Committee on the Rights of the Child
Seventy-fifth session
15 May-2 June 2017
Item 4 of the provisional agenda
Consideration of reports of States parties
List of issues in relation to the combined fourth and fifth periodic reports of Lebanon
Addendum
Replies of Lebanon to the list of issues *
[Date received: 15 March 2017]
Information and details relevant to the list of issues received from the Committee on the Rights of Child in relation to the combined fourth and fifth periodic reports of Lebanon
Part I
1.Please provide detailed information on the measures the State party has taken towards adopting a unified law on the rights of the child, including the definition of a child in accordance with the Convention.
1.The election of the President of the Republic and the formation of a new Government had a positive effect in regularizing public political life and this was reflected in the resumption of legislative activity in the Lebanese Parliament. The Higher Council for Childhood is endeavouring to reactivate the debate on a bill of law amending Act No. 422/2002 in the competent committees so that it can be submitted to a plenary session of Parliament for adoption.
2.Please provide information on the status of the draft law on the establishment of a national human rights institution, and progress with respect to the establishment of a children’s ombudsperson.
2.On 19 October 2016, the Lebanese House of Representatives adopted Act No. 62/16 establishing an independent national Human Rights Commission comprising a Committee on the Prevention of Torture. The Act, which followed a number of recommendations issued by United Nations human rights mechanisms in this regard, provided Lebanon with two independent basic institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights.
3.Article 15 of Act No. 62/16 defines the functions of the Commission and the Committee as follows:
(a)The Commission shall seek to promote and protect human rights in Lebanon in accordance with the norms set forth in the Lebanese Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international human rights instruments and conventions and the Lebanese legislation in conformity with those norms, in addition to performing the functions specified in this Act. To that end, it shall have the right to enter into independent contact with international and local human rights bodies;
(b)In particular, the Commission shall be assigned the following functions:
(i)Monitoring of the extent of Lebanon’s compliance with human rights and international humanitarian law, and preparation and publication of special or periodic reports thereon;
(ii)Independent contribution to the Lebanese State’s obligatory reports;
(iii)Expression of opinion on all matters on which the Commission might be consulted by the competent authorities or on which it might take the initiative with a view to ensuring respect for human rights standards. It may, at its own discretion, express an opinion on any legislative enactments, decrees, decisions or bills of law or policies pursued in this regard;
(iv)Receipt of complaints and reports concerning violations of human rights, and helping to address them through negotiation, mediation or legal proceedings;
(v)Helping to promote a culture of human rights, and encouraging the development and implementation of human rights education programmes;
(c)The Committee on the Prevention of Torture shall work, within the framework of the Commission, to protect the rights of detainees and persons deprived of their liberty, in accordance with the provisions of this Act and Lebanon’s obligations under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and shall act as the national protection mechanism in that regard. It shall enjoy independent legal personality in all matters relating to torture and the prevention thereof;
(d)The Commission and the Committee shall prepare, within their respective fields of activity, reports containing their annual programme and achievements and specifying any difficulties that they might have encountered and the Commission shall submit a consolidated report to the President of the Republic, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Prime Minister and the President of the Supreme Judicial Council. Care must be taken to ensure that the consolidated report, which shall also be published in the Official Gazette and may be discussed by the House of Representatives, does not contain any personal information or details that might reveal the identity of the victims or witnesses without their consent.
4.If this mechanism proves to be effective, it is expected to play an important role in helping to ensure legal redress for victims of violations such as torture which are usually not reported or investigated.
3.Please provide information on measures taken to ensure the equal enjoyment of the rights set out in the Convention by all children, particularly girls, migrant children and refugee children, especially Palestinian and Syrian children, children with disabilities, children born out of wedlock, and children from the Bedouin and Dom communities. Please indicate the measures taken to ensure the birth registration of children of migrant workers.
5.Under criminal law, Lebanese and non-Lebanese children are treated equally insofar as they all enjoy the right to seek judicial remedy in keeping with the principle of territorial jurisdiction laid down in article 15 of the Penal Code.
6.Act No. 422/2002, concerning the protection of juveniles in conflict with the law or at risk, applies to all juveniles living in Lebanese territory, without any exception in regard to gender or nationality. Consequently, all juveniles have an equal entitlement to all the rights provided for in the said Act.
7.Through its various administrative units and the contracts that it concludes with the institutions and associations concerned, the Ministry of Social Affairs provides specialized care services which, to a large extent, help to ensure that their benefits are enjoyed equally, and without any discrimination, by all the targeted categories of children, including those born out of wedlock. Although boarding care is available only for orphaned Lebanese children and those born to a Lebanese mother, all the services provided by the Ministry’s development service centres throughout the country cover all categories without distinction.
8.The health services provided by the Ministry of Public Health at its primary health-care centres are available, on an equal footing, to Syrian refugees. However, the services that the latter receive are funded by international organizations and non-governmental associations and their hospitalization costs are not borne by the Ministry.
9.Through the relevant section of the National Committee to Combat Child Labour, and in collaboration with the ILO and other organizations, the Ministry of Labour has supplemented its strategy with a special annex concerning the welfare of Syrian migrant child workers.
4.Please provide information on measures taken by the State party to prohibit corporal punishment in all settings and to promote positive forms of discipline. Please also provide information on the implementation of the national strategy for the prevention and protection of children from all forms of violence, abuse and neglect.
