Committee on the Rights of the Child

Second periodic report submitted by Côte d’Ivoire under article 44 of the Convention, due in 1998 *

[Date received: 27 November 2017]

Contents

Page

I.General measures of implementation (Convention, arts. 4, 42 and 44 (6))3

II.Definition of the child7

III.General principles8

IV.Civil rights and freedoms10

V.Family environment and alternative care12

VI.Health and well-being14

VII.Education, leisure and cultural activities24

VIII.Special protection measures31

I.General measures of implementation (Convention, arts. 4, 42 and 44 (6))

1.1Measures taken to harmonize national law and practice with the provisions of the Convention (art. 4)

R 9. The Committee encourages the State party to take all necessary measures to ensure that its domestic legislation conforms fully to the principles and provisions of the Convention. In that respect, the Committee recommends that the State party continue its efforts to adopt a comprehensive code on the rights of the child. It also encourages the State party to ratify the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Moreover, the Committee recommends that the State party address in more depth the problem of customary law that is inconsistent with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

(a)Legislative reforms

1.The Ivorian Constitution of August 2000 establishes that all signed and ratified conventions or international agreements take precedence over the country’s laws upon publication (art. 87). Particular attention is given to children and other vulnerable persons, especially as regards the abolition of the death penalty, which was previously applicable to children of 16 years of age, the prohibition of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, and equality of all persons before the law and the courts (art. 3).

2.The lack of a single code addressing the issue of children’s rights presents a major challenge in terms of bringing national legislation into line with the Convention. The authorities remain committed to introducing such a legal instrument. As Côte d’Ivoire is a statute-law country, only positive law has legal force; customary law is not legally binding.

3.Legislative progress has been made with the adoption of child protection laws and with the signature and ratification of international conventions and agreements. These include:

International conventions

(i)The International Labour Organization (ILO) Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), ratified on 21 January 2002;

(ii)The ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), ratified on 21 January 2002;

(iii)The African Youth Charter, a legal document that supports policies, programmes and actions for youth development in Africa;

(iv)The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, for which the instruments of ratification were deposited on 18 June 2007;

(v)The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, on 6 December 2011;

(vi)The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, on 3 August 2011;

(vii)The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, on 7 September 2011.

Subregional agreements

(i)A bilateral cooperation agreement between Côte d’Ivoire and Mali on combating cross-border trafficking in children, signed on 1 September 2000;

(ii)A multilateral cooperation agreement between Côte d’Ivoire and eight other countries on combating trafficking in children, signed on 27 July 2005;

(iii)An agreement between Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso on combating cross-border trafficking in children, signed on 17 October 2013.

National laws and other domestic legal instruments

(i)Act No. 2001-636 of 9 October 2001 on the establishment, organization and functioning of the universal health insurance scheme under the Ministry of Employment, Social Affairs and Vocational Training. Upon presentation by the minister, the Council of Ministers adopted a bill establishing universal health coverage, effective as of 1 January 2015;

(ii)Order No. 2250 of 14 March 2005 of the Ministry of Labour and the Civil Service, listing the hazardous types of work prohibited to children under 18;

(iii)Order No. 009 MEMEASS/CAB of 19 January 2012 amending Order No. 2250 of 14 March 2005 on the list of hazardous types of work prohibited to children under 18;

(iv)Order No. 0075 of 28 September 2009 of the Ministry of Education on the prohibition of physical and humiliating punishment of students in schools;

(v)Act No. 2010-272 of 30 September 2010 on the prohibition of trafficking and the worst forms of child labour;

(vi)The 2012 Marriage Act;

(vii)The preliminary bill on the protection of human rights defenders was adopted by the Council of Ministers but has yet to be enacted by the National Assembly;

(viii)Act No. 2013-35 of 25 January 2013 amending Order No. 2011-258 of 28 September 2011 on the registration of births and deaths that occurred during the crisis;

(ix)The 2005 and 2013 acts amending the 1972 Nationality Code Act;

(x)The act on the status of war orphans, in the process of adoption;

(xi)Decree No. 2014-290 of 21 May 2014 on arrangements for the implementation of Act No. 2010-272 on the prohibition of trafficking and the worst forms of child labour;

(xii)Decree No. 2013-857 of 19 December 2013 establishing the Côte d’Ivoire Children’s Parliament.

(b)Coordination and follow-up of the implementation of the Convention

4.There are mechanisms for sectoral and/or policy coordination:

•The Interministerial Committee to Combat Trafficking, Exploitation and Child Labour

•The National Committee for the Oversight of Actions to Combat Child Trafficking, Exploitation and Labour

•The National Anti-Doping Committee (Ministry for Youth and Sport)

•Thematic groups on gender and development, child protection, gender-based violence coordination and education

•The National Committee to Combat Violence against Women and Children

•The Unit for the Implementation of the Protection Programme for Vulnerable Children and Adolescents

•The Unit for the Implementation of the National Programme for Orphans and Children Made Vulnerable by HIV/AIDS

5.Plans, strategies and policies have been implemented at the sectoral level in the areas of child protection, health and nutrition, education and protection, including:

•The 2008 National Action Plan for Children

•The 2010 National Policy for the Care and Support of Orphans and Children Made Vulnerable by HIV/AIDS

•The 2012–2014 National Action Plan to Combat Trafficking, Exploitation and Child Labour

•A medium-term action plan for the education sector for the period 2010–2013

•A road map for to accelerate the reduction in maternal, neonatal and infant morbidity and mortality for the period 2008–2015

•The 2009–2013 Integrated Strategic Plan for the Management of Newborn and Childhood Illness

•The 2012–2015 National Policy Paper on Child Health and Survival

•The 2012–2015 National Strategic Plan for Child Survival

•The 2012–2015 Ministry of Justice Sectoral Policy Paper

•The 2013–2015 National Strategy for the Judicial Protection of Children and Youth

