Committee on Rights of Child examines report of Cambodia

Committee on the Rights of the Child
3 June 2011

The Committee on the Rights of the Child today reviewed the combined second and third periodic report of Cambodia on how that country is implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Introducing the report, Ith Samheng, Minister of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation and President of the Cambodian National Council for Children, said the Cambodian National Council for Children, established in 1995, was the mechanism to monitor, coordinate and provide guidance to the Government on work related to the survival, development, protection and welfare of children. Cambodia had achieved remarkable progress in many areas, including a reduction in infant mortality from 95 per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 45 in 2010; a decline in under 5 mortality from 124 per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 54 in 2010; an increase in the nutritional status of children and a decline in HIV/AIDS prevalence among people aged 15 to 49 years from 2 per cent in 1998 to 0.7 per cent in 2010. Mr. Samheng said that Cambodia had re-established its legal and judicial system and had undertaken comprehensive child justice reform. The Government was committed to reducing working children from 16.5 per cent in 1999 to 8 per cent before 2015 and would accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.

In preliminary remarks, Committee Expert Hatem Kotrane, who served as Rapporteur for the report of Cambodia, raised the issue of child labour as 1.5 million children participated in the labour force, 250,000 of them in the worst forms of child labour, and yet no employers had been taken to court for violating the law. What was the situation concerning labour inspectors and what plans were in place to deal with this issue?

The Co-Rapporteur, Sanphasit Koompraphant, raised a number of issues related to provision of services to vulnerable children, including, the percentage of the government budget allocated to street families and their children and the factors which made children victims of trafficking.

Other Experts raised a series of questions pertaining to, among other things, education and high drop out rates in school, 20 per cent in primary schools and 40 per cent in secondary schools and less than four years of education among a youth population aged between 17 and 22 years; health care, specifically what actions the Government was taking to resolve malnutrition which impacted 40 per cent of children under 5 years old; and corruption, namely how had the Government implemented the anti corruption law passed in March 2010.

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

The delegation of Cambodia included representatives from the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, the Ministry of Education Youth and Sport, the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health, the Cambodian National Council for Children and the Permanent Mission of Cambodia to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

As one of the 193 States parties to the Convention, Cambodia 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 day to present the report and to answer questions raised by Committee Experts.

When the Committee reconvenes on Monday, 6 June, at 10 a.m., it will consider the combined third and fourth periodic report of Egypt (CRC/C/EGY/4).

Report of Cambodia

The combined second and third periodic report of Cambodia (CRC/C/KHM/2-3) notes that the Cambodian National Council for Children was established in 1995 with responsibilities to provide advice and coordinate activities relevant to children including assisting the Government in monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the Convention and its Optional Protocols as well as national programs for children.

The definition of child was incorporated into the laws and draft laws of the Constitution. For example, article 17 of the Draft Civil Code states that children are those aged below 18. The penal code 2007 defines that a minor aged below 14 shall be not put in pre-trial detention. The new penal code provides that the minimum age for criminal liability is 18. However, if circumstances of the offence so require, the court is entitled to impose criminal sanctions upon minors aged above 14 (art. 39). In the Law on Marriage and Family, article 97 provides that the age of majority is 18. The legal minimum age for consent to sexual activity is defined in article 2231-1 of the new Penal Code as starting from 15 years old. The Labour Law states the minimum age for wage employment of children is 15 years old and above. Children can be involved in work even at the age of 12 if it is light work, does not cause harm to the health and mental development and does not interfere with their education or training.

The Constitution of Kingdom of Cambodia prohibits depriving Khmer nationality from Cambodian citizens, including children. There is not yet a refugee law in Cambodia. There is a law on immigration; however, there are no provisions dealing with children in rejoining their families abroad or in Cambodia. At the end of 2007, there were 20 State orphanages and 176 non-governmental organizations running long-term residential care centers housing 2,240 and 6,383 children. These children are mostly poor, orphans and street children. According to a report in 2006 by Phnom Penh Department of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation, there are 4,189 street children in the capital alone.

