Submitted by crinadmin on
Summary: A compilation of extracts featuring child-rights issues from the reports submitted to the second Universal Periodic Review. There are extracts from the 'National Report', the 'Compilation of UN Information' and the 'Summary of Stakeholders' Information'. Also included is the list of accepted and rejected recommendations. United Kingdom - 2nd Session – 2012 Scroll to: Summary of Stakeholders' Information Accepted and Rejected Recommendations (Read about the first cycle review) 90. At its previous review the UK accepted recommendation 9 to set up a strategic oversight body, such as a Commission on Violence Against Women to ensure greater coherence and more effective protection for women. The Government’s ambition is nothing less than ending all forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG). On 25th November 2010, we published a strategic vision for tackling VAWG - Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls – aimed at tacking the root causes of VAWG, and dealing fully with its effects. The VAWG Action Plan launched 8 March 2011, sets out a comprehensive programme of actions. We believe that the Strategy goes beyond a body or Commission that may be constrained by its terms of reference or rigid structures. Delivery of the Action Plan is closely monitored by a Inter-Ministerial Group, chaired by the Home Secretary and a cross-departmental Delivery Board. The Strategy is being delivered in partnership with statutory organisations, local government, business and voluntary sector organisations. (Great Britain) 96. The Government is fully committed to the promotion and implementation of the UNCRC. In December 2010, we announced to Parliament that we will give due consideration to the UNCRC when making new policy and legislation. (Great Britain) 97. In November 2008, the United Kingdom formally withdrew its final two reservations – Articles 22 which deals with refugee children and 37c which refers to children in custody with adults (recommendation 25). We recognise the importance of ensuring that secure establishments holding young people are specifically designed and developed for their needs which are often different to the needs of adults. The lifting of the reservations is further proof that the UK is delivering on its mission to improve the lives of all children. We have also ratified the optional protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, drawing special attention to these serious violations of children’s rights and the steps to combat them. It submitted its progress report to the UN in May 2011. (Great Britain) 98. As previously stated in response to recommendation 2, the UK has no reservations against the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. The Government’s declaration made upon signature is an interpretative statement rather than a reservation. In it we made clear that the British Armed Forces would continue to recruit from age 16 but included a clear commitment to take all feasible measures to ensure those who had not yet reached the age of 18 did not take part in hostilities. We do not consider this inconsistent with our obligations under the Optional Protocol, to which we are firmly committed. (Great Britain) 99. The Scottish Government’s consultation on the Rights of Children & Young People Bill closed on 1st December 2011. Analysis of responses and consideration of issues raised is ongoing, and will inform the development of the proposed legislation and influence the timing of its implementation. (Scotland) 100. The ‘Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure’ 2011 which places a duty on the Welsh Government to have 'due regard' to the rights and obligations within the UNCRC and its optional protocols came into force on 16 May 2011. From 1 May 2012, up to and including 30 April 2014, the due regard duty applies to decisions of the Welsh Government in relation to proposed new legislation; proposed new policies; and a review of or change to an existing policy. From 1 May 2014, it will apply to all decisions and actions by the Welsh Government. (Wales) 101. Delivery against the rights contained in the UNCRC is primarily taken forward through the 10 year Strategy and Action Plans. The Ten Year Strategy “Our Children and Young People – Our Pledge” sets out the Executive’s vision for Children and Young People from 2006 to 2016. It identifies six high level outcomes and progress against these is measured through a range of indicators. However, there is no political consensus to implement actions to address some of the issues outlined in the concluding observations of the Committee, such as the defence of reasonable chastisement and academic selection at a particular age. (Northern Ireland) 102. The latest 2010-11 data is currently being finalised and will be an important factor in deciding the nature of the new 2012-16 Action Plan. Action on the priorities identified will provide measurable progress against both the Strategy outcomes and the UNCRC. The Play and Leisure Policy statement & Implementation Plan sets out the