Committee on the Rights of the Child considers the report of Barbados

GENEVA (18 January 2017) - The Committee on the Rights of the Child today concluded its consideration of the second periodic report of Barbados on its implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
 
Introducing the report, Steven Blackett, Minister of Social Care, Constituency, Empowerment and Community Development of Barbados, stressed that education was one of the pillars of national development and was free until the age of 16.  Some six per cent of the gross domestic product was invested in education annually, bringing about a literacy rate of 98 per cent, which was one of the highest in the world.  Child care began at the prenatal stage and a number of institutions across the island ensured the timely delivery of and access to health care services; consequently, children born in Barbados generally enjoyed a good state of health.  Barbados recognized that children with disabilities faced additional challenges and had ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2013.   Violence against children was a source of great concern, said Mr. Blackett, and informed the Committee that a comprehensive review of laws relating to children, women and their families had been undertaken, which would shortly be followed with prioritization of areas for reform to ensure the greater conformity of domestic legislation with international conventions.
 
In the ensuing dialogue, Committee Experts congratulated Barbados on the progress made since the last review in 1999, particularly in the areas of education and health, and also on the success in maintaining budget allocations for children despite the economic and financial crisis.  They inquired about the ongoing legal reform and how the new children’s law would incorporate the Convention’s principles, in particular that of the best interest of the child which was currently scattered throughout the legislation.  Experts expressed concern that the law allowed marriage under the age of 18 under certain circumstances and expressed hope that Barbados would pass the law to remove the exception to the legal age of marriage.  Despite the adoption of several new laws aiming to prevent violence against children, corporal punishment was still not prohibited, noted the Experts, and asked about a single and comprehensive policy framework with regard to neglect, abuse and violence against children, how civil society was supported in preventing child abuse and neglect, and what was being done to increase the reporting of child sexual abuse which was present in the country.  Other issues raised during the discussion included measures to address child obesity, access to free health care for teenagers 17 years and over, inclusive education for children with disabilities, as well as the situation of children in residential care.
 
In her concluding remarks, Kirsten Sandberg, Committee Expert and Country Rapporteur, welcomed the changes in the legislation and in particular the reform of the juvenile justice system, and urged Barbados to prohibit corporal punishment and put in place inclusive education for children with disabilities.
 
Mr. Blackett, in his concluding remarks, reiterated the commitment of Barbados to pursue the passing of the children’s act, and to allocate resources to provide an enabling environment for children to realize their potential, in particular through expanding access to pre-primary, secondary and tertiary education. 
 
The delegation of Barbados included representatives of the Ministry of Social Care, Constituency, Empowerment and Community Development, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Childcare Board, Coordinating Committee on the Rights of the Child, and the Permanent Mission of Barbados to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
 
The concluding observations on the report of Barbados will be made public on Monday, 6 February and will be available here.
 
The Committee will reconvene at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, 18 January, to consider the combined third to fifth periodic report of the Democratic Republic of the Congo under the Convention (CRC/C/COD/3-5), and its initial report under the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (CRC/C/OPSC/COD/1).
 
Report

The second periodic report of Barbados can be read here: CRC/C/BRB/2.
 
Presentation of the Report
 
STEVEN BLACKETT, Minister of Social Care, Constituency, Empowerment and Community Development of Barbados, said that Barbados continued to do all in its power to afford the best possible care to the children of Barbados.  Education was free from pre-primary to secondary level, and this was a remarkable achievement for a country with no natural resources.  Education was one of the pillars of Barbados’ development, and some six per cent of the gross domestic product was being invested in education.  The strong emphasis on education had resulted in a literacy rate estimated at about 98 per cent, which was one of the highest in the world.  Education was compulsory for children between ages five to sixteen and was accessible to all.  The Government was seeking to enhance access to pre-primary education by collaborating with civil society organizations, and significant financial resources were being committed to the provision of early childhood care and education through the day-care facilities and nursery facilities in centres and schools.  It was estimated that approximately five per cent of public expenditure was spent on pre-primary education and had consistently been on this level for over a decade. 
 
