COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONCLUDES CONSIDERATION OF CHILE'S SECOND PERIODIC REPORT ON COMPLIANCE WITH CONVENTION

CRC
29th session
23 January 2002
Afternoon



Expert, in Preliminary Remarks, Recommends that the
Government Take Further Action to Ensure Rights
of Chilean Children



The Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon concluded its consideration of a second periodic report from Chile, with a Committee Expert saying, in preliminary remarks, that further action should be taken by the Government to ensure the rights of Chilean children.

The Committee Expert said that the dialogue with the Chilean delegation had been very constructive; there was an impression that children and young people in Chile needed someone from the outside to defend them; and she hoped that the changes undertaken by the Chilean society would change this impression. Children should not be abused and neglected in any society; the repressive system to which children were subjected to should be changed; and the State should take further action in line with the principles of the Convention.

The Expert recommended that training should be provided to persons who dealt with children from the point of view of the law. Also every effort should be made to keep children in schools.

Over the course of their consideration of the report, the Committee Experts continued to query the Chilean delegation under the main clusters, which include basic health and welfare; education, leisure and cultural activities; and special protection measures. They asked, among other things, if fellowships were extended to indigenous children to attend school; about the teaching of sex education in schools; why there were many specialized institutions for disabled children instead of integrating them in normal schools; about child labour; why there were different definitions of a child; sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children involving prostitution; about the practice of corporal punishment; and why the number of rich students was higher than poor ones.

Formal, written concluding observations and recommendations on the report of Chile will be released by the Committee towards the end of its three-week session, which will conclude on 1 February.

As one of the 191 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Chile must present periodic summaries of its performance aimed at implementing the provisions of the treaty. A 10-member Chilean Government delegation was on hand throughout the day to present the report and to answer questions raised by the Committee Experts.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 24 January, it will start its consideration of an initial report from Malawi.


Discussion

Responding to questions raised this morning, the Chilean delegation said that in the case of rape, the penalty was three years imprisonment, but after the legal reforms, the penalty had been increased in accordance with the age of the victim.

A study had been carried out in 1996 by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on mistreatment of children which had indicated the extent of child mistreatment, the delegation said. However, the number of cases of ill-treatment of children had gone down, according to a survey in 2000.

With regard to allegations of mistreatment of children in centres, the National Centre for Minors had established a mechanism through which such cases were reported. It was mandatory for the personnel of the centres to report any mistreatment cases and those found acting contrary to the norms respected in the centres would be dismissed.

The National Centre for Minors provided defence for minors involved in criminal activities, the delegation said. Minors were sometimes charged in the same manner as adults in order to avoid impunity; however, the sanctions were not the same as those given to adults. Since the issue of responsibility for minors was not the same as for adults, the period of proceedings and the judicial procedures were different as well.

The Government had to develop a new form of partnership with civil society in order to enhance the promotion of child rights, the delegation said. In the past, civil society had been marginalized and had not been given a chance to play an important role within the country.

Concerning indigenous people, in 1993, the Committee for Indigenous Development had been established; the Mapuche people, in particular, had benefited from the measures undertaken by the Government, the delegation said. According to a recent survey, 4.6 per cent of the population was indigenous, with the Mapuche people making up 80 per cent of all indigenous persons.

The Government had adopted measures to raise awareness of the need to have responsible sexual activities in order to avoid abortion, teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, the delegation said.

Torture was an offence which was penalized by law, the delegation said. Any torture attributed to Government agents had been surveyed and criminal investigations had been carried out in the past, including for cases committed during the military rule. The Government had also collaborated with international bodies dealing with the investigation of torture in Chile. A case of serial killings by an individual was pending after police failed to properly investigate the disappearance of the girl-victims. The case was now in the hands of a female judge who was dealing with the investigation.

Asked about cases of mistreatment in a colony belonging to a sect, the delegation said that the Government had been carrying out an investigation following complaints and reports by individuals. The person in charge of the colony, who was of German origin, was at large. The Government, however, was continuing the investigation to establish the responsibility of ill-treatment in the camp.

With regard to abortion, the delegation said that the Government advocated safe abortion and its regulation by law. However, because of opposition by some quarters of the society to the legalization of abortion, its practice remained illegal.

The Committee Experts continued querying the Chilean delegation under the main clusters which include basic health and welfare; education, leisure and cultural activities; and special protection measures. They asked, among other things, if fellowships were extended to indigenous children to attend school; about the teaching of sex education in schools; why there were many specialized institutions for disabled children instead of integrating them in normal schools; about alternative disciplinary methods instead of expelling pupils from schools; about child labour; why there were different definitions of a child; if abandoned children were considered as stateless; the function of the youth parliament; sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children involving prostitution; about the practice of corporal punishment; and why the number of rich students was higher than poor ones.

In response to the questions raised by the Committee Experts, the members of the Chilean delegation said that the school system of the country was divided into three categories: Government, semi-private and private schools. The semi-private schools were partially subsidised by the State while the private educational institutions were fully run on a private basis.

In the school context, children, both boys and girls, had the rights to express their views, the delegation said. The teaching of human rights and sex education were part and parcel of the education curriculum of Chile.

Asked why students were excluded from schools for disciplinary reasons, the delegation said that the Ministry of Education had taken measures to reintegrate those students expelled from schools. Sanctions were imposed against persons who refused to reintegrate them.

Concerning the number of children with disabilities attending regular educational institutions, the delegation said that at present, 15,000 such students were attending schools, which covered up to 78 per cent of children in that category.

Fellowship grants for indigenous students had been increased between 1999 to 2002, from 5,000 to 25,000, the delegation said. The Government had launched a programme, in conjunction with a regional international bank, to assist 159 schools which Mapuche children attended, which involved the sum of $ 900 million.

The practice of corporal punishment by parents originated from legislation dating back to the nineteenth century, the delegation. The Government had not yet introduced specific provisions to replace the obsolete law in compliance with the Convention.

Abandoned children were not considered as stateless persons as alluded to by an Expert, the delegation said. They were considered as citizens and there was no discrimination whatsoever with regard to their citizenship.

Concerning inter-family sexual abuse, the delegation said that of all cases of sexual abuse, 65 per cent were committed within the family by a close relative of the child-victim. According to the law, incest and exhibitionism was punished by law; and pornographic exposure of children was also punishable.

Until 1996, Chile did not have a clear vision of the situation of child labour, the delegation said. A programme had been introduced by the International Labour Office (ILO) on the issue and a national committee, chaired by a representative of the Ministry of Social Affairs, had been established. The ILO and UNICEF actively participated in the committee that attempted to diagnosis the situation of child labour and the role of education in the country. Consequently, the labour code was amended to include a provision which prohibited children below 15 years from signing employment contracts.

The National Service for Minors had received 2,000 reports on cases of trafficking for sexual exploitation. The victims were taken care of by the Service.

The delegation said that the Government believed that the authoritarian attitude of the society and the family towards children had to be changed; and the authorities would continue their efforts to settle problems and to enhance the promotion and protection of child rights.


Preliminary Remarks on Report of Chile

A Committee Expert said in preliminary remarks that the dialogue with the Chilean delegation had been very constructive. There was an impression that children and young people in Chile needed someone from the outside to defend them. She hoped that the changes undertaken in the Chilean society would resolve this impression. Children should not be abused and neglected in any society. The repressive system to which children were subjected to should be changed. The State should take further action in line with the principles of the Convention.

The Expert recommended that training should be provided to those persons who dealt with children from the point of view of the law. Also every effort should be made to keep children in schools.




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