Distr.
GENERAL
CRC/C/SR.83
19 October 1994
ENGLISH
Original:
FRENCH
Summary record of the 83rd meeting
:
Peru
.
19/10/94
.
CRC/C/SR.83
. (
Summary Record
)
Convention Abbreviation:
CRC
COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
Fourth session
SUMMARY RECORD OF THE 83rd MEETING
Held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva,
on Friday, 24 September 1993, at 10 a.m.
Chairperson
: Mr. BADRAN
CONTENTS
Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 44 of the Convention (
continued
)
Initial report of Peru (
continued
)
This record is subject to correction.
Corrections should be submitted in one of the working languages. They should be set forth in a memorandum and also incorporated in a copy of the record. They should be sent
within one week of the date of this document
to the Official Records Editing Section, room E.4108, Palais des Nations, Geneva.
Any corrections to the records of the meetings of the Committee at this session will be consolidated in a single corrigendum, to be issued shortly after the end of the session.
GE.93-18590 (E)
The meeting was called to order at 10.20 a.m.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 44 OF THE CONVENTION (agenda item 8)
Initial report of Peru
(CRC/C/3/Add.7, CRC/C/4/WP.1) (
continued
)
1.
At the invitation of the Chairperson, the Peruvian delegation, composed of Mrs. Ninamango de Yoshimoto, President of the Ad Hoc Commission on the National Plan of Action for Children, Mr. Urrutia Ceruti, Permanent Representative of Peru to the international organizations at Geneva, Mrs. Barrantes Takata, National Coordinator of the Ad Hoc Commission of the National Plan of Action for Children and Mrs. Gonzales de Saenz, Ministry of Justice adviser, took places at the Committee table
.
2.
A film illustrating various activities under the National Plan of Action for Children was shown
.
3.
The CHAIRPERSON
invited the Peruvian delegation to reply to items 1 to 6 of the "Civil rights and freedoms" section of the list of issues (CRC/C/4/WP.1), relating to Chapter II, section D of the initial report of Peru (CRC/C/3/Add.7):
"
Civil rights and freedoms
(Arts. 7, 8, 13-17 and 37 (a) of the Convention)
1. Please provide information on factors and difficulties encountered and progress achieved in implementing the laws mentioned in the report under this chapter.
2. Please indicate concrete measures taken to ensure, also in practice, that all children are registered after birth, including sanctions in case of non-registration or late registration. How is registration ensured particularly in rural areas?
3. What steps are being taken to encourage the publication, dissemination and availability to all children of children's literature?
4. How are children protected from violence and harmful influences in the mass media?
5. What concrete steps have been taken to investigate cases of ill-treatment of children and prevent its occurrence?
6. Is corporal punishment allowed in schools or other institutions for children? What specific legal provisions exist to protect children from being ill-treated? Are there complaint procedures which can be used by children themselves against such abuses?"
4.
Mrs. GONZALES de SAENZ
(Peru), replying to item 1, said that the Civil Code specified that every child was entitled to a name and that newborn children had to be registered within 30 days of birth. After that time-limit a judicial procedure could be followed, but it was both long and costly. However, citizens did occasionally fail to declare their children, especially in remote regions. In addition, many registers had been destroyed through acts of terrorism, leaving a large number of adults with no identity papers. Act No. 25015 provided that people who had not been registered or who no longer had any papers were entitled to re-register. Unfortunately, the Act was poorly implemented, and many people involved in terrorism managed to obtain two or three identity documents. The Act was still in force, but a study was being made with the object of having the Act repealed. The Minors' Code provided for a rapid registration procedure and the issuance of a birth certificate free of charge. In December 1992, a national system for entry in the Civil Register was set up to govern all the details of the registration procedure at the provincial and local levels. The system should soon be coordinated through the new draft Constitution, which would provide for registration not only of births but also of marriages and deaths. With the participation of UNICEF and NGOs such as INDECOPI, many campaigns had been carried out to publicize that legislation throughout the country and to promote the registration of children and adults.
5.
Mrs. NINAMANGO de YOSHIMOTO
, referring to item 2, explained that the Minors' Code provided that every birth had to be declared and that a free birth certificate was issued within 24 hours; beyond 30 days, an administrative procedure could be followed. Births were being registered in rural areas thanks to public awareness and encouragement campaigns.
