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Summary: The violations highlighted are those issues raised with the State by more than one international mechanism. This is done with the intention of identifying children's rights which have been repeatedly violated, as well as gaps in the issues covered by NGOs in their alternative reports to the various human rights monitoring bodies. These violations are listed in no particular order.
Scroll to: ___________________________________________________________________ Discrimination against women and girls UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, June 2012) The Committee is aware of the efforts invested during the review period by the State party to eliminate discrimination against various vulnerable groups of children. This includes the adoption of special measures to improve education and health services delivery to children belonging to ethnic minorities, children with disabilities and migrant children. However, the Committee is seriously concerned at laws and practices that continue to discriminate against children and the persistence of both direct and indirect discrimination against children in vulnerable situations in the State party. In particular, the Committee is concerned at the following: (d) Societal discrimination against girls who consequently drop out from school and engage in early marriage, especially in the mountainous areas, and such discrimination also resulting in the practice of aborting female foetuses. In the light of article 2 of the Convention, the Committee urges the State party to ensure that all children in the State party effectively enjoy equal rights under the Convention without discrimination on any ground, and to this end: (d) Launch public awareness raising programs including campaigns with aview to eliminating all forms of discrimination against girls; focusing on school drop- out girls’ engagement in early marriage especially in mountainous areas, and on the practice of aborting female foetuses, and ensure gender mainstreaming in all anti-discrimination policies and programs; and (e) Establish a specific monitoring and evaluation system to closely track progress and results of these policies and programs, and inform the Committee in its next periodic report on the progress achieved. (Paragraphs 29 and 30) UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women While welcoming the adoption of the new Law on Gender Equality as an improvement of the legal regime and the implementation of the Convention as well as other legal and policy measures that have been put in place in different areas in recent years to eliminate discrimination against women and girls and to promote gender equality, the Committee regrets that the State party did not provide sufficient information or data on the actual impact of these laws and measures and the extent to which they have resulted in accelerating the advancement of women and girls and their enjoyment of their human rights in all areas covered by the Convention. The Committee recommends that the State party focus on the implementation of existing laws and policies by: setting clearly defined and time-bound targets; systematically collecting and analysing data; monitoring impact, trends over time and progress towards realising goals and objectives, and results achieved; and allocating sufficient human and financial resources for the effective enforcement of existing laws. With regard to the Convention and the new Law on Gender Equality, the Committee encourages the State party to: ensure their wide dissemination within the country, including their translation into minority languages, in particular among policymakers across all sectors, mass organisations, civil society and the media; take measures towards the speedy harmonisation of existing legislation with the objectives of the Convention and the Law on Gender Equality, particularly in the areas of employment, social security, education, the representation of women in political and decision-making bodies and within the public administration and health- care services; and report in its next periodic report on the progress made. With regard to the Land Law, the Committee calls upon the State party to take the necessary steps to remove any administrative obstacles that may prevent the issuance of joint land use certificates to husbands and wives, particularly in rural areas. (paragraphs 8 and 9) The Committee reiterates its concern about the persistence of patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted stereotypes, including the preference for male offspring, regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men within the family and society at large. These stereotypes present a significant obstacle to the implementation of the Convention, are a root cause of violence against women and put women in a disadvantaged position in a number of areas, including in the labour market and in political and public life. (paragraph 12) The Committee recommends that the State party take measures to bring about changes in traditional patriarchal attitudes and in gender-role stereotyping. Such measures should include awareness-raising and public educational campaigns addressing women and girls as well as men and boys, with a view to eliminating stereotypes associated with traditional gender roles in the family and in society, in accordance with articles 2 (f) and 5 (a) of the Convention. Special attention should be given to the role of the media in perpetuating such stereotypes, as well as their role in contributing to a social and cultural change towards an environment that is supportive of gender equality. The Committee recommends, in particular, that the Convention be translated into those ethnic minority languages with their own alphabets and that radio programmes in the languages of ethnic minorities, among other forms of media, be used in regularly disseminating information on the Convention and on gender equality. (paragraph 13) ___________________________________________________________________ Domestic violence, particularly against girls UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, June 2012) While noting that national legislation contains various provisions on violenceagainst children and bans child abuse, the Committee remains concerned about the lack of