COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONCLUDES CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF KENYA

CRC
28th session
26 September 2001
Afternoon





In Preliminary Remark, Expert Recommends that Kenya Raise
the Age of Criminal Responsibility


The Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon concluded its consideration of an initial report from Kenya on how that country was implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In a preliminary remark, a Committee Expert recommended that Kenya raise the age of criminal responsibility of children, which was now 8 years, to bring it in line with the provisions of the Convention. The Expert said the Committee appreciated the high-ranking delegation and the positive impact of the dialogue with its members. The general feeling was that the Government was developing a child-friendly attitude in the measures it was taking, the Expert added. The Government should get financing from other sources in order to improve the economic and social situation which affected children.

The Expert also said that the different legislation to be enacted by the Government should create a balance between the various customary laws, which were still existing in the country, and complying with the provisions of the Convention. A bill on children was important. With the good will the Government was showing, it would be able to fully realize the implementation of the treaty.

The Committee will issue its formal, written concluding observations and recommendations on the report of Kenya 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, Kenya must submit periodic reports to the Committee on how it is implementing the provisions of the treaty. A 12-member Kenyan delegation was on hand throughout the day to present the report and to answer questions raised by Committee members.


When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 27 September, it will take up the initial report of Oman.


Response of Kenya

Responding to questions raised this morning by Committee Experts, the delegation said that the responsibility of the coordination of child affairs in the country was given to the Ministry of Finance and Planning. In addition, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) played a cardinal role in the promotion of children's rights. Once the Children Bill 2001 was adopted by parliament, the National Council for Children's Services would be given more tasks and powers for the promotion and protection of child rights. In addition, the Area Children's Advisory Committees would also be incorporated in the National Council.

With regard to how child abuse could be reported, the delegation said that the situation was very critical for various reasons, including the capacity of the child to lodge complaints of abuses. However, family members could lodge the complaints on behalf of the child victim.

Children below 21 years of age could be put in foster families or could be adopted with the consent of parents and the child, the delegation said. Intercountry adoption could only be carried out in special circumstances involving court decisions.

Responding to a question on the situation of children imprisoned with their mothers, the delegation said that mothers with children served shorter prison terms and in cases requiring longer terms, their children could be placed in Government facilities. In order to avoid mother-and-child imprisonment, alternative community services were provided in the event of longer sentences.

Corporal punishment had been introduced in the Kenyan legal system as a means of disciplinary methods against students, the delegation said. Nevertheless, it had been banned since March 2001 because of its inappropriate use by teachers. The maintenance of discipline in schools was carried out without the use of corporal punishment.

Concerning domestic violence, the delegation recalled that a draft bill was submitted to parliament for its approval; its submission was prompted by the increase of incidents of domestic violence in which children were victims; and it aimed at protecting children and women in the household.

The 1963 independence law had affirmed gender equality and it had prohibited discrimination on the grounds of sex, the delegation said. However, the law on granting citizenship had been found to be discriminatory on the basis of gender. The Government was contemplating to repeal such laws and replace them by laws promoting equality between men and women.

A number of child-rights clubs had been created in schools to allow the full participation of children, the delegation said. The initiation of such participation in which children were taught human-rights education had been successful, it added.

Birth registration had been made compulsory and the Ministries of Health and Education had been actively taking part, the delegation said. Regional authorities were also responsible to register births taking place in rural and remote areas. Urban areas had the highest number of registered births. The use of assistant district registrars who visited the locations had also had a
positive impact in addition to the awareness-increasing campaign on the issue. The low rate of birth registration and limited knowledge about it was attributed to the country's poor infrastructure, cultural beliefs, poverty and ignorance.

Committee Experts continued raising questions within the context of the remaining cluster of special protection measures. The Experts said that according to UNICEF, there was no general law on issues of refugees and refugee camps were not safe; the estimated 1.5 million disabled children were not integrated into the mainstream of the national education system, and there was a high incidence of sexual abuse of disabled children; and that schools lacked textbooks and other educational material.

An Expert said that in some sectors of the Kenyan labour force, children comprised 70 per cent of the force. Also in many other sectors, the number of working children was significant. The delegation was asked to provide information on the situation of child labour in the country.

