CRC/C/MEX/CO/4-5
Held by the Committee: 19 and 20 May 2015
Published by the Committee: 8 June 2015
Issues raised:
Discrimination:
The Committee is concerned about the prevalence of discrimination against indigenous, Afro-Mexican and migrant children, children with disabilities, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children, children in street situations, and children living in poverty and in rural areas. Furthermore, the Committee expresses deep concern about the persistent patriarchal attitudes and gender stereotypes that discriminate against girls and women, resulting in an extremely high prevalence of violence against women and girls in the State party. (para. 15 &17 )
Best interests of the child
The Committee is concerned at reports that this right has not been consistently applied in practice. (para. 19)
Right to life, survival and development:
The Committee is seriously concerned that the situation of armed violence, drug trafficking and fight against organized crime has resulted in numerous killings of children, including cases of extrajudicial killings such as the Tlatlaya case, and continue to threaten the right to life, survival and development of many children. It is also concerned about the high number of disappearances of children, especially girls from 10 years of age; and reports of a very high number of feminicides of women and girls, the lack of official disaggregated data and the prevalent impunity in this regard. Furthermore, the fact that the State party has not yet ensured an effective access to justice for the families of some child victims of accidents or violence, such as the child victims of the fire accident in the kindergarten ABC of the State of Sonora or the child José Luis Tlehuatle from La Puebla. The Committee is also concerned about the high number of children killed in traffic accidents. (para. 21 & 23)
Respect for the views of the child:
The Committee regrets the lack of permanent child participation fora. It is also concerned at reports that children’s opinions are not consistently heard in judicial and administrative proceedings. (para. 25)
Birth registration:
The Committee is concerned that birth registration of indigenous, Afro- Mexican and migrant children and children living in remote areas remains low. (para. 27)
Violence against children (arts. 19, 24, para.3, 28, para. 2, 34, 37 (a) and 39):
The Committee is deeply concerned about the lack of criminalization of the recruitment of children by armed groups such as organized crime groups. It is also concerned about the insufficient measures taken to prevent the continuous recruitment of children by armed groups and protect and provide psycho social support for the child victims. (para. 29)
Freedom of the child from all forms of violence:
The Committee is concerned about the effective implementation of these provisions and that extensive impunity prevails for violence against children. It is also particularly concerned about the prevalence of torture and other cruel or degrading treatment or punishment of children, particularly migrant children, children in street situations, children in police custody and detention. The high incidence of corporal punishment of children, domestic violence and gender-based violence and the lack of access to justice for child victims is also of concern. This includes the increasing violence, sexual violence, and bullying in schools, and the high rate of adolescents suffering from abuse through the internet. Furthermore, there is concern for the physical and mental well-being of children involved in training for bullfighting, and performances associated with it, as well as the mental and emotional well- being of child spectators who are exposed to the violence of bullfighting. (para. 31)
Sexual exploitation and abuse:
The Committee is seriously concerned that perpetrators of rape can escape punishment if they marry the victim. It is also concerned that the current proposal to reform the Federal Penal Code in relation to crimes of sexual abuse against children does not protect their rights adequately in regard to the statute of limitation. It is also concerned about the insufficient efforts to identify, protect and rehabilitate child victims as well as about the increasing cases of sexual violence in education centres. The Committee is also particularly concerned about the general impunity which perpetrators have enjoyed so far, as recognized by the State party’s delegation, about the low number of investigations and prosecutions of the perpetrators as well as alleged complicity of state officials, as well as about the lack of complaints mechanisms, services and compensation available to children. (para. 33 &35)
Harmful practices:
The Committee is concerned about the effective implementation of this provision at state level. It is also concerned about the high prevalence of child marriages and about reported cases of forced marriage, especially of girls belonging to indigenous communities. (para. 37 )
Children deprived of a family environment:
The Committee is concerned that there are insufficient policies to support families in fulfilling their parental responsibilities.The total number of children deprived of a family environment is unknown. Institutionalization continues to be prioritized over foster care. There is inadequate supervision of alternative care institutions, resulting in notorious cases of child abuse and neglect, such as the case "Casitas del Sur" and "La Gran Familia" (Mama Rosa). (para. 39)
Adoption:
The Committee is concerned that this law does not explicitly prohibit the still prevalent practice of private adoptions, which entails a risk of improper financial and other gain, including a risk of children being sold for adoption. (para. 41)
Children in prison with their mothers:
The Committee notes that children up to six years of age can remain with their mothers in prison and that the State party is currently reviewing the guidelines related to children living with their mothers to ensure their rights. It is concerned, however, about the timely adoption of those guidelines and about the insufficient alternatives to detention for mothers. (para. 43 )
Children with disabilities:
The Committee is concerned about the many children with disabilities who still do not have free access to health and rehabilitation services, do not receive education and are victims of violence and exploitation. There is also a high rate of child abandonment and the institutionalization of children with disabilities, as well as reports that these children suffer from violence and abuse and girls with disabilities are submitted to forced sterilization.The limited access to justice of children with disabilities, especially girls with disabilities who are the victims of violence and abuse, is also troubling.