inclusion of all forms of child abuse and neglect in its national legislation in line with the definition provided in article 19 of the Convention. The Committee expresses its concern at the widespread violence against and abuse of children and in particular girls; the lack of appropriate measures, mechanisms and resources to prevent and combat domestic violence, including physical and sexual abuse and the neglect of children; the lack of child-friendly reporting procedures; the limited access to services for abused children; and the lack of data on the aforementioned. The Committee recommends that the State party, taking into account the Committee’s general comment No. 13 (2011) on the right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence: (a) Reform domestic legislation to include all forms of child abuse in line with article 19 of the Convention, and disseminate the law amendment in particular among law enforcement officials, the judiciary and professionals working with or for children; (b) Strengthen the national system for receiving, monitoring and investigating complaints of child abuse and neglect in a child sensitive manner; (c) Prioritise the elimination of all forms of violence against children, including by ensuring the implementation of the recommendations of the United Nations study on violence against children (A/61/299), taking into account the outcome and recommendations of the Regional Consultations for South Asia (held in Islamabad, 19–20 May 2005), and paying particular attention to gender aspects; (d) Provide information concerning the implementation by the State party of the recommendations of the above-mentioned study in its next periodic report, particularly those highlighted by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children, namely: (i) The development in each State of a national comprehensive strategy to prevent and address all forms of violence against children; (ii) The introduction of an explicit national legal ban on all forms of violence against children in all settings; and (iii) The consolidation of a national system of data collection, analysis and dissemination, and a research agenda on violence against children; (e) Ensure that administrative measures reflect Government obligations to establish policies, programs, monitoring and oversight systems required to protect the child from all forms of violence; and (f) Cooperate with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children and seek technical assistance, inter alia, from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the International Labour Office (ILO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and NGO partners. (Paragraphs 52 and 53) UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Although the Committee welcomes the drafting of a new bill on domestic violence, it continues to be concerned about the lack of information and data on all forms of violence against women and girls, the insufficient information on measures taken to prevent and combat violence against women, including services provided to victims, and the prosecution and punishment of perpetrators of all forms of violence. (paragraph 16) In accordance with its general recommendation 19, the Committee reiterates its recommendation that the State party give high priority to putting in place comprehensive measures to address all forms of violence against women and girls, including through the speedy adoption of the law on domestic violence. Such measures should ensure that women and girls who are victims of violence have access to immediate means of redress and protection and that perpetrators are prosecuted and punished. The Committee urges the State party to conduct research on the prevalence, causes and consequences of all forms of violence against women, including domestic violence, to serve as the basis for comprehensive and targeted intervention. The Committee repeats its recommendation that the State party continue and increase the implementation of educational and awareness-raising measures aimed at law enforcement officials, the judiciary, health-care providers, social workers, community leaders and the general public, in order to ensure that they understand that all forms of violence against women and girls are unacceptable. It also recommends the establishment of a sufficient number of crisis centres, including shelters for victims of violence, in both urban and rural areas. (paragraph 17) ___________________________________________________________________ Trafficking of children, including for prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, June 2012) The Committee welcomes the various legislation and administrative measures taken with a view to combating child commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking. However, it remains concerned about the rise in child prostitution; the rise in the number of cases of child trafficking including, but not only, for prostitution purposes; and the increasing number of children involved in commercial sexual activity, mainly due to poverty related reasons. The Committee is further concerned that children who are sexually exploited are likely to be treated as criminals by the police; the lack of specific child-friendly reporting procedures; and that some provisions in the Penal Code (including articles 254 to 256 related to child prostitution) refer to children as those below the age of 16 years only. The Committee strongly recommends that the State party: (a) Increase efforts to combat child prostitution and trafficking, including by adequately implementing the 2011-2015 Action Plan against prostitution, and the 2011-2015 Action Plan against human trafficking; (b) Develop and implement a strategy for the prevention of child sexual exploitation and abuse, focusing on vulnerable groups of children, including street children and children of poor or near poor families; (c) Amend and disseminate administrative and criminal laws to ensure that child sex workers are treated as victims and not as criminals; develop child- friendly reporting procedures and ensure that child victims are aware of these procedures and can access them; and develop rehabilitation and reintegration programs for child victim of sexual exploitation and trafficking, as well as confidential counselling services; (d) Fully harmonise national