Lists of Issues - CRC - Belarus - CRC/C/Q/BEL/2 (2002)

List of issues : Belarus. 08/02/2002.

CRC/C/Q/BEL/2. (List of Issues)

Convention Abbreviation: CRC
COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
Thirtieth session
Pre-sessional Working Group
4-8 February 2002

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
List of Issues to be taken up in connection with the consideration of
the second periodic report of Belarus(CRC/C/65/Add.15)

PART I

Under this section the State party is requested to submit in written form additional and updated information, if possible, before 5 April 2002:

A. Data and statistics

1. Please provide disaggregated data (by gender, age, minority groups, urban or rural areas) covering the period between 1999 and 2001 on the:
a) number and proportion of children under 18 living in the State party;
b) number and proportion of children belonging to minority groups;
c) rates of infant and child mortality;
d) rates of children affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

2. In light of article 4 of the Convention, please provide additional information and disaggregated data (by age and gender) on the amount and proportion of national budget, devoted to children at central and local level, preferably in the last 3 years (1999-2001), for:
a) education (different types of education, i.e. pre-primary, primary and secondary education);
b) health care (different types of health services, i.e. primary health care, vaccination programmes, adolescent health care and other health care services for children);
c) children with disabilities;
d) support programmes for families;
e) the protection of children who are in need of alternative care including the support of care institutions;
f) programmes and activities for the prevention of and protection from child sexual exploitation and child labour;
g) juvenile justice.
Please also indicate the percentages of these allocations derived from international sources and its connection to expenses for children's rights.

3. With reference to children deprived of a family environment and separated from parents, please provide disaggregated data (by age and gender) for the last three years on the number of children:
a) separated from their parents;
b) placed with foster families;
c) placed in institutions;
d) adopted domestically or through intercountry adoptions.

4. Please specify the number of children with disabilities, disaggregated by sex and age:
a) living with their families;
b) in institutions;
c) attending regular schools; and
d) attending special schools.

5. With reference to child abuse, please provide disaggregated data (by age, gender and types of violations reported), on the:
a) number of individual complaints received per year in the last three years;
b) number and percentage of reports which have resulted in either a court decision or other types of follow-up;
c) budget allocations for programmes and activities for the prevention of and the protection from child abuse.

6. Please provide disaggregated data (including by gender, age, and urban/rural areas) covering the period between 1999 and 2001 on the enrolment and completion rates in percentages of the relevant group:
a) in pre-primary schools;
b) in primary schools;
c) in secondary schools;
d) number and percentage of drop-outs and repetitions;
e) ratio teacher per children.

7. Please provide disaggregated statistical data (including by gender, age, region) on adolescent health, including early pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), HIV/AIDS, mental health, drug and alcohol abuse covering the period between 1999 and 2001.

8. Please provide appropriate disaggregated data (including by gender, age and type of crime) covering the period between 1999 and 2001, in particular on the number of:
a) minors, who have allegedly committed a crime, reported to the police;
b) minors who have been sentenced and type of punishment or sanctions;
c) detention facilities for juvenile delinquents and their capacity;
d) minors detained in these facilities and minors detained in adult acilities;
e) minors kept in pre-trail detention and the average length of their detention;
f) reported cases of abuse and maltreatment of children occurred during their arrest and detention.

9. With reference to special protection measures, please provide statistical data (including by gender, age, urban/rural areas) per year between 1999 and 2001 on:
a) the number of children involved in sexual exploitation, including prostitution, pornography and trafficking;
b) the number of children involved in sexual exploitation who received rehabilitation treatments;
c) the number of children involved in child labour who are under 16;
d) the number of street children.

B. General Measures of Implementation

1. The Committee would appreciate receiving information on recommendations contained in the Committee's previous concluding observations (CRC/C/15/Add.17, 7 February 1994, paras.11-18) which are not yet implemented, in particular the ones related to the adequacy of the measures to provide social security for children (para.14) and measures taken to address the exploitation of children through labour (para.16).

