CRC/C/HND/CO/4-5
Held by the Committee: 20 and 21 May 2015
Published by the Committee: 8 June 2015
Issues raised:
Discrimination:
The Committee is concerned about the lack of detailed information on the concrete situation of girls; and the impact of increased poverty and inequality among children; in particular among indigenous children and children living in rural areas. Also, there is continued use of sex-based discrimination language in certain laws, institutional plans and programmes for children. (para. 25)
Best interests of the child:
The Committee is concerned that the right of the child to have his or her best interests taken into account as primary consideration is not applied in practice, namely in the areas of migration, labour, and civil and police matters (para. 27)
Right to life, survival and development:
The Committee remains deeply concerned about the increase during the reporting period of violence, homicide and feminicide rates in Honduras, considered as one of the most violent countries in the world which is not in a situation of conflict, and the fact that half of the people murdered are adolescents and youth, the majority killed with firearms, the numerous reported cases of extra-judicial executions and the very low number of investigations, prosecutions and sentences carried out in cases of violent deaths of children. (para. 29)
Respect for the views of the child:
The Committee is concerned that despite progress, the views of the child are still not considered in fundamental decisions impacting their rights, namely the approval of education budgets. (para. 31)
Birth registration:
The Committee remains concerned about the still low levels of birth egistration in border and indigenous areas. (para. 33)
Freedom of association and peaceful assembly:
The Committee remains concerned that it still allows the Police and Prosecution to arbitrarily detain children which results in the stigmatization of children belonging to maras or due to their appearance. (para. 35)
Children involved in Maras
The Committee is extremely concerned about the extensive recruitment of children by maras and the fact that more than 70% of the homicides against children and adolescents occur as part of the criminal action of organized crime and drug trafficking. There is also a lack of adequate resources for preventive initiatives to reduce the incorporation of children into these criminal groups.There is a prevalence of a repressive approach to youth violence, based inter alia on article 332 of the Criminal Code, the creation of Anti-gangs Units in the National Police and the Armed Forces. Furthermore, the Committee is concerned by the creation of the “Guardians of the Fatherland” programme aiming at training 25,000 children at social risk yearly, who participate in activities carried out by military units and in installations of the Armed Forces. (para. 37)
Corporal punishment:
The Committee remains concerned about the high number of cases of abuse reported in families, schools and institutions, concern compounded by the lack of consolidated, detailed and disaggregated information, in particular for girls and children in vulnerable situations. (para. 41)
Abuse and neglect:
The Committee is concerned about the high rate of cases of child abuse, in particular girls, including in the family environment, and with the lack of consolidated and disaggregated information on all forms of abuse against children. (para. 43)
Sexual exploitation and abuse:
The Committee remains concerned about the lack of detailed and concrete information regarding the number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions issued. The Committee is also concerned about the lack of coordination among government mechanisms; and the lack of psychosocial support, rehabilitation and reintegration for child victims. Furthermore, there is a lack of preventive and protective measures targeting children at special risk, namely children in street situations, indigenous children, and child domestic workers in particular girls. (para. 45)
Harmful Practices:
The Committee is concerned about the high prevalence of child marriages, in particular among girls. (para. 47)
Family environment:
The Committee is concerned about the ineffective implementation of these plans and in particular the limited impact of social programmes in reducing poverty notably in rural and indigenous areas. The Committee is also concerned that care services for children of working parents remain inadequately available. (para. 51)
Children deprived of a family environment:
The Committee remains concerned about the lack of detailed information on the situation of these children and the lack of independent supervision of their situation. (para. 53)
The Committee is concerned about the lack of information on the state of emergency declared in 2012 for the Comprehensive Child Care Centres administered by the Honduran Institute for Children and the Family and its impact on children in alternative care. (para. 55)
Children with disabilities:
The Committee is concerned that almost half of the children with disabilities are deprived of education. The Committee is also concerned that whereas the State party over-rely on non-governmental organisations to ensure the rights of children with disabilities, there has been a decrease in resources provided to these organisations. It is further concerned with the possible negative impact of the decision to merge the Directorate of People with Disabilities with the Directorate of Senior Citizens. (para. 58)
