COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILDFiftieth session12-30 January 2009
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTIONON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
List of issues to be taken up in connection with the consideration of the second periodic report of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (CRC/C/COD/2)
PART I
Under this section the State party is requested to submit in written form additional and u pdated information, if possible by 24 November 2008
1.Please provide details on the current status of the draft Child Protection Code.
2.Please provide the Committee with a brief account of the status, mandate, and human and financial resources of the National Council for Children (CNEN), and, in particular, measures taken to improve its ability to perform its tasks and ensure that it plays a coordinating role and carries out its mandate vis-à-vis the provincial councils for children.
3.Please indicate whether any measures have been taken to harmonize the legislation relating to children and bring it into line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (“the Convention”).
4.Please indicate whether the Convention has been invoked directly in domestic courts and, if so, please provide examples of such cases.
5.Please briefly inform the Committee whether the State party intends to establish an independent monitoring mechanism in line with the Paris Principles relating to the status of national institutions (General Assembly resolution 48/134 of 20 December 1993, annex) that will address children’s rights.
6.Please briefly inform the Committee about the role of the Ministry of the Family and its participation in implementation of the Convention.
7.Please briefly describe dissemination and publicity activities, in particular those relating to the Convention and the Committee’s concluding observations on the State party’s initial report (CRC/C/15/Add.153). Specifically, please provide brief information on the implementation of the “National Programme for Civic and Moral Education Integrating Human Rights”.
8.Please briefly inform the Committee about any direct support, including financial support, from the Government for civil-society organizations involved in children’s rights.
9.Please briefly describe, with examples if possible, cooperation between the State party and civil society in the field of children’s rights.
10.Please briefly inform the Committee about any initiatives undertaken, including new legislation, to combat harmful practices such as female genital mutilation and forced marriage which violate children’s rights.
11.Please indicate the issues affecting children that the State party considers to be priorities requiring the most urgent attention in the light of implementation of the Convention.
PART II
Under this section, the State party is requested to briefly (three pages maximum) update the information provided in its report concerning :
New bills or legislation
New institutions
Newly implemented policies
Newly implemented plans of action, programmes and projects, and their scope
New ratifications of human rights instruments
PART III
Data and statistics , if available
1.In the light of article 4 of the Convention, please provide data for the years 2006, 2007 and 2008 on budget appropriations (in absolute figures and as percentages of the national budget or GDP) allocated to implementation of the Convention nationwide in the fields of education and health, and also the reintegration of children affected by the armed conflict.
2.With reference to children deprived of a family environment and separated from their parents, please provide disaggregated data (by sex, age group, and urban or rural area) for the years 2005, 2006 and 2007 on the number of children:
(a)Separated from their parents;
(b)Placed in institutions (give the number of institutions in the country);
(c)Placed with foster families;
(d)Adopted domestically or abroad.
3.Please provide disaggregated data (by sex, geographical location and age), for the years 2005, 2006 and 2007 on the number of children with disabilities:
(a)Living with their families;
(b)Living in institutions;
(c)Placed in foster care;
(d)Attending regular schools;
(e)Attending special schools;
(f)Not attending any school.
4.Please provide disaggregated data (by sex, age group and urban or rural area) on the number of children:
(a)Demobilized from the army;
(b)Demobilized from armed groups;
(c)Who have received counselling or support services;
(d) Reunited with their families or reintegrated into their communities.
PART IV
The following is a preliminary list of major issues ( other than those already covered in p art I) that the Committee intends to take up duri ng the dialogue with the State p arty. They do not require written answers . This list is not exhaustive , and other issues may be raised in the course of the dialogue.
1.The State party’s strategy to significantly strengthen the overall implementation of the Convention, with particular attention to the general principles of the Convention, including article 2 (non-discrimination, in particular with regard to girls, education and minimum age of marriage), article 3 (best interests of the child) and article 12 (respect for the views of the child), and general implementation measures, including:
(a)Legislation;
(b)Budget allocations for children;
(c)General policy papers, including national plans of action.
2.Corporal punishment.
3.Protection of children deprived of their family environment (including regulation and monitoring of care facilities or placement centres).
4.Adoption (policy and legislation; domestic and intercountry adoption).
5.Abuse and neglect (within the family; legislation and penalties).
6.Children with disabilities (including juridical framework for protection; accessibility of schools and health services; training programmes for professionals working with, and support for the families of, children with disabilities).
7.Health (including health-care costs; access to health services; vaccinations; child and maternal mortality rates; malnutrition; adolescent health, in particular teenage pregnancies; sexually transmitted infections; drug and alcohol abuse; and mental health).
8.HIV/AIDS (including HIV/AIDS orphans).
9.Standards of living (increasing levels of poverty, food security).
10.Education (including gender disparities, school attendance and dropout, early childhood education).
11.Refugee children (including access to health care, education and social services, and family reintegration).
12.Economic exploitation (including child labour and the National Committee to combat the worst forms of child labour).
13.Sexual exploitation of, and trafficking in, children (including the root causes).
14.Administration of juvenile justice.
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