COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONTINUES CONSIDERATION OF ECUADORIAN REPORT ON COMPLIANCE WITH CONVENTION

AFTERNOON
HR/CRC/98/41
22 September 1998



The Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon continued its consideration of the initial report presented by Ecuador on its compliance with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The delegation of Ecuador told the Committee members, among other things, that the comprehensive plan of action for disabled children or children at risk was operated by the child protection authorities in the public sector. The Government had envisaged to reduce the incidence of handicaps among children by 60 per cent by means of health care and traffic accident prevention actions.

A number of the Committee's experts raised further questions on children born out of wedlock, street children, and suicide among pregnant teenagers.

The Committee will conclude its consideration of the report of Ecuador at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 23 September.

Discussion

In response to queries raised by the members of the Committee in the morning session, the delegation of Ecuador said that education for women meant education for the whole family, including the children. Hence, the Government had stressed the need to educate women as a priority. Educated women played an important role in many sectors of the society,

Ecuador was the first country to widely educate people through the radio, the delegation went on to say, adding that the rural areas were covered by the education-by-radio programme. Indigenous people were also included in this teaching process through a bilingual education system.

The Government of Ecuador believed that education should refer to local conditions and should not be imported from outside, the delegation said. If educational books were brought from Spain, people would not understand them, even though they were written in Spanish.

Furthermore, Ecuador was promoting a culture of law and respect for people's human rights, the delegation said. The system of collective participation in basic tasks of the society, apart from the process of democratic participation, was encouraged by the Government, added the delegation.

By reforming the country's Constitution and by adopting new legislation, Ecuador was trying to bring them in line with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international instruments to which the country was a party.

In response to a question on the Ombudsman, the delegation said that the function of the Ombudsman in the capital Quito was not limited to the protection of children's rights but extended to defending human rights of citizens as a whole. The legislators, in creating the post of the Ombudsman, made the function flexible to cover and defend human rights in all situations.

With regard to child disability, the delegation said progress had been made in that area as a result of the establishment of a national council on disabilities. A series of laws and regulations had been adopted and policies had been laid down in order to help prevent disabilities, provide care and integrate disabled persons. About 80 non-governmental organizations were actively participating in that field.

The delegation said that disabled persons had been discriminated against and had suffered from social and economic marginalization. A comprehensive plan of action for disabled children or children at risk was operated by the child protection authorities in the public sector. The employment of disabled persons was the major issue affecting the realization of their rights, added the delegation. The Government had envisaged to reduce the incidence of handicaps among children by 60 per cent by means of health care and traffic accident prevention actions.

Concerning HIV/AIDS, the delegation said that as in many countries, Ecuador was also affected by the virus. However, the Government had adopted preventive measures to combat HIV/AIDS, giving it priority attention. The delegation remarked that in recent years, there had been a considerable decline in the rate of population growth due to the use of contraceptives. The size of the family in urban areas had become smaller than in the agrarian districts.

The delegation said the age-limit which defined a child and was established by law was not the same as that in the cultural context where puberty marked the end of childhood. In the report, it was stated that the definition of the child in the Convention was not very practical because of the significance differences between the issues of survival, protection and participation of children, on the one hand, and young people, on the other. One expert said he disagreed with that statement.

Regarding the International Labour Organization Convention No. 138 concerning the minimum age for employment, which Ecuador had not yet ratified, the delegation said that the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Labour had been reviewing the situation for eventual ratification of the treaty. However, it should be noted that Ecuador had already ratified most of the ILO conventions, the delegation said, adding that the Government of Ecuador was more concerned about other countries that had not ratified most of the conventions, particularly the attitude of one country which had not ratified a single convention.

On birth registration, the delegation said that the identity of children should be established from the moment they were born, either in hospitals or homes. Children should be registered within 30 days of birth. However, many children were deprived of that right, particularly in the rural and marginal urban areas.

Concerning children born out of wedlock, the delegation said that according to surveys conducted in 1994, 4.3 per cent of women were single mothers and 22 per cent had conceived their children out of wedlock. However, the Government had taken measures to improve this situation.

Regarding children working in the streets, the delegation said that it was a major problem in Ecuador as in many other Latin American countries. The Government had undertaken measures in order to reduce the number of working children from ages 13 to 18 by 25 per cent in the rural sector and 50 per cent in the urban area. It had also set forth goals in the social development plan for the period from 1996 to the year 2000 to eradicate child labour among children under 12 years of age.

The delegation said that abortion was a crime in Ecuador. No specific data was available relating to the rate of suicide among pregnant teenagers. The Government was endeavouring to find social policies which would explain the phenomenon of suicide among children. In addition, it had launched a birth-control education campaign to avoid teenage pregnancies.

Concerning ill-treatment of children and corporal punishment, the delegation said that such violent acts were prohibited by law and that persons committing such acts would be punished.