COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONCLUDES CONSIDERATION OF MAURITANIAN REPORT

CRC
28th session
25 September 2001
Afternoon



In Preliminary Remark, Expert Lauds Government's Strong Commitment to
Improve People's Living Conditions



The Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon concluded its consideration of an initial report presented by Mauritania on how that country implements the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In a preliminary remark, a Committee Expert lauded the commitment of the Government to improve the living conditions of the population and urged it to continue with its efforts. Budgetary allocations should be focused on specific areas where poverty could be alleviated. The Expert also suggested that the reservations Mauritania had made on some of the provisions of the Convention should be lifted, even if the country was practising Islamic laws.

Earlier this afternoon, in response to questions raised by Committee Experts, the Mauritanian delegation affirmed that it was wrong and inaccurate to assume that slavery existed in Mauritania. Slavery had been abolished a long time ago. In addition, some groups of people like the black population were not barred from access to public offices.

The delegation further said that there was no practice of servitude or slavery-like conditions in Mauritania; and the 1905 and the 1946 laws had prohibited the practice of slavery in the country. All the four components of the population lived peacefully together.

The Committee will issue its formal, written concluding observations and recommendations on the report of Mauritania towards the end of its three-week session, which will conclude on 12 October.

As one of the 191 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Mauritania is obligated to present to the Committee periodic summaries of its performance in the implementation of the provisions of the treaty.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 26 September, it will take up the initial report of Kenya.


Discussion

At the beginning of the afternoon meeting, Committee Experts continued to raise questions pertaining to the main subjects of the definition of the child; general principles; and civil rights and freedoms.

An Expert asked the delegation to provide clarifications on allegations of the practice of slavery in the country or the conditions in which persons were obliged to work without any remuneration. The Expert also asked if the views of children were heard in cases concerning them, including in divorces and custody cases.

Responding to questions, the delegation said that the National Council for Children presented annual reports with regard to the situation of disabled children. At least 1,600 disabled children had been reintegrated into a number of activities during the last year.

With regard to girls' education, there was a gap between the number of educated boys and girls, particularly in the rural areas, the delegation said. That was due to early marriage and household occupations. The Government had taken measures to open boarding schools for girls in all regional capitals to encourage girls' participation in education. In addition, prizes were granted to the best girls in schooling by the regional Governors to incite girls to continue with their education for higher studies.

The practice of forced feeding of girls had been reduced substantially although in some regions the phenomenon still persisted, the delegation said. The Government continued to take measures in order to eradicate such forced feeding of girls.

Replying to a question on female genital mutilation, the delegation said that in general that phenomenon was not as widespread as was alleged by some Experts; however, it was still practised in some isolated areas. The practice was attributed to tradition, particularly to Islamic tradition. Efforts by some non-governmental organizations continued in order to eradicate circumcision or female genital mutilation.

Children born in Mauritania with one Mauritanian parent were considered as citizens, the delegation said. Children born from unknown fathers, whether foreign or not, were also counted as Mauritanian citizens. In addition, children born out of wedlock could take the name of the father or in the case of an unknown father, they took the name of the mother.

It was essential that the views of children be heard in all situations, be it in the family or outside the family, the delegation said. Not only did children have the right to express their views, but these views were decisive in many cases, including in courts.

It was wrong and inaccurate to assume that slavery existed in Mauritania, the delegation affirmed. Slavery had been abolished a long time ago. The issue that persons were working without any numeration was also wrong and the Experts who mentioned that should verify their sources.

Further, the delegation said that some groups of people, particularly the black population, were not barred from access to public offices. There was no practice of servitude or slavery-like conditions in the country. Mauritania was composed of an Arab majority and the Pulaar, Sonike and Wolof minorities. The 1905 and the 1946 laws had prohibited the practice of slavery in the country, and it did not exist at present. The country's cultural structure had Arab, Islamic and African sources.

There was no Mauritanian child who was deprived of his or her citizenship, the delegation said. It was also a long-standing allegation that there were children without any status with regard to citizenship. Mauritanians who fled the country had returned and had become full-fledged Mauritanians. Those who remained behind had chosen to continue to live as refugees or had chosen to live in the country as stateless persons.

