Children's Rights Committee reviews reports of Egypt under Convention and Protocols on involvement in armed conflict and sexual explotation

Committee on the Rights of the Child
7 June 2011

The Committee on the Rights of the Child concluded its review, undertaken over the course of three meetings, of the third and fourth periodic reports of Egypt on how that country is implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It also considered the situation of children in Egypt with regard to the involvement of children in armed conflict and regarding the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, in accordance with the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on those issues.

Hisham Badr, Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations Office at Geneva, highlighted the landmark free and transparent national referendum held on 19 March 2011, in which 18 million people voted with the objective of making Egypt a country where the rule of law would be supreme. The Council of the Armed Forces was committed to handing over power to an elected president upon the completion of the forthcoming parliamentary and presidential elections, and independent commissions of inquiry into the brutal repression of peaceful demonstrations had resulted in criminal proceedings being initiated against key decision-makers at all levels in the Government, including the former president. The Ambassador said that the Egyptian revolution had demanded dignity, human rights, freedom, social justice, and youth empowerment and that the new Government would base its policies on these ideals. However, he cautioned the Committee that Egypt, as a developing country with 85 million people, faced economic and budgetary constraints which posed significant challenges for the future.

Introducing the report, Lamia Mohsen, Secretary General of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, said that the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood was the national mechanism entrusted with the implementation and coordination of the Convention and had worked extensively in advocacy, awareness raising and coordination to promote the rights of the child. In 2010, a series of amendments to the Law of the Child further strengthened the Convention as the Government adopted a rights-based approach to service provision with a focus on children in vulnerable groups, notably working children, street children, children with disabilities and children with drug problems. Ms. Mohsen emphasized the Government’s integrated approach to the rights of girls, combining legislation with awareness raising campaigns, which had resulted in the establishment of 1,655 girl friendly schools and the annulment of more than 3,000 child marriages between 2009 and 2010.

In preliminary concluding observations, Committee Expert Yanghee Lee, who served as Rapporteur for the report of Egypt, strongly recommended that the issue of children and their rights remain at the forefront of the Government’s priorities and urged sufficient funding and human resource allocation to the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood to ensure its efficiency and independence. The Rapporteur encouraged the establishment of an independent monitoring mechanism and the strengthening of the Child Protection Committees all the way to the district level.

In additional concluding observations, Committee Expert Agnes Akosua Aidoo, Rapporteur for the report of Egypt on the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, identified two structural challenges: poverty and cultural practices, which made children vulnerable to offences under the Optional Protocol. The Rapporteur stressed the need for poverty reduction programmes aimed at children along with more in-depth studies to understand the resistance and hindrances behind cultural practices so that all children, regardless of their socio-cultural circumstances, would benefit from the protections in the Optional Protocol.

In additional preliminary observations, Committee Expert Awich Pollar, Rapporteur for the report of Egypt on the Optional Protocol on children in armed conflict, said that the Optional Protocol established a built-in system for the State to avoid using children in armed conflict.

Other Experts were particularly concerned about the practice of summer or seasonal marriages which acted as a disguised form of prostitution and sex tourism, the high illiteracy rate of 28 per cent, the high malnutrition rate of 30 per cent, that only 4 per cent of children with disabilities had access to services, including education, and the high rate of female genital mutilation among certain groups of women. Committee Experts highlighted the insufficient funding for Child Protection Committees and asked how many children were detained and held in military detention under the state of emergency, why none of the Hague Conventions were ratified or acceded to and raised concerns about reports of the forced return of refugees and asylum seekers to their countries of origin which would put them at risk for being involved in armed conflict.

The Committee will release its formal, written concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Egypt towards the end of its three-week session, which will conclude on 17 June 2011.

The delegation of Egypt included representatives from the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, the Supreme Constitutional Court, the Ministry of Justice and the Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

As one of the 193 States parties to the Convention, as well as a party to both of the Conventions Optional Protocols, Egypt 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 throughout the three meetings to present the reports and to answer questions raised by Committee Experts.

When the Committee reconvenes on Wednesday, 8 June, at 10 a.m., it will consider the second periodic report of Cuba (CRC/C/CUB/2).

Reports of Egypt

According to the third and fourth periodic report of Egypt (CRC/C/EGY/3-4), the Government took a number of legislative steps to address the observations made by the Committee, notably the adoption of the 2001 Act, which puts an end to discrimination against women by granting them the right to divorce their husband or to obtain a separation. Act No. 154 of 2004 amends the Egyptian Nationality Act whereby an Egyptian woman can pass her nationality onto her children even when married to a foreigner and the Family Courts Act intends to eliminate discrimination against women and to provide for the right of the child to be heard in legal and administrative proceedings.

The adoption by the People’s Assembly of Act No. 126 of 2008 which came into force on 15 June 2008, contains amendments to raise the minimum age of marriage for girls to 18 years, as is the case with boys; proscribes punishment for female genital mutilation, with a new provision introduced to the Criminal Code; and increases the age of criminal responsibility from 7 to 12 years as part of a new comprehensive judicial system for children based on rehabilitation and reintegration as opposed to punishment.

The Children’s Act provides for the protection of children in danger through a new mechanism, protection committees to strengthen the implementation of the Act. Child protection sub-committees are bodies at the local government level in charge of monitoring and following up the cases of children in danger and providing preventive and remedial measures. They come under the supervision of the provincial general committees. Their membership includes a representative of civil society whenever this is possible. A public administration for child rescue was also established as a new mechanism to enforce the Law backed up by the Hotline 16000.

