CHILDREN’S COMMITTEE EXAMINES REPORTS OF MALDIVES ON OPTIONAL PROTOCOLS TO CONVENTION ON RIGHTS OF CHILD

Committee on the Rights of the Child

26 January 2009


The Committee on the Rights of the Child today reviewed the initial reports of Maldives on how that country is implementing the provisions of the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

In opening remarks to the Committee, Mazeena Jameel, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family of Maldives, noted that Maldives was fortunate not to have issues regarding children in armed conflict. The same could not be said of child prostitution, sale of children and child pornography, the existence of which was denied by large sections of society. That culture of denial and silence and the invisible nature of the issue, together with the absence of comprehensive data illustrating the existence of the phenomenon and an "innocent complacency" of the State, had meant that issues in the Optional Protocols had not really been regarded as priorities requiring resources and collaboration. However, Maldives had been going through enormous social and political change since 2004, and the reform process had produced a number of laws that were significant in relation to the two Optional Protocols, including the Police Act, the Armed Forces Act, the Employment Act and the Immigration Act. Moreover, the passage of the new Constitution in August 2008 had brought with it the separation of powers and the provision of extensive rights to citizens of Maldives. Notably, Article 35 specifically prohibited all forms of discrimination against and exploitation of children.

Highlighting positive achievements made in conjunction with international organizations, Ms. Jameel cited the United Nations Children's Fund, which had helped in capacity-building in child protection and decentralization of child protection services in the atolls; ECPAT International, which had collaborated with the Child and Family Protection Authority to develop a Child Exploitation and Trafficking Policy; and Child Helpline International, which had been helping to establish a child helpline in Maldives. Over the next two years, the Ministry planned, among others, to undertake a comprehensive study on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children; establish a Juvenile Justice Unit; hold sensitization seminars for the judiciary on best practices and international norms and standards, as well as with regard to harmonizing international human rights obligations with domestic law for the effective prosecution of sexual exploitation of women and children; and conduct trainings for police and judiciary on international standards for dealing with juvenile offenders and for police on family and child-centred investigation.

In preliminary concluding observations, Committee Expert Yanghee Lee, the Committee Expert acting as Rapporteur for the report of Maldives on the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, said the Committee fully recognized the financial resources and other constraints faced by Maldives in implementing the Optional Protocol. Among recommendations would be that a more holistic, child rights-based approach be taken in implementation, evaluation and monitoring of the Protocol; that Maldives ratify other relevant international treaties, such as the Hague Convention (on adoption) and the ILO Conventions (on child labour); that it develop a national plan for implementation; and that all acts and crimes defined in the Protocol also needed to be explicitly prohibited in the Penal Code.

In additional preliminary observations, Committee Expert Awich Pollar, the Committee Expert acting as Rapporteur for the report of Maldives on the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, noted that the Optional Protocol only acted as a preventative measure for Maldives, as it was lucky enough to be such a peaceful place. Among recommendations would be periodic evaluations, as well as legislation to ensure that the provisions of the Protocol were covered by law.

The Committee will release its formal, written concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Maldives towards the end of its three-week session, which will conclude on 30 January.

Also representing the delegation were Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed, Permanent Representative of Maldives to the United Nations Office at Geneva, and other members of the Permanent Mission, as well as representatives from the Attorney-General's Office, the National Defence Force, the Maldives Police Service, the Ministry of Health and Family and the Department of Immigration and Emigration.

As one of the 193 States parties to the Convention, and a party to its two Optional Protocols, Maldives is obliged to present periodic reports to the Committee on its efforts to comply with the provisions of those instruments. The delegation was on hand to present the report and to answer questions raised by Committee Experts.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 27 January, it will take up the initial report of Tunisia under the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict (CRC/C/TUN/1).

