Please provide information on the main recommendations contained in the 62-point communiqué providing "a national framework for a new legal dispensation on the child". (Para. 10, 8 and 13 of the report).

Please provide details of the draft Children's Decree mentioned in para. 9 (f) of the report especially as regards its compatibility with the provisions and principles of the Convention. Please provide clarification as to the status of this decree. (Para. 31 of the report).

With regard to the terms of reference of the National Child Rights Implementation Committee, please indicate how the mechanism instituted for the purpose of monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the provisions of the Convention is operating. Does the Government consider that the Committee has been provided with adequate resources for its operations?(Paras. 16-17 of the report). Are there any plans to establish other institutions such as an Ombudsman for children?

What proportion of the national budget is devoted to social expenditures, including health and education, for children. What proportion of these budgets is devoted to staff/administration costs?

What consideration is being given to the social needs of children in the process of "structural adjustment"? (Para. 29 of the report). Please describe the policy in place in relation to the implementation of article 4 of the Convention with regard to the allocation to the "maximum extent of available resources" for the rights of the child. What guarantees exist to ensure that local authorities are also guided by this principle in their policy decision making?

What measures have been taken to reduce disparities between rural and urban areas and how are children belonging to the most disadvantaged groups in society protected against the adverse effects of reductions in budgetary allocations?

Please provide information on the measures taken to develop a mechanism 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. In this connection, please indicate what efforts have been made to collect disaggregated data on the basis of gender, ethnic origin or other grounds. Is there a need for technical assistance with regard to these matters? (Paras. 16 (e) and 25 (d) of the report).

Please provide clarification as to the statement contained in para. 30 of the report that "several administrative changes have taken place in Government which inadvertently slowed down the processes of implementation" of the Convention.

Has any evaluation been undertaken as to the effectiveness of media activities to create widespread awareness of the principles and provisions of the Convention to children and adults alike? (Paras. 24 and 26 of the report).

To what extent is the Convention translated into national minority languages and effectively disseminated in these languages?

Please indicate the measures being taken to train professional groups such as social workers, doctors, judges, lawyers, teachers and the police as well as decision makers about the principles and provisions of the Convention. (Paras. 12 and 24 (a) of the report).

To what extent is international cooperation designed to foster the implementation of the Convention? What proportion of international aid is allocated to programmes for children?

With reference to information contained in paras. 35-36 and 94 of the report please indicate which authority is entitled to interpret that a person under the age of 12 is not criminally responsible and the criteria used to determine whether or not a child between the ages of 7 and 12 "had the capacity to know that he ought not to do the act or make the omission" (Criminal Code, S. 30 see also, S.50).

Please indicate what specific and concrete measures have been taken to prevent and combat discrimination against girl children, disabled children, children born out of wedlock, children belonging to the different ethnic or religious groups, including with regard to situations of discrimination arising from certain traditions that persist. (Paras. 18, 20-21, 28, 33 and 65 of the report). In addition, have the measures outlined in para. 19 of the report been undertaken and to what effect?

What measures have been taken or are envisaged to deal with any cultural constraints in implementing the principle of the best interests of the child? (Para. 39 of the report).

What concrete measures have been taken to sensitize public opinion and educate personnel working with children to the need to encourage children`s participatory rights? Please specify any other measures taken to make a reality of the principle of respecting the views of the child. How have such measures affected the judicial process, the situation at schools and institutions for children as well as in the home? (Para. 24 (b) (vi)).

How is registration ensured particularly in rural areas? What specific measures have been taken to encourage the population to register births and to mobilise public opinion in this regard?

Please provide information on any cases where censorship has been or is being exercised to protect children against the harmful influences of the media.

What steps have been taken to prevent the beating of children in detention centres for juveniles or institutions for children? Is the non use of physical punishment covered in Codes of Conduct for Law Enforcement Personnel and in their training and that of other personnel in institutions? What remedies are there in cases of abuse? Are there complaints procedures which can be used by children themselves against such abuses?

With respect to the implementation of article 18 of the Convention have mass mobilisation campaigns been undertaken to promote parental/family education, including to address the problem of the abandonment of children? (Para. 52-53 of the report).

Has there been any increase in the proportion of one parent families? Please describe the protection measures in place, if any, to support single parent families, in particular.

With reference to the information contained in paras. 23 and 51 of the report, what concrete measures have been taken to ensure that children within extended family situations are not exploited or abused as domestic workers?

Please provide any available data on the occurrence of ill-treatment of children. Have specific programmes, including public information campaigns, for the prevention and combating of the ill-treatment of children, child abuse and neglect been developed at the central and local levels? (See paras. 23 (d), 25 and 57 of the report).

What concrete steps, including through the initiation of widespread information campaigns, are being taken to reduce under-age marriages? (Para. 100).

