COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONSIDERS THE SECOND PERIODIC REPORT OF SUDAN

CRC
31st session
24 September 2002



The Committee on the Rights of the Child today examined the second periodic report of Sudan, with a delegation affirming the Government's commitment to the promotion and protection of the rights of the child.
Ibrahim Mirghani, Permanent Representative of Sudan to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that his country was fully committed to the promotion and protection of child rights. He noted that peace efforts were gaining momentum after the country had suffered from a civil war since 1983. Children had been the primary victims of the war.
Atiyat Mustafa, Secretary-General of the National Council for Child Welfare of Sudan, said that her Government believed that mutual cooperation and common understanding were the best approach for a constructive dialogue and achievement of the common good and the best interests of the child. She said that the child and the family were critical areas of concern in Sudan's development strategies and plans.
In a preliminary concluding remark, Committee Expert Ibrahim Abdul Aziz Al-Sheddi said that the members of the delegation deserved the appreciation of the Committee for the information they had supplied. The fact was that now the situation had been diagnosed in all its aspects, the appropriate suggestions could be made in the form of recommendations by the Committee. He hoped that peace would prevail in the country by the time the next periodic report was considered by the Committee.
The Sudanese delegation was also made up of Sulafeddin Salih, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid of Sudan; Ahmed Elmufti, Chairman of the Committee on Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEWAC); Omer Siddig, Deputy Permanent Representative of Sudan to the United Nations Office at Geneva; and Nazar Abdu and Ali Khalifa, from the Ministry of Justice.
The Committee will release its final concluding observations and recommendations on the report of Sudan before closing its three-week session on 4 October.
Sudan, as one of the 191 States parties to the Convention, is obligated to submit periodic reports to the Committee summing up the efforts it has undertaken to give effect to the provisions of the treaty.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 25 September, it will devote the whole day, in private, to the consideration of draft concluding observations and recommendations on reports already examined during the current session. It will meet in public at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 26 September, to start its consideration of a report from Ukraine (CRC/C/70/Add.11).

Report of Sudan
The second periodic report of Sudan (document CRC/C/65/Add.17) enumerates the various activities undertaken by the State party in its efforts to implement the provisions of the Convention. The report says that the steps and measures adopted by the Government of Sudan with a view to implement the Convention stem from its faith in the human values and inherited traits which God bestowed as an honour on the human race. The end of the conflict and fighting in the country signals a true beginning for the protection of human rights and for guaranteed security, stability and socio-economic growth.
On the issue of marriage of Muslims, the report notes that article 34 of the Personal Status of Muslims Act of 1991 stipulates that a guardian may give a mature women in marriage if she consents to the husband and to the dowry. Her statement of her maturity is accepted unless it is conspicuously false. A 10-year-old male is permitted to marry if it is demonstrated that the marriage is likely to be in his interest. A guardian may not, however, give a 10-year-old girl in marriage without the consent of the judge. The marriage of non-Muslims is regulated by the Marriage of Non-Muslims Act of 1926.
The report further notes that gender-based differences, exclusions and preferences are non-existent in law and in administrative practices, labour relations, education and health. On the contrary, all children have equal rights. One of the most important child welfare measures adopted was the establishment of the National Council for Child Welfare, which is responsible for following up on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Constitution and Sudanese laws guarantee that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination, punishment and harm. Sudan devoted attention to the best interests of the child long before the Convention came into being.
The report says that the fundamental problems encountered in guaranteeing the best interests of the child are the embargo, both declared and undeclared, against Sudan, the civil war, the interferences of neighbouring countries, the external debt burdens, poverty and the inadequacy of foreign aid and assistance. Sudan very much hopes that international organizations will assist in implementing the programmes formulated in that connection and in implementing the Convention in general.

