Welcome to the United Nations 
OHCHR 
Press releases Treaty bodies
Default title
21 September 2000
Share
CRC
25th session
21 September 2000
Afternoon
Expert Says Policies in Overseas Territories Are Going in the Right Direction
The Committee on the Rights of the Child concluded this afternoon its consideration of the reports of the United Kingdom on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by its Overseas Territories.
In a brief preliminary remark, a Committee expert said that policies and programmes relating to children in the Overseas Territories were so far going in the right direction; and it seemed that the Territories had started to consider children as subjects with rights.
The second part of the United Kingdom's presentation of the reports dealt with the following Overseas Territories: the Falkland Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, St. Helena, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Over the course of the afternoon meeting, the delegation of the United Kingdom, which was also composed of officials from the Overseas Territories, provided answers to questions raised by Committee experts on such issues as child abuse, children born out of wedlock, corporal punishment, registration of birth, health, and education, among other things.
Final, written concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of the United Kingdom on the Isle of Man, which was examined this morning, and Overseas Territories will be issued by the Committee towards the end of its three-week session which concludes on 6 October.
The United Kingdom is among the 191 States parties to the Convention and as such it must provide the Committee with periodic reports on its performance to implement the provisions of the treaty.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Friday, 22 September, it will hold a day-long general discussion on "State violence against children", in the presence of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson.
Discussion
Responding to a question by a Committee expert who wondered how the Convention could be implemented in the Overseas Territory of Pitcairn where the population was composed of 44 people, the members of the delegation said although the island was a remote village in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, organized forms of services were provided in the field of health and education for children. A school with 8 pupils was also run by the community, with a teacher coming from New Zealand. Ships passing to other regions often stopped by the island to drop materials needed for the population.
Several services were under construction in Montserrat to revive the livelihood of the island, the delegation said. The education service had never been discontinued despite the eruption of the volcano which destroyed part of the island. The school premises which served as shelters would be renewed with the extra resources obtained through aid services.
The Government had been thinking of restoring private ownership by transferring ownership of houses from the Government to private persons, the delegation said. Further, mortgage projects were made available for reconstruction. The Government was also studying the possibility of developing a new form of tourism focused on visits to the Soufriere Hills and the areas devastated by the volcano. Montserrat's population after the volcano crisis was 4,500 and its habitable area had been reduced to about a third of the island.
Prior to the volcano crisis, children with disabilities had been kept in an environment fit to accommodate them, the delegation said. However, after the crisis, many of the trained teachers and administrative personnel left the country, leaving behind them vacancies in many services.
The age of sexual concept for both girls and boys was fixed at 16 years while any marriage by boys and girls under the age of 16 years was considered null and void, except "for serious reasons", the delegation said. The age of criminal responsibility under which a child could not be convicted of a criminal offence was 10 years. Compulsory school age was from 5 to 14 years; and no child under the age of 14 could be employed.
With regard to Bermuda, the delegation said the cause of children had been brought to the forefront and child-centred programmes were implemented with the participation of youth. The National Committee on the Rights of the Child had been active in raising awareness among the population. The implementation of legislative acts was also accompanied by efforts to change attitudes of the society towards children. The Government was determined that all children had equal care in all aspects concerning them. Bermuda had a population of 64,000 people.
Asked about the situation of children born out of wedlock, the delegation said that children had been penalized because of the prohibition of having children out of wedlock, however, the situation had changed and all children were equal now.
Concerning the Cayman Islands, the delegation said that a new law, the Children Law 1995, had been enacted but remained dormant for unknown reasons. However, the Government had planned to revive the law by introducing an act which would be similar to that of the United Kingdom. The policies and programmes relating to children and young persons had the same objective as the principles of the Convention. There had been 44 cases of child neglect in 1999, which included 11 cases of sexual abuse, 8 cases of physical abuse and 25 cases of neglect.
Travelling teachers dealt with students in the Falkland Islands whose population was almost entirely engaged in farming, the delegation said. The population was predominantly of European origin of 2,220 persons. Because of the size of the population and the close-knit nature of the community, in the Falklands Islands there were no residential institutions for the care of children. Corporal punishment could be applied to boys over 12 years of age.
There was a frequent turnover of staff in education and health fields in St. Helena, the delegation said. The St. Helena Government was establishing a series of detailed protocols and procedures for dealing with children's issues and problems. About 40 per cent of the working population worked offshore and the absence of parental discipline had consequences, at times leading children to delinquency.
With regard to the British Virgin Islands, the delegation said that a committee was charged with overlooking the implementation of programmes intended to improve the situation of children. The Government was planning to obtain technical assistance from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in order to implement programmes for children.
In Anguilla, no specific legislation had been enacted to give effect to the provisions of the Convention but legislation to provide for matters dealt with in the Convention had been included in the law reform programme which was to start shortly.
Preliminary Observations
In a brief preliminary remark, an expert said that policies and programmes relating to children in the Overseas Territories were so far going in the right direction. It seemed that the Territories had started to consider children as subjects with rights. One should draw lessons from experiences and obstacles so as to improve conditions of children. An inter-disciplinary approach had to be taken in order to arrive to a well-defined objective.