Reports of Maldives

The initial report of Maldives under the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict (CRC/C/OPAC/1) says Maldives signed the Optional Protocol to express its commitment to the cause of protecting children from violations, although most of the concerns addressed by that instrument do not apply to Maldives. Prior to 2002, the Government practised compulsory recruitment of school-leavers into the armed forces, which meant that persons above 16 but below 18 were recruited. In 2002, the Government stopped recruiting persons under 18. To align national legislation with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Government raised the age of majority from 16 to 18 years and, in 2003, a strict prohibition on recruitment of any person under 18 into the Maldivian national armed forces was adopted. As for voluntary recruitment, after the Law on the Protection of the Rights of the Child was amended in November 2002, the minimum age for recruitment into the armed forces was raised from 16 years to 18 years as well. Although there are numerous provisions which criminalize the use of weapons or the organization of groups for hostile purposes, there are no provisions in the law expressly prohibiting the recruitment of minors, nor do the proposed amendments to the Penal Code have express provisions regarding this aspect. It should be noted that Maldives has been a very peaceful society where the use of weapons has been a rare occurrence.

According to the initial report of Maldives under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (CRC/C/OPSC/1), despite the fact that the Optional Protocol has been in force for over four years in Maldives, due to a lack of resources, a situation analysis has not been made to determine the situation of the Maldivian children in relation to the areas covered by it. Reports on Maldives have concluded that sex tourism is not present. However, the Government recognizes that this may be an emerging issue that needs to be researched further in Maldives. Though there is no quantitative data to support a claim that prostitution is a problem facing Maldives, evidence suggests that child prostitution may be a very real problem facing our society. Unofficial reports by police officials and other sources confirm that prostitution is on the rise. Furthermore, reported cases of sexual misconduct by minors (male and female) indicate that children are sometimes lured into selling sexual favours in exchange for money or sweets. Child pornography is not specifically dealt with by current domestic legislation and there are no explicit provisions in existing domestic legislation that expressly criminalize child prostitution. However, where pornographic material is made or disseminated using a child, such action will fall within the ambit of the Law on the Protection of the Rights of the Child, which, inter alia, mandates parents to report to the concerned authority any such activity or suspicion thereof. As for sale of children, this has not emerged as a problem in Maldives. However, families have been known to come to arrangements whereby a couple who cannot conceive takes on parental responsibilities of a child from a family of lesser means. As these kinds of arrangements are practiced informally, the State finds it difficult to intervene or monitor the situation. National legislation also does not have any specific provisions concerning the trafficking and sale of children and does not prohibit the activity.

Presentation of Reports

MAZEENA JAMEEL, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family of Maldives, began by recalling that Maldives had ratified the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography on 10 May 2002 and the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict on 29 December 2004. Over the years, gradual capacity development of key stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs) had enabled the accelerated implementation of the Convention and its Protocols. Nevertheless, adequate human and financial sources remained crucial challenges in addressing emerging issues.

Ms. Jameel noted that Maldives was fortunate not to have issues regarding children in armed conflict.

The same could not be said of child prostitution, sale of children and child pornography, the existence of which was denied by large sections of society, Ms. Jameel recognized. That culture of denial and silence and the invisible nature of the issue, together with the absence of comprehensive data illustrating the existence of the phenomenon and an "innocent complacency" of the State, had meant that issues in the Optional Protocols had not really been regarded as priorities requiring resources and collaboration.

However, Maldives had been going through enormous social and political change since 2004, Ms. Jameel said. The reform process had produced a number of laws that were significant in relation to the two Optional Protocols. Those included the Police Act, the Armed Forces Act, the Employment Act and the Immigration Act. Moreover, the passage of the new Constitution in August 2008 had brought with it a separation of powers and the provision of extensive rights to citizens of Maldives. Notably, Article 35 of the Constitution specifically prohibited all forms of discrimination against and exploitation of children.

The fact remained, however, that many working in the field believed that the Law on the Protection of the Rights of Children was too declaratory, lacking the necessary vigour to fulfil obligations under the Convention and its Optional Protocols, Ms. Jameel recognized. Efforts to amend the legislation were in progress and it was hoped that the amendments would facilitate better implementation of the country's international obligations.