Presentation of Report
IBRAHIM MIRGHANI, Permanent Representative of Sudan to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said his country was fully committed to the protection of human rights and the people of Sudan had dedicated their lives to human rights. The Government had a mission to cooperate with all human rights treaty bodies by submitting periodic reports on time. He paid tribute to the former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, for providing the Government of Sudan with technical assistance to promote human rights. He said that from now onwards the reports of Sudan would be up to the expectation of the international bodies. Sudan wished to benefit from the wisdom and advice of the Committee.
Sudan had been suffering from a civil war since 1983. Children had been among those who suffered the most from the conflict; many had been compelled to abandon their schools and join the ranks of fighters. The rebels had destroyed 1,100 schools and other infrastructure which benefited children. Recently, 3,000 children had been handed over to UNICEF by the rebel groups but more children were still being held against their will.
The Government of Sudan was willing to resolve the problem peacefully, even at the cost of living as two nations co-existing as neighbours. The series of negotiations held by the Government and the rebel leaders was now leading to a peaceful settlement of the situation. The new United States Administration and the European Union were contributing to the peace efforts.
ATIYAT MUSTAFA, Secretary-General of the National Council for Child Welfare of Sudan, said that her Government believed that mutual cooperation and common understanding were the best approach for a constructive dialogue and achievement of the common good and the best interests of the child. The child and the family were critical areas of concern to Sudan's development strategies and plans. To honour its commitment, the Government of Sudan immediately after signing the Convention on the Rights of the Child had established the National Council for Child Welfare, the major focal point for the monitoring and implementing of the Convention in the country.
Ms. Mustafa said that the Government of Sudan recognized that the ultimate prerequisite for child protection was peace. The cruel civil war which had been imposed on Sudan for years was the major cause for most, if not all, the difficulties encountered in the enjoyment by Sudan's children of their full rights. Tedious efforts had been exerted by the Government in order to bring about a peaceful settlement. A peace agreement was signed with a considerable number of the fighting factions in 1997, and a cease-fire agreement was reached.
A national plan of action for child survival and development for the year 1992-2001 was set forth following the ratification of the Convention, Ms. Mustafa said. The evaluation of its implementation had shown that infant mortality rates had dropped from 108 per thousand to 82 per thousand, and under-five mortality rates had been reduced from 145 per thousand to 132 per thousand. There was an increase in birth registration coverage reaching 60 per cent and the county was developing the civil registry to guarantee registration for all citizens, particularly children.
Ms. Mustafa continued to state that in response to the resolution of the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-fifth session in 1999, which called for the eradication of the abduction of women and children in Sudan, the Government had established in May 1999, the "Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children".

Experts' Questions on General Measures, Definition of the Child, and General Principles
The Committee Experts started questioning the members of the Sudanese delegation on the first cluster of issues concerning general measures of implementation; definition of the child; and general principles.
An Expert thanked the delegation for its frank discussion of the problems Sudan was facing so that the Committee Experts had a clear understanding of the situation. He said that although the Government of Sudan was committed to the rights of the child and was complying with the Convention by implementing its provisions, there were still shortcomings in areas of programmes to increase general awareness. The Government lacked the appropriate resources to fully implement the provisions of the Convention. In addition, the war situation and the wide geographical surface of the country hampered the Government from fully realizing the rights of the child.
The Expert continued to say that the rights of children were not fully integrated into the various legislative acts. What mechanisms were used by the various councils to monitor the implementation of the rights of the child? Were those councils independent institutions? How were complaints of the violations of the rights of children settled? How did the central council coordinate the work of the various provincial councils? What was the degree of cooperation with non-governmental organizations? UNICEF had expressed dissatisfaction with the level of cooperation in Sudan; what measures had been taken to increase cooperation.
Another Expert noted that the report had criticized the international human rights agencies and some non-governmental organizations on the manner in which they operated in the country. Turning to other matters, the Expert asked whether the provisions of the Convention were part of the Sudanese legal system. He said that the age of marriage for girls and boys was different; and the age for criminal responsibility was also different in many cases.
An Expert said that the war in Sudan had been one of the obstacles to the full implementation of the Convention, adding that the southern part of the country was not under the full control of the central Government. He asked if Sudan had appealed for assistance from the United Nations to create an unimpeded corridor to reach people in the conflict areas? The National Council for Child Welfare had a role involving dialogue, but was there a follow-up to those negotiations? Did it investigate cases of human rights violations or follow-up on them.
Referring to the 3,000 child soldiers handed over to UNICEF, another Expert wondered why those children were not returned to their parents. Were they taken to other countries? If not, where were they now? Had the teaching of human rights, particularly concerning children, been integrated into school curriculum? Was there an institution competent to receive complaints and investigate them? What measures were taken to prevent discrimination against children born out of wedlock and to alleviate the wide discrimination against the girl child? Was the experience of a children's parliament to be repeated in other areas of the country?
An Expert said that the federal system introduced by the Government of Sudan had created 26 States and 380 provinces and districts; how did those entities receive their share of the national resources to their programmes aimed at promoting the rights of the child? International assistance destined to Sudan had sharply declined. What additional resources were available for the promotion of the rights of the child. Could the Government use its own economic resources to promote child rights?
Another Expert said that the Government had problems obtaining resources which were essential to the implementation of the rights of the child. In addition, the high number of displaced children due to the conflict needed resources to help resettle them. She wanted to know if there were cases of violations of child rights which the commission or the advisory body on child rights was presently investigating.
A speaker asked about Sudan's position on the ratification of the Hague conventions and other human rights conventions which were essential to reflect the country's determination in its promotion of human rights and which would given impetus to its efforts. The delegation said that 65 per cent of children were in school; but how could the remaining children know of their rights? The fact that children were not in school facilitated their abduction to join the rebel ranks. The right to life, survival and development of the child was a concern to the Committee; did the Government of Sudan focus on those principles?

