CRC/C/URY/CO/3-5
Adopted by the Committee: 30 January 2015
Published by the Committee: 5 February 2015
Issues raised:
National strategies:
The Committee welcomes the adoption of the Adolescent Criminal Responsibility System (SIRPA) in July 2011; and the National Strategy for Children and Adolescents (2010-2030) and its National Plan of Actions (2010-2015) (para.5).
Discrimination:
The Committee is concerned that discriminatory attitudes and social exclusion still affect some sections of the child population, and in particular children with disabilities, girls, children living in rural and remote areas, children from economically excluded families and adolescents. The Committee is further concerned that adolescents are often portrayed as criminals in the media, and they are therefore discriminated in law and in practice (para.23).
Torture:
The Committee is seriously concerned about : Allegations of ill-treatment and torture in police stations of adolescents suspected of having committed crimes and of children in street situations; Reports of excessive use of force and collective punishments in detention facilities, children and adolescents being locked up in their cells up to 22 hours per day and about the administration of anti-anxiety medication to juvenile detainees, as a mean of restraint, as pointed out by the Committee against Torture (CAT/C/URY/CO/3) and the Special Rapporteur on Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of punishment (A/HRC/13/39/Add.2); Information about overcrowded and extremely poor conditions in detentions centres for children and adolescents (para.29).
Violence:
The Committee is concerned that the legislation does not provide for a specific sanction for those inflicting corporal punishment. The Committee is also concerned that violence against children remains a serious problem in the State party and that the measures adopted to identify and protect children victims of violence, including domestic violence remain inadequate (para.31).
Sexual exploitation:
The Committee is concerned about the prevalence of sexual exploitation and abuse including in the home and the lack of effective measures taken by the State party to prevent and respond to it. The Committee regrets that these cases are not effectively investigated and perpetrators are not prosecuted. In addition, psychosocial support, recovery and reintegration services are not equally available throughout the country. The Committee is further concerned about the stigmatization of child victims of such offences (para.33).
Family environment:
The Committee is concerned that support services for families at risk of losing parental responsibility are still inadequate. The Committee is also concerned about the lack of a comprehensive strategy addressing issues such as domestic violence, mental health, substance abuse and poverty with a view to preventing the separation of children from their family environment (para.35).
The Committee remains concerned about the high number of children placed in full-time institutional care and that siblings are not placed in the same institution. Despite the measures adopted for the deinstitutionalization and/or reunification of these children with their biological families, the Committee remains concerned about the limited impact of such measures. The Committee also notes with concern the lack of an adequate mechanism to monitor the placement of children in foster care and institutions (para.37).
Adoption:
The Committee remains concerned about the lengthy adoption procedures, particularly due to the lack of technical staff to undertake assessments of adoption applications (para.39).
Children of incarcerated mothers:
The Committee is concerned about the inadequacy of the prison facilities for children living in prisons with their mothers and the non-application of article 8 of Act 17.897 on Probation that allows women to be placed under house arrest during the last trimester of pregnancy and the first three months of breastfeeding (para.41).
Children with disabilities:
The Committee is concerned that the State party has not adopted a comprehensive policy on inclusive education and participation in society of children with disabilities. The Committee regrets that discrimination against children with disabilities remains widespread in the State party (para.43).
Health:
The Committee is concerned about the high number of children suffering from nutrition disorders such as chronic malnutrition, anaemia and obesity (para.45).
The Committee notes the lack of information on the current situation of the use of methylphenidate on children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Attention Deficit Disorders (ADD) (para.47).
The Committee remains concerned about the insufficient accessibility of sexual and reproductive health services and education. The Committee is also concerned about information that pregnant teenagers who have decided to terminate their pregnancies do not receive adequate support and counselling (para.49).
The Committee is also concerned about the lack of a comprehensive prevention of HIV/AIDS strategy addressed to children and adolescents (para.53).
Standard of living:
The Committee remains concerned that 20 per cent of children still live in poverty, particularly children of African descent (para.55).
Education:
The Committee is concerned about the high rate of drop-outs in the secondary schools, and that children in vulnerable situations, children living in rural and remotes areas, and Afro-descendant children, continue to face discrimination in the education system and have a very low graduation rate. The Committee is also concerned that economic conditions and training of teachers continue to negatively impact the quality education for all children (para.57).
The Committee is concerned about the low number of early childhood care and education services available throughout the country, especially for children under the age of three. The Committee is further concerned about the quality and monitoring of these services (para.59).
Unaccompanied children:
The Committee is concerned about the lack of a special procedure for dealing with the protection of unaccompanied migrant children. The Committee is also concerned about information on the absence of a procedure for the appointment of a guardian and a legal representative for unaccompanied children (para.63).
Labour exploitation:
The Committee is concerned about children being economically exploited, particularly in street vending; garbage collection and recycling; construction; domestic work and in agriculture and forestry sectors. The Committee is also concerned at the high level of children involved in hazardous work in agriculture and fishing using dangerous tools, carrying heavy loads, applying harmful pesticides, herding livestock and working long hours (para.65).
Street children:
The Committee is seriously concerned about the lack of updated information on the number of children in such situations and the lengthy change from a punitive to a human rights based approach of such programmes. The Committee is also concerned about reports of abuses of children in street situations by the police. The Committee also regrets the lack of social services and reintegration measures available for their recovery and reintegration (para.67).
Juvenile justice:
The Committee is concerned at the increasing social perception that juvenile delinquency has been on the rise, which is not grounded in official data in the State party but which has led to various reforms of the Code on Childhood and Adolescence which are not in line with the Convention, particularly: The establishment of a new national registry of criminal records for adolescents in conflict with the law, that allows the preservation of criminal records when adolescents have been convicted for certain crimes; The criminalization of “attempt to theft” in the Juvenile Criminal Offenders Act N° 18777 of July 2011; The extension of the time of pre-trial detention from 60 to 90 days; and the negative impact of the changes in the classification of serious crimes into very serious crimes, especially on the mandatory pre-trial detention (para.69).
