COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
Fifty-second session
14 September – 2 October 2009
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION
ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
L ist of issues to be taken up in connection with the consideration of the third and fourth periodic reports of Pakistan
Under this section the State party is requested to submit in written form additional and updated information, if possible b efore 3 August 2009
PART I
Please provide information on progress made and obstacles met in incorporating the Convention into the national legal system and on the remaining challenges in this respect. Please, indicate whether the laws implementing the Convention are systematically extended to all provinces and areas of Pakistan.
Please provide updated information on the status of adoption of the Child Protection Bill and the National Child Protection Policy, and indicate the factors that may have obstructed their adoption. Could you please explain the expected effect of the adoption of the Child Protection Bill at Federal level as well as its effect in the provinces, and please specify if this new law will be enforceable in all provinces and areas of Pakistan.
Please elaborate on the level of coordination between the provincial and federal structures with regard to the implementation of the Convention.
GE.09-43473 (E)
Please inform the Committee on the progress made in establishing the Commission for the Welfare and Protection of the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/PAK/3-4, para. 44) and indicate whether the new Commission will have a mandate to monitor the implementation of the Convention and to receive and address complaints from children and if it will be provided with adequate resources to carry out its mandate.
Please indicate whether the Child Protection Monitoring and Data Collection System has been established and, if so, explain the mechanisms in place to coordinate its work with the same systems at provincial level. Please also briefly explain measures taken by the State party to address the financial and human resources constraints of the System’s monitoring body.
Please indicate how children belonging to religious and other minority groups, non-citizens and refugee children are covered by the birth registration system.
Please indicate whether the schedule of implementation of the National Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) Programme has been followed, and if expected results have been achieved, notably as regards the reduction of maternal, neonatal and child mortality and morbidity.
Please provide an update on concrete measures taken to assess the scope of violence against children, including sexual abuse and gender-based violence, and indicate whether a comprehensive strategy and effective measures and policies have been adopted.
Please indicate whether the amendments to the Zina and Hadood Ordinance have brought them in full compliance with the principles and provisions of the Convention. Has a zina-related or hadood-related sentence been pronounced against a child during the reporting period?
Please, explain the difficulties encountered in implementing the education policy, with a special focus on structural, coordination and/or management issues, and indicate whether the State party has been able to fully utilize the resources allocated to education within the fiscal years covered by the reporting period. Please, also inform the Committee on measures taken to address the high number of out of school children.
Please provide information on the concrete measures taken by the District Vigilance Committees to ensure the effective implementation of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act (1992) and the results achieved. Please indicate whether the Anti-Corruption Strategy has contributed to improving the implementation of the Act.
Please inform the Committee on the status of implementation of the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance (JJSO) clarifying whether the implementation rules have been laid down, the required infrastructure and juvenile courts set up and the conflicting legislations amended across the country.
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
Under this section, the State party is invited 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
newly implemented plans of action, programmes and projects, and their scope.
PART III
Data and statistics, if available
In the light of article 4 of the Convention, please provide updated data on budget allocations for children and analysis of trends for the years 2007, 2008 and 2009 on education, health, social services and child protection at the federal and provincial level, as well as in the Northern area. Please, also indicate the percentage of the budget that derives from financial assistance and international cooperation.
Please elaborate on the impact of the financial crisis on the resources allocated for children and indicate whether the State party has been able to meet its commitment to increase allocations to education to 4 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2008-2009 and to increase annually the allocations to the health sector by 16 per cent.
Please provide data on complaints received by the National Commission for Child Welfare and Development (NCCWD), disaggregated by age of the victim, sex, and types of violation, reported for the years 2006, 2007 and 2008. Have any complaints been received for discrimination against children based on race, sex, religion, national, ethnic or social origin, or on any other ground mentioned in the Convention?
With reference to children deprived of a family environment and separated from their parents, please provide disaggregated data (by sex, age groups, ethnic groups, urban and rural areas) for the years 2006, 2007 and 2008 on the number of children:
(a) Separated from their parents;
(b) Placed in institutions (give the number of institutions in the country);
(c) Placed with foster families.
Please provide data on the number of prosecutions, convictions, and sentences passed under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1992 during the reporting period.
Please provide data for 2006, 2007, and 2008 on the number of children victims of sexual exploitation, including prostitution, pornography and trafficking, and the number of those children who were provided access to recovery and social reintegration services. Please also provide data on the number of investigation, prosecution and punishment of the perpetrators.
Please provide statistics on the number of children deprived of their liberty, disaggregated by provinces and regions, by age, sex and type of institution they are detained in, and penalties imposed.
PART IV
The following is a preliminary list of major issues (which does not contain issues already covered in Part I) that the Committee may take up during the dialogue with the State party. They do not require written answers . This list is not exhaustive as other issues might be raised in the course of the dialogue:
Harmonization of legislation with the Convention.
Consistent definition of the child.
Violence against children, including torture, ill-treatment, and corporal punishment.
Harmful traditional practices, such as early and forced marriages, and honour killings.
Children living in poverty, access to clean water, adequate sanitation, food and shelter, including to refugees and internally displaced persons.
Trafficking and sexual exploitation of children.
Economic exploitation, including child labour and its worst forms and bonded labour, addressing its causes, and measures to prevent it.
Administration of juvenile justice, including the implementation of the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, and children deprived of their liberty.
Refugee and internally displaced children.
Children in armed conflict.
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