Morning
HR/CRC/98/6
9 January 1998


The Committee on the Rights of the Child this morning concluded its
consideration of a report presented by the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and
recommended that the State establish mechanisms to coordinate children
activities between its various ministries.

In preliminary recommendations and conclusions, the Committee experts noted
that there was still a hiatus in the collection of data and statistics and suggested
that Libya address this issue to ensure that its programmes could be properly
evaluated.

The Committee expressed concern, among other things, about mal-nutrition and
diarrhea affecting children in Libya. Experts praised the progress made by
Libya on many issues, including establishing gender equality. But it noted that
the issue of inheritance was a remnant of gender discrimination which needed to
be addressed.

The delegation of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya said that it hoped that the
Committee would take into consideration the suffering of the children of Libya
as a result of the unjust embargo imposed on the country.

The Committee will issue its final recommendations towards the end of its
session which concludes on 23 January. It will resume its public session at 10
a.m. on Monday, 12 January, to take up consideration of the report of Ireland
on how it implements the provisions of the Convention.

Discussion of the Report

In response to questions raised by Committee members in the previous session,
the delegation of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya said that concerning the right of a
child to privacy, it should be noted that most children lived surrounded by love
and tenderness from parents and family members. In those cases, control of the
privacy of the child was the responsibility of the parents who worked in their
children's best interests. What the parents decided on was not necessarily what
the children wanted, especially in their early years when they needed guidance.

In the few exceptions when the child lived in a hostile environment, then the
child's privacy should be subject to monitoring and control, the delegation said.

In response to a question on breastfeeding, the delegation said that Libyan law
gave pregnant working women three months of fully paid maternity leave. After
the baby was born, working women were allowed two hours daily to
breastfeed.

With regards to the right to education, the delegation said that this was the
shared responsibility of both parents according to the law. In the case of
separation of the parents, the legal responsibility for the education of the child
fell on the mother, then the maternal grandmother, then the father, then the
paternal grandmother, then a female member of the family. A delegate said that
the issue of polygamy, which was clearly allowed in the Koran, always came up
in these meetings. The Koran allowed up to four wives, but said that since it
was impossible to be fair to all, then just one should suffice. The delegate noted
that none of the members of his team were married to more than one wife and
polygamy was not the general rule in Libya, in fact it was almost non-existent.
He said polygamy was an exception mentioned in the Koran to deal with certain
social conditions like a chronically ill wife or a wife who could not have children
or war time. Libyan legislation had added a condition that the first wife give her
written consent if the husband was to take a second wife.

In response to a question on the existence of a social system to deal with
victims of violence like rape or incest, the delegation said that these cases were
extremely rare because of the social controls exercised in Libya. From the legal
point of view, the rapist could either marry the victim or be punished in
accordance with law, facing imprisonment of up to 25 years. Traumatized
victims were taken to clinics and could stay at a shelter where they would get
psychological assistance. If there was a problem with the family of the victims in
facing the situation, then the victim was taken to a centre for education and job
training. Some victims later married.

Concerning domestic violence, the delegation said that this violence could be
physical, psychological or social. Sociologists were carrying out studies on the
reasons behind domestic violence. Libyan society was very vigilant concerning
these issues and there were also centres that victims could go to for legal and
psychological help.

In response to a question on health and education, the delegation said that
Libyan society had been given many resources and its children used to live very
well with full education and health care. It was regrettable that as a result of the
embargo and the economic sanctions imposed through the United Nations five
years ago, there had been a negative impact on Libyan children who now
suffered from mal-nutrition, lack of availability of medical materials and vaccines
and teaching materials. The lack of medical materials also stopped Libya from
carrying out AIDS tests, although it should be noted that there were no cases
among Libyans, only 80 cases among foreign labourers.

Concerning mal-nutrition and the nutritional situation of children, the delegation
said that according to studies, there was 4.7 per cent mal-nutrition in Libya in
1995 which indicated a reduction compared to the previous 10 years and
compared favourably to the situation in neighbouring countries.

