COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONCLUDES REVIEW OF GABON'S INITIAL REPORT ON IMPLEMENTING THE CONVENTION

CRC
29th session
18 January 2002
Afternoon




Expert, in Preliminary Remarks, Recommends that Gabon
Allocate More Resources to Enhance the Activities Designed to
Promote Children's Rights



The Committee on the Rights of the Child this morning concluded its consideration of an initial report of Gabon on how that country was giving effect to the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In preliminary remarks, a Committee Expert said that the Committee had noted that the Government was ready to change conditions so as to favour the rights of the child. The Government should coordinate its various activities concerning children, and priorities should be set favouring these rights. More resources should also be allocated to enhance the activities designed to promote and protect the rights of the child. The Committee welcomed the efforts made by the Government of Gabon to fight child labour.

Over the course of the consideration of the report, the members of the Gabonese delegation said that child ill-treatment cases could give rise to an immediate investigation by the authorities once they were brought to their attention. A child could also address complaints directly to the procurator general who was competent to receive child complaints. Children could not bring their cases before courts before the age of 21.

The delegation also said that the allegation that children were working in plantations was not true; there were only palm oil and sugarcane plantations in Gabon whose production required highly mechanized processes; and children were not capable of executing such work. Since education was compulsory, children remained in schools and not a single child worked in the country's agricultural plantations, the delegation added.

The Committee members raised a number of questions, saying, among other things, that the country's health care system was not accessible to the population at large; the cost of medication was high; the social security scheme existed only in theory; the health policy did not put emphasis on prevention; the Ebola epidemic was surging as was the HIV/AIDS pandemic; the consumption of tobacco and alcoholic beverages by young people was a source of concern; and the unlawful sale of medication was still expanding.

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

As one of the 191 States parties to the Convention, Gabon is obligated to submit periodic reports to the Committee on its various activities, including legislative, judicial and administrative measures, to implement the provisions of the treaty. A 13-member Gabonese delegation was on hand during the two meetings to introduce the report and to answer questions raised by members of the Committee.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Monday, 21 January, it will meet in private for the whole day; and at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 22 January, it will start its consideration of the initial report of Mozambique.


Discussion

At the beginning of the meeting, the Gabonese delegation provided responses to questions raised by the Committee Experts yesterday afternoon.

The Government of Gabon last year had refused to let a boat carrying children approach Gabonese sea ports, the delegation said. The measure was taken with the aim of returning the children to their respective families. The allegation that children were working in plantations was not true; there were only palm oil and sugarcane plantations in Gabon whose production required highly mechanized processes; and children were not capable of executing such work. Since education was compulsory, children remained in schools and not a single child was working in the country's agricultural plantations.

There was no discrimination against any ethnic group, including the Pygmies, the delegation said; all ethnic groups enjoyed their rights and exercised their obligations in elections and other public matters. The Government had built villages for remote ethnic groups with the necessary sanitation and educational centres.

The Government had passed a law on health dealing with abortion, the delegation said. The practice of abortion had been liberalized and protective measures for young women had been introduced. Family-planning measures, including advocacy for the use of contraceptive methods, had been put in place by the Government.

Asked about notification of birth, the delegation said that the registrar should be notified of a birth within three days in the case of children born in communes and the main towns of districts and within one month in the case of children born elsewhere. If no notification of the birth was received before the legal deadline, the official could record the birth only by registering a decision of the civil court.

In 1998, new legislation had been adopted to protect disabled persons, the delegation said. The Government had also launched a campaign to raise awareness and to dispel the belief that disability was a curse. Psycho-pedagogical pilot projects had also been set up to assist disabled persons. There were no boarding institutions for children with disabilities in the country. Disabled children were never placed in a foster family because of their disability and such children lived with their natural families.

In order to protect school girls from bullying and other harassment, the Government had set up associations to look after them, the delegation said.

Gabon was in a difficult economic position because of the fall in oil prices, the delegation said. After independence in 1960, Gabon did not inherit any infrastructure that might have enhanced its development; it had no railways, port facilities nor highways; all the present infrastructure was put in place after independence.

Child ill-treatment cases could give rise to an immediate investigation by the authorities once the incidents were brought to the attention of the officials, the delegation said. A child could also address complaints directly to the procurator general who was competent to receive child complaints. Children could not bring their cases before courts before the age of 21.

Police violence against children or any other citizens could lead to a thorough inquiry that could lead to punishment and dismissal of the perpetrator, the delegation said. The activities of the police were monitored on a regular basis.

Replying to a question on polygamy, the delegation said that the modern aspirations of men and women in Gabon were not supportive of polygamy in the society. Contrary to the belief that polygamy was acceptable to people in the rural areas, it was discovered that intellectuals residing in the urban areas, both men and women, were in favour of polygamy, the delegation added.

Following the response by the Gabonese delegation, Committee members continued to raise questions. An Expert said the country's health care system was not accessible to the population at large; the cost of medication was high; the social security scheme existed only in theory; the health policy did not put emphasis on prevention; the Ebola epidemic was surging as was the HIV/AIDS pandemic; the consumption of tobacco and alcoholic beverages by young people was a source of concern; and the unlawful sale of medication was still expanding.

Other Committee members also queried the members of the Gabonese delegation on such issues as the problem of school dropouts; the widespread rate of tuberculosis; early marriage and teenage pregnancy; breastfeeding; very long pre-trial detention of juvenile delinquents; night curfew for children up to the age of 21; the practice of corporal punishment in schools and in the family; and the use of drugs and narcotics by the youth, among other things.

Responding to the questions, the Gabonese delegation said that in exceptional cases, juveniles could be detained by special police. Children up to the age of 13 were exempt from any detention however serious their crimes might be. There were special procedures to deal with children in conflict with the law; and their cases were examined in camera. In the capital, Libreville, juvenile detainees were not mixed with adult inmates.

There was a regulation posted in all places where alcoholic drinks were served prohibiting the presence of children, the delegation said. Children were not allowed to buy alcoholic beverages and even their physical presence in such places was restricted.

Measures had been taken against early pregnancy and clandestine abortion, the delegation said. In schools, adolescents were taught about the harmful effects of abortion and material assistance was provided to them to pursue their studies. Further, seminars were carried out on reproductive health.

Gabon had a national health plan through which medicine was distributed to the population, the delegation said. In addition, the Government had taken measures to reach the required vaccination rate by reaching the whole child population.

The Government had established an AIDS treatment centre in Libreville, the delegation said. The centre treated out-patients through the distribution of medication and assistance. The Government had negotiated for the importation of AIDS medication at low costs. UNAIDS was also collaborating with the efforts of the Government.

The delegation said that the Government was planning to fill the shortage of trained teachers by training 500 new persons every year. At present, there was a shortage of 1,200 teachers in the primary and lower secondary schools. In addition, the authorities were studying the possibility of eliminating the secondary school entrance examination. Gabon was the only Sub-Saharan African country that provided scholarship to high school students to meet their expenses.


Preliminary Remarks

In preliminary remarks, a Committee Expert said that the dialogue had enabled the Committee to better understand how Gabon was implementing the provisions of the Convention. Harmonization of national laws with the provisions of the Convention was necessary.

The Committee had noted that the Government was ready to change conditions in favour of the rights of the child. The Government should coordinate the various activities concerning children. Priorities should be set favouring the rights of the child. More resources should be allocated to enhance the activities designed to promote and protect the rights of the child. The Committee also welcomed the efforts made by the Government of Gabon against child labour.




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