Committee on the Rights of the Child

Fifty-first session

Summary record of the 1414th meeting

Held at the Palais Wilson, Geneva, on Thursday, 4 June 2009, at 3 p.m.

Chairperson:Ms. Lee

Contents

Consideration of reports of States parties (continued)

Second periodic report of the Niger (continued)

The meeting was called to order at 3.05 p.m.

Consideration of reports of States parties (continued)

Second periodic report of the Niger (continued) (CRC/C/NER/2; CRC/C/NER/Q/2 and Add.1)

1.At the invitation of the Chairperson, the members of the delegation of the Niger resumed their places at the Committee table.

2.Ms. H erczog asked what support families received, especially in the areas of shared parental responsibilities, child-rearing and methods of discipline. She also asked whether there were programmes for the development of young children.

3.Mr. K oompraphant asked, with regard to implementation of articles 19 and 39 of the Convention, by what means families could be monitored in cases of negligence or abuse, what was done in cases where violence against children had been reported and what help was available to children who were victims of abuse. He also asked if abusive parents were obliged to join any programmes, whether or not the State party intended to ratify the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, and whether or not it had adopted a specific law to address sexual exploitation and thus implement articles 34 and 35 of the Convention.

4.Ms. Villarán de la Puente asked what specific steps had been taken to protect children caught up in the armed conflict in the North of the country and to combat, in the framework of the National Plan of Action for the Survival, Protection and Development of Children, 2006–2010, the chronic and severe malnutrition suffered by children. She also asked what had been done to prevent, suppress and eradicate violence against girls, especially genital mutilation, which could not be explained merely by the country’s “culture and poverty”, as stated in paragraph 185 of the report.

5.Mr. K otrane asked, with regard to the respect for rights of the child in polygamous families, how judges decided on child custody and child support in cases where the man repudiated one of his wives. Noting the State’s efforts to help refugees caught up in the conflict in northern Niger, he asked if there were similar plans for displaced children in the country’s interior. Given that 74 per cent of children under 15 worked in hazardous conditions in the country’s mines and quarries, he asked if the State party employed labour inspectors and whether or not it intended to sign cooperation agreements with the International Labour Organization (ILO), particularly in the framework of the latter’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), which aimed to shield children from economic exploitation. Finally, further information on traditional slavery, which remained an issue in the country, would be useful.

6.Ms. V armah (Country Rapporteur) asked if the State party had care centres for street children that attended to their health and education needs. She also wished to obtain information on Government measures to help adolescents with sexually transmitted infections, drug problems or mental disorders, and to know which children received education kits. She would welcome any further information on childcare facilities outside urban areas, especially around the capital, Niamey, as well as on any related regulations in force. It would be interesting to know if there were any free childcare facilities in rural areas for disadvantaged families and what the Government was doing to assist poor children.

7.Ms. A sma (Niger) said that the social and health-care situation of mothers and children in the Niger, while poor, had improved. The Niger had adopted a health-care development plan for 2006–2010 that covered 70 per cent of the health-care activities related to mothers and children. A road map to reduce maternal, child and infant mortality was being implemented. The “child survival” strategy was just one part of the National Plan of Action for the Survival, Protection and Development of Children. It revolved around 13 essential family practices (such as the creation of water-supply points, hand-washing, use of latrines, breastfeeding, taking of food supplements and the use of mosquito nets treated with insecticide) and was launched in 2009 in Madari, the region with both the highest birth rate and the highest infant mortality.

8.The Niger was trying to improve the level of family planning. It had established a broad awareness-raising programme, particularly making use of community radio stations, and health centres across the country provided the populace with various forms of contraception. Given the country’s great size, other strategies such as the distribution of contraceptives at community level had been employed in outlying areas. Family planning services were free of charge.

9.With regard to young people’s health, the Government had launched a broad sexual and reproductive health programme across the country’s eight regions. Young people could obtain advice, including by free telephone number, from 19 youth centres, where midwives supplied them with information on HIV and distributed condoms and other contraceptive products. There were also opportunities for some young people to work as peer educators in the centres.

10.Although 98 per cent cent of women in the country breastfed, the rate of exclusive breastfeeding to infants up to 6 months old remained low, and the Niger had implemented a broad programme to encourage exclusive breastfeeding.

