COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD REVIEWS REPORT OF ZAMBIA

CRC
33rd session
22 May 2003





The Committee on the Rights of the Child today considered the initial report of Zambia on how that country was implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Mary-Grace Nkole, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Sport, Youth, and Child Development and co-head of the delegation, said that Zambia took its commitments to the rights of its children very seriously, as it did its commitments to implement fully the Convention. The rights of children were protected thanks to the Bill of Rights included in the Constitution of Zambia. Separate instruments had already been created to protect the rights of children in the country, including core guidelines for enhancing the quality of life of all children.
To the end of addressing the needs of the children of Zambia, the process of educating the nation on the importance of the rights of the child was an ongoing issue, the delegation of Zambia said, and this was done through a variety of means and ways, including the publication of easy-read versions of the Convention in local languages, posters and flyers, mass media campaigns, programmes and initiatives, all of which were done in concert with NGOs and international institutions working in the field.
Committee experts questioned the delegation on, among other things, the differences between traditional and legislative law, budgetary issues, abortion rights, the nature and form of judicial procedures against those suspected and convicted of crimes against minors, the national HIV/AIDS policy, street children and orphans, and the poverty reduction strategy. The Committee also noted that there was great evidence of the Government’s attempts to put an end to violence against children in all forms.
In preliminary concluding remarks, Awa N’Deye Ouedraogo, the Committee Expert who served as Rapporteur on the report of Zambia, said that the priority given to health and education in Zambia was commendable, and the work done to protect children was equally impressive. Initiatives and programmes set up by the Government had clearly had a positive effect, and it was hoped that this would continue, in a context of increased financial resources.
The delegation of Zambia also included Sunday Nkonde, Solicitor General of the Republic and the other co-head of the delegation; Love Mtesa, Ambassador of the Permanent Mission of Zambia to the United Nations Office at Geneva; Ben Chirwa, Director-General, Central Board of Health; John C Zulu, Director of the Department of Child Development under the Ministry of Sport, Youth, and Child Development; Ester Banda Sinkala, Director of Human Resources in the Ministry of Education; John Kabwe, Assistant Labour Commissioner under the Ministry of Labour and Social Security as well as Manager for the Child Labour Unit; Thandiwe Daka, Senior State Counsel in the Human Rights and Treaty Section under the Ministry of Legal Affairs; Mwamba Chanda, Senior Resident Magistrate in the Judiciary and Chairperson of the Juvenile Justice Forum; Grace Kasaro, Social Welfare Officer in the Family and Child Welfare Section under the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services; Modesto Banda, Deputy Director in the Central Statistics Office; Ireen Fundafunda, Counselor in the Permanent Mission to the United Nations; and Encycla Sinjela, First Secretary in the Permanent Mission. Mutinta Margaret Joy Haandile, a 17 year-old girl who was a student at a High School in Lusaka, was also part of the delegation.
The Committee will issue its final recommendations on the report of Zambia towards the end of its session, which concludes on 6 June.
The Committee will reconvene on Friday, 23 May, at 10 a.m. to consider the second periodic report of Sri Lanka (CRC/C/11/Add.17).

Initial Report of Zambia
The report (CRC/C/11/Add.25) reviews general measures of implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, defines the word “child”, and reviews general principles, civil rights and freedoms, family environment and alternative care, basic health and welfare, education, leisure and cultural activities, and special protection measures.
The report comprehensively captures the events and trends that have taken place since the Convention was signed and ratified, since which Zambia has made progress in information dissemination and awareness with regard to the Convention, and has provided support to gender and development activities to combat discriminatory practices arising from gender bias. Both Government and civil society have made a commitment to eradicate violence against women and children, have recognized orphans and other vulnerable children as an emergency issue, and are committed to assisting children in need.
The underlying solution is that the people of Zambia need to be empowered to help themselves through enhanced investment in their basic capabilities. This will cause stronger economic growth, and ensure sustainable livelihoods of all, and by doing so enable them to lift themselves out of poverty. Further, it will ensure investment in the social sector, which is absolutely necessary for Zambia to succeed in its efforts to improve the well being of children and to ensure the protection of children’s rights as provided for in the Convention.