6. Regarding item 3, she explained that the Ministry of Education had conducted campaigns to promote children's literature in the State schools. School libraries and public libraries had taken steps to promote reading, including the establishment of new children's libraries in municipalities and the conclusion of agreements with private institutions that developed programmes for library services and for promoting books and reading. An agreement had also been concluded with the NGO "CEDRO" for setting up a library in Canepa Park in the district of Victoria and preparing a reading promotion programme for marginal children in the Parada district (abandoned children, drug-addicted children, etc.). Many public libraries also carried children's books. The National Library of Peru had helped to establish 117 pilot school libraries throughout the country, 47 of which were in Lima-Callao. A special programme called the "Daily Reading Hour" had been established, which encouraged children to read by placing many books at their disposal. The 1993 statistics showed that Peru had 2,607 school libraries holding a total of 209,403 books. In 1992 and 1993 contests to encourage children to read had been organized by SEDAPAL. In 1994, the National Library had also developed a reading encouragement programme in rural and frontier areas to raise the quality of primary education by facilitating access to school books.
7.
Mrs. GONZALES de SAENZ
, referring to item 4, said that the Minors' Code provided for the dissemination of information on the rights of children and adolescents. The radio and television stations also took steps to prohibit the broadcasting of violent programmes at times when children might be watching television. Special schedules had been adopted in 1989 in order to protect children.
8. With regard to item 5, she said that the administration of juvenile justice provided a system for the protection of children and adolescents who had been subjected to ill-treatment, involving specialized judges and defence lawyers. A system had also been set up to provide children and adolescents with any assistance they needed.
9. Turning to item 6, she said that corporal punishment was prohibited in Peru. Article 4 of the Code provided that children and adolescents were entitled to respect for their physical integrity, while article 16 stated that they must be respected by their teachers. They were entitled to appeal to higher school bodies, and the directors of educational centres were obliged to inform the competent authority of all cases of ill-treatment of children. Once the system for the defence of children and adolescents was established, children would have better means of asserting their rights.
10.
The CHAIRPERSON
invited members of the Committee to ask the Peruvian delegation questions concerning the replies that had just been given.
11.
Mr. KOLOSOV
said he had noted with interest the information provided by the Peruvian delegation concerning the realization of civil rights and freedoms in Peru. Experience gained through dialogues with many delegations had shown that the main difficulty was often financial (inflation, external debt, etc.). However, he would like to be informed not only of the financial difficulties and the difficulties related to terrorism and drug abuse, but also of the specific problems encountered in implementing the relevant articles of the Convention in contacts with legislators, in the training of educators and in daily life.
12.
Mrs. SANTOS PAIS
thanked the Peruvian delegation for its unusual idea of showing a film. However, the film emphasized the goals of the national plan of action for children, whereas the Committee's main concern had been to have a clear idea of the actual conditions in which children were living and to learn what measures were being taken under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. She therefore hoped that the ensuing dialogue would fill those gaps. In view of the fact that many civil registry records had been destroyed by the acts of terrorism or violence that had shaken the country, she wished to know what was the Government's attitude towards children who no longer had any identity documents. Did the lack of them place the children at risk of becoming involved in acts of terrorism or being discriminated against? Regarding the new registration system proposed under the future constitution, she asked whether those children were sufficiently protected and whether the new system might not contain too much data. What means were available to children for gaining access to their files and verifying whether the data contained was relevant and would not harm their future?
13.
The CHAIRPERSON
said she wondered whether the 30-day period for registering births was not too long; there might be cases where a baby's birth was not declared, the baby died within the 30 days and it was therefore not counted in the infant mortality statistics. She suggested that the period should be shortened to two weeks; that would ensure a more accurate picture of the real situation.
14.
Mr. HAMMARBERG
noted that the heading on page 10 of the report, "Right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment", was not followed by an explanation. Was the procedure involved the same as that for children in conflict with the law, described in paragraph 62? Were children the victims of disappearances, extrajudicial executions or acts of torture carried out by the security forces or paramilitary groups such as the "Sendero Luminoso" and the "Tupac Amaru" revolutionary movement? What were the specific measures taken to protect children against violence and train law-enforcement personnel, not only in human rights, but also in the specific needs involved in children's rights?
