GUINEA-BISSAU

CRC CRC/C/118 (2002)

31. The Committee considered the initial report of Guinea-Bissau (CRC/C/3/Add.63) at its 780th and 781st meetings (see CRC/C/SR.780-781), held on 22 May 2002, and adopted, at the 804th meeting, held on 7 June 2002, the following concluding observations.

A. Introduction

32. The Committee welcomes the submission of the State party's frank and informative initial report and the written replies to its list of issues (CRC/C/Q/GUIB/1). The Committee also welcomes the fact that the State party was represented by a high-level delegation, and the constructive dialogue that took place.

B. Positive factors

33. The Committee welcomes:

(a) The initiation of the process of ratification by Parliament in December 2001, of the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflicts, and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography;

(b) The ratification in 2000, of the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and their Destruction, and the creation of the National Council for Anti-Mines Action.

34. The Committee also welcomes:

(a) The creation of the Institute for Women and Children in 2000;

(b) The fact that the Committee against Harmful Practices has been legally institutionalized;

(c) The prohibition, under law, of corporal punishment in the family and schools and other contexts.

35. The Committee notes the State party's:

(a) Efforts to consult children through the "children's fortnight" mechanism, which places emphasis on children's views over a two-week period, and the holding of a children's parliament;

(b) Development of the "FIRKIDJA" programme in support of basic education and focusing on access to education, the quality of education and strengthening education management;

(c) Efforts to improve understanding and knowledge of children's rights among the general public and children through information campaigns, including the "children's voice" radio programme as described in the State party report in, inter alia, paragraphs 67, 97 and 123.

C. Factors and difficulties impeding the implementation of the Convention

36. The Committee notes with deep concern that a series of factors very seriously impede the implementation of children's rights, notably in the areas of health and education. The Committee notes, in particular, that the armed conflict in 1998/1999 had a very damaging impact on the country's infrastructure, including upon education and health services. The Committee recognizes the very poor economic conditions in the State party, the weight of its external debt and that a large proportion of the population lives in deep poverty and the country ranks very low on the Human Development Index. Finally, the Committee notes the low literacy level among the population in general and the burden of longstanding traditions some of which hinder the Convention's implementation.

D. Principal subjects of concern, suggestions and recommendations

1. General measures of implementation

Legislation

37. The Committee is concerned to note that:

(a) There is "an absence of specific legislation on the implementation of the Convention", as indicated in paragraph 61 of the State party's report;

(b) The Law on Children's and Women's Protection, which was approved by Parliament in 1997, has not been implemented and that the status of this law, according to the delegation, is unclear;

(c) The review of, inter alia, penal law and family and labour legislation has not produced concrete results so far;

(d) Customary law which does not fully comply with the Convention is applied much more often than national legislation, particularly on issues relevant to children, girls/women and the family.

38. Noting as a positive step the reactivation by the Parliament of the Ad Hoc Commission for the Child and Woman, the Committee urges the State party:

(a) To strengthen and speed up the process of revision and harmonization of national laws in the light of and in accordance with the principles and provisions of the Convention;

(b) Take the necessary steps, including involving the community and traditional leaders, to bring customary law practices into compliance with the provisions and principles of the Convention;

(c) Seek technical assistance from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

Implementation, coordination, monitoring and national plan of action

39. While noting the creation of the National Council for Childhood (see paragraphs 100 and 126 of the State party's report) and the recent establishment of the Institute for Women and Children (see the State party's replies to the list of issues, Part III), the Committee remains deeply concerned at:

(a) The lack of a well defined and comprehensive children's rights policy and an up-to-date national plan of action for the implementation of the Convention;

(b) The many difficulties encountered in the coordination and evaluation of the implementation of the Convention;

(c) The lack of monitoring of the implementation of the Convention.

40. The Committee urgently recommends that the State party:

(a) Develop and implement a comprehensive child rights policy and National Plan of Action, to replace the 1992 Plan;

(b) Provide the National Council for Childhood or the Institute for Women and Children with the necessary financial and human resources in order to allow one of these bodies to perform the role of promoting and coordinating activities for the implementation of the rights of women and children;

(c) The Committee urgently recommends that the State party establish an independent and effective mechanism in accordance with the Paris Principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (General Assembly resolution 48/134), provided with adequate human and financial resources and easily accessible to children;

(d) Seek technical assistance from UNICEF and OHCHR.