Presentation of Report
MARY-GRACE NKOLE, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Sport, Youth, and Child Development and co-head of the Delegation, introduced the report, saying that the State party took its commitments to the rights of its children very seriously, as it did its commitments to implement fully the Convention. The rights of children were protected thanks to the Bill of Rights included in the Constitution of Zambia. The President of the Republic had appointed a Commission of Review, which would include the Convention in its review process. Separate instruments had already been created to protect the rights of children in the country, including core guidelines for enhancing the quality of life of all children. The protection of children was a cross-cutting issue, and Ministries had guidelines to ensure that children were protected in all areas.
Zambia was currently involved in a Constitutional review, which would further protect the rights of children, however, there were no differences between Zambia’s written laws and the Convention. Zambian law provided that in issues related to a child, the best interests of the child were to be ensured and given priority. A child, as a person, was protected, as the Constitution stipulated that every person had the right to an acceptable level of life.
Freedom of expression was protected in the Constitution, and yet social norms curtailed the rights of children to express themselves freely, especially in the case of the girl child, Ms. Nkole said. However, this was changing due to education. Children were informed of their rights, and were vigourously encouraged by the State and by various institutions to express these rights.

Questions on General Measures of Implementation and Definition of a Child
AWA N'DEYE OUEDRAOGO, the Committee Expert who served as Rapporteur on the report of Zambia, said she was impressed at the size of the delegation, and notably that there was a youth delegation. She asked why the report had been delayed, but praised the report itself. Regarding effective implementation of the Convention, she asked how it had been integrated into domestic law, and how laws had been harmonized with the provisions of the Convention. Further, what measures had been implemented and what progress had been made with regards to corruption and the path of good governance, since this was an important factor for protecting the rights of the child. Was there a single institution or ministry responsible for coordinating activities of implementation at the national and local levels, and what body was in charge of overall implementation, she inquired. She then asked other questions, including how children were involved in decisions affecting them, how data collection was centralized and rendered accessible, and whether there was any planned increase of the budget for social services.
Committee members then asked other questions, on such topics as young peoples’ participation in events in Zambia; the disparity in the ages defined as children, young persons and minors, since this caused concern, and whether this disparity did not cause specific problems with regard to the protection and promotion of rights; access of non-governmental organizations to the media to disseminate the Convention; the approach, whether rights-based or welfare-based in dissemination of the Convention; the national HIV/AIDS policy; and the poverty reduction strategy as geared towards reducing poverty and increasing allocations for child welfare. Further questions covered how to change traditional perceptions of children, and how to encourage them to raise their voices against abuse, exploitation, and violations of their rights.

Response to Questions on General Measures of Implementation and Definition of a Child
Responding to the questions, the delegation said that the report had been delayed due to the process of democratization, which had begun at the same time as the signing of the Convention, whilst Zambia was in the process of moving from a one-party State to a multi-party one. With regard to the issue of coordination, this had been identified as an area that needed strengthening, and work was being done to this effect. Part of this process was the National Child Council.
With regards to legislation, in the specific case of statutory law and traditional law, these existed concurrently, but where a customary law was found to be repugnant, then it was done away with and replaced with a statutory law. This had not been an easy process, since there was still a lot of influence of customary law on statutory law, as evidenced by the ability of those between 16 and 18 to enter into marriage, with the consent of the parents, even though this was against statutory law. However, consultations were ongoing to reconcile the two. The way forward in this and other matters would be simplified by the Constitutional Review Commission, which should provide an acceptable definition of the child, which would be applied in all cases, whether matrimonial, criminal, or other.
Children enforced their rights, as defined by the Constitution of Zambia, as did any other person, since a child was defined as a person, and could therefore go to court to enforce, for example, maintenance rights. Teachers taught child and human rights, since this was part of their curriculum when training.
As for corruption, the delegation said this was a great concern and priority since it ate away at the few resources of the country and impeded the bolstering of the social services. The fight against corruption was augmented by a newly-formed task force on corruption, which tried to enforce zero-tolerance.
NGOs were probably suffering as were other sectors in Zambia, said the delegation, but they were provided support by the Government, in as much as the resources stretched and stipulating registration as a pre-requisite for receiving subsidies. The Rapporteur then asked whether it would not be simplest to create a national network of NGOs, and therefore be able to provide support in a more effective manner. The delegation responded that this would not necessarily be the case.

