COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

Forty-first session

9-27 January 2006

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

List of issues to be taken up in connection with the consideration of the second periodic report of GHANA (CRC/C/65/Add.34)

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 statistical data (by gender, age groups, urban and rural areas) covering the years 2002, 2003 and 2004 on the number and percentage of children under 18 living in Ghana.

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

(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, HIV/AIDS and other health‑care services for children, including social insurance);

GE.05‑44682 (E) 161105

(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, child sexual exploitation and child labour;

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

(i)programmes for the recovery and rehabilitation of juvenile offenders.

3.With reference to children deprived of a family environment and separated from parents, please provide disaggregated data (by gender, age groups, urban and rural areas) 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 inter-country adoptions.

4.Please specify the number of children with disabilities, up to the age of 18, disaggregated by gender, age groups and, if possible, urban and rural areas, covering the years 2002, 2003 and 2004:

(a)living with their families;

(b)living in institutions;

(c)placed with foster care;

(d)attending regular schools;

(e)attending special schools; and

(f)not attending school.

5.Please provide disaggregated statistical data (by gender, age groups, if possible urban and rural areas) covering the years 2002, 2003 and 2004:

(a)rates of infant and child mortality;

(b)rates of immunization;

(c)rates of malnutrition;

(d)adolescent health, including early pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), drug, tobacco, other substance abuse, mental health and suicide.

6.With reference to child abuse, please provide disaggregated data (by age, gender, if possible types of child abuse reported) covering the years 2002, 2003 and 2004 on the:

(a)number of reported child abuse cases;

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

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

7.With reference to the right to education, please provide disaggregated statistical data (by gender, age groups, if possible urban and rural areas) covering the years 2002, 2003 and 2004 in percentage of the relevant age group on the:

(a)rates of literacy, below and over 18 years;

(b)rate of enrolment in pre-primary schools, primary schools and in secondary schools;

(c)percentage of children completing primary and secondary education;

(d)number and percentage of drop outs and repetitions; and

(e)ratio teacher per children and number of children per class.

Please provide disaggregated statistical data (by gender, age groups, urban and rural areas) on the number of children:

(a)infected by HIV/AIDS;

(b)affected by HIV/AIDS;

(c)leading households due to HIV/AIDS;

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

8.Please provide disaggregated statistical data (including by gender, age and type of crime) covering the years 2002, 2003 and 2004, in particular on the number of:

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

(b)persons below 18 who have been charged with a crime and of them those who are sentenced, and the type of punishment or sanctions related to offences including length of deprivation of liberty;

(c)detention facilities for persons below 18 in conflict with the law and their capacity;

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

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

(f)reported cases of abuse and maltreatment of persons below 18, which occurred during their arrest and detention;

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

9.With reference to special protection measures, please provide statistical data (including by gender, age, if possible urban and rural areas) for the years 2002, 2003 and 2004 on the number of children:

(a)involved in sexual exploitation, including prostitution, pornography and trafficking and the number of children provided with access to recovery and other assistance;

(b)involved in substance abuse and the number of children who received treatment and rehabilitative assistance;

(c)involved in child labour, indicating type of work; and

(d)working in the street.

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 Ghana (CRC/C/15/Add.73) which have not yet been fully implemented, in particular regarding paragraphs: 30 (data collection); 35 (birth registration); 36 (corporal punishment); and 39 (child labour).

2.Please provide information on cases, if any, where the Convention has been directly invoked in domestic courts, and if so, please provide examples of such cases.

3.Please provide information on whether the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice has a specific department dealing with child rights and whether it receives individual complaints. Please also provide information regarding resources and constraints.

4.Please provide information on the National Programme of Action, whether it covers all areas of the Convention and takes into account the objectives and goals of the outcome document entitled “A World Fit for Children” of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children in 2002.

5.Please provide updated information on efforts to disseminate the Convention, the State party report and the previous concluding observations of the Committee (CRC/C/15/Add.73).

6.Please provide updated information on efforts made to provide training, awareness on the Convention and on human rights in general, to children, parents, teachers, social workers and other professionals working with and for children.

7.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.

8.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 the Committee with copies of the text of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in all official languages or 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 may take up during the dialogue with the State party. They do not require written answers. This list is not exhaustive as other issues might be raised in the course of the dialogue.

1.Non-discrimination in general and in particular discrimination against girls, children with disabilities, children living in poverty, children born out of wedlock, internally displaced children, refugee and asylum‑seeking children, children in conflict with the law, and children living in rural areas.

2.Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy.

3.Respect for the views of the child.

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

5.Child abuse, neglect, and domestic violence.

6.Adoption and family reunification.

7.Social security and standard of living, in particular high levels of poverty.

8.Quality of education, in particular high levels of illiteracy and lack of trained teachers.

9.Refugee children.

10.Health‑care services.

11.HIV/AIDS.

12.Alcohol and other substance abuse by children and parents.

13.Economic exploitation, including child labour.

14.Street children.

15.Sexual exploitation and trafficking.

16.Harmful traditional practices.

17.Administration of juvenile justice.

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