The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood is designated as the supreme authority in charge of coordinating activities on the rights of the child at the national level. The Council has intensified child protection efforts to mobilise society as a whole and at all levels. Examples of such efforts are reflected in the Girls’ Education Initiative, combating female genital mutilation and other activities. The Council is currently working on providing resources and raising funds from donor agencies as well as the Egyptian and international private sector.

The National Council for Human Rights was established based on the Paris Principles by Presidential Decree No. 94 of 2003. The Council reports to the Shura Council (one of the two houses of parliament). Its terms of reference include the follow up of the implementation of Conventions and Treaties on human rights, looking into complaints, and the submission of proposals and observations to the competent authorities. The Council also coordinates and cooperates with other human rights bodies, receives complaints about alleged violations of human rights and refers them to the relevant authorities. The Council does not have a child or women-dedicated committee or administration, but it does publish an annual report on the situation of human rights in Egypt.

According to the report of Egypt on the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (CRC/C/OPSC/EGY/1), the Children’s Code of 1996, as amended in 2008, is the major piece of legislation addressing the implementation of the Optional Protocol. The Children’s Code comprises detailed provisions covering all of the offences in the Optional Protocol and creates a new child justice system that recognizes the rights of three groups of children: children at risk, child victims and witnesses of crime, and children in conflict with the law. The Code also provides for the establishment of a new decentralized protection system to strengthen the role and responsibility of local communities (through general protection committees and subcommittees and the General Department for Child Rescue). The Children’s Code was implemented when the Government, for the first time, successfully brought charges against officials involved in performing illegal child marriages, who received penalties ranging between a 1-year term of imprisonment and a fine based on the number of offences. These efforts had a major positive impact as a deterrent to other marriage officials, resulting in a marked fall in the number of child marriages in subsequent seasons.

The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, under the Ministry of State for Family and Population, is the central coordinating body for the Convention and the Optional Protocols, and works in close cooperation with the media, governmental bodies, NGOs and international entities to establish powerful mechanisms for monitoring the application of the Optional Protocol including detecting violations against children through the Child Helpline, the Family Advice Line and the Disability Line. The Child Trafficking Unit is also engaged in efforts to raise awareness of the types of offences covered by the Optional Protocol and the dangers associated with them, specifically through launching the website www.child-trafficking.info; compiling a guide to raising children’s awareness of the risks of sexual exploitation on the internet; developing a plan to raise awareness of the need for measures ensuring the security and protection of newborn babies in hospitals and maternity clinics; running cultural and artistic workshops to develop children’s involvement and raise awareness of the Optional Protocol through mobile information and communication technology (ICT) units, in association with schools, youth centres and NGOs; and training children and adolescents through the electronic portal for teenagers “Yomgedid” (New Day) in how to navigate the World Wide Web securely and participate safely in blogs.

Pursuant to the National Military Service Act of 1980, according to the report of Egypt on the Optional Protocol on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (CRC/C/OPAC/EGY/1), a three-year period of recruitment is compulsory for males aged between 18 and 30 years. This period may be reduced on the basis of academic qualifications in the case of certain categories and military service may be exempt temporarily or permanently for those who are unfit or for reasons based on the family situation. Recruitment may be deferred during peacetime for regular students and for members studying full-time until such time as they obtain the academic qualifications on account of which their service was deferred. Voluntary recruitment begins after 16 years of age, with safeguards in place to ensure that such recruitment is genuinely voluntary, is carried out with the consent of parents or legal guardians, and that those wishing to volunteer are fully informed of the duties involved in military service. Under Article 6 of the Egyptian Arms and Ammunition Act, no licence for the procurement or possession of arms may be granted to anyone under 21 years of age and through the Ministry of the Interior, the Government ensures implementation of the law, with enforcement actively monitored.

In compliance with the rules of international legitimacy, the Arab Republic of Egypt has been a strong part of peacekeeping forces since the 1960s in different areas of the world, particularly Africa, including the Sudan and Darfur, Congo, Somalia, Central Africa Angola, Mauritania, Liberia, Rwanda and the Comoros islands. Egypt is also part of the peacekeeping forces in Western Sahara, Sierra Leone, Burundi and Georgia. The number of refugees and asylum-seekers in Egypt stood at 35,657 in 2007, including 18,000 refugees, 31.5 per cent of whom were children under 17 years of age. Sudanese constituted the vast majority of refugees, followed by Somalis and Ethiopians. In 2009, according to data of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the number of refugees stood at 97,861, most of them from the Sudan, followed by Iraqis and Somalis.

Presentation of Report

HISHAM BADR, Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said this Egyptian delegation constituted the first appearance before any United Nations human rights treaty body of an official delegation from the new Egypt following the 25th January revolution. The Ambassador highlighted the important breakthroughs in the country, including the landmark free and transparent national referendum held on 19 March 2011, in which 18 million people voted with the objective of making Egypt a country where the rule of law would be supreme. The Council of the Armed Forces was committed to handing over power to an elected president upon the completion of the forthcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. Human rights was integral to the ongoing transformation in the county as evidenced by two independent commissions of inquiry, one formed by the Government and the other by the National Council for Human Rights that had issued their reports and submitted them to the Public Prosecutor. As a result, criminal proceedings were initiated against key decision-makers at all levels in the Government, including the former president and other key high ranking officials in relation to the manner in which the peaceful demonstrations were brutally repressed. Victims and their relatives were provided effective redress mechanisms with a view to receiving reparations and remedies. The Government was considering the feasibility of signing or ratifying a number of international instruments, including the Rome statue, the Convention against Enforced Disappearances and the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture. A full review was underway of the policy in relation to Special Procedures’ visit requests and the recommendations of treaty bodies and a report would be released today on the productive visit to Egypt by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights from 27 March to 4 April 2011. The Ambassador said that the Egyptian revolution had demanded dignity, human rights, freedom, social justice, and youth empowerment and that going forward the new Government would base its policies on these ideals, however, he cautioned the Committee that Egypt, as a developing country with 85 million people, faced economic and budgetary constraints which posed significant challenges for the future.

