COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONCLUDES DISCUSSION WITH TANZANIAN DELEGATION ON GIVING EFFECT TO CONVENTION

CRC
27th session
1 June 2001
Afternoon





Expert Praises Legislative Reforms Underway, Deplores Lack of Means
Which Hamper Solving Problems Affecting Children


The Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon concluded its discussion with a delegation from Tanzania on how that country was giving effect to the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

A Committee Expert, in preliminary remarks, said the Committee understood the problems facing the Government in the implementation of the Convention; this was especially difficult in the social and economic context where traditions and customs as well as financial problems had to be taken into consideration. The Government seemed to have an eye on almost all of the problems concerning children, but its major handicap was the lack of means which the Committee deplored.

The Expert said that legislative reforms seemed to be underway and this was encouraging. The Government should look at its legislation as well as the implementation of programmes. Education was a priority, and the Government should try to improve the quality of other services. HIV/AIDS was a huge concern, not only for Tanzania but for Africa and the rest of the world. The Government had to make sure that its programmes to combat HIV/AIDS included children.

Formal, written conclusions and recommendations on the initial report of Tanzania will be made public by the Committee towards the end of its three-week session which concludes on 8 June.

Tanzania is among the 191 States parties to the Convention and as such it is obligated to prepare periodic summaries of its performance to implement the provisions of the treaty. A seven-member Tanzanian delegation, led by the Minister of Community Development, Women Affairs and Children, was on hand during the day to present the report and to answer questions raised by Committee members.

Over the course of the Committee's consideration of the report, the Tanzanian delegation said that corporal punishment was part of the country's law and it was still used in schools and against adults and children under 16 years as a sentence in relation to criminal offences. However, the Government was seriously considering the whole system of corporal punishment. In the educational sphere, Tanzania had setbacks in school enrolment which was only 60 per cent. The issues of dropouts and the low quality of teaching were other problems which the Government had focused on in order to improve the educational environment in general. The re-training of teachers was considered to be vital for promoting quality education.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 5 June, it will take up the initial report of Bhutan.


Discussion

Before the Tanzanian delegation replied to questions raised during the morning meeting, Committee Experts put further queries to the delegation. An Expert said that the Government's priority seemed to be related to its debt repayment instead of the implementation of the provisions of the Convention, and asked how it was envisaging to come out of that difficult situation. Another Expert said that the report had stated that adult males and boys under 16 years could be punished by corporal punishment if convicted of a criminal offence, according to the penal code and criminal procedure code. The Expert said that such provisions were in contravention with the Convention and should be rectified.

In response to the questions, the delegation said that children born out of wedlock were not discriminated against in the society; however, in certain cases of inheritance they might not be treated equally with children born within wedlock.

Female students who got pregnant were expelled from schools, the delegation said; that policy had been followed by the educational authorities; the Government envisaged to change the policy and had presented a bill to parliament. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other international organizations were helping such children by providing them with vocational training.

With regard to disabled children, there were traditional attitudes that disabled children were the results of "curses" or the response of "God's annoyance" at a particular family, the delegation said. Some thought it was shameful to show their disabled children and they kept them out of the sight of others; and others kept them in their houses out of sympathy and to ensure that they took care of them properly.

Asked if abortion and infanticide were accentuated by poverty, the delegation said that there had been reports of incidents of infanticide; although the law prohibited such acts, it only served as a framework and it could not totally stop such incidents. Further, the Government was carrying out studies in order to find solutions to the problem of infanticide.

All births and deaths were registered in all communities of the country, the delegation said. The declarations of birth had to appear in the "birth register" and a certificate should be issued within twenty-one days; lost certificates should be replaced by the issuing authorities.


In the educational sphere, Tanzania had setbacks in school enrolment which was only 60 per cent, the delegation said. The issues of dropouts and children remaining in the house were other problems facing the Government. The low quality of education was another problem which the Government had focused on in order to improve the educational environment in general. The re-training of teachers was considered to be vital in promoting the quality of education.

Corporal punishment was carried out in the school by the head master, the delegation said. The headmaster, as the only person authorized to inflict the canning, should delegate his power to another teacher in writing if he did not wish to do it himself. Concerning corporal punishment relating to criminal offences, the person to which the sentence had been handed down should be examined in advance by a medical practitioner.