Regarding disparities between regions, the delegation said that the south was not a region where only one single ethnic group was living, there were a number of ethnic groups in that area. The situation did not amount to discrimination or negligence; and no region was discriminated against due to its ethnic composition.

There was no compulsory drafting of children into the army, the delegation said. However, children over 18 years of children could voluntarily join the army if they were fit to do so. Since Mauritania enjoyed civil peace and had good relations with its neighbours, it had never witnessed armed conflicts involving children.

An Expert commented that the main issue was not the recruitment of children as soldiers but the lack of birth registration which did not determine the correct age of children when they joined the army. The delegation was encouraged to continue its campaign for birth registration in order to determine the correct age of children.

Committee members continued to query the Mauritanian delegation on the issue of family environment and alternative care; basic health and welfare; education, leisure and cultural activities; and special protection measures.

The Experts asked specific questions pertaining to, among other things, rural exodus to urban areas; the conditions of street children; the high number of families headed by women, which was 30 per cent as compared to 22 per cent at the African level; the practice of corporal punishment; the situation of children in conflict with the law; bullying in schools and violence by teachers against pupils; and the trafficking of children to the Gulf countries to be used as jockeys for horse racing.

The delegation said that delinquents were normally sent to prisons whenever they were found guilty of their crimes, particularly when they were recidivists; however, some were sent to centres where they were provided with programmes for rehabilitation. The Mauritanian code of criminal procedure provided for uniform treatment of adults and juvenile delinquents; while it guaranteed the fundamental principles of justice, it made no provisions for special treatment for juveniles.

Arabic was the language of the majority and French was also used in the country, the delegation said. In addition, the Pulaar, Sonike and Wolof languages were used as national languages. However, since those languages were not developed, special programmes were being carried out in conjunction with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to develop a written form of the languages.

Asked about the high rate of school drop-outs, the delegation said the Government was making efforts to cope with that phenomenon.

Measures had been taken to penalize any perpetrator of child abuse of any kind, the delegation said. The penalty was also aimed at the practice of abandoning children and abusing them sexually.

Traditional home births by pregnant women continued in many rural parts of the country, the delegation said. However, the Government had taken measures to retrain traditional midwives and women were encouraged to give birth in nearby hospitals instead of their homes.

The phenomenon of street children who dropped out of Koranic schools had been on the increase, the delegation said; however, the Government had been taking additional measures to keep children in schools.

With regard to HIV/AIDS, the Government had continued to raise awareness among adults and children through the dissemination of information on the danger of the pandemic.

Asked about girls as little as 12 years of age working as domestic servants, the delegation said that if they were employed as such they should be remunerated. The domestic service of young children might be attributed to the prevailing poverty situation of some families that sent their children to work for others in order to procure money for their survival.

The existence of women as household leaders could be due to the fact that the men might have gone away as immigrants to look for jobs or they might be widows.

Concerning breastfeeding, there were programmes launched to encourage this practice, the delegation said. In addition, with the help of UNICEF, the Government was planning to prepare legislation which would increase breastfeeding by regulating substitutes to mother milk.

Corporal punishment was banned from schools and its use was illegal, the delegation said.

Polygamy was not a generalized phenomenon in Mauritania, but it was a cultural and religious phenomenon, the delegation said. Its practice was not dictated by religion. In many ethnic groups, the phenomenon of polygamy was not known at all because of its negative effects on children.

A programme had been started in schools in which children were able to talk about and report any violence, such as bullying or intimidation, the delegation said. Teachers were also encouraged to be watchful of abnormal situations around schools and among students.

Preliminary Remark by Committee Expert

In a preliminary remark, an Expert said that the reservations made on some of the provisions of the Convention should be lifted, even though Mauritania was practising Islamic laws. The Government had a strong commitment to improve the living conditions of the population and it should continue with its efforts. Budgetary allocations should be focused on specific areas where poverty could be alleviated. The provisions of the Convention should also be disseminated throughout the country.

The Expert also said that the country had achieved progress in many areas, including the reduction of the high rate of infant mortality. In addition further efforts should be made in the field of birth registration. Further statistical data should be made available in all areas, including social indicators.



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