Resources for children

41. The Committee is deeply concerned that budget allocations for services such as health and education are extremely low. In addition, sole dependence on foreign assistance raises concerns as to the sustainability of the required resources. The Committee notes, further, that teachers and many other State employees often do not receive their salaries.

42. With view to the State party's strengthening of its implementation of article 4 of the Convention, and in the light of articles 2, 3 and 6, the Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Establish a clear policy on the allocation of resources in favour of children, including those resources allocated by international agencies or bilateral assistance;

(b) Prioritize budgetary allocations to ensure implementation of the rights of children to the maximum extent of available resources and, where needed, within the framework of international cooperation;

(c) Ensure the payment of salaries to State employees whose work is essential for the respect of children's rights.

Data collection

43. The Committee is concerned at the absence of reliable data and the lack of an adequate data collection mechanism.

44. The Committee urges the State party to:

(a) Systematically collect disaggregated quantitative and qualitative data on all the areas covered by the Convention and all children below the age of 18 years;

(b) Give particular attention to data on children in need of special protection;

(c) Use the data collected to support monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the Convention;

(d) Seek technical assistance from, inter alia, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UNICEF.

Cooperation with NGOs

45. Noting the State party's strong collaboration with national and international NGOs and the major contribution made by NGOs to the implementation of the Convention, the Committee is convinced that the NGO contribution and the collaboration of the State party with NGOs could be strengthened further and become more systematic.

46. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Continue and further strengthen its systematic collaboration with NGOs;

(b) Improve coordination of State party activities with those of NGOs with regard to the implementation of the Convention, including through the establishment of a coordination mechanism for this purpose.

Dissemination of the Convention

47. While noting the State party's efforts to promote the Convention, including in schools, the Committee remains concerned that there is insufficient awareness of the Convention among children, professionals working with children, parents and the public in general.

48. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Strengthen its efforts to disseminate the principles and provisions of the Convention, as a means of sensitizing society to children's rights;

(b) Involve local communities in its programmes in order to prevent and combat customs and traditions that impede the implementation of the Convention, and ensure that dissemination efforts reach, inter alia, parents, persons who are illiterate and children themselves;

(c) Undertake systematic education and training on the provisions of the Convention for all professional groups working for and with children, in particular parliamentarians, judges, lawyers, law enforcement officials, civil servants, municipal and local workers, personnel working in institutions and places of detention for children, teachers, health personnel, including psychologists and paediatricians, and social workers;

(d) Consider introducing human rights education, including on the rights of the child, into the curricular and extracurricular activities of all schools;

(e) Seek technical assistance from, inter alia, UNICEF.

2. Definition of the child

49. The Committee is concerned that:

(a) Differences in the minimum legal age of marriage for girls (14) and boys (16) is discriminatory and that, in practice, the marriage of girls at age 13 or 14 is common;

(b) Boys under the age of 16 are legally permitted to join the armed forces if they have parental agreement and that children well under the age of 16 were recruited into armed forces in 1998 and 1999, during the internal armed conflict.

50. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Raise the minimum legal age of marriage of girls so that it is the same as for boys and enforce respect for this minimum age;

(b) Clearly define the legal minimum age at which children can be recruited into the armed forces, raising the age limit to comply, at a minimum, with the standards set in the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, and ensure enforcement of these standards.

3. General principles

Discrimination

51. The Committee is concerned that:

(a) The list of criteria for which discrimination is prohibited under the Constitution, as described in the State party's report (para. 146), is limited in relation to article 2 of the Convention and omits, notably, discrimination on the grounds of political belief;

(b) As noted in the State party's report (para. 140) "girls are highly penalized not only at the level of the family but in society in general";

(c) Discrimination against children with disabilities is prevalent.

52. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Amend the legislation to ensure that it fully corresponds with the provisions of article 2 of the Convention;

(b) Formulate policies and programmes with a view to addressing discrimination against specific groups of children, in particular girls and children with disabilities.

53. The Committee requests that specific information be included in the next periodic report on the measures and programmes relevant to the Convention on the Rights of the Child undertaken by the State party to follow up on the Declaration and Programme of Action adopted at the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, and that take into account General Comment No. 1 on article 29.1 of the Convention (aims of education).