10.The objectives of the national plan of the Ministry of Social Affairs for the protection of women and children in Lebanon constituted a framework for the implementation of some of the provisions of the national strategy for the prevention and protection of children from all forms of violence, abuse and neglect through the establishment of a system under which the Ministry’s central and local units monitor and refer children at risk. In fact, 57 specialized female social work assistants have been designated and trained to manage cases of children at risk and other front-line personnel working in the social, health and education sectors have also been trained in the standard case-management procedures that have been developed under the plan. Child protection has been strengthened through the establishment of the referral system, the standardization of operational procedures within the Ministry of Social Affairs, the formation of specialized technical support committees to help the field teams to manage difficult cases, and the development of mechanisms to interface with the government agencies concerned, and particularly with the Ministry of Justice and service providers.
11.The Ministry of Education and Higher Education has developed a policy for the protection of children in the education sector under which provision is made for the training of educational mentors in ways to monitor cases of children at risk, the establishment of an internal complaints system within the education sector, and referral to the child protection system in the Ministries of Justice and Social Affairs for appropriate action.
12.The Ministry of Public Health is also currently developing a policy for the protection of children in the health sector by collating all the national data and linking them to the national protection system managed by the Ministries of Justice and Social Affairs.
13.During the current year, the joint cooperation committee established by the Ministry of Labour on 25 July 2016 will be drawing up a plan of action to protect children by putting an end to the worst forms of child labour. A steering group was formed under the terms of decision No. 401/1 of 16 December 2016, issued by the Minister of Labour, to develop child labour monitoring, control and referral systems and control and training tools for labour inspectors.
14.On 14 November 2016, the Ministry of Social Affairs issued a “standard child protection policy document for institutions working with children in Lebanon” which provides a general framework of guiding principles to help those institutions to create a safe environment in which children are protected. More than 150 institutions and associations under contract to the Ministry of Social Affairs have been trained to apply this policy. The female social work assistants responsible for the control and supervision of those institutions have likewise received training and a working tool has been developed to help them to assess their institutions’ performance in regard to application of the child protection policy. The Ministry has also conducted a review of the contracts that it concludes with those institutions and has incorporated therein a clause under which each institution is required to develop its own policy and deposit it with the Ministry.
5.Please provide information on any investigations conducted into incidents of child abuse and neglect, including sexual abuse, particularly of Syrian refugee children and migrant children, as well as measures taken to prevent and combat child sexual abuse.
15.Police Directive No. 207/204-4 of 11 October 1999, concerning the interrogation of juveniles, stipulated that interrogations of minors, regardless of whether they are victims or offenders, must be conducted in the presence of a delegated social work assistant whose role is to reassure and assist the child. Under that directive, minors may be interrogated only in special offices of criminal investigation departments, except in cases of flagrante delicto. In the latter cases, the role of the local police station or precinct is confined to drawing up a preliminary report on the incident without delving into details and the report is then transmitted to the criminal investigation department for further investigation. To this end, most criminal investigation officers have been trained in child interrogation techniques.
6.Please provide information on the situation of children in alternative care and on setting minimum standards and monitoring conditions of care in institutions. Please also provide information on measures taken to support families in situations of poverty to care for their children.
16.The Director General of the Ministry of Social Affairs recently ordered the formation of a specialized working group to set standards of care in institutions under contract to the Ministry. At the present time, the relevant administrative departments oversee the manner in which those institutions are run and monitor the standard of care provided therein through a team of female social work assistants who verify the proper implementation of the contractual clauses and submit proposals for the improvement of services and the development of programmes.
17.The aim of the national programme for the poorest families is to provide social assistance for Lebanese families in such a situation on the basis of transparent standards defining poverty levels and, consequently, determining the extent of each family’s entitlement to benefit from such assistance. The programme provides the following services:
Full health coverage (insurance benefit differentials covered by the Ministry of Public Health, social security or civil servants’ cooperatives), in public and private hospitals under contract to the programme, for all the family members listed in the application;
Free enrolment of students attending public primary, secondary or vocational schools;
Food assistance cards for the poorest families (a total of 10,000 families hold such cards);
Priority access by holders of health insurance cards to the services and facilities provided by the social service centres:
Under the winter assistance programme implemented in collaboration with UNICEF, 75,000 Lebanese children in the age group 0-15 years received monetary transfers during the 2015-2016 winter season and the programme is continuing in 2017. A total of 169,793 children from poor families are registered with the programme and benefiting from its services. About 3,973 children are benefiting from vocational education and 6.13 per cent of the costs of secondary education are borne by the programme. According to the programme’s records, the number of children who have dropped out of the education system amounts to 10,898.
7.Please inform the Committee about social programmes aimed at assisting low-income families, as well as marginalized groups such as Palestinian and Syrian refugees, and children in street situations.
18.Under the local economic development and livelihoods strategy funded by the United Nations Development Programme in collaboration with government ministries, the private sector and the Central Bank of Lebanon, and within the framework of the host communities support project run by the Ministry of Social Affairs, numerous projects have been implemented in communities hosting migrants, which are basically poverty-stricken environments, with a view to providing employment opportunities and developing small production enterprises.
8.Please provide information on the implementation of Act No. 220 establishing the National Committee for Disabled Affairs. Please also provide updated information on the strategy on the rights of children with disabilities that has been drafted by a subcommittee of the Higher Council for Childhood. In addition, please inform the Committee about measures taken to increase the number of children with disabilities in mainstream education.
