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
- 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/SWZ/CO/1
Concluding observations issued, in the absence of a report by the State party: 25 July 2017
Issues raised:
Ratification: The Committee welcomes the enactment of the Children’s Protection and Welfare Act, in 2012 (para. 7).
The Committee also welcomes the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, on 24 September 2012 (para. 8).
Violence: The Committee is concerned at reports of widespread violence against women and children, in particular pervasive sexual violence, including rape and marital rape, and that relevant officials lack specific training on gender-based violence. It is also concerned at the lack of adequate legislation to protect women against violence and notes in this regard the delay in enacting the sexual offences and domestic violence bill. It is further concerned that the national strategy and action plan to end violence (2013-2018) has not yet been implemented (arts. 3, 6, 7 and 24) (para.26).
The State party should: Promptly adopt legislation to effectively criminalize and combat sexual offences and domestic violence; Provide relevant actors in the police, public prosecution and judiciary with training on sexual and gender-based violence and on evidence-gathering for such cases; Strengthen its efforts to raise the awareness of the wider public to the adverse impact of sexual and gender-based violence and encourage reporting, inter alia by systematically informing women and children of their rights and of the existing legal avenues through which they can receive protection; Ensure that all cases of sexual and gender-based violence are thoroughly investigated, that perpetrators are prosecuted and, if convicted, are punished with appropriate sanctions, and that victims receive full reparation; Ensure that victims have access to effective remedies and means of protection, including to an adequate number of psychological and educational centres, and that other support services, such as accommodation or shelters, are available in all parts of the country (para. 27).
Pregnancy: The Committee is also concerned by the high teenage pregnancy rate (arts. 3, 6 and 17) (para. 28).
The State party should ensure access for men, women, boys and girls to comprehensive reproductive health education and services throughout the country, particularly in rural areas, including access to affordable contraceptives, and increase awareness-raising programmes on the importance of using contraceptives and on sexual and reproductive rights and choices (para. 29).
Trafficking in persons and forced labour: The Committee is concerned at reports that adults and children have been recruited by chiefs into forced labour and that children, orphans in particular, have been forced into sex work and domestic servitude. While welcoming the adoption of the People Trafficking and People Smuggling (Prohibition) Act, the Committee is concerned that insufficient resources have been allocated to the task force against human trafficking to ensure its efficient implementation. It is also concerned that the implementation of the victim identification guidelines has been delayed (art. 8) (para. 42).
The State party should: Strengthen the task force against human trafficking by providing it with adequate resources and ensure that cases of human trafficking are effectively identified, investigated, prosecuted and punished, and that victims receive appropriate protection and reparation; Expedite the implementation of the victim identification guidelines; Broaden the implementation of measures to assist the social integration of victims and to provide access to quality health-care and counselling services throughout the State party; Take the additional steps necessary to fully eliminate forced labour and child labour (para. 43).
Juvenile justice: The Committee is concerned at the lack of a specific judicial framework for minors, at the low age of criminal responsibility for children and at the detention of adults and children together on the same premises (arts. 9, 10, 14 and 24) (para. 46).
The State party should: Take measures to establish juvenile chambers with trained judges to ensure that juveniles are treated in a manner commensurate with their age, specific needs and vulnerability; Raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility in accordance with international standards and ensure the full implementation of international standards for juvenile justice; Ensure that children are kept separate from adults in detention (para. 47).
Birth registration: While noting measures taken by the State party to ensure that all births are registered, the Committee remains concerned by the large number of births that remain unregistered (arts. 16 and 24) (para. 48).
The State party should expedite its efforts to register all births on its territory and continue to mount public and family awareness-raising campaigns concerning birth registration, particularly in rural areas (para. 49).
Corporal punishment: While noting that the Children’s Protection and Welfare Act abolished the use of corporal punishment as a judicial sentence for children, the Committee remains concerned that corporal punishment is still lawful in the home, alternative care, day care, schools and penal institutions (arts. 7 and 24) (para. 50).
The State party should take practical steps, including through legislative measures where appropriate, to put an end to corporal punishment, in all settings. It should encourage non-violent forms of discipline as alternatives to corporal punishment, and should conduct public information campaigns to raise awareness about its harmful effects (para. 51).
____________________________________________________
UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Ratified in 2004, but not yet reported.
____________________________________________________
UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
CERD/C/304/Add.31
Last reported: 19 March 1997
Concluding Observations issued: 21 March 1997
Issues raised:
No children's rights issues raised.
____________________________________________________
UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
CEDAW/C/SWZ/CO/1-2
Adopted by the Committee: 30 June-18 July 2014
Published: 18 July 2014
Issues raised:
Ratification:
The Committee welcomes the progress achieved since the ratification of the Convention, in particular the adoption of the following legislative measures:
The Children’s Protection and Welfare Act in 2012; and
The Committee welcomes the State party’s accession to the following international instruments the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography in 2012 (para.4).
The Committee recommends that the State party:
Establish a comprehensive legal aid scheme by urgently enacting the Legal Aid bill;
Ensure that the Legal Aid bill provides legal assistance to women and girls both in criminal and civil matters (para.13).
Harmful practices:
The Committee is concerned at the persistence of adverse cultural practices and traditions as well as patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted stereotypes regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and in society, particularly those portraying women as caregivers. The Committee notes that such stereotypes contribute to the increased practice of child and/or forced marriage, abduction of girls and polygamy, and hence to the disadvantaged and unequal status of women in society (para.18).
