Committee on the Rights of the Child

Eighty-ninth session

17 January–11 February 2022

Consideration of reports of States parties

Replies of Kiribati to the list of issues in relation to its combined second to fourth periodic reports *

[Date received: 2 July 2020]

Part I

Reply to the questions raised in the list of issues of the combined second to fourth periodic reports of Kiribati (CRC/C/KIR/Q/2-4)

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 1 (a)

1.The definition of child exists in various legislation including the Juvenile Justice Act (JJ) 2015, the Children Young People and Family Welfare Act (CPYFW) 2013, the Education Act, Police Powers and Duties Act 2008, Marriage Ordinance Cap 52 (and by consequential amendment from the CYPFW Act), and Prisons Ordinance Cap 77. All of the abovementioned laws define child as a person under 18 years consistent with the CRC.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 1 (b)

2.The Human Rights Division (HRD) under the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is currently in the early stages of developing a National Action Plan for Human Rights in Kiribati which will take onboard the implementation of CRC and other ratified UN Human Rights Conventions as well as the recommendations from the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

3.Currently, the following policies and action plans exist to guide government implementation on the UN Human Rights Treaties:

(a)The Kiribati National Disability Policy and Action Plan 2018–2021 (KNDP) provides the framework to guide the work of all stakeholders in implementing the CRPD;

(b)The National Policy for Gender Equality and Women’s Development 2019–2022 (GEWD);

(c)The Youth Division works towards improving and enhancing the development status and general welfare of the youth and children in relation to the CRC by implementing the Kiribati National Youth Policy and National Action Plan 20182022 (KNYP & NAP).

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 1 (c)

4.The Kiribati Police Service (KPS) has a centralized and improved database managed by the Crime Statistics Office receiving daily crime return from stations on the capital and from outer islands. This system has reduced duplication of work and is very useful for extracting a wider range of information than previously available.

5.The Ministry of Employment and Human Resources (MEHR) is currently working with IOM to develop a labour database that will encompass all employment information in Kiribati. This database will also ensure that information for all businesses across Kiribati are included. Recent amendments to the labour legislation will enable regulators to develop regulations empowering inspectors in combatting child exploitations and all worst forms of child labour.

6.The first ever Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) was conducted in Kiribati in 2018. This survey is called the Kiribati Social Development Indicator Survey (KSDIS) and it generates statistical data and information on the livelihoods of women, men and children ages 17 and under, based on MICS framework with additional modules from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS).

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 2

7.The Social Welfare Division (SWD) is the main implementer of children welfare improvement programs and is coordinating the following welfare services:

•Provision of Counselling services (Online and Face to Face);

•Provision of Care and Protection Policy to address Child abuse and family cases;

•Positive Parenting Programmes;

•Family and Child Protection Unit to deal with family and children issues;

•Provision of Community Impact Assessment for the Parole Board;

•School fee for students whose parent(s) are deceased or living with a disability (underprivileged);

•Kiribati Disability Support Allowance (KDSA) Ages 6–64 yrs.

8.The SWD is working in collaboration with Kiribati Women, Children and Support Centre (KWCSC) to ensure that women and girls have access to justice. Child protection referral pathway is being developed and will be coordinated through a Child Protection Working Group with hope that endorsement will be made in the near future. Child Protection Working Group will be comprised of key actors contributing to the provision of guidance to children in need of care and protection, and those needing immediate assistance including KPS, Ministry of Education (MOE), Office of Public Legal Service (OPLS), SWD, MHMS, MEHR, as well as Communities and NGOs.

9.The Youth Division under the MWYSSA has the core responsibilities of developing, coordinating and managing all youth related programs, initiating and conducting youth training programs at island and national levels, provide technical assistance to NGOs with youth related programs, and representing Kiribati at international and regional meetings. In addition, the Division is responsible for coordinating, monitoring and overseeing implementation of the KNYP & NAP across all government ministries, NGOs, including churches, youth organizations and other stakeholders throughout Kiribati.

10.Under the KNYP & NAP the Youth Division engages collaboratively with line ministries, youth stakeholders, FBOs and civil society to:

•Determine key activities under relevant policy areas and strategies;

•Seek funding to implement the commitments in the NAP which should be incorporated into development strategies and go through regular budget allocation processes of government or donor assistance proposals for NGOs, and to identify funding gaps;

•Implement activities in the NAP within regular stakeholder programs to advance capacity development for young people;

•Contribute to monitoring and reporting, policy reviews and evaluations.

11.It also engages with regional and international development and donor agencies. This is because existing budgetary limitations results in funding gaps in the implementation of activities in relation to areas of capacity building or where technical assistance is required. The role of the development partners is to:

•Provide technical support in their areas of expertise relevant to the KNYP;

•Ensure that country and regional youth related programs/activities are consistent with the KNYP;

•Strengthen linkages between regional support mechanisms and strategies and the national bodies, especially with regard to the Pacific Youth Strategy, Pacific Plan, Pacific Youth Council and others.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 2 (a)

12.Currently, there is no specific budget line for children. Refer to tables under question 12 which reflected the budget and identified activities and Government’s commitment to support children program/activities.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 2 (b)

13.The budget formulation was done by respective line ministries and submitted to National Economic Planning Office (NEPO) for analysis and consolidation. Within the budget calendar and as part of the National Budget process, budget interview is carried out between Budget Committee and line ministries. Committee members also includes NGO and Church representatives. The State budget is extensively debated in Parliament.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 3

14.The MOJ has received the draft report of the national scoping mission for the establishment of a National Human Rights Institution in Kiribati from its technical partners (SPC – RRRT, APF and OHCHR). The draft report is being finalized and scheduled to be available after the presidential elections in June 2020.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 4 (a)

15.Working under MWYSSA, the Women Development Division (WDD) awareness and training on Gender & Sex plus Eliminating Sexual and Gender Based Violence (ESGBV) programs are tools to provide primary and secondary prevention where not only women but vulnerable groups like children and people with disability, are targeted. These programmes work with communities, head of churches, island elders and key line ministries to oversee how these prevention programmes are effective in eliminating all sort of discrimination affecting vulnerable people.

16.The new GEWD acknowledges men and women’s shared roles and responsibilities in achieving peace and the progress of their own families, communities, islands, and Kiribati as a whole. The policy recognizes that, in addition to women, there are population groups who are particularly vulnerable to not accessing opportunities and human rights which include young women and men, and people with disabilities.

17.One of its priority, Gender Mainstreaming will cater for gender issues and working with ministries and communities to find out where the gaps are and how to address them ensuring everyone is included especially women of all ages and people with disabilities. However, the policy implementation plan is still in progress with consultations conducted between the ministry and its key stakeholders including NGOs to identify the roles of each party and to ensure inclusivity in the plan.