Country Response
In response to the questions raised by the Committee Experts, the members of the delegation said that the Sudanese Government had signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the involvement of children in armed conflict and it would soon ratify it.
Concerning dividing resources among the different States, the delegation said that some of the States, although they possessed ample resources at their disposal, did not know how to use them. The Government, therefore, was attempting to help them to use the resources that were available.
There were international non-governmental organizations working in the field of child rights and the Government was cooperating with and coordinating their work, the delegation said. Information concerning children was funnelled to the national coordinating body, which in turn put it in a network accessible to all organs dealing with child rights.
On the legal status of the Convention, the delegation said that a law had been adopted to make it part of national legislation. With regard to the age of criminal responsibility, a child of seven years or less had no criminal responsibility. Article 3 of the Penal Code stipulated that a mature person meant any person showing the unmistakable physical signs of proof that he or she had reached puberty, which could apply to a child having attained 15 years of age. Any person having attained 18 years of age was considered mature, even if he or she showed no such signs of maturity.
The Government had estimated the number of abductees to be 14,000, the delegation said. Efforts had been exerted to recuperate those abductees and international assistance was essential in that field.
Asked if the Government or the agency dealing with complaints had received complaints from children, the delegation said that no such grievances were received from children themselves. However, there were complaints of the violation of child rights lodged by non-governmental organizations on behalf of victims.

Experts' Questions on Civil Rights and Freedoms, Family Environment and Basic Health and Welfare
The Committee Experts continued to raise questions on the second cluster of issues concerning civil rights and freedoms; family environment and alternative care; and basic health and welfare. They asked, among other things, about the refugee children living in camps; the situation of children who were abducted and returned; the condition of raped women; the practice of corporal punishment, particularly judicial ruling for whipping of children; the situation of Muslim and non-Muslim orphans and the process of their adoption and placing them in foster families; and discrimination against women and girls and measures to raise awareness in order to redress this situation.

Response of Delegation of Sudan
In response to questions raised by Committee Experts, the members of the delegation said that many families were reluctant to report to the competent authorities cases of rape, which made it difficult to establish a clear picture of the situation. However, whenever such incidents were reported the perpetrators were prosecuted and the victims were rehabilitated psychologically. In addition, the Government was building juvenile homes and courts which were also destined to deal with cases involving children.
Concerning internally displaced children, the delegation said that regional strategies had already been designed with the cooperation of UNICEF and the regional Director had already visited the Nuba Mountains region to assess the situation. In addition, the Government continued to work in cooperation with several international non-governmental organizations.
The National Council for Child Welfare had made a number of suggestions concerning the rights of the child, including the release from prison of mothers with children. It had also been looking into the compatibility of national laws with international treaties in general.
Concerning children born out of wedlock -- "illegitimate children" as referred to by the delegation -- or children born from unknown fathers, the delegation said that they could be considered as Sudanese; and such children, if no one was taking care of them, would be retained in care institutions before being put up for adoption.
Disabled children faced a lot of difficulties in the past, the delegation said. However, at present they were trained in accordance with their physical and mental capacities in various vocations. There was no discrimination because of their disabilities. The channelling of those children into the mainstream of social development was expensive and time consuming.
Asked about the situation of abducted children, the delegation said that abductions were carried out by the Lord Resistance Army fighting the Government of Uganda and the children were abducted from Uganda and taken by the Army. The second kind of abductions were the ones taking place during tribal conflicts over water resources and grazing rights in certain regions of western and southern Sudan. The Government had been appealing to international organizations to help it overcome the problem. So far, 150,000 cases of abductions had been reported while 600 cases had been settled. The concerned tribes had identified themselves about 14,000 cases of abduction.
The Sudanese Government had established a commission to put an end to the abduction of women and children, the delegation said. The commission, which was working in cooperation with the international community, had set up programmes to eradicate the phenomenon, with the aim of returning to their homes abducted children whose parents lived in rebel-controlled areas. Several children were returned home by air, with the help of UNICEF.
With regard to refugee children, the delegation said that women and children were the most affected in the process of internal and cross country displacement. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees played an important role when it came to persons crossing the border to other countries. Sudan was cooperating with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of internally displaced persons. In Uganda, where a number of factions were fighting with each other, the cases of abductions still remained unsolved.
In addition the war in southern Sudan had had a major impact on the rights of the child, the delegation said. Several hundred schools had been closed in the region because of lack of security. Further, the presence of anti-personnel landmines in the fields had also hampered the free movement of children. Many children had fled the country to neighbouring countries for fear of forced recruitment by the rebel groups. In some of the countries, some of the Sudanese refugees had left their camps and they were taken to a non-African country, which of course was an illicit step.

