Committee on the Rights of the Child
Seventy-sixth session
11-29 September 2017
Item 4 of the provisional agenda
C onsideration of reports of States parties
List of issues in relation to the report submitted by Cyprus under article 8 (1) of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict
The State party is requested to submit in writing additional, updated information (10,700 words maximum), if possible before 16 June 2017. The Committee may take up all aspects of children’s rights set out in the Optional Protocol during the dialogue with the State party.
1.In view of the current wording of the declaration made by the State party upon ratifying the Optional Protocol, please clarify whether 17-year-old members of the armed forces could be deployed to areas in which hostilities are taking place.
2.Please provide updated and detailed information on the measures taken to disseminate the provisions of the Optional Protocol, and indicate whether particular efforts have been made to reach professional groups, children and the general public.
3.Please provide updated information on whether any training specifically on the Optional Protocol has been provided to professionals working for or with children who are likely to have been involved in armed conflict, such as police officers, immigration officials, judges and members of the armed forces.
4.Please provide updated information on any efforts made to collect data on the number of victims of offences under the Optional Protocol among refugee and asylum-seeking children living within the jurisdiction of the State party.
5.Please provide detailed information on:
(a)The school visits to military units of the National Guard and the type of information provided to pupils during those visits;
(b)The type of information provided to 17-year-old recruits and volunteers and whether they are informed about their rights, including those under the Optional Protocol.
6.Please provide detailed information on the centres where 17-year-old conscripts receive their military training. In so doing, please also elaborate on the training received by instructors, including the training they receive on the Optional Protocol, and indicate whether conscripts have access to a mechanism that allows them to submit complaints in complete confidence.
7.Please provide additional information on the 68 cases concerning crimes by underage conscripts that were forwarded to the Attorney General of Cyprus between 2010 and 2014 (see CRC/C/OPAC/CYP/1, para. 75). Please also indicate whether the State party is taking any measures to ensure that children in conflict with the law, whether military or civil law, are always dealt with within the juvenile justice system.
8.With reference to the information provided in the State party’s report (see CRC/C/OPAC/CYP/1, para. 114), please provide updated information on any measures taken towards fully criminalizing the recruitment of children by armed groups. Please also clarify whether the legislation of the State party fully criminalizes all the offences covered by the Optional Protocol, including those committed by private security companies.
9.Please clarify whether the State party can exercise extraterritorial jurisdiction for crimes covered under the Optional Protocol. Please also clarify whether there is the possibility of extradition for all crimes covered under the Optional Protocol in the State party.
10.Please provide updated information on any procedures in place to identify, at the earliest possible stage, refugee and asylum-seeking children or children in migrant situations who may have been or who are at risk of being recruited and/or used in hostilities and clarify whether they are fully protected against any risk of refoulement. Please also provide detailed information on rehabilitation programmes for children affected by armed conflict.