UN Committee to review Sierra Leone’s record on children’s rights

GENEVA (7 September 2016) – Children’s rights in Sierra Leone will be reviewed by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on 14 and 15 September  in sessions that will be webcast live. Sierra Leone is one of the 196 States that have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child and so is required to be reviewed regularly by the Committee of 18 independent experts.

Among the possible issues to be discussed between Committee members and a government delegation from Sierra Leone are:
·    Elimination of corporal punishment;
·    Early detection and prevention of child abuse;
·    Underreporting and out-of-court settlements regarding female genital mutilation;
·    Welfare of children with physical and mental disabilities;
·    Increasing rate of teenage pregnancy;
·    Sexual abuse of children, especially by teachers;
·    Measures to improve medical treatment for children with HIV/AIDS;
·    Legalisation of abortion and its accessibility for teenage girls;
·    Removal of various traditional forms of child labour.

The full list of issues and Sierra Leone’s submitted written report can be found here: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1041&Lang=en

The discussions will take place at Palais Wilson in Geneva on 14 September from 15:00-18:00 (13:00-16:00 in Freetown) and on 15 September from 10:00-13:00 (8:00-11:00 in Freetown). The meetings are public and will be webcast at http://webtv.un.org/. 

Committee members will base their evaluation on the delegation’s report and replies, as well as information from civil society groups.

The Committee will publish its findings on Sierra Leone and the other countries being reviewed – Nauru, New Zealand, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Suriname – on 6 October here:
http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1041&Lang=en

ENDS

For more information and media requests, please contact Ravina Shamdasani (+41 22 917 9169 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org) or Cécile Pouilly (+ 41 22 917 9310 / cpouilly@ohchr.org)

Media accreditation: http://unog.ch/80256EDD006B9C2E/(httpPages)/70991F6887C73B2280256EE700379C58?OpenDocument

Background:

Members of the CRC are independent human rights experts drawn from around the world, who serve in their personal capacity and not as representatives of States parties. The Committee’s concluding observations are an independent assessment of States’ compliance with their human rights obligations under the treaty. To learn more about the Committee on the Rights of the Child: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRC/Pages/CRCIndex.aspx

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