11.The Niger had more than 150 centres for the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission that supplied mothers, depending on the circumstances and the mothers’ financial situation, with antiretroviral drugs to enable them to combine exclusive breastfeeding with early weaning, or with support to go over to bottle-feeding.

12.The Niger, which in 2005 had experienced a food crisis and now considered combating malnutrition a national priority, was making great efforts in that area, including through preventive measures. A national directorate for the issue had been established within the Ministry of Health and a broad programme to fight malnutrition had been implemented. Its assistance protocol had helped reduce child malnutrition from 30 per cent to 5 per cent. Child growth monitoring services had been established at the community level.

13.Ms. G nandou (Niger) said that Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which had overstated the number of persons suffering from malnutrition, was the only group that the national authorities had requested to leave the country. All other NGOs dealing with nutritional issues were continuing their work in the Niger.

14.Mr . I llo (Niger) added that the authorities hoped MSF would be able to return to the country soon, provided that their activities did not breach the memorandum of understanding. He said that the figures on child malnutrition published by MSF were far greater than the total population of the Maradi region, where the NGO operated. The departure of MSF had no doubt left a gap, but other NGOs were working in harmony with the Government, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other partners in the country.

15.Ms. V illarán de la Puente asked if the State party had a national plan for the prevention, suppression and eradication of violence against women and girls, and how many sentences had been handed down for cases of sexual violence committed against young girls.

16.Ms. G nandou (Niger) said that the Nigerien Criminal Code had been amended to take into account all forms of violence, including those against women and children, and to toughen the penalties initially envisaged, especially for rape. Violence against children was considered an aggravating circumstance. Since children could always lodge complaints before the courts, there was no problem of impunity. Moreover, 16 days of activities centred on combating violence were organized each year, including counselling, awareness-raising, follow-up and legal aid.

17.Mr . I ssouffou (Niger) added that there was an action plan to fight violence against women and children in Niger, which included action days to publicize the subject. However, the reporting of such incidents was not commonplace in Nigerien society and the police and judges could only act when a case was brought to their direct attention. It was, for example, extremely rare for a woman to report her husband for violence. It was to be hoped that, over time, that way of thinking would change and that, one day, the reporting of such incidents would be seen as an act of protection.

18.Mr. K otrane wished to know if the law expressly prohibited corporal punishment and whether doctors, social services, teachers and other professionals who worked with children were bound to report abuse.

19.Mr. K oompraphant asked what protection mechanisms and services were available to abused children.

20.Ms. O rtiz asked if the State party had accessible mechanisms for reporting abuse and obtaining assistance that might help move towards ending the culture of silence.

21.Mr. F ilali (Country Rapporteur) asked if the media, which could be very useful in that area, had been involved in the various awareness-raising programmes about corporal punishment.

22.The C hairperson, noting that corporal punishment did not consist solely of spankings, wished to know how such punishment was defined, if at all, in the Criminal Code.

23.Ms. G nandou (Niger) said that corporal punishment as such was not covered by the Criminal Code, which referred only to ill-treatment, given that such punishment was part of a certain culture and certain traditions in the country. In Africa, smacking the bottom of a child who had misbehaved was not necessarily seen as ill-treatment. Nevertheless, the Nigerien authorities, aware of their duty to protect, had issued a decree prohibiting the use of corporal punishment in schools. School inspectors monitored the ban’s enforcement.

24.Children who were victims of ill-treatment received care from specific bodies, such as the police children’s unit. Thanks to the Government’s efforts to apprise all those concerned of the benefits of reporting misdeeds, a growing number of cases was being investigated.

25.Mr. Issouffou (Niger) said that the Niger had a national consultative framework on the issue of violence against women and children, a body that brought together technical and financial partners and representatives of civil society, organized awareness campaigns (particularly in the public and private media) and was received each year by the President of the Republic. The Government, whose human and financial resources were extremely limited, was in talks with UNICEF about the possibility of establishing a free telephone number for reporting abuse. A private mobile telephone operator was prepared to set up the free number, but the infrastructure required to make that new service work well had to be considered carefully. The aim was to respond properly to each child’s situation.