•The National Policy for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities

•The National Plan of Action for the Implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women and Peace and Security

•The 2012–2015 Plan for the Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission

•The National Policy Paper on Equal Opportunity, Equity and Gender

•The National Strategy for the School Enrolment of Girls

•The 2013 National Plan to Accelerate the School Enrolment of Girls

•The road map for the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

•The 2009 National Nutrition Policy

•The 2011–2015 National Youth Policy

•The 2010 mapping and assessment of the protection system

•The National Child Protection Policy, adopted in 2013

•A national strategy against gender-based violence, in the process of adoption

•The 2013 National Strategy to Combat Early Marriage

•The 2013 National Social Protection Strategy (pillar III)

•The National Child Protection Policy in schools

•A concept note on the protection of children in schools

(c)Ministries involved in the implementation of the Convention

6.Several line ministries are responsible for children’s affairs:

•The Ministry of Solidarity, the Family, Women and Children

•The Ministry of Justice, Human Rights and Civil Liberties

•The Ministry of Employment, Social Affairs and Vocational Training

•The Ministry of Education and Technical Training

•The Ministry of the Interior and Security

•The Ministry of Health and AIDS Control

•The Ministry of Youth, Sport and Leisure

1.2Mechanisms or programmes for coordinating action relating to children

R 11. The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to allocate principal responsibility for the coordination of the implementation of the Convention to a single body or mechanism. For this purpose, the Committee also recommends that adequate human and financial resources be allocated and appropriate measures be taken to include non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

7.Different sectors have established thematic coordination mechanisms, owing to the lack of overall coordination in Côte d’Ivoire:

•The Interministerial Committee to Combat Trafficking, Exploitation and Child Labour

•The National Committee for the Oversight of Actions to Combat Child Trafficking, Exploitation and Labour

•The National Programme for Orphans and Children Made Vulnerable by HIV/AIDS

•The Thematic Group on Gender and Development

•The Child Protection Forum, which includes international organizations and local NGOs

8.In response, the Government decided, based on a mapping exercise, to start designing a National Child Protection Policy.

1.3Data collection

R 17. The Committee recommends that the State party develop a system of data collection and indicators consistent with the Convention and disaggregated by gender, age, indigenous and minority group, and urban and rural area. (...) It further encourages the State party to use these indicators and data for the formulation of policies and programmes for the effective implementation of the Convention.

9.There is no centralized system of indicators and data collection consistent with the Convention. Nonetheless, the education, health and social services sectors have routine information systems that regularly produce statistical indicators disaggregated by certain characteristics (gender, age and rural and urban areas).

10.Furthermore, national household surveys were conducted in 2006, 2008 and 2012 with the support of technical and financial partners. The surveys were used to update most of the indicators monitored under the Convention, including their breakdown by vulnerable group.

1.4The remedies available and their accessibility to children

11.Like all citizens, children have the right to bring an action before the civil, criminal or administrative courts when their rights have been violated. However, they must go through their legal guardian since children lack legal capacity.

12.The sectoral policy paper on the legal aid reform should allow children better access to justice.

1.5The existence of an independent human rights institution

R 13. The Committee encourages the State party to consider the establishment of an independent national human rights institution, in accordance with the Paris Principles relating to the status of national institutions (General Assembly resolution 48/134), to monitor and evaluate progress in the implementation of the Convention at the national and, if appropriate, at the local level. In addition, the institution should be empowered to receive and investigate complaints of violations of child rights in a child-sensitive manner, and effectively address them.

13.The Côte d’Ivoire National Human Rights Commission was created following a long process which began in 2000.

1.6Total resources received and the percentage allocated to programmes for children

R 15. The Committee recommends that the State party make every effort to increase the proportion of the budget allocated to children’s rights and, in this context, to ensure the provision of appropriate human resources and guarantee that the implementation of policies regarding children are a priority. The Committee also recommends that the State party develop ways to undertake a systematic assessment of the impact of budgetary allocations on the implementation of child rights, and to collect and disseminate information in this regard.

14.Although there is no system for tracking budget allocations and expenditure for safeguarding children’s rights, it is important to note the State’s ongoing efforts.

1.7Measures taken to disseminate the provisions of the Convention

R 19. The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to disseminate the principles and provisions of the Convention as a measure to sensitize society about children’s rights through social mobilization. It also recommends that the State party translate the Convention into all national languages in order to reach the whole population. Moreover, the Committee encourages the State party to undertake systematic education and training on the provisions of the Convention for all professional groups working for and with children.

15.Various seminars, workshops, conferences, meetings and cultural and leisure activities were organized to disseminate the Convention and to raise awareness of children’s issues among the authorities, the general population and children themselves.

1.8Cooperation with civil society organizations representing children and young people

16.State institutions responsible for child protection work closely with these organizations. This partnership is manifested through their participation in the meetings of the various committees that have been set up. A special place is reserved in these consultations for the Côte d’Ivoire Children’s Parliament, which was established by Decree No. 2013-857 of 19 December 2013.

II.Definition of the child

R 21. The Committee recommends that the State party review its legislation with a view to eliminating all disparities regarding minimum-age requirements, and that it make greater efforts to enforce the requirements. It also strongly recommends that the State party set a minimum age for the end of compulsory education and develop sensitization programmes to curb the practice of early marriage.

17.Under Ivorian law, the age of criminal and civil majority is set at 18 and 21 respectively. However, article 3 of the Constitution of 1 August 2000 granted all 18-year-olds the right to vote and child rights advocates have launched a petition to establish the age of majority at 18 across the board.

18.Labour. Order No. 2250 of 14 March 2005 of the Ministry of Employment and the Civil Service defined and prohibited hazardous and night work until the age of 18. The list was revised under Order No. 009 MEMEASS/CAB of 19/01/2012.

