LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA PRESENTS REPORT TO THE COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

Morning
HR/CRC/98/4
8 January 1998

The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya this morning presented a report to the Committee
on the Rights of the Child, explaining how Arab and Islamic values and laws
ensured the protection of these rights in the country.

Salem Quateen, Director of the Convention and Legal Affairs Department at
the General People's Committee for Foreign Affairs and International
Cooperation, said that a number of laws had been passed in Libya concerning
the rights of the child. International instruments on the same subject were also
ratified, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Mr. Quateen, who led the Libyan delegation, noted however that Libyan
children suffered from an unjust embargo which unfortunately was imposed
through the United Nations. This embargo prevented Libyan children from
enjoying all their important and essential rights.

The Libyan delegation also included Amer Rahil, Counsellor and Representative
to the World Health Organization in Geneva; Ahmed Mohsen of the General
People's Committee of Education and Scientific Research; Suad el Shelli,
Political Counsellor for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Ali al
Awad, member of the High Committee for Child Welfare; and Mustapha Omar
of the High committee for Handicaps Care.

Committee experts asked the delegation, among other things, about whether the
implementation of the provisions of the Convention conflicted with traditions or
customs; the role of the High Committee for the Protection of Child Welfare
and other non-governmental organizations; and the legal status of the
Convention.

The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya is one of the 191 States parties to the Convention.
These States are obliged to present periodic reports to the Committee on how
they are implementing the Convention.

The Committee is made up of 10 independent human rights experts. They will
continue consideration of the report on the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya this
afternoon at 3 p.m.

Report of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

The report (document CRC/C/28/Add.6) reviews efforts to implement the
Convention on an article-by-article basis. The report says that Libya’s child
welfare policy, as a component of the country’s social welfare system, seeks
essentially to guarantee children’s survival and to raise their living standards. It
employs a variety of methods and programmes aimed at child development, the
safeguarding of children’s rights and the removal of difficulties and obstacles
impeding their development and progress.

The report says that many articles of the Convention correspond to existing
legislation in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. The most recent example of such
legislation is the Child Protection and Welfare Ordinance adopted by the basic
people’s congresses. The High Committee for Child Welfare, a body
responsible for child welfare and the protection of children’s rights, was
established in 1990. In addition, a number of other agencies and institutions
which are not concerned solely with children or children’s affairs have been
quite active in this area.

The report says that the age of majority is 18 years in Libya. Libyan legislation
recognizes, among other things, the right of every citizen to education; provides
for action to prosecute the exploitation of children through labour; and sets
minimum age for marriage at 15 years. The report outlines Libya’s special
protection measures to safeguard children in situations of emergency, children in
armed conflicts, children in conflict with the law, and children suffering from
economic, sexual or other forms of exploitation.

Introduction of the Report

SALEM QUATEEN, Director of the Convention and Legal Affairs
Department of the General People's Committee for Foreign Affairs and
International Cooperation of Libya, said that the delegation had come to work
with the Committee because his country attached the greatest importance to the
protection of the rights of children. The percentage of children under the age of
17 was nearly 60 per cent of the total population and the Libyan family held
Arab and Islamic values which gave special interest and protection to children.

Mr. QUATEEN said Sharia law in Islam gave specific details about the rights
of children and the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya had insured that this was reflected in
all its laws. A number of laws had been passed concerning the rights of the child
and Libya had also ratified several regional and international instruments for the
protection of children. The initial Libyan report to the Committee was presented
on 23 May 1996 and the Committee experts responded by asking for answers
and clarifications to 45 questions they raised. The Libyan delegation had sent
written replies to these questions which reflected the importance Libya attached
to the subject and to the cooperation with the Committee.

Mr. QUATEEN said the delegation would be happy to hear more questions
from the experts and hoped that the dialogue would lead to constructive and
useful cooperation that would have a beneficial effect on Libyan children who
today suffered from an unjust embargo which unfortunately was imposed
through the United Nations. This embargo prevented Libyan children from
enjoying all their important and essential rights.

Discussion

Committee experts said that the protection of children not only needed political
commitment and resources, but also mechanisms to carry them out. They were
sure that the political commitment of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya existed, but
they requested more information about coordination between ministries and civil
society activities as well as the mechanisms concerning planning and
implementation of projects concerning children.

