1. Please provide information on the status of the Convention in domestic law. Further, please describe the role of customary law in Malian society and indicate whether there are any inconsistencies between customary law and the Convention. Additionally, in light of information provided in paragraph 8 of the report, please provide an update as to the status of the National Code on the Well-being and Protection of Children.

2. With respect to information provided in paragraphs 9-12 of the report, please indicate whether the activities proposed have been undertaken by the Inter-Ministerial Commission for the Implementation of the National Plan of Action on the Survival, Development and Protection of Children (1992-2000). Additionally, please describe the challenges faced by the Commission in implementing its mandate. Please provide information on the level of resources (including financial, human and technical) allocated for the functioning of the Commission. Further, please indicate whether non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are represented on or actively involved in the work of the Commission.

3. In light of information provided in paragraph 22 of the report, please describe the measures taken and/or envisaged to facilitate greater monitoring and coordination at the community level.

4. Please indicate whether an independent monitoring body has been established in Mali to handle complaints of children whose rights have been violated and if so, please provide examples of its work in this regard. Additionally, please describe the measures taken and/or foreseen to increase awareness, particularly among children, about the availability and use of this complaints mechanism.

5. Please indicate whether indicators have been developed and disaggregated data collected on the status of children, especially the most vulnerable groups, such as children victim of abuse or ill-treatment, child domestic workers, garibou/garibus students, children living in remote rural areas, children born out of wedlock, children with disabilities, child brides, children working and/or living on the streets, children living in institutions, refugee children, and Tuareg children. Further, please describe the extent to which these indicators and data are used in the formulation of policies and programmes for the effective implementation of the Convention.

6. In light of article 4 of the Convention, please specify the percentage of the national budget allocated to children's programmes, including in the health and education sectors, and indicate whether there is an intention to increase the allocation to "the maximum extent of ...available resources".

7. Please provide additional information on the measures taken and/or envisaged to ensure that the principles and provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child are disseminated at all levels of society, particularly within the school system and in rural communities. With reference to paragraph 25 of the report, please indicate whether the proposed training on the principles and provisions of the Convention have been provided for professionals working with and for children, including teachers, judges, lawyers, law enforcement officials, health personnel, and social workers. Further, please also indicate the measures taken and/or envisaged to include the media more fully and encourage their involvement in promoting and disseminating the principles and provisions of the Convention.

8. With regard to information provided in paragraphs 26-32 of the report, please indicate the minimum ages for legal and medical counseling without parental consent and for giving testimony before a court. Further, please indicate whether the State party envisages increasing the legal minimum age for marriage for girls to the equivalent of that for boys.

9. Please provide further information on specific measures taken and/or envisaged to ensure that the principles of non-discrimination (article 2), the best interests of the child (article 3), the right to life, survival and development (article 6), and respect for the views of the child (article 12) are reflected in legislation and customary law as well as actions taken by social welfare institutions, courts of law and administrative authorities. Please also provide some examples of implementation of these principles by courts as well as administrative or other bodies.

10. In light of the principle of non-discrimination (article 2), please provide additional information on the legislation, policies and programmes implemented and/or foreseen to ensure non-discrimination of girls, children with disabilities, children born out of wedlock, child domestic workers, garibou/garibus students, children living in remote rural areas, child brides, children working and/or living on the streets, children living in institutions, refugee children, and Tuareg children.

11. Please describe the ways in which the principle of respect for the views of the child is reflected in practice within the family, in schools as well as in other institutions, and generally within society. Further, please outline the measures taken and/or foreseen to sensitize public opinion, including in traditional communities, on the participatory rights of children and to further encourage children to exercise their right to freely express their views, in light of article 12 of the Convention.

12. In light of article 7 of the Convention, please outline the measures taken and/or envisaged to improve birth registration and ensure that all children are registered at birth, particularly those living in remote rural communities.

13. In light of article 17 of the Convention, please indicate whether steps have been taken to ensure that all children are allowed adequate access to information. In this regard, please provide information on the number and distribution of libraries for children throughout the State party. Further, please provide additional information on the limitations faced by the National Film Censorship Committee in introducing alternative measures to protect children from harmful information, including violence and pornography and explain whether this committee is competent with regard to television programmes and video productions.

14. With respect to the information provided in paragraph 167 of the report and in light of article 37 (a) of the Convention, please provide information on the measures implemented and/or foreseen to prevent and prohibit acts of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of children. Further, in light of article 39 of the Convention, please also provide information on the treatment of children victim of such maltreatment and outline the measures taken and/or foreseen to promote and ensure their physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration. Additionally, please indicate whether complaint procedures are easily accessible to children who have been tortured or abused and to their representatives. In this regard, please also indicate whether the State party has considered ratifying the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

15. Please provide additional information on the use of corporal punishment in families, schools, care institutions and juvenile correctional facilities and highlight the measures taken to prohibit by law all forms of corporal punishment.

16. Please provide information on the measures taken and/or foreseen to assist parents, especially single mothers and those living in rural areas, in their child rearing responsibilities. Additionally, please provide information, including statistical data, on the occurrence of divorces, separations and deprivation of parental responsibilities.

17. In light of article 27 of the Convention, please provide information about the legislation to ensure recovery of maintenance for the child and the effectiveness of its implementation.