LAMIA MOHSEN, Secretary General of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, said that the January revolution in Egypt had provided a guide for the world on the promotion of democracy, respect for human rights and the rights of the child. The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood was the national mechanism entrusted with the implementation and coordination of the Convention and had worked extensively in advocacy, awareness raising and coordination to promote the rights of the child. The National Council continued to follow up on legislation and laws related to the violation of children’s rights with a special emphasis on vulnerable and marginalised children. A partnership system was created between the Government, civil society organisations and international donor agencies which was integral to the promotion of children’s rights by providing for wide participation of all segments of society in the preparation of the report.

In 2010, a series of amendments to the Law of the Child further strengthened the Convention in the country as the Government moved away from charity based provision to adopting a rights-based approach with a focus on children in vulnerable groups, notably working children, street children, children with disabilities and children with drug problems. The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood had developed an integrated approach to the rights of girls, combining legislation with awareness raising campaigns, particularly with regards to female genital mutilation and schooling. Over 1,655 girl friendly schools were established offering education for 30,000 girls. A new strategy for street children was adopted in 2011. The Council drew up an action plan against child labour, violence against children and youth and drugs. More than 3,000 child marriages were aborted between 2009 and 2010 and the Council dealt with the illegal migration of youths. A network was established in 2011 to prepare an action plan on the problems of street children, child labour and the trafficking of children. Ninety-one non-governmental organizations were trained on the provisions of the law protecting the rights of children. In 2003, a help line for children with disabilities provided free consultation. In 2009, a health helpline for women and children was opened. The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood established a network of children and youth coalitions including over 24,000 children working in three groups: youth, volunteers to protect youth from drugs and the peer coalition; representatives from these three youth coalitions were present in the meeting today. The greatest challenge that faced Egypt and the protection of the rights of the child was the high level of poverty in the country, which violated the rights of children in vulnerable groups with the potential to lead to exploitation in the labour market.

Discussion on Implementation of the Convention

YANGHEE LEE, the Committee Member serving as Rapporteur for the report of Egypt, noted the many significant developments in Egypt since the consideration of the second periodic report in 2001, including amendments to the Child Law which raised the age of marriage for girls to 18 to be equal with boys, provided for the registration of the birth of a child and the ability for a woman to obtain a birth certificate for her child with her maiden name, the criminalisation of female genital mutilation, and the creation of Child Protection Committees at governorate and district levels. The Committee welcomed the recent decision by the Minister of Interior to grant Egyptian nationality to the children of Egyptian women married to Palestinians with the first phase covering 6 governorates.

The Rapporteur raised the concern that none of the Hague Conventions were ratified or acceded to and that there seemed to be conflicting articles on the banning of violence with regard to a parent’s right to discipline the child. Concerning the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, there was a concern by the Committee that the Council was ‘downgraded’ to a departmental level within the Ministry of Health and Population. Could the delegation provide data on the current composition of the Council, the budget allocated to it and which Ministry would hold the responsibility of coordinating children’s issues horizontally and vertically? The high number of children, 45,000, living in institutions, was an issue of concern for the Committee and the Rapporteur asked what monitoring and inspecting occurred in these institutions.

The Committee was deeply concerned and asked for more information about the sentencing to death by hanging of a 17 year old boy in May 2011 by the Supreme Military Court of Cairo. Regarding the January uprising, the Ministry of Health announced that of the 840 people killed and 6,467 injured during the demonstrations, 12 were children and many more children were left on the street for days without assistance or refused treatment from hospitals due to lack of identification documents. The Rapporteur was concerned that there was a growing discussion of amending or repealing some of the provisions of the Child Law of 2008, including lowering the age of marriage for girls and decriminalising female genital mutilation.

BERNARD GASTAUD, Committee Member serving as Co-Rapporteur for the report of Egypt, said that 30 percent of Egypt’s population was made up of children which indicated the effort and resources required in this area. The strengthening of the legislative and regulatory framework was important along with the establishment of national programmes and awareness campaigns, the training of judges and the renewal of schools. The Co-Rapporteur raised a number of issues, including the lack of inclusiveness of children with disabilities in society, the increasing number of children under 14 years old who were working and the age of criminal responsibility at 12 instead of at 18.

Other Committee Experts raised a series of questions pertaining to, among other things, the coordination role of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood; what data had been collected by the Council on the number of complaints from children; what was the Government’s intention on adopting the Hague Conventions, especially those on child abduction and inter-country adoption; how many children were in military detention; were there Government or private sector initiatives to combat child labour either in agriculture, tourism or the garment sectors. A Committee Expert asked if the Government would amend the procedures in military courts that presently allowed the military to arrest children and hold them for questioning before referring them to a juvenile court. A number of questions were raised on the operation of the birth registration system, and whether there was any intention to ban corporal punishment against children in homes, schools and by law enforcement officials.

Response by the Delegation

Responding to those and other questions, the delegation said that all international conventions signed by Egypt were part of the national legislation and the Supreme Constitutional Court gave some Conventions precedence over national laws and considered them parts of constitutional rules that could not be contravened by national laws. Since 2003, the nationality law was amended so that any child born to an Egyptian woman, irrespective of the nationality of the father, could receive Egyptian nationality. Children of Egyptian women with Palestinian fathers prior to 2003 had not been given Egyptian citizenship per the recommendations of The Arab League in support of Palestinian refugees’ right of return.