26.Ms. O rtiz said the State party’s caution was justifiable but she encouraged it to proceed step by step and establish, as soon as practicable, a free telephone number.

27.Ms. Al -A smar asked why several ministries were responsible for education and requested more detailed information on how the education system worked.

28.Mr. K rappman n asked if preschool education was free of charge and how many children attended such institutions prior to beginning primary school. He also wanted to know what the budget for education was, especially in the light of reports of a lack of desks in schools and cuts in teachers’ pay, and why the enrolment rate of children was low.

29.Ms. A idoo asked if there were non-traditional forms of learning and, if so, whether any of them could be credited towards school learning. She also asked which children went to Koranic schools, whether such schools were regulated and what was taught in them aside from religious education.

30.Ms. R abi (Niger) said that, in response to demands by striking teachers, the President of the Republic had recently raised teachers’ salaries by 50 per cent and that a process of granting tenure had been started with a view to recruiting 6,000 teachers in the public sector. In order to maintain education quality, the Ministry of Education had established various criteria for employing teachers, including non-permanent teachers and school principals. The budget for schools remained low but had improved markedly from 2 per cent in 2002 to 16 per cent in 2009.

31.Children aged from 12 to 16 years receiving vocational training attended community training and development centres. The Ministry for Professional and Technical Training and the Ministry for the Reintegration of Youth for Development also ran youth training programmes.

32.Several ministries in the Niger dealt with issues of early childhood, within the framework of the early childhood development programme and the integrated policy for the development of young children. The Ministry of Education had carried out inquiries to establish the numbers of children who were in conflict areas or had been displaced, as well as creating specific remedial programmes to make sure they received adequate schooling and providing specialized training for teachers. It had also appealed to NGOs to help ensure food access for the youngest.

33.Ms. Gnandou (Niger) said that no country, even with the best intentions, could do more than its resources allowed and that the Niger, which was poor, had already done a great deal. Exploitation of the country’s oil resources should release extra funding for children’s education soon. Aside from the education budget, which had been adapted to meet new needs such as, for example, the opening of schools in more remote villages, the President’s Special Programme contained an education component. Teachers were not paid out of the national education budget.

34.Mr. K otrane requested more information on the coordination of the various ministries’ programmes, particularly in the fields of education and health, and on the President’s Special Programme.

35.The C hairperson requested clarification on the opening of 1,000 new health centres at a time when budget funding for health and social services had fallen.

36.Mr. I llo (Niger) said that the structuring of the various programmes, which might seem complex, dovetailed in the poverty reduction strategy. The Niger had long been in a situation of structural adjustment and, for that reason, had to respect certain rules on the use of its various specialized funds. In general, Government ministries did not pay salaries. Thus, the Ministry of Education did not directly pay its teachers. The President’s Special Programme was financed differently and concentrated mainly on the building of infrastructure, such as schools and clinics.

37.Ms. V armah (Country Rapporteur) asked whether the poor really had access to private and public health services.

38.Ms. Villarán de la P uente requested clarifications on the general breakdown of the State party’s budget in order to judge how much funding actually was devoted to work on children’s rights.

39.Mr. C itarella asked if the State party had private schools.

40.The C hairperson asked exactly what portion of funds was allocated to children within the State party’s overall budget.

41.Mr. I llo (Niger) said that the President’s Special Programme was an infrastructure fund financed with monies released through debt cancellation rather than through taxation, given that the Niger qualified for relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative (HIPC). The Niger clearly also had a national budget, which international bodies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank monitored closely in order to ameliorate certain macroeconomic imbalances that were hampering the implementation of social and health programmes. The national budget was composed, on the one hand, of staff budgets and, on the other, the various ministries’ running costs. All of the country’s civil servants were paid from the same budgetary section, according to a single pay scale. Some of them, especially teachers and medical staff, also received bonuses tied to their sector of employment.

42.Ms. A idoo asked what portion of the national budget was actually allocated to children’s rights through the operating budgets of the various ministries concerned.

43.The C hairperson asked who paid teachers in private and Koranic schools, how the working of those schools was regulated and whether the quality of teaching in them was monitored and evaluated.

