COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILDForty-sixth session 17 September-5 October 2007

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 Sierra Leone (CRC/C/SLE/2)

PART I

Under this section the State party is requested to submit in written form additional and updated information, if possible, before 6 August 2007.

Data and statistics if available

1.Please provide disaggregated data (by sex, age, ethnic groups, urban and rural areas) covering the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 on the number and proportion of children under 18 living in the State party.

2.In the light of article 4 of the Convention, please provide disaggregated data for the years 2005, 2006 and 2007 on budget allocations and trends (in absolute figures and in percentages of the national budget or GDP) allocated to 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 education);

(b)Health care (different types of health services, i.e. primary health care, immunization programmes, HIV/AIDS programmes, adolescent health care, including mental health care, and other health-care services for children);

GE.07-42866(c)Programmes and services for children with disabilities;

(d)Support programmes for families;

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

(f)The 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 sexual violence against children, child abuse and economic exploitation, including child labour;

(h)Programmes and services for separated children, orphans and vulnerable children;

(i)Juvenile justice, juvenile crime prevention and social reintegration;

(j)Recovery and reintegration of former child soldiers.

Please also indicate the 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, urban and rural areas) for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 on the number of children:

(a)Separated from their parents;

(b)Placed in institutions, and the number of institutions in the country;

(c)Placed with foster families;

(d)Adopted domestically or through inter-country adoptions.

4.Please specify the number of children with disabilities, disaggregated by sex, geographical location and age covering the years 2004, 2005 and 2006:

(a)Living with their families;

(b)In institutions;

(c)Placed with foster care;

(d)Attending regular schools;

(e)Attending special schools;

(f)Not attending any school.

5.Please provide disaggregated data (by sex, age groups and, if possible, urban and rural areas) covering the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 on:

(a)Rates of infant and child mortality;

(b)Rates of immunization;

(c)Rates of malnutrition;

(d)In the area of adolescent health, the rates of early pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), drug, alcohol, tobacco, and other substance abuse, suicides and other mental health problems.

6.With reference to child abuse, please provide disaggregated data (by age, sex, and types of violations reported) for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 on:

(a)The number of reported child abuse cases;

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

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

7.Please specify the criteria for determining the “poverty line” and indicate the number of children living below the poverty line. In particular, please provide such information relating to people living in remote areas.

8.With reference to the right to education, please provide disaggregated data (by sex, age groups, urban and rural areas, children belonging to minority groups) for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006, 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 drop-outs and repetitions;

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

9.Please provide disaggregated data (including by sex, age and type of crime) for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006, 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 related to offences, including length of deprivation of liberty;

(c)Detention facilities for persons under the age of 18 and their 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 pre-trial 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;

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

10.With reference to special protection measures, please provide disaggregated data (including by sex, age, urban/rural areas) for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 on the number of children:

(a)Involved in sexual exploitation, including prostitution, pornography and trafficking (including children in transit), 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 (formal and informal sectors);

(d)Living and/or working in the street;

(e)Who are refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), or migrants.

General measures of implementation

1.The Committee would appreciate receiving information on activities related to recommendations contained in the Committee’s previous concluding observations (CRC/C/15/Add.116) on the initial report of Sierra Leone that have not yet been fully implemented, in particular with respect to data collection, best interests of the child and respect for the views of the child.

2.Please provide information on the current status of the Child Rights Bill/Child Rights Act 2006.

3.Please provide information on how the coordination of activities, programmes and policies for the protection of the rights of the child is carried out, and whether there is a specific mechanism mandated with this role.

4.The Committee would appreciate receiving information which could briefly outline the main points of the National Children’s Policy, including when this policy will come into effect.

5.Please provide information on how the State party views the role of the Human Rights Commission once it is established, including whether it will be an independent monitoring mechanism in line with the Paris Principles and whether it will have a department that specifically deals with child rights.

6.The Committee would appreciate receiving additional information regarding the Special Fund for Children, including whether its reactivation has taken place and whether it has been attracting funds.

7.Please provide information on the type of data on children collected through the Ministry for Social Welfare’s database on issues relating to child rights, including whether it contains specific data on vulnerable groups such as former child combatants, street children and child labourers.

8.Please provide further information, including examples if possible, on the cooperation between the State party and civil society in the field of child protection.

9.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 also 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 not require written answers . This list is not exhaustive as other issues might 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 3 (best interests of the child) and article 12 (respect for the views of the child).

2.Legislation and customary law.

3.Budget allocations for children.

4.Definition of the child (customary law, different age definitions relating to child labour).

5.Birth registration, particularly in rural areas.

6.Abuse, neglect and abandonment of children, (corporal punishment, including in the juvenile justice system, and the GRIVMON project).

7.Protection of children deprived of a family environment (including HIV/AIDS orphans).

8.Health (including adolescent health, harmful traditional practices, under-five and maternal mortality rates, malnutrition, mental health) .

9.Children with disabilities, including amputees (the National Policy for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities, enrolment in schools and the provision of adequate legal protection, care and services).

10Standard of living.

11.Education (including availability of qualified teachers, adequate facilities and access of girls to education).

12.Child soldiers.

13.Unaccompanied minors, children of refugees, IDPs and asylum-seekers.

14.Street children.

15.Economic exploitation, including child labour (the Policy on Mining).

16.Sexual exploitation and trafficking.

17.Administration of juvenile justice, including the minimum age of criminal responsibility under the Child Rights Bill and conditions in juvenile detention facilities.

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