15.
Mrs. EUFEMIO
wished to know what information was entered on the birth certificate. In the case of an illegitimate child, was the putative father identified? Could the child change names, in particular in the case of a simulated birth or an adoption? Was the child issued a new birth certificate?
16.
Miss MASON
said that, as the Committee was responsible for ensuring implementation of the Convention, she wished to learn about the customs and cultural traditions of Peruvian society and therefore about the rights of children within the family and as they related to freedom of expression, belief, conscience and religion.
17.
Mrs. GONZALES de SAENZ
(Peru) explained that the difficulties encountered by her country in implementing the Convention were essentially due to problems of coordination, at both the governmental and parliamentary levels. An awareness-raising campaign that was currently under way aimed to draw the attention of the members of parliament to the rights of children.
18. With regard to children who had no birth certificate because the registers had been destroyed by terrorists, she said that the authorities had set up a procedure that allowed anyone who had lost his papers to apply to the administration for re-entry in the register, provided that two witnesses confirmed the personal data furnished by the person in question. Campaigns had also been launched to encourage such people to take these steps, but many still did not do so. In the past, the law had not allowed a child without a birth certificate to attend school. That situation had changed, and schools could not now refuse admission to children lacking a birth certificate. If a youth was suspected of terrorist activities, the lack of a birth certificate would indeed be an aggravating factor; however, it was important to state that the opposite was not true: a youth would not be suspected of terrorist activities simply because he did not have a birth certificate.
19. As for the information contained in the birth registers, a multisectoral commission had worked on the subject and had reached the conclusion that the parents' last and first names should appear on the certificate, whether the child was legitimate, illegitimate or adopted. However, if the child's father did not recognize the child or if the child's mother did not wish the father's name to be mentioned, the current legislation so permitted. A mother could also ask for the name of a father who did not wish to recognize his child to be shown on the birth certificate; the father's signature would simply not appear at the bottom of the document.
20. Many children in Peru were born outside of hospitals. That was why births had to be declared only within 30 days. If that period were reduced, the number of children not declared for practical reasons would be even higher than it was. When a child was born in hospital, the doctors were required to report the birth to the authorities. Even in such cases, however, the parents often did not come in to sign the birth certificate.
21. With regard to children who were adopted, their birth certificate showing the name of the biological parents was not destroyed: a record of the document had to be kept to avoid the child's later marrying a member of his biological family. The original certificate was therefore held but replaced by a new certificate that showed the name of the adoptive parents, without stating that an adoption was involved. The procedure for changing children's first names was a quite simple one. The doctoring of birth certificates in order to facilitate and accelerate adoptions was punished by law as falsification of civil registry certificates. Finally, children's right to freedom of expression, belief and religion would become a reality when the children themselves became more aware of their rights and knew that they could enforce them. It was therefore necessary to continue information work in Peru.
22.
Mrs. BARRANTES TAKATA
(Peru) said that she wished to supplement the general replies given by her colleague. The situation in practice was often slightly more complicated. For example, even though the law stipulated that the certificate should no longer indicate the legitimacy or illegitimacy of a birth, in practice the municipal authorities were still working with the old registers and could not always enforce that right. Because of corruption, which had emerged relatively recently in Peru, birth records were often falsified, in particular with a view to facilitating illegal adoptions. On the other hand, when the police conducted operations in certain neighbourhoods, children were not required to be in possession of their birth certificate. The lack of a birth certificate, therefore, was not a factor that would lead children to be suspected of terrorist activities.
23.
The CHAIRPERSON
invited the delegation of Peru to reply to the questions on the list of issues (CRC/C/4/WP.1) concerning family environment and alternative care.
"
Family environment and alternative care
(Arts. 5, 18, 9, 10, 27 para. 4, 20, 21, 11, 19,
25 and 39 of the Convention)
1. Is parental education provided for, and are family counselling services available?
2. What specific measures are being taken to ensure the right of the child to be in contact with both father and mother in cases of separated parents? What are the composition and functions of the family council mentioned in paragraph 52 of your report?
