Committee on Rights of Child reviews reports of Argentina under Convention and Optional Protocols

Committee on the Rights of the Child
3 June 2010

The Committee on the Rights of the Child has concluded its review of the combined third and fourth periodic report of Argentina under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as its initial reports under the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

Introducing the report, Marcela Paola Vessevessian, of the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family at the Ministry of Social Development of Argentina, said since the Committee’s recommendations of 2002, Argentina had undergone a significant process of economic, social and institutional transformation. The Government had rebuilt a State that was present on the whole territory and was fully aware of its obligations. It had undertaken constant and effective efforts to correct social inequalities, and had worked on social inclusion and creation of opportunities for universal and equal access to education and health. Various Federal Councils had been created to coordinate and develop policies aimed at guaranteeing the rights provided by the Convention in an integrated manner, the number of children affected by poverty had been significantly reduced, and children were granted universal access to social protection. A new law had been developed in the national education sector, introducing compulsory primary and secondary education. In accordance with the Convention, Argentina had increased its investment in education and had achieved a historic percentage of funding for education that represented 6 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product. Child mortality in Argentina had fallen significantly, particularly in the provinces with the highest prevalence rates, Ms. Vessevessian said.

In preliminary concluding remarks, Committee Expert Marta Mauras Perez, who served as Rapporteur for the combined third and fourth periodic report of Argentina, said this first overview highlighted the great leap forward that the Government had taken with the adoption of Law 26061 that had been systematically integrated into provincial laws. Nevertheless, one of the major challenges ahead was the construction of the comprehensive system for the protection of children's rights. Ms. Maura Perez went on to say that one of the recommendations would probably be that the budget should guarantee the protection of social issues. It was also clear that the instrumentalization of data gathering systems needed to be further strengthened. Progress had been made in terms of education and health, but inter-sectorial coordination, making change happen on the ground, and the differences of mainstream and specialized education had not been sufficiently discussed. In moving forward, data bases and diagnostic tools regarding children deprived of liberty and children without parental care must be developed, a Child Ombudsman must be appointed and cultural resistance to alternative measures to deprivation of liberty needed to be discussed in greater depth.

Concerning the combined third and fourth periodic report, Committee Experts asked how the sharp decline in unemployment and poor households had been achieved, how the comprehensive protection system was fleshed out at all levels, and how the Government attempted to ensure that Law 26061 was well-known and applied. The delegation was also asked to comment on the family allowance scheme, on the 12 life sentences that had been handed down on children, and on children in institutionalized and foster care.

Regarding Argentina’s report on the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, the Committee raised a number of questions, including about the means of coordination among the various stakeholders working in this field, whether the national plan of action included the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and whether Argentina had a specific law against national and international crime.

With regard to the Optional Protocol on children in armed conflict, Committee Experts asked whether Argentina had legislation regulating arms exports, particularly with regards to countries where children were involved in armed conflicts; whether human rights education was part of military schools curricula; and whether the legislative provisions for the exceptional recruitment of children under 17 into voluntary military service had ever been used.

The Committee will release its formal, written concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Argentina towards the end of its three-week session, which will conclude on Friday, 11 June 2010.

The delegation of Argentina also included representatives of the Ministry of Social Development; the Permanent Mission of Argentina to the United Nations Office at Geneva; the Ministry of Economy; the Ministry of Education; and the Ministry of Health.

As one of the 193 States parties to the Convention, Argentina is obliged to present periodic reports to the Committee on its efforts to comply with the provisions of the treaty. The delegation was on hand this morning and yesterday to present the report and to answer questions raised by Committee Experts.

When the Committee reconvenes in public, at 10 a.m. on Friday, 4 June, it will begin consideration of the initial reports of Colombia under the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the involvement of children in armed conflict (CRC/C/OPAC/COL/1) and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (CRC/C/OPSC/COL/1) in Chamber A. In Chamber B the Committee will consider the third periodic report of Tunisia under the Convention (CRC/C/TUN/3).

