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28 September 2000
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CRC
25th session
28 September 2000
Morning
The Committee on the Rights of the Child began this morning its consideration of an initial report presented by the Central African Republic by hearing the delegation of that country say that economic difficulties had not allowed the State to fully implement programmes designed to improve conditions of children.
Introducing her country's report, Rachel Dea, Minister of Social Affairs, Family Advancement and the Disabled of the Central African Republic, said that because of economic difficulties still persisting in the country, much work remained unachieved in the promotion and protection of children's rights. She said the contribution of non-governmental organizations had so far been beneficial in supporting government actions.
Mrs. Dea said that due to the population's ignorance of the existence of different human rights instruments, customary law continued to prevail in most rural areas.
The discussion focused on the main subjects of the general measures of implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; general principles; and civil rights and freedoms.
In addition to Mrs. Dea, the delegation of the Central African Republic was made up of Stanislas-Samuel Zoumbeti of the Presidency of the Republic; Maurice Dibert Dollet, Legal Advisor; Andre Samba, Director-General for Social Action, Ministry of Social Affairs; Paul Morombaye Tony, Chairperson of the Committee for the Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child at the Ministry of Justice; and Catherine Sapho, Chairperson of the Association of Women Lawyers.
As one of the 191 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Central African Republic is obliged to present periodic reports to the Committee on its effort to give effect to the provisions of the treaty.
The Committee will continue its consideration of the initial report of the Central African Republic when it reconvenes at 3 p.m.
Report of the Central African Republic
The initial report of the Central African Republic (document CRC/C/11/Add.18) enumerates the efforts of the Government to implement measures designed to promote and respect the rights of children. To that end, it gives statistics and enumerates major decisions concerning children's rights in reference with the provisions of the Convention. The report notes that the country is emerging from a period which racked the country, and it has experienced a serious social and economic upheaval. The Government is determined to institute a culture of peace in order to ensure the complete and harmonious development of children.
The report notes that owing to the lack of appropriate instruments, judges are forced to resort to French laws that are completely ill-adapted and obsolete. When at times there are regulations, their application is hampered by the absence of appropriate institutions, as in the case of the penal system for juveniles. However, enormous efforts have been made in recent years to address the situation of children in the country in a systematic fashion.
Introduction of the Report
RACHEL DEA, Minister of Social Affairs, Family Advancement and the Disabled of the Central African Republic, said the Government had taken specific and important measures to implement the rights of children. In the field of health, a very dynamic immunization programme and intensive campaign had been carried out to combat disorders due to iodine deficiency, diarrhoeal diseases and malaria. The consumption of iodinated salt had increased from 4 per cent in 1990 to 87 per cent in 1999.
A campaign for the promotion of breast-feeding, birth spacing, and the prohibition of abortion had also been carried out, Mrs. Dea said. Achievements were also made in establishing wide-spread access to drinking water, essential drugs, and primary health-care services.
Mrs. Dea said enormous efforts had been made in the field of education, despite the State's very modest resources, to build hundreds of schools. However, the situation was still far from satisfactory. The law of 1997 on education had guaranteed the right to education to all children without discrimination, with special emphasis on the education of girls.
At the legal level, the Central African Republic had ratified several international instruments for the defence and protection of human rights, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Minister said. Parliament was also preparing to adopt a law to create special jurisdiction for children. A parliament for children and child ambassadors for peace had also been set up.
Because of the economic difficulties still persisting in the country, much work remained unachieved, Mrs. Dea said. The contribution of non-governmental organizations had so far been beneficial in supporting government actions. Due to the population's ignorance of the existence of different human rights instruments, customary law continued to prevail in most rural areas.
There was only one juvenile court in Bangui, the capital city, for children in conflict with the law, Mrs. Dea said. However, there was no detention centre in the country for children convicted of offences. For that reason, children were imprisoned in the same premises with adult inmates. There remained a shortage of professional and trained personnel to deal with children.
Discussion
In response to the numerous questions raised by Committee experts, the members of the delegation of the Central African Republic said that the Government had the political will to take measures to improve the situation of children. However, the problem of financial resources had been hampering its progress and many projects designed to promote child rights remained unfinished or had never started. The Government's only financial source was taxation which in most cases had been decreasing because of the general economic situation of the population.
The economic situation of the country had been disrupted by a serious mutiny which had damaged the infrastructure, the delegation said. Programmes initiated to enhance the cause of children had also been suppressed by the eruption of the military mutiny.
The Government had so far established procedures and legal provisions to implement the Convention, however, it was difficult to realize them when the means were chronically lacking, the delegation said. Although there were such problems, the Government had endeavoured to take action using its meagre resources.
