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Summary: This report extracts mentions of children's rights issues in the reports of all UN Treaty Bodies and their follow-up procedures. This does not include the Concluding Observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child which are available here: http://www.crin.org/resources/treaties/index.asp
Please note that the language may have been edited in places for the purpose of clarity.
- UN Human Rights Committee
- UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- UN Committee against Torture
- UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture
- UN Committee on Migrant Workers
- UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- UN Committee on Enforced Disappearance
CCPR/C/SR.3127
Adopted by the Committee: 28 October 2014
Published by the Committee: 31 October 2014
Issues raised:
Legislative reforms:
The Committee welcomes the following legislative and institutional steps taken by the State party: The amendments to articles 35 (1) and 37 (1) of the Criminal Code, which increase the age of criminal responsibility of children from 9 to 14 years old (para.3).
Ratification:
The Committee welcomes the ratification of, or accession to, the following international instruments by the State party: The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography in 2010 (para.4).
Violence:
Committee is concerned about the low number of prosecutions of perpetrators of violence against women and children. The Committee is also concerned about the lack of information on sanctions imposed on perpetrators, as well as on remedies provided to victims. The State party should intensify its efforts to eliminate violence against women and children, ensure that further cases are duly investigated, prosecuted and penalized in an appropriate and systematic way, and establish a rehabilitation system for the victims. The State party should improve training with regard to the prevention and repression of violence against women and children for the staff of legal institutions and the police force (para12).
Abortion:
The State party should ensure that reproductive health services are accessible to all women and girls throughout the country. It should also increase the number, and ensure the implementation, of education and awareness programmes at the formal level (in schools) and at the informal level (through the media and other means of communication) on the importance of using contraceptives and on sexual and reproductive health right (para.13).
Migrants and asylum-seekers:
Committee is concerned about reports that migrants in a vulnerable situation, including unaccompanied children are automatically detained and that they are not systematically provided with free legal representation. The Committee recommended that the State party should Further develop specific needs assessments of migrants in a vulnerable situation, particularly of unaccompanied children; Guarantee that every unaccompanied child receives free legal assistance for the duration of the administrative proceedings; Ensure that the principle of the best interests of the child is given due consideration in all decisions concerning unaccompanied children (para.16).
Juvenile justice:
The Committee is concerned that children between 16 and 18 years of age that are in conflict with the law, including those standing as co-accused with adults, are excluded from the juvenile justice system and tried as adults (art. 24). The State party should ensure that its juvenile criminal justice system upholds the rights set forth in the Covenant. The Committee considers that it is particularly important to uphold the right of children in conflict with the law to be treated in a way that will promote their integration into society, the principle that detention and incarceration should be used only as a last resort (para.20).
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UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
E/C.12/1/Add.101
Last reported: 9 November 2004
Concluding Observations issued: 14 December 2004
Issues raised:
Children born out of wedlock: The Committee notes with concern the distinction made between “legitimate” and “illegitimate” children in the Civil Code of the State party and the fact that children born out of wedlock do not have the same rights as children born in wedlock. (Paragraph 20)
The Committee urges the State party to expedite the planned revision of the Civil Code so as to abolish the terminology “legitimate” and “illegitimate” children and ensure equality in the enjoyment of rights of children born both in and out of wedlock.39. The Committee encourages the State party to review its legislation with a view to raising the age of criminal responsibility. (Paragraph 38)
Age of criminal responsibility: The Committee expresses its concern at the relatively low age of criminal responsibility in the State party. (Paragraph 21)
Corporal punishment: While corporal punishment is prohibited in schools and other institutions, the Committee notes that corporal punishment within the family, in the form of “reasonable chastisement”, is not prohibited by law.40. (Paragraph 22)
The Committee encourages the State party to consider an explicit prohibition of corporal punishment within the family. (Paragraph 40)
Human rights education: The Committee encourages the State party to ensure that human rights education is provided in schools at all levels and to raise awareness about human rights, in particular economic, social and cultural rights, among State officials and the judiciary.44. The Committee requests the State party to disseminate its concluding observations widely among all levels of society, including among State officials and the judiciary, and to inform the Committee of all steps taken to implement them in its next periodic report. It also encourages the State party to continue to consult with non-governmental organizations and other members of civil society in the preparation of its second periodic report. (Paragraph 43).