In 2004, only 67.1 per cent of people aged between 7 and 15 years old, and 69.6 per cent of people over 15 years of age were literate. There are gaps in literacy between urban and rural areas, and between males and females. Low literacy among women and girls, particularly in the rural area, is a concern as this negatively impacts poverty reduction, infant mortality, child survival; better family health, and educational attainment of their children. Infant and under five mortality rates decreased significantly between 2000 and 2005. The infant mortality rate declined from 95 per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 66 per 1,000 live births in 2005; while under five mortality rate dropped from 124 per 1,000 live births to 83 per 1,000 live births during the same period.

In 2002 the Cambodian National Council for Children organized children’s forums in three provinces with the participation of pupils, orphans and street children staying with the aim of promoting awareness on the rights of the child and implementation of the Convention. With support from the United Nations Children’s Fund, advocacy kits with a number of key indicators related to women and children have been issued to district and provincial governors to incorporate women and children’s issues into their priority work. Since the commune elections in 2002, all commune councils have selected one female counsellor or a woman from the commune to be in charge of women and children’s affairs. Her role is to ensure that issues related to their rights are included in commune council planning and decision making.

Presentation of Report

In presenting the combined second and third periodic report of Cambodia, ITH SAMHENG, Minister of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation and President of the Cambodian National Council for Children, said that Cambodia ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992 and that the legal basis for the promotion and protection of children’s rights was enshrined in the Constitution in 1993. The report was prepared in wide consultation with all stakeholders, including children and civil society organizations. This consultation was led by the Cambodian National Council for Children, established in 1995 as a mechanism to monitor, coordinate and provide guidance to the Government on work related to the survival, development, protection and welfare of children. The National Council for Children had recently expanded its structure to the provinces and focal points had been established in ministries to facilitate greater awareness on children’s rights and to monitor implementation at all levels.

Cambodia had achieved remarkable progress in many areas, including peace, political stability, security and social order which was strengthened based on a firm foundation of liberal multi-party democracy; decentralization and de-concentration reforms; good governance through state reforms, especially civil service reform, legal and judicial reforms and armed forces reforms; macro-economic stability and unprecedented high, double figure economic growth; institutional and human resource capacity development and partnerships with stakeholders, especially putting in place a range of effective mechanisms, allowing for mobilizing and coordinating cooperative financing and investments.

The implementation of the Rectangular Strategy through the National Strategic Development Plan covering 2009 to 2012 facilitated effective mainstreaming of child rights into national development programs and incorporated the Millennium Development Goals for children. The infant mortality rate had decreased from 95 per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 66 in 2005 and 45 in 2010. The under 5 mortality declined from 124 per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 54 in 2010. The nutritional status of children had improved and the percentage of stunted children had fallen from 43 per cent in 2005 to only 40 per cent in 2010. The Government had drawn strength from efforts paid to universal immunization, Vitamin A supplementation and improving water and sanitation. The HIV prevalence among people aged 15 to 49 years old had declined from 2 per cent in 1998 to 0.7 per cent in 2010. Health facilities with Voluntary Counseling and Confidential Testing increased from 12 in 2000 to 239 in 2010. As of December 2010, 921 health facilities in Cambodia including 3 national hospitals, 74 referral hospitals, 84 health centers and 17 non-government health facilities implemented prevention of mother to child transmission service.

The Government had made great strides in increasing the enrolment rate of children in primary schools and gender disparity was effectively addressed with new enrollment rates in primary schools of 95.2 per cent for girls and 94.8 per cent for boys. The quality of education and the pedagogic capacity of teachers had significantly improved. There were 6,767 primary schools in 2011, of which 58 per cent were child-friendly schools. The child-friendly schools program was implemented in 424 lower secondary schools, equivalent to 36 per cent of the total number of schools.

The core laws of the country, namely the Penal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Civil Code and the Civil Procedure Code were recently enacted. Special laws were also promulgated, including the Law on Inter-Country Adoption, the Law on Anti-Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation, the Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence and Protection of Victims, the Law on the Rights of the Persons with Disabilities and the Law on Education. The Government was currently drafting and finalizing several other laws, including the draft Law on Juvenile Justice, the Law on Prison Management and the draft law on Tobacco Control which contained a provision prohibiting the sale of or giving access to tobacco products to any person who was under 18 years old and to pregnant women.

