova)/,which has already been signed by Jamaica (Haiti);
A - 98.7. Address appropriately the challenges identified by treaty bodies' reports, particularly those relating to gender equality, the rights of the child and the elimination of violence against women, and consider requesting technical assistance from OHCHR in order to duly implement treaty bodies' recommendations (Costa Rica);
A - 98.13. Continue implementing further plans and programmes to reduce levels of violence against women and girls (Colombia);
A - 98.17. Further strengthen efforts to prevent and combat trafficking in persons and the sexual exploitation of children (Brazil);
A - 98.26. Continue to take measures to improve its health-care service, especially to guarantee the right of children to healthy growth (China);
A - 98.28. Continue to strengthen education cooperation with international educational organizations (China);
A - 98.31. Request technical and financial assistance from relevant United Nations institutions to reactivate the innovative hospital project concerning the ill treatment of children, which has been suspended owing to a lack of resources (Algeria);
A - 98.37. Adopt targeted policies and programmes to offer protections for the most vulnerable in society, including women, children and persons with disabilities, and to eliminate discrimination against them (Canada);
A - 99.9. Supervise conditions in youth correctional facilities and guarantee that it complies with the Law on Child Care and Protection, in order to determine the progress made at the national level (Ecuador);
A - 99.10. Ensure that the new detention centres, which will be established in accordance with the auditing mentioned in the national report, comply with international standards, in particular regarding separation of minors from adults and the prohibition of corporal punishment (Mexico);
A - 99.13. Establish adequate services and opportunities for children with disabilities (Germany);
A - 99.14. Enhance the facilities, services and opportunities for children and persons with disabilities (Trinidad and Tobago);
A - 100.19. Intensify efforts aimed at improving living conditions in prisons, putting an end to the detention of children in police stations and accelerating the adoption of measures to protect children in juvenile correctional facilities (Algeria);
The following recommendation was met with no clear position:
N/C - 100.15. Establish a national commission for women's and children's affairs (Ghana);
The following recommendation was rejected:
R - 101.17. Increase the age of criminal responsibility (Trinidad and Tobago);