Reports of Argentina

According to the combined third and fourth periodic report of Argentina (CRC/C/ARG/3-4), one of the most important developments in policy coordination is the establishment of the Federal Council for Children, Adolescents and the Family on 15 December 2006, composed of the 23 Governments of the provinces and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. The country’s top authorities responsible for children and adolescents have inter alia committed themselves to intensifying the process of institutional change and the promotion of legislative adjustments, establishing a federal assessment and monitoring system, and to promoting exchanges between jurisdictions for training and technical assistance. Furthermore, on 17 June 2005 the President of the Argentine Nation officially announced the elaboration of the National Plan of Action for the Rights of Children and Adolescents. Since then the State has engaged in a major process of coordination, leading to the establishment of the National Inter-ministerial Technical Bureau under the framework of the National Council for the Coordination of Social Policies.

With regard to the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, Argentina’s initial report under that instrument (CRC/C/OPAC/ARG/1) notes that a 1994 decree made military service voluntary. Argentine legislation sets the age limits for admission to voluntary military service, namely between 18 and 24 years of age and with the authorization of a legal guardian in the case of a minor, since the age of majority in Argentina is 21. In the exceptional event that the annually established quotas are not filled by volunteers, the Executive may conscript citizens who reach 18 years of age in the year in question for a period of service not exceeding one year. However, since the passage of the Voluntary Military Service Act no exceptional situation has arisen making it necessary for the Executive to call for compulsory military service. The curricula of all schools operated by the Armed Forces include courses and/or contents that envisage the teaching of topics relating to human rights and international humanitarian law in order to teach respect for the person and knowledge of the Constitution, among other things. In all schools operated by the Armed Forces, students may discontinue their studies at any time if they so decide.

Argentina’s initial report under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (CRC/C/OPSC/ARG/1) was available only in Spanish.

Presentation of Report

MARCELA PAOLA VESSEVESSIAN, National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family at the Ministry of Social Development of Argentina, said since the Committee’s recommendations of 2002 Argentina had undergone a significant process of economic, social and institutional transformation. Leaving behind the economic policies of structural adjustment, the Government had rebuilt a State that was present on the whole territory and fully aware of its obligations.

The Government had undertaken constant and effective efforts to correct social inequalities and had worked on social inclusion, creation of opportunities for universal and equal access to education and health, and the promotion of social progress on the basis of the efforts and the work of all Argentinean citizens. In that regard, particular attention was given to children.

Various Federal Councils had been created through laws and decrees to coordinate and develop policies aimed at guaranteeing the rights provided by the Convention in an integrated manner. A focal point of that policy was the recognition of work as a factor of social integration: Argentina had reduced its unemployment rate from 23 per cent in 2002 to the current rate of 8.8 per cent. That fall in unemployment was a sign of substantial progress in guaranteeing the rights of millions of children and would allow improvements in ensuring the rights provided under the Convention. These structural changes had also made it possible to move forward with the recommendations of the Committee.

Ms. Vessevessian went on to say that in 2002 the majority of children had been living in poverty; 64 per cent of all children were affected by poverty, of which 30 per cent had been living in extreme poverty. In 2009, the indicators showed a significant reduction and only 21 per cent were classified as poor with only 6 per cent living in extreme poverty. Despite this achievement, Argentina would continue to work tirelessly to ensure that poverty was eradicated in Argentina, particularly among children.

Turning to social protection, Ms. Vessevessian said in 2009 children were granted universal access to social protection. That was among the most important policies of recent times and had received almost unanimous support and approval of all sectors of Argentinean society. In addition, family members who had been working in the informal economy had been given access to formal employment and thus over 90 per cent of all children were covered by the social security system.

In 2010, the level of school enrolment had significantly increased and this highlighted that that policy of social protection also had an important effect on the education sector. The policy had also positive effects on the health area and produced an increase of 56 per cent in inscriptions to health programmes in the first trimester of 2010 as compared to the same period in 2009. Various studies had also showed that universal education for children would reduce poverty levels among children.

Ms. Vessevessian went on to say that policies had been established to ensure the well-being of children and that the Government had worked on the relevant recommendations of the Committee. In 2010, the Government’s investment towards children would be around 14 per cent which was significantly higher than the investments of previous years.

