COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD STARTS CONSIDERATION OF GUINEA'S REPORT

MORNING
HR/CRC/99/9
19 January 1999


COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD STARTS CONSIDERATION OF GUINEA'S REPORT


Guinea this morning presented an initial report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the measures implemented in that country to comply with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Introducing the report, Hadja Saran Daraba, Minister for Social Affairs, Women and Children of Guinea, told Committee members that financial and human resources were among the factors obstructing the full implementation of the Convention. She also said that 40 per cent of the Guinean population lived below the poverty line and that this category did not even possess one dollar a day to live on.

A number of Committee members asked questions on such issues as the dissemination of the Convention; the mechanisms for the follow-up of the implementation of the provisions of the Convention; resources allocated for the implementation of the Convention; guarantees for such implementation; and difficulties in gathering data on the promotion and protection of the rights of children.

The delegation of Guinea also included Bafode Keita, Chief, Children's Rights and Social Mobilization Section, National Directorate of Preschool Education and Child Protection; Dirus Diale Doré, National Directorate for Children, Ministry of Social Affairs; Ibrahim Camara, Advisor in charge of Social Protection; and Faotumata Dirraye Diaby, Legal Advisor.

As one of 191 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Guinea must submit periodic reports to the Committee on how it is implementing the provisions of the treaty.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 pm., it will continue its consideration of Guinea's report.

Report of Guinea

The initial report of Guinea (document CRC/C/3/Add.48) says that Guinean legislation makes no discrimination between children, except in the matter of succession. There is also discrimination by reason of birth, due to the fact that the legislator has taken account of the socio-cultural context. In effect, in the practice and customs of the Muslim community - which makes up more than two-thirds of the population - the natural child or the child of adultery or incest has no right to inherit from its presumed father, sometimes, even if it is recognized. According to customs, girls do not inherit from their father, although the law makes no discrimination between genders.

The report says that in Guinean positive law, legitimate children have an equal right to inherit from their parents. A natural child or child born of adultery legitimized by marriage has the same entitlement to inherit as a recognized natural child. In all cases, the natural child inherits from the mother. The child of incest can never receive anything other than alimony.

Further, the report says that Guinea has been strongly affected by the consequence of the wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone after it has opened its doors wide to nearly a million refugees, in conformity with its customs and traditions. They have been given shelter throughout the national territory, but especially in Forest Guinea which has been their reception area. Children constitute more than 65 per cent of the refugee population. Apart from those taken in hand by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, whose number is evaluated at 43,499 Liberian and Sierra Leone children in the camps of N'Zérékoré, a certain number of refugee children have integrated into local working structures while others have escaped into the streets.

The report states that for some years, the consumption of drugs has become a serious problem for the young people of the big towns in Guinea, in general, and in the capital Conakry, in particular. The ever-increasing frequency of individual cases at the Doka University Hospital psychiatric centre illustrates this alarming situation. In January 1992, there were already 127 drug addicts interned there, representing 60 per cent of the total patients at the centre, which was originally intended to care only for mental patients.

In addition, the report says that more and more, girls are becoming sources of revenue for their families by prostituting themselves. This situation is progressively affecting female juveniles, themselves confronted with great socio-economic difficulties. It is now common to see parents sacrificing their young daughters in a marriage of interest often for the survival of the family. Thus, early marriages still persisted, especially in the rural areas.

Introduction of Report

HADJA SARAN DARABA, Minister for Social Affairs, Women and Children of Guinea, explained that six countries surrounding Guinea were suffering from civil strife which helped explain what her country was facing. In April 1990, Guinea had ratified the Convention without any reservations. Among the measures undertaken to ensure the implementation of the provisions of the Convention was the creation of a Secretariat for Children in 1992 which later became the Ministry for Social Affairs, Women and Children.