18.To ensure the greatest impact, the KNYP & NAP targets specific strategies to various group of youth who face marginalization and are at highest risk of being excluded from community opportunities and resources. These include:

•Young Women – Issues of significance to young women are sexual and reproductive health, mental health, substance abuse, gender-based violence, employment and livelihood opportunities;

•Young Men – Challenges related to sexual and reproductive health, mental health, accidental injury, substance abuse, education, employment and livelihood attainment; and crime;

•Youth with Disabilities – Dedicated attention is required to ensure all youth can genuinely and equally access the existing educational and vocational opportunities and are enabled to transition to employment and income generating opportunities after formal schooling;

•Unemployed youth – Employment and livelihood development strategies need to target the different strengths and stages of unemployed youth;

•Youth in Rural Areas – Issues in particular include isolation, lack of access to education, lack of exposure to civic participation etc;

•Youth at Risk – Some people are vulnerable for reasons associated with STIs/HIV, their mental health and are at risk of self-harm including suicide; some are at risk of exploitation and abuse including those working in the sex trade; others are at risk within their family or through early unplanned pregnancy.

19.ESGBV program is dealt with more extensively through the ESGBV Policy and NAP 201–2021 and its Shared Implementation Plan. ESGBV project conducts awareness raising campaigns through its 16 days of activism every November and has produced local IEC materials on domestic violence.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 4 (b)

20.In judicial proceedings, both the High Court Judges and Magistrates are fully aware the principle of the best interest of the child is the primary consideration under the law when determining the case of children.

21.It is protocol with the Correctional Services under MOJ that children received in custody must undergo medical check-ups on first admission. They are provided with clothing, foods and shelter and they are allowed to do exercises, and be visited by families, etc. They are also given assistance of a legal advisor should they wish to make an appeal or other legal matters. While serving their sentence in prison, they must undergo rehabilitation programs provided.

22.Section 5 of the Education Act clearly stipulates that persons or body with functions under this Act must regard the best interests of the child as the paramount consideration. This is clearly illustrated in s32 of the Act which stipulates that the principal must comply with prescribed health and safety standards and to ensure the school environment is clean, well maintained, safe and secure. The Act also provides guidelines for applying disciplinary actions (s38) which must be administered in a manner that is non-discriminatory and consistent with a student’s human dignity and other rights; disciplinary procedures must be consistent, clear and fair; the student must be afforded the right to be heard; suspension or expulsion from the school should be considered a measure of last resort and; corporal punishment is prohibited.

23.Additionally, the ECCE Act and Education Act provides for free, compulsory, and inclusive education. This is implemented by providing government grants for school fee subsidy at senior secondary levels (form 4–6); school rations for free stationeries to students at primary and Junior Secondary School (JSS) levels, free curriculum materials and resources to all students in primary and JSS. Other measures include:

(a)On-going capacity building to teachers on inclusion and gender in education including Social Citizenship Education; curriculum and assessment procedures, and the provision of free resources;

(b)A Students Behaviour Management and Discipline policy;

(c)Child Safety in School Policy;

(d)On-going research on issues in schools such as school bullying, boys dropping out as well as declining of boys’ performance to inform education policies and procedures;

(e)National Curriculum and Assessment Framework based on principles of inclusive education.

24.Moreover, it has been noted that young girls with disabilities are more likely to give birth at an earlier age than those without disabilities. Furthermore, there is concerned whether their children have been allowed to remain with their biological mothers or have been forcibly removed on the presumption of it being the best for both the child and the young mother (Kiribati Disability Monograph 2015). There still needs to be a research to be made to explore this issue further and its impacts on both the child and mother.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 4 (c)

25.MWYSSA have not yet done specialized training on CRC to all concerned government professionals, however, over the years there have been training on specific articles of CRC, and CEDAW, that have been translated into domestic laws and policies such as workshops with Police officers, MOE, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) and other departments implementing different rights under the CRC.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 4 (d)

26.Although youth engaging in traditional leadership and decision-making settings (mwaneaba system) is still a barrier on most islands, it is current practice in nationwide consultations for new programs or policies to have youths’ organizations representatives consulted, where applicable. There is also an annual Youths Parliament session on Commonwealth Day comprised of junior, senior, and tertiary institutions representatives debating on national issues aired on the national radio and TV. Youths and Children’s Day is celebrated annually in August.

27.A project was launched in November 2019 called the U-Report. U-Report is a global platform connecting people around the world to engage with and to voice out their concern regarding social issues they experience. Resulting from the need for better data collection on child protection issues from young people, the program is supported by UNICEF and uses technology such as text messaging and social media chatrooms to gather views and concerns from young people. The program works by registering a U-Reporter on the relevant social media platform or via SMS, a series of questions are answered and reviewed by UNICEF, analysing the captured issues and referring them to concerned organizations and service providers for action.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 5 (a)

28.The Civil Registration Office (CRO) under MOJ have undertaken a number of mobile birth registration campaigns in previous years to ensure their services reach the population living in the rural areas to register children and adults of all ages who have never been registered. The most recent mobile birth registration was rolled out in 2019 and continues this year. The mobile registration campaign was also an opportunity to issue out birth certificates free of charge.

29.The most recent island to be visited was Maiana and the next two islands to be visited soon is Marakei and Abaiang in the north, and the visit will be financially supported by UNICEF through the Child Protection Programme same as before.

30.The provision of equipment to the outer island councils (such as laptops) to Assistant Social Welfare Officers (ASWOs) to assist in their civil registrations has helped improve registration in the rural areas and increase completed and timely reporting to the main office in the capital, resulting in accurate and reliable information given by parents/informants.

31.Moreover, the CRO has placed a registration officer at the Obstetric Ward at the Tungaru Central Hospital to ensure birth registration services are made available and convenient to parents before they are discharged. This has further contributed to accurate data and on-time registration.

32.The KSDIS reported that nine in every ten children aged 5 and under had their birth registered. And 59% of children under age 5 whose births are registered stated to have a birth certificate.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 5 (b)

33.A good coverage of public awareness was conducted during the mobile birth registration campaigns and a wide dissemination of information leaflets on the value and importance of birth registration.

34.Public awareness on birth registration is also conducted annually during the MOJ’s anniversary program and occasionally over the national radio sponsored quiz program called Te Nimaua Akea.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 5 (c)

35.The Civil Registration Office encourages and accepts registration for all children regardless of whether the mother is married or not. For unmarried parents, there is an acknowledgement form where the father counter-signs to have his name entered in the child’s birth records.

Table 1 (a)

Number of children born to married and unmarried parents (2017–2019)

Particulars	Number of children
Married	5 801
Not stated	1 409
Unmarried	3 993
Total	11 203

Table 1 (b)

Number of children registered with father ’ s name (2017 – 2019)

Sex	Father ’ s n ame u nstated	Father ’ s n ame s tated	Total
Female	748	4 807	5 555
Male	854	4 639	5 493
Not s tated	100	82	183
Total	1 702	9 528	11 230

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 5 (d)

36.The Citizenship Unit under MOJ has taken into consideration the amendment of the Citizenship Ordinance 1979 with the review still in its early stages, partnering with UNICEF and other government stakeholders.

