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26 May 2000
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CRC
24th Session
26 May 2000
Morning
Government Delegation Queried on Domestic Application of Convention,
Passage of Major Legislation
The Committee on the Rights of the Child began review this morning of an initial report of Malta, questioning a two-member Government delegation on application of the Convention of the Rights of the Child in domestic law and on efforts to pass a major act related to child rights and standards.
Introducing the report, Ruth Farrugia, Consultant to the Minister for Social Policy of Malta, said, among other things, that a draft bill entitled 'The Children Act' was in its final stages of revision, that regulations to accompany the act were being drafted, and that a bill to set up an Ombudsman for children was ready for publication alongside the Children Act.
She said that although the Convention was not directly part of Maltese law, it was observed as part of law. She also told the Committee that although the minimum age of marriage of 16 was admittedly low, the actual average age of marriage was 24 to 26. Changing such legal standards, as well as preparing the public for the omnibus Children Act, which ran contrary to some traditions, was a slow process that the Government was approaching carefully.
In addition to Ms. Farrugia, the Maltese delegation consisted of Annabelle Mifsud, First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Malta to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
As one of the 191 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Malta, which ratified the international treaty in 1990, must submit periodic reports to the Committee on the status of the country's children and on efforts to implement the Convention.
The Committee will reconvene at 3 p.m. to continue its review of the report of Malta.
Initial report of Malta
The report (CRC/C/3/Add.56) reviews implementation of the Convention on an article-by-article basis. It contends that in Malta, society is still characterized by networks forming a stable, homogeneous community and that family stability is related perhaps to Maltese fundamental values but 'not necessarily in the traditional way. Traditionally, religion animated values. Nowadays the emphasis is more on the human dimension'. The country's fertility rate has declined in recent years, the report notes.
Malta ratified the Convention in 1990 and has guided its policy on children through reference to a White Paper entitled 'A Caring Society in a Changing World', which makes projections involving ten main areas of need, the report notes. Authority for coordinating policies related to children and for monitoring implementation of the Convention rests with the Ministry for Social Welfare.
The age of majority in Malta is 18, according to the report, and the minimum age for marriage is 16, which is also the minimum age of employment, although employment is limited until age 18. The report notes, among other things, that the country does not have the necessary wherewithal to protect children and combat child abuse, but that the perception is that various forms of child abuse 'are sufficiently numerous and of sufficient concern to justify concentrated professional action'; that standards of living and economic welfare have improved considerably in the country in the past few decades; that primary education is compulsory and free of charge and that the State is obligated to provide scholarships and financial assistance to ensure that students attain the highest level of education they aspire to; that it has recently been reported that about 3,000 families had one member with a drug problem and 800 families went through family breakdowns because of alcoholism; and that sporadic cases of child sexual abuse occur, but the number is low.
Introduction of report
RUTH FARRUGIA, Consultant to the Minister for Social Policy of Malta, said several articles of the Convention were echoed in the Constitution of Malta, while others were reflected in other laws and subsidiary legislation or derived from international treaties adhered to by Malta and incorporated into its legal system. The Civil Code and other laws had long adopted the best-interests principle for children, with the courts careful to protect children and safeguard their well-being.
Over the last few years, Malta had been carrying out an overhaul of legislation and service provisions relating to children, Ms. Farrugia said; a draft bill entitled 'The Children Act' was in its final stages of revision prior to being published as a White Paper for general consideration and feedback. It promoted children as individuals in their own right and included the repeal of unacceptable concepts such as discrimination on grounds of birth outside marriage; it contained amendments to existing laws to enable better provision for child protection and development and the regularization of procedures in foster and child day care; and it introduced a range of other concepts. Regulations to accompany the act were being drafted and a bill to set up an Ombudsman for children was ready for publication alongside the Children Act.
Discussion
Discussion during the morning meeting centred on implementation measures, definition of the child, general principles, civil rights and freedoms, family environment, alternative care, health, and education. Reference was made on occasion to written replies supplied by the Maltese Government to questions prepared by the Committee in advance.
The Maltese delegation, responding to questions from Committee members, said, among other things, that the Government viewed it as a problem that the literacy rate was 90 per cent -- that the figure should be 100 per cent; that although the country was small, the point had been reached where coordination of programmes related to children was important, and that an Ombudsman, once appointed, would have that responsibility; that the Church was involved in the care of children in residential care to a huge extent -- that only one non-Church facility for residential care existed; that such involvement was not viewed as interference, and that a Government-Church committee had been set up to ensure that policies and standards were acceptable to both parties. Monitoring the status of child rights would be the responsibility of the Ombudsman, once he was appointed.