* *** *
25th session
21 September 2000
Afternoon
Expert Says Policies in Overseas Territories Are Going in the Right Direction
The Committee on the Rights of the Child concluded this afternoon its consideration of the reports of the United Kingdom on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by its Overseas Territories.
In a brief preliminary remark, a Committee expert said that policies and programmes relating to children in the Overseas Territories were so far going in the right direction; and it seemed that the Territories had started to consider children as subjects with rights.
The second part of the United Kingdom's presentation of the reports dealt with the following Overseas Territories: the Falkland Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, St. Helena, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Over the course of the afternoon meeting, the delegation of the United Kingdom, which was also composed of officials from the Overseas Territories, provided answers to questions raised by Committee experts on such issues as child abuse, children born out of wedlock, corporal punishment, registration of birth, health, and education, among other things.
Final, written concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of the United Kingdom on the Isle of Man, which was examined this morning, and Overseas Territories will be issued by the Committee towards the end of its three-week session which concludes on 6 October.
The United Kingdom is among the 191 States parties to the Convention and as such it must provide the Committee with periodic reports on its performance to implement the provisions of the treaty.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Friday, 22 September, it will hold a day-long general discussion on "State violence against children", in the presence of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson.
Discussion
Responding to a question by a Committee expert who wondered how the Convention could be implemented in the Overseas Territory of Pitcairn where the population was composed of 44 people, the members of the delegation said although the island was a remote village in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, organized forms of services were provided in the field of health and education for children. A school with 8 pupils was also run by the community, with a teacher coming from New Zealand. Ships passing to other regions often stopped by the island to drop materials needed for the population.
Several services were under construction in Montserrat to revive the livelihood of the island, the delegation said. The education service had never been discontinued despite the eruption of the volcano which destroyed part of the island. The school premises which served as shelters would be renewed with the extra resources obtained through aid services.
The Government had been thinking of restoring private ownership by transferring ownership of houses from the Government to private persons, the delegation said. Further, mortgage projects were made available for reconstruction. The Government was also studying the possibility of developing a new form of tourism focused on visits to the Soufriere Hills and the areas devastated by the volcano. Montserrat's population after the volcano crisis was 4,500 and its habitable area had been reduced to about a third of the island.
Prior to the volcano crisis, children with disabilities had been kept in an environment fit to accommodate them, the delegation said. However, after the crisis, many of the trained teachers and administrative personnel left the country, leaving behind them vacancies in many services.
The age of sexual concept for both girls and boys was fixed at 16 years while any marriage by boys and girls under the age of 16 years was considered null and void, except "for serious reasons", the delegation said. The age of criminal responsibility under which a child could not be convicted of a criminal offence was 10 years. Compulsory school age was from 5 to 14 years; and no child under the age of 14 could be employed.
With regard to Bermuda, the delegation said the cause of children had been brought to the forefront and child-centred programmes were implemented with the participation of youth. The National Committee on the Rights of the Child had been active in raising awareness among the population. The implementation of legislative acts was also accompanied by efforts to change attitudes of the society towards children. The Government was determined that all children had equal care in all aspects concerning them. Bermuda had a population of 64,000 people.
Asked about the situation of children born out of wedlock, the delegation said that children had been penalized because of the prohibition of having children out of wedlock, however, the situation had changed and all children were equal now.
Concerning the Cayman Islands, the delegation said that a new law, the Children Law 1995, had been enacted but remained dormant for unknown reasons. However, the Government had planned to revive the law by introducing an act which would be similar to that of the United Kingdom. The policies and programmes relating to children and young persons had the same objective as the principles of the Convention. There had been 44 cases of child neglect in 1999, which included 11 cases of sexual abuse, 8 cases of physical abuse and 25 cases of neglect.
Travelling teachers dealt with students in the Falkland Islands whose population was almost entirely engaged in farming, the delegation said. The population was predominantly of European origin of 2,220 persons. Because of the size of the population and the close-knit nature of the community, in the Falklands Islands there were no residential institutions for the care of children. Corporal punishment could be applied to boys over 12 years of age.
There was a frequent turnover of staff in education and health fields in St. Helena, the delegation said. The St. Helena Government was establishing a series of detailed protocols and procedures for dealing with children's issues and problems. About 40 per cent of the working population worked offshore and the absence of parental discipline had consequences, at times leading children to delinquency.
With regard to the British Virgin Islands, the delegation said that a committee was charged with overlooking the implementation of programmes intended to improve the situation of children. The Government was planning to obtain technical assistance from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in order to implement programmes for children.
In Anguilla, no specific legislation had been enacted to give effect to the provisions of the Convention but legislation to provide for matters dealt with in the Convention had been included in the law reform programme which was to start shortly.
Preliminary Observations
In a brief preliminary remark, an expert said that policies and programmes relating to children in the Overseas Territories were so far going in the right direction. It seemed that the Territories had started to consider children as subjects with rights. One should draw lessons from experiences and obstacles so as to improve conditions of children. An inter-disciplinary approach had to be taken in order to arrive to a well-defined objective.
* *** *