NICARAGUA: Children's Rights in UN Treaty Body Reports

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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.

 

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UN Human Rights Committee

(CCPR/C/NIC/CO/3)

Last reported: 17 October 2008
Concluding Observations adopted: 29 October 2008

Concerns raised:

  • Trafficking and sexual exploitation of children. The Committee is concerned at the absence of specific penalties for trafficking in and the sexual exploitation of children, and the fact that children were being trafficked for sexual exploitation purposes in the State Party (arts. 3, 8 and 24).

    The State Party should step up its efforts to combat this situation, including:

    a)explicitly making these acts criminal offences;
    b)ensure that the punishment was commensurate with the gravity of these offences and that it was inflicted upon anyone who would exploit children for such purposes;
    c) maintain its efforts to make the general public aware of the criminal nature of the sexual exploitation of children; and
    d) protect and assist victims of sexual exploitation (para. 9).

  • Corporal punishment at school. The Committee is concerned that the corporal punishment of children at school was not forbidden by law, and it regrets that no specific information on this subject had been provided. The State party should ban all corporal punishment of children, at school and in other institutions for children (para. 15).
  • Threats against human rights defenders. The Committee notes with concern the criminal charges pending against nine female defenders of women's rights who were involved in the interruption of an abortion conducted on an under-age girl who had been raped, which occurred at a time when therapeutic abortion was still legally permitted. The State party should guarantee organisations of human rights defenders the right to freedom of expression and association in the conduct of their activities (para. 19).
  • Problems affecting indigenous peoples. The Committee voices concern at the many problems affecting indigenous peoples, including serious shortcomings in the health and education service. The State party should effectively guarantee indigenous peoples' right to education, tailored to their specific needs (para. 21).

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UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

(E/C.12/NIC/CO/4)

Last reported: 4 and 5 November 2008
Concluding Observations adopted: 20 November 2008

Concerns raised:

  • Education services for indigenous peoples. The Committee expresses its concern at the existence of racial prejudice against indigenous people, and regretted the serious shortcomings in the education service. The Committee recommends that the State party should effectively guarantee indigenous people's right to education and ensure that it is adapted to their specific needs (para. 11).
  • Infant mortality and early pregnancies. The Committee notes with concern the high levels of infant mortality. The Committee strongly encourages the State party to continue its efforts to reduce infant mortality. It also recommends that the subjects of sex education and family planning methods be discussed openly in the school curriculum in order to prevent early pregnancies and the transmission of sexual diseases (para. 27).
  • Trafficking of children. The Committee regrets the existence in the State party of trafficking in children for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The State party should strengthen its measures to combat this trafficking, in particular, by ensuring that penalties commensurate with the seriousness of the case be imposed on persons exploiting children for such purposes, by the State party continuing its efforts to raise public awareness of the fact that sexual exploitation of children is a criminal offence, and by protecting and assisting victims of sexual exploitation (para. 28).

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UN Committee against Torture

(CAT/C/NIC/CO/1)

Last reported: 30 April and 1 May 2009
Concluding Observations adopted: 13 May 2009 

Concerns raised :

  • Detainees without families. The Committee urges the State party to give priority attention to the cases of detainees without families to care for them, (known as the donados) (para. 13).
  • Violence against girls. The Committee remains concerned by the prevalence of all forms of violence against girls. The Committee notes with concern the unavailability of means to assess the effectiveness of measures adopted to eradicate all forms of violence against girls. The Committee urges the State party to devote priority attention to the adoption of comprehensive measures to combat and eliminate this type of violence. The Committee further recommends that ongoing training activities should be organised for police officers on the question of violence against children. Further, in accordance with the latest CEDAW concluding observations (of 6 February 2007), the Committee urges the State party to adopt a strategy to eliminate violence against girls (para. 15).
  • Protection of children against torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The Committee is concerned that the ill-treatment of children had become an enduring and persistent phenomenon in the State party. The Committee urges the State party to intensify its efforts to deal with ill-treatment of children in the family and to strengthen mechanisms for combating all forms of violence, particularly in the family, at school and in education institutions (para. 17).
  • Conditions of detention for minors. The Committee notes the information provided by the State party regarding minors in prison, according to which there were no separate prisons for minors in some regions. The State party should ensure that minors are held in separate facilities from adults. The Committee also asks the State party to guarantee training for prison staff dealing with minors (para. 22).
  • Training for police. The Committee observes that the training for prison staff and police officers remained insufficient, particularly for officials coming into contact with children and juveniles. The State party should ensure that the staff of juvenile centres received training (para. 23).
  • Administration of juvenile justice. The Committee is concerned by the inadequacy of the human and financial resources devoted to ensuring the proper administration of juvenile justice, including the appropriate implementation of the Code on Children and Young Persons. The Committee is also concerned by the gaps that exist in the areas of defence and prosecution and in the definition and imposition of non-custodial measures or penalties for persons below the age of 18. The Committee also expresses concern over the lack of special correctional centres for persons below the age of 18 in conflict with the law and the poor detention conditions that currently exist, especially on police premises (art. 16).

