Committee on the Rights of the Child

Fifty-sixth session

17 January–4 February 2011

Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

List of issues concerning additional and updated information related to the combined third and fourth periodic report of New Zealand (CRC/C/NZL/3-4)

The State party is requested to submit additional, updated information in writing, and not exceeding 30 pages, if possible before 19 November 2010.

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

Part I

1.Please inform the Committee of the body responsible for co-ordinating policies, programmes and activities by all actors and stakeholders implementing the Convention. Please indicate whether the State party has a comprehensive national plan of action for children covering all children in the State party.

2.Please indicate what measures have been undertaken since the adoption of the last concluding observations to combat negative societal attitudes and discrimination against indigenous children and ensure that they have access to all of their rights.

3.Please inform the Committee of recent prevention measures taken to protect children from abuse and neglect, including sexual abuse in the home and in care institutions and bullying and hazing in schools, as well as any relevant action and policies in this regard. Please also provide information on new services and programmes aimed at assisting victims of abuse.

4.Please update the Committee on the progress made in the reform of the State Party’s legislation on adoption. In particular provide information on the Committee’s previous recommendations related to adoption (CRC/C/15/Add.216, para. 34 (a)-(c)). Please also clarify how the State party addresses the issue of 17-year-olds leaving alternative care, including preparation for adulthood, aftercare provisions and follow up of their integration into society.

5.Please indicate how the State party addresses in practice the relatively high rates of infant mortality among indigenous children.

6.Please provide information to the Committee on any evaluations or follow-up that have been carried out proving the effectiveness of family group conferencing.

7.Please provide further and updated information on trafficking in children including on measures taken to combat such activities. In that regard please indicate whether the plan of action to prevent people trafficking was adopted and elaborate on its contents and financial resources.

8.Please inform the Committee of the consequences of the reduction of the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12 years. Please also inform the Committee of measures taken to:

(a)Avoid the lengthy detention of children in police cells; and

(b)Ensure that children aged 17 years are not treated as adults in the justice system.

Part II

In this section the Committee invites the State party to provide a brief update (no more than three pages in length) on the information presented in its report regarding:

(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 and any steps taken toward such ratifications, in particular with regard to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

Part III

Data, statistical and other information, if available

1.With reference to children separated from parents, please provide data disaggregated by age, sex, rural/urban area and ethnic or social origin) on the:

(a)Number of children without parental care, disaggregated by causes (i.e. poverty, abandonment as a result of discrimination, etc.);

(b)Number of children separated from their parents as a result of court decisions (inter alia, in relation to situations of detention, imprisonment, exile or deportation);

(c)Number of institutions for these children disaggregated by region, number of places available in these institutions, ratio of caregivers to children and number of foster homes;

(d)Number and percentage of children separated from their parents who are living in institutions, with foster families or in kinship care as well as the duration of placement and frequency of its review;

(e)Number and percentage of children reunited with their parents after a placement;

(f)Number of children in domestic (formal and informal) and intercountry adoption programmes disaggregated by age and with information on the country of origin and of adoption for the children concerned.

2.Please provide data (disaggregated by age, sex, ethnicity and educational setting) for the years 2008, 2009 and 2010 on the number of children suspended or excluded from school.

3.With reference to child abuse and neglect, please provide data (disaggregated by age, sex, geographic location and types of violation reported) for the years 2008, 2009 and 2010 on the following:

(a)Number of reported cases of child abuse and neglect;

(b)Number and percentage of reports that resulted in either a court decision or other types of follow-up, including prosecution; and

(c)Number and proportion of child victims who received counselling and assistance in recovery.

4.Please provide updated information on the measures undertaken to promote and protect the rights of children in the context of adolescent health and provide data for the years 2008, 2009 and 2010 on:

(a)The number of adolescents affected by sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, tobacco use and drug and alcohol abuse, disaggregated by sex and age;

(b)The number of teenage pregnancies, disaggregated by urban/rural area and by minority groups; and

(c)The number of programmes and services aimed at the prevention and treatment of adolescent health concerns, including mental health problems and suicidal behaviour.

5.Please provide disaggregated data, (by sex, age, ethnic or social origin, including by type of crime) for the years 2008, 2009 and 2010 on the:

(a)Number of persons under 18 years of age who have been arrested by the police further to an alleged breach of the law;

(b)Number of children between 12 and 14 years of age who have committed serious crimes;

(c)Percentage of cases where legal or other assistance has been provided;

(d)Number and percentage of persons under 18 years of age who have been found guilty of an offence by a court and have received suspended sentences or have received punishment other than deprivation of liberty;

(e)Number of persons under 18 years of age detained in adult prisons and the number of pregnant women and women with children who are held in prisons;

(f)Number of persons under 18 years of age participating in special rehabilitation programmes;

(g)Percentage of re-offenders.

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