III. CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS, CONTINUED

ICCPR

•          Sri Lanka, ICCPR, A/59/40 vol. I (2003) 30 at para. 66(7).

(7) While taking note of the proposed constitutional reform and the legislative review project currently being undertaken by the National Human Rights Commission, the Committee remains concerned that Sri Lanka's legal system still does not contain provisions which cover all of the substantive rights set forth in the Covenant, or all the necessary safeguards required to prevent the restriction of Covenant rights beyond the limits permissible under the Covenant...

The State party should ensure that its legislation gives full effect to the rights recognized in the Covenant and that domestic law is harmonized with the obligations undertaken under the Covenant.

ICESCR

•          Benin, ICESCR, E2003/22 (2002) 34 at para. 199.

199. The Committee recommends the State party to undertake, by all available means including technical cooperation, the progressive introduction of free primary education. The Committee appeals to the State party to abide by the provisions of article 14 of the Covenant and to adopt, within two years, a detailed plan of action for the progressive implementation, within a reasonable number of years, to be fixed in the plan, of the principle of compulsory education free of charge for all.

•          Russian Federation, ICESCR, E/2004/22 (2003) 64 at paras. 464 and 492.

464. The Committee remains concerned about the inadequate amounts paid in pensions and social benefits, while noting that the problem of arrears has been addressed.

...

492. The Committee urges the State party to ensure that under the new pensions system, introduced by the Federal Law of 1 January 2002, the basic component of pensions is raised to the minimum subsistence level. In view of the fact that the realization of this goal may take time, owing to limited resources, the Committee urges the State party to give priority to raising minimum pension levels and to ensuring that social benefits are targeted to the families most in need.

•          Zambia, ICESCR, E/2006/22 (2005) 19 at para. 79.

79. The Committee, while noting the persistence of customs and traditions harmful to women, children and older persons, is of the view that the State party has within its power the ability to immediately implement the rights in Part II of the Covenant as required, and to meet its minimum obligations for the progressive realization of the rights in Part III of the Covenant.

CRC

•          Seychelles, CRC, CRC/C/121 (2002) 41 at paras. 172 and 173.

172. The Committee notes with concern that budgetary allocations for children are insufficient to ensure that professionals and other staff dealing with children in all services are adequately trained and have sufficient capacity to respond to national and local priorities for the protection and promotion of children’s rights.

173. While recognizing the existing economic difficulties, the Committee encourages the State party to pay particular attention to the full implementation of article 4 of the Convention by prioritizing budgetary allocations to ensure implementation of the economic, social and cultural rights of children “to the maximum extent of … available resources”...

•          Sudan, CRC, CRC/C/121 (2002) 53 at paras. 231 and 232.

231. The Committee is concerned that insufficient attention has been paid to article 4 of the Convention regarding the implementation to the “maximum extent of ... available resources” of the economic, social and cultural rights of children. Moreover, while appreciating that decentralization of services, particularly in the areas of health and education, allows authorities to respond better to local needs, the Committee is concerned that this delegation of responsibility without adequate resource allocation would result in serious deficiencies in the provision of these services for children, especially in the poorer areas. It emphasizes that the State party is responsible for ensuring that resources reach the most vulnerable groups during the period of economic reform and structural adjustment.

232. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Prioritize allocation of resources to the maximum extent for the economic, social and cultural rights of children at the national and local levels for the implementation of the Convention;

(b) Identify the amount and proportion of the national and local budgets spent on children through public and private services, non-governmental organizations and international development aid, and evaluate the impact and effects of the expenditures and of privatization;

(c) Study the impact of structural adjustment on the cost, quality, accessibility and effectiveness of services for children in order to prevent a decline in services.

•          Ukraine, CRC, CRC/C/121 (2002) 70 at paras. 310 and 311.

310. The Committee notes the priority accorded by the State party to health and education and the information that the budget has been increased for 2000-2001. However, the Committee remains concerned about the low level of resources in general for social services, health and education, which has a negative impact on the quality and accessibility of services, especially affecting families with children living in poverty...

311. In light of articles 2, 3 and 6 of the Convention, the Committee recommends that the State party pay particular attention to the full implementation of article 4 of the Convention by:

(a) Further continuing to increase the budget for the implementation of the Convention and prioritizing budgetary allocations to ensure implementation of economic, social and cultural rights of children to the maximum extent of available resources, in particular to socially marginalized groups, taking into account the decentralization of the provision of social services and of public finances;

...

•          Poland, CRC, CRC/C/121 (2002) 120 at paras. 510 and 511.

510. The Committee notes with concern that allocations for children from the central budget declined from 2000 to 2001 and are insufficient to respond to national and local priorities for the protection and promotion of children’s rights and to overcome and remedy existing disparities between rural and urban areas with respect to services provided to children.

511. While recognizing the difficult economic conditions, the Committee recommends that the State party pay particular attention to the full implementation of article 4 of the Convention by prioritizing budgetary allocations to ensure implementation of the economic, social and cultural rights of children “to the maximum extent of … available resources”. Noting the State party’s efforts at administrative reform and the decentralization of service provision, the Committee recommends that the State party strengthen, to the maximum extent of available resources, the capacity of local governments in rural and urban areas equally to implement the economic, social and cultural rights of children.

•          Haiti, CRC, CRC/124 (2003) 95 at paras. 405 and 406.

405. The Committee notes the existence of the Economic and Social Programme 2001-2006, but expresses its concern at the limited budget allocations and resource mobilization for the social sector, in particular for those areas addressing the needs of the most vulnerable groups of children. In that regard, the Committee is concerned that insufficient attention has been paid to article 4 of the Convention regarding the implementation “to the maximum extent of ...available resources” of the economic, social and cultural rights of children.

406. The Committee, while recognizing the difficult economic conditions, nevertheless recommends that the State party make every effort to implement the Economic and Social Programme 2001-2006 and to increase the proportion of the budget allocated to the realization of children’s rights, inter alia by taking the necessary steps for a resumption of international aid programmes. In this context, the State party should ensure the provision of appropriate human and financial resources to children, in particular to the most vulnerable among them, and guarantee that the implementation of policies relating to children is given priority.