19.Marriage. The marriageable age is currently different for each gender (21 for boys, 18 for girls and 16 with parental consent). Although it is formally prohibited, the widespread practice of early and forced marriage remains a concern. The fight against early marriage is part of the broader framework of efforts to combat violence and harmful practices, and is led by the Ministry responsible for child protection.

20.Criminal responsibility. According to article 116 of the Criminal Code, only minors below the age of 10 are completely exempt from any criminal responsibility. Minors between the ages of 10 and 13 cannot be convicted of any criminal offence and may only be subject to protection, assistance, supervision and education measures as provided for in article 783 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Children aged 13 who have been charged with a crime can be held in detention facilities on a provisional basis only where a juvenile judge has issued a reasoned order. However, this is an exceptional measure that is rarely taken by children’s judges.

21.Compulsory education. Although article 7 of the Constitution provides for “equal access (...) to education” for all citizens, no minimum age has yet been set for the end of compulsory schooling. However, education is free in Côte d’Ivoire for the entire primary cycle (levels CP1 to CM2).

III.General principles

3.1Non-discrimination (art. 2)

R 23. The Committee recommends that the State party make concerted efforts at all levels to address discrimination, notably discrimination based on gender, disability, religion, and national, ethnic or social origin, through a review and reorientation of policies, including increased budgetary allocations for programmes targeting the most vulnerable groups. The Committee encourages the State party to ensure effective law enforcement, undertake studies and launch comprehensive public information campaigns to prevent and combat all forms of discrimination, where needed within the framework of international cooperation.

22.Article 30 of the Constitution of Côte d’Ivoire guarantees the equality of all citizens before the law without distinction as to origin, race, sex or religion.

23.There are specific legal provisions to ensure that the principle of non-discrimination is effectively applied with respect to the rights of children, whatever their status.

24.Children born of adultery. Article 29 of Act No. 64-377 of 7 October 1964 on paternity and parentage, as amended by Act No. 83-799 of 1983, stipulates that children born out of wedlock whose parentage has been legally established have the same rights as legitimate children. Article 22 of Act No. 64-379 of 7 October 1964 on inheritance stipulates that “children or descendants shall inherit from their father, mother, grandfather, grandmother or other ascendants without distinction as to gender or primogeniture, whether they were born in different marriages and whether they were born out of wedlock”. However, according to the same Act (art. 22 (new)), children born of an adulterous relationship are discriminated against on the basis of paternity in that they cannot be recognized without the legal wife’s consent. On this point, there has been some progress in judicial practice, as the legal wife has two years to contest the recognition, after which it will be valid even without her consent.

25.Children born of incest. Article 24 of Act No. 64-377 provides that “a child born of an incestuous relationship cannot be recognized, other than for the purpose of legitimation if the offenders’ marriage has been authorized”. This discriminatory measure deprives the child of his or her rights, including the right to a name, and is compensated only in part by the right to claim maintenance under article 27 (2) of the Act. The mother may nevertheless register the child’s birth.

26.Children with disabilities. Children with disabilities are entitled to equal opportunities and treatment in all sectors under Act No. 98-594 of 10 November 1998 on persons with disabilities. This principle is reasserted in article 6 of the Constitution. Regrettably, an implementing decree has yet to be passed to give effect to the provisions of the Act. With regard to education, the principle of non-discrimination and inclusive education has been incorporated into the Education Act. However, only children with motor disabilities are currently educated in accordance with this principle, as most schools have no special education instructors or teachers. An agreement between the Ministry of Education (now the Ministry of Education and Technical Training) and the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene (now the Ministry of Health and AIDS Control) also allows State-assigned pupils who are victims of the Buruli ulcer to return to their original school once they have recovered.

27.Gender-based discrimination. Various legislative and administrative measures have been taken to combat discrimination against girls.

3.2Best interests of the child (art. 3)

1.Legislative framework

28.The principle set out in article 3 of the Convention has been carried over into the Constitution, article 6 of which affords special protection to children.

29.This principle is reflected in general terms in various laws and regulations. The best interests of the child are asserted throughout Act No. 70-483 of 3 August 1970 on minors, for example.

2.Administrative measures

30.At the administrative level, the fact that national plans to promote children’s rights have been prepared, adopted and implemented shows that the best interests of the child are taken into account. The development of the National Child Protection Policy offers one such example.

3.3Right to life, survival and development (art. 6)

1.Legislative and regulatory framework

31.The Constitution grants all citizens the right to life (art. 2) and development (art. 7). It states that the human person is sacred, and its article 2 provides for the abolition of the death penalty, which had previously been applicable.

32.The Criminal Code protects children against all threats to life and physical, psychological and sexual harm.

2.Administrative measures

33.The Ivorian Government has developed various strategies and programmes to improve care for children and thereby guarantee their survival:

•The Strategy for the Integrated Management of Newborn and Childhood Illnesses for children aged under 5 years

•The road map for the accelerated reduction of maternal, newborn and childhood morbidity and mortality (2008–2015), which serves as a guide for the activities carried out to improve maternal and childhood health

•The Strategic Plan for Child Survival for the period 2009–2013, which has since been superseded by the National Strategic Plan for Child Survival for the period 2012–2015

•The National Policy for Orphans and Children Made Vulnerable by HIV/AIDS

R 25. The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to ensure that children born in prison and their mothers are provided access to health services.

34.Pursuant to article 161 of Decree No. 69-189 of 14 May 1969 regulating prisons and prescribing implementation procedures for custodial sentences, pregnant inmates are transferred to a hospital or maternity ward when their baby is due. The mother is transferred back to prison with her child once they are both in a fit state to be discharged.