The experts requested further information about indicators developed to
monitor the implementation of the Convention; practical problems regarding the
implementation of laws to protect children and whether they conflicted with
Libyan traditions and culture; non-governmental organizations working in Libya
in the field of the protection of children other than the High Committee for Child
Welfare; and the status of children born out of wedlock. Experts said there was
some reference in the written answers about the need to change some
regulations to bring them in line with the social protection of the child and
wanted to know what the status of the guiding principles of social protection
were vis-a-vis the Convention.

The delegation said that the Foreign Ministry undertook coordination among the
different Libyan organs on an international instrument like the Convention. In the
case of the Convention, there were several Secretariats or Ministries involved.
There was the Secretariat for Social Protection which had a unit which
particularly dealt with children's affairs. The Secretariats for Education, Health
and Youth and Sports were also involved. The High Committee for Child
Welfare was not the only NGO involved in humanitarian affairs for children, but
it was the highest ranking committee and had been entrusted with coordination.

The High Committee for Child Welfare was an independent NGO set up in
1990 and among its objectives was to cooperate with all bodies to increase
awareness of the importance of the child, to supply the necessary ecological
conditions concerning habitat of children, and to encourage social activities. A
delegate said that popular social activities were important in Libya as they drew
upon what was of deepest concern to the society which reduced the burden on
ministries. The High Committee could also apply pressure on the State, pinpoint
weaknesses and try and support them.

Concerning the implementation of laws governing children and women, Libya
was trying to alter some legislation to give women longer maternity leave and to
allow them shorter working hours so that they could spend more time with their
children, the delegation said.

It added that concerning the guiding principles on social protection of children,
the Convention was completely - except for a few elements - in conformity with
the Libyan guiding principles and values.

In response to a question raised concerning the legal status of children born out
of wedlock, a delegate said that society, while implementing Islamic Sharia,
endeavoured not to impose a burden or allow repercussions to affect these
children as a result of the conduct of their parents. There were not many such
children in Libya, but society endeavoured to raise them in a healthy and sound
manner, giving them every opportunity.

An expert complimented the delegation for the efforts that the Libyan authorities
carried out concerning the education and health of children. The expert said a
report had suggested that proportional budgetary resources for children should
be prescribed separately and asked how this could be implemented in relation
to coordination between the various ministries and units.

Experts asked for more information on the relationship between national and
local authorities regarding monitoring and coordination; the legal status of the
Convention and whether it could be cited in Libyan courts of law; whether
Libyan authorities had any rules referring to non-Libyan citizens living under the
jurisdiction concerning children's rights; the monitoring role of NGOs; and
whether there were any laws concerning screening before marriage to detect
any abnormalities, and how this was monitored.

The delegation said that concerning the monitoring of the implementation of the
Convention, the political system in the Arab Libyan Jamahiriya guaranteed the
implementation of this instrument and other laws. Such instruments and laws
were submitted to the basic people's congresses, which meant that every
individual within the society was able to discuss the Convention. Concerning
monitoring, these congresses were held every 3 or 4 months, and as legislative
bodies, they interrogated all authorities concerning the implementation of the
Convention by all sectors. Thus, the monitoring of the implementation was
guaranteed to a certain extent. The general congress, under whose authority all
decisions were taken, adopted a draft law 10 days ago concerning the
protection of children entitled the Child Protection and Welfare Ordinance.

A delegate said that Libya did not adopt any laws in contradiction to Islamic
Sharia, therefore there were no contradictions between Libyan laws and its
traditions and customs.

The delegation said Libya believed that teachers were the best way to spread
the ideas of the Convention, therefore authorities organized annual courses to
familiarize the teachers with its provisions. Books were also published in
universities which explained the purpose and objective of the Convention.

There was no distinction between citizens and foreigners residing in Libya, the
delegation said. All foreigners could enjoy facilities and services, and actually
they had an advantage because they did not have the same obligations as a
citizen.

A delegate said that men and women had to have a medical examination before
marriage to ensure they were not suffering from communicable or hereditary
disease. The marriage of close relatives was also not encouraged. The few
cases of HIV/AIDS which had been detected in Libya involved foreign
labourers and not Libyans.

Concerning the status of the Convention in Libyan courts, a delegate said that
after it was ratified, the Convention became a local law which was enforced and
took precedence before courts.