The enactment of Law 26061 occupied a central place and had set forth the mechanisms to promote and protect children's rights. It recognized the importance of the family in ensuring children’s well-being. This law also provided for the establishment of a Children’s Ombudsperson but much work remained to be done in that regard.

Ms. Vessevessian said many provinces had in place specific laws for the protection of the rights of the child and the laws of the others were in line with the Constitution. Nevertheless, the legal reform process was not finalized and still needed to be deepened.

A new law had been developed in the national education sector, introducing compulsory primary and secondary education. In accordance with the Convention, Argentina had increased its investment in education and had achieved a historic percentage of funding for education that represented 6 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product. Six hundred and fifty new schools have been created and the Government aimed to provide pupils and teachers over 3 million books, of which over 250,000 had already been distributed.

On health, Ms. Vessevessian said child mortality in Argentina had fallen significantly but it was hoped that its prevalence could be further reduced to an under-one digit number with the help of the United Nations Population Fund and the United Nations Children's Fund. The six provinces that had had the highest child mortality rates had been particularly successful in reducing child mortality.

Questions by Experts

MARTA MAURAS PEREZ, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the Report of Argentina, said talking of human rights in Argentina brought to mind that the country had a strong record of human rights defenders, including two Nobel Peace Prize Winners, and the prosecution of those responsible for the forced disappearances and other atrocities which had occurred during Argentina’s dictatorship.

Ms. Mauras Perez said the Committee greatly appreciated that – following years of inactivity - the last few years had seen much action in Argentina in terms of adopting legislation on the Convention, both at the national and provincial levels. A significant event had been the implementation of Law 26061 of 2005 that established a system for the integral protection of the rights of girls, boys and adolescents.

The Rapporteur observed that federalization was probably the biggest challenge for the political, institutional, social and cultural change that was required by the Convention. It was not sufficient that Argentina established a national law; that law must also be reflected in provincial legislation. Some provinces had not yet integrated law 26061, Ms. Mauras Perez said, and asked at what stage the processes were at in those provinces? Also, how was the comprehensive protection system fleshed out at all levels, including the provincial and local levels?

Ms. Mauras Perez invited the Argentinean delegation to comment on the impact of the activities of business enterprises on the rights of boys and girls. Little was known on what effects agro-toxic products could have on the health of the population, particularly that of children. Had studies been conducted on that, and were there any intentions to establish rules and standards for the regulation of companies from a point of view of corporate social responsibility and from an environmental perspective.

Other Experts then asked what measures had been taken to ensure the right to life and survival of children with mental disorders, how their best interest was taken into account, and how it was ensured that they were not subjected to torture and other cruel or inhuman treatment.

On Law 26061, a Committee Member asked what activities the Government had undertaken to ensure that that law was well-known and applied?

In terms of corporal punishment, a Committee Expert observed that parents were allowed to ‘moderately’ discipline their children and wondered how they could establish what was ‘moderately’ and what was ‘excessively’, and how that was monitored in educational institutions.

With regards to the Children’s Ombudsman, a Committee member asked whether that person had been selected yet and what problems had been encountered in that process.

Committee Experts then turned to birth registration. Many children had not been registered at birth as some provinces did not have civil services and there were also language problems. What had the Government undertaken to ensure effectiveness of such processes, how had registration of births of indigenous children been carried out, were there many children who were not born in hospitals and how were they registered?

An Expert said children with disabilities were discriminated against regarding access to education, leading to economic discrimination perpetrated against them – could the delegation give a clear description of the situation and of the steps undertaken to improve it?

Committee Members pointed out that the conditions in detention facilities, particularly those in the Buenos Aires region, were tantamount to torture. More information was needed on that, and indicators for that, such as the number of attempted suicides.

Response by the Delegation

Responding to those questions and others, the delegation pointed out that the Government had a zero-tolerance policy against torture. Torture did not exist in Argentina and those that stated that this was the case should prove it.

On regional differences and the federal Governmental system, the delegation said, legislatively speaking, Argentina’s provinces were not fully autonomous. There was substantive legislation on work, trade, and other issues, and these laws must be applied across the entire country and equally in the country’s 24 jurisdictions. The Government also attempted to ensure that legislative reforms took place all over the country.

