COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
Twenty-fifth session
Pre-sessional Working Group
5-9 June 2000
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
List of Issues to be taken up in connection with the consideration of the initial report
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - Overseas Territories
(CRC/C/41/Add.7 and CRC/C/41/Add.9)
GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION
(arts. 4, 42, and 44, para. 6 of the Convention)
1. Please indicate whether the United Kingdom's partial withdrawal of its reservations concerning articles 37 (d) and 32 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child will be fully extended to the Overseas Territories. In light of the recommendations adopted in the Vienna Declaration and Plan of Action of the World Conference on Human Rights (1993), please indicate whether the United Kingdom has considered a further review of its reservations to the Convention with the view to the full withdrawal of the remaining reservations.
2. It is noted that the Cayman Islands and the Falkland Islands have enacted legislation specific to children. Please indicate whether there is an intention for the other Overseas Territories to enact legislation or to undertake law reform to ensure greater consistency with the principles and provisions of the Convention.
3. Please indicate whether there is an intention to establish in each of the Overseas Territories an effective mechanism to coordinate the implementation of the Convention. Please also indicate whether the elaboration and implementation of National Plans of Action for children are envisaged in the Overseas Territories. Additionally, please indicate the extent to which civil society, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs), are involved in the design and/or implementation of policies and programmes for children.
4. Please indicate whether Bermuda's Human Rights Commission and the Turks and Caicos Islands' Complaints Commissioner (Ombudsman) are mandated and equipped to handle complaints of violations from children and/or their representatives. Please also highlight any examples of the use of these complaints mechanisms by children and describe the measures taken to raise awareness among children about their use. Additionally, please indicate whether consideration has been given to the establishment of child friendly complaints mechanism for children in any of the other Overseas Territories.
5. In light of article 4 of the Convention, please provide information on the measures taken to implement in each of the Overseas Territories economic, social and cultural rights to "the maximum extent of [...] available resources and, where needed, within the framework of international cooperation" for the rights of children. Additionally, please specify the percentage of the budget allocated in each of the Overseas Territories to children's programmes. In particular, please also provide an update on the budgetary allocations for children's programmes in Montserrat. Additionally, please indicate the percentage of grant aid allocated by the Government of the United Kingdom to each of the Overseas Territories.
6. Please provide information on the measures taken and/or envisaged to ensure that the principles and provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child are disseminated at all levels of society in each Overseas Territory. Additionally, please indicate whether training on children's rights has been provided for professionals working with and for children. Further, please also stipulate whether human rights, including children's rights, education has been incorporated into the school curricula in the Overseas Territories.
DEFINITION OF THE CHILD
(art. 1 of the Convention)
7. Please indicate whether there are intentions to raise the legal minimum age of criminal responsibility which is currently between 8 and 10 years in the Overseas Territories.
8. Please indicate whether there is an intention to increase the minimum age for recruitment into the armed forces in the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Falkland Islands which is currently 16 and 17 years respectively.
9. Please indicate whether there is an intention to increase the legal minimum age for the consumption of alcohol in the Falkland Islands which is currently 5 years in private.
10. As many of the Overseas Territories refer only to the legal minimum age for the sexual consent of girls, please specify whether the legal age in this regard is different for boys.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
(arts. 2 ,3, 6 and 12 of the Convention)
11. Please provide information on the measures taken to address the disparities between the minimum legal ages for heterosexual and homosexual relationships, particularly in the Falkland Islands. In light of article 2 of the Convention, please also indicate how children are protected, in practice, against discrimination based on sexual orientation. Please outline the measures taken in each of the Overseas Territories to ensure that boys are provided equal and adequate protection against sexual abuse and exploitation. Please also outline the measures taken to guarantee non-discrimination against children born out of wedlock.
12. Please provide additional information on the ways in which the principle of "respect for the views of the child" (art. 12) is reflected in legislation or actions undertaken by social welfare institutions, courts of law and administrative authorities as well as in schools in each of the Overseas Territories. Please also provide some examples of implementation of this principle by courts and/or administrative bodies.
CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
(arts. 7, 8, 13-17 and 37 (a) of the Convention)
13. Please provide information on the de facto enjoyment of civil and political rights by persons under the age of 18 years in each Overseas Territory.
14. Please indicate whether there is an intention to prohibit by law all forms of corporal punishment in the Overseas Territories where it is still legally applied.
FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE
(arts. 5, 18 (1) and (2), 9, 10, 11, 19, 20, 21, 25, 27 (4), and 39)
15. Please provide additional information and statistical data on the situation of the family, including single and female headed households, particularly in the Caribbean Overseas Territories and Bermuda. Please indicate whether programmes have been established in the Territories to provide support and assistance in the area of parental responsibility and child rearing.