The Government issued a sub-decree in July 2010 concerning formal statistics by assigning state ministries and institutions to collect, collate, analyze and disseminate statistics related to children. Five major data collection systems were established: CAMInfo, the Database on Repatriation of Women and Child Victims, the Database on Sex Offences, Human Trafficking and Domestic Violence, and the Database on Child Justice and the Monitoring and Evaluation System on the situation of vulnerable people, including children.

The Royal Government of Cambodia considered civil society as one of its main partners. Many national and international non-governmental organizations were actively implementing programs to contribute to the development of the country and to enhance children’s rights. Non-governmental organizations were present in many Government bodies, including the National Committee for the Suppression of Human Trafficking, Smuggling, Labour Exploitation and Sexual Exploitation in Women and Children, the national Multi-Sectored Orphans and Vulnerable Children Task Force, the Disability Action Councils and the Government–Non-Governmental Organization Working Group on Child Justice. The Government adopted the National Action Plan against Human Trafficking, including Women and Children and an Inter-Ministerial Advisory Committee will coordinate and monitor the implementation of the plan, including facilitating the implementation of various preventive, rehabilitation and reintegration programs for victims of violence, exploitation and abuse.

Cambodia had re-established its legal and judicial system from scratch and had undertaken comprehensive child justice reform. Child justice was under the seventh strategic objective of the Council for Legal and Judicial Reform. Criminal responsibility was set at the age of 14 years. The Draft Law on Juvenile Justice was developed in compliance with international standards, the Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code had taken into account child-sensitivity and mandating child-friendly procedures. A number of guidelines and instructions were issued and implemented in order to protect children in the justice system as victims, witnesses or offenders.

In pursuance of the ratification of the International Labour Organization Convention on the elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, Cambodia was committed to reducing working children from 16.5 per cent in 1999 to 8 per cent before 2015. The Government approved the National Social Protection Strategy for the Poor and Vulnerable in order to respond to the needs of poorer members of society and to accelerate progress towards the Cambodian Millennium Development Goals. The Government budget had significantly increased in the reporting period covered by this report, including the allocation of substantial resources for the expansion of education, health, nutrition and social welfare programs.

Questions by Committee Members

HATEM KOTRANE, Committee Member serving as Rapporteur for the report of Cambodia, said that he was very satisfied by the contents of the report which had closely followed the guidelines of the Committee. The Rapporteur would like further clarification on whether the Government intended to develop a full Children’s Code and whether or not juvenile justice Laws would be incorporated into this code. The Rapporteur regretted the fact that no specific or concrete examples were provided on how the Convention on the Rights of the Child had been directly applied by a judge where domestic laws were in contradiction with the Convention. The Rapporteur was concerned about discrimination against women and girls, children with disabilities and minority children, as traditional practices seemed to condone this type of discrimination. There were reports of ill treatment of children at police stations, notably children in drug rehabilitation centres; could the delegation provide more information on this issue? There seemed to be an implicit toleration of corporal punishment against children in the legal system and the Rapporteur asked what the Government would do to address this issue.

SANPHASIT KOOMPRAPHANT, Committee Member serving as Co-Rapporteur for the report of Cambodia, said that there was a lack of parental skills among a large part of the population which had been orphaned and asked if the National Plan of Action had addressed this issue, specifically what percentage of the Government budget was allocated to street families and their children and how many families were living in Government centres. What agency had been assigned to implement the Act on Child Victims, how were service providers trained to carry out their duties, including identifying victims, could children file complaints to the National Council for Children, and what percentage of the budget was allocated for the implementation of this law?

A Committee Member raised concerns about the Government’s budget for the social sector which had not increased as much as for other sectors, notably education which only accounted for 1.9 per cent of Gross Domestic Product. A Committee Expert asked what measures the Government had taken to implement and establish an independent human rights institution or Ombudsman in line with the Paris Principles. Questions were asked about how the Government planned to integrate the Comprehensive National Plan for Children with the National Strategic Development Plan, particularly in terms of the movement toward decentralization in local governments. Concerning migrants, they appeared to be 35 per cent of the population, notably between the ages of 15 and 25 years old, and were they were either from other provinces or from outside the country. Had the Government ratified the Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers? The Committee Expert welcomed the work the Government had done to prevent children from working in the formal sector, yet raised a concern about the informal sector and what steps were being taken to extend the regulatory framework to the informal sector.

