Committee on the Rights of the Child

List of issues to be taken up in connection with the consideration of the third and fourth periodic reports of Rwanda, adopted by the Committee at its pre-sessional working group for the sixty-second and sixty-third sessions (8–12 October 2012)

The State party is requested to submit in writing additional, updated information, if possible before 1 February 2013.

The Committee may take up all aspects of children’s rights contained in the Convention during the dialogue with the State party.

Part I

In this section, the State party is requested to submit its responses to the following questions (30 pages maximum).

1.Please provide information on the implementation of the Integrated Child Rights Policy and its Strategic Plan adopted in 2011 including its budget, coordination, monitoring and evaluation process, indicators as well as the outcomes of programmes implemented so far.

2.Please clarify the status, mandate and capacity of the National Commission for Children, established under the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion, in terms of its human, financial and technical resources to coordinate the implementation of child rights across relevant sectors and from national to local levels. Please also clarify the overlap of mandates and functions between the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotionand the Ministry of Local Government in the implementation of the Convention.

3.Please provide information on the measures taken to guarantee the independence of the National Human Rights Commission and its Child Rights Observatory, in conformity with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (Paris Principles). Please also indicate the mandate of the Child Rights Observatory, the measures taken to provide it with clear organizational structure, adequate financial and human resources and assessment of its achievements in monitoring child rights in the country.

4.Please indicate the measures taken to address discrimination against the most vulnerable and marginalized groups of children, including girls, children from child-headed households, children with disabilities and those affected by armed conflict, and to ensure equal opportunities in access to health care, an adequate standard of living, education and social services. Please also inform the Committee of the progress made on the implementation of the National Policy for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children adopted in 2003.

5.Please inform the Committee of measures taken to implement its previous recommendation (CRC/C/15/Add.234, para. 76) to protect and assure the rights of Batwa children, including the right to their own culture and identity, and to ensure their equitable access to education, health care, social services and adequate standard of living.

6.Please explain the reasons for the low level of birth registration of children in the State party (63 per cent, with less than 7 per cent of them having birth certificates). With reference to Law No. 14/2008, which inter alia imposes penalties, including imprisonment and fine on individuals who fail to declare the birth of their children within the first 30 days, please inform the Committee of measures taken to facilitate and accelerate birth registration of all children under the jurisdiction of the State party.

7.Please update the Committee of the steps undertaken to revise the Law No. 18/2008 relating to the punishment of the crime of genocide ideology in order to bring it in line with the Convention and other international standards on children’s rights, including its provisions related tothe age of criminal responsibility (under 12 years) and penalties to be imposed on children found guilty of genocide ideology.Please provide information on the number of children prosecuted and/or convicted under this law.

8.With reference to the information provided in paragraph 35 of the State party’s report, and the enactment of the new law relating to the rights and protection of children against violence (Law No. 54/2011), please provide information on all the practical measures undertaken to prevent and eradicate all forms of violence against children, including an explicit legal prohibition of corporal punishment in all settings.

9.Please inform the Committee of measures taken to eliminate gender-based violence, particularly sexual violence against girls as described notably in paragraph 55, figure 10.1 and table 10.6 of the State party’s report. Please also inform the Committee of the steps taken to ensure prompt, impartial and effective investigations of all allegations of sexual violence as well as prosecute the perpetrators.

10.With reference to the adoption of the National Strategy for Child Care Reform in March 2012 and the time frame and priorities set up in the strategy, please inform the Committee of the measures taken to protect the rights and best interests of the children affected by the policy on deinstitutionalization. Please also clarify which authority is responsible for the placement and follow-up of children placed in kinship homes, foster care and other care arrangements and how such placements are monitored.

11.With reference to paragraphs 210 and 220 of the report, please provide detailed information on how Law No. 01/2007 of 20 January 2007 relating to protection of disabled persons has been implemented and monitored to specifically protect the rights of children with disabilities. Please also inform the Committee of measures undertaken to eliminate the institutionalization of children with disabilities and ensure that those children, including children with mental disabilities are raised in family environments and have access to inclusive education.

12.With reference to the information provided in paragraphs 237 and 238 of the State party’s report, please provide updated information on policies and programmes implemented to combat the high levels of malnutrition among all children within the State party’s jurisdiction. Please also inform the Committee of the measures taken to scale up the community-based nutrition programme (PNBC).

13.With reference to the information provided in paragraph 260 of the State party’s report that economic inequalities have increased in the country, affecting groups in most vulnerable situations, including children, please indicate the measures taken to address disparities in the enjoyment of children’s rights, in particular their rights to an adequate standard of living, health and education, access to social services, housing and drinking water and sanitation.