19.Under the provisions of Act No. 220, the National Committee is the decision-making body in regard to disability-related issues in Lebanon and the Ministry of Social Affairs is the agency responsible for the application of its decisions, the formulation of policies and supervision of their implementation. The Committee recently decided to expand the scope of assistance to cover all categories of disability, including deaf and blind persons, and, as a result of its follow-up with the government departments concerned, the Ministry of Finance makes quarterly payments in settlement of the invoices of private hospitals receiving and treating persons with disabilities. The Ministry of Social Affairs has begun to issue special parking permits for persons with disabilities and has approved the stickers to be affixed to their vehicles. The Ministers of Transport and Social Affairs in the previous Government had already agreed that all the 250 buses due to be purchased would be adapted for use by persons with disabilities.
20.Pursuant to the strategy on the rights of children with disabilities that has been drafted by a subcommittee of the Higher Council for Childhood, a national plan of action is being formulated, in collaboration with the ministries concerned, to integrate persons with learning difficulties into public and private kindergartens, schools and vocational education institutions.
21.The Ministry of Education and Higher Education has initiated a plan to integrate students with disabilities into mainstream education with due regard for the special needs of such students.
9.Please provide information on measures to:
(a)Promote breastfeeding, increase immunizations, address the rise of communicable diseases, and prevent and combat drug use and addiction among children;
22.For the last three years, the Ministry of Public Health, in partnership with trade unions, non-governmental associations and international organizations, has been conducting national campaigns to promote breastfeeding through, inter alia, television spots, pamphlets and awareness-raising forums for all Lebanese citizens and Syrian refugees. The Ministry has also begun the implementation of the child-friendly hospital project is more than 10 hospitals.
23.Unmarried mothers residing in care institutions under contract to the Ministry of Social Affairs benefit from the comprehensive prenatal and postnatal health-care, awareness-raising and educational programmes which encourage them to breastfeed and observe the immunization schedule for newborn infants. Children, including those who do not hold residency documents or birth certificates, also benefit from the services provided by those institutions if they are residing therein.
24.The development service centres run by the Ministry of Social Affairs offer the basic vaccinations for all children without any discrimination. They also conduct national immunization campaigns in partnership with the Ministry of Public Health and train health workers to administer the vaccines.
25.The associations working to prevent and combat drug addiction and HIV/AIDS, including those under contract to the Ministry of Social Affairs, conduct national awareness-raising campaigns in partnership with all the bodies concerned in the public and private sectors. They also implement specialized programmes to make schoolchildren and university students, as well as their families, more aware of the dangers of drug addiction, HIV/AIDS and other contagious sexually transmitted diseases.
(b)Ensure access to health services for all children in the State party, including those without birth registration and residency documents;
26.Within the framework of a project funded by the European Union, the Ministry of Public Health launched a major operation at the end of 2014 to develop a 2015-2020 strategy for the health sector with a view to improving the health and well-being of citizens. All the branches of the Ministry of Public Health, as well as the principal stakeholders, academics and experts, participated in the formulation of that strategy which provides a clear overview of the context in which the Ministry of Public Health is working, the challenges that it is facing and its long-term strategic objectives. The plan of action for its implementation contains a more detailed description of those objectives and the activities that the Ministry will be undertaking, in collaboration with the bodies concerned, over a five-year period.
(c)Address the impact of the Syrian crisis on the State party’s health system.
10.Please inform the Committee about measures to improve the quality of education and of teaching in public schools, and to address the high number of children who are out of school, as well as the repetition and dropout rates. Please provide updated information on the Reaching All Children with Education strategy aimed at accommodating the refugee population and on coordination efforts with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and other international and local organizations in that regard.
11.Please provide information on measures taken to ensure that families in situations of poverty, including Syrian and Palestinian refugees, have access to adequate housing, safe drinking water and sanitation facilities.
27.Within the framework of the host communities support project run by the Ministry of Social Affairs, around 40 projects were implemented in 2015 and 2016 in the field of the construction and operation of sanitation networks, rehabilitation of wastewater treatment facilities and procurement of the equipment needed to sanitize the residues resulting therefrom in order to alleviate health and environmental problems. Around 13 projects that were implemented in the water management sector improved access by Lebanese citizens and refugees to drinking water. The host communities support project also implemented 26 projects in the solid waste management sector in order to help local communities to mitigate the effect of population growth on that sector. Those projects, which were implemented throughout the country, consisted in the collection of solid waste, the provision of equipment for its transport and the rehabilitation of sorting facilities therefor.
12.Please update the Committee on efforts by the State party to increase the number of safe, child-friendly recreational areas, facilities and activities in the State party, particularly in Beirut and the surrounding regions, including for refugee children.
28.Civil society institutions, with support from international organizations and in collaboration with governmental institutions, are actively engaged in the establishment of safe, child-friendly recreational areas. In this regard, during the last two years the host communities support project has implemented around 31 projects for the establishment and rehabilitation of safe parks, sports facilities and places of entertainment in order to provide recreational areas and promote social interaction and cohesion between Lebanese citizens and Syrian migrants.
