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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.
Nauru - 10th Session - 2011
24th January, 10am to 1pm
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National Report
Compilation of UN information
Stakeholder Information
Accepted and rejected recommendations
34. Due to Nauru's small size and limited financial and human resource capacity, Nauru finds it difficult to fulfil all international reporting obligations in a timely fashion. For example, Nauru has yet to submit its first report on compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, but proposes to do so as soon as practicable.
51. As part of empowering women in the private sector, Government has supported and provided relevant workshops and training such as the business skills training for underprivileged women and youth. Such training is coordinated through the Women's Affairs Division in collaboration with the Commerce and Business Development Division and facilitated by the South Pacific Commission and Commonwealth Secretariat.
52. Nauru is a party to the Convention on the Rights of a Child. As detailed in Part B, above, Nauru attempted to include detailed provision for children's rights in Part II of the Constitution in the recent constitutional review, however the proposed change was rejected at referendum. Notwithstanding the failure of this proposal, there exist many other legal protections for the rights of children in Nauru's domestic law, including laws relating to compulsory education, guardianship and adoption, maintenance, and protections for juvenile offenders. The citizenship provisions of the Constitution also ensure that no child born in Nauru shall be stateless.
53. There is no particular sector in Government which deals specifically with children's issues, however such issues are usually handled by the Department of Education (Youth Affairs sector), Department of Home Affairs (Women's Affairs) and the Department of Health.
54. Nauru has one secondary school, four primary schools, four infant schools, and one centre for persons living with disabilities. All schools are government-owned and run with the exception of two of the primary schools which are run by churches, with the Catholic school being subsidised by the Government. The average student-teacher ratio for early childhood education is 15.5:1, the average for primary school is 23.25:1, and for secondary school the average is 14.55:1.11 It should be noted that the student-teacher ratio for secondary school is skewed by the fact that class sizes are larger in lower years due to greater student population, and that class sizes vary greatly in specialist subjects. The Government is working to improve the quality of education in Nauru, by requiring Nauruan teachers to obtain teaching qualifications which many of them presently lack. In the meantime, Nauru relies in part on expatriate teachers, but is unable to employ enough expatriate teachers to ensure that all classes at all levels are being taught by properly qualified teachers.
55. Education is free, and is compulsory up to the age of 16, however the law is difficult to enforce and there is a high rate of children leaving school having not completed secondary level. The Department of Education in conjunction with other departments such as Health and Home Affairs has attempted to address these issues through public awareness. A new student-oriented curriculum, which includes vocational courses, has been introduced to encourage students to remain in school and to broaden the opportunities available to school leavers.
56. Today people are more aware of their rights and readily seek assistance from authorities. There is an emerging confidence in the justice system, which is drawing victims - particularly the young - to report abuse and other offences.
57. The vulnerability of children is acknowledged within the legal framework. There is a rehabilitative juvenile centre for young offenders and a Juvenile Committee which deals with young offenders. There has been a general increase in young victims of crime which has been attributed to an increase in reporting behaviour.
58. The Nauru Supreme Court has considered the Convention on the Rights of the Child in determining a case regarding the adoption of a child. In the matter of Lorna Gleeson (2006)12 the Supreme Court of Nauru found that a legislative provision which prohibited a non-Nauruan from adopting a Nauruan child was inconsistent with the Constitution and therefore unconstitutional. The adoption was allowed.
59. Youth face many challenges in Nauru, such as a high rate of unemployment, a high number of youth leaving school prematurely and a prevalence of young parents. Nauru's small economy and limited private sector mean that job opportunities for young people are limited. Many young people lack the basic literacy and numeracy that would enable them to compete for the limited public and private sector jobs that are available.
60. While the rights and needs of youth are issues that cut across a number of government sectors, primary responsibility for youth rests with the Youth Affairs Directorate in the Department of Education. The Directorate of Youth Affairs is working on a youth policy for government approval and implementation. The policy detail is still being finalised, but Government has already given in-principle approval to the five key objectives of the draft policy, which came out of consultations with young people and the wider community, and which are: 1. To develop the skills and capacity of young people for self-sustenance; 2. To facilitate and create income earning and employment opportunities for young people; 3. To create and support social development programs to improve lifestyles of young people; 4. To create an enabling and supportive environment for sustainable and effective youth development; and 5. To contribute to quality and effective youth development programs. Accordingly, the Directorate of Youth Affairs is already tailoring its activities in pursuit of these key objectives.