37.Since 2017, the Citizenship Unit has received 19 cases of application, for children born overseas to foreign fathers, to acquire the citizenship of their I-Kiribati mothers. Out of the 19 cases, 3 are pending while the rest have been approved.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 6 (a)

38.Although the Penal Code in s226(4) allowed parent, teacher or other person to administer reasonable punishment to a child they have lawful control of, corporal punishment has been explicitly prohibited in other legislation. For instance, s38(e) of the Education Act 2013 prohibits corporal punishment as a form of discipline in schools. Similarly, the Early Childhood and Education Act (ECCE) 2017 prohibits corporal punishment as disciplinary and punishment measures by the approved providers (s48). The JJ Act 2015 under s22 repealed s26 of the Magistrates’ Court Ordinance Cap 52 which had allowed a magistrate to lawfully impose corporal punishment in the form of a specific number of strokes of a cane as punishment for a boy child’s crimes.

39.Furthermore, children are protected from inflicted physical pain in the CYPFW 2013 which defines a child in need of protection as one who is subjected or at risk of physical abuse and s2 defined physical abuse as an act of violence or maltreatment that results in physical wound or injury.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 6 (b)

40.WDD coordinates ESGBV programmes in Kiribati and they are monitored through the ESGBV taskforce, and smaller monitoring and work committees such as the Safenet Committee and Case Management Review Committee.

41.Through this programme, the Safenet project has set up a database on domestic violence cases collecting data from Safenet frontline service providers for ESGBV such as KPS, MHMS, SWD, Crisis Centre and the KWCSC. In addition, Safenet has created a network to ensure safety of victims/survivors of domestic violence. Furthermore, a case management review committee consisting of the mentioned frontline service providers meet monthly to discuss high risk cases. The direct impact of this is the speed up in dealing with these cases in the courts. However, a lot of these cases were not successful in court due to lack of evidence.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 6 (c)

42.Although, there were instances of young women found boarding fishing vessels and apprehended by the police, no concrete data is readily available to back up the reports of underage women boarding fishing vessels. The police cannot lay charges against them as clearance by the inspection boarding party gives green light to anyone to board afterwards. To address this problem, the restriction of boarding a fishing vessel is included in the license permit issued by the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Development (MFMRD) to the Master or Operator of fishing vessels. The license conditioned that the Master or Operator of the ship must ensure, by recruiting a local security guard, that no one shall board the ship while in port at all times with the exception of an authorized officer defined in the Fisheries Act 2010.

43.The ECCE under s48 protects children from exploitation and harassment by approved providers. The provision of rape and other sexual assault offences under the Penal Code have been amended and replaced with new provisions under the Penal Code (Amendment) Act 2017. These amendments include sexual intercourse, indecent assault or indecent behaviour by persons in a position of trust to the victim. A person in a position of trust is defined as that person holding a position of authority over the victim or the victim is dependent in any way on the offender. Other amendments include incest offences, with rape and attempted rape offences being replaced by unlawful sexual intercourse, and a wider definition of sexual intercourse that is gender-neutral and broadens the traditional concept of penile penetration. These amendments were also made to complement the broad definition of sexual assault under the Family Peace Act 2014 (FPA) that forms part of the domestic violence offence.

44.Kiribati acceded to both the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict on 16 September 2015, and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children child prostitution and child pornography.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 6 (d)

45.The Domestic Violence Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (DCSU) under the KPS has a 24-hour operation and their protection services include a comfort lounge that is used as an immediate measure to house victims of sexual and domestic violence abuses. The comfort lounge provides shelter overnight and victims/survivors are escorted to Social Welfare or the hospital when there is a need.

46.For domestic violence cases the police may issue a Police Protection Order as stipulated in the FPA or restraining order for non-domestic sexual offence cases as immediate protection and prevention of victimization of survivors.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 6 (e)

47.The DCSU’s comfort lounge is located in the KPS compound in a separate and secured building, it is used to accommodate victims temporarily while their safety is being secured. There have been cases when safe houses were not readily available to board the survivors and they continue to stay at the comfort lounge under the protection of the DSCU financially supported through the Victim Support Fund until the time a safe house is located, or when a relative takes them in, or it is safe for them to return home.

48.The KWCSC is an independent NGO providing professional counselling and legal advice to survivors of domestic violence. They also provide shelter for victims in their secured private premises.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 6 (f)

49.The GEWD identifies Stronger Informed Families as its third key priority area, and recognizes the significant occurrences of violence against women and children and therefore sets the elimination of violence against women and children as the fourth priority. Some proposed actions under this policy include:

•Conducting YES I DO Program with Community and Church Based Organization;

•Family laws and Policies Awareness programs;

•Conduct Positive Parenting Program;

•Face to face school counselling programs.

50.Strengthening Peaceful Villages (SPV) is a 4-year project within MWYSSA working with communities on Teinainano Urban Council (TUC) and Betio Town Council (BTC) to mobilise community effort in reducing domestic violence in their communities. The baseline survey took place in February 2018. The date for midline survey is yet to be released, but tentative later in 2020.

51.The SWD facilitates the YES I DO program (which stands for Young Couples, Empowerment, Strategies, Inspired for Development Opportunities). It is designed to help young couples understand marriage life, promoting gender equality in the home, positive parenting methods to reduce or eliminate the use of corporal punishment in homes, to recognize that there are alternative ways of disciplining a child. It is created to help build stronger and nurturing homes for children to grow up in (SWD has dealt with cases of child maintenance which results from the increasing number of separation and divorce). According to SWD database, there are 393 participants in total and with 64% men and 36% women attended from 2018 to 2019. At every new session, pre- and post-tests are facilitated to understand the level of understanding of the participants. It is reported that on a scale of 1 to 9 the majority indicated poor understanding (1 and 2), however, at the end of the workshops most indicated better understanding and more confidence (8 and 9) in the areas of human rights, FPA, positive parenting methods, domestic violence, financial literacy, self-reliance.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 7

52.The Child Support Fund is still being finalized and considered by Cabinet.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 7 (a)

53.The MHMS have carried out the following measures:

•Policies Development:

•Guidelines and training manual;

•Integrated Management of Childhood Illness Policy Framework;

•Expanded Immunization Program.

•Maternal Health:

•Support functionality of National Maternal Perinatal, Delivery Surveirence Response (MPDSR) Committee;

•Conduct workshops with Principal Nursing Officers (PNOs), Medical Assistants (MA), Program Managers and other stakeholders to validate piloted MPDSR tool and review of Monthly Consolidated Statistical Report (MS1) tool to include Family Planning and Child Health commodity tracking at health facility and hospitals;

•And many more to list as in the workplan.

