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18 January 2001
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CRC
26th session
18 January 2001
Afternoon
Recommends, In Preliminary Remarks, that Lesotho Build Partnerships
with International Organizations to Fight HIV/AIDS and Poverty
The Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon concluded its public review of an initial report of Lesotho by recommending, in preliminary remarks, that the Government should build partnerships with international organizations to fight poverty and HIV/AIDS.
An Expert, speaking on behalf of the Committee, said the members were aware of the various difficulties faced by Lesotho in fully implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Although the Government was not able to carry out all the tasks it had envisaged to accomplish, it had to design priorities and strategies; a lot had to be done to maintain standards and norms in order to implement the provisions in a proper manner.
The Expert also said the issues of poverty and street children were interrelated and tackling them needed international cooperation and technical assistance.
Final, written concluding observations and recommendations on the report of Lesotho will be issued by the Committee towards the end of its three-week session which will conclude on 26 January. A Government delegation from Lesotho spent the day presenting the report and answering questions raised by Committee Experts.
The discussion this afternoon focused on civil rights and freedoms; family environment and alternative care; basic health and welfare; education, leisure and cultural activities; and special protection.
Lesotho is among the 191 States parties to the Convention and as such it should provide periodic summaries to the Committee on its efforts to implement the provisions of the treaty.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Friday, 19 January, it will take up the initial report of Saudi Arabia.
Discussion
Responding to questions raised by Committee experts in the previous meeting, the delegation of Lesotho said that girls who married at the age of 18 were no longer considered to be minors and were not given the protection awarded to minors whom the law defined as youths under the age of 21.
Female genital mutilation was commonly practised in Lesotho, the delegation said. From a tender age, girls were subjected to this practice. With the help of international non-governmental organizations, the Government was envisaging to launch awareness-raising programmes concerning female genital mutilation which was deeply entrenched in the society.
Corporal punishment could only be ordered by courts and it was not practised outside the courts' jurisdiction, the delegation said. Prison guards had no right to beat detainees as a disciplinary measure. Corporal punishment was prohibited in institutions where children were taken care of.
A question was asked about why pregnant teenagers were expelled from school, to which the delegation said that the matter was being studied to avert the present discrimination which called only for the expulsion of the pregnant girl and not the boy who impregnated her. The debate on the issue might lead the Government to draft a law concerning teenage pregnancy.
Because of the lack of organization concerning birth registration, many children were not registered, the delegation said. In addition, parents' ignorance of the obligation to register births had left many children without an official record. Some officials had also neglected the fact that they should register child births in their areas.
Police brutality against children no more benefited from impunity, the delegation said. As a result of the previous dictatorial regime, some officials still believed that brutality should be used to enforce order. However, the present Government had made it clear that such brutality on the part of the police was inadmissible. In many parts of the country in the past, law enforcement agencies had not been accountable, and anything could have happened anytime against individuals. In order to redress the past situation, the Government had restructured the army, the police, the internal security system and the prison system.
Committee members continued to query the delegation on various issues such as child labour, child armed robbery, trafficking of foreigners in Lesotho, circumcision of boys, and street children, among other things.
What incentives had been provided by the Government to keep professionals from leaving the country for better pay, an Expert asked. Had the Government taken the initiative to train more medical personnel?
The conditions of juvenile justice and street children were miserable, commented an Expert. Were there any steps being taken by the Government to create legislation in the area of housing for those in need? Were there any projects to create jobs for street children? Were young law offenders detained in the same prisons as adults?
An Expert asked if the curriculum of religious private schools was managed by the Government. Further, the Expert asked if religious tolerance was advocated by the authorities in order to avert conflicts based on intolerance.
How did the Government cope with the customary law in its efforts to introduce sex education, an Expert asked. Had the Government succeeded in convincing the population on the need to have sexual education as a preventive measure against teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, particularly the HIV/AIDS pandemic?
Responding to the Committee's questions, the delegation of Lesotho said that births were recognized within the extended family. However, sometimes families failed to register the birth in a formal institution.
Intercountry adoptions took place in Lesotho despite the fact that the country had not ratified the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption.
