Committee on the Rights of the Child

Seventy-fourth session

16 January-3 February 2017

Item 4 of the provisional agenda

C onsideration of reports of States parties

List of issues in relation to the combined second and third periodic reports of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

The State party is requested to submit in writing additional, updated information (10,700 words maximum), if possible before 1 June 2016. The Committee may take up all aspects of children’s rights set out in the Convention during the dialogue with the State party.

Part I

1.Please provide information on progress made on the development of a national policy and plan of action on the implementation of the Convention.

2.Please provide information on progress made on the tracking of budgetary allocations for the implementation of the rights of the child.

3.Please explain how the activities of the private sector, including the tourism and plantation industries, are regulated to protect the rights of children and to provide remedies in case of violation of their rights.

4.Please provide information on measures taken to respect the identity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children, including the elimination of criminalization of homosexual conduct.

5.Please update the Committee on progress made on the legal reform aimed at prohibiting the use of corporal punishment in all settings. Please provide information on concrete efforts made to raise awareness among parents, families and professionals working with and for children about the harmful impact of corporal punishment and alternative, non-violent forms of discipline.

6.Please elaborate on the contents of the programme to promote awareness about child abuse developed by the local committee. Please include information on the target groups and the contents of the programme, and indicate whether children are involved in the development of the programme.

7.In the light of the information provided in the State party report, please provide details of the measures taken to protect children who are left behind as a result of their parents’ migration.

8.Please inform the Committee about measures taken to reduce teenage pregnancies, including on the provision of sexual and reproductive health services and information, as well as modern forms of contraceptive and safe abortion. Please indicate what measures are taken to make those services affordable for and accessible to adolescents. Please specify the main contents of the Health and Family Life Education programme and indicate whether it is provided at all levels of schooling and for both boys and girls.

9.Please provide information on the progress made in providing inclusive education for children with all forms of disability, particularly children with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, and on the scope of inclusive education, as well as their inclusion in cultural and social life.

10.Please inform the Committee about efforts made to protect the rights of children in street situations and about measures to address the root causes of and to prevent such situations.

11.Please provide information on measures taken to identify child victims of trafficking and on the services made available to them.

12.Please provide information on all measures adopted to increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility to an internationally acceptable level, to abolish life sentences for children and to prohibit the use of corporal punishment in the administration of justice.

Part II

13.The Committee invites the State party to provide a brief update (no more than three pages) on 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

14.Please provide consolidated information for the past three years on budget lines regarding children and social sectors by indicating the percentage of each budget line in terms of the total national budget and gross national product. Please also provide information on the geographic allocation of those resources.

15.Please provide, if available, updated statistical data disaggregated by age, sex, ethnic origin, geographic location and socioeconomic status, for the past three years on:

(a)The number and proportion of children who are married;

(b)The number of convictions for violence against children, including sexual abuse and exploitation;

(c)The number and proportion of children living with HIV/AIDS;

(d)The number and proportion of children who are malnourished;

(e)The number and proportion of children living in poverty;

(f)The number of children subjected to forced labour and performing hazardous work;

(g)The number of children treated for drug and substance abuse or convicted for drug trafficking, and the number of institutions providing treatment, counselling, recovery and reintegration services in relation to drug and substance abuse, disaggregated by type of services provided, type of institution and location;

(h)The number of children sentenced to imprisonment.

16.Please provide data disaggregated by age, sex, socioeconomic background, ethnic origin and geographic location regarding the situation of children deprived of a family environment, for the past three years, on the number of children:

(a)Separated from their parents;

(b)Living in child-headed households;

(c)Placed in institutions;

(d)Placed with foster families;

(e)Adopted domestically or through intercountry adoptions.

17.Please provide data, disaggregated by age, sex, type of disability, ethnic origin and geographic location, for the past three years, on the number of children with disabilities:

(a)Living with their families;

(b)Living in institutions;

(c)Attending regular primary schools;

(d)Attending regular secondary schools;

(e)Attending special schools;

(f)Out of school;

(g)Abandoned by their families.

18.Please provide the Committee with an update of any data in the report that may have been outdated by more recent data collected or other new developments.

19.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.