With regard to the activities of non-governmental organizations, the delegation said some of them were engaged in serious and meaningful activities. However for others, the establishment of NGOs was a current fashionable phenomenon. Many organizations were artificially created and promised action on behalf of children. But the funding they received benefited their directors more than the children concerned. The Department of Social Affairs had organized a workshop held on 18 and 19 August 2000 which reviewed the activities of those NGOs with a view to refocusing and reorganizing them.
A national plan of action was adopted in 1993, but it had not yet been implemented due to the lack of an overall policy document for the protection and development of children, the delegation said. A draft policy document was currently being considered by the Government prior to submission to the country's national parliament. In addition, a national programme of action to combat poverty had just been established and had been introduced on an experimental basis in some regions.
Despite the existing legislation, customary rules continued to influence modern law in rural areas, the delegation said. It was only in urban areas that customary practice was losing ground. In some areas, women and children had difficulty in having access to the modern system of justice.
Asked if different forms of discrimination affecting children existed in the Central African Republic, the delegation said that generally speaking, no forms of discrimination against children were observed. However, certain types of discrimination still existed in the areas of inheritance rights, health and education. The education of disabled children tended to be neglected by certain families in rural areas.
Children's views were traditionally not taken into account within the family, the delegation said. However, their views were taken into account in school, owing to the participatory method used. In the legal sphere, a minor might testify without being under oath, in the presence of an adult relative. In addition, children's views were sought to decide on custody in case of separation of the parents.
Children were not recruited to serve in the army, the delegation said. Even the armed upheaval that the country had lived through did not entail the drafting of children into the army. The Government had taken measures to monitor children who joined the army by falsifying their dates of birth.
On the consumption of drugs and alcohol, the situation had been marked by the increase of their consumption in Bangui, the delegation said. Since there was no law prohibiting the purchase of alcoholic drinks by minors, the consumption by youth had been on the increase.
Responding to a question on the function of the national commission to follow-up the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the delegation that it was established in 1993, and it consisted of elected and appointed members; non-governmental organizations working on behalf of children were represented, as well as ministerial departments concerned by child issues. As a result of the awareness-raising campaign, some children were beginning to lodge complaints against their parents in order to claim their rights.
* *** *
25th session
28 September 2000
Morning
The Committee on the Rights of the Child began this morning its consideration of an initial report presented by the Central African Republic by hearing the delegation of that country say that economic difficulties had not allowed the State to fully implement programmes designed to improve conditions of children.
Introducing her country's report, Rachel Dea, Minister of Social Affairs, Family Advancement and the Disabled of the Central African Republic, said that because of economic difficulties still persisting in the country, much work remained unachieved in the promotion and protection of children's rights. She said the contribution of non-governmental organizations had so far been beneficial in supporting government actions.
Mrs. Dea said that due to the population's ignorance of the existence of different human rights instruments, customary law continued to prevail in most rural areas.
The discussion focused on the main subjects of the general measures of implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; general principles; and civil rights and freedoms.
In addition to Mrs. Dea, the delegation of the Central African Republic was made up of Stanislas-Samuel Zoumbeti of the Presidency of the Republic; Maurice Dibert Dollet, Legal Advisor; Andre Samba, Director-General for Social Action, Ministry of Social Affairs; Paul Morombaye Tony, Chairperson of the Committee for the Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child at the Ministry of Justice; and Catherine Sapho, Chairperson of the Association of Women Lawyers.
As one of the 191 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Central African Republic is obliged to present periodic reports to the Committee on its effort to give effect to the provisions of the treaty.
The Committee will continue its consideration of the initial report of the Central African Republic when it reconvenes at 3 p.m.
Report of the Central African Republic
The initial report of the Central African Republic (document CRC/C/11/Add.18) enumerates the efforts of the Government to implement measures designed to promote and respect the rights of children. To that end, it gives statistics and enumerates major decisions concerning children's rights in reference with the provisions of the Convention. The report notes that the country is emerging from a period which racked the country, and it has experienced a serious social and economic upheaval. The Government is determined to institute a culture of peace in order to ensure the complete and harmonious development of children.
The report notes that owing to the lack of appropriate instruments, judges are forced to resort to French laws that are completely ill-adapted and obsolete. When at times there are regulations, their application is hampered by the absence of appropriate institutions, as in the case of the penal system for juveniles. However, enormous efforts have been made in recent years to address the situation of children in the country in a systematic fashion.
