Committee on the Rights of the Child

List of issues to be taken up in connection with the consideration of the combined third andfourth periodic reports of Armenia, adopted by the Committee at itspre-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 1February 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 updated information regarding the implementation and impact of the 2004–2015 National Programme for the Protection of Children`s Rights. Please also provide details on the work of the National Commission for the Protection of Childrenregarding the implementation of this programme.

2.Please provide information on measures taken to ensure effective national coordination of activities in the field of children`s rights at the national level and between the national and the local level.

3.Please provide updated information on the work of the national Human Rights Defender’s Office, in particular the special division on children’s rights, including information on resources provided and measures taken to address the lack of implementation of recommendations of the Human Rights Defender. Please also inform the Committee whether there have been any complaints made by children and any follow-up to those complaints.

4.Please provide updated and comprehensive information on allocation of financial resources to satisfy the needs and rights of children in the field of education, health and social protection in the State budget, including possible suspension of programmes as a consequence of the financial crisis. Please also inform the Committee of measures taken to counter corruption in the State party.

5.With reference to the Committee`s previous recommendations (CRC/C/15/Add.225, para. 12), please reportwhether any steps have been taken to establish a single comprehensive system for the collection of data on children that can be disaggregated, analysed and regularly evaluated.

6.With reference to the Committee`s previous recommendations (CRC/C/15/Add.225, para. 24), please provide detailed information on measures taken to prevent and eliminate discrimination, in particular discrimination on the grounds of sex and gender, religion and social origin.

7.With reference to the Committee`s previous recommendation (CRC/C/15/Add.225, para. 40), please indicate the measures taken to explicitly prohibit corporal punishment in all settings. Also, please indicate specific measures adopted to raise awareness of the harmful consequences of corporal punishment and foster positive methods of child-rearing.

8.Please provide detailed information on policies aimed at preventing institutionalization of children. Please also provide additional information on the pilot programme on deinstitutionalization of children and on the programme on services for return of children in the care of childcare institutions of the Republic of Armenia to their families (deinstitutionalization)and its implementation. Please further inform the Committee of the progress made in developing family-type settings, such as a network of foster care families or small group settings.

9.Please provide updated and detailed information concerning the measures taken to promote inclusion into society of children with disabilities and develop inclusive education in the State party.

10.Please provide additional information on the impact of reforms in the health sector. Please include details on measures to improve the financing of the health-care sector and making it more sociallyoriented, as well as education on health issues. Furthermore, please provide additional information on issues relating to adolescent health.

11.Please provide information on measures taken to combat malnutrition and anaemia,particularly in rural areas. Please also provide information on measures taken to promote exclusive breast-feeding.

12.Please inform the Committee of targeted measures taken to reduce child poverty and support poor families. In addition, please provide information on the provision of necessary resources, as well as their impact, including updated information on the implementation and the number of beneficiaries of decision No. 994-N of 8 August 2003 on approving the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper.

13.Please provide information on the progress made by the State party to improve the services, facilities and infrastructure of schools, in particular in rural areas. In addition, please provide detailed information on the impact of education reforms on all children, in particular children in vulnerable situations. Please also provide information on the availability of early childhood education for all children in the State party.

14.Please provide information on any measures taken to follow-up the Committee`s previous recommendations on the administration of juvenile justice (CRC/C/15/Add.225, para. 40), in particular, whether a special legal framework on juvenile justice and specialized juvenile courts have been established and whether all the personnel in field of juvenile justice received appropriate training. In addition, please provide statistical information on the number of children in pretrial detention, the facilities in which they are kept and whether they are separated from adult detainees.

Part II

In this section the Committee invites the State party to briefly (three pages maximum) update the information presented in its report with regard to:

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

(b)New institutions (and their mandates) 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, if available, updated statistical data (disaggregated by age, sex, geographic location ethnic origin and socioeconomic background) for the last three years on the number of:

(a)Marriages of girls under the age of 18;

(b)Children living below the (extreme) poverty line;

(c)Families/children receiving State benefits;

(d)Registered and unregistered births;

(e)Violence against children, including corporal punishment and gender-based violence;

(f)Sexual exploitation and abuse of children;

(g)Children living in institutions;

(h)Children placed in foster families;

(i)Child and infant mortality;

(j)Children suffering from chronic diseases;

(k)Children with disabilities attending regular schools and special schools;

(l)Out-of-school children.

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

3.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.