61. In response to the challenges facing young people in Nauru, programs for literacy, numeracy and life skills have been developed and implemented for unemployed youth aged between 18 and 34. These programs include work experience, subsidised internships and support training with other government departments. Weekly classes regarding the environment, commerce and business are conducted for assigned Youth Affairs students.
62. To further the interests of youth in Nauru, the National Youth Council (NYC) was created. The NYC is non-government organisation and includes representatives from affiliated youth organisations. It promotes and addresses youth concerns both nationally and internationally through participation in workshops, conferences and programs such as the Pacific Leadership Program. A number of smaller community groups, including religious youth groups and sport groups, are affiliated with the NYC. The NYC provides a connection between the Directorate of Youth Affairs, youth groups and the community.
70. NPF adopts a community-based policing approach which is founded on working alongside communities in addressing policing needs. This involves monthly meetings with community leaders, weekly lectures with students from the Youth Affairs directorate programs and school visitations. The NPF has established community programs such as the use of bike squads, which maintain a presence in the community.
71. In 2009 the Nauru Correctional Service was separated from the NPF and brought under the purview of the Justice Department. Nauru has one Correctional Centre which is divided into three areas for male inmates, female inmates and juveniles. The main prison, which houses the predominant male population, presently houses 27 inmates and has a maximum capacity of 30. Prison overcrowding was a concern, and has recently been addressed through renovations and the construction of a new centre for juveniles and women. The new Juvenile Centre and female wing are able to house 20 individuals each.
86. In addition to medical treatment, the Department of Health also focuses on prevention and awareness. The Directorate of Public Health runs a number of physical activity programs and promotes and educates people about healthy living. Other preventative and educational programs run by Public Health include Tuberculosis, HIV and AIDS and STIs Global Funds Supported Programs; Environmental Health Programs (Food Safety and Border Control issues); School Health Programs; and Immunisation programs. Public Health is also responsible for promoting and monitoring maternal and child health through the baby clinic and women's clinic. RoN Hospital houses an Ante-natal clinic which also deals with post-natal and gynaecological cases. The infant mortality rate is 24.9 per 1000 live births.
101. In government schools, a period of 45 minutes per week is allocated to religious instruction. This takes the form of visits to the school by representatives of the various Christian churches. Children are broken up into groups according to the church they belong to, and receive instruction in the tenets of their church. Students who do not wish to participate in religious instruction are permitted to use the period for library study. The entire student body at government schools is also expected to say Christian prayers and sing Christian hymns at school assemblies. The question of whether this practice infringes students' religious freedom has not yet been raised or tested before the Court.
109. The Department for Home Affairs promotes the Nauruan culture and the preservation of traditional knowledge and handicrafts. Nauruan culture and history are incorporated into school studies in an ad hoc manner, but are not a specific part of the formal school curriculum. Teachers at infant school level address students in the Nauruan language, but at higher levels all classes are conducted in English.
110. The Departments of Home Affairs and Education are collaborating to produce a policy on Nauruan language and culture, which will be aimed at introducing both topics into the primary and secondary school curriculum. Prior to introduction of the Nauruan language into the curriculum, the written language needs to be standardised, with agreed spelling and grammar being determined by a language committee, which will produce an official Nauruan dictionary.
113. To better enable Nauru to improve the human rights situation on the ground, the following forms of assistance from UN agencies and member states would be greatly appreciated:
(a) technical assistance with reporting to the UN on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international reporting obligations;
(b) capacity building within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide local staff with a greater understanding of Nauru's international human rights obligations and reporting requirements;
(c) if Nauru accedes to the Refugee Convention, assistance with domestic legislative implementation of the Convention;
(d) if Nauru ratifies the Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), assistance with domestic legislative implementation of the Convention, and extensive local training on the provisions and their effect;
(e) assistance with strategies to eliminate domestic violence and child abuse.
7. A 2010 United Nations Statistical Division source indicated that the total net enrolment ration in primary education was estimated to be 72.3 per cent in 2007.17 In Nauru, the proportion of boys enrolled in secondary education is considerably lower than that of girls.
1. Joint Submission 1 (JS1) noted the ratification by Nauru of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1994. However, it also noted that Nauru had yet to ratify the OP-CRC on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. JS1 further expressed concern that there had been no progress in the submission of the initial report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child.