The Guinean policy for the promotion and protection of the rights of the child was articulated around the relative questions of education and the protection of children under difficult situations, Ms. Daraba went on to state. The activities of the Guinean Committee for Monitoring, Protection and Defence of Children's Rights had been decentralized to permit its expansion at regional levels. In addition, the Government had decided in 1998 to make the Ministry of Social Affairs, Women and Children one of the seven priority ministries under the structural adjustment programme.

Ms. Daraba said that Guinea was engaged in finalizing the personal and family code in order to ensure that the interpretation of the law could not result in the violation of the rights of the child. The codification of the law from 1993 to 1997 had been faced with certain problems because of the Islamic religion of the majority of the population. However, the code had already been adopted by the country's Supreme Court although it still had to be adopted by the National Assembly, she added.

Ms. Daraba further said that among the difficulties encountered in the implementation of the provisions of the Convention was the lack of resources both financially and in human skills. She said that there were eight national languages in Guinea associated with three different alphabets which made the translation of the Convention in all the languages difficult. She recalled that 40 per cent of the Guinean population lived below the poverty line, meaning that they did not even have one dollar a day to live on. The rate of mortality was 132 per thousand while the global literacy had gone from 28 to 51 per cent during the last decade. In order to give importance to the rights of children, Guinea had declared a "month of the child" in the month of June of each year.

Discussion

In response to the written questions prepared by members of the Committee in advance, the delegation said that the Government had already elaborated a group of legal measures, including the personal and family code containing 23 articles concerning children. In addition, a code for children would be enacted in the course of 1999.

Concerning the establishment of the Guinean Committee for Monitoring, Protection and Defence of Children's Rights, the delegation said that the National Directorate of Preschool Education and Child Protection coordinated the activities at the central and local levels. In addition, regional inspectors, directors of preschool and national directors of the Directorate carried out field inspections and coordinations.

With regard to aggregated data collection, the delegation said that for most social sectors including demography, economy, health and nutrition, and education, the Government had established indicators. For instance, concerning the demographic indicator, the proportion of children under 15 years of age in 1990 was 44,8 per cent of the population and that proportion was expected to reach 47,4 per cent by the year 2001. In 1990, the number of deaths under the age of 5 years was 67 per thousand. That number was reduced in recent years. Also, the infant mortality rate was 136 per thousand, the delegation added.

A question was raised on whether or not safeguards existed to ensure that children were not adversely affected during the current difficult economic period. The delegation affirmed that the country was in a process of democratization in order to reinstate its irreversible option for the state of law. In addition, there were institutions which monitored any violations of child rights which were the result of this process. Non-governmental organizations were also there to fight mistreatment of children and promote their rights.

Experts asked what measures were taken to make the Convention understood by judges, lawyers, law enforcement officials, army officials, Government officials including at the local level, personnel working in institutions and detention centres for children? In response the delegation said that since 1990, under the programme of cooperation between the Government and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), a campaign of sensitization and implementations of the rights of the child had been undertaken. A programme of training had been carried out for police, gendarmerie, judges and prison officers dealing with children. The country's 114 parliamentarians were also concerned by the programme of sensitization of the rights of the child, added the delegation.

Committee members asked additional questions on such issues as the dissemination of the Convention; the mechanisms for the follow-up of the implementation of the provisions of the Convention; resources allocated for the implementation of the Convention; guarantees for such implementation; and difficulties in gathering data on the promotion and protection of the rights of children.

In response to the numerous queries put by Committee experts, the delegation said that the Convention was translated into the three written official languages including "harmonized" Arabic. Although the official language of the country was French, there were eight national languages used in official affairs.

Concerning the traditional genital mutilation of girls, the delegation said that the country's civil code prohibited the practice of female circumcision. For the past ten years, several non-governmental organizations had been campaigning to raise awareness on the harmful effects of this practice and subsequently, it had decreased.

Regarding the social and medical coverage of the population, the delegation said that the Government was endeavouring to improve the situation within the limited resources available for that purpose. In order to expand its programme of immunization, the Government had negotiated with its donors to set up health centres throughout its territories. Actually, there were presently about 350 centres carrying out vaccinations, added the delegation.