Committee on the Rights of the Child

Fifty-fifth session

13 September–1 October 2010

Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

List of issues concerning additional and updated information related to the combined third and fourth periodic reports of Spain (CRC/C/ESP/3-4)

The Committee will take up all aspects of children’s rights contained in the Convention and its optional protocols during the dialogue with the State party.

The State party is requested to submit additional and updated information in writing, if possible before 2 August 2010 .

Part I

1.Please provide the Committee with information on steps taken to ensure effective coordination on children’s issues between the central administration and the autonomous communities, given that it is the autonomous communities that are responsible for issues involving children. Would it be possible to implement coordination procedures for child policy similar to those that are proving successful in other areas?

2.Please inform the Committee whether any assessment of the National Strategic Plan for Children and Adolescents (2006–2009) has been carried out and please describe its main outcomes. Has the National Strategic Plan for Children and Adolescents been reworked or are there any plans to do so? Will it include indicators, measurable goals and its own budget?

3.Please provide the Committee with information on the procedures governing children’s participation in judicial and administrative proceedings, particularly opportunities for children to express their views and for those views to be taken into consideration. Please also provide the Committee with information on the technical means used by the State party to enable children to participate in judicial proceedings without revealing their identity to other parties.

4.Please provide information on privately run centres involved in the protection of children with behavioural disorders or at risk of social problems. What rules or regulations govern the operation of such centres? How are children admitted to such centres? Are placement orders subject to periodic review? Are there child-friendly complaints mechanisms?

5.In regard to international adoptions, please explain how the 23 recognized central authorities in the State party are coordinated and how quality control and respect for the best interests of the child are ensured, especially in countries of origin.

6.Please provide information and data on bullying and violence in schools, particularly against children of foreign origin or with disabilities, or children targeted because of their sexual orientation. Please also describe the measures aimed at addressing that problem and developing a culture of tolerance in schools, and the results obtained.

7.Please provide the Committee with information on the implementation of the rights of the child in reception centres for children in the Canary Islands, Ceuta, Melilla and various localities in Morocco, in particular information on the number of such centres, their location and the national or autonomous authority or institution responsible for running them and the rules governing their operation.

8.Please provide the Committee with information on the implementation of the following agreements on asylum issues and on guarantees for Moroccan or Senegalese child victims of trafficking, prostitution or pornography: (a) “Agreement between the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Morocco on cooperation in the field of prevention of illegal emigration of unaccompanied minors, their protection and agreed return”; (b) “Agreement between the Republic of Senegal and the Kingdom of Spain on cooperation in the field of prevention of emigration of unaccompanied Senegalese minors, their protection, repatriation and reintegration”.

9.Please provide the Committee with information on the functioning of the National Register of Unaccompanied Minors established under Organization Act No. 4/2000 of 11 January 2000 on the rights and freedoms of aliens in Spain.

10.Please describe the procedures to be followed when children on board small boats are intercepted by Spanish ships in international waters outside the State party’s territorial jurisdiction.

11.Have any complaints been reported concerning offences covered by the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography?

Part II

In this section, the State party is invited to update briefly (three pages maximum) the information provided in its report, at federal as well as at community and regional levels, with regard to:

Bills and new acts

New institutions, their functions and financing

Recently introduced policies

Recently launched action plans and programmes, and their scope

Newly ratified human rights instruments

Part III

Data, statistics and other information, if available

1.Please provide an analysis of trends in budget allocations (in figures and as percentages of the national and regional budgets) regarding the implementation of the Convention for 2008, 2009 and 2010 in the areas of education, health, social services, child protection and promotion of the Convention and its optional protocols.

2.Please provide data on the number of children aged below 18 years marrying with a judicial waiver.

3.Please provide updated data on the number of children aged below 18 years held in detention and on the number of reported cases of physical abuse and ill-treatment of children during arrest and/or detention, and the follow-up given to such cases.

4.Please provide updated data (disaggregated by gender, age, ethnic group and autonomous community) on the number of children deprived of a family environment and on the type of care they receive (foster homes, institutions or other) in the public and private sectors.

5.Please provide information on enrolment rates in primary and secondary schools for children of non-Spanish origin and on the number of non-enrolled children.

6.Please provide information on unaccompanied foreign children — in particular Moroccan children — who have been repatriated and on the authorities to whom they have been handed over.

7.The State party may also refer to other areas or issues that it deems relevant to the implementation of the Convention.