legislation with the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child trafficking in order to explicitly criminalise all acts listed in article 3 of the Optional Protocol when committed against all persons below 18, in line with the Committee’s recommendation (CRC/C/OPSC/VNM/CO/1, 2006 para 11(a)); and (e) Consider ratifying the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and its Supplementing Protocol on Prevention, Suppression and Punishment of trafficking in persons, especially women and children (Paragraphs 70 and 71) UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women The Committee welcomes a number of measures, including the Ordinance on the Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution, bilateral and multilateral agreements and the Action Plan for the Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking in Women and Girls, but is concerned about the persistence of trafficking in women and girls and the exploitation of prostitution, both within the country and to other countries. The Committee is also concerned about the low rates of prosecution and conviction of traffickers and of others who exploit the prostitution of women. The Committee also notes with concern reports that trafficked women and girls face problems in enjoying their citizenship rights when returning to Viet Nam, as well as in conveying citizenship to their children born abroad. It is also concerned about reports that rehabilitation measures, such as administrative camps, may stigmatise girls and young women victims of prostitution and deny them due process rights. In addition, the Committee is concerned about the lack of systematic data collection on the phenomenon of trafficking and exploitation of prostitution. (Paragraph 18) The Committee urges the State party to consider ratifying the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementary to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, and to intensify its efforts to combat all forms of trafficking in women and girls, including by enacting specific and comprehensive legislation on the phenomenon. The Committee further calls upon the State party to increase its efforts at international, regional and bilateral cooperation to address more effectively the causes of trafficking, and to improve its efforts to prevent trafficking through information exchange. The Committee urges the State party to collect and analyse data from the police and international sources, prosecute and punish traffickers and ensure the protection of the human rights of trafficked women and girls. It urges the State party to pursue a holistic approach aimed at addressing the root causes of trafficking and improving prevention. Such efforts should include measures to improve the economic situation of women and girls and to provide them with educational and economic opportunities, thereby reducing and eliminating their vulnerability to exploitation and traffickers. It should also facilitate the reintegration into society of women and girls who are victims of exploitation and trafficking, including children born to Vietnamese women abroad, by ensuring that they are neither criminalised nor penalised and fully enjoy their human rights. It should also enhance rehabilitation, social integration and economic empowerment programmes. (Paragraph 19) Universal Periodic Review (May 2009) A - 4. Consider accession to the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organised Crime (Malaysia) and its Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children (Malaysia) (Argentina) (Turkey) (accepted) A - 34. Cooperate with the international community and neighbouring countries particularly in the fight against transborder organised crime, and fight against trafficking in women and children (Islamic Republic of Iran) (accepted) A - 35. Intensify its efforts to combat child prostitution, provide effective support to the children affected and sensitise its police forces to this problem in particular through adequate training courses (Austria) (accepted) A - 37. Continue national efforts aimed at combating forced labour and taking necessary measures to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, particularly women and children (Morocco) (accepted) ___________________________________________________________________ Inequality in access to education for girls and children from minority backgrounds UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, June 2012) The Committee welcomes the adoption of the Education Development StrategicPlan 2001-2010 and the National Education for All Action Plan 2003-2015. While appreciating efforts to implement its previous recommendations (CRC/C/15/Add.200, 2003, para. 48), inter alia, the increasing budget allocations; the increasing rates of primary and secondary schools enrolment; and the development of financial education incentives to marginalised groups, and while appreciating the joint efforts of the State party together with UNICEF to provide for bilingual teaching for children belonging to ethnic minorities, the Committee is concerned at the following: (a) Scarcity of State-run facilities and programs for early childhood development; (b) Despite Constitutional provision on free-of-charge primary education, education related fees are in fact being imposed affecting the poorest, and mostly children of ethnic minorities and migrant children; (c) Continuing striking disparities in access to school between children of ethnic minorities and children of the Kinh population; (d) Continuing high rates of drop out at primary and secondary school levels and in particular among children of ethnic minorities, mainly due to lack of access; poverty reasons; and linguistic barriers; (e) Limited access to mother tongue based education for ethnic minorities and indigenous groups; insufficient number of ethnic minority and indigenous teachers and lack of appropriate training for these teachers to teach in bilingual education, as well as low quality of text books for children belonging to ethnic minorities or indigenous groups which impedes the right of children belonging to such groups to learn adequately their distinctive language and preserve it; (f) Lack of information relating to the monitoring of the children in ethnic minority boarding schools; and (g) Low quality of education and