Committee on the Rights of the Child
Fifty-fourth session
25 May–11 June 2010
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography
List of issues related to the consideration of the initial report of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (CRC/C/OPSC/MKD/1)
The State party is requested to submit in written form additional and updated information, if possible, before 6 April 20 10 .
The Committee may take up all aspects of children’s rights contained in the Optional Protocol during the dialogue with the State party. The present list of issues covers only some priority questions on which the Committee would like additional information before the dialogue.
1.Please provide, if available, disaggregated data (including by sex, age group, urban/rural area) for the years 2007, 2008 and 2009 on:
(a)The number of reported cases of sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; the number of cases prosecuted and the outcome of these cases, including withdrawals; any institutional measures adopted to investigate these cases; and sanctions for perpetrators;
(b)The number of child victims provided with recovery assistance and compensation as indicated in article 9, paragraphs 3 and 4, of the Protocol, including compensation granted from the compensation fund;
(c)The number of reported cases of crimes related to child sex tourism involving Macedonian children, with additional information on the type of follow-up provided to the outcome of the cases, including prosecution, withdrawals and sanctions for perpetrators;
(d)The incidence of practices that involve the transfer of a child by any person or group of persons to another for any type of consideration (such as for the purpose of forced early marriages and exploitation through begging), and any available indicators of the number of children affected by such practices.
2.Please provide a brief update on the implementation of and specific budgetary allocations for the 2006 Action Plan to Combat Trafficking, the 2008 the Action Plan for Prevention and Fight Against Sexual Abuse and Paedophilia, and the 2008 Programme for Re-socialization and Reintegration of Child Victims of Trafficking, in relation to the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Please further provide the most relevant information on the competent authorities responsible for their implementation and monitoring.
3.Please inform the Committee of any research carried out on the issues of sale of children, child prostitution, child pornography and child sex tourism, as well as the impact of new technologies such as the Internet on such crimes.
4.Please provide information, if any is available, on specifically targeted preventive measures that have been put in place for particularly vulnerable children, such as Roma children, children in street situations and children who lack birth certification and/or registration. With reference to the extreme vulnerability of street children to crimes under the Optional Protocol, please describe measures undertaken by the State party to prevent and protect such children, and provide services for recovery and reintegration thereto.
5.Please provide information on mechanisms in place to ensure that child victims of offences under the Optional Protocol who are foreign nationals are properly identified and receive protection and assistance for recovery and reintegration.
6.Please provide updated information on the measures undertaken and budget allocated in order to ensure the social integration and physical and psychological recovery of child victims.
7.Please indicate efforts by the State party to strengthen the capacity of local-level authorities in the implementation of the Optional Protocol. Please further clarify whether the State party has organized training on the provisions of the Optional Protocol to all relevant professional and para-professional groups, including immigration and law enforcement officers, judges, social workers, teachers and legislators.