Executive’s commitment to children and young people’s play and leisure needs and their rights to engage in these activities. (Northern Ireland) 103. In 2008, the UK accepted recommendation 11 to provide further information about efforts to reduce child poverty by half by 2010. The Government made its commitment to eradicating child poverty clear in The Coalition: Our Programme for Government. As required by the Child Poverty Act 2010, it published its first strategy for tackling child poverty in April 2011, covering the period to 2014. (Great Britain) 104. The strategy draws together reform of welfare and education, increasing work incentives, tackling barriers to employment, and improving children’s life chances, with a greater concentration on early intervention and whole-family and whole-life measures. (Great Britain) 105. The Government will also introduce new measures to capture the broader understanding of both the causes and consequences of poverty. The result of efforts of the previous government to halve child poverty by 2010 in line with their commitment will be known in Spring 2012 when findings of the annual HBAI statistics survey are available. (Great Britain) 106. The Scottish Government aims to tackle the long-term drivers of child poverty, through early intervention and prevention and a focus on economic growth and employability. The measures set out in its key social policy frameworks: Achieving Our Potential, Equally Well and the Early Years Framework are designed to make a lasting and sustained impact on the social and structural determinants of poverty. We published a Child Poverty Strategy in March 2011, which sets out strategic priorities and actions for Scottish Government and partners, focussing on maximising household resources and improving children’s life chances. The Scottish Government remain committed to the UK Government target to eradicate child poverty by 2020. (Scotland) 107. The Welsh Government, local authorities and other public bodies are now required by law to set out what actions they are taking to tackle child poverty. (Wales) 108. To meet this legal requirement, we published the Child Poverty Strategy for Wales in 2011. The Strategy sets out what the Welsh Government can achieve in helping to reduce child poverty, particularly in the areas of improving health, education and economic outcomes for children of low income families. This is accompanied by an Action Plan to measure progress against the strategy. (Wales) 109. The NI draft programme for government, published on 17 November 2011 seeks to: improve safeguarding outcomes for children and young people most at risk; reduce child poverty; provide good quality and affordable childcare; make financial help available from the Social Protection Fund for families facing hardship; and support young people into employment. There is a strong emphasis on creating conditions to improve educational outcomes, particularly for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. However, some in Northern Ireland have concerns that the implementation of Welfare Reform could impact negatively on NI efforts to reduce child poverty. (Northern Ireland) 110. The Government has committed to legislate to give the Children’s Commissioner for England an explicit role of promoting and protecting children’s rights in line with the UNCRC. We are also introducing other legislative changes designed to make the Commissioner more independent from Government and more accountable to Parliament. We have consulted on legislative proposals and will introduce legislation to Parliament, at the earliest opportunity. (Great Britain) 111. The Scottish Commissioner for Children and Young People’s main task is to promote and safeguard the rights of children and young people. The post was established by the Commissioner for Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2003. (Scotland) 112. The Children's Commissioner for Wales is an independent children’s rights institution established in 2001 with a principal aim to safeguard and promote the rights and welfare of children. In exercising his functions, the Commissioner must have regard to the UNCRC. The Commissioner’s remit covers all areas of the devolved powers of the National Assembly for Wales in so far as they affect children’s rights and welfare and he may also make representations to the National Assembly for Wales about any matter affecting the rights and welfare of children in Wales. (Wales) 113. The NI Commissioner for Children and Young People was established as a Non Departmental Government Body in 2003. In 2010 an independent review commissioned to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of the work of the Commissioner, concluded that the rationale for establishing the Commissioner was still valid and that the role of the Commissioner continues to be best achieved through a separate independent arms length body. (Northern Ireland) 114. In 2008, the UK accepted recommendation 10 to consider going beyond current legislation if the need arises to protect children from violence. Keeping children safe is