COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILDForty-third session11-29 September 2006

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTSOF THE CHILD

List of issues to be taken up in connection with the considerationof the initial report of SWAZILAND (CRC/C/SWZ/1)

PART I

Under this section the State party is requested to submit in written form additional and updated information, if possible, before 5 August 2006 .

A. Data and statistics, if available

1.Please provide disaggregated statistical data (by sex, age groups, urban and rural areas) covering the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 on the number and percentage of children under the age of 18 living in Swaziland.

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 2003, 2004 and 2005 regarding the implementation of the Convention, evaluating also the priorities for budgetary expenditures given to the following:

(a)education (different types of education, i.e. pre-primary, primary and secondary);

(b)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);

GE.06-42683 (E) 030706

(c)programmes and services for children with disabilities;

(d)support programmes for families;

(e)support for children living below the poverty line;

(f)protection of children who are in need of alternative care, including the support of care institutions;

(g)programmes and activities for the prevention of and protection from child abuse, child sexual exploitation and child labour;

(h)programmes and services for children belonging to minorities;

(i)programmes and services for abandoned children, including street children; and

(j)juvenile justice and the rehabilitation of juvenile offenders.

3.With reference to children deprived of a family environment and separated from their parents, please provide disaggregated data (by sex, age groups, and if possible urban and rural areas) for the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 on the number of children:

(a)separated from their parents;

(b)placed in institutions;

(c)placed with foster families; and

(d)adopted domestically or through intercountry adoptions.

4.Please specify the number of children with disabilities, up to the age of 18, disaggregated by sex, age groups and, if possible, urban and rural areas, covering the years 2003, 2004 and 2005:

(a)living with their families;

(b)living in institutions;

(c)placed with foster care;

(d)attending regular schools;

(e)attending special schools; and

(f)not attending schools.

5.Please provide disaggregated statistical data (by sex, age groups, and if possible urban and rural areas) covering the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 on:

(a)rates of infant and child mortality;

(b)rates of immunization;

(c)rates of malnutrition;

(d)adolescent health, including early pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and mental health.

6.With reference to child abuse, please provide disaggregated data (by age, sex, and if possible by types of child abuse reported) covering the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 on the:

(a)number of reported child abuse cases;

(b)number and percentage of reports that have resulted in either a court decision or other types of follow-up; and

(c)number and proportion of child victims that have received counselling and assistance in recovery.

7.With reference to the right to education, please provide disaggregated statistical data (by sex, age groups, if possible urban and rural areas, immigrant children) covering the years 2003, 2004 and 2005, in percentage of the relevant age group, on:

(a)rates of literacy under and over 18 years;

(b)rate of enrolment in pre-primary schools, primary schools and in secondary schools;

(c)percentage of children completing primary and secondary education;

(d)number and percentage of dropouts and repetitions; and

(e)ratio of teachers per child and number of children per class.

8.Please provide disaggregated statistical data (by sex, age groups, urban and rural areas) on drug, alcohol,tobacco and other substance abuse for the years 2003, 2004 and 2005.

9.Please provide disaggregated statistical data (by sex, age groups, urban and rural areas) on the number of children:

(a)infected with HIV/AIDS;

(b)affected by HIV/AIDS;

(c)leading households due to HIV/AIDS; and

(d)orphans of HIV/AIDS living in extended families or institutions.

10.Please provide disaggregated statistical data (including by sex, age groups, type of crime) covering the years 2003, 2004 and 2005, in particular on the number of:

(a)persons under the age of 18 who have allegedly committed a crime, reported to the police;

(b)persons under the age of 18 who have been charged with a crime, the number sentenced, and the type of punishment or sanctions, including length of deprivation of liberty;

(c)detention facilities for persons under the age of 18 in conflict with law, and these facilities’ capacity;

(d)persons under the age of 18 detained in these facilities and persons under the age of 18 detained in adult facilities;

(e)persons under the age of 18 kept in pretrial detention and the average length of their detention;

(f)reported cases of abuse and maltreatment of persons under the age of 18 that occurred during their arrest and detention; and

(g)persons under the age of 18 tried and sentenced as adults.

11.With reference to special protection measures, please provide statistical data (by sex, age groups, and if possible urban and rural areas) for the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 on the number of children:

(a)involved in sexual exploitation, including prostitution, pornography and trafficking, and the number of children provided with access to recovery and other assistance;

(b)involved in substance abuse, and the number of children who received treatment, recovery and reintegration assistance;

(c)involved in child labour;

(d)who are internally displaced; and

(e)unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee children.

B. General measures of implementation

1.Please provide updated information on the efforts undertaken by the State party to harmonize domestic law with the provisions and principles of the Convention.

2.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.

3.Please inform the Committee which authority has the responsibility for the coordination of the implementation of the Convention in the State party and the role/activities of the National Committee for Children.

4.Please inform the Committee whether a National Plan Action (NPA) for the implementation of children’s rights has been adopted and, if so, whether it covers all areas of the Convention and takes into account the objectives and goals of the outcome document entitled “A world fit for children” of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children in 2002, and also which measures have been taken for the implementation of this NPA.

5.Please provide updated information on efforts made to provide training on, and awareness of, the Convention and human rights in general, to children, parents, teachers, social workers and other professionals working with and for children.

6.Please provide updated information on the cooperation between the State party and the international community, including non-governmental organizations, in the efforts to implement the Convention.

7.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 legislation enacted;

new institutions;

newly implemented policies; and

newly implemented programmes and projects, and their scope.

PART IV

The following is a preliminary list of major issues (which does not contain issues already covered in Part I) that the Committee may take up during the dialogue with the State party. They do not require written answers. This list is not exhaustive, as other issues might be raised in course of the dialogue:

1.Coordination of the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child;

2.Non-discrimination in general, and in particular discrimination against girls, children with disabilities, children living in poverty and children born out of wedlock;

3.Respect for the views of the child;

4.Corporal punishment in the family, and in schools and other institutions;

5.Child abuse, neglect, and domestic violence;

6.Adoption and family reunification;

7.Social security and standard of living;

8.The health status of children, in particular the problem of child nutrition;

9.HIV/AIDS;

10.Adolescent health concerns and reproductive health issues, and mental health-care services;

11.Access to quality education;

12.Economic exploitation and child labour;

13.Sexual exploitation and trafficking; and

14.Administration of juvenile justice, inter alia, the length of and alternatives for (pretrial) detention and prison sentences, adequate legislation, and rehabilitation and social reintegration services.

-----