Committee on the Rights of the Child

List of issues prior to submission of the combined sixth and seventh periodic reports of Uruguay *

1.The State Party is invited to submit in writing the information requested below, of 21,200 words maximum, by 15 February 2027. The replies should take into consideration the Committee’s recommendations contained in its concluding observations on the combined third to fifth periodic reports of the State Party. The Committee may take up all aspects of children’s rights set out in the Convention and the Optional Protocols thereto during the dialogue with the State Party.

I.New developments

2.The Committee requests the State Party to provide:

(a)Information on the adoption or reform of laws, policies and programmes and any other measures taken, such as the creation or reform of institutions, that are significant for the implementation of the Convention, the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict and the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography;

(b)Any other information that the State Party considers relevant and that is not covered in the replies to the questions below, including information on obstacles and challenges faced.

3.The Committee also requests the State Party to provide information on how a child rights-based approach is integrated into the planning, implementation and monitoring of measures for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, including with regard to the participation of children and data collection, and how such measures promote the realization of children’s rights under the Convention and the Optional Protocols thereto.

II.Rights under the Convention and the Optional Protocols thereto

A.General measures of implementation (arts. 1, 4, 42 and 44 (6))

Legislation

4.Please provide information on:

(a)Measures taken to ensure the effective implementation and applicability of the Convention within the domestic legal system;

(b)Steps taken to operationalize Act No. 20.376 on early childhood, childhood and adolescence, adopted in 2024;

(c)The reasons for maintaining the exception to the ban on child marriage in the 2025 amendment to the Civil Code;

(d)The existence of any child rights impact assessment procedure for new legislation adopted at the national and subnational levels.

Comprehensive policy and strategy

5.Please provide information on the measures taken to develop a comprehensive policy and strategy covering all areas of children’s rights under the Convention, including any update to the National Strategy for Children and Adolescents (2010–2030). Please also provide information on the mechanism for monitoring and evaluating such a policy and strategy, as well as the main findings.

Coordination

6.Please inform the Committee about measures taken to establish an effective high-level mechanism to coordinate the implementation of the Convention across sectors and levels. If relevant, please indicate its role, mandate, composition and resources.

Independent monitoring and access to justice

7.Please indicate the measures taken:

(a)To ensure that the National Human Rights Institution specifically monitors children’s rights throughout the country, and to strengthen the allocation of resources for this purpose;

(b)To ensure adequate access to justice and specialized courts for children and adolescents throughout the country.

Allocation of resources

8.Please indicate the measures taken to establish a system aimed at identifying budget allocations for and expenditure on children by specific ministries to guarantee an objective assessment of the adequacy and effectiveness of public expenditure on children.

Data collection

9.Please inform the Committee about the efforts made to improve data collection to ensure that it covers all areas of the Convention. In particular, please provide information on the concrete measures taken to develop an integrated system for examining the situation of children in the State Party through a comprehensive analysis of the data that are currently collected by the different entities, which use different methodologies. Please also provide information on the measures taken to improve the collection and analysis of data on health, the administration of child justice, violence and abuse, and disability, and concerning children without parental care and those of African descent.

Dissemination and awareness-raising

10.Please provide information on awareness-raising programmes, including campaigns and education programmes, among children in marginalized situations and systematic training for relevant professional groups on the provisions of the Convention, the Optional Protocols thereto and the Committee’s previous concluding observations.

Children’s rights and the business sector

11.Please provide information on the efforts made to engage the business sector on children’s rights and to establish a regulatory child protection framework for companies operating under the jurisdiction of the State Party, including policies, legislation, regulations, mechanisms for conducting child rights impact assessments, monitoring and evaluation and access to justice, in order to report and address children’s rights violations.

B.General principles (arts. 2, 3, 6 and 12)

Non-discrimination

12.Please provide information on the measures taken:

(a)To prohibit discrimination against children on all grounds and in all aspects of life, including multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination;

(b)To address discriminatory attitudes and social exclusion that affect children with disabilities, girls, children living in rural and remote areas, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children, children from economically disadvantaged families and adolescents.