Child care in Barbados began at the prenatal stage and there were a number of institutions across the island to ensure the timely delivery of and access to health care services.  Consequently, children born in Barbados generally enjoyed a good state of health, and this was also supported by the high immunization rates as every child was offered free immunization.  The rate of infant mortality was low, children no longer died of diseases such as polio, chronic malnutrition or stunted growth, and mothers were encouraged to breastfeed for no less than six months.  To realize a high standard of health care, there were community health services programmes across the island, while nutritious meals were provided to children through school meals programmes as a way to address childhood obesity.  A Mandatory Reporting Protocol on Child Abuse would shortly be presented to the Cabinet for approval; its objective was the prevention, reporting and management of child abuse cases, and it sought to give direction to agencies, practitioners and social workers on reporting child abuse.  Public service workers, including the police, were exposed to the importance of this Protocol as an imperative step in protecting children. 
 
Barbados recognized that children with disabilities faced additional challenges; it had ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2013 and was committed to taking all appropriate legislative, administrative, social, educational, and other measures to protect persons with disabilities.  Violence against children was a source of great concern.  The domestic violence (protection orders) act had been amended last year to include acts of child abuse as an act of domestic violence, in order to provide protection for victims of child abuse, and provided for stiff penalties for perpetrators.  Barbados had undertaken a comprehensive review of laws relating to children, women and their families and would shortly prioritize areas for reform to ensure greater conformity of domestic legislation with international conventions, said Mr. Blackett and reiterated the commitment to ensuring the safety and security of children and having them nurtured in an environment conducive to their development and well-being. 
 
Questions from the Experts
 
KIRSTEN SANDBERG, Committee Expert and Country Rapporteur, welcomed the delegation and congratulated Barbados on the progress made since the last review in 1999, particularly in the areas of education and health.  Noting that Barbados had not ratified the three Optional Protocols to the Convention, she asked whether their ratification was being considered.
 
The updating of the legislation on children had been ongoing for some time; were there any reasons to believe that the legislative reforms would not be passed and what was the timetable?  Would the principles of the Convention be incorporated in the children’s law?
 
The national youth policy had been adopted in 2011; were there plans to adopt the national strategy on children covering the population aged zero to 18 years of age?  What was the definition of the child in Barbados?
 
What specific body was mandated to coordinate all ongoing work on the implementation of the Convention?  What was the composition and terms of reference of the child monitoring committee?
 
What was being done to improve data collection on children?
 
It was welcome news that Barbados had managed to maintain budget allocations for children despite the economic and financial crisis.  What system was in place to monitor budgeting and expenditure for children’s rights?
 
Barbados had just established the National Human Rights Committee – what was its composition, what part of its mandate was in relation to the rights of the child, and could it receive complaints, including from children?
 
There seemed to be a lack of knowledge about and compliance with the Convention and children’s rights.  What plans were in place to improve training and awareness activities on children’s rights, including through schools?
 
The minimum age of marriage was at 18, but was allowed at the age of 16 under special circumstances and with parental consent.  What was being done to remove all exceptions to the legal age of marriage?
 
Was there still discrimination against girls in Barbados, in what forms, and what was being done to change the situation in this regard?
 
The Committee Rapporteur welcomed the constitutional protection against discrimination, which however did not extend to non-citizens, meaning that migrant children did not enjoy protection from discrimination in health and education.  Was there any difference in the treatment of children born inside or outside of wedlock?
 
The principle of the best interest of the child was scattered throughout the legislation; would it be included in the general provisions of the legislation on children? 
 
Barbados had Children’s Councils in place: what was being done to ensure that they were genuinely heard and had a voice, and were not just a token of democracy?  Were children heard inside the family and was there a positive attitude to children and youth in the country?  Was the right of the child to be heard in court cases enshrined in legislation?
 
YASMEEN MUHAMAD SHARIFF, Committee Vice Chairperson and Country Co-Rapporteur, asked about the procedures for birth registration and the data available on children without birth certificates.  It was a matter of concern that citizenship legislation discriminated against children depending on the nationality and marital status of their parents. 
 
Could children set up clubs and associations and run them freely?  How was the privacy of children maintained and guaranteed?
 
With regard to access to information, how could children access various sources of information and could they freely access the Internet?  Did the media see children as rights-holders, and protect the identity of children in sensitive cases?
 
Despite the adoption of several new laws aiming to prevent violence against children, corporal punishment was still not prohibited.  What plans were in place to explicitly prohibit corporal punishment in all settings?  Was there a single and comprehensive policy framework with regard to neglect, abuse and violence against children in the country?  Had there been an investigation into the recent deaths of two children in the care of the Children Board and what were the findings?  What was the role of the Children Board, and could it effectively respond to child abuse and neglect; what support was being given to civil society to prevent child abuse and neglect?
 