A Committee Expert raised concerns about data collection; was there a central body responsible for collection and did it cover not only prevention services but also health, education and other sectors? The Civil Code permitted parents to practice corporal punishment in their homes and the Committee Expert asked if there was an intention to repeal this law.

A Committee Member raised the concern that rights granted under the Constitution only covered the Khmer people and asked for clarification on this issue. They also asked for clarification on the figures on child education, which stated that 95 per cent of girls and 99 per cent of boys attended school, but other figures showed that 16.8 per cent of boys were working.

A Committee Expert raised concerns about corruption and asked how the Government had avoided corruption on budget allocation. In March 2010, an anti-corruption law was passed and the Committee Member wanted more information on how this law was applied to prevent corruption.

A Committee Member asked about the Government’s confidence in birth registration which was over 90 per cent; how had Government verified birth registration among street families? School enrolment was over 90 per cent but what were the retention rates, how many children dropped out and had there been a focus on non-formal education covering numeracy, literacy and other life skills?

The Chairman asked if there was respect for Article 12, the right of children to influence decisions related to them; could the delegation provide examples of how this was done along with the integration of the principle of the best interests of the child? How were workers and service providers trained, informed and resourced on the rights of the child? Road accidents and landmines were two of the main causes of children with disabilities so what measures had the Government taken to address both of these issues? How was coordination carried about between the capital, provinces and municipal levels with regard to the provision of service for children?

Response by the Delegation

Regarding children with disabilities, the delegation said that the Government had cooperated with the United Nations Children’s Fund on a draft law. There was close cooperation between non-governmental organizations and the Government with NGO members participating on each Working Group Committee of the Government. The Law on Children with Disabilities was implemented through cooperation with non-governmental organizations, notably the creation of specialized centres, particularly a deaf centre. Concerning migrant children, the Government focused on child labour in the garment sector with the International Labour Organization.

The Strategic Action Plan for Children had links and relationships with the National Development Plan which allowed for follow-up and monitoring on programs affecting children. There were no intentions to disaggregate budget lines for children, but the State had given priorities to key sectors, including children, and there were sector plans focused on education, health, agricultural and rural development. The budget line for national defence and security had decreased and been allocated to social sectors, the development of infrastructure and poverty reduction. Child labour was regarded by the Government as a key sector and the Government had ratified Convention 182 of the International Labour Organization and adopted a plan of action on the worst forms of child labour. There was a project with the International Labour Organization related to monitoring the private sector that utilized child labour, “Better Factories in Cambodia”, to ensure there was no child labour and covered the following sectors: rubber farms, salt, construction.

Further Questions by Experts

A Committee Expert raised concerns about corruption and asked how the implementation of the 2010 Law against Corruption had improved the problem of corruption, particularly in the judiciary. A case was raised about the violent eviction by the police of women and children from Phnom Penh’s Boeung Kak Lake district. A Committee Member asked how provincial and municipal committees were financed to carry out their work, by the central Government or from outside agencies. The Committee Chairman asked if there was a minimum level of training that social workers and non-governmental organization workers received on the Convention.

Response by the Delegation

The delegation responded that the Government followed the eviction procedures as defined in the Home Law of 2001. The Government evicted individuals if they had no proper legal right to dwell in a property and in the case of eviction, the Government provided adequate housing with water and electricity. Hundreds of families had their houses changed in Phom Penh, moving people into a new community which was supported by a fund. The Government cooperated with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme and other non-governmental organizations. Concerning the case of Boeung Kak Lake district, this land belonged to the Government and the people had no claim to it and more than 90 per cent of the families that lived in the area had received compensation from the Government to move to a new community.