a top priority for the Government, which is absolutely clear that no child should be subjected to violence or abuse. The law in the UK does not allow physical punishment that amounts to the abuse of children. Corporal punishment is banned in state and full-time independent schools, in nursery and childminding settings, and in children’s homes. In other settings, any assault on a child that results in injuries that are more than transient or trifling could be charged as an assault occasioning actual or grievous bodily harm and where that is the case, the assault cannot be defended on the basis that it is reasonable punishment. Research shows that fewer parents now use physical punishment, and we hope that trend continues. We encourage the provision of evidence-based parenting programmes as they promote alternatives to physical punishment to manage children’s behaviour. (Great Britain) 115. The Government continues to work in partnership with the governments of the Overseas Territories to encourage them, where appropriate, to put in place policies and legislation to ensure the necessary protection for children. A number of the Territories now have legislation that prohibits the use of corporal punishment in schools. In the Territories that have not yet done this, corporal punishment is seldom used and, in any case, can only be administered under strictly controlled conditions. Territories are instead moving towards positive reinforcements of good behaviour. (Great Britain) 116. In Scotland, it is illegal to punish children by shaking them or hitting them on the head or using a belt, slipper, wooden spoon or other implement. The Scottish Government does not support smacking as a way of disciplining children but does not consider it appropriate to criminalise parents for lightly smacking their children. (Scotland) 117. In 2008, the UK accepted recommendation 18 with regard to the high incarceration rate of children. In England and Wales, the number of young people in custody has fallen significantly over recent years. During 2010/2011, there was an average of 2,040 under-18s in custody at any one time, down 16% compared to 2009/2010 from 2,418. Custodial sentences are used as a last resort, reserved for the most serious and persistent young offenders. (Great Britain) 118. The UK did not accept the recommendation with regard to so-called “painful techniques” applied to children. Some under-18 secure establishments in England and Wales do use restraint techniques that contain an element of pain (‘pain-inducing restraint techniques’). An Independent Review of Restraint in Juvenile Secure Settings (IRR) in 2008 concluded that a degree of pain in restraint techniques may be necessary in exceptional circumstances, for example in order to prevent harm to a young person in custody. We accept that the use of pain-inducing techniques in restraining young people must only take place in exceptional circumstances, when all other approaches have been exhausted or would not work. (Great Britain) 119. As a result of implementing the IRR recommendations, a new system of restraint - Minimising and Managing Physical Restraint (MMPR) - has been developed for use in most of the under-18 secure establishments in England and Wales. MMPR includes the use of some techniques which involve the application of a controlled amount of pain. All techniques have been assessed by an independent panel of medical and operational specialists (the Restraint Advisory Board) to ensure that each technique is suitable and safe for use on under-18s. Rollout of this new restraint system is due to begin in 2012. (Great Britain) 120. SPS (HMP YOI Polmont and HMP YOI Cornton Vale) use ‘Pain Compliance’ restraint across the board in order to achieve a balance between only using when there is no other option but also to protect staff and others as well as the young person themselves. Staff are trained to use all de-escalation options first and would only use physical restraint when absolutely necessary. Staff are also trained to take account of age and gender. For the majority (Blair House, Polmont) of young people there is also more debriefing in circumstances where restraint has been necessary to identify the triggers to reduce the risk of it occurring again. (Scotland) 121. In relation to restraint, NI is playing an integral part in the national programme to develop new techniques that will improve existing practice. As the numbers in custody continue to decline, and following a number of independent reviews, there is now a Ministerial commitment to accommodate all under-18 year olds, subject to the ‘best interests’ principle, in the one purpose-built centre for juveniles as soon as practicable. A wide range of community-based alternatives to custody are available, including youth conferencing based on restorative principles and available as a pre or post court disposal. (Northern Ireland) 132. The Social Services (Wales) Bill will provide, for the first time, a coherent Welsh legal framework for social services based on the principles we hold dear in Wales and ensure a strong