    The Committee recommends that the State party should bring its juvenile justice system fully into line with the Convention and other United Nations standards relating to juvenile justice, including the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules), the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty and the Guidelines for Action on Children in the Criminal Justice System (the Vienna Guidelines), as well as the latest recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (see CRC/C/15/Add.265). In this respect, the Committee recommends that the State party should, in particular:

    (a) Allocate sufficient resources for appropriately implementing the Code on Children and Young Persons in all departments, especially through the establishment of juvenile courts throughout the country;
    (b) Adopt all necessary measures to establish separate detention centres for persons below the age of 18;
    (c) Improve detention conditions for persons below the age of 18, notably in police detention centres, in particular through compliance with international standards;
    (d) Investigate, prosecute and punish, in all cases, ill-treatment committed by law enforcement officers, particularly prison guards, and establish an independent, accessible system for receiving and dealing with complaints from children which takes account of children's sensibilities;
    (e) Ensure that children deprived of their liberty under the juvenile justice system maintain regular contact with their families and, in particular, inform parents where their children are being held;
    (f) Offer prison staff training on the rights and special needs of children. Redress, including the right to rehabilitation and compensation

    (para. 24)

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UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

(CEDAW/C/NIC/CO/6)

Last reported: 17 January 2007
Concluding Observations published: 2 February 2007

Concerns raised:

  • Teenage pregnancies. The Committee is concerned about the high rates of teenage pregnancies, inadequate family planning services and the lack of age-appropriate sex-education programmes (para. 17). The Committee requests the State party to strengthen measures aimed at the prevention of unwanted pregnancies, including by increasing knowledge and awareness about family planning and services for girls. The Committee also recommends that the State party give priority attention to the situation of adolescents and that it provide age-appropriate sex education, targeted at girls and boys, with special attention to the prevention of early pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (para. 18).
  • Violence against girls. While noting steps taken to combat violence against girls, the Committee remains concerned about the prevalence of all forms of violence against girls, and the lack of social awareness about and condemnation of such violence in Nicaragua.

    The Committee also notes with concern the lack of access to justice in cases of violence, especially girls from poor and rural areas (para. 19).

    The Committee urges the State party to accord priority attention to the adoption of a comprehensive and integrated approach to address violence against girls. The Committee also urges the State party to ensure that all victims of violence had access to immediate means of redress (para. 20).

  • Trafficking and sexual exploitation of girls. The Committee is concerned about the continued vulnerability of girls to traffickers (para. 21). The Committee urges the State party to intensify its efforts to address trafficking and sexual exploitation of girls, and to step up the prosecution and adequate punishment of offenders. The Committee recommends education initiatives for vulnerable groups, including girls, and rehabilitation and reintegration measures for girls who were victims of trafficking (para. 22).
  • Lack of information on National education plan. The Committee regrets the lack of information about results achieved in the implementation of the first part of the national education plan, 2001-2015, which makes it difficult to assess progress made over time (para. 25). The Committee encourages the State party to strengthen its monitoring of progress for girls in the implementation of its educational policies and programmes, and to make every effort to improve the literacy level of girls, particularly those from poor, rural, indigenous and Afro-descendant backgrounds. The Committee also recommends that the State party take steps to retain girls in school (para. 26).

