COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONCLUDES EXAMINATION OF INITIAL REPORT OF MOZAMBIQUE

CRC
29th session
22 January 2002
AFTERNOON


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

In brief preliminary remarks, a Committee Expert said that the Committee would issue its written observations and recommendations on the report of Mozambique on 1 February. The Expert hoped that the Government would implement the recommendations of the Committee on a step-by-step basis.

Over the course of their discussion of the report, Committee members raised questions, among other things, about the impact of the civil war on the health care infrastructure; the promotion of breastfeeding and alternative baby milk; the measures to protect children from HIV/AIDS, including preventive methods such as distribution of condoms; the training of traditional midwives to reduce maternal mortality; the practice of female genital mutilation; the extent of violence by teachers in schools; the demobilization of child soldiers and their conscription into the army; and sexual exploitation of children and if programmes were developed against this phenomenon.

Formal, written concluding observations and recommendations on the report of Mozambique will be issued by the Committee by the end of its three-week session on 1 February.

As one of the 191 States parties to the Convention, Mozambique is obligated to submit periodic reports to the Committee on its compliance with the provisions of the treaty through the activities it undertakes to implement them. A 10-member Mozambican delegation was on hand to present the report and to answer questions raised by Committee Experts.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, 23 January, it will take up the second periodic report of Chile.


Discussion

In response to questions raised this morning, the members of the Mozambican delegation said that the part of the national budget allotted to children was not known. It could only be affirmed that the allocation for social activities was higher than the one allotted to defence.

Children in towns could report to the police cases of abuse to which they were victims, the delegation said; and even a passer-by could bring a case to the police. In the rural areas the situation was different because of coordinated mechanisms.

It was the policy of the Government of Mozambique to abide by international norms in matters of child rights, the delegation said; however, the assistance of the international community played a vital role in the promotion of child rights.

Responding to a question on the collection of weapons from the public at large, the delegation said that so far quite a large number of small arms had been collected by security agents. The effort was continuing to collect all arms in the hands of unauthorized persons. In addition, efforts were being made to clear the fields from landmines.

On birth registration, the delegation said that people were still afraid to register because of the stigmatization of beatings inflicted on them by the former Portuguese colonial power while people were seeking to register. The Government was now encouraging people to register newborns.

There was still a clash with traditional values in the rural areas concerning girls' education, the delegation said; for that reason, there was a gender imbalance with less girls enrolled in schools; in urban areas, the situation was different because gender equality was more or less respected. In addition, the Government had taken measures in the form of granting scholarships to girl students to enable them to pursue their schooling to a certain stage. The grant was provided to families of girls students to encourage them to maintain their daughters in schools.

Mozambique had one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, the delegation said; the circumstances in which pregnant women delivered were unhygienic and there was no advanced system concerning reproductive health; early pregnancy was also a problem and abortion had been the cause of the death of many young women who had not benefited from any reproductive health education. Family planning lessons were now being provided to adolescents and young women.

With regard to HIV/AIDS, the delegation said the Government was very much concerned about the rampant trend of the AIDS pandemic. Between 12 to 15 per cent of the population was affected by the virus. A national campaign had been launched to raise public awareness, and security measures had been introduced in hospitals and other medical centres. At least 3 per cent of the child population was not expected to attend school because of illness related to AIDS.

In the event of separation of parents, young children were kept in the custody of their mothers, the delegation said. However, children's views were heard from the age of 7 years, which was also the age of expression of opinion concerning adoption.

Cases of ill-treatment of children by teachers could be brought to the courts, the delegation said. Parents could bring complaints of corporal punishment against teachers who hit pupils.

Concerning children in conflict with the law, the delegation said that such children were not exposed to television cameras or any other public exposure. The criminal responsibility of a child was 16 years of age. Under the age of 16, children received reprimands from the judicial authorities and were released immediately.