•Child Health:

•Support Expanded Program on Immunization (EPi) and Essential Vaccine Management (EVM) programme – Salary for 1 cold chain officer and activities;

•Finalization and launching of costed Multi-Year Plan (cMYP) and costing tool;

•Develop and implement a costed multi-year Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) action plan (2019–2023) which will encompass among other things (a)improving case management skills of health staff (b) Improving the health system (c)Improving family and community practices;

•Implementation of 2019 costed IMCI action plan.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 7 (b)

54.The improvement of data monitoring and strengthening the integration of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) interventions into primary health care:

•Conduct BMI (Body Mass Index) screening in communities and workplace visited to identify Obese cases (Integrate it with other NCD screening and Health talks);

•Conduct training on Nutrition counselling;

•Adoption of finalized Pacific guidelines for healthy diet and lifestyle;

•Carry out activities towards increasing access of healthy food choices;

•Monitor progress of outreach activities in workplaces and community screened to target adoption of healthy eating habits;

•Rollout, monitor and enforce compliance of school food policy in primary and junior secondary schools;

•Review of School food policy to incorporate pre-schools and to include updated information;

•Agri-production and food nutrition interventions piloted in Junior Secondary Schools and communities;

•Food safety acts and regulations development and enforcement;

•Development of street vendor policy.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 7 (c)

55.The KSDIS reported that adolescent boys are more prone to tobacco and alcohol use than girls in Kiribati, with half the number of boys interviewed have used alcohol in the last month. MHMS plans to strengthen initiatives for alcohol abuse through:

•Review the adequacy of legislation relating to Alcohol in collaboration with Ministry of Justice;

•Support the development of the National Alcohol Abuse Policy;

•Develop and implement community awareness campaigns on Alcohol Abuse.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 7 (d)

56.MHMS aims to improve mental health services through:

•Cross-sectoral efforts to improve mental health programmes and interventions has been implemented through the assistance of WHO & UNICEF;

•Integrated NCD outreach program to follow up mental health cases;

•Strengthening community outreach program on South Tarawa;

•Capacity building for all mental health staff through K-SPEC (Kiribati Safe Practice and Effective Communication);

•Promotion of mental health importance at the workplaces;

•Newly constructed building for dormitory.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 7 (e)

57.For the provision of Sexual Reproduction Health (SRH) education and services and accessibility, the MHMS has provided the following measures:

•Through RMNCAH programs a lot of SRH education and services are offered;

•Support establishment of youth and disability friendly spaces/corners in 3 identified health facilities for integrated youth friendly service provision, including support for young people with disabilities;

•Support validation, endorsement, printing and distribution of the RMNCAH policy Strategy including sustainability of RHCS, with an M&E framework for 2018–2021;

•Monitor and Evaluate progress through RMNCAH Steering Meeting on a monthly basis;

•Provide counselling support and awareness on Healthy Family concepts at the ANC Clinic and Obstetric Ward (male involvement, family planning, breastfeeding, etc).

58.The MOE has integrated age-appropriate education on sexual and reproductive health and rights for all levels of education into the curricula through these topics as covered in the following subjects:

•Healthy Living/Health & PE:

•Years 1 to 8 – WASH program;

•Year 6 – Puberty, Hygiene & Sanitation;

•Year 7 – Personal Health & Safety;

•Year 8 – Sexual Health Risk Factors;

•Year 9 – Physical Growth & Development & SRH;

•Language:

•Years 5, 6, 7 & 8 readers.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 7 (f)

59.To improve access to safe water and proper sanitation for women and girls, in particular those living in rural areas and the outer islands, MISE has the following measures in place:

(a)Outer Island Solar Water Reticulated System – this project improves the access of water outlets for women and girls specially to avoid fetching water from distant sources. This was done by having a shared source of water near 3 to 4 households with taps close by;

(b)Compost Toilets – this does not require water for flushing and the comments from the women and children noted that they no longer need to carry heavy water buckets for flushing as dead leaves/saw dust/ashes are only required for this;

(c)Treatment of Water prior distribution.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 8 (a)

60.To improve retention rates in primary and secondary school, the MOE has taken the following measures:

(a)Improve teaching pedagogies and classroom management strategies to maintain motivation and attendance of students to school by providing on-going Professional Development (CPD) to teachers on new pedagogies, classroom management;

(b)Instructional leadership programme to build the capacity of school leaders to play their roles more effectively in monitoring the performance of teachers, provision of support to areas where teachers need development, on-going monitoring of performance of students to assess impact of effective teaching of teachers;

(c)Provision of more resources in schools such as textbooks to JSS level, literacy and numeracy teaching and learning tools and aides;

(d)On-going review of the curriculum to address deficiencies and improve the curriculum materials;

(e)On-going monitoring of teachers’ performance and attendance as well as assessment of students’ performance;

(f)Strengthening school and community or parents’ relationship so there is effective communication;

(g)Improvement of policies and effective implementation of policies on teachers’ absenteeism or teachers leaves;

(h)Close monitoring of the students’ attendance and improve reporting system to parents and guardians;

(i)On-going research on issues that affect retention rates in schools such as boys drop-out rates, bullying in schools and;

(j)Introduction of extra-curricular programs and integration of some TVET in the curriculum to cater for the diverse learning needs of students rather than focusing on academic education only.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 8 (b)

61.Although accessible infrastructure is still a barrier in the country, work on accessible buildings and other facilities are underway, for example, construction of accessible toilets and sanitation placed at strategically convenient locations for people of all ages living with disabilities. These would enable them to use public washrooms without any difficulties by installation of ramps and handrails/grab rails. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Sustainable Energy (MISE) toilet/washroom projects have to comply with the new building code and to be constructed at public places, community areas, etc. Also, the location of women’s toilet is designed and positioned nearest to the main public access or nearest exits for security purposes and easy escapes. In addition, the location of water source outlets, for example, rainwater harvesting systems, Desal Units, etc are located near households and communal areas for ease of access within ‘safe’ compounds.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 8 (c)

62.The Education Act states under s12 that a child must not be refused enrolment at a school on the basis of their sex, religion, race or disability. The Act provides for students with special education needs under the principle of inclusive education (s19) which states that a child of compulsory school age with a disability or is above the school compulsory age should be enrolled to attend a school and be given the opportunity to participate with other children in school activities, where practicable. They must not be denied access to free primary and junior secondary education because of their disability or age. The Act interprets special educational needs as relating to a child with a disability to have their need for education to be tailored to suit their individual requirements, and to receive other forms of support and assistance so as to maximize the child’s academic and social development.

63.The MOE is also partnering with DFAT to allow capable students from the Kiribati School and Centre for Children with Special Needs (KSCCSN) to be mainstreamed into regular schools with the help of a Student Assistant who helps in the interpretation and guidance of the student in school. MOE had also trained and deployed 12 Teacher Assistants who assist teachers in schools that have students with disabilities. Currently there are 19 disabled students that have been mainstreamed.

64.The National Infrastructure Standard for schools implies that schools must be accessible to cater for children with disabilities.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 8 (d)

65.Guided by four key priority areas, the Kiribati National Youth Policy & National Action Plan 2018–2022 is focused on:

(a)Education and Skills Building – to provide young people with opportunities to develop vocational skills and life skills to enable them to become responsible self-reliant and contributing members of the community;

(b)Economic Participation and Employment – to explore and increase opportunities and means of providing decent employment and livelihood for young entrepreneurs;

(c)Health and Safety – to promote healthy lifestyles amongst youth with special focus on the dangers of alcohol and substance abuse, unwanted pregnancy, STIs, HIV and AIDS and social problems caused by violence;

(d)Social Cohesion and Civic Participation – to promote youth-friendly environments in community and at institutional and at national levels which have the commitment and capacity to respond to youth needs and to nurture youth participation.