35.Pursuant to article 162, children may remain with their mother in prison until the age of 2 years. A policy on health in prisons has been implemented to ensure that better account is taken of their specific needs.

3.4Respect for the views of the child (art. 12)

R 27. The Committee encourages the State party to promote and facilitate, within the family, the school, the courts and administrative bodies, respect for the views of children and their participation in all matters affecting them in accordance with their evolving capacity.

36.Article 9 of the Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and opinion without distinction as to age. Although there is no general principle of respect for the views of the child in Ivorian legislation, several provisions of positive law require that they be taken into account.

1.Legislative and regulatory measures

37.With regard to education, the child’s right to express his or her views at school is recognized under Ivorian law (Education Act, art. 11 (2)).

38.As for health, Act No. 93-672 of 9 August 1993 on therapeutic substances of human origin requires physicians at the National Blood Transfusion Centre to obtain the consent of blood donors, even if they are minors.

39.Pursuant to Act No. 95-15 of 12 January 1995 establishing the Labour Code, a contract of employment concluded with a minor aged 16 years is invalid without his or her consent, even if he or she is assisted by a legal representative. With regard to civil matters, there is no specific legal provision stipulating that children must be heard in cases that concern them (child custody arrangements or educational assistance measures).

2.Child and youth participation

40.The existence of several children’s associations in Côte d’Ivoire guarantees that children’s views are taken into account in public life.

IV.Civil rights and freedoms

4.1Name and nationality (art. 7)

R 29. In the light of article 7 of the Convention, the Committee urges the State party to make every effort to ensure the registration of all children at birth, including through the continuation of awareness-raising campaigns.

1.Legislative framework

(a)The right to nationality

41.Act No. 61-415 of 14 December 1961, as amended by Act No. 72-852 of 21 December 1972, lays down the principles governing nationality. It stipulates that Ivorian nationality is obtained either by birth or by acquisition. The right of blood is the criterion used to grant nationality by birth.

42.Whether legitimate or born out of wedlock, and whether born in Côte d’Ivoire or abroad, children are Ivorian once it has been legally established that they are the offspring of at least one Ivorian parent. Children are granted Ivorian nationality even if the legal conditions for the conferral of nationality were not met until after their birth (for example through a parent’s naturalization).

43.Adopted children acquire full Ivorian nationality if at least one of the adoptive parents is an Ivorian national.

44.Foreign minors may acquire Ivorian nationality by a decision of the authorities. This is the naturalization process.

•The Act authorizing the President to ratify the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, signed on 28 September 1954 in New York

•The Act authorizing the President to ratify the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, signed on 30 August 1961 in New York

(b)Right to a name

45.Pursuant to article 1 of Act No. 64-373 of 7 October 1964 on civil status, as amended by Act No. 83-799 of 2 August 1983, every person must have a name. As all persons have the right to a name, a child with no established parentage will still have the name given to him or her by the civil registry official with whom his or her birth or discovery was registered.

46.If a child has not been registered within the specified time frame, the missing record in the civil registry may be substituted by a ruling issued following a simple request to the court or court division with which the certificate should have been registered (Act No. 99-691, art. 82).

2.Administrative measures

47.Various measures have been taken:

•Mobile hearings have been organized.

•There is a project to modernize the civil registry.

•Other measures have been taken to ensure that all children are registered (awareness-raising campaigns, discussion and training workshops, etc.).

4.2Freedom of expression (art. 13)

48.The principle of freedom of expression is enshrined in article 9 of the Ivorian Constitution and reinforced in article 10. Children’s enjoyment of this freedom has been strengthened by the establishment of a children’s parliament and several children’s and young people’s associations.

4.3Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (art. 14)

49.This freedom is guaranteed in general terms by the Constitution and the State’s democratic and non-sectarian character, but no specific measures have been taken to guarantee its effective exercise by children. Consequently, children tend in practice to follow their parents’ guidance.

4.4Freedom of association and of peaceful assembly (art. 15)

50.Freedom of assembly and of demonstration is enshrined in article 11 of the Constitution.

51.However, Ivorian legislation stipulates that only persons who have reached the age of majority may set up associations. Despite this restriction, there are youth associations that have been set up under the aegis of persons who have reached the age of majority.

52.The Ministry of the Family, Women and Social Affairs issued Order No. 147 of 3 February 2010 on the establishment, responsibilities and organization of community children’s groups in order to grant a status to these associations.

4.5Access to appropriate information (art. 17)

53.Article 7 of the Constitution guarantees equal access to information for all citizens.

54.Nevertheless, in order to protect children and young people from abuse, violence and exploitation in all their forms, the legislature of Côte d’Ivoire has established special provisions, through Act No. 2004-643 of 14 December 2004 establishing the legal regime governing the media, to allow partial exceptions to this principle in the case of print media.

4.6The right not to be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including corporal punishment (art. 37)

55.The protection of children from abuse is guaranteed by the Constitution, which prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (art. 3) and any punishment that deprives a person of life (art. 2). The Criminal Code (arts. 342 to 345 and 361 to 364) defines and establishes penalties for assaults causing bodily harm to children.

V.Family environment and alternative care

5.1Parental guidance (art. 5)

56.Article 5 of the Constitution recognises that the family is the basic unit of society and ensures its protection.

57.A panel of experts has approved a bill revising the Personal and Family Code, which contains the provisions currently in force with respect to persons and the family. On 21 November 2012, the National Assembly adopted revised versions of articles 58, 59, 60 and 67.

58.Parent guidance programmes such as the Family Life and Population Education Programme have been implemented in Côte d’Ivoire.

59.Community health workers have carried out activities to promote family and community practices, or key family practices, as part of the National Child Health and Survival Programme.