Members of the police force were trained in relation to the treatment of children and women, the delegation said. In addition, the police force was undergoing reform with the question of violence against children at the top of its priorities. People were being advised to report to the police any violence perpetrated against children and women without any fear.

The Government lacked the mechanism to monitor the activities designed for children, the delegation said. Already, a bill on children had been deposited in the parliament, which, once entered into force, would increase the monitoring measures.

The Committee Experts continued to raise a number of questions under the main subjects of basic health and well-being; education, free time and cultural activities; and special protection measures. The Experts asked, among other things, about the impact of the civil war on the health care infrastructure; the promotion of breastfeeding and alternative baby milk; the measures to protect children from HIV/AIDS, including preventive methods such as distribution of condoms; the training of traditional midwives to reduce maternal mortality; the practice of female genital mutilation; the extent of violence by teachers in schools; the demobilization of child soldiers and their conscription into the army; sexual exploitation of children and if programmes were developed against it; free and compulsory education; overcrowding of classrooms; and the situation of child labour and trafficking in women and children for the purpose of prostitution in South Africa.

Responding to the questions raised by the Committee Experts, the members of the Mozambican delegation said that a seven-year compulsory and free education for children was stipulated by the country's national legislation. However, because of the lack of resources, the situation was far from being obligatory and free. The lack of an infrastructure of schools and other educational facilities had hampered educational development. In the coming five years, the Government was planning to provide school material for at least 70 per cent of students.

The general literacy campaign had been implemented with very encouraging results, the delegation said; however, the campaign was dropped some years ago, and the adult literacy was now being revived in conjunction with non-governmental organizations and other projects.

By restoring schools destroyed by war and dilapidated school infrastructures, the Government was planning to strengthen its educational system, the delegation said. At present, 7,000 schools were in operation and they were providing regular teaching programmes.

Day consultations had been set up in hospitals for HIV/AIDS patients and measures had been taken in the form of intervention and preventive actions such as the promotion of condoms,
the delegation said. At least 25 per cent of transmissions of the disease were caused by mother-to-child infection, while the rest were sexually transmitted. Since retroviral medicaments for HIV/AIDS disease were expensive, the Government was emphasizing preventive measures.

Many mothers were unable to buy artificial milk for their babies, the delegation said. The problem of the use of baby powder milk was that because of the lack of clean water, infants became infected. The Government was encouraging mothers to breastfeed at least up to four months.

The acute form of malnutrition was on the decline with the encouragement of breastfeeding, the delegation said, adding that eighty-six per cent of children were fed with breast milk. The causes of malnutrition were poverty and natural disaster. In addition, children were provided with Vitamin A, including their mothers.

Maternal mortality was one of the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa, the delegation said. The Government was improving the quality of consultations and reproductive health. However, long distances and lack of facilities were among the problems related to health care for pregnant women. The work of hospital personnel was supervised on a regular basis in order to improve the hygienic situation.

Traditional harmful practices were not widespread in Mozambique, the delegation said; there was no literature that suggested that female genital mutilation existed in the country; and only ritual initiations designed to enable girls to assume their adulthood were conducted by traditional women.

With regard to sexual exploitation of children, the delegation said that in one of the country's regions, a survey had suggested that children were engaged in prostitution. The Government had taken measures to prevent such a phenomenon from expanding.

The war and HIV/AIDS were the main causes that created orphans in Mozambique, the delegation said. Orphaned children were principally integrated with their relatives and within foster families. Most of the regions of the country had only one social worker; however, non-governmental organizations and church people were also fulfilling the role of social assistance.

The delegation said that the interaction with the members of the delegation was highly beneficial to Mozambique and that the Government would continue to do all it could in implementing the provisions of the Covenant.

Preliminary Remarks on the Report of Mozambique

In brief preliminary remarks, a Committee Expert said that the Committee would issue its written observations and recommendations on the report of Mozambique on 1 February. The Expert hoped that the Government would implement the recommendations of the Committee on a step-by-step basis.


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