Child sexual abuse was present in the country, and was often perpetrated by a person known to the child.  What were the reasons of the low reporting rate for the crime and what was being done to support the victims to report the abuse?
 
Responses by the Delegation
 
A delegate said that in 2013, there had been interest in the country not only in ratifying the Optional Protocols to the Convention, but also in implementing all recommendations Barbados had received from treaty bodies over the years.  However, it had been found that the country did not have the necessary infrastructure and resources to implement those fully and further the work on the ratification.  Barbados remained committed to the ratification, for which resources must be provided.  In November 2016, the Cabinet had created a mechanism to review the recommendations from all treaty bodies and Universal Periodic Review recommendations; the National Human Rights Committee would review those recommendation and continue to work on the ratification.
 
Barbados had been working feverishly on legislative reform over the past several years; it had looked at 37 pieces of legislation and had recognized that many actually observed the principles of the Convention, including in practice.  What was missing was harmonization of the legislation with the Convention.  Barbados would shortly pass legislation which would be all embracing, the children and young persons act, which would codify the Convention and bring together all best practices that Barbados had followed over the years.  Such far reaching legislation took time, and it was important to say that Barbados had already recruited a person to draft the legislation; nevertheless, Barbados was not waiting for the drafting of this law but was already going ahead with amending the laws with principles which were already agreed on, for example on the prohibition of all sentences that used corporal punishment.
 
The main changes would concern the best interest of the child, which was now found in many laws and was applied by judicial officers in practice.  The problem was that judicial officers did not always agree on the definition and meaning of the best interest, and this issue would be addressed by the reform.  The reform would also address the definition of the child which differed throughout the legislation; the definition of the child would be firmly set up to the age of 18.
 
Children in Barbados were equal and were not treated differently anywhere in the law, and this applied to children born outside of wedlock.  The right of the child to express his or her views was already recognized in several laws, but would be more strongly addressed by the legal reform.  Children had the right to privacy and had full access to the Internet.  The media had, from time to time, been cavalier about the publication of news involving children and in one instance they were taken to the court for publishing inappropriate images of children.
 
The Child Monitoring Committee was very broad-based, and was composed of representatives of civil society organizations and the relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health.  The Committee monitored the rights of the child and it took a very active role not only in monitoring but also publicising the rights of the child and the Convention.  It met regularly once a month and addressed many issues that the Committee on the Rights of the Child was now raising with the delegation of Barbados.
 
In addition to the children’s act, the juvenile justice act would bring a far-reaching reform to this area, including raising the age of criminal responsibility to the age of 12.  The children’s act would address children in conflict with the law who were under the age of 12 with a special packet of measures.
 
There had been no change in the provision allowing marriage at the age of 16 with parental consent.  A consent by the judge was not required.
 
In terms of concrete steps to establish a Children Ombudsman, a recommendation had been made to the government, but there were resource constraints to consider.
 
A Committee Expert expressed concern about the possibility of marriage under the age of 18 and expressed hope that Barbados would pass the law to remove this possibility.
 
Discrimination in accessing health or education experienced by migrant children was being dealt with on a case-by-case basis, and was also discussed at the Caribbean Community level.
 
The Childcare Board was responsible for the protection of children, including from abuse.  The Board was also responsible for abandoned children, fostering and adoption.  Barbados loved to take care of its children, and the turnover of children in residential care was very fast.  The death of two children in the care of the Board had been very unfortunate and nothing similar had happened for more than 30 years; the deaths had been investigated, one case was still before the court, and in the other one no one was found responsible.  The Board was composed of 12 members and met once a month; it had several thematic sub-groups which also met once a month. 
 
Birth registration was free, while a birth certificate was issued at a minimal cost.  Any child born in Barbados was registered.  If a person was unable to pay for the birth certificate, the Childcare Board would pay for it, but it was not often that someone could not pay.  The rate of birth registration was 100 per cent.
 
The domestic violence act had been amended to ensure that reporting of violence against children and child abuse was now mandatory for all public services, in accordance with the mandatory reporting protocol.  The protocol was also being used to train and educate all those who could report child abuse, including the police, teachers, health workers, social workers and others.  The protocol would soon be made into law, and was currently being used on a voluntary basis.
 