66.The Youths Division in MWYSSA has initiated several reform programmes to promote youth’s economic participation and employment such as:

(a)Youth Economic Empowerment;

(b)Youth Loan Scheme;

(c)Skills Building Trainings;

(d)Youth Learning Centers;

(e)Youth Agriculture Skills Training Centers;

67.The Kiribati Institute of Technology, in conjunction with Child Fund in 2017, has initiated its Bridging Course, a programme available that works with unemployed youth. This programme was initiated in BTC and has been extended to Bonriki and one outer island, Abemama. KIT is also looking at ways at which it can extend this programme to other outer islands.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 8 (e)

68.The Education Act under s41 states that the principal must not take disciplinary action against a student because the student is pregnant or is a parent.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 8 (f)

69.The Education Act 2013 provides for the registration of schools and schools must comply with conditions and criteria applicable as approved by the Minister. Operators of schools are issued a certificate of registration and may be put on a probation if the Minister finds on reasonable grounds that a condition of the registration has been contravened or it is in the best interest of the students to put the school on probation. The Operator of the school will be given written notice to address and remedy the deficiencies found as being the reason to put that school on probation and when the Minister is satisfied the operator has taken the necessary steps and address the issues, the school’s registration must be reinstated.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 9 (a)

70.There are several laws protecting children from child labour. The Education Act 2013 under s16 prohibits the employment of a child of compulsory school age.

71.The Employment and Industrial Relations Code (EIRC) 2015 sets the minimum age of employment to 14 years (s115) which is applicable to all types of work including domestic work, family undertakings, work in agriculture, self-employment, apprenticeship and maritime work. However, the minimum age for employment does not apply to work performed in schools that is part of authorized school programme.

72.Section 116 of the EIRC prescribes the minimum age for light work as being children aged 12 or 13 given that the work is unlikely to be harmful to the health and development of the child; does not prejudice the child’s attendance and ability to benefit from school or vocational training; and the light work complies with prescribed requirements.

73.Additionally, the EIRC prohibits the employment and engagement of a child in hazardous work and in worst forms of child labour such as all forms of slavery and prostitution and production of pornography, sale or trafficking of children, recruiting children in armed conflict, debt bondage and forced labour, using children in illicit activities and the production or trafficking of illegal drugs. There are no policies or strategies currently in place. However, a regulation is currently in drafting that will determine what forms of works are considered ‘light works’ or ‘hazardous works’.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 9 (b)

74.The SWD has made contact with children in this situation and have considered conducting a thorough study to better analyse how to address this issue.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 10 (a)

75.Court judges and magistrates have experienced difficulty in dealing with young offenders. Court records does not show children involved in serious crimes, judges and magistrates always give fair judgment as they think fit to penalize young offenders.

76.The separation of prisoners is guaranteed in the Prisons Ordinance under s40, as far as the prison facilities find it practicable. The separation is arranged in the following order:

(a)Male and female inmates to be confined in different parts of the prison;

(b)Prisoners that are waiting for trial from the convicted inmates;

(c)Juveniles from adults and young persons;

(d)Young persons from juveniles and adult inmates.

77.However, due to the limited facility at present, children offenders are housed together with adult offenders. The department has developed and put up a project document to better improve the situation experienced.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 10 (b)

78.Judges and Magistrates are fully aware of measures to take into account when considering the sentences for young offenders. Counselling is always tagged along with every remedy they consider appropriate given to suit the particular circumstance of each young person.

79.There are diversion programmes provided by the Community Policing in partnership with SWD and Youth Division. SWD provides professional counselling where needed whereas the Youth Division provides a training package to child perpetrators called Individual Pathway Plan which help the child avoid future conflicts with the law. These sessions usually run for 1 to 2 hours in a closed one-on-one or group meeting and include life skills, goal setting, communication and how to break the cycle of violence.

80.The Family and Children Protection Unit of SWD provides a Family Conference tailored to the needs of any child needing immediate assistance in the form of mediation/counselling involving key personnel that can contribute to the development of the child concerned.

81.The Correctional Service provides certain rehabilitation activities to the inmates, and due to poor facility, in particular the segregation of inmates, both adult and young inmates merge in one compound and attend rehabilitation together. The program for them are selected by officers in their phases regardless of their ages. The Correctional Service conducts rehabilitation programs in the form of:

(a)Bible study. This is conducted by pastors of the Kiribati Uniting Church;

(b)Alcohol Awareness (AA). The prison hires this organization with cost;

(c)Counselling. This is conducted by qualified staff of the Kiribati Counselling Association (KCA) with cost.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 10 (c)

82.The Judicial Officers of the Judiciary always have opportunities to attend trainings abroad in regard to judicial practices as judicial officers of the Court. They have been training on the Human Rights Conventions including the CRC and have also undertaken internal training on new laws such as JJ Act 2015.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 10 (d)

83.The Education Act stipulates Free and Compulsory Education to all children of compulsory school age. The reintegration of children that have been incarcerated is supported by MOE’s Students Behaviour Management and Discipline Policy.

Part II

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 11 (a)

84.The Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Act (DRM and CC) was passed in 2019. The consultations on the regulations are currently being carried out with relevant stakeholders, with the Office of the Beretitenti (OB) being the lead implementing body.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 11 (b)

85.There are no new institutions established since the submission of the State Report.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 11 (c)

86.Refer to question 4(a) for GEWD Policy, question 4 (d) of U-Report program, and 6(f) for YES I DO initiative and SPV program.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 11 (d)

87.The Government of Kiribati acceded to UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) in July 2019.

Part III

Data, statistics and other information

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 12

88.The government has two budgets namely Recurrent and Development (Project) Budget. Total Recurrent Budget for years 2018 and 2019 are $223,089,587 and $252,488,324 respectively.

Table 2 (a)

Children programs funded under Recurrent and Development Budget (2018 – 2019)

Recurrent Budget
Title	Category	Related ministry	2018	2019
School fees for special needs children	Subsidy	MOE	102 376	102 376
School fees for underprivileged children	Subsidy	MWYSSA	47 988	56 000

Table 2 (b)

Development Budget (Project)
Title	Donor	Related ministry	Project cost
Child protection	UNICEF	KPS	194 781
Child protection	UNICEF	MOJ	130 318
Child protection	UNICEF	MWYSSA	12 848
Convention on the Rights of the Child	UNICEF	MWYSSA	10 285

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 13 (a)

89.The legal age of marriage is set at 21 years for both sexes, and marriage at 18 years is permitted given parental consent. Elopement among underage couples is very popular and common law is oftentimes applied in determining marriage-related issues. Old custom practice allows arranged marriages even for children aged 13 years, but it is not very practiced nowadays as most people now choose their own spouses. The KSDIS showed that in the case of women age 20–24 who were first married before 15 years is 2.4% while 18.4% were married before 18 years of age. Additionally, 1.7% of men first married before the age of 15 while 8.6% of men married before the age of 18 years. The KSDIS further reported that almost 1 in every 5 women aged 20–24years was married before the age of 18. Rural-urban disparities exist in Kiribati. 1in 4 women age 20–24 in rural areas were first married or in union before age 18 compared to 1 in 7 women age 20–24 in urban areas.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 13 (b)

90.The CRO accepts registration of children free of charge from birth up to 12 months, later registration will incur a small fee. The table below provides the number of children born at hospital and at home for 2017 to 2019, registered on time or beyond the prescribed registration period.

