1. In light of the recommendations adopted in the Declaration and Plan of Action of the World Conference on Human Rights, has the Government considered studying the possibility of reviewing its reservations to the Convention with a view to their withdrawal?

2. Please indicate whether any study has been undertaken to review national legislation and its compatibility with the principles and provisions of the Convention. If so what were the major recommendations of such a review? In addition, in light of the information in para. 19 of the State party report, please indicate the progress made in amending or developing new legal codes in light of the spirit of the Convention.

3. Is the National Committee for Children a permanent body which has been given the task of coordinating the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child? To what extent is this institution cooperating closely with the Higher Committee for Child Welfare mentioned in para. 20 of the report? Has any evaluation been undertaken as to the effectiveness of present institutional arrangements for the coordination of policies and action at the national, regional and local levels on the rights of the child? If so, what are the main recommendations which have been made? (para. 2 of the report).

4. Has the Government considered the possibility of establishing other institutions for the promotion and monitoring of the implementation of the Convention, including an ombudsperson for children?

5. Please indicate how measures for the implementation of the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child have been incorporated into the five year economic planning mechanism. In addition, please indicate whether the Government is considering the possibility of revising future national plans of action on children such as the one mentioned in para. 21 of the report to incorporate activities in relation to all the rights of the child as provided for in the Convention and not only those covered by the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children.

6. Please provide further 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 as bases for designing programmes to implement the Convention. For example, information collected would relate to the situation of children up to the age of 18. Please indicate whether there is a need for technical assistance in this regard

7. Please provide further information on the activities envisaged or planned to educate professionals working with or for children such as teachers, social workers, doctors and other health professionals, judges, lawyers, law enforcement officials including the police, the staff of institutions for children, military personnel, government officials and parliamentarians about the principles and provisions of the Convention.

8. Has any evaluation been undertaken as to the effectiveness of the measures taken to make the Convention more widely known to both children and adults alike? Please provide information on the main results of any such evaluation (paras. 22-26 of the State party report).

9. What efforts have been made to make the State party report widely available in the country? What plans does the Government have to publish and make available to the general public a summarised version of the State party report, the records of the report's discussion in the Committee and the Committee's concluding observations?

10. In view of the proclamation in 1963 of a State of Emergency in the State Party, please indicate whether the State of Emergency is still in force, and if so, what particular measures have been taken to ensure the protection and safeguarding of the rights provided for in the Convention in such a situation.

11. With respect to the information contained in para. 37 of the report please provide information on the provisions of article 18 of the Personal Status Act in relation to the conditions for authorization of marriage.

12. Are statistics available on the percentage and number of girls married below the age of 18, broken down different years and by region? If so, please provide such details.

13. Please indicate any measures undertaken to combat early marriage and any other traditional practices prejudicial to the health of children, such as the betrothal of children.

14. What directives, if any, have been given by the Minister of Labour and the Office of the Prime Minister with respect to the employment of children under the age of 12? (para. 40 of the State party report ). Please also indicate wether the Government intends to become a party to ILO Convention No. 138 concerning Minimum Age for Employment..

15. Does the Government have any plans to raise the minimum legal ages for completion of compulsory education and criminal responsibility?

16. Please provide further information on the measures taken to implement the provisions of article 2 of the Convention, particularly with regard to respecting and ensuring the rights set forth in the Convention for each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind.

17. Have any procedures been established to monitor tendencies of discrimination against children on the basis of gender, ethnic origin, disability or any other grounds? Is there a deliberate effort to collect desegregated statistical data so that such tendencies can be detected?

18. 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 the girl child, disabled children, children belonging to an ethnic minority, non- national and unregistered children.

19. Does the Government intend to undertake an evaluation of the manner in which the "best interests of the child" as provided for in the Convention are taken into account in practice?

20. Taking into account traditions persisting in the society, please indicate what measures have been taken to raise the awareness of families and the public in general of the need to encourage children to exercise their right to participate in social life and to train people working with children to encourage them to do so.

21. In view of the statement in the report that "in Syria there is no child who does not have a specific name and nationality", please provide details of any studies undertaken with regard to the present state of implementation of the provisions of articles 7 and 8 of the Convention. Does any legislation provide for the obtention of nationality by refugee children? Is the Government considering the possibility of becoming a party to the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness of 1961?

22. Please provide clarification as to whether the relevant provisions of legislative enactments, decrees as well as administrative regulations permit for the recognition of marriages of all minorities in the country? (para. 85 of the State party report.)

23. How many youth associations are there in the country and what are the legal and administrative guarantees for the independence of such associations?

24. In the light of article 17 of the Convention, please provide information on the way in which the right of the child to access information and material from a variety of national and international sources is recognised by law and implemented in practice, including by the administrative and judicial bodies at the central, provincial and local levels.

25. Please provide information on the compatibility of the information contained in para. 82 of the State party report with the provisions of article 18 of the Convention concerning equal parental responsibility.

26. With regard to the right not to be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, please provide information, in particular, on :

-whether there have been any cases of children being tortured;

-what remedies are available in the case of torture;

-whether campaigns against torture are conducted;

-whether those found responsible for acts of torture are punished; and

- measures available for the recovery of victims of torture.

27. Are girls treated equally with boys under the provisions of the Personal Status Act, with respect to inheritance, marriage, custody, holding of passports or other travel documents, family registration, divorce, etc? If not, please provide clarification as to the compatibility of such provisions with article 2 of the Convention.