voice and real control for people. It will simplify access to services and will cover social care services for both children and adults and will, as far as it is possible, integrate the arrangements for both of these groups; so that social care services are provided on the basis of need and not of age. (Wales) 139. Since 2008 the Isle of Man has brought into operation legislation to prohibit discrimination in the provision of goods and services on the grounds of race or ethnic origin, to prohibit the use of corporal punishment of minors in all educational settings, to establish civil partnerships for same-sex couples, and for the legal recognition of transgendered persons’ acquired gender. Further equality legislation is in the development stage. (Isle of Man) 142. The Government is funding two human rights projects in the Overseas Territories. One focuses on helping governments to improve their implementation of human rights through a range of training workshops and through specialist assistance and advice; the other is designed to improve policy making, implementation and professional practice with regard to the protection of children. (The Overseas Territories) 3. In 2010, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants recommended that the Government consider ratifying the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICRMW) and ILO Convention No. 143 concerning Migrations in Abusive Conditions and the Promotion of Equality of Opportunity and Treatment of Migrant Workers. CERD CESCR, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)encouraged the United Kingdom to ratify ICRMW. 5. In 2008, CRC welcomed the United Kingdom’s decision to withdraw its reservations to articles 22 and 37 (c) of the Conventionand the fact that there have been instances where the Convention has been referred to in the United Kingdom’s domestic courts. 8. CRC welcomed the “Every Child Matters” set of reforms in England. However, it remained concerned that the Convention is not regularly used for the development of strategies. 9. The Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants encouraged independent bodies, such as the national human rights institutions and the children’s commissioners, to adopt a coordinated approach based, inter alia, on the Santa Cruz Declaration on the role of national human rights institutions in dealing with migration and the Seoul Declaration on upholding human rights during conflict and while countering terrorism. 18. CRC was very concerned that six more children have died in custody since the last examination as well as at the high prevalence of self-injurious behaviour among children in custody. 23. CRC noted that children involved in the conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan may be detained by the United Kingdom’s military authorities. It made recommendations including that the United Kingdom ensure that children only be detained as a measure of last resort and in adequate conditions, and guarantee a periodic and impartial review of their detention. 24. CRC urged the United Kingdom to ensure that restraint against children be used only as a last resort and exclusively to prevent harm to the child or others and that all methods of physical restraint for disciplinary purposes be abolished. 26. CEDAW was concerned at the prevalence of violence against women and girls and the low prosecution rates of sexual violence cases. A similar concern was expressed by CESCR. CEDAW remained concerned at the absence of a national strategy and programme to combat all forms of violence against women and girls, and made recommendations. 27. CEDAW urged the United Kingdom to ensure the full implementation of legislation to prohibit Female Genital Mutilation, including prosecution of perpetrators. 28. CRC was concerned at the failure of the United Kingdom to explicitly prohibit all corporal punishment. CESCR and the HR Committee expressed a similar concern. CRC recommended that it prohibit as a matter of priority all corporal punishment. The HR Committee, CEDAW and CESCR made similar recommendations. 29. CEDAW, as highlighted by UNHCR, urged the United Kingdom to continue to take all appropriate measures to combat all forms of trafficking in women and children. CEDAW invited the United Kingdom to give consideration to granting victims of trafficking indefinite leave to remain CRC recommended that the United Kingdom provide the necessary resources for an effective implementation of the Anti-trafficking Action Plan. 31.CRC recommended that the United Kingdom implement legislation criminalizing the recruitment and involvement of children in hostilities contrary to the Optional Protocol CRC also recommended that it expressly prohibit, within its legislation, sale of arms to countries where children are known to be or may potentially be recruited or used in hostilities. 34. The HR Committee also recommended that the United Kingdom review its legislation on anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs). CRC recommended that it conduct an independent review of ASBOs, with a view to abolishing their application to children. 