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UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

(CERD/C/NIC/CO/14)

Last reported: 26 and 27 February 2008
Concluding Observations adopted: 6 March 2008

Concerns raised:

Illiteracy. While the Committee notes with satisfaction the 2003-13 Plan for the Regional Autonomous Education System within the framework of the new General Education Act, it was concerned at the high rate of illiteracy of the indigenous peoples and communities of African descent. The Committee encourages the State party to take action in the short and medium terms for the implementation of measures to reduce illiteracy, especially in the north of the Atlantic autonomous region (para. 24).

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UN Committee on Migrant Workers

CMW/C/NIC/CO/1

Observations published: 11 October 2016

Positive developments: The Committee welcomes the following institutional and policy measures: The signing of the declaration of the Regional Initiative for Latin America and the Caribbean Free of Child Labour (2014-2020); The Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labour and the Protection of Young Workers (para 11).

Due process, detention and equality before the courts: The Committee is concerned that detention exceeds the 48 hours provided for by law and may last up to three months and that the migrant centre is sometimes overcrowded. The Committee regrets that the Migration and Alien Affairs Act does not prohibit the detention of children in all circumstances. The Committee is also concerned about information received that migrant workers and asylum seekers are automatically detained in detention centres and about their detention in criminal facilities. It is further concerned about the lack of independent monitoring of the migrant centre by human rights organizations and the Office of the Human Rights Advocate (para 39).

The Committee recommends that the State party: Ensure that migrants are not detained beyond the 48-hour period provided for in article 160 of the Migration and Alien Affairs Act; Expeditiously and completely cease detaining children on the basis of their or their parents’ immigration status and adopt alternatives to detention that allow children to remain with family members and/or guardians in non-custodial, community-based contexts while their immigration status is being reviewed, consistent with the principle of the best interest of the child and the child’s right to family life;Allow for the independent monitoring of the migrants centre by civil society organizations and ensure that the Office of the Human Rights Advocate has the independence and sufficient resources to regularly supervise all the facilities used for the detention of migrants based on their immigration status (para 40).

Children in situations of international migration: The Committee regrets the lack of information on the welfare of children of Nicaraguan migrants in countries of destination and those remaining behind, in particular their vulnerability to violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation and the lack of information on the measures taken to provide them with adequate and comprehensive support. It also regrets the lack of information on the number of children returned to the State party and the policies aimed at facilitating their effective reintegration through the fulfilment of their rights. The Committee recommends that the State party conduct research on children of Nicaraguan migrant workers in the countries of destination as well as in Nicaragua to establish the demographic profile of this segment of the population, and adopt a comprehensive strategy to promote and protect the rights of children of Nicaraguan migrant workers. The Committee further recommends that the State party collect comprehensive and disaggregated data on children returned to Nicaragua and adopt an integral rights-based policy aimed at ensuring the reintegration of children who return to the State party and develop programmes to fulfil their right to an adequate standard of living (paras 53, 54).

Illegal or clandestine movements and employment of migrant workers in an irregular situation: The Committee welcomes the adoption of the Anti-trafficking Act (No. 896), in January 2015, and notes the measures taken to raise awareness on the issue, prosecute and convict traffickers and provide support to victims. The Committee is, however, concerned about the lack of information on progress in the implementation of the Anti-trafficking Act and that the measures taken to prosecute offenders, protect victims and prevent trafficking are insufficient and have decreased in recent years. The Committee is also concerned about the lack of information on regular and systematic training for law enforcement officials and on the assistance provided to victims, and that child protection measures only covers children under the age of 14 (para 63).

The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to combat trafficking in persons, in line with target 5.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals, and in particular: Provide adequate assistance, protection and rehabilitation to all victims of trafficking, in particular by providing shelters for women, men and children and ensuring respect for the rights of victims of trafficking, including with regard to their reintegration and repatriation; Ensure that the best interests of every child under the age of 18 are fully taken into consideration in reintegration measures, in particular ensuring that he or she is not placed with family members who may have been involved in his or her exploitation (para 64).

 

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UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

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UN Committee on Enforced Disappearance

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