28. Under what circumstances are the views of the child taken into account in practice in matters relating to parental custody?

29. In the case of the separation or divorce of a child's parents, what measures are being taken to ensure, in practice, that the child has the right to maintain contact with both his/her parents?

30. In view of the information contained in paras. 107 and 120 of the State party report, has the Government considered the possibility of amending the legislation on child maintenance to set an age up to which child maintenance must be paid?

31. In light of the information contained in para. 136 of the State party report, please provide further details of the measures taken to prevent and protect children from ill-treatment or violence in the family or alternative care institutions. What public information or education campaigns are being developed to highlight these issues?

32. Please provide further information on the measures being taken to address the difficulties encountered in providing care for children mentioned in para. 139 of the State party report. Has the Government considered the possibility of requesting technical assistance in this regard?

33. What steps are being taken to increase public awareness and understanding of child disability and prevent discrimination towards disabled children? In light of the provisions of article 23 para. 4 of the Convention, what international cooperation has been requested to address the obstacles hindering the care of disabled children, outlined in para. 147 of the State party report?

34. Are there any factors which obstruct the exercise of the right to family planning information and service? If so, what are they and what measures are being taken to address any such factors?

35. Please provide clarification as to the main reasons for high risk-pregnancies (paras. 160-161 of the State party report). In addition, what are the main factors, if any, obstructing access to family planning information and services and what measures are being taken to address such factors?

36. Please provide further information on the measures envisaged or in place and their effectiveness in dealing with the problem of iron, iodine and Vitamin A deficiency (para. 163 of the State party report).

37. Please indicate measures taken to deal with the problem of the low level of nutritional and health awareness among some sections of the population taking into account the dangers and risks of environmental pollution. Has the Government considered requesting cooperation or assistance from the international community on this matter?

38. Please indicate whether children may be taught in local or minority languages and the extent to which such teaching is available in schools and preschool institutions. Is ethnic affiliation respected in education programmes? Please also indicate measures taken to ensure the allocation to the maximum extent of available resources for the purpose of education.

39. Please provide information on legislative measures concerning corporal punishment and indicate whether school disciplinary measures are in general in conformity with the relevant provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

40. What further measures does the Government consider are necessary to ensure regular school attendance and reduce school drop out rates particularly for girl children, including in rural areas?

41. To what extent do school curricula provide for education about the principles and provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including in the area of health? In addition, has any recent review of school curricula been undertaken? If so, what have been the results?

42. What measures are being taken to improve the quality of education and teaching and to ensure the sufficiency of educational materials and adequacy of educational facilities?

43. What plans are in place to address the needs identified in para. 179 of the State party report with respect to the provision of pre-school care or education?

44.. Please indicate whether children are given the opportunity to express their views freely in school in accordance with the provisions of article 12 of the Convention.

45. Is the Government considering the possibility of becoming a State party to the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and its Protocol of 1967 ?

46. In view of the information contained in para. 224 of the report, please indicate whether a review of the Juvenile Delinquents Act No. 18 of 31 March 1974 has been undertaken in light of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international standards relevant to the field of juvenile justice such as the "Beijing Rules" the "Riyadh Guidelines" and the United Nations Rules for the protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty.

47. Please provide information on the training given to the judges and other judicial officers competent to hear juvenile cases, mentioned in paras. 226-7 of the State party report, with respect to their familiarisation with the provisions of the Convention and other relevant international standards adopted by the United Nations.

48. Please provide clarification as to the ways in which the principles and provisions of the Convention, in particular those of its articles 2, 3, 12, 18 and 40, para. 2 (b) (ii) and (iv) are reflected in practice in relation to the application of the provisions of article 44 of the Juvenile Delinquents Act No. 18 of 1974 (para. 231 of the State party report).

49. Please provide information on the guarantees in place for safeguarding the rights of children detained in medical institutions, in light of principles and provisions of the Convention including those of its articles, 25, 37, 39 and 40.

50. Please provide further details of the problems relating to the situation of children detained in institutions mentioned in para. 248 of the report and the measures planned or envisaged to address them ( in light of articles 37, 39 and 40 of the Convention).

51. In view of the information contained in para. 250 of the report, please provide information on:

-the number of children aged between 15 and 18 for whom the penalties under article 29 of the Juvenile Delinquents Act have been applied;

-the opportunities existing for imprisoned children to contact their families;

-the monitoring of the situation of children in prison;

-the complaints procedures in place in case of the ill-treatment of children in prison;

-the availability of health and educational facilities for children in prison;

-the measures taken for the physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of these children in accordance with article 39 of the Convention; and

-the training given to prison staff on the Convention and other relevant international standards adopted by the United Nations.

52 With respect to the implementation of article 32 of the Convention, please provide further information on the effectiveness of the system in place for monitoring the situation of child labour and the supervision and inspection of work places as well as the application of appropriate sanctions in relation to breaches of the law.

53. What particular measures are being taken to prevent the exploitation of children working in the agriculture sector, or within the family, and to protect children working in these sectors?

54. Please furnish additional information on the measures taken to prevent any form of sexual abuse of children. Is there legislation prohibiting the production, marketing and possession of pornographic material involving children? Can citizens be prosecuted in the Syrian Arab Republic for exploiting children abroad for purposes of prostitution or other illegal sexual practices?