There is special education model which prevents the development of a fully inclusive education system accommodating the needs of all children, including those with disabilities. There is also a lack of accessible schools, educational materials, and trained teachers, which particularly affect children with disabilities belonging to indigenous communities and children living in rural and remote areas. A substantial part of the resources for support services for children with disabilities being administered by a private entity (Teleton), without proper supervision of projects and of the image of children with disabilities conveyed by such entity. (para. 45)
Health and health services:
However, it is concerned that access to health services is not equal for all children due to the existence of various health systems providing services which differ in terms of coverage and quality. This situation results in a high percentage of children not having access to health care services, or only having access to poor quality health care services. Child and maternal mortality rates among indigenous and rural population remain higher than the average. Child chronic malnutrition is persistent especially among indigenous and rural children. Also exclusive breastfeeding is decreasing; and overweight and obesity are increasing among children. (para. 47 )
Adolescent health:
The Committee is concerned about the increasing rate of adolescent pregnancies from 12 years of age, often resulting from sexual violence. There is a high rate of maternal mortality among adolescents as a result of inadequate access to sexual and reproductive health services and information, as well as a low use of contraceptives. The restrictive laws on abortion in the majority of the states forces girls to resort to unsafe abortion at the risk of their health and life. Furthermore, the increased use of drugs by adolescents, as young as 12 years of age, mainly due to the climate of social violence. There is also a high number of suicides and depression among adolescents. (para. 49)
Environmental Health:
The Committee is concerned that the State party has not taken sufficient measures to address air, water, soil and electromagnetic pollution, which gravely impact on children and maternal health. The import and use of pesticides or chemicals banned or restricted for use in third countries, which particularly affect indigenous children in the state of Sonora, is also a reason of deep concern. (para. 51)
Standard of living:
The Committee remains deeply concerned about the prevalence of child poverty which affects more than half of the child population, a higher percentage as compared with the adult population. It is concerned that indigenous, Afro-Mexican, migrant and displaced children, children in single parent-headed households and children living in rural areas are particularly affected by poverty and extreme poverty (para. 53).
Education, including vocational training and guidance:
The Committee is concerned about Millions of children from 3 to 17 not attending school. There are persistent challenges for children in vulnerable situations in accessing quality education; high rates of school drop-out particularly affecting students in secondary level education, pregnant adolescents and adolescent mothers. Furthermore, the low coverage of early childhood education and the lack of public policy in this regard is also concerning (para. 53)
Asylum-seeking and refugee children:
The Committee is concerned about the lack of adequate measures to identify, assist and protect asylum-seeking and refugee children, including lack of legal representation for unaccompanied children. There is prolonged detention of asylum-seeking children; and a lack of data on the number of asylum claims made by children. Information by the State party, says that only 18 children were granted refugee status in 2014. (para. 57)
Children in situations of migration:
The Committee is concerned about migrant children being kept in detention centres for migrants and reports of violence and abuse against children in those centres. Migrant children are being subjected to killings, kidnappings, disappearances, sexual violence, exploitation and abuse and about the lack of official disaggregated data in this regard. There are Reports that many migrant children are deported without a preliminary process to determine their best interests, in spite of the legal recognition of the principle in the Law on Migration and the GARCA. Insufficient measures are being taken to ensure the rights of national migrants as well as the rights of the many children displaced as a result of the armed violence. (para. 59)
Children belonging to minority or indigenous groups:
The Committee remains concerned that indigenous and Afro-Mexican children continue to face discrimination and violence, and remain the most affected by extreme poverty, malnutrition, maternal and child mortality, early marriages, adolescent pregnancies, environmental contamination and lack of access to quality education and civil registration services. (para.61)
Economic exploitation, including child labour:
The Committee remains deeply concerned that hundreds of thousands of children, at times as young as five years old, continue to work and that a high percentage of them is involved in the worst forms of child labour, such as mining and agriculture, and/or do not receive any salary. It is further concerned at the insufficient measures taken to address child domestic labour, which particularly affects girls, as well as the involvement of children in agriculture, especially affecting children of migrant farmworkers. (para. 63)
Children in street situations:
The Committee is concerned that these efforts have not been sufficient to prevent and address the phenomenon and that the strategy is only implemented in some States. It is also concerned about reports that these children continue to suffer from violence and abuse and to be viewed as criminals. The Committee is also deeply concerned that many girls are victims of sexual exploitation and abuse and have early pregnancies. (para.65 )
Administration of juvenile justice:
The Committee is concerned about the lack of harmonization of the juvenile justice legislation in all states and the fact that children can be subjected to a sentence of 5 to 20 years of prison for the same crime, depending on the state where they live or have committed a crime. The recent trend by the states has been to increase penalties and the range of crimes for which serious penalties apply. Insufficient use of alternative and non-custodial measures and detention, including provisory detention, is given priority. Children are placed in precarious conditions, in detention centres, and the frequent cases of violence against adolescents. (para. 67 )