In response to a question on monitoring of the Convention and other
international instruments, the delegation said that there were many levels of
monitoring, starting with monitoring by people, political monitoring by the
people basic congresses, financial monitoring by the Treasury and technical and
labour monitoring.

With regard to the queries raised about indicators, a delegate said that the High
Committee for Child Welfare was running a project on human resources
development and would be cooperating with the United Nations Development
Programme on this.

Replying to a question on activities to disseminate the Convention, the
delegation said that when any international instrument was ratified, it was
published by the official journal and publicized in the media. Concerning the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Department of Education had
organized seminars and symposiums for teachers. No convention could be
implemented overnight, but Libya would endeavour to fully implement the
Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Concerning how it was guaranteed that children in rural areas knew their rights
according to the Convention and had access to facilities and services, the
delegation said that the issue of disseminating the Convention to all had been
discussed but the important point was to implement the provisions of the
Convention. Authorities developed necessary mechanisms to assess means
available for implementation affecting all children. Young children would not
understand the provisions of the Convention, but authorities ensured these
articles were communicated to families. Concerning rural areas, for years, the
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya had endeavoured to ensure that economic activities
were spread outside cities and towns. This had led to the creation of new
institutions to serve those living in rural areas to cover the new demographic
plan. Therefore, services required by the Convention were provided to all
children and were guaranteed and distributed in an equal manner.

Committee experts said the delegation had referred to a few exceptions to the
full implementation of the Convention and required more details about which
articles were affected and whether efforts were planned to harmonize the laws
with the Convention. Further issues were raised about the need to inform civil
society as a whole about the provisions of the Convention.

An expert said that he agreed with the delegation that dissemination of the
Convention through teachers was a good idea. However, the only way to
ensure that children learned about their rights was for the Convention to be
made mandatory in the school and university curriculum. The expert asked
whether this might be possible in Libya, say in five years. It was also suggested
that children be used to helped disseminate the provisions of the Convention to
other children. Another expert asked if the delegation could provide specific
incidents when the Convention was quoted or used within the court system. A
question was also raised about the monitoring of home-based education and
how it was carried.

The delegation said that there were no contradictions between the Convention
and regional and local legislation. It was true that Libya and other Islamic
countries had a different interpretation of children born out of wedlock than that
of the Convention. But there was no contradiction after the ratification of the
Convention.

In response to other questions, the delegation said that Libya disseminated the
Convention through the media. Libya had not claimed the Convention was
perfectly disseminated, but said that education of teachers was one of the best
ways to disseminate its provisions because if teachers were not knowledgable
about it, they would not be able to communicate it to the children under their
care. Audio visual means were also important and were used in Libya to
disseminate the provisions. As far as home education was concerned, families
obtained special books to educate their children, and many of the books
referred to the Convention. The delegation said it was unable to give details on
cases where courts invoked the Convention. Committee experts asked why the
minimum age for marriage was 20 years by law, although the age of majority
was 18. The delegation’s report and replies said that children over the age of
15 could be married only after parental approval and court authorization, and
experts asked whether this caused problems with traditional Islamists who
favoured early marriages, especially of females.

The delegation explained that 20 years was the established age where a person
could be independently married. However, it was possible for children as young
as 15 to marry after consent of court and authorization was provided. A
pressing reason to explain the exception was requested by the court.

Concerning military service, the law established the age of 17 as the minimum
age. Before that age, children could not be enrolled in military service. Usually
persons were not called to carry out their military service until the age of 25 or
26 to ensure their education was finished.

An expert said the Committee was informed about children's congresses in
Libya, and asked whether they were restricted to primary school children.
Concerning the right to life and development, the expert asked whether the
Criminal Code article which prohibited the infliction of violence on children and
provided for punishment of eight years reflected adequate protection. Experts
also asked how children were able to express their opinions at home and
requested information about the age of criminal responsibility.

Concerning the principle of non-discrimination, experts asked about referring to
children born out of wedlock as "illegitimate" which contradicted the spirit and
letter of the Convention. They also asked about the current practices regarding
the equality between men and women and the status of women in the Libyan
society.

The delegation said it needed more than the remaining six minutes of the meeting
to respond to the questions. The delegation said a child reached the age of
discernment when he or she was 7, and this continued until the age of majority
at 18. For minors, the law stipulated that the child who had not reached the age
of discernment could not make decisions concerning property or money. Even if
a child over the age of 15 was married, he or she were treated in court as
minors until the age of majority at 18.