Table 3

Number of children born at home and hospital for the period 2017 – 2019

Island	Born a t h ome	Born a t h ospital	Grand total
On- t ime	Late	Total	On t ime	Late	Total
Marakei	40	48	88	43	4	47	135
Abaiang	111	60	171	79	6	85	256
Abemama	40	23	63	41	5	46	109
Aranuka	1	15	16	6	3	9	25
Arorae	9	20	29	18	1	19	48
Banaba	0	8	8	2	2	4	12
Beru	21	24	45	19	11	30	75
Butaritari	66	60	126	12	6	18	144
Christmas	4	28	32	161	6	167	199
Fanning	33	35	68	3	3	6	74
Kuria	5	3	8	40	1	41	49
Maiana	14	40	54	21	0	21	75
Makin	5	4	9	23	1	24	33
North Tarawa	62	249	311	17	34	51	362
Nikunau	24	39	63	16	8	24	87
Nonouti	57	38	95	6	1	7	102
Onotoa	33	18	51	20	2	22	73
South Tarawa	469	1 788	2 257	5 909	825	6 734	8 991
Tab North	14	34	48	158	12	170	218
Tab South	19	73	92	22	2	24	116
Tamana	8	11	19	17	2	19	38
Washington	0	7	7	0	2	2	9
Grand t otal	1 035	2 626	3 660	6 633	937	7 570	11 230

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 13 (c)

91.The DCSU stated that in 2017 there was a total of 147 cases involving child victims under 18 years; 131 reported cases in 2018 and; 89 cases in 2019. From those numbers, there were 37 instances of sexual offence cases in 2017; 33 in 2018; and 25 instances of sexual abuse in 2019. Cases of this nature have the penalty of imprisonment.

92.The ESGBV reported 35 cases of child abuse in 2019, 24 of which involved female victims. The table below shows the number of violence against children for the years 2017 to 2019, and the type of violence committed.

Table 4

Number and types of violence against children for the period 2017 – 2019

2019
Age g roup	Unknown	Physical	Psychological	Sexual	Economical
0 – 14	35	13	9	23	0
15 – 17	1	10	9	16	0
2018
Age g roup	Unknown	Physical	Psychological	Sexual	Economical
0 – 14	4	12	1	28	0
15 – 17		3	1	6	1
2017
Age g roup	Unknown	Physical	Psychological	Sexual	Economical
0 – 14	6	44	2	25	1
15 – 17	3	18	2	6	0

93.The Family and Children Protection Unit received 83 cases of abuse, neglect and exploitation of children under 18 years in 2017; 69 cases of the same nature in 2018; and 37 cases in 2019. Some of these cases were referred to Counselling Unit and it is reported that out of the total cases this Unit received in 2018, 33% concerns children under 18 years, 17% in 2019, and 26% in 2020 so far.

94.Furthermore, the KSDIS reported that both boys and girls suffer from violent discipline. The abuses are mainly in the form of physical punishment, with nine in every ten children age 1–14 had experienced any type of violent discipline (any physical punishment and/or psychological aggression).

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 13 (d)

95.No administrative data available.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 13 (e)

96.The KSDIS reported that on average, 51 in every 1,000 adolescent girls aged 15–19 years have had a live birth in the 3 years preceding the survey. The adolescent birth rate is highest in Line and Phoenix and among women with pre-primary or no education.

97.MHMS’s RMNCAH Program has initiated activities that address teenage pregnancies such as establishing YFC – Youth Friendly Clinics where youth are encouraged to visit this clinic and seek help or counselling related to teenage unwanted pregnancy.

98.MOE curricula review addressed the issue of teenage pregnancy and in reducing the incidence of early pregnancy, these topics are covered in the following subjects:

•Health & PE:

•Year 8 – Sexual Health Risks Factors;

•Year 9 – Physical Growth & Development, SRH & Building safe and healthy relationships;

•Moral Education:

•Year 7 – Youth Personality, Relationships & Development;

•Year 9 – Personality & Relationships and Making Good Choices.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 13 (f)

99.The current formal education system from Years 1 to 13 does not yet reflect in their data whether adolescent mothers stay in or return to school. This will be absorbed in future data collection.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 13 (g)

100.There are no administrative data available for worst forms of labour, however, the KSDIS reported that about 15% of children age 5–17 years are working under hazardous conditions with more boys (20%) working under hazardous conditions than girls (10%). It further showed that 25.4% of children age 5–17 years are involved in child labour. The survey defined child labour as:

•Age 5 to 11 years: At least 1 hour of economic work, 28 hours of unpaid household services per week or hazardous working conditions;

•Age 12 to 14 years: At least 14 hours of economic work, 28 hours of unpaid household services per week or hazardous working conditions;

•Age 15 to 17 years: At least 43 hours of economic or unpaid household services per week or hazardous working conditions (economic activities include paid or unpaid work for someone who is not a member of the household, work for a family farm or business whereas household chores include activities such as cooking, cleaning or caring for children, as well as collecting firewood or fetching water).

101.Furthermore, the survey stated that children living in rural areas (28%) are more likely to be involved in child labour than children in urban areas (23%), while children in the lowest wealth group (27%) are more often involved in child labour than children in the highest wealth group (19%).

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 14 (a) and (b)

102.The MOE has encouraged and mainstreamed children with disabilities in regular primary and Junior Secondary schools (JSS). See tables below showing statistical data on the number of children enrolled in both primary and JSS across the islands of Kiribati, disaggregated by sex, school level, and type of disability for the period 2017 to 2019.

Table 5 (a)

Number of children with disabilities enrolled in regular primary and secondary schools, disaggregated by sex and type of disability for the period 2017 to 2019

Enrolment of Children by disability type in primary and secondary school levels
Survey Year	2017	2018	2019	Grand t otal
Type of d isability	Female	Male	2017 Total	Female	Male	2018 Total	Female	Male	2019 Total
Hearing i mpairment	33	70	103	44	57	101	76	91	167	371
Learning d isability	203	279	482	309	469	778	119	206	325	1 585
Mental d isability	6	7	13	9	15	24	61	128	189	226
Multiple d isabilities	4	9	13	8	15	23		1	1	37
Other d isability	10	8	18	4	10	14	12	13	25	57
Sight i mpairment	20	33	53	43	61	104	40	68	108	265
Speech i mpairment	21	72	93	30	87	117	40	110	150	360
Moving impairment	6	14	20	6	14	20	18	25	43	83
Gripping impairment	4	5	9	22	20	42	1		1	52
Grand t otal	307	497	804	475	748	1 223	367	642	1 009	3 036

Table 5 (b)

Number of children with disabilities enrolled in primary and junior secondary schools (JSS) across Kiribati for the period 2017 to 2019