Questions on General Principles; Civil Rights and Freedoms; Family Environment and Alternative Care
The Rapporteur began the discussion on the next three clusters of topics, asking what had been done to ensure greater awareness of the impact on people and children of the Convention. She then asked the representative of the youth of Zambia, Ms Haandile, how she had prepared to attend the Committee, what was her experience of being young in Zambia, and what did children do in order to prevent contracting HIV/AIDS. She also asked specific questions on such topics as the situation of children born out of wedlock, contraception options for the young, child suicide and the extent of this phenomenon, and how the voice of the child was being heard at the family level, particularly in rural areas.
The Committee then asked what measures were taken to enable birth registration of children, particularly in distant areas. Further questions covered religious freedom for children, freedom of association and peaceful assembly, specifically with regard to how working children could join trade unions and workers associations, why torture was not criminalized under Zambian law and what was being done to remedy this situation, discrimination against non-citizens and whether non-discrimination principles enshrined in the Constitution applied to non-citizens and their children, discrimination against the girlchild and whether financial and human resources had been dedicated to implementing policies against this, protection schemes for girls with HIV/AIDS, and violence in institutions for adolescent care, in particular sexual violence affecting girls.

Response to Questions on General Principles; Civil Rights and Freedoms; Family Environment and Alternative Care
In response to the questions, the delegation said the process of educating the nation on the importance of the rights of the child was an ongoing issue. Currently, a number of programmes were underway to make the Convention more widely known in the country. The approach took place in the context of three major programmes, which aimed first to “sell” the Convention, and to assist partners to enhance their capacities. This took place in the form of informative workshops where information was shared.
Within Government ministries, non-governmental organizations and organizations with which the Government was working, many educative items were produced, including easy-read versions of the Convention, t-shirts, posters and flyers. Television, radio and the print media were also used to inform the nation of the rights of the child, and Children’s Rights Clubs were established across the country.
The youth delegate then took the floor to answer the questions that delegates had posed with regard to her presence. In schools, she said, there were youth clubs, in which information about rights was disseminated, as it was during civics classes. As for HIV/AIDS, there were also anti-AIDS clubs in schools and youth programmes that reached out to children both in and out of schools to educate them as to how to prevent infection and how to seek treatment. Children sometimes found it hard to speak to their parents about their rights, and they were therefore encouraged to speak to their friends and to other adults who would then talk to the family.
Abortion was legal in Zambia in certain circumstances, the delegation said, but illegal abortion was on the rise, mostly in the case of adolescents. A country-wide programme had been set up in response to this. There was also a programme aimed at youth which provided information about contraception, both in and out of school. Most young people could access information about contraception.
As for torture, the Constitution of Zambia gave protection against it, although at the same time it was not criminalized. Efforts were being made to remedy this situation, since in the mean time torture was covered only under the offence of assault.
The delegation said crimes against children were a big problem in Zambia, but considerable efforts were being made to take coordinated action and resolve this sad situation, and this was done in concert with all societal, governmental, legal and non-governmental organizations.
The Constitution of Zambia did not provide for non-discrimination for non-citizens, although it did cover refugees. There was no discrimination against illegitimate children, since most tribes in Zambia were matrilineal. Illegitimate children therefore did not exist, and could not be discriminated against. With regard to discrimination against the girl-child, Zambia had placed gender issues very high, and used positive discrimination. Regarding gender bias in schools, in the case of illiteracy, absence from school and early departure from education, the Government had put in place a policy allowing equal enrolment for both girls and boys. Often when girl-children left school, this was because there was a need to care for the family, for example in the case of the death of both parents, or for reasons of marriage and pregnancy. Low value was placed on education in a rural setting, but the Government had set up a lot of programmes in an effort to remedy this.
With regard to the law, Zambian law stipulated that there was no such thing as an illegitimate child, and therefore all children enjoyed the same rights. As for sexual abuse, most of the cases were handled by the newly established Juvenile Court which was made up of different officers. The children implicated were vulnerable witnesses. Those found guilty were given harsh sentences, since the sentence for defilement could be up to life imprisonment.
As regards to the issue of violence against anybody, this was being comprehensively handled, since assault was now recognized to take place also in the family. There were victim support units which could respond rapidly to violence.
There were an increasing number of orphans and street children, due to the increase of poverty and the rise of cases of HIV/AIDS. However, reintegration into the family was used to provide a solution in the case of street children, and efforts were made by the Government, institutions and NGOs to strengthen family capacities to look after children. Another solution was the adoption of the child.

