COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD STARTS EXAMINATION OF CAMEROON'S INITIAL REPORT ON COMPLIANCE WITH CONVENTION

CRC
28th session
4 October 2001
Morning





The Committee on the Rights of the Child this morning started its examination of an initial report from Cameroon with a Government delegation affirming that no effort was being spared in the quest for the promotion and protection of the rights of the child despite financial shortages.

Introducing his country's report, Joseph Dion Ngute, Minister in Charge of the Commonwealth of Cameroon, said that since his country put in place a national renovation policy in 1982, a number of legislative, judicial and institutional measures had been adopted in order to protect and promote the rights of the child. In addition, a policy had been launched to promote the best interests of the child and to protect children from a number of harmful practices which victimized them.

Mr. Dion Ngute said that despite the different measures taken by the Government towards the implementation of the rights of the child, all was not going as well as expected because of the insufficiency of the financial means of the State. Nevertheless, Cameroon spared no efforts in the quest for the promotion and protection of the rights of the child.

Committee members asked a number of questions about sexual abuse and violence in prisons involving children; about the situation of Pygmy children; whether the Government had reacted to the allegation of disappearances of children, which was raised by the European Union; about the measures taken by the Government concerning torture of children; about police brutality; about the State's policy on child adoption; about the achievements of the national plan of action on female genital mutilation; why the rate of female illiteracy was higher than the rate among male; and about the measures taken to help the high number of disabled children, among other things.

The Cameroonian delegation is also composed of Jean Simplice Ndjemba Endezoumou, of the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic; Charles Chebo Tantoh, from the Permanent Mission of Cameroon in Geneva; Francoise Ngono Tabi Ze, Director of Family Welfare and the Child, Ministry of Social Affairs; Akolla Ekan, of the Ministry of Employment and Labour; Emmanuel Nguidjoe Nyha, of the Ministry of Public Health; Chantal Mfoula, of the Ministry of External Relations; Samuel Ndjock, of the Ministry of Social Affairs; Emmanuel Kitchabo, of the Ministry of National Education; and Luc Ndjodo, of the Ministry of Justice.

Cameroon is among the 191 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and as such it is obligated to provide the Committee with periodic reports on how it is giving effect to the provisions of the treaty.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m., it will conclude its consideration of the report of Cameroon.

Summary of Cameroon's Report

The initial report, which is contained in document CRC/C/28/Add.16, enumerates the efforts of the State aimed at implementing the provisions of the Convention. It says that the Government has demonstrated its political will to work for the best interests of children and to protect them from the many dangers to which they are subjected. The report confirms the commitment of the Government to respect and fully implement the relevant provisions of the Convention. The Convention forms the basis for the rights of the child and is the highest-ranking legal provision that takes precedence, in the hierarchy of rules of law, over any relevant domestic legislation, as stressed in the Constitution.

It was noted in the report that a child was defined as a human being below the age of 18 years, unless, under the country's law on majority was attained earlier. The fact that there may be more than one age of majority, depending on circumstances or activities, is a legal derogation from this definition. In civil law, the age of majority is 21 years, including for sexual consent. A minor may, however, be emancipated by a court order or automatically by marriage. No marriage may be celebrated if the girl is below the age of 15 years or the boy below the age of 18 years, except under an exemption granted by the President of the Republic for serious reasons. The minimum age for admission to employment is 14; and no minor below the age of 18 may be recruited into the armed forces and the police.

In Cameroon, primary education is compulsory, but the law did not refer to any age limit for school attendance, the report says. There is no discrimination between boys and girls in education; and the State guarantees everyone equal opportunities for access to education without discrimination as to sex or other grounds. However, factors such as social prejudices, customary and religious practices and early marriages create an imbalance in the school enrolment of girls and boys.

The report says that although there are no specific provisions to punish female genital mutilation, persons responsible for such an act may be prosecuted on the basis of the penal code, which stipulates that anyone who causes another person to be permanently deprived of the use of all or part of a member, an organ or a sense should be liable to 10 to 20 years' imprisonment.

The report notes that the economic crisis, which has resulted in unemployment and a reduction in purchasing power, has considerably eroded parental authority to the advantage of women since they were more active in this sphere. The number of single-parent families in which the head of household is female has increased. A child born out of wedlock is therefore linked to his mother, who assumes responsibility for the child.

According to the report, approximately 700,000 people in Cameroon are affected by motor, mental or sensory disability. In 1993, there were approximately 450,000 disabled children.


Presentation of Cameroon's Initial Report

JOSEPH DION NGUTE, Minister in Charge of the Commonwealth of Cameroon, said that since his country put in place a national renovation policy in 1982, a number of legislative, judicial and institutional measures had been adopted in order to protect and promote the rights of the child. In addition, a policy had been launched to promote the best interests of the child and to protect children from harmful practices which victimized them.