14.Please provide updated information on the measures taken and progress made on the implementation of the holistic early childhood development policy under the leadership of the Ministry of Education and the Education Sector Strategic Plan (2010-2015) to reduce school dropout, increase the enrolment and retention of girls in the school system and improve the quality of education. Please also inform the Committee of measures taken to deal with the difficulties upper primary and secondary school students may encounter in adapting to English as a language of instruction, and to improve the pedagogic capacity of teachers, including their English-language skills.

15.Please provide data appropriately disaggregated on the number and “categories” of children held in the transit centre in Gikondo (Kingali) and other detention centres and detailed information on the legal basis of their detention, their living conditions and the authority responsible for the supervision of these centres. Please provide information on any investigations conducted into the allegations that authorities frequently detain children in street situations and those living in poverty in the Gikondo centre in poor living conditions.

16.Please update the Committee on measures to establish children’s courts in all regions and to separate detention facilities for juveniles. Please also indicate the steps taken to ensure that juvenile courts are provided with the necessary human, technical and financial resources to operate effectively, and provide more information on the training provided to the judiciary on children’s rights.

Part II

Under this section, the State party is to briefly (three pages maximum) update the information provided in its report since 2008 with regard to:

(a)New bills or laws, and their respective regulations;

(b)New institutions (and their mandates and funding) or institutional reforms;

(c)Recently introduced policies, programmes and action plans and their scope and financing; and

(d)Recent ratifications of human rights instruments.

Part III

Data, statistics and other information, if available

1.Please provide consolidated budget information for the last three years on resources allocated to children and the social sectors, indicating the percentage of each budget line in terms of the total national budget and gross national product.

2.Please provide data disaggregated by age, sex, socioeconomic background, ethnic origin and geographical location covering the last three years on:

(a)The total number of allegations of abuse and violence against children including all forms of corporal punishment), with additional information on the type of assistance given to child victims and the follow-up provided, including prosecution of the perpetrators and the sentences handed down;

(b)The number of investigations of cases of sexual violence and rape, and the outcome of trials, including information on the penalties to perpetrators, and redress and compensation offered to the victims;

(c)The number of children living with their mothers in prison and the number of these children with birth certificates;

(d)The number of children in street situations;

(e)The prevalence of underweight/stunting in infants and children under 5 years of age;

(f)The prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia among children; and

(g)The number of children infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, the number of maternal to child transmissions, and Government funding for HIV/AIDS for children.

3.Please provide data (disaggregated by age, sex, socioeconomic background, ethnic origin and geographical location) regarding the situation of children deprived of a family environment and separated from their parents. Please indicate, for the last three years, the number of children:

(a)Separated from their parents;

(b)Living in child-headed households;

(c)Placed in institutions;

(d)Placed with foster families;

(e)Adopted domestically or through intercountry adoptions.

4.Please specify the number of children with disabilities, up to the age of 18, disaggregated by age, sex and ethnic origin and geographical location, for the last three years:

(a)Living with their families;

(b)In institutions;

(c)Attending regular primary schools;

(d)Attending regular secondary school;

(e)Attending special schools.

5.Please provide data disaggregated, inter alia, by age, sex, socioeconomic background, ethnic origin and urban/rural areas for the last three years on:

(a)The enrolment and completion rates in percentages of the relevant age group in pre-primary schools, in primary schools and in secondary schools;

(b)Number and percentage of dropouts and repetitions;

(c)Teacher-pupil ratio.

6.Please provide data on social protection measures, disaggregated by age, sex, socioeconomic background and ethnic group, and urban/rural areas), for the last three years, including:

(a)The number of children involved in child labour;

(b)The number of children working as domestic workers;

(c)The number of children involved in hazardous work;

(d)The number work-related deaths, serious injuries and illnesses of children in employment.

7.Please provide disaggregated data on the number and categories of children held in the transit centre in Gikondo (Kingali) and other similar detention centres.

8.Please provide data disaggregated, inter alia, by age, sex, ethnic origin and type of crime, for the last three years, in particular on the number of:

(a)Children who have allegedly committed a crime, reported to the police;

(b)Children who have been sentenced and type of punishment or sanctions related to offences including length of deprivation of liberty;

(c)Detention facilities for juvenile delinquents and their capacity;

(d)Children detained in these facilities and children detained in adult facilities;

(e)Children kept in pretrial detention and the average length of their detention; and

(f)Reported cases of abuse and maltreatment of children which occurred during their arrest and detention.

9.In addition, the State party may list areas affecting children that it considers to be of priority with regard to the implementation of the Convention.