44.Ms. R abi (Niger) said that education accounted for 15.1 per cent of the national budget. In the Niger there were state, private, community and Koranic schools. The Government paid state school teachers, while those in private schools were paid by the schools’ founders. Private schools received State subsidies.

45.The Koranic school system was being reorganized. Teachers in those schools were trained and supervised, and teaching quality monitored by the Franco-Arabic Teaching Inspectorate. The Ministry of Education, with the support of technical and financial partners, provided free school kits to preschool and primary school pupils and the Ministry of Education Inspectorate monitored teaching quality.

46.The enrolment rate of preschool age children was 2 per cent. The Preschool Education Inspectorate monitored preschool teaching quality. Day nurseries, which came under the Ministry for the Promotion of Women and the Protection of Children, accepted children up to the age of 3, while kindergartens took children from 3 to 6 years old. As for community kindergartens, the Ministry of Education had prepared a document, “Accreditation Standards”, to regulate staff numbers, the required space for premises and the content of the teaching in those establishments. The 10-Year Educational Development Programme addressed issues of access, teaching quality and infrastructure in early childhood education.

47.Ms. G nandou (Niger) said it was impossible to detail exactly how much funding was allocated to the area of early childhood, as the Ministry for the Promotion of Women and the Protection of Children received a single allotment.

48.Mr. F ilali (Country Rapporteur) asked whether Koranic school teachers were also paid by the State, if those schools were inspected and what was done to prevent children of those schools being sent to beg in the streets.

49.Ms. Villarán de la P uente said the State party should establish indicators to show how much was invested in implementing children’s rights, as well as in their education and health.

50.Mr. K rappman n asked how many young persons received vocational training and at what age. In addition, he requested further information on non-formal education, which he thought might compensate for some of the deficiencies in the mainstream education system.

51.Mr. C itarella asked how many children attended state, Koranic, community and private schools, and whether state schools were the only ones funded by the Government.

52.Ms. A idoo asked if Koranic schools taught only religion, or could pupils also learn subjects such as mathematics and science. Did only disadvantaged children attend such schools, and was it true that marabouts (religious teachers) sent them to beg in the streets? Non-formal education could prove invaluable, possibly allowing disadvantaged children to rejoin mainstream education at some point through recognition of the equivalent value of their non-formal studies.

53.The C hairperson asked if young girls who married or had children at an early age had any chance of completing their education.

54.Ms. R abi (Niger) replied that they could. As part of the reorganization of Koranic schools, it was planned that subjects taught in primary school, in particular mathematics and science, would be incorporated into their curricula. However, there were around 50,000 Koranic schools in the Niger and the process of reorganizing them was fairly slow. Some of such schools, therefore, remained in the sphere of non-formal education and the Ministry of Education could make no guarantees about the quality of teaching in them.

55.Mr. Issouffou (Niger) said that, under the national integrated development policy for early childhood, which targeted children of up to 8 years of age, the Nigerien authorities had undertaken to create a framework for Koranic schools and ensure greater protection for children in those schools. The Ministry for the Promotion of Women and the Protection of Children was coordinating their reorganization, because the process was not only an education matter, but also one of protecting children and their health. It was true that Koranic schoolteachers often sent children to beg in the streets, which could have serious consequences for those children. Recently, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Labour and the General Secretariat of the Government had been requested to give serious thought to the most appropriate means of solving that problem.

56.Ms. G nandou (Niger) said that, under the Multilateral Cooperation Agreement to Combat Child Trafficking in West Africa, signed by 10 States, police and gendarmerie officers, along with social workers and judges, received training to offer greater assistance to economically exploited talibé children. In addition, border checkpoints had been set up and children could no longer cross from one country to another.

The meeting was suspended at 4.45 p.m. and reconvened at 5.05 p.m.

57.Ms. G nandou (Niger) said that proper Koranic schools in the Niger were known as madrasahs. They ran extensive courses leading to university matriculation, particularly to the Islamic University of the Niger, in Say. The Nigerien authorities were aware that State reorganization of non-formal education could lead to a higher rate of enrolment among children.