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UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
CERD/C/MLT/CO/15-20
Last reported: 24 / 25 August 2011
Concluding Observations issued: 1 September 2011
Issues raised:
Detention of migrants: While noting the large flow of immigrants and efforts made by the State party in dealing with it, the Committee is concerned about reports according to which their legal safeguards are not always guaranteed in practice. It is also concerned about the detention and living conditions of immigrants in irregular situation in detention centres, in particular of women and families with children. (art. 5).
The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to effectively guarantee the legal safeguards for all immigrants detained, in particular to inform them about their rights, including the legal assistance and to provide assistance to those who seek asylum. The Committee also recommends that the State party continue its efforts aimed at improving the living and conditions of detention of immigrants and thus comply with international standards, in particular the modernization of detention centres and the placement of families with children in alternative open accommodation centres. The Committee further recommends that the State party adopt the project conducted by the Refugee Commissioner in order to improve the refugee system. (Paragraph 13)
Ethnic minorities: While noting measures taken to promote diversity, tolerance and understanding between different ethnic groups, including through various trainings in schools and awareness-raising campaigns, the Committee is concerned about the absence of information on achievements and practical impact of such measures. (art.7).
The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to eliminate stereotypes of immigrants, in particular refugees and asylum seekers and pursue its awareness-campaigns on equality, inter-cultural dialogue, tolerance, in particular by including in the school curricula and the media. In that regard, the Committee encourages the State party to foster an effective multicultural learning environment, and to take into account the provisions of the Convention in the draft national minimum curriculum for early education and care and compulsory education. (Paragraph 17)
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UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
CEDAW/C/MLT/CO/4
Last reported: 12 October 2010
Concluding Observations issued: 9 November 2010
Issues raised:
Family-friendly measures: The Committee welcomes the State party’s legislative and policy efforts and other measures towards the adoption of family-friendly measures, such as flexible working arrangements and special leave provisions for employees in the public sector, to improve their quality of life by facilitating the reconciliation of work and private life. The Committee is concerned, however, that domestic and family responsibilities are still primarily borne by women, many of whom interrupt their careers or engage in part-time jobs to meet family responsibilities. While commending the State party for the introduction of tax concessions for parents who send their children to childcare centres, the Committee notes with concern that the lack of childcare facilities in the State party, particularly for the 0 to 3 age group, their unequal quality and lack of flexibility in term of operating hours, and the lack of after school programmes may constitute an impediment to women’s participation in the labour market. The Committee is also concerned that no statistical data was provided on the number of men who take parental leave in both the public and private sectors. (Paragraph 20)
The Committee encourages the State party to step up its efforts to assist women and men in striking a balance between family and employment responsibilities, inter alia, through further awareness-raising and education initiatives for both women and men on adequate sharing of child rearing responsibilities and domestic tasks. The Committee urges the State party to step up its efforts to improve the availability, affordability and quality of childcare facilities for school-age children in order to facilitate the re-entry of women into the labour market. It also invites the State party to consider amending the Employment and Industrial Relations Act in order to enable employees in the private sector to benefit from similar flexible working arrangements and special leave provisions as employees in the public sector. The Committee urges the State party to monitor the use of the parental leave provisions by women and men as an indicator of shared family responsibilities and to develop incentives to encourage more men to avail themselves of parental leave and to facilitate childcare services for all working parents in need of them. (Paragraph 22)
Trafficking: The Committee remains concerned about the paucity of data with regard to trafficking of women and girls into the State party. As such, the Committee was not provided with sufficient information on the actual situation in the State party and on the institutional mechanism in place to fight against trafficking. The Committee is concerned that the granting of temporary residency permits to victims is based on cooperation with the authorities in legal proceedings. (Paragraph 26)