The first-ever multiparty election in Maldives had brought a new Government into power in November 2008 and the structure of the Government was undergoing colossal changes which the Committee should be aware of, Ms. Jameel underscored, especially since the roles and responsibilities of agencies mentioned in the initial report had changed significantly. The Ministry of Gender and Family, which had been the key ministry for implementing the Convention, had been abolished and merged with the Ministry of Health. Within the new Ministry of Health and Family, programmes and services to enable a safe and protective environment for children was delivered by the Department of Child and Family Protection. The Ministry of Justice also no longer existed and its functions were now overseen by the Judicial Services Commission and the Attorney General's Office. Further, the formation of an independent Prosecutor General's Office had removed all matters relating to criminal litigation from the Attorney General's office.

The separation of powers and restructuring of government had brought unexpected changes and challenges for child protection, Ms. Jameel judged. Previously, the judiciary had been a significant partner in child protection. Currently, it had become increasingly difficult to open dialogue with them, as currently the judiciary exercised its independence to an unreasonable level, where any attempt to establish dialogue was regarded as encroaching on their independence and thus infringing the Constitution.

Ms. Jameel noted that the minimum age of sexual consent in Maldives was set at 16 years by law. Nevertheless, insensitivities to issues of child rights and protection in the judiciary, where the majority of judges subscribed to the belief that cognitive maturity was achieved with puberty, had resulted in the consideration of puberty as the relevant benchmark. Furthermore, successful prosecution of sex offenders remained an enormous challenge due to gaps and weaknesses in the justice system. It was hoped that those gaps and inconsistencies would be addressed when the proposed Penal Code and Evidence Bill were passed in Parliament.

The amendments to the Regulation on Sexual Offences had attracted a lot of controversy when they had been passed in May 2008. In a time when public confidence in the judiciary was low, the amendments had brought hope to both public and private stakeholders, especially as non-custodial sentences for sexual offences had been replaced with custodial ones. However, Ms. Jameel regretted that the numerous changes taking place in the legal system and the restructuring of Government had meant that only a few suspects had been charged and tried under the amended regulation.

While Maldives had no official records on the sale of children, commercial sexual exploitation of children was an emerging issue in the country, Ms. Jameel said. Moreover, the potential danger of commercial sexual exploitation of children could not be overlooked as tourism was the country's largest industry. Though traditionally tourists spent their holidays at separate resort islands, the current trend of allowing the development of tourism on inhabited islands and in close proximity to local populations would also make children more susceptible to exploitation.

Official records showed small levels of child involvement in sex work, whereas unofficial records and narratives pointed to higher rates of children forced into prostitution and drug-related prostitution by juveniles. This commercial sexual exploitation of children did not appear to be organized or run by criminal syndicates. A qualitative study on violence against children made in 2004 had revealed, however, that the use of children for sexual purposes in exchange for goods or services and the production of child pornography were increasing in the country.

Indeed, in general the lack of research on issues that affected children in Maldives was one of the greatest deficits to addressing these issues in an evidence-based manner, Ms. Jameel observed. The difficulty was further compounded by the lack of local expertise on that sensitive issue.

Turning to positive achievements, Ms. Jameel extended her appreciation to the various international organizations which had guided and collaborated with the Government in child protection, facilitating capacity-building and setting up child protection mechanisms and infrastructure. Among others, she thanked the United Nations Children's Fund for assistance in capacity-building in child protection and decentralization of child protection services in the atolls; ECPAT International, which had collaborated with the Child and Family Protection Authority to develop a Child Exploitation and Trafficking Policy; and Child Helpline International, which had been helping to establish a child helpline in Maldives.

In conclusion, Ms. Jameel outlined a number of plans for the work in this area for the next two years, including undertaking a comprehensive study on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children; the establishment of a Juvenile Justice Unit; the submission of a Juvenile Justice Bill amending the Law on the Rights of the Child to Parliament; the holding of sensitization seminars for the judiciary on best practices and international norms and standards, as well as with regard to harmonizing international human rights obligations with domestic law for the effective prosecution of sexual exploitation of women and children; the conducting of training for police and judiciary on international standards for dealing with juvenile offenders and training would be provided for police on family and child-centred investigation; and supporting the work of NGOs and other civil society bodies in the area of advocating the rights of children.

