Committee on the Rights of the Child reviews report of the Dominican Republic

Committee on the Rights of the Child

13 January 2015

The Committee on the Rights of the Child today concluded its consideration of the combined third to fifth periodic report of the Dominican Republic on its implementation of the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
 
Presenting the report, Gertrudis Alberto Padilla Vicioso, Head of the Department of Public Policies, Standards and Regulations of the National Council for Childhood and Adolescence of the Dominican Republic, outlined initiatives by the Government to meet the recommendations of the Committee, including improvements in terms of birth registration and regarding the regularization of migrant children.  Proposals had just been made for the adoption of a national plan to combat violence against children and adolescents and prevent early pregnancies among adolescents. 
 
In the interactive dialogue, Committee Experts raised concerns about the needs of migrant children, particularly those coming from Haiti, not being sufficiently addressed in law and practice.  There were concerns regarding access to the Dominican citizenship, resulting in a number of stateless children.  Experts also expressed concerns regarding the lack of information on the impact of the activities carried out by the National Council for Childhood and Adolescence.  Concerns were raised about early pregnancy policies that seemed not to have completely addressed this issue.  Experts were concerned that there seemed to be no policy focusing specifically on sexual violence against children and that children continued to be subjected to corporal punishment.  Finally, concerns were raised about discrimination against vulnerable groups of children, including migrants and children with disabilities. 
 
In concluding remarks, Sara Oviedo, Committee Expert and Country Rapporteur for the report of the Dominican Republic, recognized that the Dominican Republic faced longstanding problems that constituted obstacles.  She said that progress was possible in several areas, including regarding the situation of Haitians.  Victims of violence needed further protection from the State and shelter institutions needed to be reinforced. 
 
Gertrudis Alberto Padilla Vicioso, Head of the Department of Public Policies, Standards and Regulations of the National Council for Childhood and Adolescence of the Dominican Republic, reiterated the commitment of the Dominican Republic and the National Council for Childhood and Adolescence to protecting the rights of the child, and referred to the Government’s plan to improve the education system. 
 
The delegation of the Dominican Republic included representatives of the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development, the National Council for Childhood and Adolescence, the Central Electoral Board and of the Permanent Mission of the Dominican Republic to the United Nations Office at Geneva. 
 
The Committee will next meet this afternoon at 3 p.m. to consider the combined second to fourth periodic report of Turkmenistan (CRC/C/TKM/2-4) in Chamber A and the fifth periodic report of Sweden (CRC/C/SWE/5) in Chamber B.

Report
 
The combined third to fifth periodic report of the Dominican Republic under the Convention on the Rights of the Child can be read via the following link: CRC/C/DOM/3-5. 
 
Presentation of the Report
 
GERTRUDIS ALBERTO PADILLA VICIOSO, Head of the Department of Public Policies, Standards and Regulations, National Council for Childhood and Adolescence of the Dominican Republic, presenting the report said that in terms of protection policies of children there were a number of changes taking place.  The Government had enacted an organic law on the National Development Strategy 2010-2030 to meet the requirements of the Committee and the Convention.  The National Strategy contained objectives in various fields of activities, especially for children and adolescents, an absolute priority area.  To support this action, the authorities had launched two programmes for early childhood, including on the provision of a full range of basic services.

He noted that the Dominican population was not used to registering the birth of children, and admitted that generations were not listed in public records.  Recognizing this problem, the authorities had acted on the Committee's recommendation to remedy this situation.  The National Electoral Commission was responsible for developing, with the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders, a form of appropriate registration and a hospital-based simplified procedure.  Meanwhile, authorities had studied legal alternatives to handle any situation of inequality or injustice in birth registration among nationals and migrants.  The authorities had also launched a package of measures to regularize the situation of thousands of migrants in the Dominican Republic, putting an end to the situation of insecurity in which they lived.

On the other hand, the fight against violence against children and adolescents required strong measures.  Proposals had just been made for the adoption of a national plan to combat such violence, involving not only the government but also civil society organizations.  The National Council for Childhood and Adolescence would open 50 new local offices.   Other measures aimed to reduce the number of placements in institutions and increase investments in basic social services, particularly in the prevention of early pregnancies among adolescents.  All these measures were part of the most ambitious plan ever applied by the country.
 
Questions from the Experts
 
SARA OVIEDO, Committee Expert and Country Rapporteur for the report of the Dominican Republic, welcomed the delegation and its presentation of the report.  She expressed concerns regarding institutional mechanisms and national coordination for the implementation of the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  She asked for detailed information about the establishment of National Council for Childhood and Adolescence local centres as well as about national coordination at the local level, which seemed to have some gaps.  In addition, there was a lack of information regarding the impact and mandate of the National Council and its ability to address the needs of the youth, particularly of the Haitian youth present in the Dominican Republic. 
 