35. CEDAW invited the United Kingdom to assess the impact of the minimum age limit for overseas spouses or fiancés on the prevention of forced marriage and to review its policy in this regard CERD recommended removing the increase in the marriage visa age for purposes of family reunification from 18 to 21 years. 36. CRC was concerned that DNA data regarding children is kept in the National DNA Database irrespective of whether the child is ultimately charged or found guilty; it recommended that the United Kingdom ensure both in legislation and in practice that children are protected against unlawful or arbitrary interference. 39. The Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief was alarmed about reports that schoolchildren in Northern Ireland are often targets of abuse or physical attacks owing to their religious affiliation. 42. CESCR urged the United Kingdom to intensify its efforts to combat poverty and to develop human-rights based poverty reduction programmes. CRC recommended that it implement the legislation aimed at achieving the target of ending poverty by 2020, giving priority to those children and their families in most need support. 49. EDAW and CRC were concerned at the high rate of teenage pregnancies and made recommendations CRC was concerned at the incidence of alcohol, drugs and other toxic-substance use by adolescents, and made recommendations. 50. UNESCO noted that the right to education is guaranteed through several legislation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and that part 6 of the new Equality Act, adopted in 2010, is dedicated to school. 51. CERD recommended that the United Kingdom adopt an intensified approach towards preventing exclusion of Black pupils, Gypsy and Traveller children and Afro-Caribbean. 56. The Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants remained concerned about the use of detention in immigration control and the process of refugee status determination. He recommended ensuring the protection of migrant children accompanied by their families from detention, and consider implementing the recommendations made by CRC.He also recommended recognizing the benefit of the doubt in disputed cases of allegedly separated and unaccompanied children who seek asylum. Summary of Stakeholders' Information 1. The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) referred to recommendations 12, 15, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 26and stated that the United Kingdom should inter alia (a) remove its interpretative declaration in relation to the OP-CRC-AC; its interpretative declaration in relation to ICERD; and its reservations to Articles 12. 4, 24(a) and (b) and 27 of CRPD; (b) ratify the ICCPR-OP1, ICCPR-OP2, ICESCR-OP and ICRMW;(c) issue the required declarations under Article 22 of CAT and Article 14 of ICERD. 18. NIHRC referred to recommendations 2, 7 and 9 and stated that the over-use of custodial remand for children in Northern Ireland indicated that the CRC was not fully implemented. 20. NIHRC referred to recommendations 2, 9 and 25 and stated that the current age of criminal responsibility across the United Kingdom – 10 years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 12 years in Scotland – was too low. 21. NIHRC referred to recommendation 16, the Child Poverty Act 2010 and the Child Poverty Strategy, and called on the United Kingdom to specify how it intended to end child poverty. 25. Joint Submission 10 (JS 10) referred to recommendations 25 and 26 and stated that the United Kingdom has lifted its reservations to the CRC on immigration and citizenship, and ratified the OP-CRC-SC and the CRPD. 26. Save the Children (SC) stated that the United Kingdom has not withdrawn its reservation to OP-CRC-SC. 27. Child Soldiers International (CSI) stated that the United Kingdom considered its declaration when OP-CRC-AC was ratified to be an “interpretive statement” rather than a reservation. As the declaration limited the legal effect of OP-CRC-AC, it was tantamount to being a reservation. 35. Joint Submission 8 (JS 8) and JS 10 stated that none of the human rights treaties ratified by the United Kingdom has been incorporated into law, including the CRC. JS 9 stated that the failure to incorporate the CRPD into law limited the enforcement of rights of persons with disabilities. 36. JS 8 stated that in Wales, the Rights of Children and Young Persons Measure, passed in March 2011, placed a duty on Ministers to have due regard to the CRC in exercising any of their functions. JS 10 stated that the Scotland’s bill, similar to the Welsh Measure, could not serve as an alternative to the incorporation of the CRC into law. 40. The Office of the Children’s Commissioner (OCC) recommended that a new bill of rights should include specific rights for children. 42. SC called for compliance of the four Children’s Commissioners with the Paris Principles. 43. The Children’s Commissioner for Wales (CCW) called for legislative amendment to remove the OCC’s functions in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland over non-devolved issues, enabling each of the Children’s Commissioners to promote and protect all of the rights of children in their devolved territories. 