Punishment could only be imposed on children with a legal age of 15, below the age of 15 there would be preventive measures but no criminal punishments. The law used to divide children into three groups: children under 7 would not appear before the court, from 7 to 15 years old a child would appear before the court to receive preventive or reform measures, and children over 15 would receive a criminal penal sentence, but not capital punishment, hard labour or prisons. Following the Child Act, the age at which the child would not appear before a court would be from 7 to 15 years old. Concerning the discrepancy between the age of majority being 18, and the age of civil status being 21, this related to the variance in the financial rights of child to dispose of his property.

Violence against children was prohibited under Egyptian law, including in schools. The only exception was provided for parents, who had the right to exercise corporal punishment with the provision that the punishment did not leave a wound or scratch on the skin of a child, as that would make it punishable. In general the Criminal Code stipulated that the younger the victim, the harsher the penalty for the perpetrator. Domestic violence was criminalised under the penal code and in the case of a parent who caused bodily harm to a child, the penalty would be doubled.

Further Questions by Experts

During the second round of questions, the Rapporteur asked the delegation to explain the high number of children living in institutions (40,000). Concerning children with disabilities, what plans did the State party have to further define this category and why were children with disabilities born before 1997 not able to access the national care system? Could the delegation clarify the budgetary expenditure on education and the issue of seasonal marriages and temporary summer marriages which could violate the minimum legal age for marriage? Did children of asylum seekers have the right to free public education? The Rapporteur noted that research carried out jointly in 2006 by the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood with the United Nations Children’s Fund found that over 90 per cent of children were beaten at school. What mechanisms existed for children to issue complaints about violence in schools?

A Committee Member asked about the hierarchy of laws between national legislation and international provisions and how a judge would make a decision when laws under the Convention were in conflict with domestic laws. What was the role of Sharia law in the Constitution, especially in relation to the rights of children?

A Committee Expert asked about the length of pre-trial detention for juveniles. Were there plans in place to follow the International Labour Organisation’s recommendations of 14 weeks of maternity leave for new mothers? What programs were planned for early childhood care for rural areas and for deprived families? The large number of abandoned children, street children, children in institutions and children working from home all indicated the lack of a rights based approach to children. What measures had the Government developed to counter this attitude?

Committee Experts asked about the high illiteracy rate in the country, 28 per cent, along with the high malnutrition rate of 30 per cent meaning that 3 out of every 10 children suffered from malnutrition. What plans had the Government developed to tackle these two important issues? Only 4 per cent of children with disabilities had access to services, including education. What were the specific measures the Government had adopted to provide for inclusive education for children with disabilities?

Response by Delegation

The delegation expert noted that there was a gap between legal mechanisms and cultural practices which sometimes led to violence in school. Concerning mechanisms for reporting on incidents of violence, a children’s hotline provided a free number, 16000, for the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood which children could use to report incidents.

The delegation explained that international conventions took priority always over domestic laws and that some rights, such as freedom of speech and assembly, were absolute rights in the Constitution which had a higher priority then either international or domestic laws. The principles of Islamic Sharia were the main source of legislation for Egypt for the Constitution. Capital punishment was implemented only for adults, and there were four doctrines in Islamic Sharia concerning the age of the accused, one of which was children under 16 could not be punished.

Concerning custody and the child’s best interest, custody was not related to the child’s age. The Family Code stated that the age with the mother was up to 15 years of age, after age 15 custody rights would be transferred to the father under a decision by a judge who would listen to the opinion of the child and the best interests of the child.

Further Questions by Experts

In a continuation of the second round of questions, a Committee Expert stressed the importance of tackling child poverty as there had been an increase in child poverty in Egypt from 21 per cent in 2000 to 24 per cent today with a particular disparity by region with respect to Upper Egypt and rural areas. What efforts was the Government making to reduce child poverty and how were children targeted in successful poverty reduction programmes? Was a child’s right perspective applied in the budgeting process for health, education, community development? Specifically, were issues of equity addressed so that all children would benefit from the provision of services?

A Committee Member asked whether or not the children of refugees and asylum seekers, notably Sudanese and Somali refugees, had equal access to public education? The Ministry of Education adopted a strategic plan to develop a new curriculum and the Committee Expert asked if human rights would be included in this curriculum.

A Committee Expert raised a number of issues about health, notably, was there a screening programme during pregnancy to prevent disabilities, was there wide access across the population to iodised salt, was there access to oral rehydration to reduce complications from diahrerra and was there a system for monitoring marketing malpractices committed by corporations providing alternatives to breast milk, particularly in hospitals? What was the obstacle to having children attend preschool at an early age?

Response by the Delegation

In response to the second round of questions, the delegation noted that the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood was founded in 1988 and until 2009 had belonged directly to the cabinet, after which time it was moved to the Ministry of Family and Population where it remained as an autonomous body. In 2011, the Ministry of Family and Population was cancelled from the Cabinet and the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood was moved under the Ministry of Health as a special, specific body with separate financing and full autonomy and was the highest authority mandated to create strategies and policies for children. It was not an implementing body but a coordinating body among ministries, research centres, civil society actors and the private sector. The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood also acted as a monitoring body and followed up on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Since 2010, it had begun drafting, in cooperation with the United Nations Children’s Fund, a National Action Plan for the next 10 years to cover all issues related to children, including meetings with marginalised children. In 2003, a strategy for street children had been developed which was not translated into an implementation plan until three months ago.