Best interests of the child

54. The Committee is concerned that:

(a) The principle of the "best interests of the child" has not been fully implemented by the State party or reflected in legislation, policy, programmes or activities;

(b) As indicated by the State party in its replies to the list of issues, the principle of the best interests of the child is not reflected at all in customary law.

55. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Urgently implement the principle of the best interests of the child in all of its activities relating to children and the implementation of the Convention, including legislation, policy, programmes and activities;

(b) Ask for international assistance to undertake a study on the best interest principle and its implementation, in order to ensure the wide application of this principle by the Government and throughout society.

Respect for the views of the child

56. Noting the establishment of the Children's Parliament and the Children's Fortnight, the Committee remains concerned that, as noted in the State party's report (para. 155), children's opinions are not given sufficient consideration in Guinean society.

57. The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that children's views are given due consideration, in accordance with article 12 of the Convention, in the family, in schools and in all relevant administrative and other processes concerning them through, inter alia, the adoption of appropriate legislation, the training of professionals and the establishment of specific activities in schools.

4. Civil rights and freedoms

Name and nationality

58. Noting the significant efforts by the State party to improve birth registration, the Committee remains concerned that not all children are registered at birth and that the imposition of a financial fine upon parents who register the birth of their child after the expiry of the official deadline is a hindrance to birth registration.

59. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Review its birth registration procedures, consider the abolition of sanctions for late registration and continue to use creative means of increasing birth registration (such as the use of mobile registration units in rural areas and sensitization campaigns), with a view to ensuring the systematic registration of all births;

(b) Seek technical assistance from UNICEF.

5. Family environment and alternative care

Ill-treatment and abuse

60. The Committee is concerned that:

(a) Sexual abuse of children within the family, including the extended family is a regular occurrence;

(b) Corporal punishment is widely practised in the family;

(c) Domestic violence, particularly against women, is widespread and frequently used as a way to resolve family conflicts, and that this violence, even when not directly inflicted upon children, has a very negative impact on their development.

61. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Undertake a study on the extent of abuse and ill-treatment of children in the family;

(b) Take steps to end the sexual abuse of children, including through improving the access of children and adults to reporting mechanisms, and increasing the investigation of cases and the prosecution of the persons responsible;

(c) Combat the practice of corporal punishment of children in the family, including through the use of information campaigns on the harm it can cause and on the importance of alternative measures of discipline;

(d) Take all appropriate measures to address and prevent domestic violence, whether physical or mental, within the family and to ensure the full protection of children against this type of violence;

(e) Raise awareness among the public of the problem of domestic violence, with a view to changing traditions that inhibit victims, particularly women and girls, from reporting it;

(f) Investigate cases of domestic violence and sexual abuse, through a child-sensitive judicial procedure, and that sanctions be applied to perpetrators with due regard given to guaranteeing the right to privacy of the child;

(g) In the light of articles 19 and 39 of the Convention, implement measures for reporting, referral and intervention and for the rehabilitation of victims, with a view to ensuring the recovery and reintegration of victims;

(h) Take note of the recommendations of the Committee's days of general discussion on violence against children.

Separation from parents and alternative care

62. The Committee is concerned that:

(a) As noted in the State party's report, there are insufficient administrative and judicial mechanisms through which children's rights can be protected when they are separated from their parents;

(b) Alternative care for these children is insufficient;

(c) The common use of "informal adoption" procedures can lead to the violation of children's rights.

63. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Strengthen the existing child protection structure or, if necessary, establish new structures through which the rights of the child are well protected;

(b) Establish or strengthen alternative care services (such as kinship, foster care and family type homes), avoiding institutional care as far as possible, and ensure that informal adoption procedures respect and contribute to the protection of the principles and provisions of the Convention;

(c) Provide child protection workers (professionals and volunteers) with training (including on the Convention) and sufficient financial resources to fulfil their role;

(d) Seek assistance through international cooperation, including from UNICEF.

