UN Committee to review Peru’s record on children’s rights

GENEVA (11 January 2016) – Children’s rights in Peru will be reviewed by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on 14 and 15 January in sessions that will be webcast live.

Peru is one of the 196 states that have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child and so is required to undergo regular examinations of its record by the Committee of 18 independent experts.

The CRC members will hold discussions with a delegation from the Peruvian Government on how the Convention is being implemented.  They will also examine how Peru is doing with regard to two other important legal instruments - the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (OPSC) and the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict (OPAC).  The Committee will base its evaluation on the delegation’s replies, as well as information from civil society groups.

These are among the possible issues to be discussed: Persistent discrimination against girls; violence and bullying in schools; prosecution of alleged acts of violence, including sexual violence,  by State security forces; growing number of teenage pregnancies; impact of large-scale hydroelectric and mining projects; increased privatization of education; measures to protect children adversely affected by illicit coca cultivation and drug trafficking; steps to prevent children being recruited by armed groups; measures to tackle increase in child prostitution in mining areas.

The full list of issues and Peru’s submitted written report can be found here: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=924&Lang=en

The CRC’s meetings with the Peruvian delegation will take place in Room XXV at Palais des Nations at the following times:
Thursday 14 January: 15:00-18:00 (09:00-12:00 in Lima)
Friday 15 January: 10:00 - 13:00 and 15:00 - 18:00 (04:00-07:00 and 09:00- 12:00)
The sessions are public and will be webcast here: http://www.treatybodywebcast.org/.

The CRC will hold a news conference to discuss its findings on Peru and the other countries being reviewed - Senegal, Iran, Latvia, Oman, France, Ireland, Haiti, Maldives, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Benin, Brunei and Kenya – at 12:00 on 4 February at the Palais des Nations. The findings, officially called concluding observations, will be published on 4 February here: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=924&Lang=en

ENDS

For more information and media requests, please contact Liz Throssell (+41 (0) 22 917 9466/ +41 79 752 0488 ethrossell@ohchr.org
To learn more about the Committee on the Rights of the Child, visit: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRC/Pages/CRCIndex.aspx
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