x

Universal Periodic Review – MEDIA BRIEF

Monday, 21 October 2013 (Afternoon)

(Disclaimer: The following brief is not an official record, provides a brief factual summary of the UPR Working Group meeting with the State under review, and does not cover all points addressed)

State under review

Senegal
Represented by 13-member delegation headed by H.E. Mr. Sidiki KABA, Minister of Justice of Senegal.

Documents

To access national report, compilation of UN information, and summary of stakeholders’ information, visit
the Senegal page on the UPR website.

Troika *

Botswana, Republic of Moldova and Spain.

Opening statement by State under review**

Few points raised in the  opening statement of State under review:
(See full statement on the Senegal page on the UPR Extranet)

  • Senegal has amended its nationality code this June, putting an end to a differentiated treatment between men and women when it comes to the transmission of nationality through marriage, childbirth and adoption;
  • In 2010, Senegal promulgated innovative legislation establishing absolute parity between men and women in all partial or total elective institutions;  
  • On the condition of women, they had implemented many policies in the fight against female genital mutilation, preventing and repressing such practices;  
  • Senegal has launched an initiative aimed at ensuring a universal healthcare insurance with the objective of achieving 75 % of coverage by 2017;  
  • The situation of persons living with disabilities remained a priority. A Charter on equal opportunities was currently being prepared, which would give its bearer free access to health and transport;  
  • The Government has adopted a national social protection strategy ensuring a better life for children, women and elderly which were at risk of social exclusion;  
  • On the issue of child protection, the fight against trafficking of children had become a priority.  The implementation of programmes were also underway for social reintegration of street children;  
  • Senegal had put in place a roadmap to eradicate the worst forms of child labour by 2016;  
  • Freedom of the press was also very important.  There was media pluralism in Senegal with more than 200 general media that freely expressed themselves, while respecting privacy and public order;  
  • The country was taking necessary steps to improve the situation in places of detainment. They had promulgated a law in 2009 establishing a national observatory of places of detainment;  
  • With respect to the fight against impunity, security officials who had committed acts of torture had been prosecuted and had been given disciplinary sanctions;  
  • Concerning the national human rights institution, the Government supported the current reform process of the Senegalese human rights committee, and would ensure its conformity to the Paris Principles. Also, a human rights defender has been appointed to lead the reform of this body.

Participants

In total 88States participated in the dialogue:  35 HRC members and 53 observers  (Statements available on Senegal page on the UPR Extranet).

Positive achievements

Positive achievements noted by delegations included, among others:

  • Efforts to combat human trafficking and the National Unit to Combat Trafficking in Persons;
  • Steps taken to uphold the rights of persons with disabilities;
  • Advances made in the health sector and the decrease in the rate of maternal mortality;
  • Progress made in the socio-economic sector and, in particular, the Poverty Reduction Strategy;
  • Steps undertaken to combat female genital mutilation;
  • Senegal’s commitment to try Hassene Habré for his role in the Chad conflict.

Issues and Questions

Issues and questions raised by the Working Group included, among others:

  • Legislative measures to combat all forms of discrimination, including that based on gender or sexual orientation;
  • Progress in the area of combatting female genital mutilation;
  • Efforts to eliminate all form of domestic and gender-based violence;
  • Steps undertaken to combat all forms of child labour and street children and to uphold the rights of the child;
  • Advances made in the area of anti-human trafficking efforts;
  • The Senegal Human Rights Committee and its compliance with the Paris Principles.

Recommendations

States participating in the dialogue posed a series of recommendations to Senegal.  These pertained to the following issues, among others: 

  • To take measures to effectively eliminate forced child labour, including forced begging;
  • To fully support the activities and functioning of the national programme to combat human trafficking;
  • To step up efforts to completely abolish female genital mutilation;
  • To combat all acts of violence against children; To adopt without delay a code on the rights of the child;
  • To tackle domestic violence, sexual abuse, rape and forced marriages; to enact legislation that penalizes cases of rape, abuse and incest;
  • To effectively implement the Standard Operational Procedures on the prevention and management of Gender-Based Violence;
  • To pursue efforts underway to guarantee gender equality; To raise the minimal age of marriage to 18;
  • To enact laws criminalising acts of discrimination against minorities and those based on gender or sexual orientation;
  • To decriminalize homosexuality; To end anti-union discriminatory practices;
  • To ensure the Senegal Human Rights Committee had the necessary resources and functioned independently in accordance with the Paris Principles;
  • To extend an open invitation to UN Special Procedures;
  • Ratification of human rights instruments: The 2nd OP to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

 

Adoption of report of Working Group

The adoption of the report of the UPR Working Group on Senegal is scheduled to take place onFriday, 25 October 2013.

 *The troikas are a group of three States selected through a drawing of lots who serve as rapporteurs and who are charged with preparing the report of the Working Group on the country review with the involvement of the State under review and assistance from the OHCHR. 

** For access to the UPR Extranet, please fill out the following form to receive a username and password

Media contacts: Rolando Gómez, Public Information Officer, OHCHR, + 41(0)22 917 9711, rgomez@ohchr.org
Cédric Sapey, Public Information Officer, OHCHR, + 41(0)22 917 9695, csapey@ohchr.org