5. NYWNC recommended stronger laws against perpetrators of child abuse and increase in the penalties and sentencing in courts. Further, NYWNC recommended that Nauru enforce stronger laws on adults engaging in sexual activities with minors.
10. JS1 expressed concern about child victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse of children. Joint Submission 3 (JS3) also stated that physical abuse of children was an everyday normality in communities.
12. JS1 expressed concern on the situation of children orphaned by the early loss of both parents.
24. JS1 further noted the discontinuation of child allowance, which, according to JS1, impacts on the livelihood of children in that it prevents children from accessing opportunities to some standard of living adequate for their mental, spiritual, moral and social development.
26. JS1 expressed concern that people with mental health conditions were denied a standard of health and well being, and that children with mental health conditions were further denied protection or treatment of their mental conditions.
33. JS1 expressed concern at the high rate of school truancy of children which is reflected in the high illiteracy rate. JS3 also noted that older siblings were forced to care for younger siblings and other house chores. Hence, some children were denied education because they have to care for younger siblings and help their mothers.
34. JS1 commended on the formulation (2005) and recent review (2009) of the National Sustainable Development Strategy, 2005–2025, which sets out Nauru's major development priorities and plans. JS1 also noted the growing of civil society consciousness in national development issues and the sprouting of new civil society organizations in response to specific social issues. JS1 further commended that the Government had created a safe house for women and children, victims of domestic violence, and that the Nauru Police Force had instituted a Domestic Violence Unit. JS1 also noted that education and health services for Nauruan children had vastly improved with donor assistance, including the refurbishment of infant and primary schools, rebuilding of Nauru Secondary School, and an extensive immunization programme for young children. Similarly, JS4 commended the Government of Nauru for the National Sustainable Development Strategy aimed at supplying 50 per cent of the country's energy needs with renewable energy by 2015.
Accepted and Rejected Recommendations
Nauru did not accept or reject any of the recommendations issued to them.
The following recommendations were left pending / no clear response given:
P - 79.7. Ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, which has already been signed by the Government (Hungary)
P - 79.13. Ratify the two International Covenants as well as CAT, CEDAW, CERD, CRPD and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (CED), with their respective optional protocols, including the two Optional Protocols to CRC (Spain)
P - 79.19. Ratify the Optional Protocol to CRC on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, CEDAW, ICERD and ICESCR (Israel);
P - 79.20. Ratify the main international human rights treaties whose ratification is still pending, like the Optional Protocols of CRC and CEDAW (Chile)
P - 79.22. Ratify the Optional Protocol to CRC on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (United Kingdom);
P - 79.23. Submit the initial report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, ratify the CRC Optional Protocols and complete the accession to the two International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to ICERD and CAT (Italy)
P - 79.33. Designate and empower one or more government officials to coordinate the Government’s efforts to protect children (United States of America);
P - 79.37. Continue its efforts aimed at promoting and protecting the rights of children (Brazil)
P - 79.50. Submit reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child as soon as possible (Hungary);
P - 79.51. Submit its first report on compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in line with its commitment as stated in the national report (Ghana)
P - 79.67. With the support from the international community, draft legislative bills on domestic violence and on child abuse (Maldives);
P - 79.68. Create and implement a national action plan for the elimination of domestic violence and child abuse with the technical assistance of specialized agencies and programmes of the United Nations system (Israel);
P - 79.69. Establish stronger laws against perpetrators of child abuse and to increase penalties and sentencing in courts (Italy);
P - 79.70. Strengthen its laws prohibiting physical abuse of children, including sexual exploitation (United States of America);
P - 79.71. Strengthen its efforts to fight sexual abuse of children within the framework of adopting a programme for the promotion of the rights of the child (Spain);
P - 79.72. Adopt and implement appropriate measures to combat sexual abuse of minors (Slovakia)
P - 79.88. Strengthen its efforts to protect the rights of all persons to enjoy the highest possible level of physical and mental health, and take concrete measures to strengthen free and effective access to health for children and adults with mental disabilities (Spain);
P - 79.89. Continue to implement programmes and measures to improve the enjoyment of the right to education and the right to health (Cuba);
P - 79.90. Continue pursuing efficient educational policies to ensure a better future for its children (Slovakia)