COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
Forty-fourth session
15 January-2 February 2007
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTIONON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
List of issues to be taken up in connection with the consideration of the combined second and third periodic report of MALDIVES (CRC/C/MDV/3)
Part I
Under this section the State party is requested to submit in written form additional and updated information, if possible, before 24 November 2006.
A. Data and statistics, if available
1.Please provide disaggregated statistical data (by sex, age groups, ethnic groups, urban and rural areas) covering the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 on the number and percentage of children under 18 living in Maldives.
2.In the light of article 4 of the Convention, please provide disaggregated data on budget allocations and trends (in absolute figures and percentages of the national and regional budgets) for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 regarding the implementation of the Convention evaluating also the priorities for budgetary expenditures given to the following:
(a)Education (different types of education, i.e. pre-primary, primary and secondary education);
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(b)Health care (different types of health services, i.e. primary health care, vaccination programmes, adolescent health care, HIV/AIDS and other health-care services for children, including social insurance);
(c)Programmes and services for children with disabilities;
(d)Support programmes for families;
(e)Support for children living below the poverty line;
(f)Protection of children who are in need of alternative care, including kafalah and the support of care institutions;
(g)Programmes and activities for the prevention of and protection from child abuse, child sexual exploitation and child labour;
(h)Programmes and services for internally displaced children; and
(i)Juvenile justice and the recovery and social reintegration of juvenile offenders.
3.Please also indicate the estimated expenses of the private sector, in particular for health and education.
4.With reference to children deprived of a family environment and separated from parents, please provide disaggregated data (by sex, age groups, if possible ethnic groups, urban and rural areas) for the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 on the number of children:
(a)Separated from their parents;
(b)Placed in institutions; and
(c)Placed through kafalah.
5.Please specify the number of children with disabilities, up to the age of 18, disaggregated by sex, age groups and, if possible, ethnic groups, urban and rural areas, covering the years 2003, 2004 and 2005:
(a)Living with their families;
(b)Living in institutions;
(c)Placed through kafalah;
(d)Attending regular schools;
(e)Attending special schools; and
(f)Not attending schools.
6.Please provide disaggregated statistical data (by sex, age groups, if possible ethnic groups, urban and rural areas) covering the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 on:
(a)Rates of infant and child mortality;
(b)Rates of immunization;
(c)Rates of malnutrition;
(d)Children infected with and/or affected by HIV/AIDS; and
(e)In the area of adolescent health, the rates of early pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), tobacco, alcohol and drug abuse, suicide and other mental health problems; and
(f)The number of health professionals working in the health-care services for children.
7.With reference to child abuse, please provide disaggregated data (by age, sex, if possible ethnic groups and types of child abuse reported) covering the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 on:
(a)The number of reported child abuse cases;
(b)The number and percentage of reports which have resulted in either a court decision or other types of follow-up; and
(c)The number and proportion of child victims who have received counselling and assistance in recovery.
8.Please specify the criteria for “poverty” and indicate the number of children living below the poverty line.
9.With reference to the right to education, please provide disaggregated statistical data (by sex, age groups, if possible ethnic groups, urban and rural areas, internally displaced children) covering the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 in percentage of the relevant age group on:
(a)The rates of literacy (below 18 years);
(b)The rate of enrolment in pre-primary, primary and in secondary schools;
(c)The percentage of children completing primary and secondary education;
(d)The number and percentage of dropouts and repetitions; and
(e)The teacher per child ratio and number of children per class.
10.Please provide disaggregated statistical data (including by sex, age and type of crime) covering the years 2003, 2004 and 2005, in particular on the number of:
(a)Persons below 18, who have allegedly committed a crime, reported to the police;
(b)Persons below 18 who have been charged with a crime and the number of these who are sentenced, and the type of punishment or sanctions related to offences, including length of deprivation of liberty;
(c)Detention facilities for persons below 18 in conflict with law and their capacity;
(d)Persons below 18 detained in these facilities and persons below 18 detained in adult facilities;
(e)Persons below 18 kept in pretrial detention and the average length of their detention;
(f)Reported cases of abuse and maltreatment of persons below 18 occurred during their arrest and detention; and
(g)Persons under 18 tried and sentenced as adults.
11.With reference to special protection measures, please provide statistical data (including by sex, age, if possible ethnic groups, urban and rural areas) for the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 on the number of children:
(a)Involved in sexual exploitation, including prostitution, pornography and trafficking and the number of children provided with access to recovery and other assistance;
(b)Involved in substance abuse and the number of children who received treatment and recovery assistance;
(c)Involved in child labour; and
(d)Unaccompanied asylum-seeking, refugee and displaced children.
