COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD STARTS CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF CÔTE D'IVOIRE ON COMPLIANCE WITH PROVISIONS OF CONVENTION

CRC
27th session
31 May 2001
Morning






Côte d’Ivoire Has Made Progress in Implementation of Treaty
Despite Financial Difficulties, Delegation Says


The Committee on the Rights of the Child this morning started its consideration of an initial report of Côte d'Ivoire by hearing a Government delegation saying that the country had made progress in the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child despite its financial difficulties.

Introducing the report, Henriette Lagou, Minister of the Family, Women and the Child of Côte d’Ivoire, said that although her country had achieved progress in the implementation of the provisions of the Convention, due to the multitude of difficulties which children encountered, much remained to be done; the current Government had set priorities in which the rights of children had been on top of the economic, political and social agenda; and it would use all resources made available to it to promote and protect the rights of children.

The Committee members queried the delegation on a number of issues such as female genital mutilation; trafficking in children; child sexual and financial exploitation; and child torture, among other things.

The delegation of Côte d'Ivoire was made up of Christian-Claude Beke Dassys, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Côte d'Ivoire to the United Nations Office at Geneva; Salai-Bouah Koffi Konon, Director of the Cabinet of the Minster of the Family, Women and the Child; Marie-Agathe Baroan Likagnene, Special Advisor to the President of the Republic; Christine Adjobi Nebout, Director at the Ministry of Public Health; Nathalie Victoire Coulibaly and Romain Porquet, both from the Ministry of the Family, Women and the Child; Cisse Savane Drouho, of the Ministry of Social Affairs and National Solidarity; Kouakou Koffi, Consultant Expert; and Gisele Kete, from the Permanent Mission of Côte d'Ivoire at Geneva.

Côte d'Ivoire is among the 191 States parties to the Convention and as such it must send periodic summaries on its efforts aimed at giving effect to the provisions of the treaty.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m, it will conclude its discussion with the delegation of Côte d’Ivoire and an Expert will offer preliminary remarks on the report.


Report of Côte d'Ivoire

The initial report of Côte d'Ivoire (CRC/C/8/Add.41) enumerates the various legal instruments which enable the implementation of the provisions of the Convention. It says that a child is defined as every human being below the age of 18 years. Legislation recognizes two types of minority: minority in civil matters and minority in criminal matters which is below 18 years.

With regard to education, the report says that although the Government has long made education for all a priority, it has not established a fixed age for the end of compulsory schooling. As a result, many children find themselves on the streets without having completed primary education. In order to comply with the obligations under the Convention, the Government envisages to amend the law on education to make it compulsory and free for all up to the age of 16 years. Provision of an adequate number of schools, together with assistance for underprivileged parents and regions, would make it possible to ensure access to education for all. The Government has allocated 40 per cent of its national budget to education, according to the report.

On the issue of employment, the report notes that the minimum age fixed by the labour code for admission of young people to employment or apprenticeship is 14 years. The failure to match training to jobs and the persistent economic crisis lead to high unemployment among young people. The abdication of parental responsibility and inadequate action by the public authorities lead to the exploitation of children in the labour sector. Some children under the age of 14 years go to work with or without the parents's consent. Similarly, the labour code protecting the health and development of the child is being infringed upon since many children perform arduous and hazardous tasks. The exploitation of child labour on account of poverty is on the increase in the cities and some rural areas. The child labour is particularly arduous since it involves long hours and night work in violation of both the Convention and domestic legislation.

The report says that the consent of the child is required for any act affecting his or her status and person, including for marriage; parental consent is needed for the conclusion of marriage for children under 21 years; for adoption of children under 16 years, the child should decide for himself; consent is required for sexual relations; the actions of paedophile, sometimes compounded with incest, are regarded as particularly serious offences against morality and the child's health and are severely punished; and voluntary enlistment in the army is fixed at 18 years.


Introduction of Report

HENRIETTE LAGOU, Minister of the Family, Women and the Child of Côte d'Ivoire, recalled that over the course of the past few years, her country had known unprecedented social and political tensions. However, important measures had been taken in favour of social peace and national reconciliation, as well as steps to normalize its relations with the principal donors. Within

the social and political contexts, which had been highly troubled since 1999 and which were still fragile, the economic and financial situation of the country had been considerably degraded with a fall in gross domestic production of 3 per cent in the year 2000.

In addition, Mrs. Lagou continued, the living conditions of people living under the poverty line had deteriorated. In the same manner, the payment for debt servicing had increased from $ 1.2 billion in 1997 to $ 2 billion in 1998. The Government was committed to elaborate a policy and a plan to combat poverty but the recent events did not allow its full implementation.

Mrs. Lagou further said that her country was not yet benefiting from the initiative in favour of "highly indebted poor counties" to reduce its foreign debt and to finance its social sectors. Meanwhile, the Government was holding discussions with the donor community, particularly the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the European Union, with the view to obtaining support from external funds.

