SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE: Children's Rights References in the Universal Periodic Review

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.

Sao Tome and Principe - 10th Session - 2011
31st January, 9am to 12pm

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National Report
Compilation of UN Information
Stakeholder Information
Accepted and rejected recommendations


National Report

National report not yet submitted

UN Compilation

1. The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) encouraged consideration of ratification of other human rights instruments, such as ICESCR and ICCPR, and further recommended that Sao Tome and Principe consider ratifying the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child of 1990.8 The Committee also recommended that the State ratify as soon as possible both Optional Protocols to CRC.9

2. CRC remained concerned about the lack of compatibility between some domestic laws and the Convention, and about the lack of implementation of appropriate domestic laws. It was further concerned that very few instruments protecting human rights have been ratified by Sao Tome and Principe.10

4. CRC noted that a multisectoral National Child Rights Committee was established in April 2003 to coordinate initiatives to implement the Convention.12 It also noted that the new National Child Rights Committee was entrusted with the monitoring of the implementation of the Convention. However, the Committee was concerned that the National Child Rights Committee might lack the independence necessary to perform this task and that its mandate in that regard was not in accordance with the Paris Principles.13

5. CRC recommended that the State party either strengthen the existing National Child Rights Committee implementation and monitoring, or establish a national human rights institution according to the Paris Principles, and ensure that the National Child Rights Committee or the new national institution is provided with sufficient human and financial resources.14

6. In 2005, Sao Tome and Principe adopted the Plan of Action (2005–2009) for the World Programme for Human Rights Education focusing on the national school system.15

7. CRC was concerned that discrimination against disabled children and children living in poverty persists de facto. It recommended that Sao Tome and Principe conduct an in-depth revision of all legislation in order to fully guarantee the application of the principle of non-discrimination in domestic laws and to adopt a proactive and comprehensive strategy to eliminate discrimination on any grounds and against all vulnerable groups, in particular poor and disabled children.18

8. CRC was deeply concerned that corporal punishment in the family, in schools and other institutions occurs and is still lawful in certain circumstances. It was further concerned that domestic legislation contains no definition of ill-treatment. It recommended that Sao Tome and Principe amend the current legislation to prohibit corporal punishment in all places, including in the family, in schools and other childcare settings.19

9. The Committee was concerned that no mechanism exists to protect children against all forms of violence, including physical, mental and sexual abuse and neglect. It recommended that Sao Tome and Principe: take measures to address the problem of violence against children; ensure that there is a national system for receiving, monitoring, and investigating complaints, and when necessary, prosecuting cases; and ensure that perpetrators of violence against children are duly prosecuted and have access to counselling services.20

10. CRC shared the concern of Sao Tome and Principe about the gradual increase of cases of prostitution and other forms of sexual abuse which involved children. The Committee was also deeply concerned that child prostitutes are considered by the law as criminals rather than as victims. It recommended that Sao Tome and Principe: conduct a comprehensive study to assess the scope and nature of sexual exploitation of children; take all necessary measures to effectively protect all children from sexual exploitation; develop adequate systems of investigation of cases of sexual exploitation and of recovery for the victims; and undertake awareness-raising campaigns.21

11. The Committee was concerned that children have easy access to pornographic DVDs sold locally. It recommended that Sao Tome and Principe take all necessary measures to protect children from exposure to harmful information, including pornography.22

12. CRC was concerned that despite a general prohibition of work for children under 14 years, Act No. 6/92 allows a minor to conclude a work contract and to receive remuneration for work. It was further concerned by the high number of children who are working.23

13. CRC was concerned that Decree 417, as modified in 2003, has not yet been implemented and that no juvenile court exists. It recommended that Sao Tome and Principe: implement adequate legislation on criminal or other procedures to deal with persons under the age of 18 in conflict with the law; establish juvenile courts endowed with appropriately trained personnel, including judges; and ensure that detained persons under the age of 18, including in pretrial detention, are always separated from adults.24

14. The Committee was concerned that although many laws provide for the principle of the best interests of the child to be taken into consideration, these laws are often not applied. It recommended that Sao Tome and Principe ensure the implementation of all relevant laws guaranteeing that the best interests of the child be a primary consideration in all actions concerning children.25

16. CRC was concerned by the lack of parental responsibilities, reflected in the high number of children abandoned by one or both parents, who depart for neighbouring countries. It recommended that Sao Tome and Principe take all necessary measures: to support abandoned children socially and financially; to ensure that children born out of wedlock are registered and enjoy the same protection and services as children born in wedlock; and to ensure that fathers, as well as mothers, meet their parental responsibilities.27

19. CRC took note of the new strategy to combat malaria. However, it was concerned at the lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation, which is the main cause of the prevalence of diarrhoeal diseases and worms, the high incidence of respiratory diseases and malaria, the high levels of maternal and child mortality, child malnutrition and the high number of children born with low birth weight.31