2. Please provide additional information on the provisions in the new Civil Code affecting children and on the revisions needed in order for the Family and Marriage law to be in conformity with the Civil code. Furthermore, please provide information on the status of discussions about setting up a separate branch for juvenile justice and specialised courts for juvenile affairs.

3. With reference to the National Commission on the Rights of the Child established in 1996, please provide additional information in particular on its mandate, composition, financial and human resources and its coordination at local level. In addition, please provide further information on measures taken to ensure the monitoring of the implementation of the Convention by an independent body.

4. Please indicate whether there is an intention to introduce an independent individual complaints' mechanism to monitor violations of the rights of children.

5. Please provide further information about the content, the implementation, the coordination, the monitoring, and the assessment (including measures taken and budget allocated) of the National Plan for the Protection of the Rights of the Child 1995-2000 and on whether a new Plan has been prepared for the following period of five years and, if so, provide information about its content.

6. Please provide further information on measures taken to increase awareness, including training, on the Convention among government officials, professionals working with and for children and the population in general, including children. In particular, please indicate whether the Convention has been disseminated also in minority languages and whether the Convention was integrated in school curricula. In addition, please provide additional information on how governmental institutions cooperate with non-governmental organisations, especially with reference to the participation of representatives of civil society in the design and implementation of policies and programmes for children.

PART II

Please provide copies of the text of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in all official languages of the State party as well as in other languages or dialects, when available. If possible, please submit these texts in electronic form.

PART III

Under this section, States parties are invited, whenever appropriate, to briefly (3 pages maximum) up-date the information provided in their report with regard to:

- new bills or enacted legislation
- new institutions
- newly implemented policies
- newly implemented programmes and projects and their scope

PART IV

The following is a preliminary list of major issues that the Committee intends to take-up during the dialogue with the State party. THEY DO NOT REQUIRE WRITTEN RESPONSES. This list is not exhaustive as other issues might be raised in the course of the dialogue.

The dialogue with the State party might include issues such as:

1. Information about the implementation in practice (e.g., in court decisions, in decisions by administrative bodies, in developing national and local policies on children's issues) of the principles of non-discrimination (art.2), the best interests of the child (art.3), the right to life, survival and development (art. 6) and the right of the child to be heard (art.12).

2. Legislation, policies and programmes implemented and/or foreseen to prevent discrimination against and social exclusion of the most disadvantaged groups of children, in particular children living in rural areas, children belonging to minority groups, rural and urban poor, girls, children of adolescent mothers; and measures taken to ensure their rights in compliance with the Convention.

3. The situation of civil rights and freedoms, in particular the rights of the child to freedom of association and peaceful assembly.

4. The situation of abuse and neglect, including sexual abuse within the family, and domestic violence. Strategies developed to prevent child abuse and mechanisms established to adequately assist both the victims and perpetrators of abuse. Further, the use of corporal punishment in families, schools, care and other institutions and whether alternative disciplinary measures have been developed and promoted to combat this practice.

5. The problem of breakdown of families and measures undertaken to prevent it. Separation from parents and institutionalisation of children.

6. The implementation of Presidential Decree No.46 of 21 January 1998 on the "Basic objectives of family policy in Belarus", particularly with regard to the rehabilitation and integration of children with disabilities into society.

7. Availability, quality and efficiency of health care services for children, in particular in rural areas. Family planning services provided to adolescents. The situation of children affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

8. Measures taken to implement policies and programmes to prevent and combat child labour.

9. The scope of the social phenomenon of sexual exploitation and trafficking of children as well as measures taken to prevent and combat it.

10. Alcohol and drug abuse.

11. The situation of refugee children.

12. With respect to the treatment of children in conflict with the law, issues regarding the status of juvenile affairs commissions, the treatment of children aged between 16 and 18 and those aged between 14 and 16 who incurred criminal liability for grave offences, deprivation of liberty not used as last resort and the conformity of legislation and practice in the area of juvenile justice with international juvenile justice standards.

13. The situation of Romani children.