As for Law No. 26061, the delegation said that law had given rise to an intense reform process as only 10 provinces had had in place rules regulating local care services for children before that law had been enacted.

On that topic, a Committee member asked about the status of the progress in provinces, and how that law had actually been implemented in practice so that the objectives enshrined in the national plan of action could be achieved?

The delegation responded that the change of roles and competences in terms of childhood protection was difficult to manage. While administrators acted in accordance with the law, the change was one of the most significant reform process and difficult to bring about as there was cultural resistance in provinces, linked to community and traditional powers. Another challenge was for the administrative powers to have qualified personnel on the ground. Nevertheless, enormous efforts had been made, including the establishment of a number of local Ombudsman offices.

The delegation then turned to the national plan of action for the rights of children and adolescents and said that plan aimed to eradicate the inequalities across the country, increase the levels of protection, and reduce the child mortality rate, among other objectives. While the plan did not have a budget allocated to it, this was not of concern as the strength of the plan was precisely that it allocated the resources to each province.

Questions by Experts

In a second round of questions and comments, Ms. Mauras Perez said there was a positive trend with regards to health and nutrition, but neo-natal and maternal mortality were relatively high and needed to be addressed. What measures had been undertaken to improve the conditions of delivery?

Ms. Mauras Perez observed that at least twelve life sentences had been handed down on children and asked the delegation to comment on this as well as on the alleged trend for increasingly higher sentences for juvenile offenders.

Another Committee Member said many children lacked access to the family allowance scheme. What was the exact situation in that regard, and what were the reasons therefore? Furthermore, what parent support programmes were in place and were there any statistics or research on good practices?

Members of the Committee also wanted to know how the de-institutionalization programmes had been planned, whether information on the children in the public care system were available, how the assessment for the placement out of the family was made, and whether children’s views were considered in this process?

A member then asked for information on inter-country adoptions and requested an explanation on why Argentina had not yet ratified the Hague Convention - were there any plans to do so, and if not, why?

Turning to child abuse and neglect, the idea of mobile teams was impressive in the Committee’s view, but how much of the needs could such mobile teams cover, and were there enough professionals to cover rural areas?

An Expert said that the fact that corporal punishment was not punished in the family was of concern to the Committee and asked why that form of punishment had not been abandoned.

Committee members were very impressed by the sharp decline in unemployment and poor households and requested further information on how that had been achieved.

Experts went on to comment that the delegation had provided insufficient information on HIV/AIDS. The Committee was happy to hear about the reported decrease of HIV/AIDS prevalence but would welcome if the delegation could comment on how the data had been collected.

One way to make school more attractive was vocational training – what had the Government been planning in that regard, and would those activities also give school drop-outs a second chance? How was human rights education included in school curricula, and what were the programmes to teach children a healthy live-style and to monitor this?

As for refugees and asylum-seekers, what were the measures to integrate a gender-perspective into peace-keeping operations?

Response by the Delegation

Responding to these questions and issues, the delegation said Argentina had a lot of ground to make up in terms of statistics, especially in ensuring a rights-based approach to data collection. Nevertheless, the Government had carried out surveys on persons with disabilities, nutrition, and indigenous peoples, and a survey on the social and living conditions of all children would shortly be conducted. In addition, a decree was signed in 2009 for the development of an integrated information system.

On the expenditure study on childhood more specifically, the delegation said there were studies on direct and indirect spending on children, as well as category-based assessments for both the national and the provincial level.

Following up on these explanations, a Committee member asked since when the data on investments in education and overall investments in children was available, and whether the figures mentioned were based on this information gathering system. The delegation confirmed this and explained that national expenditure figures went back to the year 1995 and that currently about 7 per cent of Argentina’s gross domestic product was invested in childhood.

The delegation then turned to the Committee’s concerns and questions about education. The Government currently sought to develop the universal per child allowance and attempted to ensure that all entitled children received their benefits. As for the Committee’s concerns about discrimination in the educational system, the delegation asserted that Argentina had no problems in that regard.