inappropriate teaching methods that do not allow children‟s participation, as well as low teacher capacity, and lack of information on whether human rights education, in particular children‟s rights, is included in the school curriculum. The Committee recommends that the State party take into account its generalcomment No. 1 on the aims of education (CRC/GC/2001/1), and: (a) Develop well financed early childhood development programs, using a holistic approach to cover all needs of children under the age of 5 years; and expeditiously adopt and implement the program on Universalisation of Kindergarten education for children below 5 years for 2010-2015; (b) Ensure that education is de facto free of charge for all, and pay particular attention to the most vulnerable groups of children, including children of ethnic minority groups and migrant children. In doing so, inter alia, remove all indirect expenses and introduce educational support mechanisms for children from economically disadvantaged families; (c) In line with its previous recommendation (CRC/C/15/Add.200, 2003 para. 48(a)), take all appropriate measures to increase access to schools, in particular for girls and in rural areas, with a view to providing equal access to education to all groups of children, and ensure the right to quality education for all children; (d) Undertake effective affirmative actions, such as second chance educational programs, targeting children belonging to ethnic minorities and children living in rural areas, in order to close ethnic and geographical disparities in school drop-out rates; (e) Embark on an adequately resourced policy to support bilingual education for ethnic minority groups, providing that minority language is the medium of instruction at early school level and aiming at turning ethnic minority children proficient in both languages, so as to enable them to fully take part in the wider society; intensify the provision of training and instructions given to teachers who speak ethnic minority languages; and well finance the issuance of quality school text books for children who belong to ethnic minorities by inviting the local teachers to participate in writing the content of text books; (f) Establish an effective system of monitoring of ethnic boarding schools, including regular inspections, and investigate all child abuse cases; (g) Enable teachers to undertake quality teaching by paying them reasonable salaries. A thorough reform of the curricula and pedagogical methods should be undertaken, involving professional experts in education. Inclusion of human rights, and in particular children’s rights, should be ensured in the school curriculum; and (h) Consider ratifying the UNESCO Convention against discrimination in education. (Paragraphs 66 and 67) UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Last reported: 17 January 2007 While noting progress towards reaching high levels of literacy in the country, the Committee notes with concern that a high proportion of girls still drop out of school and that girls in rural and remote areas do not have full access to education. (Paragraph 20) The Committee urges the State party to take all appropriate measures to eliminate the disparity in school enrolment rates and to achieve universal primary education for girls in accordance with article 10 of the Convention, the strategic objectives and actions of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and Millennium Development Goals 2 and 3. It urges the State party to address effectively the obstacles that prevent girls from continuing their education, such as family responsibilities and the cost of education. It also recommends that teacher training programmes at all levels integrate the principles of gender equality and non-discrimination on the grounds of sex. The Committee also calls on the State party to support education programmes on the culture of ethnic minority groups. (Paragraph 21) Universal Periodic Review (May 2009) A - 78. Further increase the use of ethnic languages in schools and the mass media (Philippines) (accepted) A - 79. Take supplementary measures to support access of minority children to education by helping them maintain and develop their traditions and languages (Morocco) (accepted) ___________________________________________________________________ Inadequate sexual and reproductive health care and education UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, June 2012) The Committee expresses its concern at the lack of information on adolescents‟ health as well as at the reportedly high prevalence of abortions among teenagers. The Committee is further concerned at the limited access adolescents have to contraceptives and to reproductive health services, assistance and counselling. The Committee urges the State party to collect data on adolescents' health and to report on that to the Committee in its next periodic report. Referring to its general comment No. 4 (2003) on adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention, the Committee recommends that the State party raise awareness and provide access to services for adolescents in relation to sexual and reproductive health, respond to the increasing number of teenage pregnancies and abortions, and facilitate access to contraceptives, as well as to quality reproductive health services, assistance and counselling. (Paragraphs 58 and 59) UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women The Committee expresses its concern about women's limited access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, and about the very high rate of abortions, in particular among adolescent and young women. The Committee is also concerned about the increase in HIV/AIDS infections among women. (Paragraph 24) The Committee urges the State party to take concrete measures to enhance women's access to health care, in particular to sexual and reproductive health services, in accordance with article 12 of the Convention and the Committee's general recommendation 24 on women and health. It requests the State party to strengthen measures aimed at the prevention of unwanted pregnancies, including through improved availability, acceptability and use of modern means of birth control, in order to eliminate the use of abortion as a method of family planning. The Committee recommends that the State party