COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

Forty-first session

9-27 January 2006

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTIONON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

List of issues to be taken up in connection with the consideration of the second periodic report of TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO (CRC/C/83/Add.12)

Part I

Under this section the State party is requested to submit in written form additional and updated information, if possible, before 23 November 2005

A. Data and statistics, if available

1.Please provide disaggregated data (by gender, age groups, ethnic groups and by islands) for the years 2002, 2003 and 2004, on the number and proportion of children under 18 living in Trinidad and Tobago.

2.In light of article 4 of the Convention, please provide additional disaggregated data for the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 on budget allocations and trends (in absolute figures and percentages of the national and regional budgets or GDP) allocated to the implementation of the Convention, evaluating also the priorities for budgetary expenditures given to the following areas:

(a)education (different types of education, i.e. pre-primary, primary and secondary education);

(b)health care (different types of health services, i.e. primary health care, vaccination programmes, adolescent health care and other health-care services for children);

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(c)programmes and services for children with disabilities;

(d)support programmes for families;

(e)support for children living below the poverty line;

(f)protection of children who are in need of alternative care including the support of care institutions;

(g)programmes and activities for the prevention of and protection from child abuse and child sexual exploitation and child labour;

(h)programmes and services for street children and abandoned children; and

(i)juvenile justice and the rehabilitation of juvenile offenders.

Please also indicate the expenses of the private sector, in particular for health and education.

3.With reference to children deprived of a family environment and separated from parents, please provide disaggregated data (by gender, age groups, ethnic groups and by islands) for the years 2002, 2003 and 2004 on the number of children:

(a)separated from their parents;

(b)placed in institutions;

(c)placed with foster families; and

(d)adopted domestically or through intercountry adoptions.

4.Please specify the number of children with disabilities, disaggregated by gender, age groups, ethnic groups and regions for the years 2002, 2003 and 2004:

(a)living with their families;

(b)in institutions;

(c)attending regular schools;

(d)attending special schools; and

(e)not attending schools.

5.With reference to child abuse, please provide disaggregated data (by age, gender, ethnic groups and types of abuses reported) for the years 2002, 2003 and 2004 on the:

(a)number of reports received per year;

(b)number and percentage of reports per year which have resulted in either a court decision or other types of follow-up; and

(c)number and percentage of child victims that have received counselling and assistance in recovery.

6.Please provide disaggregated data (by gender, age groups, ethnic groups and by islands) for the years 2002, 2003 and 2004 on:

(a)enrolment, attendance and completion rates in percentages of the relevant group in pre-primary schools, in primary schools and in secondary schools;

(b)number and percentage of dropouts and repetitions; and

(c)ratio of teachers to students.

7.Please provide disaggregated statistical data (by gender, age groups, ethnic groups and by islands) on infant and child mortality, malnutrition, early pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), suicide, drug, alcohol, tobacco and other substance abuse for the years 2003 and 2004. Also, please provide numbers of health professionals working in the health-care services for children.

8.Please provide disaggregated statistical data for the years 2002, 2003 and 2004 (by gender, age groups, ethnic groups, and by islands) on the number of children:

(a)infected by HIV/AIDS;

(b)affected by HIV/AIDS;

(c)heading households due to HIV/AIDS;

(d)orphans of HIV/AIDS living in extended families or institutions.

9.Please provide appropriate disaggregated data (including by gender, age, ethnic groups, and type of crime) for the years 2002, 2003 and 2004, in particular on the number of:

(a)persons under 18 who have allegedly committed a crime, reported to the police;

(b)persons under 18 who have been sentenced and type of punishment or sanctions related to offences including length of deprivation of liberty;

(c)detention centres for juvenile offenders (under 18) and their capacity;

(d)persons under 18 detained in these facilities and minors detained in adult facilities;

(e)persons under 18 kept in pretrial detention and the average length of their detention;

(f)reported cases of abuse and maltreatment of persons under 18 during their arrest and detention; and

(g)persons under 18 tried and sentenced as adults.

10.With reference to special protection measures, please provide statistical data (including by gender, age, and by islands) per year for 2002, 2003 and 2004 on the number of:

(a)children sexually exploited, including prostitution, pornography and/or trafficking;

(b)street children;

(c)children victims who received recovery, counselling and other forms of assistance;

(d)children aged 14-16 who are employed, or working;

(e)children who were engaged in forced and/or other forms of illegal child labour (disaggregated by type); and

(f)children abusing alcohol and using narcotics and drugs.

B. General measures of implementation

1.The Committee would appreciate receiving information on activities meant to implement recommendations contained in the Committee’s previous concluding observations on the initial report of Trinidad and Tobago (CRC/C/15/Add.82) which have not yet been fully implemented, in particular regarding paragraphs: 25 (coordination); 26 (data collection); 27 (resource allocation for children); 31 (abuse, ill-treatment and domestic violence); 32 (corporal punishment); 34 (alternative care); 35 (reproductive health); 36 (education); 37 (street children); 38 (child labour); 39 (administration of juvenile justice).

2.Please indicate whether the Convention on the Rights of the Child has been invoked directly in domestic courts, and if so, please provide examples of such cases.

3.Please provide information on measures taken for a comprehensive review of all legislation to ensure compatibility with the Convention.

4.Please provide information on the system of data collection, including the 2000 National census, and whether it covers all persons below 18 and all areas referred to in the Convention.

5.Please provide information on the implementation of the various national programmes for children, including the National Plan of Action for Children, and provide a copy of that Plan.

6.Please provide information on the institution in charge of the coordination of the implementation of the Convention, its mandate, resources and activities, both at national and local levels.

7.Please provide information on the Ombudsman’s Office, including its mandate, functions and resources, and on the number of cases investigated and their outcomes, and provide specific information on cases involving children (e.g. number and nature of complaints filed by, or on behalf of children). Furthermore, please indicate how the independence of this Office is ensured, in light of the Paris Principles (General Assembly resolution 48/134, annex).

8.Please provide updated information on activities to increase awareness and knowledge of the Convention among the public at large and children and parents in particular and on training programmes for teachers, social workers and other professionals working with/for children.

9.Please provide updated information on the cooperation between the State party and the international community including non-governmental organizations, in the efforts to implement the Convention.

10.Please indicate the issues affecting children that the State party considers to be priorities requiring the most urgent attention with regard to the implementation of the Convention.

Part II

Please provide copies of the text of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in all official languages of the State party as well as in other languages or dialects, when available. If possible, please submit these texts in electronic form.

Part III

Under this section, the State party is to briefly (3 pages maximum) update the information provided in its report with regard to:

new bills or enacted legislation;

new institutions;

newly implemented policies;

newly implemented programmes and projects and their scope.

Part IV

The following is a preliminary list of major issues (that does not contain issues already covered in Part I) that the Committee intends to take up during the dialogue with the State party. They do not require written responses . This list is not exhaustive as other issues might be raised in the course of the dialogue.

1.Birth registration.

2.Corporal punishment in the family, schools and other institutions.

3.Children deprived of family environment and alternative care.

4.Child abuse, neglect, and domestic violence.

5.Children with disabilities.

6.Adolescent health.

7.HIV/AIDS.

8.Quality of education.

9.Alcohol and other substance abuse.

10.Child labour.

11.Street children.

12.Sexual exploitation and trafficking.

13.Administration of juvenile justice.

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