Following up on these explanations, an Expert asked for further information on the eligibility criteria for the universal per child allowance and how the Government ensured that all children were reached. The delegation explained that the set of eligibility criteria were a mixture of social and economic factors and that public officials went to people’s homes to inform them that they were entitled to these allowances.

According to the delegation, Argentina had been cooperating with the United Nations Children's Fund in protecting the languages of indigenous peoples and had granted indigenous youth financial assistance for higher education. However, the Convention had not yet been translated into indigenous languages, but the Government would look into this.

With regards to pre-school education, the delegation explained that efforts had been undertaken to teach social understanding and tolerance to young children. It added that 154 new kindergartens had been set up and that about 34 per cent of Argentina’s children were currently enrolled in pre-school education, with efforts underway to expand that number towards the set target of 100 per cent.

Responding to another question, the delegation said that Argentina had started a programme which benefited over 200,000 schools and aimed at improving educational quality.

Argentina had also made progress in terms of sex education through efforts to prevent unwanted pregnancies, sensitization activities on child abuse, and work aimed at combating HIV/AIDS.

The delegation went on to say that there was a strong policy and an inter-ministerial approach on drug abuse and that this issue was discussed on various television channels with the aim of preventing substance abuse.

Argentina had a law on technical and vocational education which had helped improve the quality of secondary technical educational. The vocational education that had been provided also had many direct links to what was needed in the workplace.

In terms of whether mechanisms were in place for children’s views to be heard in school decisions, the delegation said that happened in student centres and councils involved both students and adults. Argentina was committed to ensure that children were heard, the delegation underscored.

The delegation then turned to the Committee’s concerns about health issues. Significant progress had been made in that regard, not least thanks to civil society and the media; sensitization materials had been produced, including in indigenous languages, and the Ministry of Health had set up a telephone helpline with qualified counsellors.

As for the Committee’s recommendation that Argentina review its legislation on abortions, the delegation said that was not necessary as abortions for rape victims were not illegal. Nevertheless, technical assistance provided to women before or after abortions was insufficient.

The delegation went on to say that maternal mortality had come to a halt but said ensuring the availability of the human resources for high-risk births remained an issue.

The Government had been able to reduce the number of cases of acute malnutrition and had given out fortified milk to people without social protection. Also, programmes in collaboration with the United Nations Children's Fund had helped achieve that 40 per cent of all children were breastfed until the age of six months.

In terms of how the Government ensured the health and well-being of children who had fallen through the educational net, the delegation said that was a huge challenge. However, the Government had recognized this problem and put in place a major programme.

With regards to the questions relating to the restitution of rights and children without parental care, the delegation said that these children were extremely vulnerable but represented merely 1 per cent of all children in Argentina. Law No. 26061 provided standards across the country in that regard, but each province selected the procedures they would apply and implemented these independently. Nevertheless, the Government had made great efforts to standardize the protocols on the separation of children and their families. Argentina was in a transition process and needed to control and ensure capacity building for people who implemented those measures. A first measurement had therefore been conducted in 2005 and in 2007 the Government had taken further steps to improve the situation, resulting in a fall of the number of institutionalized children and an increase in the number of children in foster families.

On this topic, a Committee Member asked how the foster care families had been selected and trained, at what age the children came into the care system, for how long they stayed in it, and whether they were prepared for when they were leaving. Furthermore, what was the proportion of children in institutionalized care compared to foster care and what was the size and nature of such institutions?

The delegation replied that some but not all provinces had foster family systems that involved standards of selection and training, but the Government hoped to standardize practices across provinces, based on best practices. As for the preparation for leaving, the delegation said children usually left foster care at the age of 18 and were prepared for this release from the age of 14 or 15. However, in a number of cases and for a number of reasons children did not return to their original families and but rather remained in the foster circuit well beyond the age of 18. As for the nature of the institutions in which children were cared for as an alternative to foster care, the delegation said these brought together only 15 to 20 children and there were no large-scale institutions with over 100 children as was previously the case.

Committee Member then asked whether the universal allowance applied to all children, including children in host families, children in institutional care, and children in limbo, and who received that allowance.