Discussion on the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography

YANGHEE LEE, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of Maldives on the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, welcomed the news about the election of the new Government in 2008 which was embarking on colossal changes. This was an excellent time to be talking about children's rights, so as to ensure that they were put at the forefront of the issues to be addressed by the new Government.

Ms. Lee further welcomed the ratification by Maldives of the two Optional Protocols to the Convention; its ratification of the South Asian Regional Association for Regional Cooperation Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution; and the inclusion of article 35 in the newly ratified Constitution which explicitly protected the rights of children.

Turning to questions and concerns, on the issue of data, Ms. Lee observed that there seemed to still be difficulties in this area and a lack of disaggregated data. Moreover, the data provided in the report were not relevant to the Optional Protocol, as they were on abuse. In that connection, could the Committee receive an update on the information about the National Child Protection Database that was scheduled to be completed in 2009?

Another matter of concern was the information presented today that the former Ministry of Gender and Family had been folded into the Ministry of Health and Family, and the protection of children's rights was relegated to a department within that ministry. That combination of several mandates within a single ministry presented the danger that children's rights would not receive the priority attention that they deserved and the strong government support necessary, in Ms. Lee's opinion.

With regard to independent monitoring, Ms. Lee asked if progress had been made in addressing the Committee's recommendation that the Human Rights Commission of Maldives be ensured full independence and that it be provided with adequate financial resources? Further, did the Commission have the right to hear complaints under the Optional Protocol?

Ms. Lee also asked whether there was a plan of action with regard to the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and whether there were specific prevention measures in place, in particular given that tourism was the major source of income in the country.

Other Committee Experts expressed concerns about rehabilitation and shelter facilities for victims of offences under the Protocol; whether abusers were removed from the home; plans to harmonize domestic legislation with the Optional Protocol, in particular to specifically prohibit all the offences set out therein; the need for a situation analysis of the issues related to the provisions of the Optional Protocol, including the issue of child sex tourism; what, if any, protections existed for children in legal proceedings; what happened in cases where the laws, in particular any new laws enacted or planned, were in contradiction with Muslim law (i.e. sharia); how coordination of children's issues across ministries was effected and whether the National Council of Children still existed; what services existed for child victims in the atolls; and whether there had been any measures to raise awareness of the issues under the Optional Protocol among the general public

Several Experts voiced worries about the statement made by the delegation today regarding the difficulties presented by the independence of the judiciary. While there might be tension at first, it was not the fault of an independent judiciary that children's issues were not addressed, but the fault of the existing legislation.

Response by Delegation

Responding to Experts' questions, the delegation said, with regard to preparing the report, ideally that should have been done with wide consultation with all stakeholders. They had tried to do that. However, it had only been over the past five years that non-governmental organizations had been taking an active role, in particular in the area of child protection. The Ministry worked with only three NGOs in this area, none of which were exclusively children's rights groups.

On data, the capacity for gathering such research was quite low in the country, the delegation agreed. Furthermore, research that had been undertaken was not rigorous enough. As for the National Child Protection Database, which had been started with UNICEF two years ago, the concept paper had been completed and the system requirements for the database in 2008. The training of staff for the database would be done during the first quarter of this year.

The project to determine the incidence of violence against women and children had had to change its name because of the denial about such issues in the country and the perceived controversial nature of the name. Violence against children was considered even more non-existent than violence against women, which was completely denied. Therefore they had had to call the project "Women's Life Experiences".

As to the abolition of the Ministry of Gender and the Family, the delegation said that after 20 years of working for the rights of women and children they had actually been demoralized by their lack of identity. "To be wiped off the map was unbearable". They had continued to raise this issue with the judiciary and the executive, as well as lobbying with the President and his advisers that they be put back and the map and accorded their rightful place. The robustness of the work that they carried out had been affected, just as the resources, time and funding they received had been affected. The delegation would appreciate any advice the Committee could give as to ways to reinstate the Ministry on Gender and the Family.