Female genital mutilation had been prohibited in Tanzania, the delegation said; however, die-hards were not easy to surrender to the prohibition; and the Government had extended its campaign of sensitization against such practices. Since those who carried out the mutilation earned their living by performing such acts, the Government was obliged to find alternative ways in which those people could continue to survive. Recently, some practitioners of the act of mutilation had surrendered by handing their tools and abandoning their "jobs".

Family life education was given in the place of sexual education in schools, the delegation said. The teaching consisted of human development, pregnancy and other subjects related to sexual life of a human being.

Young people were exposed to HIV/AIDS and they remained vulnerable to the virus, the delegation said; the Government had continued its preventive campaign and its efforts to raise awareness among the youth about the deadly effect of the virus.

In their second set of questions, Committee members raised a number issues such as the reasons why different ages of majority were fixed for children; if the educational fee had an input in the national budget for education; the taxation and revenue collection system; the attraction of the traditional healers over the modern health case system; the process and policy of adoption; the practice of forced marriages; child protection against pornographic and violent film shows; and sex tourism involving children.

In response to the questions, the delegation said that refugee children received medical care outside their camps; and there were no incidents of imprisonment of refugees or their children.

On the situation of AIDS orphans, the Government was concerned and it was looking into the matter with great attention, the delegation said. Among the measures taken to favour such children, orphans were exempted from educational fees.

Children and women victims of sexual abuse had access to legal assistance, the delegation said.

The Government was seriously considering the whole system of corporal punishment, the delegation said. Child law offenders were confined in a special school where they were rehabilitated and prepared for reintegration, and alternative measures were not envisaged for that confinement.


In Tanzania, a censorship board looked at any material which came into the country and decided on whether it should be for public consumption. But with the spread of the Internet and other information technology, it could be expected that children could have access to unsuitable information like pornographic and violent films.

In response to a question on the sex tourism, the delegation said that the Sexual Offences Act had a provision prohibiting the sexual exploitation of children which punished such acts with stiff sentences. The Act also prohibited trafficking, and offered special protection for children.

Committee Experts raised further questions on reunifying children with their families and child labour.


Preliminary Remarks

A Committee Expert, in preliminary remarks, said that she wished to draw the attention of the delegation to the issue of police brutality which had resulted in the death of at least one young boy. She asked if police had been urged to respect the rights of children. She thanked the delegation for the interesting dialogue. She said the Committee understood the problems facing the Government in the implementation of the Convention; this was especially difficult in the social and economic context where traditions and customs as well as financial problems had to be taken into consideration. The Expert hoped the Government would be able to take up the back issues dealing with children’s rights while struggling with poverty. The Committee noted that there were a number of problems, some which the Government was already dealing with. In fact, broadly speaking, the Government seemed to have an eye on almost all of the problems. Its major handicap was the lack of means which the Committee deplored.

The Expert said that legislative reforms seemed to be underway and this was encouraging. The delegation had said that the Government intended to review the question of age limits in order to bring them to a level which would protect children. The Government should look at its legislation as well as the implementation of programmes. Education was a priority, and the Government should try to improve the quality of other services. HIV/AIDS was a huge concern, not only for Tanzania but for Africa and the rest of the world as well. The Government had to make sure that its programmes to combat HIV/AIDS included children. There was a need to change attitudes. If the Government did not teach the children about sex and HIV/AIDS, they would learn from their peers. The Committee recognized that it took time to change attitudes such as discrimination against women and girls, and encouraged the Government to continue with its efforts.

The Expert also said that the Government’s initiative concerning domestic violence was welcomed. Reform would be very useful concerning legislation which did not allow women to give their Tanzanian nationality to their foreign husbands or their children. The Committee was happy that the Government had legislation to deal with refugees, child labour, sexual exploitation, trafficking and pornography. The Committee was concerned about the adoption of children within the family, and wondered how it could be ensured that the children did not suffer. The Expert urged Tanzania to ratify the Hague Convention on International Adoptions with the view to complying with international standards. The Government had excellent cooperation with non-governmental organizations and civil society and the Committee encouraged this trend. It also recommended that traditional leaders become involved in information campaigns because they could help change attitudes concerning the rights of children.




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