58.The National Commission on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms was completely independent, even though its president was appointed by the President of the Republic, and it had “Status A” with the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (ICC). Legislation had been adopted to allow the Commission to have a presence throughout the country. It incorporated a division dealing with women’s and children’s rights, had its own budget and was empowered to investigate complaints, which could be submitted to it at any time. Once such complaints had been brought before the courts, the Commission could no longer take any decisions on them, but assisted plaintiffs.

59.The National Plan of Action against Child Sexual Abuse aimed to protect children from sexual exploitation. That was not a particularly major problem in the Niger, which was primarily a transit country from that point of view.

60.Juvenile justice reforms had yet fully to bear fruit and there was a particular lack of human resources. Lower level magistrates tended to be very recent graduates dealing with, at times, important and complex cases that would be better handled by more experienced judges.

61.Mr. Z ermatten asked what other measures, aside from those tasks of general interest, could be taken with regard to minors. He was surprised that they could be sentenced to prison terms as long as 30 years and asked in what facilities such sentences were carried out. He also asked if juveniles in pretrial detention were held in police stations or prisons, and if minors had separate quarters. He asked from what age minors could receive criminal penalties, given that, under Ordinance No. 99-11 of 14 May 1999, minors of 18 years of age were liable to imprisonment when they had acted with discernment.

62.Ms. Gnandou (Niger) replied that, before the age of 14, a child could not be sentenced to a criminal penalty. Only in cases of children older than 14 did the authorities seek to establish if they had acted with discernment. The Nigerien authorities wished to create the infrastructure and adopt measures in line with international standards, and had adopted the required legislation, but budgetary constraints and a lack of human resources were hampering implementation. That said, some progress had been made and nowadays minors were held in detention separately from adults. It was true that criminal penalties remained the norm, but the judicial authorities hoped to turn increasingly to the use of educational measures, such as education under supervision, as provided for under Ordinance No. 99-11.

63.Mr. Kotrane said several changes in the legislation would be necessary, in particular to shorten sentences meted out to minors. He also emphasized that, according to information before the Committee, detention conditions for children were particularly bad.

64.Ms. Gnandou (Niger) said that detention conditions were laid down in the Criminal Code and that children enjoyed better conditions than adults. With time, however, it would be possible to improve those conditions further.

65.Mr. Citarella asked if children under 13 years of age who had committed criminal offences could be brought to trial.

66.Ms. Gnandou (Niger) replied that they could be tried but not sentenced to criminal penalties. Measures such as education under supervision, however, could be applied or the children might receive psychological or psychiatric treatment.

67.Mr. Issouffou (Niger) said children received prison sentences only as a matter of last resort. Ordinance No. 99-11 allowed for educational and social reintegration measures, among other alternatives to imprisonment for children. Under the aegis of the juvenile justice project, local committees, working with judges, tried to find solutions other than imprisonment for children who had broken the law. The Government had undertaken to build two centres, in Maradi and Niamey, for children in especially difficult circumstances, including those in conflict with the law.

68.Ms. Gnandou (Niger) said that the Niger did not favour adoption, which remained a last resort. When, however, a child had to be adopted, the authorities verified that the adoptive parents met all the required conditions. In the case of international adoptions, the Ministry for the Promotion of Women and the Protection of Children studied the prospective adoptive parents’ file and then passed it on to the Ministry of Justice. The Nigerien authorities maintained the right of inspection over the adopted child and required an annual report on the child’s progress and living conditions.

69.Children born in the Niger of foreign parents automatically acquired Nigerien nationality. The parents were able to register their child’s birth anywhere in the country. The Nationality Code established that a child whose nationality could not be identified was granted Nigerien citizenship without further consultation to ensure that he or she was protected by national laws. Moreover, women could now pass on their nationality.

70.Ms. Ortiz asked if the Niger allowed simple or full adoptions and how many there had been. She also asked how many children had been adopted by foreigners and what body oversaw the adoption process. Was the Niger considering ratifying the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption?

71.Ms. Gnandou (Niger) said that Nigerien law made provision for both simple and full adoption. At national level, simple adoption was more common. Full adoption applied above all to children unattached to any family.

72.The Chairperson asked if, given the low level of birth registration in the State party, children born of foreign parents really could be sure of having jus soli.