Today, Mr. Dion Ngute continued to state, Cameroon was a State where the best interests of the child were enjoyed without any discrimination and those rights were guaranteed by the country's Constitution. A number of penal, civil, social and administrative dispositions were made available in order to implement the best interests of the child.

Further, measures were undertaken to ensure the rights of the child in the areas of education and health care, Mr. Dion Ngute said. Primary school education, which had been obligatory, had become free of charge, thanks to the decision of the Head of State in his declaration of 10 February 2000. The law of 30 June 2000 on financing had reinforced that decision, which made public school free of charge. Despite the economic crises that had severely struck the country, prompting a reduction in the volume of budgetary allocation to the different sectors, the portion devoted to education relatively remained significant.

Mr. Dion Ngute continued to say that in the field of health care, the Government had implemented priority programmes pertaining to vaccination and immunization; the promotion of national programme for the promotion of breastfeeding; and the combat against diseases affecting children. In addition, a national plan for the fight against AIDS had been promoted to uphold adolescent health.

The Minister said that the Government had taken preventive measures with the view to fighting against the economic exploitation of children in the country. In that connection, Cameroon had ratified the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 138 on the minimum age of child employment, and it was also in the process of ratifying ILO Convention No. 182 on the worst forms of child labour. Although there was no sexual tourism in the country, a law had been adopted on 14 April 1998 against such phenomenon.

In order to coordinate the various public activities aimed at implementation of the rights of the child, the Government had created in 1990 a national commission for the protection of the child, Mr. Dion Ngute said. In addition, an inter-ministerial committee had been created in January 2001 to coordinate cooperation programmes between Cameroon and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Mr. Dion Ngute said that despite the different measures taken by the Government towards the implementation of the rights of the child, all was not going as well as expected because of the insufficiency of the financial means of the State. Nevertheless, Cameroon had spared no effort towards the promotion and protection of the rights of the child.


Consideration of Cameroon's Report

Following the presentation of the initial report of Cameroon, Committee Experts raised a number of questions under the first cluster of the main topics which concerned general measures of the implementation of the Convention and the definition of the child. Questions were raised on issues such as regional disparities; the high rate of illiteracy; the practice of customary laws contradicting statutory laws; the role of the national commission on the child; early and forced marriage; and corruption and good governance, among other things.

Responding to a question, the members of the delegation said that the Government had been attempting to stamp out corruption through an organ created under the leadership of the country's prime minister. The Government had also received advisory assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concerning the fight against corruption.

The provisions of the Convention prevailed over the national law of Cameroon, the delegation said. Whenever there was any clash between the provisions of the Convention and national legislation, it was always the international treaty that prevailed. With regard to customary jurisdiction, it could be implemented in all circumstance as long as it did not contradict the statutory law. In penal cases, it was only the statutory law that was applied and not the customary one.

A child up to 10 years of age was totally irresponsible for any criminal acts and he or she committed and was not brought before the courts, the delegation said. A child from 10 to 13 years could be put in public institutions if the contribution of the parents to rehabilitate him was found to be unsatisfactory. On the third category, children between 14 and 18 years of age could be prosecuted but might not receive maximum prison terms as adults.

Although there were laws prohibiting early marriages, there were still problems concerning that phenomenon in which the customary law was applied to involve the early marriage of girls as young as 10 years old, the delegation said. In the rural areas, children below the minimum age were getting married with the consent of their parents. The law stipulated that the minimum age for marriage for girls was 15 years, while the legal age for boys was 18 years.

Asked about the function of the child parliament, the delegation said that it was created in 1988 with the help of UNICEF and it included children of from all segments of the society, including Pygmy children and street and disabled children. The child parliament consisted of 100 children; and they discussed matters concerning them, including the provisions of the Convention.

The initial report presented to the Committee had been discussed before its submission, and it was widely made known to the public, the delegation said. Children were also consulted and were allowed to give their opinions on the report.

Responding to a question on the role of the National Committee on Human Rights, the delegation said that it was an independent institution, although it was financially supported by the State. It monitored human-rights violations in the country, including complaints received from children. Before 1999, its functions were confidential and its report was not made public.

However, since then it has assumed a different trend by advocating for the promotion of human rights. Its mandate had been extended to include visiting prisoners and monitoring human-rights violations taking place in the country. At present, it was considered as a watchdog for human rights.

The Committee Experts continued to raise questions under the second cluster on subjects relating to the general principles of the implementation of the Convention; civil rights and freedoms; and family environment and alternative care. They asked, among other things, about sexual abuse and violence in prisons involving children; about the situation of Pygmy children; whether the Government had reacted to the allegation of disappearances of children, which was raised by the European Union; about the measures taken by the Government concerning torture against children; about police brutality; the State's policy on child adoption; the achievements of the national plan of action on female genital mutilation; why the rate of female illiteracy was higher than the rate among males; the strategies for the integration of street children; the extension of libraries for children; and about the measures taken to help the large number of disabled children.



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