B. General measures of implementation
1.The Committee would appreciate to receive specific information on activities meant to implement recommendations contained in the Committee’s previous concluding observations (CRC/C/15/Add.91) on the initial report of the Maldives (CRC/C/8/Add.33 and 37), which have not yet been fully implemented, in particular those related to discrimination against children with disabilities, children born out of wedlock and girls (paras. 15 and 35), the prevention of ill-treatment of children, including sexual abuse (paras. 16 and 36), the prevalence of malnutrition (para. 19), the issue of drug abuse (paras. 22 and 44) and the administration of juvenile justice (paras. 24 and 45), etc. Please explain the obstacles to implementation and how the State party envisages overcoming them.
2.With regard to the review of the Maldivian Constitution by the Constitutional Assembly, please provide information on the results of this review and indicate, if possible, whether the proposed changes to the Constitution will allow the State party to withdraw its reservations to the Convention.
3.Please provide updated information on the plans and/or measures taken to review and harmonize the Law on the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Law No. 9/91) to fully comply with the provisions and principles enshrined in the Convention.
4.Please provide information on cases, if any, where the Convention has been directly invoked in domestic courts, and if so, please provide examples of such cases.
5.Please describe measures undertaken to strengthen data and statistics collection mechanisms and procedures with regard to the implementation of all provisions of the Convention.
6.Please provide information on the activities of the Human Rights Commission particularly related to the implementation of the Convention and the number of individual complaints investigated and their outcomes, and provide specific information on cases involving children (e.g. number and nature of complaints filed by, or on behalf of children). Furthermore, please indicate how the independence of the Human Rights Commission is ensured, in the light of the Paris Principles (General Assembly resolution 48/134, annex).
7.With regard to the implementation of the Convention, please provide updated information on the coordination activities of the restructured Ministry of Gender and Family and a Multi-sectoral Working Group on Childhood Protection.
8.Please provide information on the measures taken to implement the National Plan of Action for the Well-being of the Maldivian Child 2001-2010 and to monitor and evaluate its implementation.
9.Please provide information on the efforts of the State party to:
(a)Draft a National Disability Policy;
(b)Enact an Education Act;
(c)Enact a Labour Law, which has been submitted to Parliament in February 2006; and
(d)Draft a Juvenile Justice Act.
10.Please provide information on the content and the (results of) implementation of:
(a)The Vision 2020;
(b)The Seventh National Development Plan; and
(c)The Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, which is expected to be completed in 2006.
11.Please provide information on the situation of internally displaced children after the exceptional natural disaster caused by the Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004, in particular their access to social and health services, education and housing.
12.Please provide updated information on efforts to disseminate the Convention, the State party report and the previous concluding observations of the Committee (CRC/C/15/Add.91).
13.Please provide updated information on efforts made to provide training, awareness regarding the Convention and human rights in general, to children, parents, teachers, social workers and other professionals working with and for children.
14.Please provide updated information on the cooperation between the State party and the national and international community including non-governmental organizations, in the efforts to implement the Conventions.
15.Please indicate the issues affecting children that the State party considers to be priorities requiring the most urgent attention with regard to the implementation of the Convention.
PART II
Please provide the Committee with copies of the text of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in all official languages of the State party as well as in other languages or dialects, when available. If possible, please submit these texts in electronic form.
PART III
Under this section, the State party is to briefly (3 pages maximum) update the information provided in its report with regard to:
New bills or enacted legislation;
New institutions;
Newly implemented policies; and
Newly implemented programmes and projects and their scope.
PART IV
The following is a preliminary list of major issues (that does not contain issues already covered in Part I) that the Committee may take up during the dialogue with the State party. They do no require written answers. This list is not exhaustive as other issues might be raised in the course of the dialogue.
1.The enforcement of domestic legislation relating to the rights of the child.
2.Respect for the views of the child.
3.Birth registration.
4.Freedom of religion.
5.Violence against children, including corporal punishment, in the family, schools and other institutions.
6.The situation of children with disabilities, access to social and health services, equal opportunities to education, recovery and recreation, public attitudes towards children with disabilities.
7.The health status of children and their access to adequate social and health services.
8.Adolescent health concerns and reproductive health issues.
9.Educational system, including early childhood care and education, enrolment in primary and secondary education, literacy, repetition rates, non-formal education services and training, vocational training and religious education.
10.Illicit use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
11.Economic exploitation of children, including child labour.
12.Sexual exploitation, including child prostitution, trafficking and sale of children.
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