Best interests of the child

13.Please inform the Committee about:

(a)Measures taken to ensure that the best interests of the child are taken as a primary consideration when drafting, adopting and reviewing legislation and policies that have an impact on the enjoyment of children’s rights;

(b)Any development of policies, procedures, criteria and guidance to determine and consistently apply the best interests of the child as a primary consideration in administrative and judicial proceedings concerning children, in particular regarding the full discretion of judges to decide whether shared custody should continue and whether children should maintain contact with individuals accused of or reported for violence against them, potentially resulting in children being compelled to maintain visits or custody arrangements with alleged aggressors.

Respect for the views of the child

14.Please provide information about the rules and procedures adopted by the judicial and administrative authorities to guarantee the right of children to be heard on any decision affecting them, including in the context of civil and criminal courts, migration and asylum‑seeking processes, participatory councils in education at all levels and institutionalization. Furthermore, please indicate how the State Party guarantees child participation in public decision-making processes.

C.Civil and political rights (arts. 7, 8 and 13–17)

Access to appropriate information

15.Please provide information on the measures taken:

(a)To ensure access to the Internet and digital technologies countrywide, as well as to promote digital skills among, and access to media literacy education for, all children, in particular children in vulnerable situations, especially children in rural areas, children in institutions and children with disabilities, and their parents or caregivers and teachers;

(b)To encourage companies to comply with the Committee’s general comment No. 25 (2021) on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment, including by protecting children’s personal data, creating accessible complaint processes and developing policies and mechanisms to protect children from online violence, excessive screen use and cyberbullying;

(c)To ensure access to appropriate information and protection from harmful content, including disinformation and fake news, harmful products and online risks.

D.Violence against children (arts. 19, 24 (3), 28 (2), 34, 35, 37 (a) and 39 of the Convention, and the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography)

Abuse, neglect, sexual abuse and exploitation

16.Please provide information on:

(a)Measures taken to prevent, detect and respond to intermittent disappearances of adolescents, particularly girls, who are victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking;

(b)Protocols in place for immediate search and protection when adolescents under State care go missing;

(c)Steps taken to strengthen interinstitutional coordination, victim support services and mechanisms to dismantle trafficking networks;

(d)Access to justice, remedies and compensation for children who are victims of violence.

Torture and other cruel or degrading treatment or punishment

17.Please provide information on measures taken:

(a)To prevent, investigate and sanction acts of torture or other forms of ill‑treatment against children and adolescents in all settings under State responsibility and to provide victims with redress mechanisms and adequate compensation;

(b)To address overcrowding and extremely poor conditions in detention centres for children and adolescents, and the lack of a systemic inspection mechanism to investigate and evaluate actual conditions in detention centres.

Freedom of the child from all forms of violence

18.Please inform the Committee about:

(a)Measures taken to ensure the availability, accessibility and adequacy of specialized services for children and adolescents who are victims of violence in all departments of the country and to provide victims with remedies and compensation;

(b)Steps taken to address the increase in cases of children and adolescents injured or killed by firearms, including any measures adopted to prevent such violence, protect children at risk and investigate and prosecute those responsible, and policies and programmes planned for the short, medium and long term to address this phenomenon;

(c)Measures taken to strengthen early detection mechanisms.

Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography

19.Please inform the Committee about the measures taken to implement the recommendations contained in its concluding observations on the report submitted by the State Party under article 12 (1) of the Optional Protocol, including efforts:

(a)To ensure the effective enforcement of legislation prohibiting the sexual exploitation of children in prostitution and activities related to child sexual abuse material, and to adopt measures to prevent the dissemination of child sexual abuse material, including through Internet safety mechanisms;

(b)To ensure the criminalization of activities related to the sexual exploitation of children in prostitution, in the context of child sexual abuse material and in the context of travel and tourism;

(c)To revise criminal legislation to include clear definitions of “sale of children” and “child prostitution” and ensure that all offences under articles 2 and 3 of the Optional Protocol are explicitly criminalized, including activities related to child sexual abuse material.

E.Family environment and alternative care (arts. 5, 9–11, 18 (1) and (2), 20, 21, 25 and 27 (4))

Family environment

20.Please provide information on the measures taken:

(a)To provide support services for families in which the parents or caregivers are at risk of losing parental responsibility;

(b)To prevent forced reunification and other practices that may expose children and adolescents to further violence;

(c)To strengthen the training provided to judges, technical teams and other professionals on the need for a gender perspective, children’s rights, the handling of cases of violence, the right of the child to be heard and child best interests assessments in family cases.