Responding, the delegation said the allowance was usually received by the entity that was legally responsible for the child. Children living in institutions did not receive the universal allowance as it was unclear to whom the allowance should be given to. However, efforts to clarify this situation were underway; one option would be to pay that allowance into saving accounts of those children, but a decision had not yet been taken.

Turning to adoption, the delegation said that there had been over 2,000 adoptions since 2000, most of which had taken place in the capital.

The delegation went on to say that violence against children was linked to violence against women. Active feminist movements in several provinces provided shelter opportunities which could also be used by children and there were Ombudsman offices in some areas, as well as antennas of the Ministry of Social Development that recorded complaints by victims.

A quantitative step had been made regarding child labour as the Government had been making considerable efforts to coordinate its work with the business sector and had created a network that included more than 60 companies with a view to eradicating child labour. Children of day workers and agricultural workers were also cared for by Government-run day programmes in some provinces and there was a project to punish child labour occurring in the agricultural sector.

Turning to juvenile justice, the delegation expressed its disagreement with the 12 life sentences that had been handed down to Argentinean children. It said that the Supreme Court had supported the institutionalization of children in the past, but today the Court took into account the best interest of the child. Furthermore, while rulings had become stricter, the delegation corrected that there was no trend toward increasing the sentences applied to children in Argentina.

The delegation went on to say that with regards to the age of 16 for criminal responsibility, Argentina’s legislation did in fact need updating, but for 10 years now the case law which had reinterpreted the relevant law had been recognized by both national and provincial courts. In addition, convicted juveniles had the right to due process and adequate legal defence. In cases of conflicts regarding sentences that had been handed down, alternative forms of punishment were also available and the Government would ensure that juvenile justice would be treated as a matter of priority.

The delegation said that the importance of the Committee’s General Comment No. 10 was recognized, as was the fact that laws needed to be implemented and not only to exist on the books. While there were no juvenile justice systems that were ideal for juvenile offenders, discussion on this topic was ongoing and the Government attempted to ensure safeguards for youth, as well as a gender balance.

In 2007, a survey on the penal provisions pertaining to young people had been conducted and it highlighted that the minor average population that was in prison represented 1,800 young people. That figure was not very different from that of today, the delegation said and affirmed that there was no excessive use of deprivation of liberty against minors. In fact, there were fewer young people in prisons compared to other countries, and many juvenile offenders stayed in prison only for a very short time. In addition, while only 8 provinces had alternative resolution measures in 2007, there were 17 provinces today that offered programmes that were alternative to incarceration.

A Committee Member then asked how education was organized in closed detention centres. Responding, the delegation said there was a trend towards imprisonment in specialized centres, which cared for over 60 per cent of the sentenced juvenile offenders.

Discussion on the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography

MARCELA PAOLA VESSEVESSIAN, National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family at the Ministry of Social Development of Argentina, introducing Argentina’s initial report under the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, said the Government of Argentina had been working on national and international corridors of human trafficking, agreements with neighbouring countries, and on sanctioning intermediaries who were involved in the sale and prostitution of children. Furthermore, a working committee had been set up in 2005 and had drawn up public policies to protect children from the sale of children, child pornography and child prostitution. With regards to Internet crime, it had been penalized under the reform of the Penal Code, but not many sentences had been handed down in that area.

Questions by Experts

JEAN ZERMATTEN, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the Reports Under the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, said while Law 26061 included an article that prevented sexual exploitation of children, the Committee had received very little data on this issue. Also, if prostitution, pornography and sale of children existed, there must be a demand for it, and the causes of this needed to be determined.

Mr. Zermatten welcomed that the law on crime and pornography on the Internet had led to the creation of the office of comprehensive assistance to victims and said it was laudable that two special police units had been created for the prosecution of crimes against sexual integrity and that they conducted “victims against violence” programmes.

The Rapporteur went on to say that several stakeholders cooperated under Argentina’s federalist system on issues relating to the Optional Protocol, including the police, judicial forces, ministries and other actors. Mr. Zermatten therefore asked how the roles and responsibilities were shared between these stakeholders. The same question also applied to the provincial level and to the regions Argentinean areas bordering Paraguay and Brazil – how was work coordinated in those regions?