The National Action Plan, beginning in fiscal year 2012 to 2013 would include a programme based child rights budget. One of the main programmes was the Child’s Rights Observatory, particularly on database collection. All data collection originated from line ministries and research centres and was placed into a database with the intention of creating a set of child rights indicators to calculate a child rights index to highlight the status of children and their rights.

Initially, the birth registration programme, funded by Italy, focused on children without birth certificates. Once the project finished, the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood moved to institutionalise the birth registration programme for the whole country as data indicated that children who had no birth certificate ranged from 1 to 4 per cent of the population, depending on the geographical area. The first birth certificate was free of charge, but subsequent ones would be charged a fee. A complete national survey would be conducted on adults and children that had neither adult identification cards nor birth certificates.

Concerning malnutrition, the breast feeding programme was developed with consultants to bring back baby-friendly hospitals to support breast feeding. The Government recognised there was a problem of stunted growth and anaemia, particularly for children under 5.

Further Question by Experts

What was the Government doing to support children who dropped out of school due to poverty? Would Egypt adopt the international code on milk substitutes? Was maternity leave provided to all women or only those employed as civil servants? Concerning hotlines, a Committee Expert asked who was on the other end of the hotline and what services were provided? The Rapporteur noted that in 2011, 72 cases of violence and abuse were reported through hotlines and only 2 cases were prosecuted and asked the delegation to provide information on the ability of hotlines to follow up on cases of abuse. A Committee Expert asked if municipal bodies existed that were made up of experts, social workers, counsellors and psychologists across functional domains specialising in child rights and the protection of children?

Concerning independent monitoring and complaint mechanisms, a Committee Member asked the delegation to explain how these functioned for children. Could children contact an Ombudsman or other independent institution in line with the Paris Principles, to investigate a complaint? A Committee Member asked if the Children’s Prosecutor’s Office was a part of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood and could children be held in pre-trial detention.

A Committee Expert asked the delegation to respond to the allegations by Human Rights Watch, that on the 3 March 2011 numerous children were detained in a military prison for over a month.

Concerning child victims, had the Government implemented the protocols concerning training for officials that interacted with children and were specialised juvenile courts located in all parts of the country? As begging was considered a crime, would children that were caught begging receive criminal sanctions and if a child under 12 committed a serious offence, which court would intervene?

A Committee Member said that concerning the issue of seasonal marriages, how were violations recorded? This was an important issue because these marriages contravened the age requirements and acted as disguised forms of prostitution.

A Committee Expert said that the law of 2008 on children had not prohibited the marriage of those younger than 18 years, but only prevented the documentation of these marriages sanctioning the individual that documented the marriage while the marriage itself remained legal.

The Rapporteur asked about reproductive health and why the topic was taken out of the school curriculum last year. A Committee Member asked if there was a comprehensive ban in the criminal code regarding female genital mutilation and if the law applied correctly then how could it be that 80 per cent of women suffered from genital mutilation? What practical measures were taken by the Government to make sure the law was applied?

Further Responses by the Delegation

To tackle drop out rates and low literacy, the Government had established over 1,000 schools in the poorest areas of Egypt with a concentration on girls who were the most at risk for leaving schools.

As regards maternity leave, by law it was 3 months or 13 weeks, after that a mother could have unpaid leave for up to 6 years. The private sector would grant maternity leave but repeated maternity leave meant that the private sector would avoid recruiting women. When the mother returned to work, she would be provided with one hour for breast feeding. The Government and Ministry of Health intended to sign the code on marketing substitute breast milk products in the near future.

The Government had established a target of 60 per cent enrolment in kindergartens, but had only achieved 20 per cent and was working on creating community centres for children to increase their preparedness for education. In Egypt there was a 90 per cent usage of iodised salt among the population.

Each child hotline had a coordinator by region with the complaint registered in a database. A civil society organisation was tasked with investigating the complaint and there was continuous training for individuals working directly on the hotline which was updated at least 3 times a year. If the hotline received a complaint, the case would be checked by the Court in the region, if the violation occurred in a school, then the Ministry of Education would be contacted in coordination with the appropriate civil society organisation which would investigate before handing it over to Government authorities. The delegation said that often there were societal traditions which resisted the prosecution of teachers or others who hit children.

The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood followed up on all cases of complaints by children. There was a judicial entity, the Children’s Prosecutor’s Office, which was an independent entity, not a part of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood that could investigate complaints. In 2009, there were 700 complaints of violations against children by the Children’s Prosecution of which 30 per cent were found to have no basis for conviction and the remaining 70 per cent were sent to the courts for prosecution.

As soon as a child was arrested, if older than 15 years of age, he would be held separately from all adults, which was codified by law. If a child was under 15 years old, he would be transferred to the juvenile system. Military courts had no right to investigate juvenile offenders unless the child committed a crime against military establishments, such as attacking military premises and in this case, the military courts would have to engage in the same process as civilian courts. The delegation stated that as of January 2011, there were no children detained in military prisons.

A number of police officers were trained along with doctors and psychologists on the handling and rehabilitation of children back into society. The law allowed that all juvenile detention centres be inspected once every 3 months for infractions against the protocols. If a child was found begging, he would be treated as a victim rather than a criminal and interventions would be enacted, either placing him in an institution, returning the child to his family or to a foster family.

No compulsory measure could be taken against a child except through the judiciary and if an offense was committed by a child between the ages of 7 and 12, a special children’s court would review the situation with the aim of protecting the child.

