COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
Twenty-ninth session
Pre-sessional Working Group
15-19 October 2001
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
List of issues to be taken up in connection with the consideration of the
initial report of Malawi (CRC/C/8/Add.43)
PART I
Under this section the State party is requested to submit in writing additional and updated information, if possible, before 3 December 2001:
A. Data and statistics, if available
1. Please provide updated demographic data of the under-18 population, disaggregated by sex, urban and rural areas.
2. Please provide specific disaggregated data on the amount and proportion in percentage of national budgetary allocation and spending for social needs for the period between 1999 and 2001. In particular, how much was spent on:
(a) education (including allocations for pre-school, primary and secondary education, salaries, preservation of school buildings, etc.);
(b) health (including allocations for HIV/AIDS programmes, primary health care, vaccinations, adolescent health care and other health-care services for children);
family support programmes;
(c) child protection (for example institutional or foster care);
(d) programmes for children with disabilities;
(e) juvenile crime prevention and rehabilitation programmes.
3. Please provide disaggregated statistical data on birth registration covering the period 1998-2000 and estimates on the number of children who have not been registered.
4. Please provide disaggregated data (by sex, age, urban or rural areas), covering the period 1998-2000 on the number of children deprived of their family environment:
(a) AIDS orphans;
(b) children separated from their parents;
(c) children in domestic and intercountry adoption programmes;
(d) children living in institutions;
(e) children placed with relatives and in welfare institutions;
(f) children placed in foster care.
5. Please provide quantitative and qualitative data on children with disabilities, disaggregated by sex and age:
Please also indicate the number of teachers with special education training.
6. Please provide disaggregated statistical data on adolescent and early childhood health concerns, particularly:
(a) HIV/AIDS and STDs;
(b) early marriages and pregnancies;
(c) reported sexual abuse
(d) infant, under-5 and maternal mortality rates, including percentage of death from malaria; and
(e) vaccination rates
7. Please specify for the period 1998-2000, the enrolment and dropout rates, disaggregated by sex, age, rural and urban areas, in percentages, in:
8. Please provide the following statistical data on children in conflict with the law (disaggregated by sex, age, type of crime, type of sanction) for the last three years (1998-2000):
(a) number who have allegedly committed a crime reported to the police;
(b) number who were sentenced by Courts to sanctions;
(c) nature of sanctions (fines; detention; community service; other);
(d) number of suspended sentences;
(e) where the sanction is deprivation of liberty, please further specify the period of detention;
(f) percentage of recidivism cases; and
(g) reported cases of abuse, including sexual abuse, of children in detention.
B. General Measures of Implementation
1. It is noted that the State party recently adopted a Constitution (1995) which includes a Bill of Rights. Please indicate the inconsistencies between the Constitution, domestic law and the principles and provisions of the Convention and outline the measures taken to address them. Additionally, please provide information on the status of customary law and highlight any inconsistencies with the Convention and the measures taken to address them. Please also provide an update of the status of the review of domestic legislation relevant to children.
2. It is noted that due to resource limitations, the mandate to coordinate the implementation of the Convention has been transferred from the Ministry of Gender, Youth and Community Services and given to the Child Rights Unit within the Human Rights Commission. Please provide information on the role of the Ministry of Gender, Youth and Community Services with regard to the coordination of the implementation of the Convention
3. Please provide information on the Child Rights Unit within the Human Rights Commission, in particular on its mandate, activities and capacities.
4. While the Committee is aware of the economic challenges faced by the State party, please provide updated information on the extent to which international cooperation and technical assistance contribute to the implementation of the Convention.
5. Please outline the measures taken by the State party to disseminate the principles and provisions of the Convention at the community level in all regions of the country. Additionally, please provide additional information on the efforts taken to train professionals working with and for children, including teachers, social workers, psychologists, magistrates, police and others involved in the juvenile justice process, in all regions of the country.
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 as well as in other languages or dialects, when available. If possible, please submit these texts in electronic form.
Under this section, the State Party is invited 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
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, and other issues may be raised in the course of the dialogue.
The dialogue with the State party might include issues such as:
1. Definition of the child:
Low, unequal and/or unclear legal minimum ages for criminal responsibility; compulsory education; for marriage of both boys and girls, including under customary law; sexual consent; and recruitment into the armed forces.
2. Gender discrimination:
(a) measures to combat traditional attitudes which prevent girls, especially in rural
areas, from attending school; and
(b) training on gender-discrimination for traditional leaders as well as the judiciary and other relevant professionals involved in the application of family law.
3. Best interests of the child and respect for the views of the child: Implementation of these principles into legal, judicial and administrative matters.
4. Birth Registration - legal provisions to guarantee registration of all children at birth.
5. Legal and other measures to address harmful traditional practices.
6. Domestic violence, corporal punishment, neglect and abuse, including sexual abuse of children: Legal and other measures to protect children from ill-treatment; mechanisms for children to file complaints and for mandatory reporting (e.g. by teachers and police); and rehabilitation programmes for child victims.
7. Legislation, policies, services and educational programmes, for children with disabilities, including mental disabilities.
8. Measures to address early childhood health concerns including malnutrition, infant and child mortality, maternal mortality, malaria and HIV/AIDS. Health-care services for children.
9. Access to information relating to physical and mental development, including education on reproductive health, STD and HIV/AIDS prevention, drug abuse, and early marriage and pregnancy. Availability of child-sensitive counselling and rehabilitation services.
10. Standard of living - availability of services and programmes to alleviate and eradicate poverty, especially for families living below the poverty line, child-headed households, working children, especially domestic servants, street children and AIDS orphans.
11. Legal and other measures to ensure compulsory primary education. Access to education, especially for girls, children living in rural communities, and children from economically disadvantaged families, including pre-primary education. The relevance, quality and methods of education, high drop-out and repetition rates, low literacy rate, availability of qualified teachers and training for teachers, especially in rural areas. Efforts to introduce human rights education within the school curriculum.
12. Child Labour:
(a) Legal measures prohibiting forced and bonded labour of children;
(b) Financial and human resources allocated for labour inspectors;
(c) Consideration given to ratify ILO Convention No. 182 on Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour.
13. Juvenile justice:
The conformity of legislation and practice in the area of juvenile justice with international standards, including legal procedures, the quality of juvenile courts and legal assistance; detention, the quality of facilities, separation from adults, access to services, and rehabilitation; allegations of sexual violence, torture, other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including corporal punishment; and death penalty and life sentence for children below the age of 18 years.
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