Turning to the national plan of action, Mr. Zermatten asked whether the issues related to the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography had been incorporated into that plan or whether there was one or several sectoral plans of action.

The Committee would welcome more information on the specialized units in place to tackle the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and how these contributed to comprehensive data gathering.

The Rapporteur said that trafficking of children needed to be dealt with, but highlighted that the sale of children was somewhat distinct and must be addressed by specific mechanisms and provisions. Article 140 of Argentina’s law and the law on organ theft partially dealt with this, but the sale of children did not seem to be criminalized as such, suggesting that not all of the contents of the Convention were fully covered by Argentina’s legislation.

The Government had in place protocols and guidelines for the protection of victims and witnesses, but did the law and protocols set a limit on the number of child victim hearings, Mr. Zermatten said, pointing to the risk of re-victimization. And had the Government taken measures to avoid that perpetrators and victims were present in the same room during hearings?

Other Committee Members then asked whether Argentina had taken measures to establish cyber-peace community initiatives and what measures had been taken to reintegrate victims of cyber child prostitution.

On the topic of prosecution, the delegation was asked whether Argentina had a specific law against national and international crime and whether such organizations had been prosecuted to date.

Committee Members also wanted to know what social and educational measures had been taken to protect children from issues related to the Optional Protocol and how child victims had been identified.

A Committee Member pointed out that five perpetrators had been convicted since new laws had been established. Were these persons intermediaries or actively involved in the network? And if they were intermediaries, how did the Government review its investigation methods to ensure that key perpetrators were convicted?

The delegation was also asked about Argentina’s extraterritorial competence - could an Argentinean citizen be punished if he lived abroad and how were the concepts of double-jeopardy and reciprocity dealt with by the Government?

A Committee member wanted to know what awareness-raising and outreach activities the Government had been conducting and how the media had been involved in such campaigns.

Response by the Delegation

Responding to those and other questions and issues, the delegation said Argentina’s legislation prohibited the buying and selling of children but did not include provisions to punish buyers. However, significant efforts had been made to revise the Civil Code and to put an end to the sale of children.

A Committee Member hoped that a public debate would take place once the revisions were agreed upon to make sure the reform was appropriate. In the Committee’s view, revisions should also be made to the Penal Code, not only to the Civil Code. The delegation agreed and said the Government was working on that and would subject the draft texts to public debate.

A Committee Expert said law enforcement had not been occurring comprehensively in Argentina; women might claim that they had not been forced to prostitution but there was always a chain of causality leading to that, possibly including family violence or economic circumstances. Argentina’s law was therefore not sufficient - the causes must also be taken into account.

The delegation said that coordination among various stakeholders was challenging but had been managed quite successfully to date. In terms of coordination with countries of the region, 64 border committees had been set up to deal with trafficking and agreements had been reached with several countries. On coordination with provinces the delegation said that some provinces had set up community centres and a general office would be set up to support the victims of violence.

The delegation went on to say that extradition was broadly covered by national laws and regulated through Argentina’s bilateral conventions and a number of multilateral treaties.

As for the five persons who had been convicted, these were intermediaries involved in child abuse, the delegation explained.

Since the Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified, Argentina had established a great number of rules to strengthen the situation of minors tried in court to avoid their re-victimization. For example, such victims needed to appear before court only once and could thereafter participate through video-technology.

Responding to the question on sensitization campaigns, the delegation said the Government was actively working with the media. It had developed specific programmes, including in indigenous languages, and would shortly be launching a television campaign that was supported by the United Nations Children's Fund. Authorities had also trained staff working in the tourism branch and members of the truck driver guild on issues related to the Optional Protocol.

The delegation then turned to the Committee’s concerns and questions on child pornography. There were over 60 cases on such crimes before the courts which highlighted that the Government had begun receiving complaints, prosecuting them and handing down sentences. However, Internet-based pornography was more difficult to deal with due to the nature of the web, but the Government had been using a data-gathering tool it had received from the United Nations to that end. Nevertheless, data gathering formats did not require law enforcement agents to specify the exact nature of the crime, making it more difficult to collect data on such crimes, but the Government would implement the necessary changes.