Increasing child abuse, particularly incest, had been exposed recently through a play which was performed by children, the delegation said. The Government was also aware of the problem and preventive measures were being taken against violence in the family.
A question was asked on alleviating the problem of mixing children with adult inmates, to which the delegation said that there were only a few such cases. In some districts, there was a small number of juvenile offenders, too few to keep them in different prisons. However, juvenile offenders were mostly sent to rehabilitation centres instead of keeping them in prisons with adults. The mixing of some female prisoners with men was embarrassing for the Government and a solution was being sought to resolve it.
The Government was aware of the problems arising from circumcision and a draft law had been prepared to that regard, the delegation said.
Concerning the allegation of trafficking in foreign persons in Lesotho which was alluded to by an Expert who quoted sources of the American State Department, the delegation said it was not aware of the existence of such activities. However, the Government would investigate this allegation in order to verify the truth. The blue book published by the United States on human rights situations contained alleged violations in all countries except the United States itself.
Because of poverty, children were obliged to work in order to finance their studies and to support their poor parents, the delegation said. For that reason, officials usually ignored this issue.
Preliminary Remarks
In preliminary remarks made by a Committee Expert on behalf of the Committee, the Committee said it was aware of the various difficulties faced by Lesotho in fully implementing the provisions of the Convention. The problems created by the HIV/AIDS pandemic were also felt by the Government and work in that area needed international cooperation. Although the Government was not able to carry out all the tasks it had envisaged to do, it had to design priorities and strategies. A lot had to be done to maintain standards and norms in order to implement the provisions of the Convention in a proper manner. The law should give protection for all citizens, particularly to children in all fields, including health, education and social welfare.
The Expert said the Government should try to do more in the area of poverty alleviation and should organize work on a voluntary basis to make people feel that the implementation of the Convention was not only the affair of professionals. All people, particularly parents, should participate in the activities related to the promotion and protection of child rights.
The issues of poverty and street children were interrelated and tackling them needed international cooperation and technical assistance from international agencies. The Government should make international non-governmental organizations partners in its efforts to implement the provisions of the Convention.
* *** *
26th session
18 January 2001
Afternoon
Recommends, In Preliminary Remarks, that Lesotho Build Partnerships
with International Organizations to Fight HIV/AIDS and Poverty
The Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon concluded its public review of an initial report of Lesotho by recommending, in preliminary remarks, that the Government should build partnerships with international organizations to fight poverty and HIV/AIDS.
An Expert, speaking on behalf of the Committee, said the members were aware of the various difficulties faced by Lesotho in fully implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Although the Government was not able to carry out all the tasks it had envisaged to accomplish, it had to design priorities and strategies; a lot had to be done to maintain standards and norms in order to implement the provisions in a proper manner.
The Expert also said the issues of poverty and street children were interrelated and tackling them needed international cooperation and technical assistance.
Final, written concluding observations and recommendations on the report of Lesotho will be issued by the Committee towards the end of its three-week session which will conclude on 26 January. A Government delegation from Lesotho spent the day presenting the report and answering questions raised by Committee Experts.
The discussion this afternoon focused on civil rights and freedoms; family environment and alternative care; basic health and welfare; education, leisure and cultural activities; and special protection.
Lesotho is among the 191 States parties to the Convention and as such it should provide periodic summaries to the Committee on its efforts to implement the provisions of the treaty.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Friday, 19 January, it will take up the initial report of Saudi Arabia.
Discussion
Responding to questions raised by Committee experts in the previous meeting, the delegation of Lesotho said that girls who married at the age of 18 were no longer considered to be minors and were not given the protection awarded to minors whom the law defined as youths under the age of 21.
Female genital mutilation was commonly practised in Lesotho, the delegation said. From a tender age, girls were subjected to this practice. With the help of international non-governmental organizations, the Government was envisaging to launch awareness-raising programmes concerning female genital mutilation which was deeply entrenched in the society.
Corporal punishment could only be ordered by courts and it was not practised outside the courts' jurisdiction, the delegation said. Prison guards had no right to beat detainees as a disciplinary measure. Corporal punishment was prohibited in institutions where children were taken care of.