Children with disability enrolment in Primary and Secondary School
Survey y ear	2017	2018	2019	Grand t otal
School l evel	Female	Male	2017 T otal	Female	Male	2018 T otal	Female	Male	2019 T otal
JSS	104	135	239	129	204	333	125	187	312	804
Primary	203	365	565	345	544	895	242	455	697	2 125
Grand total	307	497	804	475	748	1 228	367	642	1 009	3 036

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 14 (c)

Table 6 (a)

Number of Students enrolled at the KSCCSN in 2017

Number of Students enrolled at KSCCSN for 2017 by Area
Area	Betio	Bairiki-Nanikaai	Teaoraereke-Ambo	Taborio-Abarao	Bikenibeu-Temaiku	Bonriki-Buota	Outer/ Overseas	Total
Age g roup	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F
3 – 4															0
5 – 7			2		2				2	2		1			9
8 – 9	2			2	2	1			1	2	1				11
10 – 12	2				2	1	1			1				1	8
13 – 16															0
17 – 20						1		1	1						3
21 – 28		1			1					2	1		1	1	7
Total	4	1	2	2	7	3	1	1	4	7	2	1	1	2	38

Table 6 (b)

Number of students enrolled at KSCCSN in 2017 according to types of disabilities

Number of Students enrolled at KSCCSN for the year 2017 by Disability Type
Disability type	Intellectual	Physical	Deaf	Down syndrome	Blind	Autism	Low vision	Cerebral Palsy	Multiple disability	Speech delay	Total
Age group	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F
3 – 4																					0
5 – 7			1		1	3					1				3						9
8 – 9	1	1		1		1					2	1	1	1	1			1			11
10 – 12	1	2	1		1						1		1	1							8
13 – 16																					0
17 – 20												1		1				1			3
21 – 28	3	1				1			1								1				7
Total	5	4	2	1	2	5			1		4	2	2	3	4		1	2			38

Table 6 (c)

Number of students enrolled at KSCCSN by Area for 2018 to 2019

Number of students enrolled at KSCCSN for the period 2018 – 2019 by Area
Area	Betio	Bairiki-Nanikaai	Teaoraereke-Ambo	Taborio-Abarao	Bikenibeu-Temaiku	Bonriki-Buota	Total
Age group	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F
3 – 4	2	2							1	1	2		8
5 – 7	10	6	1	2	4	1	3		2	2	3	2	36
8 – 9	4	3	2		1	1	1	2	4	3	2	3	26
10 – 12	4				3		1	1	2	2	1	1	15
13 – 16	2	1	1		2	2	1	1	5	3	1		19
17 – 20									3	1			4
Total	22	12	4	2	10	4	6	4	17	12	9	6	108

Table 6 (d)

Number of students enrolled at KSCCSN in 2018 and 2019 according to types of disability

Number of students enrol l ed at KSCCSN for the period 2018 – 2019 by Disability Type
Disability t ype	Intellectual	Physical	Deaf	Down s yndrome	Blind	Autism	Low v ision	Cerebral Palsy	Multiple d isability	Speech d elay	Total
Age g roup	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F
3 to 4					1	1					1	1							2	1	7
5 to 7	3		1	4	7		1	1			11	3				1	1		2	1	36
8 to 9	3	4	1	2	4					1	4	1	2	2		1	1			1	27
10 to 12	4	2	3			1	1				1	1			1		1			1	16
13 to 16	6	6	2		2	1	1										1				19
17 to 20	2	1																			3
Total	18	13	7	6	14	3	3	1		1	17	6	2	2	1	2	4		4	4	108

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 14 (a)

103.The KSCCSN has identified several reasons why children with disabilities are out of school: they are either school leavers, deceased, mainstreamed to regular schools, moved to outer islands or abroad. There is a total of 161 students (96 males and 65 females) enrolled at the school from 2008 to 2020 but never turned up because of the above reasons. Table 7

Number of out of school children with disabilities, 2008–2020

No. of Deceased
	Male	Female
Blind	1	2
Physical	1	2
Autism	2	1
Low v ision	1	0
Intellectual	2	1
Down s yndrome	1	3
Cerebral Palsy	1	0
Total	9	9
No. of Mainstreamed, Outer island, Overseas
	Male	Female
Autism	1	1
Cerebral Palsy	0	1
Low v ision	4	3
Intellectual	8	1
Physical	2	1
Down s yndrome	0	1
Deaf	5	4
Blind	3	0
Total	23	12
No. of School Leavers
	Male	Female
Physical	12	3
Hydrocephalus	0	1
Autism	8	10
Multiple d isability	8	1
Down s yndrome	3	1
Deaf	13	5
Cerebral Palsy	1	3
Blind	4	3
Intellectual	14	14
Low v ision	1	3
Total	64	44

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 15 (a)

Table 8 (a)

Recorded number of young offenders between 10 to 14 years old for the year 2019

Young Offenders Ages Between 10 – 14 Years ol d f or 2019
Crime Category	Unknown	Male
Fraud, Larceny, Forgery & Counterfeiting
Theft		6
Liquor Offences
Drinking Underage		1
Others		1
Nuisances & Other Miscellaneous Offences
Criminal Trespass		4
Insulting Word	1
Offences Against/Endangering Life & Health
Assault		1
Grand t otal	1	13

Table 8 (b)

Recorded number of young offenders under 18 years for the year 2019.

Young Offenders Ages Under 18 Years o ld f or 2019
Crime Category	Female	Male
Lawful & Public Order Offences
Breached o f Court Order	1
Challenge t o Fight		2
Liquor Offences
Drinking Underage	2	14
Drunk a nd Disturbance		6
Others		3
Nuisances & Other Miscellaneous Offence
Common Nuisance		2
Criminal Trespass		10
Insulting Word		2
Offences Against Property
Damaging Property		2
Offences a gainst/Endangering Life & Health
Assault		8
Cruelty t o Children		1
Serious Traffic Offences
Careless Driving		1
Drunk a nd Driving		1
Sexual Offences
Abduction		1
Grand t otal	3	53

Table 8 (c)

Recorded number of victims between 10 to 14 years for the year 2019

Victims Ages Between 10 – 14 Years o ld f or 2019
Crime Category	Female	Male
Liquor Offences
Drunk a nd Disturbance		1
Nuisances & Other Miscellaneous Offences
Criminal Trespass		1
Inciting Dogs t o Attack		1
Offences Against/Endangering Life & Health
Assault	6	9
Cruelty t o Children	2	1
Wounding		1
Serious Traffic Offences
Careless Driving	1
Reckless Driving	1	1
Sexual Offences
Abduction	1
Indecent Assault	5
Rape	3
Grand t otal	19	15

Table 8 (d)

Recorded number of victims under 18 years for the year 2019

Victims Ages Under 18 Years Old For 2019
Crime Category	Unknown	Female	Male
Liquor Offences
Drunk a nd Disturbance		1	1
Nuisances & Other Miscellaneous Offences
Criminal Trespass		1	1
Inciting Dogs t o Attack			3
Insulting Word		1
Offences Against/Endangering Life & Health
Assault		16	15
Assault Causing Actual Bodily Harm		1
Cruelty t o Children		6	3
Sudden Death			1
Wounding			1
Serious Traffic Offences
Careless Driving		3	3
Dangerous Driving Causing Death			2
Reckless Driving		1	1
Sexual Offences
Abduction		1
Attempted Rape		1
Defilement		1
Indecent Assault		8
Rape	2	7
Grand t otal	2	48	31

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 15 (b)

104.The CP unit of the KPS reported a total number of 12 cases involving child perpetrators in BTC that have been referred to diversion programmes for 2020; 8 have been completed and 4 are ongoing.