5.2Family reunification (art. 10)

60.The rules governing family reunification have not been altered by the various provisions adopted since 2003 to regulate the conditions under which foreigners may enter and remain in Côte d’Ivoire (Act No. 2003-03 of 3 January 2003, as amended by Act No. 2004-303 of 3 May 2004, and Decision No. 2005-05/PR of 15 July 2005 on personal identification in Côte d’Ivoire). Act No. 90437 of 29 May 1990 thus remains the legal reference framework, in accordance with the information provided in the initial report.

5.3Recovery of maintenance (art. 27 (4))

R 33. The Committee recommends that the State party make widely known the provisions of domestic legislation concerning maintenance allowance, notably to women who are illiterate, and that it ensure that professional groups dealing with this issue are adequately trained and that the courts are stricter regarding the recovery of allowances from solvent parents who refuse to pay.

61.The preliminary bill revising the Personal and Family Code brings together all the provisions of the Marriage Act and the Divorce Act that concern the recovery of maintenance payments.

62.However, a lack of awareness of the legislation continues to hamper the implementation of the provisions intended to protect children. Consequently, awareness-raising and legal assistance activities are being carried out.

5.4Children deprived of a family environment (art. 20)

R 35. The Committee recommends that the State party urgently adopt a programme to strengthen and increase alternative care opportunities for children including, inter alia, the reinforcement of existing structures, the improved training of staff and the allocation of increased resources to relevant bodies. The Committee recommends that the State party seek assistance from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in this regard.

63.In the Ivorian system, there are no alternatives to placement in an institution, for example foster families, but abandoned children are often placed in the care of a member of their extended family or another family in the community. In some cases, family councils within communities make decisions regarding foster care placements.

64.Until this framework is regulated, placement in a public or private institution remains the sole formal means of meeting the needs of children deprived of a family environment.

65.The Ministry of the Family, Women and Social Affairs sought to standardize these practices by making it mandatory, through Order No. 191/MFFAS/DPS of 18 April 2008, to obtain approval prior to opening a centre.

66.The National Child Protection Policy sets out very clear objectives for the organization of the alternative care system so as to guarantee the right of all children to a family life. A review of the system is currently under way.

67.The Government has introduced various measures to strengthen stakeholders’ technical and operational capacities.

5.5Adoption (art. 21)

68.The legal framework governing adoption remains Act No. 83-802 of 2 August 1983 amending and supplementing Act No. 64-378 of 7 October 1964.

69.Côte d’Ivoire is not a signatory to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of Intercountry Adoption. The ratification process is under way.

70.At present, adoption is ultimately a matter for the courts. The process is nevertheless also guided by the principles set out in the Hague Convention.

6.Illicit transfer and non-return (art. 11)

71.The illicit transfer and non-return of children abroad occur in the context of child trafficking. Côte d’Ivoire has signed a number of agreements to address this phenomenon.

7.Abuse and neglect (art. 19), including physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration (art. 39)

R 37. The Committee recommends that the State party undertake studies on domestic violence, ill-treatment and child abuse, including sexual abuse, in order to understand the scope and nature of these practices, to adopt effective measures and policies, and to contribute to changing attitudes. The Committee also recommends that cases of domestic violence and sexual abuse at schools be properly investigated through a child-sensitive judicial procedure, and that the perpetrators be sanctioned, with due regard for the right to privacy of the child.

1.Legislative and regulatory measures

•Title II, Chapter III, of the Criminal Code lists crimes and offences against children.

•Article 3 of the Constitution states that inhuman, cruel, degrading and humiliating treatment, psychological torture, physical abuse and mutilation, and all forms of degradation of human beings are prohibited and punishable by law.

•Order No. 0075/MEN/DELC of 28 September 2009 bans the infliction of corporal or humiliating punishment on school pupils.

•The Ministry of Solidarity, Family, Women and Children and the Ministry of Education and Technical Training have taken preventive measures to punish perpetrators.

•Act No. 98-757 of 23 December 1998 provides for the suppression of certain forms of violence against women.

2.Administrative measures

•The National Child Protection Policy.

•The National Social Protection Strategy.

•The National Committee to Combat Violence against Women and Children has been established.

•“Allo 116 children in distress” helplines have been set up.

•Mechanisms to prevent ill-treatment and other forms of child abuse have been formalized.

•Training, information campaigns and awareness-raising are also being carried out to combat school violence.

3.Statistical data

72.The extent of the problem of school violence had been largely unknown prior to the first national-level study on the topic, entitled “The impact of successive Ivorian crises on schools, the Government’s responses and strategies to guide the national reconciliation process”. The data available for secondary schools are incomplete.

8.Periodic review of placement (art. 25)

73.Periodic review of placement is governed by legal provisions in Côte d’Ivoire. In practice, it is not possible to carry out periodic reviews of placement in all cases, owing to the underlying nature of the placements and resource constraints affecting the judiciary and the social services.

VI.Health and well-being

6.1Children with disabilities (art. 23)

R 47. The Committee recommends that the State party review the situation of children with disabilities in terms of their access to suitable health care, educational services and employment opportunities, and that the State party establish a programme of action to address all areas of concern through an inclusive policy. The Committee further recommends that the State party sensitize the population to the human rights of children with disabilities.

1.Legislative and regulatory measures

•Article 6 of the Constitution of 2000 reaffirms the State’s duty to ensure the protection of persons with disabilities.

•Framework Act No. 98-594 of 10 November 1998 on persons with disabilities. Regrettably, an implementing decree has yet to be passed to give effect to its provisions. Bills have been drawn up and are pending submission to the National Assembly.

•With regard to education, the principle of non-discrimination and inclusive education was incorporated into Act No. 95-696.

•In the international arena, on 7 June 2007, Côte d’Ivoire signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of December 2006 and the Optional Protocol thereto. However, it has yet to ratify the Convention. It was approved by the Council of Ministers on 9 January 2013, and a law authorizing the President to ratify the Convention was passed by the National Assembly on 21 June 2013.