18. With regard to information provided in paragraph 71 of the report and in light of article 21 of the Convention, please outline the legal and other measures taken and/or foreseen to ensure that the best interests of the child and other provisions guaranteed by the Convention are protected in the adoption process. In this regard, please provide information, including statistical data, on the occurrence of domestic and intercountry adoption as well as the practice of traditional, informal adoption. Additionally, please indicate whether foster parenting has been institutionalized and a process of recruitment and evaluation of foster parents established. In light of paragraph 76 of the report, please also provide further information on measures taken to ensure regular assessment and monitoring of children placed in alternative care.

19. Please provide additional information, including statistical data, on the situation of abuse and neglect, including sexual abuse in the family. Additionally, please outline the programmes implemented and/or foreseen to prevent these practices and to rehabilitate children victims in this regard.

20. With reference to the proposals outlined in paragraph 114 of the report, please provide information on the progress made under the National Plan of Action for the Survival, Development and Protection of Children (1992-2000) and highlight the challenges faced in implementing this Plan.

21. With regard to information provided in paragraph 110 of the report, please indicate whether measures have been taken or are envisaged to implement legislation to ensure and protect the rights of children with disabilities. In light of information provide in paragraph 111, please provide additional information on the measures taken to integrate children with disabilities and ensure their social inclusion. Additionally, please highlight any additional activities undertaken to facilitate an increase in public awareness regarding the rights of children with disabilities. With respect to information provided in table 3, page 34 of the report, please indicate the percentage of the health budget allocated to programmes for children with disabilities, including mental disabilities.

22. Please provide information and statistical data, on adolescent health, including sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), HIV/AIDS, teenage pregnancies, teen mothers, abortions, drugs and substance abuse (including tabacco and alcohol) violence, suicide and other mental health concerns. Please identify the policies and programmes implemented and/or foreseen to prevent these problems and to provide counseling, treatment and care for adolescents faced with these concerns.

23. In light of information provided in paragraph 73 of the report, please provide additional information on the measures, including legal and awareness raising ones, taken and/or envisaged by the State party to prevent and combat the traditional practices of female genital mutilation as well as early and forced marriages and to counter the harmful effects of these practices on girls. Please indicate to what extent these measures have been effective. Further, please provide additional information and clarification on paragraph 174 (d) of the report, concerning the use of "street babies" in local traditional practices.

24. Please provide additional information and disaggregated statistical data on the situation of education, including enrollment and drop out rates as well as teacher student ratios at both the primary and secondary levels and highlight the measures taken to address these concerns. Additionally, with reference to information provided in paragraphs 33 and 136-137 of the report, please outline the measures taken and/or envisaged to correct the regional disparities in access to education and to improve the overall literacy rate. In light of information provided in paragraphs 142-143 of the report, please identify any additional concrete measures taken to encourage and facilitate the enrollment of girls at all levels of the educational system.

25. Please provide information on the participatory rights of children within the school system, including their involvement in student councils and disciplinary proceedings and indicate whether an independent complaints procedure has been established within the school system for students whose rights have been violated. Additionally, please indicate whether there is a concern with respect to violence in school.

26. Please provide an update on the new education plan referred to in paragraphs 144-148 of the report and highlight the difficulties and constraints experienced thus far in implementing this plan. Additionally, please provide an update on the proposal, referred to in paragraph 25 of the report, to introduce human rights training for school managers, administrators and teachers on the principles and provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and to incorporate human rights, including the rights of the child, into the school curricula. Please also provide information on the efforts taken to improve teaching methods and ensure that they are more student oriented.

27. Please indicate whether the State party envisages enacting domestic legislation to protect and guarantee the rights of asylum-seeking, unaccompanied and refugee children. Further, please provide additional information, including statistical data, on asylum-seeking, unaccompanied, refugee and stateless children and outline the measures undertaken by the State to protect the rights of these children, particularly as regards education, health and other social services.

28. Please provide information, in light of articles 37, 40 and 39 of the Convention, in particular on:

(a) the use of arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child as a measure of last resort and for the shortest period of time;

(b) the possibility to have prompt access to legal and other appropriate assistance, as well as for challenging the legality of the deprivation of liberty before a court or other competent, independent and impartial authority, and of having a prompt decision thereon.

29. Please provide further information on the situation of children in conflict with the law, in particular on the following:

(a) the measures taken to ensure regular contact between the child and his/her family;

(b) the conditions of children in detention, including the measures taken to ensure the periodic review and monitoring of their placement;

(c ) whether there are external complaint procedures to deal with issues such as ill- treatment which are independent from the authorities of detention and correction institutions. How effective are these procedures?

(d) educational, health and social service facilities;

(e) services for the recovery and rehabilitation of children alleged as, accused of or recognized as having infringed the penal law and their effectiveness;

(f) the measures taken to ensure the separation of children from adults;

(g) the measures taken to ensure that legal aid is provided;

(h) the measures taken and/or foreseen to ensure that juvenile judges are assigned in all regions of the State party.

30. Please provided information on the measures taken and/or envisaged by the State party to prevent child labour and eradicate the economic exploitation of children, particularly child domestic workers. Further, please provide additional information on the sale, trafficking or abduction of children, particularly as regards child labour and outline the legal and other measures taken to address these concerns. Additionally, please indicate whether the State Party envisages becoming a party to ILO Convention No. 138 concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment.

31. Please provide additional information on the situation of children entrusted to marabout religious leaders and outline the measures taken and/or envisaged to prevent their exploitation and the practice of begging.

32. Please provide additional information on the sexual abuse and exploitation of children, child prostitution, child pornography and sale and trafficking of children for commercial sexual exploitation. Additionally, please highlight the measures taken and/or foreseen to prevent and eradicate these practices.