Decentralization was carried out with the clear objective to improve services to people in the regions. Due to the reforms related to various sectors within the Government and across society, this process had been led by law with the establishment of a National Committee with the Deputy Prime Minister as the Chairman and with representation from all Government institutions. At the provincial and municipal levels, there were committees responsible for women and children. At the commune level there were members of the council in charge of women and children issues. There were many tasks related to children’s rights and the provision of services for children at the grass roots level. For example, the Ministry of Education had networks up to the district level but at the commune level committees worked to capture how many children attended schools along with projects with the United Nations Children’s Fund.

The delegation said that funds were allocated both from the national budget, provincial budgets and contributions from donors. At the commune level there were funds and also at the district level. At specialized ministries, budget lines flowed to sub-national levels, which was in the process of being developed along with the programme for decentralisation occurring in the country.

In principle, the Government supported the establishment of an independent national human rights institution based on the Paris Principles and a multi working group was created between the Government and non-governmental organizations to develop an initial draft law. Three drafts had been created and were still under internal discussion. The delegation said that the principle of the interests of the child were being taken into account in the draft Juvenile Law, including that children were not put in detention and that the prosecutor and the investigate justices would have the power to refer the minor from the formal system of court to the juvenile court. Judges, prosecutors and lawyers would all be trained on the Convention, including through curriculum and workshops with police officers so that all actors would implement child’s rights in the justice system. Social workers also participated in workshops concerning the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Further Questions by Experts

HATEM KOTRANE, Committee Member serving as Rapporteur for the report of Cambodia, said that illegal adoption continued to take place on the ground with no legal penalties, which represented the sale of children according to the Optional Protocol. Could the delegation confirm if primary education was mandatory under the law? The Rapporteur raised the issue of child labour saying that 1.5 million children worked in the country, 250,000 of them in the worst forms of child labour, and yet there were no employers or companies that had been taken to court for violating the law. What was the situation concerning labour inspectors and what plans were in place to deal with the large number of children participating in the labour force? Concerning juvenile justice, the Rapporteur asked for clarification on the minimum age of criminal responsibility and whether a child of 14 could be criminally responsible. Could the delegation explain the system of juvenile justice?

SANPHASIT KOOMPRAPHANT, Committee Member serving as Co-Rapporteur for the report of Cambodia, said that concerning street families, no services were provided to parents regarding counselling and he asked whether street children who had no parents were placed in institutional care. What were the push factors which made children victims of trafficking and how had the Government tried to eliminate these factors?

Other Committee Experts stressed that as Cambodia had the highest population of persons with disabilities in the world, and they asked what the Government was doing to collect accurate data on children with disabilities. They also stressed that it was the State’s responsibility to provide services to these individuals rather than non-governmental organizations. School failure was a major concern with 20 per cent in primary schools and 40 per cent in secondary schools dropping out and there was less than four years of education among the youth population aged between 17 and 22 years. A Committee Member raised concerns about refugees and whether the Government respected the principle of non-refoulement, especially concerning the disappearance of Uighur refugees, two of which were children.

Committee Members raised issues on health care, specifically what actions the Government was taking to resolve malnutrition which impacted 40 per cent of children under 5 years old and whether there was an intensive program in place to reduce under 5 mortality. Concerning the large number of children that had contracted HIV/AIDS, had it been transmitted from the mother and what programs were in place to help these children? Were there home-based programs for early childhood development?

As Cambodia had provisionally suspended all international adoptions due to a lack of Governmental resources to implement the provisions of The Hague Convention, a Committee Expert asked what efforts were taken by the Government to reduce illegal adoptions by Government officials, particularly in exchange for money. What Government entity was responsible for adoption inside the country?

A Committee Member asked what responsibility the private sector had in providing for early childhood education considering the high budgetary requirements this necessitated and what was being done to reduce the drop out rates in school?

A Committee Expert highlighted the connection between the tourism industry and the trafficking of minors for sex. There were reports of Cambodian courts that lagged behind in the condemnation and sanctioning of those found guilty of such crimes with mild sanctions.

A Committee Member asked for further information on children who could, up to the age of 6 years old, remain detained in prison with their mothers and what type of educational services were provided for these children?

A Committee Expert said that the International Labour Organization could not carry out the inspection services and was concerned that the laws forbidding child labour were neither implemented nor applied.