Health, health services and breastfeeding:
The Committee is concerned about the delay in adopting a primary health-care strategy and the limitations imposed on the Expanded Programme of Immunization. (para. 60)
Mental health and drug and substance abuse:
The Committee remains concerned about the inadequate provision of mental health services to children fighting against drug, alcohol and psychotropic addiction. (para. 62)
Adolescent health:
The Committee remains concerned about the very high levels of pregnancy among adolescent girls, in particular among adolescents with no education or with only primary schooling and notes the neglect of sexual and reproductive health education in the design of the National Curriculum for Basic Education. The Committee is also deeply concerned that girls can in no circumstances have access to abortion services, including in cases of rape, incest and when their health or life are in danger, a situation which places them at grave risk of resorting to clandestine abortion at the risk of their lives and can lead them to being criminalized. (para. 64)
HIV/AIDS:
The Committee remains concerned about the high rate of new cases registered, especially among adolescents, and the still limited availability of services provided, in particular to prevent vertical transmission. (para. 66)
Standard of living:
The Committee is deeply concerned about the increasing numbers of poor households and geographic disparities in access to water and sanitation affecting mostly indigenous and Afro Honduran children. It is also concerned about the high level of chronic malnutrition which affects twice as many children in rural as in urban areas. (para. 68)
Education, including vocational training and guidance:
The Committee is concerned about the decrease of financial allocations to education in relation to the central budget.The high dropout rate in particular in rural and indigenous areas; and low enrollment rate in pre-school and secondary education in particular in rural and indigenous areas is also of great concern. (para. 70)
Rest, leisure, recreation and cultural and artistic activities:
The Committee is concerned that progress has been limited with no government institution taking the lead in the implementation of this right, with the lack of spaces for recreation, within and outside schools and with the few available not having a gender perspective and often excluding girls. (para. 73)
Children in situations of migration:
The Committee remains concerned about the lack of policies or permanent programmes to address the root causes and structural factors that lead to the irregular and unaccompanied migration of children. Children are held in detention in third countries,waiting to be repatriated for unknown periods of time. There is a lack of appropriate mechanisms to monitor and evaluate repatriation processes, including family and social reintegration. The security and welfare of children left behind in the State party, by the migration of adult family members is also of great concern. (para. 75)
Indigenous and Afro-Honduran children:
The Committee is still concerned about the extremely high rate of poverty of indigenous and Afro-descent children. There is an enduring practice of child labour, including in its worst forms among indigenous and Afro-descent children. There has been an impact of laws and programmes promoting the exploitation of natural resources on the right of indigenous and afro-descent children and their families to ownership of the lands they inhabit. There has also been an increased militarization and excessive use of force in the context of disputes over land and natural resources, especially in communities where indigenous and afro descendants are settled. The impact of evictions on children’s welfare is also of concern. (para. 77)
Economic exploitation, including child labour:
The Committee remains concerned about the lack of harmonization of the Labour Code with international standards, including the ILO convention no. 138 concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment, the continuing high rates of child labour, and the inability of the labour inspectorate to identify cases of child labour. (para. 79)
Children in street situations:
81. The Committee regrets the lack of information on the situation of children in street situation and the absence of appropriate legislation, public institutions and coordinated action by civil society organizations in this respect. (para. 81)
Administration of juvenile justice
The Committee remains concerned about court decisions following a punishment rationale with little consideration for alternative measures. There is disrespect for pre-trial time limits; and centres are limited in their ability to provide effective rehabilitation for juvenile offenders.The adoption of new provisions in the constitutional reform of 2012, has extend the detention period from 24 to 48 in "serious cases", without exception criteria for detained children or a clear definition of what “serious cases” means. The lack of information on cases of abuse of authority and torture, cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment of adolescent offenders at the hands of authorities responsible for operating centres for the deprivation of liberty, is also concerning. Furthermore, instances of gang violence within detention centres has resulted in the deaths of several child detainees.There has also been recurrent discussions and proposals to decrease the age of criminal responsibility. (para. 83)