A delegate said that although the Committee was not the place to raise the
political issue of Lockerbie, it should be noted that even the Princess of Wales
before she died had drawn attention to the fact that political issues should not
affect humanitarian and medical issues. The sanctions had resulted in shortages
of cereal and vaccines and milk for children. The vaccination rate in Libya had
decreased from 95 per cent in 1991 to less than 50 per cent today. Libya was
against all arbitrary measures and collective sanctions which affected the
medical needs of a whole people. In response to a question which suggested
that women were not equal to men, the delegation said that Libyan women
were given all social services and protection. Women were equal to men,
sharing the responsibilities and the gains. Concerning a query about the size of
families and birth control in Libya, the delegation said that in the past, families
wanted many children because they could help in the fields or trade. Today,
families tended to plan the number of their children and they used
contraceptives to do this. The modern family had between 3 to 5 children in
comparison to the 8 to 14 offsprings that traditional families had.

A question on the mentally retarded was raised and the delegation said that in
1981, a law was passed which identified the mentally and physically retarded
and disabled. Whatever the disability, the law offered the persons housing, care
at home, artificial limbs, education, rehabilitation to allow them to work, and a
cut of taxes as well as substantial subsidies. Facilities were also made to enable
the disabled or retarded to use public transport. The Social Security Fund
monitored and supported the disabled. Libya had already had the honour to
propose an International Year for the Disabled which was approved by the
United Nations. The State also undertook research to prevent disabilities and
had 46 centres in both urban and rural areas which provided care and
education and rehabilitation for the disabled.

A Committee expert said that her question about mal-nutrition had been
misunderstood since she wanted to stress the need to monitor the 15.5 per cent
of chronic mal-nutrition or stunting among all Libyan children under five. She
said that it was important that Governments did not deny the existence of
HIV/AIDS simply using religion as the reason. She also raised questions about
adolescents' health.

Committee experts further asked, among other things, about how it was
possible for a victim of rape to marry the perpetrator as suggested as an option
by the delegation; about homosexuality in Libya; about statistics on abortions,
use of contraceptives, and suicide; about the number of juveniles in detention or
prison; about education and drop-out rates; about child labour that was
hazardous to the development of the child; and about special protection
measures.

The delegation said that on the issue of abortion, in accordance with Libyan
law, the embryo from conception acquired a right to life which meant that
abortion was considered a crime. The only exception was if the pregnancy
posed a serious danger to the health of the mother and if there were early
detections of malformations in the embryo.

Concerning the issue of religious deviousness or homosexuality, the delegation
said it was prohibited by Islam and punishable legally and socially. Libya did not
consider it a matter of individual freedom and it was not tolerated.

In response to the question of marriage of a rape victim to the perpetrator, the
delegation said that all cases of rape did not end in marriage. It was up to the
judge to decide if the circumstances were acceptable. If he did not think it
would be objectionable to the victim, then a marriage could take place. If not,
then the rapist was punished according to law.

With regards to the issue of mother and child protection, children received
protection from a number of institutions including centres attached to hospitals
and clinics which dealt with the medical aspect, as well as psychological and
social counselling centres at schools. There was also the Secretariat for Youth
which organized programmes for the protection of the child. On the issue of
domestic violence and rape within marriage, the delegation noted that societies
influenced each other in the global village and the first such case of rape within a
marriage was in the United States of America. Perhaps in the years to come,
this phenomenon would increase worldwide. In Arab and Libyan societies,
because of religious and traditional values, such cases had not come to official
attention and no statistics were available. In the case of physical abuse of the
wife, such problems were resolved socially within the family.

Concerning child labour, the delegation said that Libyan legislation prevented
child labour because this had an effect on the health and development of
children. Those under the age of 18 could not work. Sometimes, children
worked in the agricultural areas to help their families, but in such cases there
were bureaus under the Ministry of Labour and the person who hired them was
punished.