Ms. Oviedo noted that the National Development Strategy certainly seemed to be the most important tool in decades for children in the Dominican Republic.  However, this strategy should include other important elements, including measures against trafficking in human beings.  She regretted that children's rights were not explicitly mentioned in a number of plans and programmes, particularly in the important mandate of the Ombudsman.  The Committee required that more references were made to children and adolescents, and that these were directly targeted in order to ensure that their rights and needs were addressed.  She inquired whether children had access to social networks and modern technologies, and whether problems that could result from such access, including in terms of sexual violence and trafficking, were addressed. 
 
A Committee Expert was pleased to see that the Dominican Republic had ratified many international human rights instruments, and encouraged the Government to ratify the remaining ones, including the Third Additional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  He was also pleased that the rights of the child were enshrined in the Dominican Constitution.  He regretted the lack of information about the direct applicability of the Convention into domestic law and required some examples about the Convention being directly referred to by domestic courts. 

A Committee Expert raised the issue of gender-based violence, and was concerned that efforts had not gone far enough to address this problem.  Would the Dominican Republic take measures to further address this issue and bring perpetrators to justice?  Another Expert was concerned that there seemed to be no policy focusing specifically on sexual violence against children.  There was also no information on the impact of the different initiatives undertaken by the State to address violence.  There appeared to be an issue of impunity for perpetrators of sexual violence.
 
An Expert also asked for clarification on the prevention of violence in schools.  On another topic, a Committee Expert had received civil society reports that some children did not have access to physical education, sports or cultural activities.  The right to play was too often overlooked, the Expert said.  What measures were being taken by the Government to deal with this matter?
 
With regards to corporal punishment, an Expert noted that 40 percent of children continued to be victims of corporal punishment and abuse, which was a problem that needed to be addressed.  The criminal and civil codes had been reformed, but it was not clear whether corporal punishment was unconditionally banned in the new versions of these codes.  What progress had been made to ensure that violence at school was addressed?
 
Several other Experts noted that children were not very visible in Dominican public policy. For example, statistics provided information on the fight against sexual violence in general, but nothing was done to disaggregate data on children.  This "invisibility" of children prevented the adoption of adequate protection measures in their favour, resulting in apparent widespread violence against youth and low support for young victims by foster homes created by the National Council for Childhood and Adolescence.  The Committee inquired about efforts to ensure children’s participation in the education system and in consultations undertaken by the State on this issue.
 
Children born from undocumented migrants still seemed to be denied the right to the Dominican nationality, Ms. Oviedo regretted.  Why was this measure still taken?  Cases of statelessness were of great concern to the Committee, as it affected particularly children and adolescents.  The Rapporteur recalled a recent judgment of the Constitutional Court that would deprive thousands of foreign nationals of the right to seek Dominican citizenship.  Explanations were needed regarding the impact of this decision on the situation of young foreigners involved - including Haitians - at risk of becoming stateless.
 
Questions also focused on the definition of the family and, in particular, on the status of children born out of marriage.  One Expert wondered if the judges were adequately trained in the application of the principle of the best interests of the child.  One Expert wanted to know why a large number of children born in hospitals were still not enrolled in the registry office.  Committee Experts welcomed the efforts made to improve birth registration, and asked why some children remained non-registered and what the State would do to address this issue.  With regards to adoption, the law seemed not to have been adapted to the Hague Convention on Inter-Country adoption, one Expert noted. 

Response by the Delegation
 
With regards to institutional arrangements, the delegation said the National Council for Childhood and Adolescence was the main body in charge of the coordination of efforts to protect the rights of the child.  Its mandate had not changed in that regard, and it was composed of representatives of national and local authorities.  The real difficulty was to make sure that there were no asymmetries between the mandate of the Council and what it did in practice and the funds that were allocated to it.  There was a budget this year to create 50 local offices.  These local committees required budget allocations to pay technical experts.  The budget for this year would allow the establishment of 40 local technical units, as part of the Council’s mandate to provide local support. 
 