45. JS 8 stated that it remained concerned about inter alia the lack of a strategic approach by the Welsh Government with regard to children’s rights. 52. CCW stated that the EA did not offer children protection from discrimination on the grounds of their age. 53. Abused Men in Scotland (AMIS) stated that in Scotland there was an institutional bias against men in relation to access to their children in cases which included divorce or separation. 54. UKJCW stated that the labour market was characterised by persistent occupational segregation, rooted in gendered patterns of skills acquisition, which are underpinned by stereotyping girls’ and women’s aptitudes, preferences, and capabilities. 63. GIEACPC referred to recommendations 2, 3, 4, and 5 and stated that since the Review, the legality of corporal punishment of children in the United 8.Kingdom remained unchanged. Corporal punishment remained lawful in the home. The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe (CoE-Commissioner) stated that the laws were not compliant with international human rights standards. JS 8 stated that they were in breach of the CRC. 64. GIEACPC stated that corporal punishment was prohibited in all state and private schools. In the penal system, corporal punishment was unlawful as a sentence for a crime. Corporal punishment was also prohibited in residential care institutions and in foster care arranged by local authorities or voluntary organisations, but remained lawful in private foster care. 65. World Vision (WVUK) stated that while British citizens and residents were prosecuted in the United Kingdom for exploitation and abuse of children abroad, the rate of successful prosecutions remained low. 81. CCW called for a re-orientation of the juvenile justice system in order to inter alia ensure the non-criminalisation of children; and respect for the rights of children in custody. JS 7 stated that staffs at the four secure training centres, which were privately run, were inadequately trained. HLPR expressed concerns about the use of restraint, solitary confinement and forcible strip-searching of children in custody. OCC stated that pain-inflicting restraint techniques were used despite the risk of serious injury to children. 97. CCW referred to recommendation 16 and stated that the commitment to half child poverty by 2010 was not achieved. CCW called for sufficient resources to tackle child poverty. 98. JS 8 stated that the “Child Poverty Strategy” lacked clear recognition of the financial pressures facing families and the impact this was having on children. 99. JS 8 stated that in Wales, the passage of the “Children and Families Measure” made statutory provision to take forward its commitment to eradicate child poverty. CCW stated that many of the levers which impact on child poverty were not within the competency of the National Assembly for Wales. 100. Engender stated that the Child Poverty Strategy for Scotland has failed to materialise into concrete plans for lifting children out of poverty through directly addressing the poverty of their mothers. 102. JS 10 stated that the specialist child and adolescent services for those with mental health problems in Scotland was inadequate. 103. SCFS expressed concern over the use of drug chemical ‘coshes’ for children with conditions such as Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and for adults in residential care. 107. SC stated that socio-economic background affected early learning. Children who lived in poverty performed lower than those who did not. 108. JS 10 stated that in Scotland there was lack of support to enable children with disabilities to inter alia learn in mainstream education. 109. SCFS stated that the Scottish Government must ensure that teachers were fully trained to additionally support children with learning difficulties and autistic spectrum disorders. 110. SCFS stated that deaf children should have the opportunity to learn and use British Sign language (BSL) at school. 111. JS 13 stated that the “Human Rights in Schools Project” conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice was stopped in 2009 for lack of funds. 112. SexYOUality (SY) stated that teachers have not been adequately trained to respond to homophobic bullying in schools. 113. CRAE stated that there was an erosion of civil rights in schools. The Education Act 2011, for instance, empowered staff to look through and delete information from pupils’ phones and laptops. 114. CRAE stated that the CRC should be included in the statutory national curriculum. 115. JS 9 stated that the new Universal Credit system could significantly reduce the support to disabled children and their families. 