Another Expert said that adolescent pregnancy had been a problem in Kenya and asked if the Government had taken preventive measures to avert teenage pregnancy. The same Expert also said that the number of households headed by AIDS orphans was increasing. The practice of circumcision was still frequent in the country and that situation was harmful for the health of girls. What measures had the Government taken to help drug addicts? Had it taken steps against drug-traffickers and dealers?

Children on the streets were allegedly arbitrarily rounded and arrested by police, an Expert said. There were allegations that those children were held in police stations and were mistreated before they were released. The number of children not going to schools had also increased drastically during recent years. In addition, most children aged between 14 and 17 years did not go to secondary schools. The delegation was asked to explain this situation.

Responding to questions raised by the Committee Experts, the members of the delegation said that the country remained generous and hosted refugees from neighbouring countries. When a war started between Sudan and Uganda, Kenya did not close its borders, instead it allowed refugees to come in and share the meagre resources that Kenya possessed. However, there had been a problem concerning some refugees coming into the country with their arms, creating insecurity in the country. In certain refugee camps there had been a situation of insecurity where criminals reigned. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees should assume its responsibilities in places where the Government of Kenya was unable to control the situation.

Kenya had 1 million orphans due to HIV/AIDS and the Government had been struggling to extend social services to this category of children, the delegation said. The priority of social servicing had been extended to those who were affected and infected by HIV/AIDS and to those who were vulnerable to the virus. The disease threatened the social fabric of society and had weakened the productive labour force. As part of the Government's efforts in the fight against the disease, a number of screening and treatment centres had been created, including community-based services. Children institutions hosting destitute children had also been given financial assistance from a Government fund.

Concerning the issue of the disabled persons, the delegation said that for more than ten years, a fund for the disabled had existed and persons in various regions had been assisted. The attitude and beliefs that disability was bad-luck could be found in many countries other than Kenya. However, the Government had been engaged in awareness-increasing campaigns to change public attitude on the issue. A task force had been created to draft a bill in favour of disabled persons and it had recommended the prohibition of discrimination of persons with disability in areas of education, health and integration. In addition, the Government appealed to the international community to support its efforts in assisting disabled persons in general.

Asked how Kenya managed during the last 40 years with the combination of English, customary, Islamic and Hindu laws, the delegation said that since 1963, there had been the Muslim population which retained its customary laws, as did the white settlers with their western Christian values and the English laws. The remaining citizens of African origins also continued to practice their traditional laws. However, the Government was endeavouring to harmonize the different laws by enacting laws which would give priority to the protection and promotion of children's rights. The Children's Bill 2001, when adopted by the parliament, would strengthen the rights of children.

Female genital mutilation was practised away from the eyes of the law which prohibited it, the delegation said. It was hoped that the new Children’s Bill would provide additional impetus to the prohibition of female genital mutilation.

The delegation said that child labour was the worst form of child abuse. The Government had no statistical data on the extent of child labour in the country.

On the issue of drug abuse, the delegation said that the infiltration of drugs into schools had been observed in recent years. A task force had been established to carry out a study on the issue and to suggest means to fight drug abuse in schools, in the family and in the society in general.

Concerning school dropouts, the Government had been recommended to reduce the curriculum workload in order to allow children to have more leisure while they were in school, the delegation said. The number of teachers should also be increased in order to avoid class-room overcrowding.


Expert’s Preliminary Remark on the Report of Kenya

In a preliminary remark, an Expert said that the Committee appreciated the high-ranking delegation and the positive impact that the dialogue had provided. The general feeling was that the Government was developing a child-friendly attitude in the measures it was taking. The problem faced by the Government was mainly that of financing. It should, however, get financing from other sources in order to improve the economic and social situation which affected children.

The different legislation to be enacted should create a balance between the various customary laws still existing in the country concerning the rights of children and compliance with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Expert said. A bill on children was important. With the good will the Government was showing, it would be able to fully realize the implementation of the treaty. In addition, the Government should amend the 8-year-old criminal responsibility of a child and bring it in line with the provisions of the Convention.



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