73.Ms. Gnandou (Niger) replied that the State was trying to provide the population with the necessary services so that all children born on Nigerien soil could be registered. Subsidiary civil status centres had been opened in villages, where the registers were kept by the village heads. In secondary centres, canton chiefs were responsible for maintaining the registers and authorized to issue birth certificates. In the larger cities, births were registered in main offices, such as town halls and police headquarters. Moreover, campaigns promoting free birth registration were organized across the country. However, with a surface area of 1,267,000 km2, the Niger was a vast country and it was difficult to reach all of the population.

74.Mr. Filali (Country Rapporteur) said that most registry employees were unpaid and ended up leaving their jobs. How, in such circumstances, was it possible to ensure that births were registered?

75.Ms. Gnandou (Niger) said that departmental and regional directors had just been appointed, salary arrears had been paid and the State would make sure that, in future, registry employees were paid regularly.

76.Ms. Varmah (Country Rapporteur) asked how much time parents had in which to register their child’s birth.

77.Ms. Gnandou (Niger) replied that parents had 45 days in the countryside and 3 days in the cities to register a birth. After that, a judgement establishing the date of birth had to be obtained in court.

78.Mr. Filali (Country Rapporteur) requested further information on the various plans for children that the State party had adopted and asked what decisions had been taken to implement the National Plan of Action for the Survival, Protection and Development of Children.

79.Mr. Issouffou (Niger) said that the Niger had encountered some problems in the process of developing and adopting that plan, but that had not prevented the adoption of measures in favour of children in all areas, especially health and education. The plan had been revised so that it now took account of the Millennium Development Goals, and it had been allocated funding. The National Plan of Action against Child Sexual Abuse, 2006–2010, was being implemented and the authorities were making a special effort to spread awareness among hoteliers and transport operators of the issue of sex tourism.

80.Ms. Gnandou (Niger) said that the Ministry for the Promotion of Women and the Protection of Children involved civil society in the development and adoption of plans and policies, as well as in carrying out studies on issues affecting children. The pressure that civil society organizations could bring to bear was indispensable for the adoption of legislation proposed by the ministry. The Niger had just adopted a national policy on gender issues aimed at putting an end to the discrimination to which girls and women could be subjected and to restore women to their rightful place in the family unit, the economy and in political life.

81.Mr. Hamadou (Niger) said that Nigerien legislation dealt with the issue of child labour. The Niger had ratified International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions No. 138 concerning the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment and No. 182 concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour. The provisions of Convention No. 138 had been incorporated into the Labour Code. Although the minimum working age in the Niger was 14, it was possible to employ 12 to 14-year-olds in light work, on condition that such work did not harm their physical or moral integrity or interfere with schooling. In the same spirit, there were restrictions on the kinds of work that young persons of 16 to 18 years of age could carry out. The Labour Code was being revised and it was planned to incorporate the provisions of Convention No. 182 into it. The Niger already applied the provisions of the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Moreover, there was a labour inspectorate in each regional capital, as well as another in the department of Arlit, where the big mining companies were concentrated. The Niger was working closely with the ILO on the question of child labour and the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) was in the process of being implemented across the country.

82.Ms. Varmah (Country Rapporteur) thanked the State party’s delegation for the frankness and precision with which it had replied to questions from the Committee and said that the Committee’s recommendations would concern, in particular, the definition of the child, age of marriage, age of employment, criminal responsibility, registration of births, preservation of identity, freedom of expression, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, right to privacy, right not to be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, strengthening efforts in favour of schooling for girls in rural areas, enhancing the capacity of teachers and the quality of education, basic health care, sexually transmitted infections, HIV/AIDS, access to drinking water, access for disabled children and vulnerable groups of children to medical care, living standards, the creation of a nationwide mechanism for data collection, the adoption of a new national plan of action for children and adoption of the draft framework document setting out a national integrated development policy for early childhood, prepared in 2005, dissemination of knowledge of the Convention among children and preparation of an awareness programme aimed at reporting violence.

83.Ms. Gnandou (Niger) said that her Government would take into account the Committee’s recommendations. The Nigerien authorities sincerely wished to better promote and protect the rights of the child, even if the country’s human and financial resources did not permit it to make progress as quickly as was desirable.

84.The Niger delegation withdrew.

The meeting rose at 6 p.m.