The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood had worked with female volunteers to report summer or seasonal marriages, which was a violation of the Marriage Act. More than 50,000 calls were received on the hotline in 2009 about marriages which had a huge effect in changing policies and reducing the number of illegal marriages through prosecution and punishment. There was also a fatwa that confirmed early marriage was harmful to the best interests of the child.

Concerning the health of adolescents, the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood worked with civil society through peer education to achieve a healthy lifestyle for adolescents which included reproductive education targeting 30,000 students. The Council was also developing a national strategy for the health of adolescents with guidelines to be published in June 2011 for peer education on the reproductive health of adolescents. Egypt had a low rate of HIV/AIDS, less than .1 per cent although there was a threat of an increase in the rate and so HIV/AIDS prevention was included in health curriculum for adolescents. Law 64 was established by the Special Committee to Prohibit Trafficking in Persons and imposed penalties and established a victims’ compensation fund. Rehabilitation services were introduced for trafficking victims, including a safe house and social reintegration for women.

The National Council for Childhood cooperated with CARITAS to educate over 7,000 refugee children. There was forced labour for girls in some parts of the country so the Government established a Committee to investigate the geographical areas where this problem existed. The delegation stated that reproductive health remained in the school curriculum. Concerning discrimination, Article 7 of the Constitution stated that citizens were equal before the law and could not be discriminated against on the basis of sex or based on disabilities. The law in Egypt could only consider a recorded marriage so if an under age marriage was attempted to be recorded, it would be refused as any official that accepted to document an act with wrongful information would be subject to a penalty of 2 years in prison.

The delegation, in regard to a question on female genital mutilation, said that any incision carried out by either a medical examiner or other individual would be sanctioned under the Criminal Code. Furthermore, the Minister of Health banned doctors and hospitals from carrying out any form of female genital mutilation. The rates of female genital mutilation had dropped for younger women, although it remained high among women in their forties, and the delegation stressed that the only way to change cultural practices was through awareness programs.

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

AGNES AKOSUA AIDOO, the Committee Member serving as Rapporteur for the report of Egypt on the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, commended Egypt on a number of new legal protections that strengthened the protocol and said that the county had played a significant leadership role in the Arab, Middle East and African regions and on the global level on issues of relevance to the Optional Protocol, especially on female genital mutilation and in combating trafficking in human beings. The Rapporteur noted a number of gaps and challenges that faced the country, including the legal definition of offences under the Optional Protocol as Egypt’s domestic Law No. 64 created some confusion since it provided an omnibus definition for trafficking. How did the State Party intend to meet its obligation under the Optional Protocol to define and prohibit specific offences as contained in Articles 2 and 3 of the Optional Protocol?

The use of children in prostitution appeared to be an increasing trend, especially among girl children from poor backgrounds. Were there any prosecutions against prostitution for children under 18? Did the State party use the concept of child sexual exploitation in place of child prostitution, and if so why because these terms were not the same?

Concerning the National Plan of Action on the Optional Protocol, the Rapporteur asked if this was separate from the National Plan of Action against Human Trafficking 2011 to 2013. With its strong focus on child sexual exploitation, was this National Action Plan only a partial response to the Optional Protocol? Did the State party envisage developing a comprehensive National Plan of Action to cover all the offences and issues of the Optional Protocol?

The Rapporteur asked the delegation to provide information on how coordination between various ministries occurred, specifically, the Ministry of State for Family and Population and the Ministry of Interior General Department for Child Protection and Department of Public Morals as well as the Child Protection Committees in the governorates and districts, and the Ministry of Justice.

What strategies had the State party utilised for effective dissemination of the Optional Protocol and for sustainable education and training on its specific offences and their harmful effects on children? Would there be mandatory reporting of the offences of the Protocol and training for all stakeholders on the need and modalities of reporting?

The Rapporteur raised the issue of the prevention of sex tourism which was forbidden in Article 10 of the Optional Protocol. The Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons expressed great concern during her April 2010 visit to Egypt with the issue of summer marriages or temporary marriages between Egyptian women and rich, non-Egyptian men visiting for short periods of up to 2 months. What sustained measures had the State party taken to prevent child sex tourism? What was the effect of the Charter of Honour of Tourism? Had any companies in the tourism industry adopted the Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism?

Was there compensation for child victims that accompanied the recovery and reintegration of children back into society? Could the delegation inform the Committee how often and to what extent compensations were paid to child victims of offences under the Optional Protocol?

The Rapporteur asked the delegation to inform the Committee of any successful agreements or negotiations the Government had made with the countries of origin of non-Egyptian male perpetrators of child sex tourism and temporary marriage migrants in order to facilitate the prevention, prosecution and prohibition of these offences.

HIRANTHI WIJEMANNE, the Committee Member serving as Co-Rapportuer for this report, asked about the work done on the establishment of a database as a part of the implementation of the Optional Protocol. The Co-Rapporteur asked about the provision of services by the State for assistance for the recovery and reintegration of child victims. Concerning recovery services, the State party had mentioned there were non-governmental organizations that provided assistance, but what about psychological services for children who were sexually exploited? Concerning help lines, what actual expertise or technical support was given on the helpline and what chain of events would assist the child to get out of a situation of sexual exploitation?
AGNES AKOSUA AIDOO, Rapporteur on the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, raised the concern that the Protocol was not well known because it was subsumed under a broader programme of training and consultations and asked what evaluations had been done on the effectiveness of training programmes in the Optional Protocol. Could the delegation provide information on the funding for the Child Protection Committees and how were they monitored?

A Committee Expert asked what was the role and function of the Child Protection Committees with reference to the Optional Protocol, what had been done to protect the victims of child pornography, and what were the risk factors that led to children becoming victims. How were children who were victims compensated and protected by the judicial system?