The Committee encourages the State party to provide, in its next periodic report, comprehensive information on the prevalence of trafficking in Malta. The Committee calls upon the State party to take all appropriate measures to ensure better identification and investigation of trafficking cases, particularly through the establishment of a mechanism to pro-actively ensure identification of and support for trafficked persons as well as enhanced training and capacity-building efforts for law enforcement officials, including immigration officials, so as to increase their ability to identify potential victims of trafficking. The Committee also invites the State party to strengthen its measures to combat all forms of trafficking in women and children, including through increased international, regional and bilateral cooperation with countries of origin and transit, in line with article 6 of the Convention. In this respect, the Committee urges the State party not only to ensure the prosecution and punishment of individuals involved in trafficking, but also the protection and recovery of victims of trafficking. The Committee also urges the State party to consider using the Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking developed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2002 as a basis for its plan of action. The Committee calls upon the State party to collect and analyse data on all aspects of trafficking, disaggregated by age, sex and country of origin, in order to identify trends. The State party is encouraged to undertake a study on the issue of trafficking, including the root causes, with a view to identifying priority areas for action, and to formulate relevant policies. (Paragraph 27)
Education: The Committee welcomes the fact that the State party recognizes that “education and training are important tools for promoting gender equality” and that a National Strategic Plan has been developed for implementation of a National Minimum Curriculum which incorporates a number of policies, structures and processes to achieve this goal. The Committee is concerned, however, that there is no clear articulated national implementation and evaluation plan to monitor progress towards attainment of gender equality in all educational structures and processes. The Committee notes with concern the removal of vocational education from the curriculum at the secondary level and the implications for school-leavers’ engagement in certain areas of paid work. The Committee further notes with concern that at the tertiary level women are under-represented in critical areas such as engineering, manufacturing and construction and that the transition from school to work continues to be constrained by traditional attitudes towards women’s role in the family and home. (Paragraph 30)
The Committee encourages the State party to systematically monitor policies, structures and processes related to promoting gender equality identified in the National Strategic Plan for implementation of the National Minimum Curriculum. It highly recommends that special attention be given to the establishment of structures such as the education committee in gender equity and the monitoring committee and that information on specific outcomes related to achieving gender equality be provided in the next periodic report. It also recommends that the State party revise the decision to remove technical vocational subjects from the secondary level and to empirically assess its impact on female participation in technical courses at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST), as well as female under-representation in the critical areas of science, mathematics, computing and engineering, manufacturing and construction. (Paragraph 31)
Health: While noting the free access to health care, the Committee is concerned about the insufficient access to reproductive health-care services for women. The Committee notes with concern that education on sexual and reproductive health and rights is not part of the curriculum. The Committee is further concerned that abortion is illegal in all cases under the law of the State party and that women who choose to undergo abortion are subject to imprisonment. The Committee further regrets that the data provided by the State party on the health and health care, including mental health care, of its population in its periodic report was not disaggregated by sex. (Paragraph 34).
The Committee calls on the State party to increase its efforts to improve the availability of sexual and reproductive health services, including family planning, to mobilize resources for that purpose and to monitor the actual access to those services by women. It further recommends that the National Policy on Sexual Health, which is being finalized, ensure that family planning and reproductive health education are widely promoted and targeted at girls and boys, with special attention to the prevention of early pregnancies of under-age girls including the control of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. The Committee urges the State party to review its legislation on abortion and consider exceptions to the general prohibition of abortion for cases of therapeutic abortion and when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. It further urges the State party to remove from its legislation the punitive provisions for women who undergo abortion, in line with the Committee’s general recommendation No. 24 (1999) on women and health and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The Committee also requests the State party to provide, in its next report, sex-disaggregated data on health and the provision of health care, including mental health care. (Paragraph 35)
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UN Committee against Torture
Ratified on 1990, but not yet reported.
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UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture
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UN Committee on Migrant Workers
Not yet signed or ratifed.
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UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Signed in 2007, but not yet ratified.
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UN Committee on Enforced Disappearance
Signed in 2007, but not yet ratified.