Children's rights were taught at school, as was the Convention, the delegation said; children were well-informed; it was with the adults that there was a problem. Maltese society still was traditional, and the idea of 'giving rights' to children at the moment did not seem possible, as people needed to be able to cope with change at a slower pace, and so the concepts of child rights were being introduced in stages. Social workers were university-trained and had placements at the community level; policemen and social workers in schools and other institutions were to be trained in the standards of the Convention, but the process would take a while.
The minimum age of marriage of 16 was low, the delegation said; but the average age of marriage in Malta was 24 to 26, and women generally had their first child at age 28; the minimum age of 16 was an improvement of the former standard, which had been 14 for women.
Although the Convention was not directly part of Maltese law, it was observed as part of law, the delegation said; this was simply the practice. Through the reservation of Malta to article 26, the Government simply had been honest; it had said it would provide funds as far as it could, and it had supplied a great deal; but it did not feel it could supply carte blanche.
The State budget did not make reference specifically to children's issues, the delegation said, and so it was hard to give precise figures on how much was spent on child-related programmes, but a copy of statistics which related to education and social policy was available and listed amounts of money that had been dedicated to specific items; Committee members could consult this information as they wished.
The Maltese economy had levelled off for a period of time, but was now gaining ground again, the delegation said; the country was in the process of accession to the European Union; at the moment there were no serious economic problems.
Preparing the public for the Children Act was a major task, the delegation said; it was a hefty act, and traditions and culture had to be taken into account; the Government was halfway through revising the draft Act; more discussion was needed; then the Act would be published as a White Paper for public feedback; then further revisions would occur; and then Parliament would take up a first reading of the measure.
The Government was concerned about discrimination in the law between children born in and out of wedlock, the delegation said; the new Act would rectify this; a recent court case had also resulted in notification of Parliament by a judge that existing standards were discriminatory and would have to be changed. Government efforts to reduce gender discrimination had been successful, but more remained to be done; there was no legal discrimination but practice was another thing. There had been incidents of racial discrimination, although the vast majority of the population did not appear to hold such attitudes; recently there had been more public debate on the subject. A draft measure on refugees would grant child refugees access to all State services and benefits.
The minimum age for military service was 18, the delegation said; the courts decided whether 'mischievous intent' was involved in criminal cases and thus whether a minimum age of criminal responsibility of 14 or 16 applied; the age of civil responsibility was 18.
The birth rate had declined in recent years, the delegation said; access to birth control was free; however, access to birth control for children was motivated by the idea that one should not commence a sexual relationship before marriage; therefore if you asked for help, it would be given to you, but this was not publicized. There were no birth-control clinics specifically for young people. On the other hand, birth control was discussed in the schools.
Schooling was obligatory through age 16, the delegation said; in 1998, there were 1,283 women at the public college, and 939 males; at university, the ratio had been the same -- more women than men. There were more women than men in some courses, too, and vice versa, and these tended to follow traditional lines -- there were more women than men in education, and more men than women in such fields as law and engineering.
Corporal punishment in schools had long been outlawed, the delegation said; 'reasonable chastisement' was in the law, but would not be in the new law. There were cases of unreasonable chastisement at home, but in general there did not appear to be much physical punishment of children at home.
Abortion was not permissible in Malta under any circumstances, even if pregnancy resulted from rape, the delegation said; some Maltese did go abroad for abortions, it was true. Children who became pregnant received a great deal of support from the educational and social systems; the number of such children was not very high; abortions for them were not allowed in Malta.
Divorce was not allowed in Malta, the delegation said; there were statistics on marital separations, but it was not clear that there was a statistical breakdown on the number of children affected; joint custody was not allowed 'on paper', but in practice it occurred frequently; formally, one parent was awarded custody and the other visitation rights, but many couples had what amounted to joint custody.
The country's Social Work Development Programme (SWDP) had a Child Protection Unit which investigated allegations of child sexual abuse, the delegation said; the Church also had investigated issues of sexual abuse and had published a report on the subject dealing with 21 cases involving children, many of them dating from long ago; a help line existed.
There was a need for a national sex-education policy, the delegation said; this had been made more clear by a rise in teenage pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS. Currently there were wide variations around the country in what children were taught, and there often was religious bias in the instruction. Young unmarried women under age 18 were advised by their doctors on birth control, at the doctors' discretion.