29.Within the framework of the national plan for the protection of women and children which is being implemented by the Ministry of Social Affairs with support from UNICEF, safe areas have been established, in collaboration with the Abaad organization, at eight model development service centres designed in such a way as to ensure that their personnel are able to provide the services needed by female victims of gender-based violence. The services provided at the centres include:
Case management;
Referral (to specialists, institutions, judicial remedies, etc.);
Psychosocial support services rendered in and outside the centres, including awareness-raising sessions, support group sessions, development of life skills (self-confidence, relationship with others and with children), training sessions (embroidery, dressmaking, handicrafts, hairstyling) and recreational activities.
30.Under the national plan, contracts were also concluded with 15 associations for the organization of activities for children in various parts of Lebanon and a wide range of such activities were managed by a team of more than 200 young volunteers at more than 15 development service centres.
13.Please provide information on measures, including awareness-raising campaigns, to prevent and combat trafficking in persons, in particular children, for forced labour and prostitution, especially Syrian girls. Please provide information on the status of the draft law to sanction the exploitation of children in pornography, and the national anti-trafficking plan.
31.In 2016, the Directorate General of Public Security, in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration, launched an awareness-raising campaign on trafficking in persons. It also holds numerous training courses, in collaboration with the international organizations concerned, for NCOs and other members of the police force.
32.In 2015, the Ministry of Social Affairs, in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration, organized a training course for female social work assistants on ways to identify victims of trafficking in persons.
33.In 2016, the Directorate General of Public Security showed greater concern for human rights by establishing a special administrative unit to combat human trafficking and offences relating to child labour. It issued a booklet entitled “Guidelines on the crime of human trafficking” which contained full details of that crime (definition — prevention — protection) and it also organized training courses to make all police ranks more familiar therewith.
34.The Ministry of Labour has issued a guide on the application of Decree No. 8987 prohibiting the worst forms of child labour. The Ministry has organized training courses and workshops to make all the parties concerned aware of the dangers posed by that phenomenon and it recently held a workshop to train its inspectors in ways to monitor the application of that decree and use the guide.
35.When parliamentary legislative activity resumes its normal course in the country, the Higher Council for Childhood is expected to reactivate the bill of law on the exploitation of minors for pornographic purposes.
36.The Minister of Social Affairs has approved the sectoral plan on trafficking in children which was drawn up by the Higher Council for Childhood at the end of 2015.
14.Please provide information on measures taken to ensure that children in the State party are not recruited by armed groups in Lebanon or the Syrian Arab Republic. Please also provide information on the workplan endorsed by the Ministry of Social Affairs in 2014 to prevent and respond to the association of children with armed violence in Lebanon, as well as rehabilitation and reintegration programmes for children involved in armed conflict.
37.Act No. 164/2011 added a chapter entitled “Trafficking in Persons” to the Lebanese Penal Code and defined that offence in accordance with internationally recognized standards, and particularly the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Under the provisions of that chapter, the act of compelling a person to participate in any of the offences criminalized therein, including the forcible or compulsory recruitment of children to serve in armed conflicts, is deemed to constitute exploitation and anyone who, during the investigation, is found to have exploited or facilitated the exploitation of a child through such recruitment is liable to the penalty for trafficking in persons. The child is regarded as a victim and is exempt from the penalty prescribed in article 586, paragraph 8, of the Lebanese Penal Code.
38.Within the framework of the endeavours being made to raise awareness of the need to prevent the involvement of children in military operations, the Higher Council for Childhood, in collaboration with the organization Justice Without Borders and the security and stability project funded by the European Union, organized a round table, held in Lebanon on 25 June 2015, on the topic of the legal protection of children during armed conflicts.
39.In July and August 2016, the Higher Council for Childhood, in collaboration with UNICEF, organized nine meetings in various Lebanese regions (Tripoli, Al-Qubayyat, Baakline, Bourj Hammoud, Chiyah, Baalbek, Zahle, Saida and Halba) with a view to making Lebanese society more aware of the problem of armed violence and mobilizing local civil society activists on the issue of the involvement of children in armed conflict in Lebanon. These meetings were attended by all the civil society activists, members of the administrative and teaching staff of public and private schools, development service centres run by the Ministry of Social Affairs, representatives of religious groups, political parties and scouting organizations, and mayors and members of municipalities.
40.On 30 September 2015, the Higher Council for Childhood organized a workshop on the topic of “Protection of children involved in armed conflict in Lebanon” in order to discuss the proposals made by local civil society organizations in regard to the overall plan, decide on general recommendations concerning the priority steps to be taken to protect children involved in armed conflict in Lebanon, and determine the principal local and national bodies with which the Council should work in this connection. The event was attended by representatives of non-governmental and international organizations in addition to staff members of the development service centres run by the Ministry of Social Affairs in Lebanon and representatives of the Lebanese Army and the judicial authority including, in particular, juvenile judges. A workplan was formulated to follow up on the recommendations of regional meetings and the first step taken consisted in visits to the commanders of all the military units and internal security forces and the Ministry of Justice with a view to establishing training priorities in this field.
Part II
15.The Committee invites the State party to provide a brief update (no more than three pages) on the information presented in its report (CRC/C/LBN/4-5) with regard to:
(a)New bills or laws, and their respective regulations;
41.No change has been made to the proposed bills, referred to in the combined fourth and fifth periodic reports, which the Higher Council for Childhood drew up after a comparative legal study of Lebanese legislation and the Convention on the Rights of the Child and which are awaiting an appropriate opportunity to submit them to the competent parliamentary committees for study. Since the bill concerning the protection of juveniles in conflict with the law or at risk is to be discussed by the competent parliamentary committees, the secretariat of the Council of Ministers in the new Government has again referred it to the ministries for their comments thereon.