3. What are the procedures to regulate the care of children of divorced parents and to ensure that the child is not deprived of its maintenance? Please provide further explanation on parental responsibilities as mentioned in paragraph 50 of the report and indicate to what extent they are compatible with article 19 of the Convention.
4. What facts have been obtained about abuse of children within the family? Is there a law against such violation? Has research been undertaken into the problem of ill-treatment and sexual abuse, including rape, of children, and into social factors which influence such violations?
5. Have programmes been adopted to prevent and reduce the abandonment of children and, if so, are such programmes adequate?
6. Please indicate the government's policy in relation to the choice between institutional care and care in foster homes or similar arrangements.
7. What systems and procedures exist for the monitoring of institutions for alternative care?
8. Please describe the procedures for national and inter-country adoption, including monitoring and supervision. What measures are taken to ensure that parents giving up their children for adoption are allowed sufficient opportunity to weigh the consequences and alternatives?
9. Are there documented cases of illicit transfer and non-return of children? What preventive and remedial measures have been taken?
10. What is the general policy and general attitude in society regarding the care of disabled children?"
24.
Mrs. GONZALES de SAENZ
(Peru) said that the new secondary education and non-university higher education curricula contained courses on responsible parenting, breast-feeding and sexuality. In addition to that formal education, parenting schools had been established throughout the country.
25. In cases where parents separated and custody of the child had to be determined, the child's opinion was now taken into account. In addition, a visiting schedule was established and had now been extended to include uncles, aunts and grandparents.
26. In case of the death of both parents, custody of the child was given to a family council, made up of at least four persons, generally named in the parents' will. If there was no will, the judge had to choose the members of the family council from among the child's friends and relatives. The child was a member of the family council and took part in decisions.
27. With regard to maintenance, the Minors' Code now took the notion of leisure activities into account in the calculation of maintenance. In the past, judges had had difficulty in setting a reasonable amount for maintenance allowances, given the fact that the parents declared low incomes. The Minors' Code now provided that the judge should take the best interests of the child into account in calculating the maintenance allowance to which the child was entitled; the reform of the tax administration would also provide judges with better information concerning parents' incomes, which would enable them to ensure that parents met their obligations. Finally, not paying a maintenance allowance was considered to be abandonment of the family and carried a prison term.
28. As for possible ill-treatment of children within the family, she observed that corporal punishment was more common in rural areas than elsewhere. However, the Minors' Code and the legislation laid down penalties for ill-treatment. If serious ill-treatment was involved, the case could come before a criminal judge, who might impose prison terms on the parents responsible. The criminal procedure took time, however, and the Minors' Code provided that immediate administrative measures could be taken to remove the child from his family in case of serious ill-treatment.
29.
Mrs. BARRANTES TAKATA
(Peru) added that the number of children ill-treated in their family was tending to increase. That was due to such factors as the prevailing climate of violence in Peru, the poverty of families and the lack of education of certain parents. As for sexual violence, in particular incest, victims were usually girls. The commissions on the status of women that were being established throughout the country were attempting to overcome that problem.
30. Replying to question 5, she said that non-governmental bodies and the Catholic Church were working to establish day-care centres in charge of neighbourhood women who took care of young children of working parents so that the children would not be left to themselves or watched over only by their brothers and sisters. The State was endeavouring to expand that experiment by training those women through programmes sponsored by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education. Non-governmental bodies had also set up centres where children under six years of age received basic instruction. The State would also try to expand that experiment.
31.
Mrs. NINAMANGO de YOSHIMOTO
(Peru), referring to question 6, said that placement of children without a family in specialized institutions was always a last resort. As for young offenders, the authorities resorted to institutionalization only after the following possibilities had been exhausted: warning, community service, probation and conditional release. Adoptions were supervised by the Adoptions Office, which gave priority to Peruvians wishing to adopt.
32. Concerning question 7, institutions for alternative care were monitored by a public body called the "
Registro de Inscriptión en la Institución de Protection del Estado
". The Adoptions Office authorized and supervised the institutions in charge of preparing adoption programmes.
33.