* *** *
24th Session
26 May 2000
Morning
Government Delegation Queried on Domestic Application of Convention,
Passage of Major Legislation
The Committee on the Rights of the Child began review this morning of an initial report of Malta, questioning a two-member Government delegation on application of the Convention of the Rights of the Child in domestic law and on efforts to pass a major act related to child rights and standards.
Introducing the report, Ruth Farrugia, Consultant to the Minister for Social Policy of Malta, said, among other things, that a draft bill entitled 'The Children Act' was in its final stages of revision, that regulations to accompany the act were being drafted, and that a bill to set up an Ombudsman for children was ready for publication alongside the Children Act.
She said that although the Convention was not directly part of Maltese law, it was observed as part of law. She also told the Committee that although the minimum age of marriage of 16 was admittedly low, the actual average age of marriage was 24 to 26. Changing such legal standards, as well as preparing the public for the omnibus Children Act, which ran contrary to some traditions, was a slow process that the Government was approaching carefully.
In addition to Ms. Farrugia, the Maltese delegation consisted of Annabelle Mifsud, First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Malta to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
As one of the 191 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Malta, which ratified the international treaty in 1990, must submit periodic reports to the Committee on the status of the country's children and on efforts to implement the Convention.
The Committee will reconvene at 3 p.m. to continue its review of the report of Malta.
Initial report of Malta
The report (CRC/C/3/Add.56) reviews implementation of the Convention on an article-by-article basis. It contends that in Malta, society is still characterized by networks forming a stable, homogeneous community and that family stability is related perhaps to Maltese fundamental values but 'not necessarily in the traditional way. Traditionally, religion animated values. Nowadays the emphasis is more on the human dimension'. The country's fertility rate has declined in recent years, the report notes.
Malta ratified the Convention in 1990 and has guided its policy on children through reference to a White Paper entitled 'A Caring Society in a Changing World', which makes projections involving ten main areas of need, the report notes. Authority for coordinating policies related to children and for monitoring implementation of the Convention rests with the Ministry for Social Welfare.
The age of majority in Malta is 18, according to the report, and the minimum age for marriage is 16, which is also the minimum age of employment, although employment is limited until age 18. The report notes, among other things, that the country does not have the necessary wherewithal to protect children and combat child abuse, but that the perception is that various forms of child abuse 'are sufficiently numerous and of sufficient concern to justify concentrated professional action'; that standards of living and economic welfare have improved considerably in the country in the past few decades; that primary education is compulsory and free of charge and that the State is obligated to provide scholarships and financial assistance to ensure that students attain the highest level of education they aspire to; that it has recently been reported that about 3,000 families had one member with a drug problem and 800 families went through family breakdowns because of alcoholism; and that sporadic cases of child sexual abuse occur, but the number is low.
Introduction of report
RUTH FARRUGIA, Consultant to the Minister for Social Policy of Malta, said several articles of the Convention were echoed in the Constitution of Malta, while others were reflected in other laws and subsidiary legislation or derived from international treaties adhered to by Malta and incorporated into its legal system. The Civil Code and other laws had long adopted the best-interests principle for children, with the courts careful to protect children and safeguard their well-being.
Over the last few years, Malta had been carrying out an overhaul of legislation and service provisions relating to children, Ms. Farrugia said; a draft bill entitled 'The Children Act' was in its final stages of revision prior to being published as a White Paper for general consideration and feedback. It promoted children as individuals in their own right and included the repeal of unacceptable concepts such as discrimination on grounds of birth outside marriage; it contained amendments to existing laws to enable better provision for child protection and development and the regularization of procedures in foster and child day care; and it introduced a range of other concepts. Regulations to accompany the act were being drafted and a bill to set up an Ombudsman for children was ready for publication alongside the Children Act.
Discussion
Discussion during the morning meeting centred on implementation measures, definition of the child, general principles, civil rights and freedoms, family environment, alternative care, health, and education. Reference was made on occasion to written replies supplied by the Maltese Government to questions prepared by the Committee in advance.
The Maltese delegation, responding to questions from Committee members, said, among other things, that the Government viewed it as a problem that the literacy rate was 90 per cent -- that the figure should be 100 per cent; that although the country was small, the point had been reached where coordination of programmes related to children was important, and that an Ombudsman, once appointed, would have that responsibility; that the Church was involved in the care of children in residential care to a huge extent -- that only one non-Church facility for residential care existed; that such involvement was not viewed as interference, and that a Government-Church committee had been set up to ensure that policies and standards were acceptable to both parties. Monitoring the status of child rights would be the responsibility of the Ombudsman, once he was appointed.
