COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONCLUDES DIALOGUE WITH DENMARK ON COMPLIANCE WITH CONVENTION

CRC
27th session
22 May 2001
Afternoon




Committee Expert Offers Preliminary Remarks


The Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon concluded its dialogue with a delegation from Denmark on that country’s compliance with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In preliminary remarks, a Committee Expert said that Denmark had shown its interest in implementing the provisions of the Convention, and it had made positive progress based on the Committee's recommendations on the initial report presented by the country.

The Expert said that the problem of infant mortality in Greenland and the Faroe Islands compared to the mainland had been a concern to the Committee, including the lack of information from those regions; in addition, there was need of a change of attitudes as the number of foreigners continued to grow in the country. There was also a need to make further studies on the situation of child sexual abuse, which seemed to be a taboo in the report, the Expert added.

Earlier this afternoon, Committee members raised a number of questions focusing on such issues as sexual abuse of children in the family and measures undertaken by the Government to combat this phenomenon; sexual tourism by Danish nationals abroad; the rate of suicide among youth; alcohol consumption among children; the situation of the Roma minority; female genital mutilation; corporal punishment; neglect of children; and the increase in the number of children placed outside parental homes, among other things.

A Danish delegation led by Arnold Skibsted of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Denmark was on hand throughout the day to answer questions raised by Committee Experts on the second periodic report of the country. The 13-member Danish delegation was composed of representatives from the Ministries for Foreign Affairs, Justice, Interior, Social Affairs, Education, Labour and Culture.

Denmark is among the 191 States parties to the Convention and as such it is obligated to provide the Committee with periodical summaries of its efforts to give effect to the provisions of the treaty.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 23 May, it will take up the initial report of Turkey.


Discussion

In response to a series of questions raised by Committee Experts during the morning meeting, the members of the Danish delegation said that at least 15 concrete initiatives had been drawn up by the Committee of Ministers on the issue of maladjustment of children in the society. In addition, the country's parliament would act on a bill which would penalize children who offended the law of the society.

Asked if preventive measures were taken to protect children from harmful information on the Internet, the delegation said that the Internet had been found to be a tool for pedagogy for children, however, children were not misusing their liberty and accessing the Internet to surf into unauthorized domains.

With regard to violence and bullying in schools, the Ministry of Education had provided directives to all schools to elaborate on a written evaluation of the educational environment so as to find a tailored solution to problems arising in the schools, the delegation said. In addition, municipalities had also taken measures to create a better educational environment in schools. The Government was taking up the issue of bullying in schools and it was envisaging to take further measures.

The Ministry of Justice had introduced a bill which provided for children under 12 years of age to be able to express views in matters of custody, the delegation said. In the past, some courts had respected the views of children below 12 years.

Single parents were eligible for allowance and financial assistance if they became single parents before their pre-vocational education had been completed, the delegation said.

Non-accompanied children seeking asylum went through the usual asylum process, but in a lesser period of time than for adults, the delegation said. Unaccompanied minors who arrived in the country to seek asylum had to be accompanied by a representative of the Danish Red Cross throughout the examination process of the request for refugee status. Unaccompanied children below 15 years were immediately given asylum on their arrival. Children in such conditions were provided with the right to express their views and were assigned a guardian to stay with.

The Danish Government would make sure that the Committee would receive adequate information on the situation in the self-governing territories of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, the delegation said. The lack of information on those territories was the consequence of the self-rule accorded to them and in whose affairs the central Government did not intervene.


Danish non-governmental organizations were increasingly involved in work with children's issues, partly through project grants and partly as consultation partners in connection with the drawing up of new legislation, the delegation said. Generally, non-governmental organizations were involved in a large part of the initiatives and work for the rights of children and young people in the country as well as in Danish development assistance.

Committee Experts continued to query the delegation on issues pertaining to the family environment, health and cultural participation. The questions focused on such issues as sexual abuse of children in the family and the measures undertaken by the Government to combat this phenomenon; sexual tourism by Danish nationals abroad; the rate of suicide among youth; alcohol consumption among children; the situation of the Roma minority; female genital mutilation; corporal punishment; neglect of children; and the increase in the number of children placed outside parental homes, among other things.

In response, the delegation said that female genital mutilation was a criminal offence under Danish law and such acts were not tolerated. In addition, the Ministry of Health had carried out educational programmes in that regard.

In the summer of 1997, parents' right to use corporal punishment on their children was abolished by law, the delegation said. A campaign entitled "when I have children, I will never hit them" had been launched following the promulgation of the law. In addition, in 2000, the National Council for Children carried out the same campaign by issuing translated copies to parents whose first language was not Danish. The number of parents beating their children had dramatically decreased at present.

The number of Roma people was very limited and they were integrated within the society, the delegation said. However, some cases of absence from school by Roma children had been observed in the past. The Ministry of Education had been distributing pamphlets in which it explained the right of children to education and stressed the obligation of parents to send their children to school.

The Committee members continued to put their last round of questions. An Expert wanted to know if Denmark had taken measures against crimes committed abroad, particularly in connection with the phenomenon of paedophilia. Several Experts also asked about the situation in which children were deprived of their liberty, and whether they were separated from adult inmates. An Expert asked about the measures taken against pornography and sexual exploitation of children, particularly of children of African origin trafficked into Denmark for that purpose; and the steps taken to rehabilitate child victims of prostitution.

Responding to some of the questions, the delegation said that the number of suicides in Denmark had increased in the past few years. A toll-free telephone line had been made available for children with suicidal tendencies. Measures had been taken to reduce the consumption of alcohol by children.

On the issue of monitoring children adopted by Danish residents, the delegation said that the process of adoption included the obligation to take care of all children brought into the country.


Denmark had signed the two Optional Protocols to the Convention and legislation relating to child rights would be amended to comply with the provisions of those additional treaties, the delegation said.

Cases of trafficking of children for the purpose of pornography and sexual exploitation had not been discovered by the police, the delegation said. Only cases of adults had been registered so far.

Children deprived of their liberty were not placed in prisons together with adults, the delegation said. Children found in such situations were normally placed in social institutions where they were provided with rehabilitation programmes.

Because of Danish practice of placing children in solitary confinement, the Government had made available a law which prohibited the practice, the delegation said. Only one child had been kept in solitary confinement before he was 18 years because of his involvement in a case of armed robbery.


Expert’s Preliminary Remarks

In preliminary remarks, an Expert thanked the delegation for the constructive dialogue with the Committee. Denmark had shown its interest in implementing the provisions of the Convention; it had made positive progress based on the Committee's recommendations on the initial report of Denmark. In addition, further measures should be taken towards the promotion and protection of the rights of children.

The problem of infant mortality in Greenland and the Faroe Islands compared to the mainland had been a concern to the Committee. The lack of information from those regions was also a matter of concern. The dissemination of the provisions of the Convention should continue. There was need for a change in attitudes as the number of foreigners continued to rise in the country. There was also a need to make further studies on the situation of child sexual abuse, which seemed to be a taboo in the report.


* *** *