Mrs. GONZALES de SAENZ
(Peru), replying to question 8, said that under the new legislation, the adoption process took place in three phases: pre-adoption, adoption and post-adoption. The Adoptions Office was fully responsible for the first phase. No child could be adopted unless he was first declared legally abandoned after a thorough inquiry. Priority was given to Peruvians who wished to adopt. Foreigners could adopt a Peruvian child only if the country of which they were nationals, or an agency authorized by that country, had concluded an agreement with the Peruvian Government or a Peruvian body authorized by the Adoptions Office. Judges gave approval for adoptions only if an inquiry conducted by a multidisciplinary team decided that there was a rapport between the parents wishing to adopt and the abandoned child. Peruvians who wished to adopt a child promised to inform the Adoptions Office of the adopted child's progress at least every six months for a minimum period of three years. That obligation to keep the Adoptions Office informed of the adopted child's progress also applied in the case of foreign adoptive parents, under the provisions of the agreements. Lack of resources could not be used to justify abandoning a child. Through the Social Welfare Institute, the State had provided for assistance to parents in need who might be tempted to abandon their children.
34. With regard to question 9, she said that the new Minors' Code provided for the establishment of a juveniles' magistrate, responsible for enforcing the rights of children and adolescents, especially the right to physical and psychological integrity. The magistrate would in particular be empowered to remove an ill-treated child from his family. In addition, the directors of educational centres were obliged to report to the authorities any cases of ill-treatment of children. Prevention programmes were also being set up to prevent such practices. Finally, ill-treated children were entitled to the free legal services of an officially-appointed lawyer.
35.
Mrs. NINAMANGO de YOSHIMOTO
, referring to question 10, said that the Minors' Code provided that a disabled child was entitled to vocational training and specialized education to integrate him into the normal educational system. Specialized institutions would be set up for that purpose.
36.
The CHAIRPERSON
invited the Peruvian delegation to reply to the questions on the list (CRC/C/4/WP.1) relating to basic health and welfare and education, leisure and cultural activities:
"
Basic health and welfare
(Arts. 6, para. 2, 23, 24, 26, 18 para. 3,
27 paras. 1-3 of the Convention)
1. What proportion of the budget is allocated to health care and more specifically to child health care? Please comment on the balance between curative and preventive health programmes.
2. Please provide information on intended aims of achieved measures proposed in the health sector in paragraph 58 of your report and the progress made so far in implementation in the following areas:
- the measures taken to ensure that no child is deprived of the right of access to health-care services (including measures to reduce regional disparities);
- the measures taken to collect statistical and other data on nutrition;
- the family planning measures taken and the beneficiaries of such measures;
- the nature and context of the most frequent illnesses;
- the present level of malnutrition among children, and measures planned to reduce it.
3. Please provide detailed information and statistics where possible on mother and child health policy and programmes and the management of problems encountered. What are the major causes of HIV infection and its prevalence among children?
4. Please provide information on the situation of disabled children, including access to education, training, health-care services, preparation for employment and recreation opportunities.
5. Please provide information on the social security system and how children can benefit from it.
6. Please indicate to what extent the provisions of the Convention relating to the right to an adequate standard of living are being applied and provide specific information on the main measures adopted for this purpose.
Education, leisure and cultural activities
(Arts. 28, 29 and 31 of the Convention)
1. Please provide written information in relation to articles 28, 29 and 31 of the Convention according to the guidelines on,
inter alia
, the institutional infrastructure, monitoring strategies, difficulties encountered and progress made.
2. Please provide written information on the portion of the national budget which is reserved for education and on the major items in the education budget.
3. What programmes exist for preventing school drop-outs? What is being done to facilitate school attendance for children in remote areas?
4. What is the real cost for the family of having a child in school at the different levels? What is done to allow for children from poor families to continue their education?
5. What measures are taken to develop the quality of education and teaching?
6. Please indicate whether children may be taught in local, minority or indigenous languages."
37.
Mrs. NINAMANGO de YOSHIMOTO
(Peru), replying to question 1, said that the budget for health in 1992 had been 376.5 million new soles, 41.8 per cent of which had been allocated to children's health.
