List of issues : Jamaica. 04/02/2003.
CRC/C/Q/JAM/2. (List of Issues)

Convention Abbreviation: CRC
COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
33rd Session
Pre-sessional Working Group
3-7 February 2003



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 Jamaica (CRC/C/70/Add.15)

Part I

Under this section the State party is requested to submit in written form additional and updated information, if possible, before 4 of April 2003:

A. Data and statistics, if available

1. Please provide disaggregated data (by gender, age groups, urban or rural areas) covering the years 2000, 2001 and 2002 on the number and percentage (of the total national population) of children under 18 living in the State party. 2. In light of article 4 of the Convention, please provide additional disaggregated data for 2001-2003, budget allocations and trends (in percentages of the national budget) allocated to the implementation of the Convention, evaluating also the priorities for budgetary expenditures given to the following:
a) Education (including pre-primary, primary and secondary education);
b) Health care (including different types of health services, including primary health care, vaccination programmes, adolescent health care and other health care services for children);
c) Children with disabilities;
d) Support to families and the protection of children who are in need of alternative care including the support of care institutions;
e) Juvenile crime prevention and juvenile justice.

Please also indicate the percentages of these allocations derived from international sources and also expenses of the private sector, in particular for health and education.

3. Please provide disaggregated data (by gender, age, urban or rural areas) covering the years 2000, 2001 and 2002 on the:
a) Number of orphans and abandoned children, and the number living in institutions;
b) Number of children in domestic and inter country adoption programmes;
c) Proportion of children killed by accidents.

4. Please provide disaggregated data (by gender, age, urban or rural areas) covering the period 2000-2002 on the:
a) Number of children with disabilities;
b) Number of children with disabilities living at home and in institutions;
c) Number of children with disabilities enrolled in regular education or special education programs;

5. With reference to child abuse, including sexual abuse, please provide disaggregated data for the period 2000-2002 (by age, gender and types of violations reported), on the:
a) number of cases of child abuse reported to police or social or other services;
b) number and proportion of victims that have received counselling and assistance in recovery.

6. Please provide disaggregated data (including by gender, age, and urban/rural areas) for the years 2000 to 2002 in percentages of the relevant age group on the:
a) Rate of literacy below and over 18 years;
b) Percentages of children enrolling in pre-primary, primary and in secondary schools; the percentage of enrolled children completing pre-primary, primary and secondary schools; and the number and percentage of drop-outs;
c) Average ratio of teachers per children in classrooms, with an indication of any significant regional or rural/urban disparities, as well as the number of female/male teachers.

7. Please provide disaggregated statistical data including by gender, age on adolescent health, including with regard to the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases, early pregnancy, and drug abuse, as well as rates of infant and child mortality and of malnutrition covering the years 2000 to 2002.

8. Please provide disaggregated statistical data (including by gender, age groups, region) on children infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, as well as information on programmes implemented to address the problems of these children.

9. Please provide appropriate disaggregated data (including by gender, age and type of crime) on children in conflict with the law for the last three years (2000-2002), including:
a) The number of children who have allegedly committed a crime reported to the police;
b) Where applicable, the numbers of children held in pre-trial detention and the average duration of such detention;
c) The number of children sentenced by Courts;
d) The nature of sanctions (fines, detention, community service, other) and the number of suspended sentences;
e) Where the sanction is deprivation of liberty, please further specify the period of detention and the type (juvenile, adult or other) of detention facility in which children are held;
f) The percentage of recidivism cases;
g) The number of reported cases of abuse and maltreatment of children that occurred during their arrest and detention.

10. With reference to special protection measures, please provide statistical data (including by gender, age, urban/rural areas) covering the years 2000, 2001 and 2002 on:
a) The number of children involved in sexual exploitation, including prostitution, pornography and trafficking, and the number of children provided with access to recovery and other assistance;
b) The number of children involved in substance abuse, and how many receive treatment;
c) The number of children involved in child labour (formal and informal sector);
d) The numbers of children living in the street.

B. General Measures of Implementation

1. Please provide information on the reasons why some of the recommendations contained in the Committee's 1995 concluding observations (CRC/C/15/Add.32) have not yet been implemented. Please indicate, in particular, what obstacles have hindered implementation and what measures are undertaken to ensure their implementation in the near future.

2. With regard to legislation, please provide further information on the Draft Child Care and Protection Act, on the steps taken to adopt this bill, the reasons that have caused such a delay and the expected timeframe for its adoption and on its general content. Further, please, give information on the steps taken to include children rights into the Constitution.

3. Please provide further information on the coordination between the various mechanisms aimed at coordinating, both at local and national levels, the policies and programmes related to the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In this regard, please also provide information on the cooperation with non governmental organizations (NGOs).

4. Please indicate what measures have been taken to ensure the monitoring of the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by an independent body, especially by explaining the role and status of the Office of the Ambassador, Special Envoy for Children, and its relation to the Government. Further, please indicate if there is any mechanism which is mandated to address individual complaints from children.

5. Please provide information on progress made in the plans to establish a database using child rights indicators that would gather information on the Convention's implementation.

6. Please indicate progress made in incorporating the principles and provisions of the Convention in professional training curricula and in other ways educate public officials working with or for children in child rights.

7. Please indicate the issues affecting children that the State party considers to be priorities requiring the most urgent attention with regard to the implementation of the Convention.

Part II

Please provide the Committee with 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, the State party is to briefly (3 pages maximum) up-date the information provided in its 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 does not contain issues already covered in Part I) that the Committee may take up during the dialogue with the State party. They do not require written answers. This list is not exhaustive as other issues might be raised in the course of the dialogue.

1. The definition of the child, including within the fields of labour, juvenile justice, including minimum age for criminal responsibility, and children in armed forces.
2. The general principles of the Convention (articles 2, 3, 6 and 12), including discrimination against children with disabilities, boys/girls, Rastafarian children and children living in rural areas.
3. Families living in poverty and the establishment of a social safety net.
4. Measures undertaken to end the use of violence and corporal punishment on children.
5. Measures undertaken to support and provide care to children witnessing or victims of violence.
6. Children deprived of family environment, including adoption and children in State institutions.
7. Health infrastructure (including water supply) and indicators, particularly in rural regions.
8. HIV/AIDS.
9. Primary school enrolment, school fees, and the level of education indicators among boys/girls and children from economically disadvantaged background, including the difference between public and private schools.
10. Human rights education
11. Economic exploitation, including the expressed will to ratify ILO Conventions in the field of child labour.
12. Drug abuse, including preventive programmes.
13. Sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, including the effectiveness of the new and amended legislation in this area.
14. Juvenile justice, including measures undertaken to establish mechanisms to monitor the situation of children in conflict with the law, and rehabilitation.








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