Discussion on the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict

MARCELA PAOLA VESSEVESSIAN, National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family at the Ministry of Social Development of Argentina, introducing Argentina’s initial report under the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, said Argentina had ratified that instrument in 2002 while declaring that the minimum age of participation in voluntary military service was 18 years. Recently a comprehensive reform of military institutions had been undertaken and in 2009 an advisory committee had been set up. That Committee had suggested guidelines to re-define education in military institutions which had significantly changed the attendance in military schools.

Questions by Experts

Jean Zermatten, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the Report of Argentina Under the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, said during the drafting of the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, Argentina had played a very active role and it had undertaken all it could to prevent children from being involved in armed conflict.

Nevertheless, Experts ask the delegation to clarify whether Argentina had legislation regulating arms exports, particularly with regards to countries where children were involved in armed conflicts. And could the delegation clarify whether human rights education and training was part of military schools curricula and whether the students were taught by military personnel or civilians.

Other Committee members then asked whether the legislative provisions for the exceptional recruitment of children under 17 into voluntary military service had been used to date, whether evaluations had been carried out on extradition cases, and whether it had been recognized that the protocol could serve as a basis for extradition.

Response by the Delegation

Responding to those and other questions, the delegation said at no time had there been any conscription of children under 17 into military service in Argentina.

The delegation then turned to the Committee’s questions about arms export. Argentinean law regulated arms export in general but did not include specific provisions prohibiting exports to countries where children were involved in armed conflicts. Nevertheless, Argentina had not been exporting arms to such countries.

The delegation also explained that the curricula of military academies were very comprehensive and had recently been reviewed by an advisory committee, and that 99 per cent of teachers were civilians. Asked about the status of military students, the delegation said they were considered to be civilians.

With regards to extradition, Argentina recognized international law and principles on extraterritorial objectives and had understood that it may need bilateral treaties.

A Committee Expert then said the two Optional Protocols needed to be known about in Argentina. What had the authorities undertaken in that regard and had the Optional Protocols been translated? Responding, the delegation said dissemination campaigns had been conducted for both Protocols, but to a lesser extent for the Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict as this was not a major issue in Argentina.

Preliminary Concluding Observations

MARTA MAURAS PEREZ, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the Combined Third and Fourth Periodic Report of Argentina, in preliminary concluding observations, said the Committee was extremely grateful for the exchange with Argentina which had contributed to the mutual understanding of the implementation of the Convention and the two Optional Protocols in that country. The dialogue had not been lacking in passion and concrete information and Argentina had recognized some of the flaws of its system. This first overview highlighted the great leap forward that the Government had taken with the adoption of Law 26061 that had been systematically integrated into provincial laws. Nevertheless, one of the major challenges ahead was the construction of the comprehensive system for the protection of children's rights. Social investment had been increased and inequalities reduced but these inequalities still existed in some fields and even in extreme forms.

Ms. Maura Perez went on to say that one recommendation would probably be that the budget must guarantee that social issues could be protected. It was also clear that the instrumentalization of data gathering systems, and other fields, needed to be further strengthened.

Progress had been made in terms of education and health, but the issue of inter-sectorial coordination, making change happen on the ground, and the differences of mainstream and specialized education had not been sufficiently discussed.

Ms. Mauras Perez went on to say that data bases and diagnostic tools regarding children deprived of liberty and children without parental care must be developed and that a Child Ombudsman must be appointed. In addition, cultural resistance to alternative measures to deprivation of liberty would need to be discussed in greater depth.

MARCELA PAOLA VESSEVESSIAN, National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family at the Ministry of Social Development of Argentina, said Argentina was carrying out major transformations regarding procedures and standards which still needed to be improved. Argentina had taken fundamental measures to reduce poverty through reconstruction in the education, social and political fields, and employment was the main social promoter. The Argentinean Government was active and sought to improve the living conditions of boys, girls, and adolescent on a daily basis.

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