Under this section the State party is requested to submit in written form additional and updated information, if available (before 1 December 2000):

A. Data and statistics

1. Please provide disaggregated statistical data covering the period 1997-1999 on the number of:

a) children below the age of 18 years;

b) trained professionals working with and for children, including social workers and psychologists;

c) children in intercountry and domestic adoption ; and

d) children in the juvenile justice system, including the nature of crimes for which they have been deprived of their liberty and the length of deprivation (pre-trail and under detention).

2. Please provide disaggregated statistical data on adolescent health, including sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), HIV/AIDS, early pregnancy, early and arranged marriages, drug and alcohol abuse (including the use of betelnut), violence and physical abuse, suicide and mental health concerns.

B. General Measures of Implementation

1. Please outline the measures taken to enact legislation to give effect to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Committee notes that the State party has undertaken a law review and that there are some areas of Palauan statutory and customary law that are inconsistent with the Convention, particularly as regards labour laws; protection of boys against sexual abuse and exploitation; domestic and intercountry adoptions; and juvenile justice. Please outline the measures taken to ensure that both statutory and customary laws fully conform to the Convention.

2. Please outline the measures taken to ensure that the National Committee on Population and Children (CoPopChi) is provided adequate human and financial resources to effectively carry-out its mandate to, inter alia, co-ordinate the implementation of the Convention. Additionally, please outline the measures taken to include in the membership of CoPopChi, representatives from the Office of the Attorney General, the police, the judiciary, and the Victims of Crime Assistance (VOCA) Programme. Further, please provide additional information on the programmes and activities of NGOs working with and for children.

3. Please indicate whether the Police Practices Commission is mandated and equipped to handle complaints of violations from children and/or their representatives. Please also highlight any examples of the use of this complaints mechanism by children and describe the measures taken to raise awareness among children about its use. Additionally, please indicate whether an independent child-friendly complaints mechanism, which is separate from the Police Practices Commission, has been established to monitor violations of the rights of children.

4. Please provide updated information on the measures taken to increase budgetary allocations for education as well as social and cultural services, particularly in light of the reduction in funding for these areas since 1994. Please also indicate the extent to which these reductions have affected programmes for children in the outer islands.

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

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 may be raised in the course of the dialogue.

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

1. Legal minimum age of criminal responsibility; marriage, including under customary law; sexual consent; employment; and the purchase of alcohol by children below the age of 18 years.

2. Early marriage for both boys and girls. Measures to prevent and discourage child marriages.

3. Policies and programmes to ensure non-discrimination against children, especially children living in the outer islands; children of non-Palauan parentage; boys; children born out of wedlock; and single, teenage mothers.

4. General principles of the Convention:

a) measures to ensure that the principles of the 'best interests of the child' (article 3) and 'respect for the views of the child' (article 12) are more broadly reflected in statutory and customary laws;

b) the implementation of the general principles by social welfare institutions, courts of law and administrative authorities;

c) sensitisation of the public, including traditional leaders and communities, about the general principles; and

d) promotion of the participatory rights of children - the practical implementation of the rights of children to freely express their views, including within the school environment.

5. Protection of children from harmful information, including pornography and violence.

6. Domestic and intercountry adoptions:

a) measures to ensure that non-Palauan children adopted by Palauan parents are provided equal and adequate protection, care and access to services;

b) the rights of children in informal adoptions;

c) foster care; and

d) programmes to strengthen families, especially single parent families.

7. The legal enforcement of maintenance orders and the prevention of the illicit transfer and non-return of children.

8. Child abuse:

a) efforts to implement the recommendations of the research studies on child abuse and domestic violence;

b) measures to prevent and combat domestic violence, ill treatment and abuse of children, including child sexual abuse and exploitation;

c) mechanisms to facilitate timely reporting of ill-treatment and abuse of children; and

d) measures to prohibit and eliminate the use of corporal punishment in schools and well as in homes.

9. Preventative and rehabilitative policies, programmes and services to address adolescent health concerns.

10. The juvenile justice system (children in conflict with the law) with particular attention to the following topics:

a) deprivation of liberty as a measure of last resort;

b) practical provision of legal aid;

c) protection of the privacy;

d) continued contact between the child and his/her family;

e) effective monitoring of facilities;

f) the separation of children from the general prison population;

g) complaints procedures to deal with issues such as ill-treatment and violations of children's rights;

h) education, health and social services for children in detention;

i) programmes to ensure the physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of children; and

j) special protection for all children below the age of 18 years.

11. The programme recently developed by the judiciary that allows for alternative hearings for juveniles through the Minister of Justice.