•The country also endorsed the Continental Plan of Action for the African Decade of Persons with Disabilities.

2.Administrative measures

74.In some countries, a lack of statistical data is one of the major problems encountered in the provision of care for persons with disabilities.

75.According to the 1998 general population and housing census, there were 85,517 persons with disabilities in Côte d’Ivoire, including 25,655 children. Of these, 46 per cent were girls and 54 per cent boys. The same source estimated that there were 25,655 school-age children with disabilities, who represented 22.9 per cent of the total number of persons with disabilities.

76.No official exercise has since taken place to collect data on persons with disabilities.

77.At the national level, the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and the National Development Programme both state that development initiatives should prioritize helping persons with disabilities, including children, to thrive. The National Policy for Persons with Disabilities has been prepared with this priority in mind and will soon be approved along with an action plan for the period 2014–2016. In the meantime, children with disabilities are protected under the National Action Plan for Children for the period 2008–2012 through measures to facilitate their social and economic integration.

78.As part of this consistent policy of supporting persons with disabilities through counselling, training and social and professional integration, the Government of Côte d’Ivoire decided to implement the National Community-Based Rehabilitation Programme.

79.At the institutional level, there is a Directorate for the Advancement of Persons with Disabilities.

80.There are also very active community groups working to promote the rights of persons with disabilities.

(a)Access to education

81.Special education remains by far the most common form of education for children and adolescents with sensory disabilities in Côte d’Ivoire. Nevertheless, the inclusive schools project represented an attempt to meet the requirement to include children with special needs in mainstream schools. In follow-up to the recommendations that emerged from the Salamanca Conference, held in Spain, Côte d’Ivoire made a commitment in 1995 to rolling out the inclusive schools project to seven target schools.

Access to special education

82.Côte d’Ivoire has two public special education facilities for children and young people with disabilities: the Ivorian School for Deaf Children and the National Institute for Blind People.

Inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream schools

83.The Directorate of Mutual Benefit Insurance and Welfare has promoted the establishment of social teams in secondary schools and counselling centres in regional and departmental directorates. Inclusion in mainstream schools is strengthened by the fact that blind people have access to secondary schools and colleges. Persons with physical disabilities are exempted from physical and fitness tests and are allowed to return to school if they have a break for health reasons.

84.In preparation for the inclusive education project, the Government has refurbished a number of schools to make them accessible to persons with physical disabilities.

85.To date, the Toumodi Centre for the Education, Training and Integration of Blind People has set up the only special classes in mainstream primary schools. At the secondary level, children with motor and hearing disabilities are enrolled in secondary modern schools in Agnibilékrou and Bondoukou and in 10 secondary schools in Abidjan.

(b)Access to health care and rehabilitation

86.In order to guarantee that children with disabilities have equal access to health-care services, various preventive, care and rehabilitation activities are being carried out at the primary health-care level.

(c)Culture and sport

87.With regard to access to sport, the recommendations that emerged from the sports summit held in Grand-Bassam in 2001 included an emphasis on the idea of sport for all, including persons with disabilities. This led to the establishment of the Ivorian Paralympic Sports Federation. In addition, Special Olympics, a national association, organizes sociocultural and sports activities for children with disabilities.

88.With respect to access to information, the 1 p.m. television news bulletin and certain major events have been broadcast with sign language interpretation since 2003 for the benefit of those with hearing disabilities.

3.Future challenges and goals

89.A lack of statistical data is one of the major obstacles to providing care for persons with disabilities.

6.2Health and health-care services (art. 24)

R 39. The Committee recommends that the State party reinforce its efforts to allocate appropriate resources and develop comprehensive policies and programmes to improve the health situation of children, particularly in rural areas. In this context, the Committee recommends that the State party facilitate greater access to primary health services; reduce the incidence of maternal, child and infant mortality; prevent and combat malnutrition, especially in vulnerable and disadvantaged groups of children; promote proper breastfeeding practices; and increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Additionally, the Committee encourages the State party to pursue additional avenues of cooperation and assistance for child health improvement with, among others, the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF.

90.Pursuant to article 7 of the Constitution, the State ensures that all citizens have equal access to health care. Bearing in mind the United Nations Millennium Declaration of 2000, the Government pays special attention to maternal and child mortality.

(a)Measures taken to develop comprehensive policies and programmes to improve the health situation of children

91.In Côte d’Ivoire, public health care is organized into a three-level pyramid structure. The primary level consists of first-contact health-care facilities (health-care centres, specialist health-care centres and health-care clinics).

92.The secondary level consists of health-care facilities that handle first referrals (general hospitals, regional hospitals and specialist hospitals) and the tertiary level of those that handle second referrals (teaching hospitals and national health-care institutes).

93.The Government’s first plan for the sector was the National Health Development Plan for the period 1996–2005. However, its implementation was disrupted by the events that began in 1999.

94.In this context, technical and financial partners (the European Union, the African Development Bank, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UNICEF) carried out health-care strengthening activities as part of rehabilitation plans (Gavi Alliance Health System Strengthening and Emergency Rehabilitation Programmes 1, 2 and 4) and plans to reinforce the technical capacity of health-care providers, upgrade the equipment used in health-care facilities, provide vehicles for monitoring, motorcycles and a mobile vaccination unit and improve health information management at all levels of the health-care pyramid.

95.The post-election crisis undermined the very foundations of the health-care system and made it incapable of delivering quality services to the very poorest. In response, the Government not only decided to provide health care to the population free of charge for a limited period of time, but also signalled its intention to reform the sector by joining the International Health Partnership and related initiatives (IHP+).