Questions on Basic Health and Social Welfare; Education, Leisure and Cultural Activities; Special Protection Measures
The discussion then moved on to the final three clusters, and Ms. Ouedraogo asked about breast-feeding up to 6 months and what progress had been made on this issue, including what the code was on breast-milk substitutes, for example in the case of mothers with HIV/AIDS, and what support was given to mothers in this field. She also asked questions about the National HIV/AIDS Council and its programmes - what programmes existed concerning sanitation, clean drinking water and housing, particularly in the current situation with a large number of orphans and refugees. She wondered what happened to the large number of children who dropped out of education before the legal age, and what were the risks these children were exposed to.
The Committee then asked other questions, covering such topics as what sort of planning existed to give the same sort of equity to the rural population as the urban population with regards to access to health services, changing and apparently self-contradictory child mortality figures, the situation of the 600,000 children orphaned by AIDS and how this was changing familial structures and whether a specific strategy and plan of action was planned for these children, conditions for the employment of children even under parental authority, the situation of disabled children and the facilities provided for them, and spending on education, including in the context of the vast numbers of trainee teachers who were dying before graduation.

Response to Questions on Basic Health and Social Welfare; Education, Leisure and Cultural Activities; Special Protection Measures
The delegation responded, saying that with regard to infant mortality, this was a sensitive indicator in the health sector, and the trends had been followed closely. Prior to HIV/AIDS, trends had been far more predictable, but this was no longer the case. The 2002 Demographic Heath Survey had shown a drop in these figures, however. The picture was not clear, the delegation said, so a team had been set up to look into the issue in more depth, and to identify the improvement in both infant mortality and under-five mortality rates. It was expected that the team would show that the improvement was due to improved immunization and providing vitamins to children.
As for breast milk, before the HIV/AIDS epidemic, exclusive breast-feeding had been promoted, but this had been changed under the circumstances. Social workers had been trained to deal with the situation, and mothers with HIV/AIDS were supplied with alternatives to breast milk, should they wish to have such, or with anti-retroviral medicines, which apparently closed down infection transmitted through breast milk. Work was also being done to ensure that rural populations had greater access to close health services than had been the case before.
Work was also being done to improve access to clean water for the population as a whole, and to improve sanitation and housing by a dual strategy. This was done by sensitizing the population to the issue, and by enforcing public sanitation laws. Already, sanitation facilities were increasingly available.

Education was recognized as the key to development, and the high rate of drop outs was regretted. It was attributed to the high cost of school fees in a poor country, as well as to pregnancy, sickness (malaria or HIV/AIDS), and to the lower number of places in grade 10 when compared to grade 9, which caused displacement among the student population. There was also a programme for continuing education for children who had dropped out. With regard to the number of teachers dying before completing graduation, this trend was being reversed.
Regarding children with special education needs, Zambia as a nation had put in place a number of programmes targeting these children, with the development of screening tools used at the local levels. Inclusive schooling was in place in a majority of districts. A number of programmes had also been put in place to ensure that children did not have to cover too great a geographical distance to get to school.
Pregnant girls were, thanks to a programme, allowed to go back to school after delivery, although these girls did not always choose to, or appear to be able to, which was mainly due to the lack of childcare.
With regard to the prevention of economic exploitation, Zambia had signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Labour Office, and had ratified ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labour. The integration of this Convention into Zambian law was underway. Following this, NGOs had been involved in a programme aimed at withdrawing children from work and reintegrating them into school or society. This programme had proved to be very successful. However, it was recognized that children also suffered in situations of domestic work, and a new programme had been launched to remedy this. A National Plan of Action on Child Labour had also been launched, collecting information on the various abuses of children in this area.

Preliminary Concluding Remarks
AWA N'DEYE OUEDRAOGO, the Committee Expert who served as Rapporteur on the report of Zambia, thanked the delegation for the caliber of the initial report, saying that the delegation was clearly involved in the implementation of the Convention. The discussion had allowed the Committee to note the progress made by the Government of Zambia. The new initiatives and programmes had clearly had a positive effect. The crux of the problem, however, was clearly the lack of financial resources. There was still a positive future to be seen, and there was great optimism with regards to the implementation. There was still a need to harmonise the corpus of laws with regard to the rights of the child, and to ensure that statutory laws were applied over customary law. The priority given to health and education was commendable, and the battle against HIV/AIDS was given appropriate importance, as it was in the rest of Africa, she said, also making suggestions such as the strengthening of consultative health services.
MS. NKOLE, co-head of the delegation of Zambia, in her concluding remarks, said the State Party had drafted a plan for the implementation of the suggestions made by the Committee, and thanked the Experts for these suggestions.



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