As to comments on the opinion expressed about the independence of the judiciary, the delegation said that the Committee needed to understand the level of arrogance and ignorance on the part of some of the judiciary. For example, in a case brought to trial of a 12-year-old girl who was raped "in her sleep" by four men, which had been was witnessed by her brother, the preliminary judgement had found the perpetrators not guilty because the girl had not cried out in protest and thus was considered to have consented. That despite the fact that the age of sexual consent had been established as 16 years by law.

Also in that connection, they had tried to get information and statistics and to work with the judiciary, for example with regard to the incidence of child marriage, and that had been also seen as undue influence of the judiciary.

The case was now on appeal, and the Ministry of Health and Family was actively involved in the case, the delegation added.

The delegation observed that they had quite a number of bills still in the pipeline regarding children's rights, including the amendments to the Law on Child Protection. They had worked with international agencies to ensure that that Law was in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols. However, they would be electing a new Parliament in March, and they would have to begin their lobbying efforts all over again to get child-related legislation adopted.

The delegation admitted that not all of the issues and offences set out in the Optional Protocol were incorporated in the draft Penal Code before Parliament. This would be a good time to lobby for their full inclusion. However, the existing draft did recognize crimes against children, and it had stipulated and defined consent. So they were on the right path.

On monitoring and evaluation of children's rights and programmes, a comprehensive monitoring body did not exist for child rights in Maldives, the delegation said. There had been a huge debate on whether the National Human Rights Commission would be the appropriate body, and it had been agreed that it was. However, there was a need for a monitoring body within the government itself, and that was an area that they were still working on. Here, Experts clarified that what the Committee wanted was not a coordinating body on children's issues within Government, but a separate, independent monitor for those rights outside of Government.

The delegation explained that the Child and Family Protection Authority had been the Government body that had coordinated and monitored implementation of the Convention in the past. However, with the new Government, that Authority had been abolished and the Department of Child and Family Protection had assumed that role as well.

As far as the National Human Rights Commission was concerned, the delegation did not think that it had a specific focus on the areas under the Protocol, and she was not aware that any children had complained directly to that body.

The Child Helpline had also not been used widely by the public. An assessment had found that that was because they were afraid of the authorities; however the delegation believed that was because it had not been sufficiently publicized.

As for care shelters in the 20 atolls, those focused on provision of temporary protective care for children. In 2008, they had focused on the training of personnel for those centres, who had been deployed in January this year.

On the issue of removing perpetrators from the child's environment, the delegation said it was very difficult to get convictions and thus very difficult to get perpetrators removed from the same atoll, or even from the same neighbourhood. That had been true in a recent case involving a child pornographer, where a prosecution had not been successful, and it had not been possible then to ensure that the perpetrator left the neighbourhood.

As for a situation analysis on commercial sexual exploitation issues, the delegation confirmed that they were working with ECPAT International to do just that and it was expected to be ready by the end of 2009. Moreover, as mentioned earlier, a national study on violence against children had been undertaken, and the results were expected to be released soon.

With regard to the possibility of the sale of children for the purposes of adoption, the delegation recalled that adoption was not allowed in Maldives, as it was perceived to be in contradiction with sharia law. However, there were cases of the transfer of children to other countries, supposedly with a view to providing a better life for those children. The previous Child Protection Authority had been monitoring those cases, and the Department of Child and Family Protection was continuing to do that. They planned to visit the atolls where that was happening and to monitor this "informal fostering" practice.

Concerning possible conflicts with sharia law, the delegation affirmed that the new Penal Code both incorporated sharia and the principles and provisions of international treaties as well. The new Government had a political portfolio for Islamic Affairs, which opened the door for dialogue on this issue to ensure that sharia was perceived in the best light as promoting the protection of rights of children and women.

Turning to the status of international treaties, currently, domestic legislation was held to have priority over international treaties to which Maldives was a party. Moreover, to be enforceable, the provisions of treaties had to have additional implementing legislation. The new Constitution, however, provided that any treaty had to be formally debated and agreed in Parliament, which ensured accountability for Parliament, as well as that they were well informed about such treaties and their provisions.