96.As the post-election situation had caused the poverty level among the population to rise, the Government decided to offer relief to affected communities by providing health care free of charge in all public health facilities, beginning on 16 April 2011.

97.Building on the achievements of the National Health Development Plans for the periods 1996–2005 and 2009–2013 and bearing in mind the aims of the new National Health Development Plan for the period 2012–2015, the relevant ministry set out basic guidelines for health-care programmes. To date, 23 health programmes have been set up by order of the minister responsible for health.

98.These programmes are aimed at reducing morbidity and mortality associated with specific diseases through promotional, preventive, curative and research activities and helping to strengthen the impact on the health system.

(b)Measures taken to reduce the rates of infant and child mortality

99.The Accelerated Strategy for Child Survival and Development was launched in Côte d’Ivoire in January 2007 with a view to mounting an integrated response to maternal, child and newborn health problems.

100.In its initial phase, the Strategy was implemented through the Expanded Programme on Immunization Plus (EPI+) and the Maternal and Neonatal Health Plus (MNH+) programme in 37 out of 83 districts in the most disadvantaged regions.

101.The key indicators of child health show that there has been an improvement in recent years, thanks in large part to the efforts made to increase the accessibility of maternal health-care services, particularly to people living in rural areas. These efforts have included improved basic training for health-care workers, an increased availability of human resources in the sector, significant investment in health-care infrastructure, equipment, medicines and other inputs, and improved access to care.

102.Since 2001, the Government has developed the Strategy for the Integrated Management of Newborn and Childhood Illnesses, which now covers 20 out of the 83 districts and has provided training for around 400 health-care workers and 8,000 community health workers.

103.The Strategy aims to reduce morbidity and mortality among children aged under 5 years by addressing the main causes of mortality in this age group. It is based on the following three elements: (i) improving health-care workers’ skills (the hospital-based Integrated Management of Newborn and Childhood Illnesses); (ii) strengthening the health-care system; and (iii) promoting key family practices (the community-based Integrated Management of Newborn and Childhood Illnesses).

104.However, owing to the relatively high cost of training, the Strategy has not yet been rolled out to all districts. In response, the National Child Health Programme is strengthening its advocacy work and exploring partnerships for wider mobilization.

105.Between 2009 and 2010, the State budget allocation for the National Newborn Health Programme increased from CFAF 73,072,500 to CFAF 89,495,764. In addition, in 2009, a total of CFAF 36,544,472 was contributed by partners, including UNICEF, WHO, UNFPA, the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the International Rescue Committee. The budget for 2013 (National Child Health and Survival Programme) was CFAF 220,800,000.

106.Since 2012, many activities have been undertaken on the ground to improve child survival in Côte d’Ivoire. These include using community volunteers (community health workers and breastfeeding support groups) to carry out the interventions provided for under the Child Survival Strategy, co-opting departmental health-care directorates to carry out these interventions and incorporating them into various health-care programmes.

107.Activities have also been carried out at the community level. These include awareness-raising in the media and outreach activities. A multimedia campaign on practices that can save the lives of mothers and children, entitled “Survival Kit”, was planned to run throughout the year.

108.Health districts have produced radio and television spots and promotional posters to raise awareness among households.

109.The fall in mortality rates is due in part to the Expanded Programme on Immunization, the aim of which was to vaccinate children against nine diseases and women of childbearing age against tetanus.

(c)Measures taken to improve maternal health

110.Several activities have been carried out:

•Health-care workers have been trained in emergency obstetric and newborn care, contraceptive technology and the logistical management of reproductive health products.

•4 urban health-care centres, 34 rural maternity wards and 7 general hospital operating theatres have been built (2009).

•107 maternity clinics and 27 operating units have been refurbished and re-equipped (2007).

•The referral and counter-referral system has been strengthened through the introduction of outpatient services.

•National demand for contraceptives has continually been met (since 2005).

•The treatment and prevention of obstetric fistula have improved significantly with the creation of three response centres in high-prevalence areas.

•Capacity-building for health-care workers through South-South cooperation.

111.Activities have also been carried out at the community level. In 2008, Côte d’Ivoire adopted a road map for the accelerated reduction of maternal, newborn and child mortality with a view to speeding up progress on the key indicators of maternal and child health.

112.This focus on accelerating the reduction in maternal mortality led Côte d’Ivoire to launch its own version of the Campaign on Accelerated Reduction of Maternal, Newborn and Child Mortality in Africa.

(d)Measures taken to prevent and combat malnutrition, especially in vulnerable and disadvantaged groups of children and to promote breastfeeding

113.In 2001, the Ivorian Government established the National Nutrition Programme so as to improve the population’s nutritional status, which was a priority objective of the National Health Development Plan for the period 1996–2005. The Programme specifically targets the most vulnerable groups, such as children (including orphans and vulnerable children) and women of reproductive age.

114.Various regulatory measures have also been taken to improve the population’s nutritional status.

(e)Allocation of resources

115.Regrettably, Côte d’Ivoire has yet to reach the target agreed by heads of State in Abuja in 2001, namely to allocate 15 per cent of the national budget to health care by exploring public-private partnerships. The share of the State budget allocated to health-care expenditure in Côte d’Ivoire has yet to exceed 5 per cent.

6.2.1Efforts to combat HIV/AIDS

R 43. The Committee recommends that the State party increase its efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS and take into consideration the recommendations adopted by the Committee on its day of general discussion on “Children living in a world with HIV/AIDS” (CRC/C/80, para. 243). The Committee also urges the State party to consider ways of minimizing the impact upon children of the HIV/AIDS-related deaths of parents, teachers and others, in terms of children’s reduced access to a family life, to adoption, to emotional care and to education. The Committee recommends that the State party seek technical assistance from, among others, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

1.Legislative and regulatory measures

116.Some years ago, Côte d’Ivoire began the process of drafting a bill on prevention, protection and control with respect to combating HIV/AIDS in order to tackle the stigmatization of people living with HIV/AIDS and ensure their protection. The bill was approved by the Council of Ministers in August 2013. It contains a chapter on the specific rights of children.