The Committee urges the State party to intensify media and other efforts to educate the public and raise awareness about existing sex-based stereotypes that persist at all levels of society, with a view to eliminating them; Expand public education programmes on the negative impact of such stereotypes on women’s enjoyment of their rights, in particular in rural areas and targeting traditional leaders who are the custodians of customary values in the State party; Take effective legal measures to prohibit and eliminate child and/or forced marriages and abolish polygamy; and regularly monitor and review the measures taken to eliminate gender stereotypes in order to assess their impact (para.19).
While noting the intention of the State party to establish a national register of persons with albinism, the Committee is deeply concerned at the gruesome murders of women and girls with albinism whose body parts are harvested for rituals. The Committee is particularly concerned at reports that previous perpetrators of such murders were prosecuted for less serious crimes such as causing grievous bodily harm, and as such were convicted and punished with lenient sentences (para.22).
The Committee recommends that the State party urgently establish a national register of persons with albinism and provide protection to women and girls with albinism. The State party should ensure the effective investigation of all complaints relating to violence against women and girls with albinism, and ensure that perpetrators are prosecuted and punished with appropriate sanctions upon conviction (para.23).
Violence:
The Committee is concerned that, according to the National Violence Surveillance System, there is a high prevalence of violence against women and girls as well as the abduction of young girls in the State party, often perpetrated by persons known to the victims (para.20).
Recalling its General Recommendation No. 19 (1992) on violence against women, the Committee urges the State party to:
Encourage reporting of domestic and sexual violence against women and girls and ensure the effective investigation of complaints and that perpetrators are punished with sanctions commensurate with the gravity of the offence, and address the culture of impunity; Undertake measures to decentralise One Stop Centres and shelters to all the four regions of the State party in order to ensure their accessibility for women and girls who are victims of violence; and establish a national violence coordination mechanism with a mandate to address all forms of violence against women and girls, and to coordinate national efforts on the prevention and elimination of violence against women (para.21).
Trafficking and sexual exploitation:
While welcoming the adoption of the People Trafficking and People Smuggling (Prohibition) Act in 2009, the Committee remains concerned that the State party is a country of origin, transit and destination for trafficked women and girls mainly for sexual exploitation and domestic labour (para.24).
The Committee recommends that the State party:
Intensify efforts to address the root causes of trafficking in women and girls and to ensure the rehabilitation and social integration of victims, including by providing them with access to shelters, legal, medical and psychosocial assistance, and alternative income-generating opportunities; Undertake a comprehensive study with a view to collecting data on the extent and forms of trafficking in women and girls, which should be disaggregated by age, region or country of origin; Intensify awareness-raising efforts aimed at promoting reporting of trafficking crimes and early detection of women and girls who are victims of trafficking as well as their referral through the National Referral Mechanism (para.25).
Nationality:
While noting the efforts of the State party to address challenges related to its nationality legislation, the Committee is concerned that both the Constitution and the Citizenship Act contain provisions depriving children born of Swazi women and foreign husbands of nationality, hence increasing their risk of statelessness. The Committee notes that this is discriminatory as it is not applicable where Swazi men marry foreign women (para.28).
The Committee recommends that the State party repeal discriminatory provisions from its Constitution and Citizenship Act to ensure that Swazi women married to foreign men can transfer their nationality to their husbands and children on the same basis as Swazi men married to foreign women, in line with article 9 of the Convention. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the State party undertake programmes aimed at ensuring that children born to Swazi women married to non-Swazi men are not rendered stateless and have equal access to education, healthcare and other basic services (para.29).
Education:
While welcoming the introduction of free primary education and the high enrolment rates of girls in school, the Committee is concerned about the indirect costs of primary education. The Committee is also concerned at stereotypical choices of subjects and courses in education by girls who often avoid science courses. The Committee is further concerned about the; Increasing number of girls who drop out of school mainly due to teenage pregnancies; Widespread cases of abuse and sexual violence of girls at school by teachers, and when travelling to and from school; Limited provision of age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health and rights education in schools due to cultural resistance as sex education is considered taboo; and lack of appropriate measures to criminalise corporal punishment and prevent its use in all settings, particularly in schools (para.30).
The Committee recommends that the State party:
Remove indirect costs of primary education such as payment for school uniform to ensure that it is free and accessible to girls, especially from poor backgrounds; Adopt measures to prevent and eliminate all abuse and sexual violence against girls in school, and ensure that perpetrators are adequately punished; Encourage girls and young women to choose non-traditional fields of study and professions, including through the adoption of temporary special measures, and implement programmes aimed at counselling boys and girls on the full range of educational choices, with a view to encouraging them to choose non-traditional fields of study; Reduce school dropouts among girls by promoting re-entry into school by girls after giving birth; Integrate age-appropriate education on sexual and reproductive health and rights into school curricula, including comprehensive sex education for adolescent girls and boys covering responsible sexual behaviours; and prohibit corporal punishment and adopt measures aimed at eliminating its use in all settings, particularly in schools, and promote the use of non-violent forms of disciplining (para.31).
Ratified in 2004, but not yet reported.
____________________________________________________
UN Committee against Torture
Ratified in 2004, but not yet reported.
____________________________________________________
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 2007, but not yet ratified.
____________________________________________________
UN Committee on Enforced Disappearance
Signed in 2007, but not yet ratified.