A Committee Member asked about the risks of sexual tourism in areas outside of Cairo and prevention programmes to address these risks. The Optional Protocol stated that there was no voluntariness in child prostitution and for anyone under the age of 18 there was no possible consent; could the delegation confirm this understanding in the Egyptian criminal code? As pornography was a transnational problem, how did Egypt cooperate in the international sphere to fight against this crime and was there information exchange between international police services?

A Committee Expert asked if the sale of children in all forms was prohibited and whether this included seasonal tourist marriages, which the Committee considered a form of prostitution. Would the Government use the extradition principles in the Optional Protocol with countries if there was no bilateral agreement between Egypt and those countries? The Committee Chairman asked if sale was clearly defined in terms of sexual exploitation, for example, the use of the institution of adoption for the sale of children.

Response by the Delegation

The delegation said that the National Plan of Action against Child Prostitution and Pornography was being drafted and a database was being created in the National Observatory to address the Optional Protocol. In 2009, the Government set up a national working group with representatives from the Ministry of Interior and Justice which published articles on the Optional Protocol with a special focus on internet dangers. A database within the Ministry of Interior pertained to crimes using the internet and the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood had mobile units with computers to raise awareness among children in remote areas about the risks of internet usage. The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood implemented two campaigns directed at villages considered to be in the red area of high risk for early marriages and child prostitution, including pilot shelters to provide support for child victims. There was also a pilot centre that enabled the Government to train individuals who worked with the Optional Protocol.

The delegation explained that a draft bill relating to surveillance, monitoring and oversight of pornographic sites related to children on the internet would soon be submitted to the new Parliament due for election in September. The Child Protection Committees were mandated by law to file reports and follow-up on complaints received through help lines to address crimes under the Optional Protocols. The age of criminal responsibility in Egypt was 15 and those between 15 and 18 years old were deemed to be victims and not criminals, although there was a small percentage of children between 15 and 18 years old, who if there was no incitement to enter prostitution and the child voluntarily engaged in such activities, could be held responsible for this crime under Egyptian law.

The delegation said that awareness raising seminars were conducted by the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood on the Convention and the two Optional Protocols; however, no evaluation had been conducted on these seminars. The delegation said that the Child Protection Committees worked with irregular funding from the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, but that there were discussions to have funding institutionalized through the Ministry of Rural Development.

The criminalization of crimes pertaining to children exceeded the requirements in the Optional Protocol. Article 16 prohibited any exploitation of children in pornography and all forms of trafficking in children were criminalized. The Ministries of Justice and Interior exchanged information pertaining to the sexual exploitation of children, and articles provided victims with the right of compensation; it was illegal to publish the name of children who were victims in any crime. Children were questioned in a closed, confidential room and the child spoke in court through video conference to protect children from the perpetrators of sexual crimes.

Seasonal marriages for children was criminalized and viewed as sexual exploitation of children. Concerning trafficking of children, intermediates would be punished and if the crime was committed outside Egypt, it would also be punished. Egypt would extradite criminals if there was a request to the Government to do so and it was not necessary for the Government to have a signed agreement with the country.

Victim rehabilitation was based on the best interests of the victim and included counseling, vocational training and family reintegration. Concerning sex tourism, there were many brokers involved in this practice and it had deep cultural roots which required significant efforts to change perceptions. A Code of Ethics related to the protection of children against sex tourism was being drafted and was a top priority for the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood.

Article 192 criminalized the sale of children with severe sentences and sale was explicitly mentioned in the law and had been applied in the courts in the cases of adoption.

The Law on Disabilities was formulated with the complete participation of Government bodies and non-governmental organizations and included detailed definitions on persons or children with disabilities and would be submitted to the next Parliament in September. The Ministry of Education had an ambitious plan on the inclusion of people with disabilities into society with 500 schools which would be redesigned to accommodate children with disabilities. There was a specific help line for children with disabilities which provided medical and legal advice. The Ministry of Social Solidarity carried out community based rehabilitation across the country.

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

AWICH POLLAR, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of Egypt on the involvement of children in armed conflict, asked if the report on the Optional Protocol had been drafted with the participation of civil society actors and had it been widely disseminated in society. Were any judicial decisions or administrative instructions provided to the armed forces concerning the application of the Optional Protocol?

The Rapporteur raised the issue of how the Optional Protocol could be invoked in Egypt when it required legal provisions to transfer it into the domestic law of the country. Was there extraterritorial jurisdiction for the recruitment of children in armed conflict? The Rapporteur asked the minimum age for military service in Egypt and what documentation was required to prove the age of the child. In the case of a state of emergency, would a lower age of conscription be permitted? Were there any measures to ensure that refugee children were not returned and recruited by non-state forces in their country of origin? Had Egypt offered international assistance in the implementation of the Optional Protocol to other countries and territories, notably Sudan and the Palestinian territories?

What national legislation restricted the sale and export of small arms to countries where children were recruited into armed conflict? How could the State party reconcile its ratification of The African Charter on the Rights of the Child which prohibits child recruitment into armed conflict when the State party allowed it under certain circumstances?

Could the State party explain how direct participation in armed conflict was defined in the legislation? The Committee required disaggregated data on volunteers in the armed forces by gender, regional origin and rank in the military. What administrative instructions were given to military officials on the recruitment of children in the armed forces at age 16 and above?