23. CRC recommended that Sao Tome and Principe: keep implementing measures to guarantee universal access to primary health care, especially maternal and child health-care services and facilities, including in rural areas; take the necessary measures to build the capacity of health personnel; prioritize the provision of drinking water and sanitation services; strengthen existing efforts to immunize as many children and mothers as possible; strengthen existing efforts to combat malaria, respiratory diseases and diarrhoeal infections, and to take all necessary measures to lower mortality rates; increase the proportion of resources allocated to the health sector, so as to fully implement the Convention; and take measures to improve the nutritional status of children through education and promotion of healthy feeding practices, including breastfeeding.35

26. CRC noted with interest the Reproductive Health Programme. However, it was concerned that: only adolescents over 16 years are able to seek medical counselling without parental consent; alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse is affecting an increasing number of young people and that the existing legislation does not provide effective protection for children; the rate of teenage pregnancies is high; and mental health services are lacking. The Committee recommended that Sao Tome and Principe: develop comprehensive policies and plans on adolescent health; promote collaboration between State agencies and non-governmental organizations in order to establish a system of formal and informal education on HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections, on sex education and on family planning; ensure access to reproductive health counselling and information and services for all adolescents; provide adolescents with accurate and objective information on the harmful consequences of alcohol, drug and tobacco use, and develop and implement a legislation adequately protecting them from harmful misinformation, including through comprehensive restrictions on alcohol and tobacco advertising; establish adequate mental health services.38

27. CRC welcomed the successive reforms in the education system undertaken since 1991, but remained concerned that several values and rights recognized in the Convention on the aims of education are not included in the school curricula and that the reforms undertaken lack an overall vision. Further, the Committee was very concerned that: the illiteracy, drop-out and repeaters rates, particularly of girls, are high; the quality of education is low; children in remote areas do not have access to schools; due to the system of shifts, the time spent in school per day by children is not long enough.39

28 A 2010 United Nations Statistics Division source indicated that the total net enrolment ratio in primary education in 2009 was 98.4 per cent.40 The 2008 Resident Coordinator Annual Report, however, stated that, since the concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child were issued in 2004, no improvement had been apparent with respect to the school dropout rates among girls, with early pregnancy among adolescent girls continuing to be a problem nationwide.41

29. The 2007–2011 UNDAF mentioned that primary education is universal, obligatory and free by law and comprises two cycles, of four and two years respectively. So far, however, only the first cycle is ensured whereas access to the second cycle of fifth and sixth grades is limited and offered by very few schools. Furthermore, the distance that students have to commute, especially to attend fourth grade and beyond, aggravates the situation. In this context, primary school completion has witnessed a decline, leaving one third of the children out of school, and with girls being the greatest victims of faster drop-out rates. Secondary education is also geographically limited to large urban centres.42

30. The same report stated that perhaps the largest challenge in the immediate future for the Government would be to guarantee universal primary education to all children of Sao Tome and Principe. There is a contradiction between the principles of the right to education largely endorsed by the Government, and the economic and social reality. The resources allocated to the education system are not sufficient to respond to the increasing demand for education, improve the quality of teachers and supervisory staff in the school system, or offer technical and vocational training relevant to local market needs.43

31. CRC recommended that Sao Tome and Principe: undertake further consolidated reforms of the school curricula in order to ensure that they are in conformity with the aims set out in the Convention; progressively ensure that girls and boys, from urban, rural and least developed areas have equal access to educational opportunities; implement additional measures to provide access to early childhood education for every child; adopt effective measures to urgently decrease the drop-out rate and to reduce repeaters and illiteracy rates; take appropriate measures to introduce human rights, including children's rights, into the school curricula; and ensure access to leisure facilities and recreational activities.44

35. CRC recommended that Sao Tome and Principe: seek assistance from, among others, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization on children with disabilities;48 cooperate with, inter alia, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), UNICEF and civil society to improve the education sector;49 and seek assistance on child labour from, among others, ILO/IPEC and UNICEF.50 The Committee also recommended that the State seek assistance from, inter alia, OHCHR, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and UNICEF51 on juvenile justice, and from, inter alia, OHCHR and UNICEF52 on establishing a national human rights institution.

Stakeholder Compilation

1. The Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children (GIEACPC) reported that corporal punishment is lawful in the home. Article 86 of Act No. 2/77 recognizes parents' right to punish their children. There is no precise legal definition of what constitutes ill-treatment and there is no law specifically covering ill-treatment of children or violence within the family. Protection from general physical assault is given by the Criminal Code, but it is not interpreted as prohibiting corporal punishment in childrearing. According to GIEACPC there is no explicit prohibition of corporal punishment as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions or in alternative care settings.2 [GIEACPC highlighted the importance of prohibiting all corporal punishment of children in all settings, including the home, and strongly recommended that the Government enact legislation to achieve this, including through repeal of the "right to punish" children3.

Accepted and Rejected Recommendations - To follow

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