To what extent are the programmes dealing with the prevention of disability considered to be effective? (See, inter alia, para. 73 (c) of the report). In addition, please provide information on the situation of disabled children with respect to the promotion of their dignity, self-reliance and active participation in the community as well as their effective access to training, health care and rehabilitation services and preparation for employment.(Paras. 65-67 of the report).

What progress has been achieved in meeting the goals set for 1995 in relation to ante-natal care attendance, health personnel for ante-natal care and general health services, percentage of attendance and accessibility of pregnant mothers to hospital care and delivery? (Reference to para. 70 of the report). In addition, please provide more information on how the Government is ensuring an equitable distribution of medicines, medical equipment and professional personnel to all health units in rural and poorer urban areas?

What obstacles are being met in the implementation of the vaccination programme?

What specific and concrete measures are being taken by the Government to combat harmful traditional practices which affect child health? (Para. 25 and 100 of the report).

Please indicate whether an evaluation of the effectiveness of the National Population Policy has been undertaken, and, if so, what are its results. (Para. 62 of the report).

Please provide information on the incidence and treatment of HIV infection among children and parents as well as the measures taken to prevent AIDS.

With reference to information contained in paras. 72 and 73 of the report please indicate the present state of implementation of the Household Food Security Programme and the current Family Support Programme.

In view of the statement contained in the report that measures have been taken "to arrest deteriorating trends and avoid the eventual collapse of primary education", what progress has been achieved in implementing the schemes and policies outlined in paras. 81-83?

Please provide additional information on the concrete measures being taken to improve the quality of education and teaching? What plans are there to ensure a sufficient number of teachers in the school system and their adequate training as a means to enhance their competence?

Please provide further information on the progress made in combating the major constraints to the achievement of education for all, especially with respect to the uneven distribution of schools in the country, inadequate educational facilities and religious and cultural constraints. (Para. 87 of the report).

Is corporal punishment allowed in schools?

With reference to the information contained in paras. 90 and 91 (e) of the report please indicate the extent to which, in practice, children are taught in their mother tongue.

Has the Government considered the possibility of raising the age of recruitment into the armed forces from 15 to 18 years? (Para. 93 of the report).

Please provide information on whether the Armed Robbery Tribunals deal with cases involving children. (Para. 95 (e) of the report).

In view of the information presented in the report that a child below the age of 7 can not be held criminally responsible, please provide clarification as to the age at which a child may be brought before a juvenile court and the cases dealt with by such courts. (See para. 36 of the report re: Sections 26 (1), 27 and 28 of the Children and Young Persons Law). In addition, Please explain the meaning of the statement contained in para. 94 of the report that "the draft decree has dropped reference to the age of liability", as it pertains to the age of criminal responsibility.

With reference to information contained in para. 36 of the report what are the "special procedures" which young persons aged between 14 and 17 may be subjected to?

Please provide clarification as to whether sentences of capital punishment or life imprisonment can be applied to children under the age of 18. (Paras. 35 and 50 of the report).

How is the Government ensuring in practice that the deprivation of liberty of a child below the age of 18 years is only used as a measure of last resort and for the shortest period of time? In addition, how is it ensured that imprisoned children shall not be allowed to associate with adult prisoners? (Paras. 96-97 of the report).

Please indicate the number of children presently deprived of their liberty, the places/institutions where they are detained and the reasons for such deprivation of liberty.

With respect to the "remand homes or other such institutions or schools approved by the Minister" where children may be deprived of their liberty, please indicate:

- What opportunities exist for children in such institutions to contact their families?

- How are the conditions in such institutions monitored?

- Are there complaints procedures in cases of ill-treatment?

- What educational and health facilities are provided in these institutions? (Para. 96 of the report).

Please explain how the legislation relating to minimum age for employment and the prohibition of harmful work is being applied in practice. With reference to para. 32. (1) a of the report, what criteria are used by the Minister to determine his approval of the employment of a child? In addition, please provide clarification as regards the exception permitted for the employment of a child under 16 mentioned in para. 32. (4) b of the report. What mechanisms exist to supervise compliance with the Nigerian Labour Act?

With reference to the statements contained in para. 32 (4) and (7) of the report, please provide information on the number of authorized labour officers and the training provided to them on the rights of the child.

Please supply further information on the sale and abuse of narcotic drugs by children as well as the measures being undertaken to combat the problem of drug abuse. (Para. 99 of the report).

Please provide details of the programmes in place to address the situation of "children endangered by abuse and neglect". Moreover, please explain the meaning of the terms "children of community outcasts" and "children of mentally unstable mothers." (Para. 92 (b) of the report).

Has any research been undertaken as regards the measures required to address the problems relating to children in especially difficult circumstances outlined in para. 92 (a). If so, what are the main results?