HIRANTHI WIJEMANNE, the Committee Expert serving as co-Rapporteur for this report, asked if there had been a review of national laws in regard to the adoption of the Optional Protocol and which Government body was responsible for monitoring and implementation. Was there any training for military personnel and officers to educate them about the requirements of the Optional Protocol and had a database been created? Were there concrete steps to make sure there was zero tolerance for the recruitment of children under 18 into the armed forces?

A Committee Expert raised the concern that the legal age of maturity of 18 was being lowered, particularly as there was a voluntary provision that allowed children under 18 to serve in the armed forces. What information existed on the procedures in place for refugee children that were at risk of being recruited into armed conflict or used in hostilities? There were reports of refugees and asylum seekers in Egypt being forcibly sent back to countries, including Eritrea, without access to the United Nations Refugee Agency which would put them at risk for being involved in armed conflict. Which department monitored military schools to ensure that there was no forced participation of children in these schools? Would there be a draft law in the future to protect children in the area of terrorism and was there any information on children detained during the emergency law?

A Committee Member asked about military schools and the use of weapons used in training at these schools. Could the delegation explain why voluntary recruitment was allowed before the age of 18 in a State that was not in conflict? Was consent from parents mandatory for voluntary recruits and how was this monitored for children without proper papers or not living with their parents?

Egypt had made a significant contribution to peace keeping efforts, especially on the African continent, and a Committee member asked if the Optional Protocol was used in the training of peacekeepers and who carried out this training.

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation stated that the 30 military schools in Egypt were regulated by the Ministry of Defence and no training on weapons occurred in these schools. In the military, voluntary recruitment was allowed by law only after the age of 18 years old, per amendments to the law in 2010. Furthermore, according to the civil law an individual should be 21 years of age and if between 18 and 21 would require the approval of the legal guardian to enter military service. An emergency law could not influence the age at which children could join the military service. Egypt was not an exporter of weapons and production of Egyptian weapons was all done by the Ministry of Defence. Per Article 51, the approval of Parliament was required for the sale of weapons to other countries. Egypt would only provide defensive tools in Arab countries, such as in Kuwait where there was no chance of the use of children in armed conflict. The capital sentence of death would apply to the recruitment of children into armed conflict.

Further Questions by Experts

A Committee Expert asked the delegation to clarify the State Party’s statement on the recruitment of children in the armed forces in the declaration under the Optional Protocol and how had the Government ensured that refugee children were not recruited into armed conflict.

Were there cases of refugee children who had been repatriated to a country where they could be deemed to be at risk for recruitment? The Optional Protocol required specificity to identity which refugees were used in hostilities as soldiers or direct participation in armed conflict. Could the delegation leave a copy of the relevant legislation which criminalized the use of children under 18 in armed conflict or recruited by armed groups?

A Committee Member asked how many children were detained under the state of emergency law during the revolution in Egypt. A Committee Expert asked about the training of peacekeeping forces and in schools on the Optional Protocol.

Further Responses by the Delegation

The delegation stressed that Egypt would not accept any non-voluntary forced recruitment except at 18 years old. There were provisions that criminalized the recruitment in non-governmental military groups and any person who tried to recruit an Egyptian into a military group outside of the Egyptian military would be punished.

The Catholic Relief Agency conducted a study that there were 6,000 refugee children in Egypt but there was no data on how many had been recruited into armed conflict once returned to their country of origin.

The delegation said they had no data on the number of children detained under martial law. However, the Cabinet and the Supreme Council for Military Services were currently reviewing the number of individuals that had been detained.

Preliminary Concluding Observations

YANGHEE LEE, the Committee Member serving as Rapporteur for the report of Egypt, said that the recent developments in Egypt posed challenges and stressed that that the rights of the Convention applied to all children at all times and hoped that the discussions over the last few days would assist the Government in maintaining its momentum in accelerating efforts to protect children’s rights. The Rapporteur strongly recommend that the issue of children and their rights remain at the forefront of the Government’s priorities and urged sufficient funding and human resource allocation to the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood to ensure its efficiency and independence. The Rapporteur recommended the establishment of an independent monitoring mechanism and the strengthening of the Child Protection Committees all the way to the district level and urged a comprehensive investigation into detainment of children during the recent violence. The Rapporteur stressed that this was the time for the Government, despite the many challenges it faced, to seize the opportunity to strengthen the legal system for the promotion and protection of the rights of the child.

AGNES AKOSUA AIDOO, the Committee Member serving as Rapporteur for Egypt’s report under the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, commended the Government’s strong legislative efforts and the broad based mobilization on behalf of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood through its research and action plans to help children. Within the legal framework, several national action plans were put in place that should help to expand the implementation of the Optional Protocol. The Rapporteur identified two structural challenges, one that related to poverty which made children vulnerable to the offences of the Optional Protocol, and one that was cultural which also made traditional practices that violated children difficult to eradicate. The Rapporteur noted the problems of the Child Protection Committees which were still being formed in terms of their capacities and stressed the need for poverty reduction programmes aimed at children and more in-depth studies to understand the resistance and hindrances behind cultural practices so that in the end all children, regardless of the socio-cultural context, would benefit from the protections of the Optional Protocol.

AWICH POLLAR, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of Egypt on the involvement of children in armed conflict, said that the Optional Protocol established a built-in system for the State to avoid using children in armed conflict and that he would submit his concluding observations in due time.

In closing remarks, LAMIA MOHSEN, Secretary General of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, said that the observations of the Committee would assist the Government in implementing more child friendly laws and programmes for the protection of children across the country. Despite numerous successes, there was much work to be done to promote human rights and the rights of children in Egypt and the Secretary General said that the Government was determined to transform the recent crisis and challenges into opportunities for the future of the millions of children in Egypt.

__________

For use of the information media; not an official record