No work had really been done to rehabilitate child victims of prostitution as such, the delegation said. However, any child who came to the Ministry of Health, Gender and Family for assistance received psychological counselling, family reintegration and medical services, as well as assistance to remain in school.

On a related issue, the delegation said that one of the top priorities of the new Government was the establishment of a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts, and there would be a separate rehabilitative centre for children with drug problems.

As for police support for victims of commercial sexual exploitation, the members of the Ministry worked in collaboration with the police to put victims them in a protective environment or to intervene in harmful situations, the delegation said. The Ministry also shared resources with the police.

There was a mention of the two Optional Protocol in training courses for law enforcement officials, the delegation confirmed. However, whether they were really trained on its specific provisions or not the delegation could not say.

Regarding ratifications of the International Labour Organization Convention on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, the delegation said that the debate on accession to the Convention was in its final stage of consideration in the Parliament and was expected to be adopted.

As to whether Maldives had the human capacity to deal with all the issues outlined in the Optional Protocol, the delegation was quite clear, there was not. Indeed, there was very limited capacity in all the areas related to the Protocol. Maldives suffered from a "brain drain" out of the country as well as away from social work towards the information technology sector. In the past three years they had run three consecutive programmes to train social workers. However, the training was not enough qualitatively or quantitatively. Moreover, the existing resources had to be so thinly spread out it really compromised the level of care. However, the Government had promised further financial resources for training.

Discussion on the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict

AWICH POLLAR, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of Maldives on the involvement of children in armed conflict, said that it was good news that the Maldives had traditionally been a peaceful nation with little or no armed conflicts. It was further appreciated that, in November 2002, the minimum age of recruitment to the armed forces had been raised to 18 years, and that applicants had to undergo a dialogue with recruiting personnel to determine their actual level of maturity for such service.

Even though most of the concerns addressed in the Optional Protocol might not be applicable to Maldives as yet, relevant legislation and measures needed to be put in place to ensure that the rights of the child were protected with regard to armed conflict, Mr. Pollar said.

Could Maldives explain the information that there were no specific provisions in domestic law prohibiting the recruitment of minors, Mr. Pollar asked?

Noting that there was already a general awareness-raising programme to discourage children from involvement in violence, Mr. Pollar wondered if the Government was considering specifically adding an emphasis on the use of children in armed conflict?

Further, what was Maldives doing with regard to promotion and implementation of the Optional Protocol in the context of regional cooperation mechanisms or via bilateral agreements, Mr. Pollar wondered?

Other Committee Experts then asked questions and raised concerns, including whether the National Human Rights Commission had jurisdiction over the armed forces to ensure implementation of the Optional Protocol; what was being done to prevent extremist groups from recruiting in Maldives; what was done to ensure that child refugees and asylum-seekers who had been affected by armed conflict were identified and cared for; what had been done to disseminate the Protocol, in particular among the military; whether any training had been carried out to raise awareness about the Protocol, again particularly among the military; and whether military schools were under the Ministry of Defence.

Discussion on the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict

Responding to questions on this Optional Protocol, the delegation said that it had been easy and convenient to not focus on this Protocol in Maldives. Indeed, the country had never ever experienced any form of armed conflict. However, the delegation would appreciate guidance from the Committee as to whether street violence and politically motivated violence fell under the scope of the Optional Protocol.

Regarding the possibility of arms reaching children, it was only the Army and Police that had the right to carry firearms in Maldives. So the chance of firearms being accessible to minors was minimal or next to non-existent.

There had been 14 children in the Army before 2002 when the age for recruitment had been raised from 16 to 18, the delegation noted. They had then immediately been released from the Army, with the option to reinstate themselves if they wished once they had attained the age of 18.

On military training, there were three schools run by the Military Defence Institute: one for basic training; one for advanced military training and special forces training; and one for officers and non-commissioned officers. In the basic training school, the Optional Protocol was not specifically covered, but it did include humanitarian law and military law. The military schools, their curricula and budget, fell wholly under the control of the Ministry of Defence and Security. Only those recruits that had already joined the Defence Forces could attend the school, therefore the minimum age was de facto 18 years for admission.