123. SCFS expressed concern that women were being advised to abort their children upon diagnosis of disability despite the possibility of these children having a good quality of life. 132. OCC referred to recommendation 25 and stated that although Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre for children has been closed, children were still detained while awaiting deportation or removal. Accepted and Rejected Recommendations: The following recommendations were accepted: 110.5. Consider an early ratification of the newest international human right instrument – the third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communication procedure (Slovakia); 110.7. Withdraw its reservations to the CRC concerning detained and asylum seeking children (Iran (Islamic Republic of)); 110.10. Take all measures necessary to fully implement the CRC (France); 110.29. Sign and ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combatting Violence against Woman and Domestic Violence (France); 110.32. Continue to ensure that human rights principles are integrated in domestic laws (Qatar); 110.34. Introduce law that will criminalize use of children in military actions (Uzbekistan); 110.38. Introduce legislation at the earliest opportunity to give the Children’s Commissioner for England an explicit role of promoting and protecting children’s rights in line with the CRC and to make the Commissioner more independent from Government and more accountable to Parliament (Australia); 110.41. Set out a clear pathway to meet the goal of ending child poverty in the UK by 2020 as stated in the Coalition’s programme for government (Norway); 110.51. Continue efforts to combat discrimination on any ground and violence against women and girls (Cuba); 110.66. Consider strengthening policies to combat discrimination in all areas, notably in employment and education (Morocco); 110.69. Adopt a national strategy to combat all forms of violence against women and girls (Brazil); 110.70. Continue making progress in implementing the Action Plan on violence against women and girls (Colombia); 110.71. Take more effective measures to combat all forms of violence against women and girls and to ensure that the perpetrators of violence are taken to justice and punished (Malaysia); 110.72. Increase efforts to combat trafficking in persons, particularly to protect women and children (Spain); 110.87. Take concrete steps to further reduce overcrowding of prisons, including through the increased application of alternative sentencing for juvenile offenders (Austria); 110.91. Strengthen data collection and maintain disaggregated data to better understand the scale and severity of hate crimes towards women, immigrants, religious minorities, persons with disabilities, and children (United States of America); 110.96. Ensure that the best interests of the child are taken into account when arresting, detaining, sentencing or considering early release for a sole or primary carer of the child, bearing in mind that visits of a parent in prison are primarily a right of the child rather than a privilege of the prisoner that can be withdrawn as a disciplinary measure (Slovakia); 110.106. Adopt a strategy so that children of vulnerable groups are not excluded from the education system (Costa Rica);
The following recommendations were rejected: 110.6. Consider withdrawing its declaration to Article 1 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Right of the Child on Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, and raise the armed forces minimum recruitment age to 18 (Slovenia); 110.8. Withdraw its interpretive statement on the OP to the CRC on the involvement of children in armed conflict (Russian Federation); 110.9. Incorporate fully, as a matter of urgency, the principles and provisions of the CRC into domestic law (Slovakia); 110.14. Consider the possibility of ratifying the international Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (Chile); 110.17. Protect the children and families of migrants and refugees, and accede to the ICRMW (Morocco); 110.27. Ratify ILO Convention No. 189 on Domestic Workers (Uruguay); 110.28. Consider ratifying ILO Convention 189 on Decent Work for Domestic Workers and the ICRMW (Philippines); 110.35. Prohibit under the law the sale of weapons to the countries where children have been or are used in military actions (Uzbekistan); 110.78. Reconsider its position about the continued legality of corporal punishment of children (Sweden); 110.79. Take measures to ensure the freedom of children from physical punishment in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Norway); 110.80. Introduce a ban on all corporal punishment of children as recommended by the CRC and other treaty bodies (Finland); 110.94. Consider the possibility of raising the minimum criminal age and refrain from the practice of keeping children in custody (Belarus); 110.95. Consider the possibility of raising the age of criminal responsibility for minors (Chile); 110.99. Assess the impact of the minimum age limit for overseas spouses or fiancés on the prevention of forced marriage and review its policy in this regard (Slovenia);
Thursday 24 May 2012 - 9.00 a.m. - 12.30 p.m
110.4. Lift multiple reservations to international human rights treaties, including the ICESCR and the Optional Protocols to the CRC (Belarus);