Committee on the Rights of the Child
Sixty-ninth session
25 May–12 June 2015
Item 4 of the provisional agenda
Consideration of reports of States parties
List of issues in relation to the report submitted by Honduras under article 12, paragraph 1, of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography
The State party is requested to submit in writing additional, updated information (15 pages maximum), if possible before 15 March 2015.
The Committee may take up any aspect of the children ’ s rights set out in the Optional Protocol during the dialogue with the State party.
1.Please provide recent statistics, disaggregated by sex, age, ethnic group, socioeconomic level and rural or urban place of residence, on the number of:
(a)Cases of the sale of children or adolescents (specifying whether this was done for purposes of sexual exploitation, transfer of organs for profit, forced labour or illegal adoption), child prostitution and child pornography. Please also provide information on the action taken in those cases, including the prosecution and punishment of those responsible;
(b)Cases of trafficking in children or adolescents for purposes of sale, prostitution or pornography, as defined in article 3, paragraph 1, of the Optional Protocol; and
(c)Children and adolescents who have received assistance with their physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration or compensation for damages in accordance with the provisions of article 9, paragraphs 3 and 4, of the Optional Protocol.
2.Please provide information on the results of the Action Plan to Combat Sexual Exploitation (2006–2011) and on whether any subsequent plan has been implemented. Please also inform the Committee whether there is a general and comprehensive strategy for putting an end to the sale of children and adolescents, child prostitution and child pornography; whether any regional or local plans have been adopted in order to strengthen efforts to implement the Optional Protocol; and whether there are any evaluation mechanisms in place.
3.Please provide information on the body responsible for coordinating the application of the Optional Protocol and its specific functions. Please also explain how it coordinates its activities with other bodies involved in the application of the Optional Protocol.
4.Please provide information on the procedures for allocating resources for the necessary activities involved in the actual implementation of the Optional Protocol. Please also indicate what the budget for such activities has been over the past five years.
5.Please inform the Committee whether the programmes conducted by the State party to publicize and raise awareness of the Optional Protocol are carried out systematically and whether they have been evaluated.
6.Please provide information on the mechanisms used to identify children and adolescents who are particularly at risk of becoming victims of the offences described in the Optional Protocol, such as migrant children and adolescents, street children, indigenous children, children of African descent and children living in remote rural areas. Please provide information on the outcomes of the Social Intervention Programme and the Subprogramme for the Restoration and Protection of Rights.
7.With reference to paragraphs 211 and 212 of the State party report, please provide detailed information on the progress made in adopting the bills on adoption and international child abduction. Please also provide further information on the steps taken to prevent irregular adoption.
8.Please clarify whether the sale of children and adolescents is classified as a separate offence under criminal law and whether, as provided for in article 3, paragraph 1 (a), of the Optional Protocol, the following are classified as cases involving the sale of children: sexual exploitation of the child, transfer of organs of the child for profit, engagement of the child in forced labour and illegal adoption.
9.Please indicate whether Honduran law establishes the criminal responsibility of legal persons for acts or omissions in relation to the sale of children and adolescents, child prostitution and child pornography.
10.With reference to paragraph 187 of the State party’s report, please indicate whether universal jurisdiction over human rights violations is defined in a way that fully covers all the offences referred to in the Optional Protocol.
11.Please provide information on whether, in the absence of a bilateral treaty, the Optional Protocol may be used as a legal basis for the extradition of a person suspected of an offence covered by the Protocol.
12.With reference to the problems identified in paragraph 296 of the State party’s report, please provide information on the steps taken to support and protect child and adolescent victims and witnesses of offences covered by the Optional Protocol during their contact with the criminal justice system.
13.Please provide information on the measures taken by the State party to ensure that the victims of offences covered by the Optional Protocol are not treated as offenders or stigmatized. Please include information on the measures taken to prevent them from being socially marginalized and to facilitate their reintegration and their physical and psychological rehabilitation. With reference to paragraph 267 of the State party’s report, please also provide information on what has been done to improve conditions in protection institutions with regard to accommodation, food and the treatment of children and adolescents in general.