The state of affairs in Côte d'Ivoire had contributed to the deteriorating situation of children and women, Mrs. Lagou went on to say. The rate of infant and child mortality had increased from 90 to 112 per 1,000 children and from 150 to 171 per 1,000 live births; the rate of maternal mortality had been estimated in 1994 to be 597 per 100,000 live births; only 60 per cent of deliveries were attended by qualified personnel; and chronic respiratory infections and malaria were the main causes for child mortality under 5 years, among other things.

Mrs. Lagou said that the situation could be explained by the weak accessibility of the population to health care, the weak level of literacy of women and the lower rate of education, particularly of the girl child. In general, the high rate of child mortality, the significant number of children affected and infected by HIV/AIDS, and the number of child victims of labour and sexual exploitation was a major concern to the Government of Côte d'Ivoire.

In conclusion, Mrs. Lagou said that her country had achieved progress in the implementation of the provisions of the Convention. However, due to the multitude of difficulties which children encountered, much remained to be done. The current Government had set priorities in which the rights of children had been on top of the economic, political and social agenda. It would utilize all its available resources to promote and protect the rights of children.


Discussion

At the beginning of their consideration of the report of Côte d’Ivoire, Committee Exports queried the delegation on a number of issues. An Expert said that the country had been faced with military mutiny, religious tensions and other problems which were not inducive to the creation of an atmosphere in which the rights of children were fully implemented. In addition, people were not aware of the various legislative acts of the country because of the prevailing customary laws. There was also discrimination against women and the practice of female genital mutilation had continued to the detriment of child girls. The November 2000 decree on the establishment of a human rights commission had been an encouraging measure, but did children enjoy the right to lodge complaints to that same institution? Experts also asked whether children had a telephone hotline?


What could be done to change the attitude of people concerning the protection of children other than enforcing legislation which was not sometimes known to the general public, asked another Expert. What measures were taken to disseminate the spirit of the Convention? Did the measures to promote the Convention include using traditional leaders? What measures were taken to punish traffickers in children and to protect those victims so that they would not fall back into the same network of trafficking?

Côte d'Ivoire had not yet ratified the African Charter dealing with child rights, an Expert said. Did the Government envisage to do so soon? What were the main contents of the bilateral agreement reached between Côte d'Ivoire and Mali with regard to trafficking in children?

The marriage age limit for both girls and boys was not clear, an Expert said. The age limit for school admission was not clearly defined. The age for criminal responsibility, which was 10 years of age, was low, and it should be raised.

In response to the numerous questions raised by Committee Experts, the members of the delegation said that the military coup d'etat of 1999 and the following political tension had complicated the social and political conditions in the country. This situation had delayed the submission of the report.

With regard to child victims of trafficking who were brought back from Mali, the delegation said that they were returned to their parents and the Government was helping to reintegrate them into society. The bilateral agreement between Côte d'Ivoire and Mali provided for the return of children to where they originally came from. Mali had organized a reception centre for children who were returned from Côte d'Ivoire and had sent them to their families. Within the last two weeks, for example, children from Burkina Faso and Guinea had been intercepted along the border of Côte d'Ivoire and they were returned to their respective countries. In addition, the traffickers were arrested and the court would pass its judgement soon.

It was not an easy matter to convince traditional leaders who practised female genital excision to stop the practise, the delegation said. However, the Government continued to take measures in order to discourage the practice of genital mutilation.

In its efforts to improve the human rights situation in the country, the Government had undertaken measures at the international level. Next Tuesday, the wife of the President of the Republic would visit Geneva where she was expected to meet with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson.

Concerning the campaign on awareness raising, the delegation said that a series of seminars, conferences and workshops had been organized to disseminate knowledge on the Convention. Lawyers and the personnel of the mass media were actively participating in the efforts to promote and protect human rights, including child rights.

The country's Constitution put emphasis on the rights of children and the vulnerable segments of the population, the delegation said. The provisions of the Constitution were already integrated into school curriculum. In addition, the provisions of the Convention were invoked and applied in courts. Children were also assisted by legal counsels in courts to defend their rights.

Education was a priority to the Government of Côte d'Ivoire, the delegation said. More emphasis was being given to education and particularly to compulsory education from 6 to 16 years. The legislation on education would be strengthened to allow children to complete their schooling.

In 1992, in accordance with the recommendations of the World Summit on Children, the Government of Côte d'Ivoire had drawn up a decade-long plan of action to promote the rights of the child. However, the plan had encountered a number of difficulties, particularly the lack of adequate financial and human resources.

It was because of the cultural influence that the law was discriminatory as it fixed the age of marriage for girls at 18 years and for boys at 20, with parental consent, the delegation said. However, the majority age for all was fixed at 18 years of age. The Government envisaged to harmonize the minimum age for marriage for both girls and boys.

With regard to non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the delegation said that many of the NGOs had similar missions and were performing the same work, which was a problem for the Government. Although the information obtained from NGOs working in remote areas was valuable to the Government, the overlapping roles of the NGOs had been reviewed.

In further questions addressed to the delegation, the Committee raised issues such as the role of the police brigade for children and the practices of detaining children; registration of birth; discrimination against children with disabilities; acts of infanticide due to disability; the ban on students' movement; the practice of torture; access to information; and child torture.



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