42.As a result of pressure from civil society organizations, the parliamentary Administration and Justice Committee has approved the repeal of article 522 of the Lebanese Penal Code under which charges in respect of any of the sexual offences specified in that article are dropped if a valid contract of marriage has been concluded between the perpetrator and the victim of the offence. The motion for its repeal is currently awaiting adoption by a plenary session of the House of Representatives.
(b)New institutions (and their mandates) or institutional reforms, including initiatives to reform the judicial system with a view to establishing a single civil court system guaranteeing access and proceedings to all children within the jurisdiction of the State party, as well as specialized training on the Convention for juvenile judges;
(c)Recently introduced policies, programmes and action plans and their scope and financing, including initiatives to establish a national plan of action for children;
43.Within the framework of its partnership programme with UNICEF in Lebanon, the Ministry of Social Affairs intends to conduct a review of its national plan for the protection of women and children in order to assess the current situation of women and children, evaluate the achievements and best practices, highlight the lessons learned and the shortcomings and obstacles encountered during the implementation of the plan, assess the capacities of the Ministry of Social Affairs at the national and local levels and, in the light of the findings of the review, prepare a comprehensive report with recommendations and formulate a new national plan for the protection of children and women specifying the budgetary resources required and the time frame scheduled for its implementation.
44.The Ministry of Labour has developed a national plan of action to combat the worst forms of child labour in Lebanon by the beginning of 2019 in cooperation with the International Labour Organization and other international and local organizations, under the direction and supervision of the Ministry of Labour and in collaboration with the National Committee to Combat Child Labour. The plan has been amended and developed in a manner consistent with international standards and an annex on Syrian migrant child workers has been prepared. A study on children working in the agricultural sector, which was conducted with support from UNICEF, the International Labour Organization and the Faculty of Health Sciences of the American University in Beirut, recommended the publication of a guide on child labour in that sector.
(d)Recent ratifications of human rights instruments, including progress with respect to ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
45.Neither the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict nor the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure have yet been ratified. We heard from the National Assembly that the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities had been submitted to a plenary session and was subsequently sent back to the competent committees for further study.
Part III
Data, statistics and other information, if available
16.Please provide consolidated information for the past three years on the budget lines regarding children and social sectors by indicating the percentage of each budget line in terms of the total national budget and the gross national product. Please also provide information on the geographic location of those resources.
46.The Ministry of Labour’s budget line regarding juveniles amounted to 700 million Lebanese pounds distributed among non-governmental associations contracting with the Juveniles Department for the provision of services to children in conflict with the law or at risk.
17.Please provide, if available, updated statistical data disaggregated by age, sex, geographic location and socioeconomic status, for the past three years, on the number of:
(a)Stateless children;
(b)Children who have been injured or who have died as a result of road accidents, gun violence, landmines and unexploded ordnance;
47.With regard to children who have been injured or who have died as a result of armed violence, landmines and unexploded ordnance during the last three years according to statistics provided by the Ministry of National Defence:
|
Year |
Male |
Female |
Injured |
Dead |
Year of birth |
Nationality |
Place of incident |
|
2014 |
1 |
- |
1 |
- |
2004 |
Syrian |
Jabal Badawi — Tripoli |
|
1 |
- |
1 |
- |
2005 |
Syrian |
Jabal Badawi — Tripoli |
|
|
2015 |
1 |
- |
1 |
- |
2003 |
Lebanese |
Zibqin — Sur (Tyre) |
|
1 |
- |
1 |
- |
2003 |
Lebanese |
Zibqin — Sur (Tyre) |
|
|
1 |
- |
1 |
- |
2010 |
Syrian |
Majdal Silm — Nabatieh |
|
|
1 |
- |
1 |
- |
2012 |
Syrian |
Majdal Silm — Nabatieh |
|
|
1 |
- |
- |
1 |
2007 |
Syrian |
Majdal Silm — Nabatieh |
|
|
2016 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Statistics provided by the Directorate General of the Internal Security Forces on traffic accidents in general. There are no detailed statistics on children injured as a result of traffic accidents.
(c)Child marriages;
48.The Higher Council for Childhood, in collaboration with UNICEF, is formulating a national strategy on child marriages.
49.Numerous national and regional conferences and symposiums on early marriage have been held under the auspices of the Ministry of Social Affairs, with support from civil society institutions, and non-governmental organizations have also conducted many studies to determine the prevalence of early marriage. Two bills of law to regulate the marriage of minors and protect children from early marriage have also been proposed by the non-governmental sector.
50.With regard to statistics, a study on “Early marriage; fact or fiction?” which was conducted by the Faculty of Political Sciences at Saint Joseph University in 2016 but has not yet been published indicated as follows:
Percentage of marriages contracted by persons under 18 years of age, according to the electoral lists: 13 per cent;
Percentage of early marriage among Lebanese, according to a sample survey: 10 per cent;
Percentage of early marriage among Syrian refugees, according to UNHCR records: 22 per cent;
Percentage of early marriage among Syrians, according to a sample survey: 24 per cent.