Children deprived of a family environment

21.Please provide information on the progress made in the implementation of policies and programmes:

(a)Aimed at the deinstitutionalization of children and adolescents;

(b)To prevent institutionalization, especially for children under 12 years of age, reduce the length of institutionalization and support families;

(c)To address the increasing number of children in residential care;

(d)To monitor the quality of care in all settings, including homes, foster families and community contexts.

Adoption

22.Please provide information on measures taken to ensure that adoption procedures are completed promptly and that all institutions involved in such procedures are provided with adequate human, technical and financial resources.

Children in prison with their mothers

23.Please provide information on the measures taken to ensure adequate conditions for children living in prison with their mothers and to promote alternatives to detention, in particular to implement article 8 of Act No. 17.897 on probation.

F.Children with disabilities (art. 23)

24.Please provide information on the measures taken:

(a)To adopt a human rights-based approach to disability, in law and practice, and allocate adequate financial, human and technical resources for its implementation;

(b)To develop a coordinated approach for disability assessment and ensure access to specialized health and rehabilitation services, including early identification and diagnosis and early intervention and rehabilitation;

(c)To strengthen the childcare system and provide specialized support services to reduce the risks of poverty faced by, and the social exclusion of, children with disabilities;

(d)To ensure access to inclusive education, including by training and assigning an adequate number of specialized teachers and other professionals to assist children with disabilities in integrated classes;

(e)To prevent discrimination against children with disabilities.

G.Health (arts. 6, 24 and 33)

Health and healthcare services

25.Please provide information on measures taken:

(a)To ensure high-quality health services for all children and develop policies and programmes to address chronic malnutrition and anaemia;

(b)To address depression, anxiety disorders and attempted suicide among children and ensure that the necessary psychological and psychiatric services are available to children;

(c)To prevent the overmedicalization of children and adolescents in mental healthcare, including the use of psychotropic medication;

(d)To eliminate confinement practices in acute care clinics for children and adolescents, including the use of isolation rooms and prolonged stays after medical discharge due to lack of institutional spaces;

(e)To create a comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention strategy targeting children and adolescents.

Adolescent health

26.Please provide information on measures taken:

(a)To ensure access to safe abortion and post-abortion care services for adolescent girls, making sure that their views are always heard and given due consideration as a part of the decision-making process;

(b)To prevent and address adolescent pregnancies and ensure access to confidential counselling and contraception, without the need for parental consent, in accordance with the child’s evolving capacities;

(c)To adopt a comprehensive policy on sexual and reproductive health for adolescents and ensure that sexual and reproductive health education is part of the mandatory school curriculum, targets adolescent girls and boys and is focused, in particular, on the prevention of early pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections;

(d)To provide children and adolescents with accurate and objective information and life skills education on preventing substance use, including tobacco and alcohol use, and develop accessible and child-friendly treatment of drug dependence and harm-reduction services.

H.Standard of living (arts. 18 (3), 26 and 27 (1)–(3))

27.Please provide information on the measures adopted to eradicate child poverty and reduce multidimensional deprivation, particularly in the areas of housing, education, health, cash transfers and social protection.

I.Children’s rights and the environment (arts. 2, 3, 6, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 24 and 26–31)

28.Please provide information about the measures taken to set out a clear legal commitment, with appropriate resources, to assess the effects of polluted air on children’s health and the implementation of plans to reduce air pollution levels, especially in areas near schools and residential areas. Please also provide information regarding policies implemented by the State Party to ensure that private and publicly owned financial institutions take into consideration the implications of their investments for climate change and the resulting harmful impact on children.

J.Education, leisure and cultural activities (arts. 28–31)

Education: aims and coverage

29.Please provide information on measures taken:

(a)To reduce school absenteeism and dropout rates among children and adolescents, particularly those in vulnerable situations;

(b)To ensure adequate budget allocations for education and guarantee the participation of children and adolescents in the design and monitoring of education policies, in line with their right to be heard;

(c)To expand access to early childhood care and education and ensure quality and effective monitoring of these services;

(d)To ensure the adequate availability and quality of playgrounds, parks and other public spaces for recreational, cultural and sports activities for children throughout the country.