There was no discrimination against girls in Barbados, said a delegate who stressed that over the past 15 years, efforts had been made to ensure equal access of girls to education.  The Government was constantly encouraging parents to shift from a society where children were seen but not heard, and to ensure that children were heard and respected.  The cultural norms had evolved over time and children who had been born in the 1950s and 1960s had been seen but not heard, but this was changing and children were now heard more, with modern thinking and modern trends in the society.
 
Follow-up Questions and Answers
 
In a series of follow-up questions, the delegation was asked to inform about the right of Barbadian women to confer their nationality to their children born abroad to foreign fathers, and to provide more detailed explanation on budgeting for children’s rights and the system in place to ensure that the budget for children was not affected by a crisis.
 
In response to those and other questions, delegates said that the annual budget allocated to child care was some $125 million dollars per year.  The Childcare Board was allocated some $10 million for its activities.  Those budgets were allocated to specific programmes in ministries, which allowed the identification of resources for the advancement of the right of the child.  Each ministry had specific programmatic requirements, but it was not possible to say how much each ministry allocated for child rights.  Barbados was a very child-friendly society, and there were a number of organizations and associations making donations and supporting the activities of the Childcare Board.
 
As far as corporal punishment was concerned, a delegate explained that culture recognized this as a norm, which meant that a number of measures must be taken to ensure that corporal punishment was removed from practice.  There was already support among some agencies to remove instances in which corporal punishment occurred, while the Ministry of Justice for example was in favour of its complete elimination.  There was also an evolution in attitudes concerning what was happening in schools and a number of people were beginning to campaign for the abolition of corporal punishment in schools – the Ministry of Education was one of those.  It was important to educate parents and teach them new forms of discipline and punishment.
 
Questions from the Experts
 
In the next series of questions, a Committee Expert raised concerns in relation to the denial of custody to fathers willing and able to care for their children, and the process of removal of children in emergency situations, which was very traumatic for children. 
 
There was a shortage of foster families, especially for children with disabilities and children over the age of 10, who mostly ended up in residential care.  What were the prospects of the children in residential care for adoption or family placement?  Were children consulted and heard in removal cases and placement with other families? 
 
Could the delegation provide information related to adoptions, especially if problems occurred in that process?
 
Were cross-border disputes involving children an issue in Barbados, and if so, how was this being tackled?
 
Another Expert recognized the advancements made in reducing infant mortality rates and asked about measures to be adopted to further reduce the rates to achieve the target. 
 
One of the problems was not so much undernutrition of children but malnutrition of children under the age of five.  What was being done to address child obesity?
 
Which policies were in place to support breastfeeding?  Was the Queen Elisabeth Hospital certified as baby-friendly?  What was the certification status of other health clinics?  Was the international code for trade in breastmilk substitutes applied?
 
It seemed that teenagers aged 17 did not enjoy free health care.  What was the reason for this and what was being done to ensure access to health of this very vulnerable population group?
 
The delegation was asked about measures taken to ban corporal punishment in schools while waiting for the law to be passed.
 
A Committee Expert asked for a comment on the fact that migrant children were denied scholarships, grants and awards, which were reserved for Barbadian children only.  What was being done to understand the reasons for school drop-out rates?
 
How did Barbados ensure access to school for all children with disabilities?  How many children with disabilities were in inclusive education?
 
The legislation did not establish a clear minimum age for child work, and generally was not in line with international standards.  Could the delegation comment on legal provisions relating to child labour?
 
What legal framework was in place to combat the sexual exploitation of children?

 

Responses by the Delegation
 
Responding to questions and issues raised by the Committee Experts concerning the custody system in Barbados, the delegation said that the recent amendment to the maintenance act had ensured the access of fathers to their children, and they could also be awarded custody without an obligation to prove that the mother was unfit.  Judicial officers did tend to look towards awarding custody to mothers primarily, but this was changing as the rights of fathers in this matter were recognized; this would further improve as more judicial officers were trained, in particular in training in the best interest of the child as the prime criterion of decision-making.
 
In their follow-up questions, Experts stressed the importance of enshrining the principle of the best interest of the child in the law, and asked if the family law act covered only those families in which parents were either married or were cohabiting, and which law applied to other kinds of families.  The delegation was also asked whether there was someone in divorce proceedings who was tasked with defending the best interest of the child.
 
Responding, the delegation said that the legislation in Barbados contained the best interest of the child in several laws, but this principle had never been defined in any of those laws.  The new children’s act would provide this definition, and would also establish the children’s attorney who would be in charge of representing the interests of the child in all judicial proceedings involving children.  Historically, the family had been defined as a group of two married parents and their children, while new amendments would redefine it and the criteria would no longer involve marriage or cohabitation.  No custody or access to children was determined in courts without the three separate agencies reporting on the conditions in the family; the court would usually respect the recommendations made by the social workers.
 
