Committee on the Rights of the Child

Seventy-seventh session

15 January-2 February 2018

Item 4 of the provisional agenda

C onsideration of reports of States parties

List of issues in relation to the combined fifth and sixth periodic reports of Seychelles

The State party is requested to submit in writing additional, updated information (10,700 words maximum), if possible before 13 October 2017. The Committee may take up all aspects of children’s rights set out in the Convention during the dialogue with the State party.

Part I

1.Please provide information on the lack of a new comprehensive plan of action to succeed the National Plan of Action for Children (2005-2009) following its evaluation in 2012. Please inform the Committee about the implementation and evaluation of the Social Renaissance National Action Plan (2011-2016) on strengthening the family, the National Action Plan for Early Childhood Care and Education for 2013-2014 and 2015-2016 and beyond, the Education Sector Medium-Term Strategy 2013-2017 and the national Inclusive Education Policy and related action plan.

2.Please provide updated information on progress made in developing the data collection and management system regarding children, including training offered to social workers on its use.

3.Please inform the Committee about measures taken in the tourism and fisheries sectors to protect the rights of children, such as codes of conduct.

4.Please inform the Committee about the effective implementation of the principle of the best interests of the child, particularly in administrative and family matters, and to what extent children’s views are taken into account.

5.Please provide further detailed information on all measures taken to eradicate corporal punishment and the so-called “reasonable chastisement” of children in the family environment, in schools, in alternative care settings and in penal institutions and provide an update on related legislative amendments to the Children Act and the Education Act that were envisaged for 2016.

6.Please update the Committee on any research carried out on the commercial sexual exploitation of children, including child sex tourism, and the results obtained. Please also clarify whether, and when, a single national helpline that was available around the clock had been established and provide statistics on the number of referrals recorded.

7.Please specify progress made in the State party’s review of its policies on alternative care for children deprived of a family environment and provide information on measures to increase the number of foster parents and the status of the ratification of the Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of Intercountry Adoption and its incorporation into domestic legislation.

8.Please inform the Committee about the impact of the measures taken to combat alcohol abuse and drug use among children and the results of sexual and reproductive health education programmes, as well as about the prevalence of suicide among children.

9.Please indicate measures taken or envisaged to address the underrepresentation of girls in the technical and vocational training and education sectors, gender imbalances in the staffing of early childhood educational institutions, related gender insensitivity and the underachievement of boys in school. Please also provide the Committee with information on the 12 strategic policy areas contained in the Inclusive Education Policy.

10.Please update the Committee on further measures taken following the adoption of the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons Act of 2014 and on their impact on efforts to prevent, combat and punish human trafficking and to ensure that child victims are identified, informed of their rights and referred to the appropriate services. Please indicate whether any bilateral and multilateral agreements have been concluded to prevent the sale, trafficking and abduction of children.

11.Please update the Committee on the progress made to include in the Employment Act a list of hazardous work prohibited for children under 18 years and indicate the measures taken to determine occupations or activities prohibited for children under 15 years of age. Please also inform the Committee on the measures taken to increase the effectiveness of child labour monitoring.

12.Please update the Committee on measures taken to bring the administration of juvenile justice into line with the Convention. Please inform the Committee about the age of criminal responsibility and provide information on the separation of children from adult detainees and their treatment in compliance with international standards.

Part II

13.The Committee invites the State party to provide a brief update (no more than three pages) on the information presented in its report (CRC/C/SYC/5-6) with regard to:

(a)New bills or laws, and their respective regulations, including those mentioned in the State party’s report in so far as they relate to the implementation of the Convention, including the Civil Status Act in relation to the minimum age for marriage;

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

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

(d)Recent ratifications of human rights instruments.

Part III

Data, statistics and other information, if available

14.Please provide consolidated information for the past three years on the budget lines regarding children and social sectors by indicating the percentage of each budget line in terms of the total national budget and the gross national product. Please also provide information on the geographic allocation of those resources, on concrete measures taken to strengthen the National Human Rights Commission, including the availability of financial and technical assistance in this regard, and on relevant results obtained from and the experience of programme-based budgeting since its implementation.

15.Please provide, if available, updated statistical data disaggregated by age, sex, ethnic origin, national origin, geographic location and socioeconomic status, for the past three years, on:

(a)Children living with and/or affected by HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases;

(b)Teenage pregnancies and abortions;

(c)Drug and alcohol abuse by children;

(d)Children dropping out of school and the ratio of children who have benefited from phase one of the Ministry of Education’s Technical Vocational Education and Training programme, introduced in 2011.

16.Please provide data disaggregated by age, sex, socioeconomic background, ethnic origin and geographic location regarding the situation of children deprived of a family environment, for the past three years, on the number of children:

(a)Living in institutions;

(b)Placed in foster care;

(c)Living in adoptive families;

(d)Abandoned by their families.

17.Please provide data, disaggregated by age, sex, type of disability, ethnic origin and geographic location, for the past three years, on the number of children with disabilities:

(a)Living with their families;

(b)Living in institutions;

(c)Attending regular primary schools;

(d)Attending regular secondary schools;

(e)Attending special schools;

(f)Out of school;

(g)Abandoned by their families.

18.Please provide data, disaggregated by age, sex and type of offence, for the past three years, on the number of children in the juvenile justice system:

(a)In closed institutions;

(b)In pretrial detention;

(c)Serving criminal sentences.

19.Please provide the Committee with an update of any data in the report that may have become outdated by more recent data collected or other new developments.

20.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.