K.Special protection measures (arts. 22, 30, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37 (b)–(d) and 38–40 of the Convention, and the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict)

Asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children

30.Please inform the Committee about:

(a)Measures taken to ensure that asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children have access to appropriate services and do not face discrimination because of their status;

(b)The implementation and impact of the National Integration Plan launched in 2022;

(c)Measures taken to establish a specific procedure for the protection of unaccompanied migrant children, including whether comprehensive legislation and operational guidelines have been adopted to ensure their reception, identification, needs assessment and protection, and whether a permanent national authority has been designated to oversee these processes.

Economic exploitation, including child labour

31.Please provide information on measures taken to prevent and eliminate the economic exploitation of children and hazardous child labour, particularly in sectors such as street vending, agriculture, fishing, construction, domestic work, and garbage collection and recycling.

Children in street situations

32.Please provide information on measures taken to prevent and address the situation of children and adolescents in street situations, including the implementation of the National Plan for the Provision of Assistance to Children and Adolescents in Street Situations and the street and extreme street situation programmes, and the concrete results of the “Uruguay, a pioneering country” project, with the aim of implementing the Committee’s general comment No. 21 (2017) on children in street situations. Please also indicate what steps the State Party has taken to ensure access to education, healthcare, protection and family reintegration for children in street situations.

Administration of child justice

33.Please inform the Committee about measures taken:

(a)To guarantee access to legal aid for all children alleged as, accused of or recognized as having infringed the criminal law, as well as access for children to legal avenues to appeal decisions of detention;

(b)To ensure that the detention, including pretrial detention, of children is used as a measure of last resort and for the shortest possible time and that detention conditions are compliant with international standards, including with regard to access to education, recreation and healthcare;

(c)To improve conditions of detention for children, reduce overcrowding in juvenile detention centres and monitor the whole child justice system in compliance with the Convention;

(d)To establish a specialized child justice system across the country and promote non-judicial measures, such as restorative justice, mediation, diversion and non-custodial sanctions;

(e)To support the recovery and social reintegration of children alleged as, accused of or recognized as having infringed the criminal law.

Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict

34.Please provide information on measures taken to implement the recommendations of the Committee contained in its concluding observations on the report of the State Party submitted under article 8 (1) of the Optional Protocol, including on the progress made:

(a)To criminalize the recruitment of children in hostilities and ban the enrolment of children in military schools;

(b)To investigate all allegations of sexual abuse committed by Uruguayan members of United Nations peacekeeping missions, identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice;

(c)To identify asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children who have been or may be at risk of being recruited or used in armed conflict;

(d)To designate a coordinating body responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Optional Protocol.

III.Statistical information and data

35.The statistical information and data provided by the State Party should cover the period since the consideration of its previous reports on the implementation of the Convention and the Optional Protocols thereto. The data should be disaggregated by age, sex, ethnic origin, national origin, type of disability, geographical location and socioeconomic status, as well as by year or other relevant time frame.

36.The provision of tables presenting trends over the reporting period is recommended, and explanations or comments on significant changes that have taken place over the reporting period should also be provided.

A.General measures of implementation (arts. 1, 4, 42 and 44 (6))

37.Please provide information on the budget lines regarding children and social sectors by indicating the amount and the proportion of each budget line in terms of the total national budget.

B.Definition of the child (art. 1)

38.Please provide data, disaggregated as described in paragraph 35 above, on the number and proportion of children under 18 years of age living in the State Party and the number of child marriages.

C.General principles (arts. 2, 3, 6 and 12)

39.Please provide data, disaggregated as described in paragraph 35 above, on the number of cases and prosecutions brought before the courts on non-discrimination, and the sanctions imposed on perpetrators.

40.Please provide data, disaggregated as described in paragraph 35 above, on the number of children who attempted suicide or died by suicide.

D.Civil and political rights (arts. 7, 8 and 13–17)

41.Please provide data, disaggregated as described in paragraph 35 above, on the number of stateless children.