38. With regard to question 2, she pointed out that various health programmes had been set up to improve the quality of health care, public information and the training of health-care staff. For example, one of those programmes was concerned with severe respiratory infections, in particular pneumonia, and another with perinatal care. The latter programme was aimed at reducing the very large number of women who died in childbirth and also the rate of stillbirths, the primary cause of death for children under one year of age. Efforts were aimed at reducing infant mortality from diarrhoeal diseases, which were among the main causes of mortality in children under five years of age. To that end, health services were being strengthened and health professionals and volunteers trained.
39. One of the objectives of the vaccination programme was to vaccinate all children under five years of age. The vaccination machinery had been strengthened. There had been three national vaccination days in 1992, and there would be three more in 1993. Over 80 per cent of children under one year of age had been vaccinated. There had been a measles epidemic in 1993 which had affected 22,000 children, but that number would have been much higher if 65 per cent of all children 15 years of age or younger had not been vaccinated. Efforts had been made in the area of training professionals, technicians and auxiliaries. Courses had been given on the use and maintenance of the frozen food chain. Workshops had been organized with hospital staff, and community members had been trained to recognize the symptoms of diseases, administer vaccinations and monitor epidemics. Work had also been done in the area of monitoring children's growth and development. Statistical and other data on children's nutrition were gathered at the local, subregional and regional levels and centralized in the Ministry of Health.
40. In the family planning area, efforts in the past four years had aimed at establishing five systems at the national or local level: national programme administration system, training system, communications system, services system and family planning system.
41. As for the extent of malnutrition among children and measures planned to reduce it, the national health survey carried out in 1992 showed that 36.5 per cent of children under five years of age were chronically undernourished. According to the latest studies carried out by the National Health Institute under an agreement with two organizations, PRISMA and CARE, chronic undernourishment was on the increase. The measures taken to prevent undernourishment were based on better allocation of resources to food programmes, mainly in the areas of greatest poverty having the highest levels of undernourishment of children. Finally, the establishment of two pilot nutritional recovery centres in the cities of Lima and Piura was being planned.
42. Her delegation had already replied to the first part of question 3 in the basic health and welfare section. Regarding the causes of HIV infection and its prevalence among children, she noted that there had been 18 cases of
children with AIDS between 1987 and 1993, and that the rate of HIV infection had increased during those years; in particular, an increase in HIV transmission from mothers to children had been observed. HIV was transmitted through the placenta during the embryonic or foetal stage. The number of cases of "paediatric AIDS" had also increased.
43. Question 5 related to the social security system, from which children could now benefit. They could obtain direct or indirect assistance, receive full medical care, dental care and medicines, obtain prosthetic devices and receive rehabilitation services. The preventive benefits consisted basically of vaccination and the monitoring of newborn babies. Children also benefited indirectly through cash payments provided in the form of maternity and breast-feeding allowances. For 45 days before the delivery date and 45 days after it, mothers received a daily allowance based on their last four months' wages as calculated for the social security contribution. In the legislative sphere, the measure that had had the greatest impact socially speaking was no doubt coverage up to the age of 18 for children whose parents were members of the social security system.
44. With reference to the questions in the section entitled "Education, leisure and cultural activities" and in reply to question 1, she said that the authorities were making considerable efforts to renovate schools or build new schools with the cooperation of countries friendly to Peru. She gave a number of figures on facilities built or renovated in 1992 and 1993 under the responsibility of two agencies, FONCODES and INFES.
45. Replying to question 2, she said that the portion of the national budget which was reserved for education amounted to 1,456,801,170 new soles. There was additional information in the document containing replies to the written questions which had been circulated to the members of the Committee.
46. Referring to question 3 on school drop-out rates and school attendance for children in remote areas, she said that in 1993 the authorities had given priority to education in rural and border areas. There were two types of programmes at the community level: early stimulation programmes and extra-curricular introductory education programmes. There were currently 15,720 special introductory education programmes covering approximately 300,000 children. Coverage was therefore low, but it was to be expanded with the extension to the national level of the "Wawa Wasi" project, conducted under the auspices of UNICEF. The goal was to cover 10 per cent of children under three years of age. The advantage of the education programmes at the community level was that the school came to the children rather than the children going to the school. Although only 6 per cent of children under six received introductory education, the enrolment rate in primary education was fairly high: it had been 89.5 per cent in 1991. To lower the drop-out rate, measures had been taken such as the setting of very long enrolment periods and distribution of school lunches for children from 6 to 12 years of age. Mothers were very pleased with the meal distribution. In addition, assistance such as distribution of shoes, uniforms and various school supplies was provided.