6. Basic health and welfare

64. The Committee is deeply concerned at:

(a) The limited access to, capacity and quality of health-care services, including in terms of distance between people's homes and health facilities, cost and the insufficient number of hospital beds and the limited availability of affordable and appropriate medication;

(b) The high rates of infant and maternal mortality, malnutrition inadequate immunization and high mortality from malaria;

(c) The limited proportion of the population with access to safe water and adequate sanitation, including in schools, and related cholera and meningitis epidemics;

(d) Low levels of health education within communities.

65. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Significantly increase its expenditure on health;

(b) Significantly improve children's access to health services and to medication including by strengthening the quality and capacity of the health infrastructure, providing financial assistance or free medical care to children in need of such support and their families and addressing the access concerns of those children living in isolated rural communities;

(c) Take action to address specific concerns, including infant and maternal mortality, malnutrition, inadequate immunization, malaria rates and cholera and meningitis epidemics;

(d) Take action to ensure that all children have access to drinking water and adequate sanitation, including in schools, and to ensure adequate waste disposal arrangements;

(e) Seek assistance through international cooperation in this regard.

Children with disabilities

66. While noting that a major effort has been made to address the situation of children with disabilities since 1986 (see report, para. 189), the Committee remains concerned that:

(a) The rights of children with disabilities are very poorly respected (see report, para. 187), societal discrimination is prevalent against children with disabilities, including children with Down's syndrome, and there are cases of the killing of newborn children who have physical disabilities;

(b) As indicated in the State party's report, the law does not prohibit discrimination against the disabled specifically, there is no law mandating accessibility for persons with disabilities and existing legislation with regard to children with disabilities is not implemented;

(c) There is a lack of health, educational or professional training facilities for children with disabilities (see report, para. 147) and, in particular, children with disabilities have very limited access to formal education;

(d) Children with disabilities often have serious difficulty in gaining access to public buildings, including hospitals and schools.

67. The Committee recommends that the State party, in the spirit of the United Nations Guidelines on Disabilities and the results of the Committee's day of general discussion on the rights of children with disabilities:

(a) Develop or amend legislation to ensure that discrimination on the grounds of disability is prohibited and that children with disabilities have access to public transportation and public buildings, including all schools and hospitals;

(b) Ensure the implementation of all legislative measures of protection for children with disabilities, in particular with regard to non-discrimination, giving attention to practices such as the killing of newborn children with disabilities;

(c) Significantly strengthen its assistance to children with disabilities and ensure, inter alia, that they have access to health, educational and professional facilities;

(d) Review the recommendations made at the First National Conference on Disabled People (see report, para. 190) and implement those recommendations which remain valid;

(e) Revive services established to assist persons with disabilities in the past, but which are no longer functioning, or functioning only in part (see report, paras. 195-198);

(f) Seek international cooperation in this regard.

Adolescent health

68. The Committee is concerned that insufficient attention is given to the prevention of adolescent health concerns.

69. The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to address adolescent health concerns, with a particular focus on prevention and the provision of adequate reproductive health education.

HIV/AIDS

70. The Committee is deeply concerned at the negative impact of the growing rate of HIV/AIDS infection on the cultural, economic, political, social and civil rights and freedoms of children infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS, including the Convention's general principles, with particular reference to the rights to non-discrimination, to health care, education, food and housing, as well as to information and freedom of expression.

71. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Integrate respect for the rights of the child into the development and implementation of its HIV/AIDS policies and strategies on behalf of children infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS, as well as their families, including by making use of the Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights (E/CN.4/1997/37, annex I) and with particular reference to children's rights to non-discrimination, health, education, food and housing, as well as to information and freedom of expression;

(b) Make every effort to provide for the treatment of children and their parents infected by HIV/AIDS;

(c) Strengthen programmes to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS and to ensure protection of the rights of AIDS orphans;

(d) Take note of the results of the Committee's day of general discussion on children living in a world with AIDS (5th October 1998);

(e) Seek international cooperation in this regard.

Harmful traditional practices

72. Noting the work undertaken to address female genital mutilation and other harmful practices, including through international cooperation, the Committee remains deeply concerned that:

(a) As indicated in the State party's report, the early marriage of girls - often around the age of 13 or 14 - is common (see report, para. 33) and can lead to poor health for girls;

(b) Female genital mutilation is practised widely within certain ethnic groups, especially the Fulas and the Mandinkas;

(c) As indicated in the State party's report (para. 202), traditional food taboos are common and thought to be one cause of malnutrition among children and mothers.

73. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Make every effort to combat practices involving the early marriage of girls, including through the involvement of community leaders and the use of education campaigns;

(b) Continue and strengthen its efforts to end practices of female genital mutilation, for example through legislative prohibition, through the implementation and enforcement of legislation and through public awareness campaigns;

(c) Take steps to end the practise of harmful traditional food taboos by children and mothers;

(d) Strengthening and further supporting the work of the Committee against harmful practices;

(e) Seek cooperation with countries in the region that have positive experience of combating these harmful practices.

7. Education, leisure and cultural activities

74. Despite increases in school enrolment over the past decade, the Committee remains concerned that:

(a) Literacy rates and primary and secondary school enrolment rates among children are extremely low;

(b) There are major differences in the access of children to education across the country;

(c) Literacy and enrolment among girls are much lower than the already worrying rates for boys;

(d) Primary education, where available, is of a low quality and many schools offer only the 1st and 2nd grades and few offer more than four years of education;

(e) Schools lack adequate books and materials;

(f) Only 1 per cent of children have access to nurseries, kindergartens or similar institutions (see report, para. 217);

(g) Many teachers have not received any formal training;

(h) The number and quality of special education institutions are extremely limited;

(i) Ninety per cent of education costs are supported by external assistance (see report, para. 216).

75. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Raise the State party's contribution to the education budget to the maximum of available resources, while also continuing to seek support through international cooperation;

(b) Strengthen education infrastructure, including with regard to administration, management, educational planning, the quality of education in general, the training of teachers and other staff, the construction of additional schools and classrooms, and the provision and quality of textbooks and other school materials and equipment;

(c) Consider strengthening the quality of primary and secondary school curricula, taking into consideration the Committee's General Comment on article 29.1 of the Convention and the aims of education (CRC/GC/2001/1);

(d) Urgently take action to increase the proportion of children enrolling in primary school and completing compulsory education;

(e) Urgently give special attention to raising the proportion of girls completing their primary and secondary education, including through affirmative action and similar special measures, and by ensuring that girls have the same opportunities as boys to attend formal education, that the education of girls is seen by parents, families and communities, as being of equal importance to that of boys and that education is seen as the right of all children;

(f) Make every effort to ensure that compulsory education is free for all children, including with regard to textbooks and uniforms for disadvantaged children and families;

(g) Increase the number, capacity and quality of special education institutions;

(h) Seek technical assistance from UNICEF and UNESCO in this regard.

Leisure

76. The Committee is concerned that children living in urban centres have very few areas, such as parks, in which they can play safely and that the State party itself notes in its report the absence of parks in the country (para. 230).

77. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Ensure the existence of areas, such as parks, within urban centres, which may be used by children for leisure activities;

(b) Consider the adoption of legislation or administrative rules, and the allocation of an appropriate budget, to ensure that leisure areas for children are maintained as a priority in urban planning decisions.

8. Special protection measures

Children in armed conflict

78. The Committee is concerned that:

(a) Children were involved in the recent internal armed conflict, inter alia, as combatants, and that many children may have suffered from psychological trauma as a result;

(b) Child soldiers may not have received support towards demobilization and family and social reintegration;

(c) There continue to be a considerable number of landmines that place children at risk.

79. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Ensure the demobilization of all under-age soldiers, providing such children with assistance to this end and in family and social reintegration;

(b) Take steps to assess and respond to the needs of child soldiers in terms of psychological assistance;

(c) Continue its landmine detection programme;

(d) Seek international assistance in the form of technical support, including from UNICEF, in this regard.

Commercial exploitation

80. While noting the efforts under way to address this concern, the Committee is concerned that, as noted by the State party in its report, the economic exploitation of children is extremely serious and growing worse (paras. 250-253) and that, in particular (para. 142), the numbers of children working in the non-formal sector are increasing and that children are often compelled to perform the same work as adults, in highly difficult and dangerous conditions.