(d)Cases of child abuse and neglect in families, foster families and other types of care and public and private institutions, such as children’s homes, schools, juvenile detention centres and prisons;
Declared cases of child victims of domestic violence, according to the Ministry of Justice
|
Category |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
|
Sex |
Male |
- |
- |
17 |
|
Female |
- |
4 |
30 |
|
|
Nationality |
Lebanese |
- |
- |
38 |
|
Syrian |
- |
4 |
7 |
|
|
other |
- |
- |
2 |
|
|
Age |
under 7 years |
- |
- |
8 |
|
8-12 years |
- |
2 |
21 |
|
|
13-15 years |
- |
- |
9 |
|
|
over 16 years |
- |
2 |
9 |
(e)Cases of child abuse and neglect reported to police stations, hospitals, schools and family development offices in each governorate, as well as information on the legislation and policies in force to ensure the mandatory reporting of suspected cases of child abuse and neglect;
List of offences committed against minors in 2016 according to statistics provided by the Directorate General of the Internal Security Forces/Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons and Protect Morals
|
Type of offence |
Number of child victims |
|
Incitement to prostitution |
1 |
|
Acts in violation of public morals |
4 |
|
Sodomy |
3 |
|
Sexual harassment of a male minor |
19 |
|
Sexual harassment of a female minor |
25 |
|
Attempted harassment of a male minor |
5 |
|
Rape of a male minor |
11 |
|
Rape of a female minor |
4 |
|
Attempted rape of a female minor |
4 |
|
Abduction of a female minor |
2 |
|
Abduction of a female minor for the purpose of marriage |
4 |
|
Sexual assault of a male minor |
5 |
|
Sexual assault of a female minor |
3 |
|
Sexual intercourse with a female minor |
8 |
|
Incest |
4 |
|
Paternal harassment of a daughter |
4 |
|
Fraternal harassment of a sister |
1 |
|
Fraternal rape of a sister |
1 |
|
Paternal rape of a daughter |
2 |
|
Total |
110 |
51.With regard to the obligatory reporting of offences committed against children, Lebanese legislation stipulates as follows:
(a)The Penal Code:
Article 398: Any Lebanese citizen who comes to know of a felony committed against State security and fails to report it immediately to the public authorities shall be liable to a penalty of 1-3 years’ imprisonment and loss of his civil rights.
Article 399: Any public official assigned to investigate or prosecute offences who fails to report or is tardy in reporting an offence that comes to his knowledge shall be liable to a penalty of one month to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of 20,000-200,000 Lebanese pounds. Any public official who fails to notify or is tardy in notifying the competent authority of a felony or misdemeanour that comes to his knowledge during or in connection with the performance of his duties shall be liable to the above-mentioned fine. The foregoing provisions shall not apply if prosecution of the unreported offence is conditional on the filing of a complaint by an individual.
Article 400: Anyone who, while practising a health-care profession, assists a person appearing to have been the victim of a felony or a misdemeanour that may be prosecuted without the filing of a complaint but fails to report the matter to the authorities shall be liable to the fine stipulated in the preceding article.
Article 567: Anyone who, being faced with a person in danger due to an accident or a health-related reason, and being able to assist or succour the said person through a personal act or by calling for help without exposing himself or others to danger, wilfully fails to do so shall be liable to a penalty of one month to one year’s imprisonment and/or a fine of 200,000-1,000,000 Lebanese pounds. Anyone who, although aware of the existence of evidence establishing the innocence of a suspect being held in custody or prosecuted for a felony or misdemeanour, fails to spontaneously give testimony thereof before a court of law or the security authorities shall be liable to the same penalty. In such a case, the person at fault shall be exempted from the penalty if he subsequently changes his mind and presents himself voluntarily. The perpetrator of the offence being prosecuted, as well as his accomplices, accessories and relatives to the fourth degree shall likewise be exempted from the penalty.
(b)The Code of Criminal Procedure:
Article 28: Any person who witnesses a violation against public security, or against the safety, life or property of individuals is required to report the matter to the Public Prosecutor at the Court of Appeal, or to one of his assistants with jurisdiction over the place where the offence occurred, the place where the perpetrator was apprehended, or the latter’s place of residence. Anyone who fails to comply with this requirement without a valid excuse shall be prosecuted before the single criminal judge with jurisdiction over the place where the offence occurred and shall be liable to a fine of 200,000-2,000,000 Lebanese pounds.
(c)The Internal Security Forces Regulatory Act:
Article 223: On-duty and off-duty members of the internal security forces are required to report offences that they witness in person or which come to their knowledge. They have an obligation to assist or attempt to assist any person in danger and to protect public and private property, especially during disasters and grave incidents.
(d)The Act concerning the protection of juveniles in conflict with the law or at risk:
Article 26: In any such circumstances, the judge may order protection, probation or corrective measures, as required, for the benefit of the said juvenile.
52.In these circumstances, the judge intervenes on the basis of a complaint from the juvenile, from one of his parents, from his legal or testamentary guardian or a person responsible for him or from the delegated social worker or the public prosecutor, or on the basis of a report, and he must intervene spontaneously in urgent cases. The public prosecutor or the juvenile judge is required to order a social investigation and hear the statements of the juvenile, one or both of his parents, his legal guardian or persons responsible for him before ordering any measure against him, except in urgent cases in which an appropriate measure may be taken before completion of the above-mentioned procedures. The criminal investigation department may be requested to assist in investigating the facts of the case.