16. Please provide updated information and statistical data from each of the Overseas Territories on children in alternative care, including those in foster care and domestic and intercountry adoption programmes. Further, please provide information on the practical implementation of the legal and administrative procedures established to periodically review the placement of children in alternative care. With respect to the information provided in paragraph 484 of the report, please submit additional information on the situation of those children from the Turks and Caicos Islands who have been placed in alternative care institutions in Jamaica, including measures taken to monitor and review their placements. Please also indicate whether there is an intention to establish alternative care institutions in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
17. Please provide additional information and statistical data on domestic violence and on abused, neglected and abandoned children in each Overseas Territory. Additionally, please outline the strategies used to prevent child abuse, neglect and abandonment as well as the mechanisms established to adequately assist both the victims and perpetrators of child abuse. Please indicate whether mandatory reporting has been instituted or is envisaged in the Overseas Territories. Please also provide an update on the implementation of the recommendations of the Task Force, appointed in 1996, to investigate child abuse in Bermuda.
BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
(arts. 6, para. 2, 23, 24, 26, and 18, para. 3, and 27, paras. 1-3)
18. In light of article 24 of the Convention, please provide updated information and statistical data from each of the Overseas Territories on the situation of the health of children, including with respect to immunization and early childhood illness as well as infant, child and maternal mortality.
19. Please provide additional information on the legal and administrative procedures established to guarantee the rights of children with disabilities and to facilitate their inclusion in the regular school system and generally in society.
20. Please provide additional information and statistical data from each of the Overseas Territories on adolescent health, including sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), HIV/AIDS, teenage pregnancy, reproductive health, drug and alcohol abuse, violence and physical abuse, suicide and mental health concerns. Please identify the policies and programmes implemented and/or foreseen to prevent these problems and to provide treatment, counselling and care for adolescents faced with these concerns. Please provide an update on the implementation of the resolution adopted at the Caribbean Youth Summit on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, held in Bridgetown, Barbados in 1998.
21. Please provide additional information on the standard of living of children in Montserrat, including their access to adequate housing, education, health and social services. Please also provide additional information on the standard of living in other Overseas Territories, particularly St. Helena.
EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
(arts. 28, 29 and 31 of the Convention)
22. Please provide additional information and disaggregated statistical data on education, including truancy and drop-out rates, at both the primary and secondary levels in each Overseas Territory. Please also indicate whether programmes have been established to encourage children to stay in school, especially during the period of compulsory education. With respect to the Falkland Islands, please indicate whether additional measures have been taken or are envisaged to guarantee greater access to education, at both the primary and secondary levels, for children from Camp.
SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES
(arts. 22, 30 and 32-40 of the Convention)
23. Please provide updated information and statistical data on internally displaced children in Montserrat as well as Montserratian refugee children in other Caribbean Territories and/or countries and outline the measures taken to guarantee the rights of these children.
24. Please provide information on the measures taken to address the situation of landmines in the Falkland Islands.
25. Please identify the most common offences for which juveniles are brought before the courts and outline the programmes undertaken to discourage the involvement of children in such activities in the Overseas Territories. Please provide additional information on the programmes provided to ensure the physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of children in conflict with the law, especially those who have been given custodial sentences.
26. Please outline the measures taken and/or envisaged to revoke the laws that provide for the use of corporal punishment within the juvenile justice systems of the Overseas Territories.
27. Please indicate whether there are detention facilities in each of the Overseas Territories. Additionally, please provide further information and statistical data on children deprived of their liberty, including the length of their deprivation and the measures taken to:
(a) ensure that deprivation of liberty is used only as a last resort;
(b) introduce legal aid;
(c) ensure continued contact between the child and his/her family;
(d) ensure the effective monitoring of the facilities;
(e) introduce an effective complaint procedure which is independent from the authorities of detention and correction institutions, to deal with issues such as ill-treatment and violations of the children's rights;
(f) ensure that children in detention continue to receive education, health and social services;
(g) guarantee special protection for all children up to the age of 18 years.
28. Please provide additional information on the status of child labour in the Overseas Territories, including the type of work in which children are usually engaged and the measures taken to prevent all forms of economic exploitation.
29. Please provide additional information and statistical data on the sale and abuse of drugs among children, particularly in the Caribbean Territories. Additionally, please provide information on the measures taken to prevent drug abuse, particularly among boys, and to ensure the physical and psychological recovery of child victims in this regard. Further, please provide information on the prevalence of alcohol and tobacco use by children in these Territories.
30. Please provide additional information on the practical measures taken and/or foreseen to prevent and combat sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution and pornography. Please also provide statistical information on the incidence of sexual exploitation of children in the Territories. Further, please indicate whether the State Party envisages adopting a comprehensive plan of action taking into account the recommendations of the 1996 Stockholm World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children.