With regard to violence against children, a delegate said that in 2013, the Government had established a special prosecutor’s office responsible for the issue of human trafficking.  Twelve operations were undertaken in 2013.  In 2014, 24 cases had been brought to courts, some of which had resulted in imprisonment.  People had been imprisoned for offenses relating to paedophilia or sexual abuses.  In terms of violence, a study indicated that 74 per cent of the population used corporal punishment.  On the basis of this data, the Dominican Republic was well aware of the culture of ill-treatment that existed, and organized events with the United Nations Children’s Fund to raise awareness on this issue.  In the school setting, bullying was of great concern for the Government.  Measures had been taken but these were not enough to dismantle the whole culture of bullying.   
 
With regards to undocumented migrants, the Dominican Republic was obliged to protect all children in the country, including migrant children.  Most migrants in the Dominican Republic came from Haiti.  Because of the situation there, the Haitian authorities had difficulties to pass on information about the identification of family members of Haitian children in the Dominican Republic.  A delegate said that birth registration of children of irregular migrants was a constitutional principle.  Several legal texts guaranteed a nationality for children of irregular migrants after registration had taken place. 
 
With regards to the participation and representation of children in decision-making processes, a delegate said there had been a lack of consultation and involvement of children in the elaboration of a number of public strategies.  There was one region in the country where a programme called “Youth as Protagonists” included youth in debates on drug use and education. 
 
A delegate listed a number of activities, including sportive and cultural practices, to encourage children’s creativity and ensure their right to play.  He said however that this right had not been directly addressed by the National Council for Childhood and Adolescence. 
 
Follow-up Questions from the Experts
 
Several Experts were concerned that the State report did not contain any reference to the issue of statelessness, which affected thousands of children from Haiti.  The Convention stated that States parties had to provide appropriate assistance with a view to speedily address the situation of stateless children.  How many children had been able to access regularization and benefit from the Dominican nationality? 
 
The Committee recognized that the Constitution ensured protection to the family and maternity, which was important for the protection of children’s rights.  What steps were being taken to ensure that all sectors of society, including children and adolescents, could discuss the elaboration of the family code?  An Expert asked what progress had been made for the elaboration of a programme on foster families, as well as measures to ensure the protection of children in facilities, including migrant children and children with disabilities. 
 
With regards to education, an Expert noted with concern that pregnant teenagers had been expelled from schools, and regretted the low level of involvement in secondary education.  What efforts were being undertaken to fill the gaps in the quality of education?  What efforts were being made to combat gender discrimination and gender stereotypes in education?
 
With regards to discrimination, an Expert expressed concerns about allegations of harassment of civil society organizations defending the rights of Haitians.  An Expert asked about measures taken to combat discrimination against marginalized groups, including on the ground of sexual orientation and gender identity. 
 
Experts asked further questions about measures taken to address the needs of children with disabilities, access to safe and drinkable water and the reduction of epidemic risks.
 
On child labour, an Expert noted that Dominican legislation regarding the minimum age for employment was not in line with some International Labour Organization Conventions. 
 
Preventive detention affected children as well, an Expert noted.  This had a negative impact on their rights, including with regards to access to legal counsel. 
 
On the issue of the administration of justice, an Expert asked the delegation of the Dominican Republic whether measures were planned to improve the State’s response to violence against children and bring perpetrators to justice more quickly.  An Expert regretted that custody was systematically applied for juvenile offenders and that alternative sentences were lacking.
 
An Expert raised some questions about the family environment, including about measures put in place to address the separation of children from their parents.  A number of children were living in private and public institutions in an irregular manner.  What capacity building measures had been taken to improve the National Council for Childhood and Adolescence’s response to this situation?
 
With regards to health, a number of problems linked to AIDS existed among the young population, an Expert noted.  Teenage pregnancies were often the result of sexual violence, an Expert also noted.  The delegation was asked what measures were being taken to address these issues, including in terms of data collection.  There seemed to be a lot of laws and reforms on the issues of teen pregnancy and sexual violence that lacked implementation.  An Expert asked about measures to inform girls and boys about ways to avoid teenage pregnancies. 
 
Response by the Delegation
 
On late birth registration, a delegate said that 98 per cent of births took place in hospital facilities.  Hospitals now had offices that automatically registered births before the mothers left the premises.  A pilot study had been undertaken, with the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund, which showed that considerable improvements could be made with little additional cost, which would increase the efficiency of birth registration in hospitals.  On adoption, the delegation said that procedures for international adoption complied with international standards.   
 
On early marriage, girls in the Dominican Republic who had consensual sexual intercourse and were pregnant at a young age were allowed to marry, as an exception, before reaching adulthood.  Social studies were needed to address why girls would engage in consensual sexual intercourse at such a young age, a delegate recognized.  This was a priority for the Government.  A very large number of girls engaged in sexual relationships before marriage, which led to a large number of early pregnancies.  The Government had stepped up its efforts to raise awareness on this issue and make girls understand that such practices harmed their bodies. 
 