Children's rights were taught at school, as was the Convention, the delegation said; children were well-informed; it was with the adults that there was a problem. Maltese society still was traditional, and the idea of 'giving rights' to children at the moment did not seem possible, as people needed to be able to cope with change at a slower pace, and so the concepts of child rights were being introduced in stages. Social workers were university-trained and had placements at the community level; policemen and social workers in schools and other institutions were to be trained in the standards of the Convention, but the process would take a while.
The minimum age of marriage of 16 was low, the delegation said; but the average age of marriage in Malta was 24 to 26, and women generally had their first child at age 28; the minimum age of 16 was an improvement of the former standard, which had been 14 for women.
Although the Convention was not directly part of Maltese law, it was observed as part of law, the delegation said; this was simply the practice. Through the reservation of Malta to article 26, the Government simply had been honest; it had said it would provide funds as far as it could, and it had supplied a great deal; but it did not feel it could supply carte blanche.
The State budget did not make reference specifically to children's issues, the delegation said, and so it was hard to give precise figures on how much was spent on child-related programmes, but a copy of statistics which related to education and social policy was available and listed amounts of money that had been dedicated to specific items; Committee members could consult this information as they wished.
The Maltese economy had levelled off for a period of time, but was now gaining ground again, the delegation said; the country was in the process of accession to the European Union; at the moment there were no serious economic problems.
Preparing the public for the Children Act was a major task, the delegation said; it was a hefty act, and traditions and culture had to be taken into account; the Government was halfway through revising the draft Act; more discussion was needed; then the Act would be published as a White Paper for public feedback; then further revisions would occur; and then Parliament would take up a first reading of the measure.
The Government was concerned about discrimination in the law between children born in and out of wedlock, the delegation said; the new Act would rectify this; a recent court case had also resulted in notification of Parliament by a judge that existing standards were discriminatory and would have to be changed. Government efforts to reduce gender discrimination had been successful, but more remained to be done; there was no legal discrimination but practice was another thing. There had been incidents of racial discrimination, although the vast majority of the population did not appear to hold such attitudes; recently there had been more public debate on the subject. A draft measure on refugees would grant child refugees access to all State services and benefits.
The minimum age for military service was 18, the delegation said; the courts decided whether 'mischievous intent' was involved in criminal cases and thus whether a minimum age of criminal responsibility of 14 or 16 applied; the age of civil responsibility was 18.
The birth rate had declined in recent years, the delegation said; access to birth control was free; however, access to birth control for children was motivated by the idea that one should not commence a sexual relationship before marriage; therefore if you asked for help, it would be given to you, but this was not publicized. There were no birth-control clinics specifically for young people. On the other hand, birth control was discussed in the schools.
Schooling was obligatory through age 16, the delegation said; in 1998, there were 1,283 women at the public college, and 939 males; at university, the ratio had been the same -- more women than men. There were more women than men in some courses, too, and vice versa, and these tended to follow traditional lines -- there were more women than men in education, and more men than women in such fields as law and engineering.
Corporal punishment in schools had long been outlawed, the delegation said; 'reasonable chastisement' was in the law, but would not be in the new law. There were cases of unreasonable chastisement at home, but in general there did not appear to be much physical punishment of children at home.
Abortion was not permissible in Malta under any circumstances, even if pregnancy resulted from rape, the delegation said; some Maltese did go abroad for abortions, it was true. Children who became pregnant received a great deal of support from the educational and social systems; the number of such children was not very high; abortions for them were not allowed in Malta.
Divorce was not allowed in Malta, the delegation said; there were statistics on marital separations, but it was not clear that there was a statistical breakdown on the number of children affected; joint custody was not allowed 'on paper', but in practice it occurred frequently; formally, one parent was awarded custody and the other visitation rights, but many couples had what amounted to joint custody.
The country's Social Work Development Programme (SWDP) had a Child Protection Unit which investigated allegations of child sexual abuse, the delegation said; the Church also had investigated issues of sexual abuse and had published a report on the subject dealing with 21 cases involving children, many of them dating from long ago; a help line existed.
There was a need for a national sex-education policy, the delegation said; this had been made more clear by a rise in teenage pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS. Currently there were wide variations around the country in what children were taught, and there often was religious bias in the instruction. Young unmarried women under age 18 were advised by their doctors on birth control, at the doctors' discretion.
* *** *