105.The diversion programme consists of counselling and setting ground rules or certain conditions which the child has to observe to give them the opportunity to avoid a court case or a tainted police record. These diversion programmes are led by the CP along with a pastor or catechist depending on the religion of the child, and a Social Welfare or Youth Officer, depending on the circumstances of the case. The programme monitors the child on a monthly basis. The child has to conform with a 10:00 pm curfew and good attendance at school among other requirements. The most difficult cases are referred to court.

106.Throughout the years, it is known for the number of child offenders to peak usually during long holidays such as Independence week, school term breaks or Christmas holidays.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 15 (c)

107.Both in the High Court and Magistrate Court, a young offender could only be given a day to be arrested and bailed out same day. In most cases, the child offender awaits trial at home and a police officer usually escorts them directly to court.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 15 (d)

108.See the table below for statistical data on children serving sentences in detention, and the length of the sentences in different locations across the islands of Kiribati. There are three main prison camps: one in Bairiki and another in Betio on South Tarawa; the third on Christmas Island.

Table 9

Record of young offenders showing age, sex, type of offence and the length of sentence served in detention for the period 2016 to 2020

Year	No of detained children	Age	Sex	Type of offence	Sentence	Prison
2016	1	17 yrs	Male	Attempt to steal, Damaging property and Criminal trespass	1 yr 7 months	Betio
	1	17	Male	Damaging property, Criminal trespass	6 months	Betio
	1	17	Male	Criminal trespass	6 months	Christmas
	1	17	Male	Throwing object, resisting arrest and escape from custody.	1 year	Christmas
2016 Total: 4
2017	1	17	Male	Criminal trespass & Drunk underage	3 weeks	Tabuaeran
	1	17	Male	Criminal trespass & Drunk under age	5 months	Christmas
	1	17	Male	Drunk underage	1 week	Abaiang
	1	17	Male	Drunk and disorder, Drunk underage	1 month/Fine $10.00	North Tarawa
	1	17	Male	Criminal trespass, Drunk underage, Damaging property and Shouting	1 year	Betio
	1	17	Male	Drunk underage and Criminal trespass	3 months	Nonouti
2017 Total: 6
2018	1	17	Male	Criminal trespass, drunk underage, Damaging property and Shouting	1 year	Betio
	1	17	Male	Drunk underage	6 months	Betio
	1	17	Male	Drunk underage, escape from Custody	3 years	Betio
	1	17	Male	Drunk underage, drunk and disorder	6 months$50.00	Betio
	1	17	Male	Consuming liquor	2 weeks$500.00	Betio
	1	16	Male	Consuming liquor	2 months$500.00	Christmas
2018 Total: 6
2019	1	18	Male	Criminal trespass	6 months	Betio
	1	18	Male	Drunk underage, escape from Custody	3 years	Betio
2019 Total: 2
2020	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 16

109.It is reported in the Kiribati Voluntary National Review and Kiribati Development Plan (KDP) Mid-Term Review 2018 (VNR), a special SDG Taskforce was established with members selected from among the Development Coordination Committee (DCC) followed by an intensive consultation period with all stakeholders. Each partner was educated on the importance of the SDGs, data collection, and the timeline for the review. Stakeholder consultations identified issues with capacity constraints; competing priorities; stakeholder engagement; lack of alignment between the national, regional and global indicator sets; insufficient resources; baseline data issues; and poor capacity to collect and analyse data.

110.Although the national planning documents, such as KV20, have gone through extensive consultation process including visits to the outer islands communities, time and resource constraints during the review resulted in limited coverage of the outer islands and youth groups, this is taken into consideration for future reviews to provide better coverage, to ensure on one is left behind.

111.The VNR showed that Kiribati Vision in 20 Years (KV20), the KDP and SDG has several areas of indicator fragmentation and poor data collection, as well as highlighting the fact that some global, regional and national indicators are beyond government’s capability to effectively monitor. Consequently, national goals and indicators will be realigned for the second half of the four-year term of the KDP. The VNR further stated that with the developing framework for the KV20, there is substantial scope to further reduce fragmentation of planning documents and indicators.

112.The VNR also highlighted a number of policy commitments to achieve SDG targets for inclusive growth such as: the new policy for persons living with disability which aims to protect and safeguard their interests and inclusivity; the youths policy to ensure all youth inclusively are developed to contribute effectively to nation development through sports, culture-based arts, talents, volunteer youth work, etc.; the gender policy addressing women and children needs for safe environments, women’s economic empowerment, and increased participation in leadership and decision making.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 17

113.Refer to data provided in Part III.

Reply to the issue raised in paragraph 18

114.Climate Change and Sea Level Rise remain one of the most pressing issues for Kiribati. The Kiribati Joint Implementation Plan 2014–2022 (KJIP) considers the needs and vulnerabilities of children in all climate change and disaster risk management planning. The OB has developed a revised KJIP (2019–2028) mainstreaming actions which are gender-responsive and disability-inclusive. At the local government level, this is reflected through the Whole of Island Approach which is an integrated approach towards addressing climate change vulnerabilities across Kiribati.

115.Priority must be placed towards supporting children with disabilities to attend mainstream schools. As children with disabilities may have special needs to access schools, the State may want to consider providing additional financial support or in-kind support to ensure access education for children with disabilities across their school age. This would also complement the already existing support that the MOE has already in place for children with and without disabilities.

116.Although extreme hunger is not experienced in Kiribati, it is reported in the VNR 2018 that poor nutrition is a major issue in Kiribati. Health issues such as overweight and malnutrition in children is still a significant public health concern involving almost one quarter of children aged five and under. The health of children is greatly impacted by food security and nutrition therefore in response the government has developed a policy to empower homes and communities to build and sustain food and nutrition security across the islands. Because of limited farmland with soils not ideal for agriculture together with harsh climate conditions, projects are focused on improving traditional crops that are able to withstand the local climate as well as introducing other fruits, vegetables and root crops.

117.Priority should be placed towards children neglected and abused at home. Establishing an alternate care center or a children center should be considered (and other alternate care such as a foster home to accommodate children temporarily and long term). There is a great concern on the growing number of instances involving children neglected, unsupervised and abused at home, some of which have ended up living on the streets, public places like sports complex, public square and in front of supermarkets in the urban areas of the capital. There are existing safe houses for temporary accommodation but these are insufficient as they do not cater for all the child needs. Community plays a critical role in alternative care but they do not provide all the necessary needs of the child and do not always meet all standards or the highest care possible.