Experts' Questions on Education, Leisure and Cultural Activities, and Special Protection Measures
The Committee Experts raised the last round of questions on the main subjects of education; leisure and cultural activities; and special protection measures.
An Expert said that the illiteracy rate in Sudan was alarming and the Government should do something to reverse the growing tendency in that regard. Although the Government had been positively engaged in the promotion of education, half of the primary school age children were not attending schools because of lack of places. Similarly, only 21 per cent of children were going to secondary schools. The Expert also stressed the need to review the situation of the practice of corporal punishment.
Another Expert said that although the rate of HIV/AIDS was low compared to the neighbouring countries, the Government should take preventive measures against the transmission of the disease. In addition, she said that she did not see in the report information about breast-feeding by Sudanese mothers. Further, Sudanese children were smuggled out of the country to serve as camel jockeys, which sometimes led to accidents involving death. Many families in Sudan were not using iodinized salt which resulted in iodine deficiencies.
Concerning the practice of female circumcision, an Expert asked about the results obtained in that area in changing the attitude of the population. In addition to awareness increasing, the Government should be able to provide alternative work for those who were engaged in the practice of circumcision. She welcomed the signing by Sudan of International Labour Organization Conventions 138 and 182 concerning minimum age for admission to employment and the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, and encouraged the Government to ratify them as soon as possible.
Other Committee Experts also raised questions on issues such as the criminalization of vagrancy, particularly street children; punishment by flogging, amputation and beheading; the use of police brutality against children; the high number of street children; and the use of child soldiers by the Allied Forces militia, among other things.

Country Response
In response to questions raised by Committee Experts, the members of the Sudanese delegation said that some families preferred to keep their children away from school in order to send them to work. A campaign against illiteracy had been going on and the literacy rate had reached 62 per cent by the end of 2001, the delegation said. In addition, in order to drop the high rate of non-enrolment in schools, the Government had been helping parents to obtain other sources of income to replace the ones they received from the work of their children.
The General Act of 1992 had prohibited the use of corporal punishment in schools, the delegation said.
In order to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS, the Government was encouraging the use of preservative methods, the delegation said. The use of pharmaceutical products were so expensive that victims of HIV/AIDS had no access to them.
The breast-feeding programme was supported by baby friendly hospitals and communities, the delegation said.
The magnitude of child smuggling to the Gulf areas was much exaggerated, the delegation said, adding that the cooperation of the international community was necessary to avert such practices. In some cases, parents were involved in taking their children from the country to the Gulf countries to be used as jockeys.
The problems of child labour and street children were common in most African countries, including Sudan, the delegation said. In Khartoum, about 34,000 street children were identified, with the majority returning to their homes periodically.
The Government had been dealing with the problem of iodine deficiency in the western and southern part of the country, the delegation said. Because of such deficiencies, the number of people with goitre prevalence was high. A programme was being implemented to improve the situation.
With regard to the practice of female genital mutilation, the delegation said that the Government had taken a series of legal measures to eradicate it. The various political parties had also been rallying for the eradication of the phenomenon of female circumcision. The relevant laws enacted by the authorities prohibited the use of any surgical operations by any non-professional personnel outside the medical system. The Government had also adopted a strategy to eradicate the use of female genital mutilation in the shortest period possible.

Preliminary Concluding Remarks by Committee Expert
IBRAHIM ABDUL AZIZ AL-SHEDDI, Committee Expert, said that the members of the delegation deserved the appreciation of the Committee for the information they had supplied. The fact was that now the situation had been diagnosed in all its aspects, the appropriate suggestions could be made in the form of recommendations by the Committee. He hoped that once the Committee's recommendations were released, the Government would be able to disseminate them to all concerned bodies and individuals. He also hoped that peace would prevail in the country by the time the next periodic report was be considered by the Committee.



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