Libyan law concerning juveniles left the penalty or punishment to the judge who
could reduce the sentence which was carried out at a rehabilitation centre and
not a prison because this was better for the children.

Preliminary Recommendations and Conclusions

The Committee experts thanked the delegation for participating in the dialogue.
They recognized the interest that the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya had in
implementing the Convention. However, the experts said there were a few
areas of concern that had to be dealt with. They recommended that Libya
established mechanisms to coordinate children activities between the various
ministries. There was still a hiatus in data collection and the experts
recommended that this be addressed.

Committee experts said that although the distinguished delegation had said it
saw no need for a mechanism to discuss the complaints of children, they
suggested that this issue be revisited. There was a need for further dissemination
of the Convention, and the Committee needed to be convinced that the
provisions had reached all areas in the country. Libya should undertake training
for persons involved in the implementation of the Convention like teachers,
policemen, judges, lawyers and those within the area of social work.

Committee experts expressed concern that there seemed to be no division
between non-governmental organizations and government organizations. They
said that this was not necessarily an incorrect status, but noted that this way
information came from only one source and there was no high degree of
impartiality.

Experts expressed concern about early and forced marriages. They
recommended that the use of the term “illegitimate” in reference to children born
out of wedlock be deleted from all administrative work and legislation to avoid
the current situation of discrimination. The experts said that Libya needed to
further address the issues of violence within the family.

The Committee experts praised the high standard of Libya’s health and
education services, but repeated that the issue of gathering statistics needed to
be addressed because figures were the best way to gauge a situation. There
was a special need for statistics to deal with children in special situations like
juvenile delinquents and disabled children so that programmes and efforts to
help them could be properly evaluated. The experts requested that the Libyan
delegation forward written replies to the Committee on questions raised about
school drop-outs.

Another concern expressed by the experts was that it was not enough to
establish children’s rights in legislation, but the provisions had to become a
practical tool. There was a need to evaluate how the Convention had been
filtered into the practical world in Libya, including the work of legislators, social
workers and law enforcement personnel.

While stressing many positive aspects in Libya’s efforts concerning health of
children, the Committee experts noted concerns about mal-nutrition in the
country, especially stunting and diarrhea. They praised the ambitious plans to
train and support disabled children, but suggested that the State keep in mind
the importance of keeping disabled children within the family, and if possible
within the regular educational system, while giving them specialized support and
help.

The Committee experts praised the enormous development in establishing
equality between boys and girls in Libya, but said there was still some concern
about the remnants of gender discrimination in issues like inheritance.

Committee experts pointed out that the Economic and Social Council had
already issued a resolution about the effect of the embargo on Libyan children.
They reminded Libya that it was responsible for all children on its territories, not
only its citizens, who must be specifically addressed in legislation. Although in
theory foreign children received all the rights and benefits as Libyan children,
they had no recourse if these rights were violated.

Concerning the fact that a Libyan woman married to a foreigner could not give
her children Libyan nationality, the Committee experts said that the ambition of
the Convention was to eradicate statelessness. It obligated States to take all
possible measures to make sure that all children had a nationality.

The Committee members said that the Convention was drawn up to take
account of all religious and legal systems in the world. They said States should
view the reports to the Committee not as a bureaucratic obligation but as a
challenge and a continuos dialogue. They said they hoped to see a continuation
of Libya’s commitment to the Convention in their second report.

Concluding Statement of Libyan Delegation

The Libyan delegation thanked the Committee members for their efforts and
desire to consider the situation of children in Libya. It noted that while States
parties were in agreement on the provisions of the Convention, societies and
civilizations were not the same and values, ideas and religions differed. The
Committee should not try to fit these different societies in the same mould as the
result would be negative. The delegation said that all legal and moral principles
based on the Islamic religion could not be changed. As for the recommendation
concerning a mechanism to coordinate work of ministries of child, Libya already
had the High Committee for Child Welfare.

The delegation concluded by saying it hoped that the Committee would take
into consideration the suffering of the children of Libya as a result of the unjust
embargo imposed on the country.