Introduction of the Report
RACHEL DEA, Minister of Social Affairs, Family Advancement and the Disabled of the Central African Republic, said the Government had taken specific and important measures to implement the rights of children. In the field of health, a very dynamic immunization programme and intensive campaign had been carried out to combat disorders due to iodine deficiency, diarrhoeal diseases and malaria. The consumption of iodinated salt had increased from 4 per cent in 1990 to 87 per cent in 1999.
A campaign for the promotion of breast-feeding, birth spacing, and the prohibition of abortion had also been carried out, Mrs. Dea said. Achievements were also made in establishing wide-spread access to drinking water, essential drugs, and primary health-care services.
Mrs. Dea said enormous efforts had been made in the field of education, despite the State's very modest resources, to build hundreds of schools. However, the situation was still far from satisfactory. The law of 1997 on education had guaranteed the right to education to all children without discrimination, with special emphasis on the education of girls.
At the legal level, the Central African Republic had ratified several international instruments for the defence and protection of human rights, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Minister said. Parliament was also preparing to adopt a law to create special jurisdiction for children. A parliament for children and child ambassadors for peace had also been set up.
Because of the economic difficulties still persisting in the country, much work remained unachieved, Mrs. Dea said. The contribution of non-governmental organizations had so far been beneficial in supporting government actions. Due to the population's ignorance of the existence of different human rights instruments, customary law continued to prevail in most rural areas.
There was only one juvenile court in Bangui, the capital city, for children in conflict with the law, Mrs. Dea said. However, there was no detention centre in the country for children convicted of offences. For that reason, children were imprisoned in the same premises with adult inmates. There remained a shortage of professional and trained personnel to deal with children.
Discussion
In response to the numerous questions raised by Committee experts, the members of the delegation of the Central African Republic said that the Government had the political will to take measures to improve the situation of children. However, the problem of financial resources had been hampering its progress and many projects designed to promote child rights remained unfinished or had never started. The Government's only financial source was taxation which in most cases had been decreasing because of the general economic situation of the population.
The economic situation of the country had been disrupted by a serious mutiny which had damaged the infrastructure, the delegation said. Programmes initiated to enhance the cause of children had also been suppressed by the eruption of the military mutiny.
The Government had so far established procedures and legal provisions to implement the Convention, however, it was difficult to realize them when the means were chronically lacking, the delegation said. Although there were such problems, the Government had endeavoured to take action using its meagre resources.
With regard to the activities of non-governmental organizations, the delegation said some of them were engaged in serious and meaningful activities. However for others, the establishment of NGOs was a current fashionable phenomenon. Many organizations were artificially created and promised action on behalf of children. But the funding they received benefited their directors more than the children concerned. The Department of Social Affairs had organized a workshop held on 18 and 19 August 2000 which reviewed the activities of those NGOs with a view to refocusing and reorganizing them.
A national plan of action was adopted in 1993, but it had not yet been implemented due to the lack of an overall policy document for the protection and development of children, the delegation said. A draft policy document was currently being considered by the Government prior to submission to the country's national parliament. In addition, a national programme of action to combat poverty had just been established and had been introduced on an experimental basis in some regions.
Despite the existing legislation, customary rules continued to influence modern law in rural areas, the delegation said. It was only in urban areas that customary practice was losing ground. In some areas, women and children had difficulty in having access to the modern system of justice.
Asked if different forms of discrimination affecting children existed in the Central African Republic, the delegation said that generally speaking, no forms of discrimination against children were observed. However, certain types of discrimination still existed in the areas of inheritance rights, health and education. The education of disabled children tended to be neglected by certain families in rural areas.
Children's views were traditionally not taken into account within the family, the delegation said. However, their views were taken into account in school, owing to the participatory method used. In the legal sphere, a minor might testify without being under oath, in the presence of an adult relative. In addition, children's views were sought to decide on custody in case of separation of the parents.
Children were not recruited to serve in the army, the delegation said. Even the armed upheaval that the country had lived through did not entail the drafting of children into the army. The Government had taken measures to monitor children who joined the army by falsifying their dates of birth.
On the consumption of drugs and alcohol, the situation had been marked by the increase of their consumption in Bangui, the delegation said. Since there was no law prohibiting the purchase of alcoholic drinks by minors, the consumption by youth had been on the increase.
Responding to a question on the function of the national commission to follow-up the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the delegation that it was established in 1993, and it consisted of elected and appointed members; non-governmental organizations working on behalf of children were represented, as well as ministerial departments concerned by child issues. As a result of the awareness-raising campaign, some children were beginning to lodge complaints against their parents in order to claim their rights.
* *** *