COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
Forty-second session
15 May - 2 June 2006
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTIONON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
List of issues to be taken up in connection with the consideration of the third periodic report of LEBANON (CRC/C/129/Add.7)
Part I
Under this section the State party is requested to submit in written form additional and updated information, if possible, before 5 April 2006.
A. Data and statistics, if available
1.Please provide disaggregated statistical data (by sex, age groups, ethnic groups, urban and rural areas) covering the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 on the number and percentage of children under 18 living in Lebanon.
2.In the light of Article 4 of the Convention, please provide disaggregated data on budget allocations and trends (in absolute figures and percentages of the national and regional budgets) for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 regarding the implementation of the Convention evaluating also the priorities for budgetary expenditures given to the following:
education (different types of education, i.e. pre-primary, primary and secondary education);
health care (different types of health services, i.e. primary health care, vaccination programmes, adolescent health care, HIV/AIDS and other health-care services for children, including social insurance);
programmes and services for children with disabilities;
GE.06-40455support programmes for families;
protection of children who are in need of alternative care including the support of care institutions;
programmes and activities for the prevention of and protection from child abuse, child sexual exploitation and child labour;
programmes and services for refugee children; and
juvenile justice and the recovery and social reintegration of juvenile offenders.
Please also indicate the estimated expenses of the private sector, in particular for health and education.
3.With reference to children deprived of a family environment and separated from parents, please provide disaggregated data (by sex, age groups, if possible ethnic groups, urban and rural areas) for the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 on the number of children:
separated from their parents;
placed in institutions;
placed with foster families; and
adopted domestically or through inter-country adoptions.
4.Please specify the number of children with disabilities, up to the age of 18, disaggregated by sex, age groups and, if possible, ethnic groups, urban and rural areas, covering the years 2003, 2004 and 2005:
living with their families;
living in institutions;
placed with foster families;
attending regular schools;
attending special schools; and
not attending schools.
5.Please provide disaggregated statistical data (by sex, age groups, if possible ethnic groups, urban and rural areas) covering the years 2003, 2004 and 2005:
rates of infant and child mortality;
rates of immunization;
rates of malnutrition;
children infected with and/or affected by HIV/AIDS;
adolescent health, including early pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), mental health problems (e.g. suicide rates, eating disorders, depression), tobacco use, alcohol and drug abuse; and
number of health professionals working in the health-care services for children.
6.With reference to child abuse, please provide disaggregated data (by age, sex, if possible ethnic groups and types of child abuse reported) covering the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 on the:
number of reported child abuse cases;
number and percentage of reports which have resulted in either a court decision or other types of follow-up; and
number and proportion of child victims that have received counselling and assistance in recovery.
7.Please specify the criteria for ‘poverty’ and indicate the number of children living below the poverty line. Please also specify the support for children living below the poverty line.
8.With reference to the right to education, please provide disaggregated statistical data (by sex, age groups, if possible ethnic groups, urban and rural areas, immigrant children) covering the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 in percentage of the relevant age group on the:
rates of literacy (below 18 years);
rate of enrolment in pre-primary schools, primary schools and in secondary schools;
percentage of children completing primary and secondary education;
number and percentage of dropouts and repetitions; and
ratio teacher per children and number of children per class.
9.Please provide disaggregated statistical data (including by sex, age and type of crime) covering the years 2003, 2004 and 2005, in particular on the number of:
persons below 18, who have allegedly committed a crime, reported to the police;
persons below 18 who have been charged with a crime and of them those who are sentenced, and the type of punishment or sanctions related to offences including length of deprivation of liberty;
detention facilities for persons below 18 in conflict with law and their capacity;
persons below 18 detained in these facilities and persons below 18 detained in adult facilities;
person below 18 kept in pre-trial detention and the average length of their detention;
reported cases of abuse and maltreatment of persons below 18 occurred during their arrest and detention; and
persons under 18 tried and sentenced as adults.