The emergency removal of children from families was indeed a very traumatic situation for children.  Social workers would contact the police officers to explain the situation and assist in the removal; police would usually wear their plainclothes, and female officers would intervene in cases involving female children.  Children were usually interviewed in the school, with the assistance of the school principal.  If there were suspicions of physical or sexual abuse, the child would be send to a hospital to obtain medical assistance.  The Childcare Board had psychologists on staff, who provided counselling to children removed from families and placed in residential care.  There was a shortage of foster families, but residential care was the last resort and all efforts were employed to ensure family reunification.  Often, children would remain with the extended family for various reasons, and once the Childcare Board became aware of the situation, it tried to formalize the fostering relationship and monitored the situation of children in such families.
 
Turning to questions raised about education, the delegation stressed the pride Barbadians took in the education of children and that education was free up to the age of 16.  The Ministry of Education provided support to children whose parents could not afford textbooks, and US $300,000 were allocated annually for this purpose.   There were also loan schemes for textbooks.  All children travelled on school transport free of charge.  Non-attendance was rarely an issue, and if it happened that a child did not attend school, school officers would inquire with the family about the reasons.
 
The National Disabilities Unit had a person who provided assistance and support for children with disabilities to better access schools; the Unit provided transportation to 250 children with disabilities either to special schools, or to mainstream schools they attended.  There were three special schools which children with disabilities attended, and to date, there had been no distinct integration of children with disabilities in mainstream schools, although there were some children with special needs who were integrated in the mainstream schools.
 
Poverty alleviation and reduction programmes within the Ministry of Social Care provided support to persons in need, while the Welfare Department had 4,500 clients to whom various support was provided such as cash grants, food vouchers, etc.  Barbados had consistently allocated large amounts of money to address the poverty in the country over the years, and it also looked at the experiences of other countries, adapting their best practices to the culture and reality of Barbados, particularly on addressing inter-generational poverty. 
 
Child abandonment and street children were not an issue in Barbados.
 
As far as adoption was concerned, the delegation explained that there were not many children available for adoption, and that parents were free to decide to place the child for adoption, and also to change their mind.  Placing children for adoption were usually parents in financial difficulties, and mothers with pregnancies resulting from rape.
 
Summer camps were accessible and available to all school aged children and they offered a variety of sports and artistic activities that children could choose from, and so develop their interests and talents.
 
In follow-up questions, the delegation was asked about mental health services for children and whether a strategic plan for mental health was in place.  Experts also asked about confidential counselling for children and youth in sexual and reproductive health, and raised questions related to sexual orientation and gender identity; about HIV/AIDS rates in Barbados, prevention of mother-to-child transmission and support to mothers living with HIV/AIDS; and about measures to combat stigma and protect people living with HIV/AIDS from discrimination.
 
Responding, the delegation said that a Commission had been set up to study the issue of mental health, which had then put in place the existing system, which included structures in communities and those attached to main hospitals.  As Barbados was a small country with limited resources, the capacity of the mental health system was never enough.  As far as confidential counselling without parental consent for children and youth was concerned, Barbados had in place a policy which ensured that every child had access to a doctor who had an obligation of confidentiality.
 
At the moment, Barbados did not have specific legislation protecting persons from discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation and gender identity, but it was important to say that the Bill of Rights provided general protection from discrimination, including on the grounds of gender.  
 
Education about stigma and discrimination on the grounds of HIV/AIDS were part of the family and life curricula in schools.  Support for persons living with HIV/AIDS included access to free of charge anti-retroviral drugs, counselling and education, and access to food banks.  Barbados had a very vibrant lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons’ community which had been there for a long time and was well integrated in the community.
 
The National Nutritional Centre was working on promoting healthy eating programmes among children in order to reduce childhood obesity.  The Government had imposed a tax on soft drinks in order to reduce the consumption of sugar by children, although it was not sure how effective the measure was, as it seemed that children were prepared to pay extra.
 
The reform to the sexual offences act sought to remove the reference to a child aged 14 years of age, but it seemed that it would not be possible at this stage to raise the age of sexual consent from 16 to 18 years of age.  Barbados was hoping to remove the possibility of any man raping a woman, including his wife, and still have a viable legal defence.
 
