SAINT LUCIA: Children's Rights in UN Treaty Body Reports

Submitted by crinadmin on

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

Signed in 2011, but not yet ratified.

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UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Not yet signed or ratified.

   ____________________________________________________

UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Not yet signed or ratified.

       ____________________________________________________

UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

CEDAW/ C /LCA/CO/6
Last reported: 23 May 2006
Concluding Observations issued: 2 June 2006

Issues raised:

Stereotypes: The Committee is concerned that gender-based stereotypical attitudes about the roles of women and men persist, and that these are reflected in women’s disadvantages and unequal situation in many areas, including in public life and decision-making, in the work place, and in marriage and family relations.

The Committee recommends that the State party take comprehensive measures to overcome stereotypical attitudes and expectations regarding the roles of women and men in society and in the family, in accordance with articles 2 (f) and 5 (a) of the Convention. Such measures should include awareness-raising efforts through the educational system and the media so as to enhance a positive and non-stereotypical portrayal of women. (Paragraph 17 and 18)

Trafficking: The Committee is concerned about the lack of information regarding the extent of trafficking in women and girls and the absence of measures taken to address this issue. The Committee is also concerned about the causes and extent of prostitution in the country, and the apparent lack of awareness on the part of the State party of the scale of this phenomenon in the tourism industry. The Committee is also concerned about the exploitation of prostitution, and the absence of efforts to combat this phenomenon.

The Committee recommends that the State party promptly ratify the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, and to enhance its collaboration with countries in the region to prevent and combat trafficking in women. The Committee urges the State party to pursue a holistic approach in addressing the question of prostitution, and in particular to provide women and girls with educational and economic alternatives to prostitution, including economic empowerment programmes for women agricultural workers who may have lost their livelihoods with the change in the banana trade regime. The Committee calls on the State party to address the link between tourism and prostitution, including the demand for prostitution. The State party should ensure the effective prosecution and punishment of those who exploit prostitution. The Committee requests the State party to provide, in its next report, comprehensive information and data on exploitation of prostitution and on trafficking in women and on measures taken to prevent and combat such activities. It also requests that statistics be provided on the number of prosecutions and convictions of those who exploit prostitution and traffickers. (Paragraph 19 and 20)

Education: While the Committee welcomes the State party’s commitment to guarantee universal secondary education as of the academic year 2006/07, it is concerned about girls and women without such education, and the impact of this lack of education on their opportunities in other fields, including the labour market. The Committee is also concerned about the high rate of teenage pregnancy, the impact on girls’ educational opportunities and economic empowerment, and the lack of proactive measures to ensure that teenage mothers stay in, or return to school. It is also concerned that insufficient efforts are made to encourage girls and young women to enter traditionally male-dominated fields of study.

The Committee calls on the State party to implement measures to ensure equal access of girls and women to all levels of education, in accordance with article 10 of the Convention. It calls on the State party to put in place measures, including monitoring mechanisms and sanctions, to ensure that pregnant students stay in and return to school during and after pregnancy. The Committee calls on the State party to provide incentives for young women to enter traditionally male-dominated fields of study, and encourages the State party to develop non-stereotyped educational curricula that address structural causes of discrimination against women and enhance educational opportunities and achievement for girls and boys at all levels. (Paragraph 27 and 28)

Reproductive health: While noting the State party’s ongoing efforts to reform the health sector, the Committee is concerned about the apparent inadequate attention by the State party to the differential and specific needs of women in this area. The Committee is concerned that it did not obtain a clear picture about the availability of comprehensive reproductive health care. The Committee notes with concern the persistence of unsafe abortions in the country. It also notes with concern that no information was provided about measures to provide safe abortion services where those are permitted by law. Further, the Committee is concerned about the lack of facilities and district hospitals to provide comprehensive services for childbirth, and about women’s access to antenatal and postnatal services.

The Committee recommends that the State party take into account its general recommendation 24 on article 12, on women and health, in all health sector reform efforts so as to effectively address the differential needs in the area of general health and specific health needs of women. It calls on the State party to ensure that obstetric and maternal health needs are adequately addressed, including access to these services by women in rural communities. It also recommends that the State party provide safe abortion services in cases where those are permitted by law, and to enhance sex education and availability of contraceptives so as to prevent women having to resort to unsafe abortions. The Committee also calls on the State party to ensure that women do not require, in law or in practice, a husband’s written consent for performance of tubal ligation. The Committee invites the State party to submit, in its next report, statistical data on the percentage of birth with obstetric care, information about maternal mortality rates including the main causes of maternal death, as well as information about the rate of abortion. (Paragraph 31 and 32)

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UN Committee against Torture

Not yet signed or ratified.

  ____________________________________________________

UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture

No visits undertaken.

____________________________________________________

UN Committee on Migrant Workers

Not yet signed or ratified.

 ____________________________________________________

UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Signed in 2011, but not yet ratified.

____________________________________________________

UN Committee on Enforced Disappearance

Not yet signed or ratified.

Organisation: 
Child Rights International Network

Countries

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