The Committee Chairman asked for data on the centers established for street children, children who abused drugs and children who were the victims of trafficking, specifically how many children had been rehabilitated and integrated back into society. A Committee Expert asked if any traffickers had been convicted and what penalties had been issued? What preventive mine action programs existed for children?

A Committee Expert asked how much money had been placed into the fund for persons with disabilities and they expressed concerns that persons with disabilities had been placed into institutions and not allowed to exercise their rights.

Had the Government intended to make education compulsory? A Committee Expert advised the Government to spend more than 1.9 per cent of Gross Domestic Product on education and stressed that children were one of the most important assets of the country.

Response by the Delegation

Inter-country adoption was used as a last resort in Cambodia and the Ministry of Social Affairs was the central authority to implement the inter-country adoption law. There were legal experts from The Hague and from the United Nations Children’s Fund that had assisted the Ministry in the preparation of this law. However, as the law was behind schedule, the Government delayed inter-country adoption until 1 April 2012. During the interim period, the Government would resolve 201 cases under existing laws. Concerning illegal payments for adoption, the Government was developing clear standards and the law would forbid payment to a broker for adoption.

Any corporation that used child labour illegally would be punished under the law. Within the monitoring projects of the International Labour Organization, any factory that used child labour would be punished by the withdrawal of their export license. The Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training was responsible for inspections in factories and had the right to impose fines, file complaints and refer the factory to the courts. Concerning domestic workers, Cambodia had implemented projects with non-governmental organizations for domestic workers, particularly to provide support and rescue services for children working in households. An inter-ministerial committee incorporated a humanitarian concept to establish minimum standards on the protection of the rights of child victims, especially street children. Cambodia had a plan to deal with anti-human trafficking that was incorporated into all ministries and hard measures were taken against those who conducted these crimes along with rehabilitation services for victims.

The delegation explained that street children had received education, health and counseling services and there were non-governmental organizations who worked in this sector. The Government had worked hard on the issue of trafficking children and in prosecuting criminals, including foreigners who came to the country for sex tourism. The State had a rehabilitation centre for children who used drugs and there were home based programs for children who had abused drugs where confidentiality was maintained and protected.

The Law on the Protection and Promotion of People with Disabilities defined a child with a disability as any child that had experienced a loss of part of their body or mental capability that impaired their ability to function. In 2010, there were 1,830 children with disabilities among a population of persons with disabilities of 200,000. An expert from the International Committee of the Red Cross had collaborated on a project with the Government to assist in the collection of data on persons with disabilities. There was no specific information on the amount of money in the fund for disability as it was newly established.

In orphanages there were sole orphans, meaning both parents had passed away, and there were single parent orphans, who had one parent that had sent their children to an orphanage because they could not care for the child.

Cambodia had suffered from genocide and war and the infrastructure was completely uprooted and that was why the Government was investing money into rebuilding the infrastructure which would help individuals. The delegation said there were a number of programs aimed at educating minority children in the national language so that they could be integrated into society.

In the Constitution there was no mention of compulsory education, only free education from grades 1 to 6. Concerning the educational budget, in comparison with the Gross Domestic Product, 1.9 per cent was appropriate because education was not solely the responsibility of the Ministry of Education, but was shared by other Ministries. The paying of fees to teachers no longer occurred. For children in rural areas, there were dormitories for girls and scholarships in cooperation with the World Bank. The Government cooperated with various international organizations to reduce the drop out rate. There was a non-formal education program to help children who had left school early. In the future, the Government would not limit educational programs by age so that it could provide literacy and vocational training for adults. If children failed lower secondary school, there would be a second chance to take their examinations so they could return to the next grade. Concerning pre-school education, only 46 per cent of the population had access to preschool, but there was a goal of increasing access up to 70 per cent by 2015.

The Ministry of Health had taken care of acute malnourished children through providing mixed micronutrients in some provinces and had strengthened the care of children in all hospitals. The high mortality rate of children was mostly related to malnutrition. The Ministry of Health had increased iodized salt and had found that the causes of child mortality were 50 per cent due to diarrhea and respiratory infections. The Child Survival Strategy was implemented by the Ministry of Health to tackle these problems with 12 interventions, mostly focused on breast feeding and in providing nutrients. Measles was also a cause of some child deaths and the Government would implement a vaccination program to eradicate measles in the country. There were programs developed to care for children with HIV/AIDs including voluntary testing and more than 80 per cent of pregnant women had volunteered to have blood tests for HIV/AIDs.