53.In the circumstances specified in article 25 of the Act, the presentation of a report to the competent authority by a person who, by virtue of his position, post or field of specialization, should be familiar with the situation of the juvenile at risk is not deemed to constitute a breach of professional secrecy and is not punishable under the provisions of the Penal Code.
(f)Investigations into cases of sexual violence and rape, and information on the outcomes of trials, including the penalties for perpetrators and redress and compensation offered to child victims;
Preliminary investigations of child victims, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Justice
(a) Rape and sexual assault:
|
Category |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
|
Sex |
Male |
6 |
12 |
7 |
|
Female |
18 |
18 |
18 |
|
|
Nationality |
Lebanese |
20 |
16 |
16 |
|
Syrian |
3 |
11 |
5 |
|
|
Other |
- |
- |
1 |
|
|
Palestinian |
1 |
3 |
3 |
|
|
Age |
under 7 years |
2 |
1 |
- |
|
8-12 years |
4 |
3 |
3 |
|
|
13-15 years |
8 |
15 |
11 |
|
|
over 16 years |
10 |
11 |
11 |
(b) Human trafficking:
|
Category |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
|
Sex |
Male |
- |
3 |
1 |
|
Female |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
|
Nationality |
Lebanese |
- |
- |
1 |
|
Syrian |
- |
3 |
- |
|
|
Undocumented |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
|
Age |
under 7 years |
- |
1 |
2 |
|
8-12 years |
- |
1 |
- |
|
|
13-15 years |
- |
1 |
- |
|
|
over 16 years |
- |
1 |
- |
(c) Children at risk (vagrancy, neglect, malnourishment)
|
Category |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
|
Sex |
Male |
5 |
6 |
5 |
|
Female |
8 |
2 |
3 |
|
|
Nationality |
Lebanese |
9 |
3 |
3 |
|
Syrian |
2 |
3 |
1 |
|
|
Undocumented |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
|
Palestinian |
- |
- |
2 |
|
|
Age |
under 7 years |
6 |
2 |
4 |
|
8-12 years |
2 |
1 |
2 |
|
|
13-15 years |
4 |
4 |
1 |
|
|
over 16 years |
1 |
1 |
1 |
(d) Indecent acts:
|
Category |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
|
Sex |
Male |
31 |
30 |
27 |
|
Female |
39 |
54 |
42 |
|
|
Nationality |
Lebanese |
52 |
52 |
52 |
|
Syrian |
14 |
14 |
24 |
|
|
Undocumented |
- |
- |
2 |
|
|
Palestinian |
3 |
4 |
6 |
|
|
Age |
under 7 years |
18 |
15 |
20 |
|
8-12 years |
18 |
2 8 |
27 |
|
|
13-15 years |
16 |
15 |
27 |
|
|
over 16 years |
17 |
12 |
10 |
(g)Children classified as malnourished, as well as those classified as obese;
(h)Children with HIV/AIDS;
(i)Cases of child labour in the formal and informal economies;
(j)Unaccompanied child migrants and children of migrant workers in the State party, including the number currently detained in immigration facilities;
54.The Lebanese State confirms that no child is currently in custody or detained in immigration facilities pending investigation.
(k)Children in any form of detention, including in pretrial detention;
Juvenile convicts and detainees in juvenile prisons in the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 according to the statistics of the Directorate General of the Internal Security Forces
|
Year |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
||||
|
Sex |
Male |
Female |
Male |
Female |
Male |
Female |
|
|
Reason for detention |
Pretrial detention |
321 |
16 |
390 |
17 |
483 |
8 |
|
Convicted |
133 |
8 |
109 |
10 |
112 |
8 |
|
|
Nationality |
Lebanese |
189 |
11 |
233 |
12 |
261 |
7 |
|
Syrian |
193 |
8 |
201 |
9 |
256 |
8 |
|
|
Palestinian |
40 |
1 |
33 |
1 |
43 |
1 |
|
|
Egyptian |
5 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
|
|
Other nationalities |
25 |
4 |
29 |
4 |
32 |
0 |
18.Please provide data disaggregated by age, sex, socioeconomic background, ethnic origin, national origin and geographic location regarding the situation of children deprived of a family environment and separated from their parents, for the past three years, on the number of children.