The National Human Rights Commission did have jurisdiction and competence to investigate any complaint that related to the Defence Forces, the delegation confirmed.

Regarding identification of those children who had been caught up in hostile situations, the delegation said that they did not have such a mechanism at present. However, there were children to some extent involved in political and gang violence. In those cases, the Ministry had used the media to inform people and publicize the situation.

On verification of age for recruitment, in addition to birth registration, the Defence Forces relied on the identity card issued to all Maldivians to be able to work, the delegation said. Those cards were only issued following an extensive check.

As for refugee or asylum-seeking children, the delegation highlighted that there had never been a case of a child seeking asylum in Maldives, either via its one international airport or via sea transport.

Despite the fact that Maldives was located in a region of relative violence, that had had almost no effect on Maldives. There were no persons producing arms, in the traditional sense of knives and guns, in Maldives, and there had been no cases of trafficking in arms detected or even suspicions of such traffic.

Production or sale of weapons was prohibited in Maldives via the Law on Contraband. There was no overt criminal prohibition against the recruitment of children for purposes of use in armed conflict. However, there were labour regulations that prohibited the employment of children under 16 in general or between 16 and 18 in a number of areas, including the Army or in hazardous occupations, the delegation pointed out.

Unfortunately, there was currently no peace education in the school. There had been talks all last year about incorporating civics as well as life skills education in the curriculum, but that had not been accepted so far.

As for extraterritorial jurisdiction, in a case where a foreigner had recruited foreign children for use in armed conflict and was now residing in Maldives, or whether war criminals residing in the country were able to be prosecuted, the delegation was not sure of the law, as such a case had never arisen so far.

Regarding extradition of persons guilty of crimes under the Optional Protocol, the delegation noted that Maldives had an extradition agreement with Sri Lanka and Pakistan, and the Government would consider extradition requests from other Governments on a case-by-case basis.

Preliminary Concluding Observations

In preliminary concluding observations, Committee Expert YANGHEE LEE, Rapporteur for the report of Maldives on the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, thanked the delegation for the candid and frank dialogue. The Committee was excited about the recent changes in the Government and was convinced that the delegation was now aware of where the Committee's concerns lie. The head of delegation was clearly on top of the issues. The Committee was also certain that she would have the gumption to push that agenda ahead, as she had demonstrated all day long her interest in ensuring that children's issues would not be sidelined.

The Committee also fully recognized the financial resources and other constraints faced by Maldives in implementing the Optional Protocol, including a country of more than 1,000 atolls, some 200 of which were populated, Ms. Lee noted.

Among recommendations would be that a more holistic, child rights-based approach be taken in implementation, evaluation and monitoring of the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. They would also urge Maldives to ratify other relevant international treaties, such as the Hague Convention (on adoption) and the ILO Conventions (on child labour), Ms. Lee said.

A further concern was the need for a national plan for implementation. Sectoral plans were good, but a comprehensive plan was needed.

There was also a need for an independent monitoring body outside and an evaluation mechanism within the government for assessing the situation and progress with regard to issues under the Optional Protocol, Ms. Lee highlighted. The acts and crimes defined in the Protocol also needed to be explicitly prohibited in the Penal Code.

Finally, the Committee would recommend that civil society be empowered more, Ms. Lee said. That was a very important ingredient in delivering continuity. Awareness and dissemination were other areas that had come up several times, and it was hoped that the concluding observations of the Committee would be widely disseminated.

In additional preliminary observations, Committee Expert AWICH POLLAR, Rapporteur for the report of Maldives on the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, also thanked the delegation for the good dialogue. It was true that the Optional Protocol only acted as a preventative measure for Maldives as it was lucky enough to be such a peaceful place.

Among recommendations would be many suggestions that Maldives continue in the peaceful direction it had travelled so far. Periodic evaluations would also be recommended, as well as legislation to ensure that the provisions of the Protocol were covered by law.

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