Follow-up Questions by Experts

Committee Experts asked why infant mortality rates for birth up to the first month of life had not decreased. Concerning the causes of malnutrition, was it due to the lack of food, poor quality of food or poor hygiene? What care and assistance was provided to combat maternal mortality and were there mobile health services for remote villages?

Was there a comprehensive adolescent health strategy, particularly one that addressed the high rate of suicide among adolescents?

Concerning the high incidence of traffic accidents and the threat posed by landmines, what preventive systems or education campaigns were developed by the Government to address these concerns? The Committee Chairman asked how many perpetrators had been prosecuted under the Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Protection of Victims. The Committee stressed that any form of corporal punishment was not allowed and that all children should be treated with human dignity as in turn they would learn to treat others that way.

A Committee Member asked for clarification on the juvenile justice system, if criminal responsibility applied after 18, were there special cases that it would apply at 14 and what were these circumstances? If a child of between 14 and 18 years old committed a criminal offence, which legal authority would intervene, a specialized judge or a regular criminal court?

Response by the Delegation

The delegation said that the high infant mortality rate was related to the health of the mother and for children that died within the first 30 days, it was primarily due to problems during the pregnancy, the mother’s nutrition or a difficult labour. Fifty per cent of child deliveries were done by trained birth attendants and 70 per cent of mothers came to the clinic for pre and post natal services. The Government provided at least one midwife per health centre and would increase this to two midwives.

There were more than 200 health facilities that provided services for adolescents. Drug abuse was the primary reason for suicides among adolescents and the Government would continue to develop programs in this area.

The delegation explained that the Government had monitored the incidents of domestic violence in the country to develop programs to help victims. Domestic violence was defined as any violence that would affect women and children living in the same household. The Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Protection of Victims was passed which provided for training of various authorities with a wide dissemination of publications and campaigns against domestic violence. Domestic violence was less prevalent in cities than in rural areas. Lawyers were provided for women who were victims of domestic violence.

The age of criminal responsibility was 18 years old. For both criminal and civil offences, pre-trial detention for an accused child between 14 to 15 years old was not more than 2 months, from 16 to 18 years not more 4 months. Children under 14 years old could not be kept in pre-trial detention for either criminal or civil cases. In the Criminal Code, children should be detained in a separate place from adults. Concerning the arrest of a child, officials must provide information to the child’s parents, lawyers and doctor, if the child had a medical condition. After the arrest, within 24 hours, the child would have access to a lawyer and in every step of the inquiry the child must have a lawyer, which could be appointed by the court if the child could not afford one. The maximum punishment for a child guilty of committing a crime would be reduced by half and life imprisonment would be reduced to 20 years. There were also alternative punishments to prison for children. A law was being discussed by the Council of Ministers to create a special Chamber for Minors, as a special court for children. Concerning child pornography, the law defined clear punishments for those who developed, distributed or transported child pornography in addition to clear punishments for those who procured child prostitution. The trafficking of children with the purpose of exploitation, the sale of children and the exploitation of children and the purchase of children for prostitution would all be punished.

Preliminary Concluding Remarks

SANPHASIT KOOMPRAPHANT, Committee Member serving as Co-Rapporteur for the report of Cambodia, urged the State party to cooperate with civil society and to ensure that the law would be effective, to provide budgetary allocations and regulations at all levels of Government which would create the right framework to support the Government’s program.

ITH SAMHENG, Minister of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation and President of the Cambodian National Council for Children, in closing remarks said that the Government of Cambodia had taken consistent measures to protect children’s rights and to provide social and health services for vulnerable children. While significant progress had been made to enhance the rights of children, much work remained to be done and the Government was aware of the gaps and would continue to work with all stakeholders through constructive dialogue and strong partnerships to achieve the National Strategic Development Plan. The Government was committed to taking all the necessary actions to implement the Convention for the Rights of the Child and was appreciative of all the support the country had received from international agencies, including the United Nations Children’s Fund.

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