E.Violence against children (arts. 19, 24 (3), 28 (2), 34, 35, 37 (a) and 39 of the Convention, and the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography)

42.Please provide data, disaggregated as described in paragraph 35 above, on:

(a)The number of cases of violence against children, including intermittent disappearances of adolescents, and of sexual exploitation of and trafficking in children reported to the authorities, investigated and prosecuted, the sanctions imposed on perpetrators and the number of victims affected, further disaggregated by type of offence;

(b)The number and type of protective measures provided to children who are victims of violence.

43.Please provide data, disaggregated as described in paragraph 35 above, on:

(a)The number of reported cases of the sale of children and sexual exploitation of children, including in prostitution and activities related to child sexual abuse material;

(b)The number of such cases in which the perpetrators have been investigated, prosecuted and sanctioned;

(c)The number of children who are victims of such crimes who have been provided with recovery assistance or compensation.

F.Family environment and alternative care (arts. 5, 9–11, 18 (1) and (2), 20, 21, 25 and 27 (4))

44.Please provide data, disaggregated as described in paragraph 35 above, on the number and proportion of families and children receiving economic and other types of support services.

45.Please provide data, disaggregated as described in paragraph 35 above, on:

(a)The number of children in institutional care and their average length of stay in days;

(b)The number of children in family- or community-based care.

G.Children with disabilities (art. 23)

46.Please provide data, disaggregated as described in paragraph 35 above, on:

(a)The number of children with disabilities;

(b)The number of children with disabilities living with their families and the number living in family- or community-based care;

(c)The number of children with disabilities in inclusive education and the number in separate schools;

(d)The number of reported cases of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, neglect or sexual violence against children with disabilities placed in institutions, the number of investigations and prosecutions carried out and the sentences imposed.

H.Health (arts. 6, 24 and 33)

47.Please provide data, disaggregated as described in paragraph 35 above, on:

(a)The number and proportion of children with health insurance;

(b)The number of paediatric and mental health centres and professionals specialized in young children and adolescents.

48.Please provide data, disaggregated as described in paragraph 35 above, on:

(a)The number of adolescent pregnancies and the number of adolescent mothers;

(b)The number of malnourished children and the number of obese children;

(c)The number of children with drug or alcohol use disorders;

(d)The number of sexual and reproductive health services available to adolescents.

I.Standard of living (arts. 18 (3), 26 and 27 (1)–(3))

49.Please provide data, disaggregated as described in paragraph 35 above, on the number and proportion of children living under the poverty line and the number and proportion of children living in extreme poverty.

J.Children’s rights and the environment (arts. 2, 3, 6, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 24 and 26–31)

50.Please provide data, disaggregated as described in paragraph 35 above, on the number and proportion of children affected by polluted air.

K.Education, leisure and cultural activities (arts. 28–31)

51.Please provide data, disaggregated as described in paragraph 35 above, on:

(a)The number and proportion of children aged between 16 and 18 years not attending school;

(b)The number and proportion of children who have dropped out of school;

(c)The number and proportion of children attending an early childhood education facility and the average length of attendance in years;

(d)The number of children in public schools and the number of children in private, including religious, schools.

L.Special protection measures (arts. 22, 30, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37 (b)–(d) and 38–40 of the Convention, and the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict)

52.Please provide data, disaggregated as described in paragraph 35 above, as well as by country of origin, and accompanied or unaccompanied status, on:

(a)The number of asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children;

(b)The number of asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children who have been detained;

(c)The number of asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children who are attending school and the number who have access to healthcare.

53.Please provide data, disaggregated as described in paragraph 35 above, and by type of violation reported, on:

(a)The number of reported cases of trafficking involving children and the number of children who are victims of trafficking;

(b)The number of such children who have been provided with access to rehabilitation programmes;

(c)The number and percentage of such cases that have resulted in sanctions, with information on the country of origin of the perpetrator and the nature of the penalties imposed;

(d)The number of children and adolescents in street situations.

54.Please provide data, disaggregated as described in paragraph 35 above, and by type of crime, on:

(a)The number of children in detention facilities and the average length of stay, further disaggregated by type of detention (pretrial, such as in police cells, or following conviction);

(b)The number of children referred to diversion or non-custodial sentencing options.

55.Please provide data, disaggregated as described in paragraph 35 above, on:

(a)The number of asylum-seeking or refugee children entering the State Party from areas where children may have been recruited or used in hostilities;

(b)The number of such children who benefit from physical and psychological recovery or social reintegration measures.