Committee on the Rights of the Child

Sixty - first session

17 September–5 October 2012

Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

List of issues concerning additional and updated information related to the consideration of the combined second andthird periodic reports of Namibia(CRC/C/NAM/2-3)

The State party is requested to submit in writing additional, updated information, if possible before 2 July 2012.

The Committee may take up all aspects of children’s rights contained in the Convention during the dialogue with the State party.

Part I

In this section, the State party is requested to submit its responses to the following questions (30 pages maximum).

1.Please clarify the current status of the proposed Child Care and Protection Bill and the proposed Child Justice Bill. Please provide any information on planning for the adoption of these bills.

2.In the light of the information provided in the State party report on the unavailability of data in a number of areas relevant to children’s rights, please provide information on whether any such data has become available and on progress in ensuring that such data is systematically collected, processed and used in the future. The data noted in the report as missing includes, but is not limited to: the number of reported cases of torture or ill-treatment of children, the number of children without parental care disaggregated by causes, the number of children separated from their parents as a result of court decisions, the number of children with disabilities and the number of children who receive antiretroviral therapy.

3.Please provide information on the enforcement of the prohibition of corporal punishment in schools, including on training programmes for teachers on non-violent forms of discipline and how teachers and other professionals have been held to account. Please provide information on programmes and policies to combat corporal punishment in the home and in all kinds of alternative care settings.

4.Please provide updated information on programmes to prevent violence against children, in particular on programmes to raise awareness of the harmful effects of such violence in society. Please provide updated information on the training and resources provided to staff at the Women and Child Protection Units and the coverage of such units.

5.Please provide information on recent developments in alternative care, such as foster care, including any assessment, policies and programmes in this respect. Please clarify how such placements are supported and monitored to ensure the best interests of the child.

6.Please provide information on how the State party monitors intercountry adoption to ensure that adequate safeguards are in place, including ensuring that the adoption does not result in improper financial gains.

7.Please provide information on how children are provided with information and access to services on sexual and reproductive health, with a particular focus on preventing child pregnancies. Please also provide information on children’s access to HIV/AIDS voluntary counselling and testing.

8.Please provide information on the relationship between customary law and positive law. Please also provide information as to what extent Community courts protect and promote children’s rights in line with the Convention. Please provide information on efforts to assess and eliminate harmful practices affecting children, including child marriages under customary law.

9.Please provide updated information on progress in access to education for marginalized children, including San children, Ovahimba children, children with disabilities and children in street situations.

10.Please provide information on any assessments of the prevalence of trafficking in children as well as sexual and economic exploitation of children, and updated information on the development and implementation of strategies, programmes and legislation in this respect.

Part II

In this section the Committee invites the State party to briefly (three pages maximum) update the information presented in its report with regard to:

(a)New bills or laws, and their respective regulations;

(b)New institutions (and their mandates) or institutional reforms;

(c)Recently introduced policies, programmes and action plans and their scope and financing;

(d)Recent ratifications of human rights instruments.

Part III

Data, statistics and other information, if available

1.Please provide, if available, statistical data (disaggregated by nationality, age, sex, ethnic origin, geographic location, and socio-economic status) on:

(a)The number of children registered at birth;

(b)The number of Women and Child Protection Units, the number of cases dealt with by the Units, and the number of staff;

(c)The number of cases prosecuted and adjudicated under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act;

(d)The number of cases of child labour prosecuted and adjudicated;

(e)The number of teachers trained to respond to the special needs of children with disabilities.

2.In addition, the State party may list areas affecting children that it considers to be of priority with regard to the implementation of the Convention.