Further Questions and Answers

A Committee Expert asked about the protection of girls who were victims of sexual violence, their access to protection and rehabilitation services, and how easy it was to report the abuse.  How was the stigma surrounding the abuse managed?
 
The delegation explained that victims of sexual violence were first taken to hospital to receive the necessary medical care, including psychological counselling.  If the perpetrator of the violence was a family member, the child would be removed from the family and placed with a foster family or in residential care, and the matter would be referred to the police.  A number of referrals came through medical services, or through school, where an abused child would talk to her friends or teachers.  It was very difficult for children to report abuse, and all was done to make the child feel as comfortable as possible.
 
Another Expert turned to the family environment and asked about any cases of children who were being held in detention with their mothers, and also asked about the reasons for the very high number of abortions among girls aged 15 to 19 and what was being done to address this issue.
 
A delegate explained that there were constant media campaigns about child abuse and reporting of child abuse, including the Break the Silence campaign in which children who were victims of abuse were asked to come forward.  There was also the Good Touch Bad Touch programme in primary schools where children were taught how to recognize if something bad was happening.
 
Children were not held in detention with their parents; those children were in the care of the Childcare Board. 
 
In terms of juvenile justice, there was a juvenile justice bill which would imminently become the law and repeal the old laws from the 1920s and 1930s.  The new law would raise the age of criminal responsibility to 12 years of age, and would also remove the criminal charge of wandering and so ensure that children found in public areas would be treated as children at risk and not children in conflict with the law.  The sentencing of a juvenile would be done in a “circle of care” which would ensure that a group of experts were present in court to advise the judge; the juvenile justice would promote restorative justice and the first sentence would not automatically be punitive, but rather an apology, community service, training and education, and other similar measures, as well as greater involvement of parents.  An important development would be the restructuring of reform schools, starting by renaming them from Government Industrial Schools into a name that carried less stigma.
 
In a further series of follow-up questions, Experts asked the delegation to explain the system of legal aid available to children, whether the detention of children “at the Majesty pleasure” was still applied, and the situation of children detained in adult detention facilities.  Had there been a consultation with the public on the juvenile justice bill, and were children consulted as well?
 
Responding, the delegation explained that in principle, children could not be detained with adults; if children could not be detained safely in reform schools, they would be sent to a detention facility where they would be kept separate from the adult population.  The sentence “at the Majesty pleasure” was no longer part of the legal system. 
 
Every child was entitled to legal aid; however, one of the matters that would be addressed by the reform was that parents could waive the rights to legal aid regardless of the wishes of the child, so the Child Attorney would be instituted to represent the best interests of the child.  Children were entitled to free legal services in both criminal and civil proceedings, and any matter involving a child would attract legal aid.  It was difficult to ensure that each child knew about legal aid and applied for those services, and that was why the role of the Child Attorney was crucial.
 
The consultations on the legal reform and the juvenile justice were very extensive; it included town halls, school visits and it took three years to complete.  Children – of both genders and of various ages - had been consulted.
 
There were no reports of child labour as defined by the International Labour Organization.
 
In another comment, a Committee Expert noted that Barbados was a country of transit for trafficked children, and said that it was surprising that very little was being done to address the issue.  A delegate said that it was surprising to hear that Barbados was considered to be a hub for trafficked children, and added that a mechanism had been created to deal with the phenomenon.  There were no statistics on human trafficking.

Concluding Remarks
 
KIRSTEN SANDBERG, Committee Expert and Country Rapporteur, thanked the delegation and recognized the will to do the best for the children of the country, including through the welcome changes in the legislation.  Particularly welcomed was the reform of the juvenile justice system.  Barbados should ensure that corporal punishment was properly prohibited in the legislation, and put in place inclusive education for children with disabilities.
 
STEVEN BLACKETT, Minister of Social Care, Constituency, Empowerment and Community Development of Barbados, said that Barbados sought to build on the more broad recognition of the rights of each individual child and was aware that much remained to be done.  Barbados would pursue the passing of the children’s act, and would continue to allocate resources to provide an enabling environment for children to realize their potential, in particular through expanding access to pre-primary, secondary and tertiary education.  It was hoped that the Committee’s concluding observations would assist Barbados on its path and that they would also include technical assistance for the preparation of reports.

AMAL SALMAN ALDOSERI, Committee Vice-Chairperson, thanked the delegation for the very fruitful and open dialogue.

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