give priority attention to the sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescent and young women and men and that it provide age-appropriate sex education, including in school curricula, with special attention to the prevention of early pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. The Committee also calls on the State party to ensure the effective implementation of its national strategy on the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS, including improved access to antiretroviral drugs, protection and care for babies born with HIV and training for medical personnel. (Paragraph 25) ___________________________________________________________________ UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, June 2012) [T]he Committee is concerned at the following: (d) Societal discrimination against girls who consequently drop out from school and engage in early marriage, especially in the mountainous areas, and such discrimination also resulting in the practice of aborting female foetuses. In light of article 2 of the Convention, the Committee urges the State party to ensure that all children in the State party effectively enjoy equal rights under the Convention without discrimination on any ground, and to this end: (d) Launch public awareness raising programs including campaigns with a view to eliminating all forms of discrimination against girls; focusing on school drop- out girls’ engagement in early marriage especially in mountainous areas, and on the practice of aborting female foetuses, and ensure gender mainstreaming in all anti-discrimination policies and programs; (Paragraphs 29 and 30) UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women The Committee is concerned about the differential minimum legal age for marriage for women and men as well as about reports on underage marriages of girls, which limit their development and opportunities to fully develop their skills and capacities, especially in some ethnic minority areas. (paragraph 26) The Committee urges the State party to set the same minimum age of marriage for women and men at 18 years, in line with article 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and article 16 of the Convention and the Committee's general recommendation 21 on equality in marriage and family relations. It also calls on the State party to take measures to prevent and stop underage marriages. (paragraph 27) ___________________________________________________________________ Lack of an independent monitoring body for children's rights UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, June 2012) The Committee strongly reiterates its previous concern (CRC/C/15/Add.200, 2003 para. 12) about the lack of an independent monitoring body for the promotion and protection of children‟s rights, as outlined in the Committee‟s General Comment No. 2 on the role of independent human rights institutions (CRC/GC/2002/2). The Committee reiterates its recommendation that the State party establish an independent monitoring body provided with sufficient human, technical and financial resources to guarantee its independence and efficacy, in accordance with the Committee’s general comment No. 2 (2002) on the role of independent human rights institutions in the promotion and protection of the rights of the child. The Committee further encourages the State party to promptly establish a well-financed and adequately staffed independent human rights institution, in compliance with the Paris Principles, to ensure comprehensive and systematic monitoring of human rights, including children’s rights. (Paragraphs 15 and 16) Universal Periodic Review (May 2009) 102 R - Paragraph 90 (a) (Poland) "Recommended establishing a permanent independent human rights monitoring body, including child rights monitoring body" (rejected) ___________________________________________________________________ Economic exploitation and child labour UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, June 2012) The Committee is highly concerned that child labour remains widespread in the State party in particular in the informal sector; that minimum age for labour remains relatively low (12 years for light work); labour inspections outreach is limited; and that child inmates in drug detention centres are obliged to work and thus subject to forced labour. The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Take immediate and effective measures to eliminate child labour in unacceptable conditions, including at an early age and under dangerous conditions; (b) Implement effective measures to address the deep-rooted socio-economic factors that push children into the workforce, in particular to increase the school attendance rate and reduce school drop-out rate with a view to avoiding child labour (c) Take necessary measures to harmonise national laws and regulations with the Convention No. 138, inter alia by amending Circular No 21/1999/TT- BLDTBXH and providing that children are allowed to be employed in ‘light work’ only from the age of 13 years, and strengthen the enforcement of labour laws to protect children and to ensure prosecution of those who make use of forced labour of children, and provide reparation and sanctions; (d) Improve labour inspections to ensure that these comprehensively monitor all aspects of the work environment, including the use of child forced labour in drug detention centres and child labour in the informal sector; (e) Take effective measures including through the legal revision of Decree No. 135 of 2004, to prevent and end the practice of child forced labour in drug detention centres, in-line with the International Labour Organisation Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour No. 182; and (f) Seek technical assistance from the ILO International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour in this regard. (Paragraphs 68 and 69) Universal Periodic Review (May 2009) A - 37. Continue national efforts aimed at combating forced labour and taking necessary measures to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, particularly women and children (Morocco) (accepted) ___________________________________________________________________
Last reported: 17 January 2007
Last reported: 17 January 2007
Last reported: 17 January 2007
Last reported: 17 January 2007
Last reported: 17 January 2007