10.With reference to special protection measures, please provide statistical data (including by sex, age, if possible ethnic group, urban and rural areas) for the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 on the number of children:
involved in sexual exploitation, including prostitution, pornography and trafficking and the number of children provided with access to recovery and other assistance;
involved in substance abuse and the number of children who received treatment and rehabilitative assistance;
involved in child labour; and
unaccompanied asylum-seeking, refugee and displaced children.
B. General measures of implementation
1. The Committee would appreciate to receive specific information on activities meant to implement recommendations contained in the Committee’s previous concluding observations (CRC/C/15/Add.169) on the second periodic report of Lebanon (CRC/C/70/Add.8), which have not yet been fully implemented, in particular those related to independent monitoring (paras.15 and 16), the minimum age for marriage (paras.21 and 22), the very low age of criminal responsibility (paras.21 and 22), the right to a nationality (paras.32 and 33), the right to be protected against violence and abuse (paras.38 and 39) and the protection of refugee children (paras.52 and 53) and Palestinian children (paras.54 and 55), etc. have not been sufficiently addressed. Please explain the obstacles to implementation and how the State party envisages overcoming them.
2.Please provide updated information on the status of the Project Laws mentioned in paragraphs 17 and 18 of the State party report.
3.Please provide information on cases, if any, where the Convention has been directly invoked in domestic courts, and if so, please provide examples of such cases.
4.As regards the framework of the program of cooperation between the State party and UNICEF 2002-2006, please provide information on the establishment of a research, information and documentation center for childhood at the Higher Council for Childhood. Please also describe other measures undertaken to strengthen data and statistics collection mechanisms and procedures with regard to the implementation of all provisions of the Convention.
5.Please provide updated information on the activities of the Higher Council for Childhood, particularly information on the development of a national strategy for children.
6.Please provide information on the State party’s and ILO/IPEC’s Time-Bound Programme for the eradication of the worst forms of child labour.
7.Please provide information on the juvenile justice reform in Lebanon and the State party’s collaboration with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in this respect, in particular on how much of the aims of this reform have been achieved.
8.Please provide updated information on efforts to disseminate the Convention, the State party report and the previous concluding observations of the Committee (CRC/C/15/Add.169).
9.Please provide updated information on efforts made to provide training, awareness on the Convention and on human rights in general, to children, parents, teachers, social workers and other professionals working with and for children.
10.Please provide updated information on the cooperation between the State party and the (inter)national community including non-governmental organizations, in the efforts to implement the Convention.
11.Please indicate the issues affecting children that the State party considers to be priorities requiring the most urgent attention with regard to the implementation of the Convention.
PART II
Please provide the Committee with copies of the text of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in all official languages of the State party as well as in other languages or dialects, when available. If possible, please submit these texts in electronic form.
PART III
Under this section, the State party is to briefly (3 pages maximum) update the information provided in its report with regard to:
new bills or enacted legislation;
new institutions;
newly implemented policies;
newly implemented programmes and projects and their scope.
PART IV
The following is a preliminary list of major issues (that does not contain issues already covered in Part I) that the Committee may take up during the dialogue with the State party. They do no require written answers. This list is not exhaustive as other issues might be raised in the course of the dialogue.
The enforcement of domestic legislation relating to the rights of the child.
Discrimination of vulnerable children, such as children with disabilities, refugee and asylum seeking children, Palestinian children, children living in poverty, children in conflict with the law and children living in rural areas.
Crimes committed in the name of honour.
Respect for the views of the child.
Right to a nationality.
Violence against children, including corporal punishment, in the family, schools and other institutions.
The situation of children with disabilities, access to social and health services, equal opportunities to education, recovery and recreation, public attitudes towards children with disabilities.
The health status of children and their access to adequate social and health services.
Adolescent health concerns and reproductive health issues, mental health-care services.
National progress in poverty reduction.
Educational system, including early childhood care and education, enrolment in primary and secondary education, literacy, repetition rates, non-formal education services and training, religious education.
Children affected by armed conflict, landmines.
Asylum-seeking and refugee children.
Palestinian refugee children living in Lebanon and their right to equal treatment and access to social and health services and to education.
Children of migrant workers.
Sexual exploitation, including child prostitution, trafficking and sale of children.
Children belonging to ethnic or national, religious and linguistic minorities.
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