A question was asked about why pregnant teenagers were expelled from school, to which the delegation said that the matter was being studied to avert the present discrimination which called only for the expulsion of the pregnant girl and not the boy who impregnated her. The debate on the issue might lead the Government to draft a law concerning teenage pregnancy.
Because of the lack of organization concerning birth registration, many children were not registered, the delegation said. In addition, parents' ignorance of the obligation to register births had left many children without an official record. Some officials had also neglected the fact that they should register child births in their areas.
Police brutality against children no more benefited from impunity, the delegation said. As a result of the previous dictatorial regime, some officials still believed that brutality should be used to enforce order. However, the present Government had made it clear that such brutality on the part of the police was inadmissible. In many parts of the country in the past, law enforcement agencies had not been accountable, and anything could have happened anytime against individuals. In order to redress the past situation, the Government had restructured the army, the police, the internal security system and the prison system.
Committee members continued to query the delegation on various issues such as child labour, child armed robbery, trafficking of foreigners in Lesotho, circumcision of boys, and street children, among other things.
What incentives had been provided by the Government to keep professionals from leaving the country for better pay, an Expert asked. Had the Government taken the initiative to train more medical personnel?
The conditions of juvenile justice and street children were miserable, commented an Expert. Were there any steps being taken by the Government to create legislation in the area of housing for those in need? Were there any projects to create jobs for street children? Were young law offenders detained in the same prisons as adults?
An Expert asked if the curriculum of religious private schools was managed by the Government. Further, the Expert asked if religious tolerance was advocated by the authorities in order to avert conflicts based on intolerance.
How did the Government cope with the customary law in its efforts to introduce sex education, an Expert asked. Had the Government succeeded in convincing the population on the need to have sexual education as a preventive measure against teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, particularly the HIV/AIDS pandemic?
Responding to the Committee's questions, the delegation of Lesotho said that births were recognized within the extended family. However, sometimes families failed to register the birth in a formal institution.
Intercountry adoptions took place in Lesotho despite the fact that the country had not ratified the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption.
Increasing child abuse, particularly incest, had been exposed recently through a play which was performed by children, the delegation said. The Government was also aware of the problem and preventive measures were being taken against violence in the family.
A question was asked on alleviating the problem of mixing children with adult inmates, to which the delegation said that there were only a few such cases. In some districts, there was a small number of juvenile offenders, too few to keep them in different prisons. However, juvenile offenders were mostly sent to rehabilitation centres instead of keeping them in prisons with adults. The mixing of some female prisoners with men was embarrassing for the Government and a solution was being sought to resolve it.
The Government was aware of the problems arising from circumcision and a draft law had been prepared to that regard, the delegation said.
Concerning the allegation of trafficking in foreign persons in Lesotho which was alluded to by an Expert who quoted sources of the American State Department, the delegation said it was not aware of the existence of such activities. However, the Government would investigate this allegation in order to verify the truth. The blue book published by the United States on human rights situations contained alleged violations in all countries except the United States itself.
Because of poverty, children were obliged to work in order to finance their studies and to support their poor parents, the delegation said. For that reason, officials usually ignored this issue.
Preliminary Remarks
In preliminary remarks made by a Committee Expert on behalf of the Committee, the Committee said it was aware of the various difficulties faced by Lesotho in fully implementing the provisions of the Convention. The problems created by the HIV/AIDS pandemic were also felt by the Government and work in that area needed international cooperation. Although the Government was not able to carry out all the tasks it had envisaged to do, it had to design priorities and strategies. A lot had to be done to maintain standards and norms in order to implement the provisions of the Convention in a proper manner. The law should give protection for all citizens, particularly to children in all fields, including health, education and social welfare.
The Expert said the Government should try to do more in the area of poverty alleviation and should organize work on a voluntary basis to make people feel that the implementation of the Convention was not only the affair of professionals. All people, particularly parents, should participate in the activities related to the promotion and protection of child rights.
The issues of poverty and street children were interrelated and tackling them needed international cooperation and technical assistance from international agencies. The Government should make international non-governmental organizations partners in its efforts to implement the provisions of the Convention.
* *** *