81. The Committee recommends that the State party make every effort to:

(a) Combat the economic exploitation of children through labour, with particular regard to the informal work sector;

(b) Ensure respect for the minimum age of employment, in accordance with international standards;

(c) Ensure that working children above the age of 14 benefit from adequate and full protection, including with regard to conditions of work and pay;

(d) Make every effort to ensure that children who work continue to have access to education;

(e) Ratify and implement ILO Conventions 138 concerning the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment and 182 concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour.

Street children

82. The Committee is concerned at the number and situation of street children in urban regions of the country.

83. The Committee recommends that the State party make every effort to provide assistance to these children and to address the causes leading children to live on the streets.

Sexual exploitation, trafficking

84. The Committee is concerned at the lack of information regarding the activities of the very high proportion of children who do not go to school. There are indicators that these children may, in urban areas, be involved in prostitution or may spend much time on the street, where they are vulnerable to many kinds of exploitation (for example, drug-trafficking, sexual exploitation, drug abuse).

85. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Undertake a study to assess the situation of children not attending school and to implement, based on the results of the study, all appropriate measures to protect effectively children from all forms of exploitation, including through prevention and the rehabilitation and recovery of child victims;

(b) Prepare a plan of action to address the sexual exploitation of children, taking note of the recommendations made in the Declaration and Agenda for Action and the Global Commitment adopted at the 1996 and 2001 World Congresses against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children;

(c) Seek regional cooperation in this regard.

Substance abuse

86. While noting the State party's efforts in this regard, the Committee is concerned that, as indicated in the State party's report, substance abuse by children is a major concern.

87. The Committee recommends that the State party take action to combat substance abuse by children, including through public education campaigns, and seek regional cooperation in this regard.

Administration of justice

88. The Committee is concerned that, as noted by the State party in its report:

(a) With regard to "the judicial level of services" legislation is insufficient and ineffective, and that the judicial system lacks courts and trained staff to deal with juveniles in conflict with the law (para. 106);

(b) There are no institutions for the prevention of crime among minors and for their rehabilitation (para. 241);

(c) Minors are sometimes held with other persons (for example, adults or convicted persons) from whom they should normally be separated;

(d) The rights of children are not fully respected in instances where customary law is applied.

89. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Amend and/or adopt and implement legislation providing for the full application of the juvenile justice infrastructure and system, in accordance with the provisions of the Convention and other international standards;

(b) In this regard, develop mechanisms and provide adequate resources, including with regard to the establishment of juvenile justice courts, to ensure the full implementation of juvenile justice standards, and in particular, articles 37, 40 and 39 of the Convention, as well the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules) and the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (the Riyadh Guidelines);

(c) Ensure that detention or imprisonment of children is used only as a measure of last resort and that children are detained or imprisoned separately from adults;

(d) Make efforts to ensure that the practise of traditional law, where it involves children, is in full accordance with the rights afforded to children under the Convention;

(e) Seek assistance from, inter alia, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Centre for International Crime Prevention, the International Network on Juvenile Justice and UNICEF, through the United Nations Coordination Panel on Technical Advice and Assistance in Juvenile Justice.

Dissemination of the report

90. Finally, in the light of article 44, paragraph 6, of the Convention, the Committee recommends that the initial report and written replies submitted by the State party be made widely available to the public at large and that the publication of the report be considered, along with the relevant summary records of the discussion and concluding observations adopted by the Committee following its consideration of the report. Such a document should be widely distributed in order to generate debate and awareness of the Convention and its implementation and monitoring at all levels of administration of the State party and by the general public, including concerned non-governmental organizations.

Reporting

91. In the light of the recommendation on reporting periodicity adopted by the Committee and described in its report on its twenty-ninth session (CRC/C/114), the Committee, aware of the considerable delay in the State party's reporting, underlines the importance of reporting practice that is in full compliance with the provisions of article 44 of the Convention. An important aspect of States' responsibilities to children under the Convention includes ensuring that the Committee on the Rights of the Child has regular opportunities to examine progress made in the implementation of the Convention. In this regard, regular and timely reporting by State parties is crucial. The Committee recognizes that some States parties experience difficulties in initiating timely and regular reporting. As an exceptional measure, in order to help the State party catch up with its reporting obligations in full compliance with the Convention, the Committee invites the State party to submit its 2nd, 3rd and 4th reports in one consolidated report by 18 September 2007. The Committee expects the State party to report thereafter every 5 years, as foreseen by the Convention.