(a)Separated from their parents:
(b)Placed in institutions and group homes;
Children placed in social care institutions under contract to the Ministry of Social Affairs in the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 according to the Ministry’s statistics
|
2014 Governorate |
Number of Institutions |
Number of boarders |
Vocational education boarders |
Vocational training boarders |
All boarding care paid by the Ministry |
Infants |
|
Beirut |
23 |
1 861 |
772 |
307 |
2 940 |
285 |
|
Mount Lebanon |
86 |
6 184 |
1 138 |
669 |
7 991 |
223 |
|
North Lebanon |
29 |
2 163 |
785 |
135 |
3 038 |
170 |
|
Akkar |
6 |
375 |
30 |
10 |
415 |
35 |
|
Bekaa |
21 |
2 676 |
273 |
99 |
3 048 |
84 |
|
Baalbek/Hermel |
7 |
1 817 |
50 |
- |
1 867 |
22 |
|
South Lebanon |
20 |
2 756 |
455 |
664 |
3 875 |
90 |
|
Nabatieh |
11 |
1 528 |
- |
- |
1 528 |
53 |
|
Total |
203 |
19 360 |
3 503 |
1 884 |
24 747 |
962 |
|
2015 Governorate |
Number of Institutions |
Number of boarders |
Vocational education boarders |
Vocational training boarders |
All boarding care paid by the Ministry |
Infants |
|
Beirut |
22 |
1 781 |
758 |
303 |
2 842 |
289 |
|
Mount Lebanon |
86 |
6 173 |
951 |
659 |
7 783 |
243 |
|
North Lebanon |
30 |
2 197 |
785 |
140 |
3 122 |
171 |
|
Akkar |
6 |
362 |
30 |
15 |
407 |
45 |
|
Bekaa |
21 |
2 648 |
295 |
103 |
3 046 |
84 |
|
Baalbek/Hermel |
7 |
1 817 |
55 |
- |
1 872 |
22 |
|
South Lebanon |
19 |
2 738 |
450 |
639 |
3 827 |
90 |
|
Nabatieh |
11 |
1 559 |
- |
- |
1 559 |
54 |
|
Total |
202 |
19 275 |
3 324 |
1 859 |
24 458 |
998 |
|
2016 Governorate |
Number of Institutions |
Number of boarders |
Vocational education boarders |
Vocational training boarders |
All boarding care paid by the Ministry |
Infants |
|
Beirut |
13 |
1 001 |
434 |
136 |
1 571 |
289 |
|
Mount Lebanon |
94 |
6 927 |
1 206 |
795 |
8 928 |
234 |
|
North Lebanon |
30 |
2 084 |
685 |
120 |
2 889 |
219 |
|
Akkar |
6 |
344 |
30 |
15 |
389 |
52 |
|
Bekaa |
21 |
2 634 |
295 |
103 |
3 032 |
90 |
|
Baalbek/Hermel |
7 |
1 834 |
55 |
0 |
1 889 |
22 |
|
South Lebanon |
19 |
2 745 |
450 |
639 |
3 834 |
90 |
|
Nabatieh |
11 |
1 574 |
- |
0 |
1 574 |
55 |
|
Total |
201 |
19 143 |
3 155 |
1 808 |
24 106 |
1 051 |
(c)Placed with foster families;
(d)Adopted domestically (applicable to non-Muslim children) or through intercountry adoptions.
Children adopted domestically in the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 and registered with the Directorate General of Personal Status in the Ministry of the Interior and Municipalities
|
Sex |
||
|
Governorate |
Male |
Female |
|
Beirut |
1 |
- |
|
Mount Lebanon |
8 |
7 |
|
North Lebanon |
5 |
1 |
|
South Lebanon |
2 |
1 |
|
Bekaa |
1 |
2 |
|
Total |
17 |
11 |
19.Please provide data, disaggregated by age, sex, type of disability and geographic location, for the past three years, on the number of children with disabilities:
(a)Living with their families;
(b)Living in institutions;
A total of 3,628 children with disabilities under 18 years of age were registered with the Ministry of Social Affairs between 1/1/2014 and 31/12/2016.
|
Distribution by age group |
Never attended school according to their families at the time of registration |
|
|
Age |
Number |
Number |
|
0-5 years |
1 728 |
1 533 |
|
6-14 years |
1 675 |
587 |
|
15-18 years |
225 |
20 |
|
Total |
3 628 |
2 140 |
55.A total of 97 children, i.e. 2.67 per cent of the total number of children with disabilities, are living in specialized institutions and the boarding care of 84 of them is paid for by the Ministry of Social Affairs. It is noteworthy that, under the terms of their contracts with the Ministry, the care providers are obliged to ensure that the children return to their family homes for the weekend and during the summer holidays.
|
Sex |
Age groups |
Governorate of residence |
Type of disability |
|||||||||||
|
Male |
Female |
0-5 |
6-14 |
15-17 |
Beirut |
Mount Lebanon |
North |
South |
Bekaa |
Nabatieh |
Motor |
Mental |
Hearing |
Visual |
|
63 |
34 |
17 |
71 |
9 |
4 |
37 |
31 |
3 |
21 |
1 |
19 |
65 |
11 |
7 |
56.A total of 3,531 children, i.e. 72.63 per cent, are living with their families, 896 are receiving outpatient care at specialized institutions and the care received by 755 of them is paid for by the Ministry of Social Affairs. A total of 2,635 of their families said that the children were living with them (76 in the home of their grandfathers for various reasons and there was no confirmation in regard to their school attendance).
|
Sex |
Age groups |
Governorate of residence |
Type of disability |
|||||||||||||
|
Year |
Total |
Male |
Female |
0-5 |
6-14 |
15-17 |
Beirut |
Mount Lebanon |
North |
South |
Bekaa |
Nabatieh |
Motor |
Mental |
Hearing |
Visual |
|
2014 |
755 |
492 |
263 |
244 |
496 |
35 |
43 |
358 |
155 |
56 |
97 |
46 |
88 |
624 |
64 |
18 |
|
2015 |
141 |
88 |
53 |
44 |
81 |
16 |
7 |
55 |
32 |
25 |
2 |
20 |
28 |
144 |
7 |
1 |
|
2016 |
2 635 |
1 616 |
1 019 |
1 443 |
1 027 |
165 |
93 |
741 |
729 |
381 |
462 |
229 |
1 180 |
1 197 |
169 |
89 |