UN Child Rights Committee to review Malawi

GENEVA (24 January 2017) – Children’s rights in Malawi will be reviewed by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on 30 and 31 January in sessions that will be webcast live. Malawi is one of the 196 States that have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child and so is required to be reviewed regularly by the Committee of 18 independent experts.

In addition, members will examine Malawi’s implementation of 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).

Among the possible issues to be raised during the dialogue between the Committee and a delegation from Malawi are:

·    Prevention of corruption;
·    Birth registration;
·    Prevention of violence against children;
·    Police violence against children;
·    Prohibition of traditional ceremonies for girls;
·    Protection of children with albinism;
·    Chronic malnutrition and stunting;
·    High incidence of teenage pregnancies;
·    Access to sexual and reproductive health services.

The list of issues and Malawi’s written replies can be found here.

The meeting will take place at Palais Wilson in Geneva on 30 January from 10:00-13:00 (11:00-14:00 in Lilongwe) and from 15:00-18:00 (16:00-19:00 in Lilongwe) and on 31 January from 10:00-13:00. The meetings are public and will be webcast at http://webtv.un.org/.

Committee members will base their evaluation on the delegation’s report and replies, as well as information from civil society groups.

 

The findings, officially known as concluding observations, will be published on 8 February here.

ENDS

For media requests please contact:
Nicoleta Panta,  +41(0) 22 9179310 / npanta@ohchr.org

For media accreditation click here. 

Background:

Members of the CRC are independent human rights experts drawn from around the world, who serve in their personal capacity and not as representatives of States parties. The Committee’s concluding observations are an independent assessment of States’ compliance with their human rights obligations under the treaty. To learn more about the Committee on the Rights of the Child: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRC/Pages/CRCIndex.aspx

 

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