47. Replying to item 4, she said that she did not have any figures on the real cost for the family of having a child in school at the different levels. The measures taken to allow children from poor families to continue their education were essentially the same as the ones taken to lower the school drop-out rate, which was basically due to poverty.
48. Concerning item 5, she agreed that there was indeed a serious problem of education and teaching quality. School curricula were being reformed at the different levels and that should lead to an improvement in teaching quality. Certain curricula, for example, might be adapted to rural schools. To improve teaching quality, the living conditions of teachers should also be improved. Teachers in the rural and border zones received support in the form of wage supplements. A similar measure applied to directors of schools in the poorest regions. Various agencies such as FONCODES and INFES gave priority to improving the school infrastructure in the rural and border zones. A number of projects on behalf of poor children were also being carried out in association with NGOs.
49. Replying to item 6, she said that it was not only permitted but compulsory to provide teaching in local languages. Teaching in local languages was regarded as a priority, and a number of agreements had been concluded between the State, NGOs and national and regional universities to support efforts to encourage teaching in local languages. Teaching initially took place in the mother tongue; a second language was introduced gradually.
50.
Mr. HAMMARBERG
said that he regretted the limited amount of time available for the Committee's dialogue with the Peruvian delegation. The Committee should have clearly indicated that it wished to receive the texts of the replies to the written questions before the meeting in order to avoid the meeting's simply becoming a presentation of those replies. For example, he would have liked the Peruvian delegation to have provided further information on the functioning of the family councils. That would not be possible owing to lack of time, but he hoped that the information might be furnished in writing.
51. The Committee was concerned to note that, according to the figures provided, the Government was not giving sufficient priority to the areas of health and education. Having participated in non-governmental activities to promote education, he had noted, for example, that in the Quechua-speaking areas it was difficult to find teachers, and there was a serious lack of school supplies. Some classrooms did not have even a single textbook. The situation with regard to the right to education in the high plateau region of Peru was far from satisfactory.
52. The Peruvian delegation had said that violence in the family was linked to a "culture" of violence. Perhaps a better term was atmosphere of violence, transmitted from generation to generation in a male-dominated society. Obviously legal measures had been taken. However, since violence in the family was closely linked to traditions, it was very important for those running the country to be the first to make it clear that beating women and children was prohibited. It was not sufficient to enact laws; it was also necessary to explain that there was a moral question involved for the entire country. Therefore, the Committee urged the delegation of Peru to ask that country's leaders to give priority to the campaign against domestic violence in their messages to the people. Social workers had a very important role to play in dealing with family problems, violence in the family, alcoholism, etc. Little mention was made of that role in the report of Peru. There were other systems than those involving social workers in Peru, but it was essential for the authorities to support social workers and emphasize the importance of their role.
53. The problems encountered by disabled children were closely related to attitudes. The country's leaders should make it known that disabled children's exercise of their rights was a priority for the country and that it was necessary to break the vicious circle in which those children found themselves. They were in a sense forgotten and not given a chance to begin their schooling. The Peruvian delegation had stated that emphasis was placed on the right of those children to go to school. Had those efforts been successful? What were the available statistical data? What was the proportion of disabled children who did in fact have the possibility of going to school? What measures were taken to extend that possibility to all of them?
54. Many other points relating to the health and welfare of children were probably dealt with in the national plan of action for children; the Committee would have to study it more attentively. The Peruvian delegation had reported 3,600 cases of disappearance of children, 18 per cent of which were said to have been cleared up. He wished to know what type of disappearances were involved? Were they "disappearances" due to political violence or disappearances due to illegal adoptions or illicit transfers of children to other countries for similar purposes?
55.
The Peruvian delegation withdrew
.
The meeting rose at 1.05 p.m.
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