In light of the contents of the World Conference on Human Rights' Declaration and Plan of Action, please provide information on whether the Government is considering reviewing its reservations to the Convention on the Rights of the Child with a view to their possible withdrawal. (Paras. 11 and 12 of the report).

What is the status of the Convention in relation to national legislation? In addition, please indicate whether the provisions of the Convention may be, and have been, directly invoked before the courts.

In the light of the information contained in the report (see paras. 18-26) please provide clarification as to the ways by which the coordination of activities is ensured, including between the central, regional and local levels, to promote all the rights of the child recognized in the Convention and to monitor their implementation.

Please indicate whether there are plans to establish independent institutions such as an ombudsman for children and to what extent and in what ways the existing institutional arrangements relate to the non-governmental organizations in the country.

Please provide information on the measures taken to develop mechanisms for the determination of appropriate indicators as well as the collection of statistical data and other information on the status of children as bases for designing programmes to implement the Convention.

Please provide more information about the implementation of article 4 of the Convention in regard to the allocation "to the maximum extent of (...) available resources" for the rights of the child. In this regard, please indicate what proportion of the national budget is devoted to social expenditures (including health and education) for children at the central, regional and local levels.

Please indicate the measures envisaged or being taken to ensure wide dissemination of the Convention to adults and children alike and to train professional groups such as social workers, doctors, lawyers, judges, teachers, law enforcement officials, immigration officers as well as decision makers about the principles and provisions of the Convention.

In the light of article 44 para. 6 of the Convention, please provide information on the steps taken or envisaged to ensure that the State party report is made widely available to the public at large.

Please provide information on the measures taken or envisaged, including channels available, by which children may receive legal and medical counselling without parental consent?

a) Non-discrimination (art. 2 of the Convention)

In the light of para. 37 of the report and of article 2 of the Convention, please indicate to what extent all possible grounds of discrimination are covered by the national legislation.

In the light of para. 32 of the report please provide information on the compatibility between the minimum age for marriage between boys and girls and the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of gender as recognized by article 2 of the Convention.

In addition to the legislative measures adopted, please provide information on the steps taken to prevent and eliminate discriminatory attitudes or prejudices and to ensure an effective protection against discrimination, particularly towards girls, disabled children, children born out of wedlock and children living in rural areas.

b) Best interests of the child (art. 3 of the Convention)

In the light of information contained in para. 41 of the report, in what way is the principle of the best interests of the child, as recognized by article 3 of the Convention, reflected in legislation or other actions undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law or administrative authorities?

d) Respect for the views of the child (art. 12 of the Convention)

What concrete measures have been taken to sensitize public opinion and educate personnel working with children to the need to encourage respect for the views of the child including in the family, school or social life?

With respect to the information contained in para. 50 of the report, please indicate whether the Government has any plans to review its legislation relating to nationality, in light of the provisions of articles 2, 3 and 7 of the Convention, particularly with a view to preventing statelessness.

In the light of para. 63 of the report, please provide information on any mechanisms in place to ensure that a child in school may receive instruction in his/her own religion. In addition, please indicate whether the Government has any plans to provide for alternative subjects for students in school who choose not to have religious instruction.

In the light of the information contained in paras. 11, 12 and 82 of the report, please provide information on any measures being taken or planned to ensure the child's right to visit and maintain a relationship with both parents in the case of their separation or divorce.

Please provide further information on the measures taken to ensure that adoption procedures allow sufficient opportunity for parents and other persons concerned, including the child, to weigh up the consequences of and alternatives to adoption and to give their informed consent to the adoption on the basis of the necessary counselling.

Please provide further information as to how the rights of the child are safeguarded in the proceedings of adoption and how the best interests of the child is the paramount consideration, including with regard to the rights of the child to know his or her parents and to preserve family relations.

Please provide information on the programmes developed to prevent and reduce the abandonment of children.

In view of the information contained in the report (paras 89 and 90), what measures are being taken to develop alternatives to institutional care of children?

In light of the information contained in paras. 98-104 of the report, please indicate the steps envisaged to undertake further legal and other measures, including the development of awareness campaigns, to prevent and combat child abuse, including within the family.

What mechanisms exist to allow children within the family and in child care institutions, including residential care facilities, to lodge complaints of abuse or neglect?

With reference to para. 119 of the report, please provide details on the welfare plan for the disabled, prepared by the Committee on Welfare. Please indicate whether and to what extent it addresses the issues of the child's active participation in the community, the training of sufficient specialized staff to care for disabled children and the integration of disabled children in regular schools.

Please provide information on the budget allocation to health and preventive health care, the situation of health services in rural areas and the special measures taken to address the special needs of the most vulnerable groups of children.

Please provide further information on the child headed household project mentioned in para. 134 of the report and the measures taken to ensure the effective enjoyment by these children of their fundamental rights.

What is the real cost to a family of having a child in different levels of education?

In light of the provisions of para. 1 (b) of Article 28 of the Convention, please provide information on whether the Government is considering the possibility of extending free education for the nine years of compulsory schooling? (Para. 141 of the report).

What measures are being taken to improve the quality of education and teaching and to fully reflect the aims of education as recognized by the Convention?

Please indicate the measures taken to ensure that school discipline is implemented in a manner consistent with the child's dignity and in conformity with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In view of the recent adoption by the General Assembly of resolution 49/148 proclaiming the United Nations Decade of Human Rights Education, has the Government considered the possibility of using this opportunity to incorporate education about the Convention on the Rights of the Child into the curricula of school and higher educational establishments?

In the light of paras. 162-163 of the report, please provide further information on the measures adopted to overcome the approach to children as "mini adults" or "immature adults" and to build a healthy youth culture against the examination-oriented education and vulgar popular culture.

Please provide information on the implementation of article 22 of the Convention and the legislative, administrative and other measures taken to ensure that asylum seekers and refugee children, including when unaccompanied, receive appropriate protection and humanitarian assistance in the enjoyment of the rights recognized by the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In the light of articles 37, 39 and 40 of the Convention, please provide information on :

a) special training for professional groups, including judges, social workers and law enforcement officials, on the Convention and other relevant United Nations standards in the field of juvenile justice;

b) the measures designed to establish laws, procedures, authorities and institutions specifically applicable to children;

c) the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that arrest, detention and imprisonment of a child is only used as a measure of last resort and for the shortest period of time;

d) the measures adopted to ensure that children are separated from adults when deprived of their liberty;

e) the measures adopted or envisaged to ensure alternatives to institutional care to deal with children in a manner appropriate to their well-being, in the light of article 40, para. 3 of the Convention; and

f) the measures taken to promote the social reintegration of the child in an environment that fosters the self-respect and dignity of the child.

Please indicate whether the Government is considering the possibility of adhering to the ILO Conventions on minimum age for admission to employment, in particular ILO Convention No. 138.