There were no Haitian children in the Dominican Republic suffering from statelessness.  The law prevented such a situation on a humanitarian and solidarity basis.  The Dominican Republic had shown great solidarity with Haiti and its population after the earthquake, illustrated by its regularization plan; the issue of migration and refugees had many aspects, and a humanitarian approach was needed. 
 
With regards to the situation of asylum seekers, the Government provided assistance and translation services to children and their families.  There was unfortunately no other choice but to host them in facilities while their demands were being processed.  The National Council for Childhood and Adolescence had created a department in charge of following-up the situation of children of asylum seekers.
 
On the use of drugs, a study had been carried out and showed that nothing was being done to address the needs of poor drug users.  A centre was therefore established to host street children while their families were identified, and to provide therapy with the support of social workers. 
 
A centre for children with disabilities and autism had been established under the auspices of the First Lady.  This centre provided free health and education services to children with disabilities.  The inclusion of children with disabilities in the mainstream education system had also increased.  A civil society campaign aimed at raising the population’s awareness on autism, with the support of the Government. 
 
Follow-up Questions from the Experts
 
An Expert was deeply concerned about the creation of a special centre for children with disabilities, which amounted to segregation against those children.  Instead, the Government should focus on the inclusion of children with disabilities, and on making ordinary education centres available and adapted to them. 
 
An Expert asked whether the State had a plan to modify its legislation with regards to the situation of people who had been deprived of their nationality. 
 
Questions were asked on measures to ensure that adults and juvenile offenders were separated in detention facilities.  Also, an Expert reiterated the question on guarantees on the use of pre-trial detention.   An Expert asked about the situation of children whose mothers were being detained.  Experts reiterated concerns about child labour and the minimum working age in domestic law, which seemed not to be in line with international standards. 
 
An Expert was concerned about the large number of deaths among young women undergoing abortion.  An Expert noted that mothers should be supported in their capacity to breastfeed their children. 
 
Response by the Delegation
 
With regards to juvenile offenders, the delegation said that a disciplinary council was responsible for the investigation of allegations of violations by judges of measures guaranteeing the rights of children accused of offenses.  The management of detention centres for young people was being transferred to the Ministry of Health.  Training for staff working in detention centres had been carried out to inform them on the needs of juvenile offenders.  
 
A protocol on human trafficking was being adopted.  The lack of Haitian representatives able to discuss this issue with the Government of the Dominican Republic was a problem.  The Government of the Dominican Republic was working together with the United Nations Children’s Fund to train local staff in the border region on combatting trafficking and monitoring child labour.  The State was adapting its response to the reality of child labour on the ground. 
 
Children born from foreign parents not present in the Dominican Republic were enrolled in the civil register.  There were a large number of people who had seen their situations regularized.  All those people included in the civil register should soon be able to have full and complete documentation.  The Government was undertaking a procedure whereby people could engage in such procedure at the local level, free of cost.
 
A delegate said that what was really needed was to strengthen the network of foster families in order to protect children from the consequences of being institutionalized.  There was a huge amount of work that needed to be done on the families of institutionalized children, and in collaboration with social workers. 
 
A draft of the family code had been drawn up after multiple consultations and involvement of civil society.  Debates were continuing.  With regards to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, the Constitution was clear that discrimination on any ground was prohibited. 
 
On health, the Dominican Republic took part in a number of initiatives for dealing with HIV/ AIDS. 

Concluding Remarks
 
SARA OVIEDO, Committee Expert and Country Rapporteur for the report of the Dominican Republic, welcomed the responses given by the delegation, and recognized that the Dominican Republic faced longstanding problems that constituted obstacles.  Progress was however possible in several areas, including regarding the situation of Haitians.  Victims of violence needed further protection from the State, and shelter institutions needed to be reinforced.  Resources and training for personnel providing services for children and personnel working in airports were needed.  There was a need to contribute to children’s welfare at all stages.  Children were a key element of society. 
 
GERTRUDIS ALBERTO PADILLA VICIOSO, Head of the Department of Public Policies, Standards and Regulations of the National Council for Childhood and Adolescence of the Dominican Republic, expressed the National Council’s support of the cooperation of the Dominican Republic with the Committee, and reiterated his country’s commitment to protecting the rights of the child.  The Government’s plan to revolutionize the education system had led to improvements of various aspects.  The National Council for Childhood and Adolescence was committed to work towards improving the situation of children.  Its new architecture allowed the Council to work without budget limitations towards that goal. 
 
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