2.Administrative measures

(a)Institutional framework

•The National AIDS Control Committee is the institutional body responsible for steering the country’s HIV/AIDS policy.

•The Ministry responsible for Combating AIDS, which was set up in 2001, is responsible for implementing the Government’s policy on HIV/AIDS control and coordinating all the measures planned in that regard in collaboration with relevant ministerial departments.

•The partners’ forum, which is chaired by the Minister of Health and AIDS Control, is the primary forum for bringing together technical and financial partners and local decision-makers to support the National AIDS Control Committee in coordinating interventions to combat AIDS.

117.In the interests of more effective decentralized coordination, the ministry responsible for health has devolved its services by establishing AIDS control committees at the regional (19), departmental (39), municipal (52) and village (723) levels.

118.Nine ministries have a specific HIV/AIDS mandate, and two of them receive special State funding as a result.

Planning framework:

National Strategic Plan

119.In 2006, Côte d’Ivoire adopted a National Strategic Plan to Combat HIV/AIDS for the period 2006–2010, which has seven strategic areas.

Plan to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Côte d’Ivoire (2012–2015)

120.The country’s plan to eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission is closely aligned with objectives and commitments made at the global level regarding the elimination of mother-to-child HIV transmission by 2015.

Resource allocations

121.The results of the National AIDS Spending Assessment show that a total of CFAF 86.1 billion was allocated to HIV/AIDS activities in Côte d’Ivoire over the period 2006–2008. The amount allocated annually increased from 21.5 billion CFAF in 2006 to 31.3 billion CFAF in 2008, peaking at CFAF 33.3 billion in 2007. Overall, international donations remain the largest funding source.

(b)Programmes implemented to protect children affected by HIV/AIDS

122.Through the National Programme for Persons Living with HIV/AIDS, the ministry responsible for health ensures the implementation of policy on the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) and provides paediatric care for children living with HIV/AIDS. According to UNAIDS estimates, the number of children living with HIV/AIDS has continued to grow, from 44,000 in 2001 to 62,873 in 2009.

123.In March 2006, there were 84 PMTCT centres out of 716 public health-care facilities offering prenatal consultations, covering 15 out of 19 regions.

124.In 2009, following the implementation of the Plan to Scale Up the Prevention of Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission and Paediatric HIV/AIDS Care, the National Programme for Persons Living with HIV/AIDS identified 549 PMTCT centres covering 95 per cent of the country’s districts and 301 paediatric care centres covering 94 per cent of them. There were 695 PMTCT centres in 2011, and a further 250 were planned to open in 2013. There are also 354 centres that offer early childhood diagnosis and 310 paediatric care centres.

125.The number of pregnant women who were tested increased from 117,831 in 2007 to 230,159 in 2008. The number who had received testing and counselling and who knew their results was 107,227 in 2007 and 202,540 in 2008.

126.The technical capacity of these services was strengthened in 2007 and 2008, when 646 and 606 health-care professionals, respectively, were trained to offer services at PMTCT centres in accordance with national and international standards.

127.Pursuant to Order No. 213/MSHP/CAB of 20 August 2008, antiretroviral treatment and laboratory tests (treatment and follow-up) are provided free of charge to children living with HIV/AIDS. The paediatric ward of Yopougon University Hospital serves as the national reference centre for children.

128.In 2003, the ministry responsible for children’s issues established the National Programme for Orphans and Children Made Vulnerable by HIV/AIDS. The aim of the programme is to implement the National Strategy for the Care of Orphans and Vulnerable Children in accordance with the priority objectives of the National Strategic Plan.

129.With a view to preventing the spread of HIV and raising children’s awareness of how it is spread, the ministry responsible for education has incorporated HIV instruction into life skills programmes (in 2.1 per cent of schools in the 2008–2009 school year, according to the Teaching and In-Service Training Directorate under the Ministry of Education). The Life Skills programme offers another example of how HIV has been incorporated into teaching curricula. By 2009, as a result of this programme, HIV had been incorporated into the curricula of 216 secondary schools in 15 of the country’s regions. There are 154 student-run health clubs in schools, which provide a forum in which the topic can be discussed and considered. All educational programmes now have an HIV/AIDS component.

130.Civil society also plays an important role in raising awareness and combating the stigmatization of people living with HIV. Many associations are involved in that regard, most of them as part of networks such as the Council of AIDS Control Organizations or the Network of Organizations of Persons Living with HIV. Listening and advice centres also offer counselling and guidance services for young people who have either dropped out of school or are not enrolled (see 6.2.2).

6.2.2Adolescent health

R 41. The Committee recommends that the State party undertake a comprehensive study in order to understand the nature and extent of adolescent health problems, with the full participation of adolescents, and use this as a basis for the formulation of adolescent health policies and programmes, with particular attention to female adolescents.

131.Although an in-depth study has not been undertaken to gain a comprehensive understanding of adolescent health problems, many clinical and socio-behavioural studies on adolescent sexuality have highlighted the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections among young people aged 13 to 19 years, which is particularly notable among those aged under 15 years, especially girls. This aspect of adolescent and youth health is all the more worrying in view of their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.

132.The 2005 AIDS Indicators Survey found that 21 per cent of girls and 15 per cent of boys had first had sex before the age of 15 years. This trend was confirmed in the knowledge, attitudes and practice survey carried out by the National Institute of Statistics in eight of the country’s departments in 2009. The study revealed that 52.2 per cent of young people were sexually active by the age of 16 years, that 19 per cent of girls aged 19 years had already given birth to at least one child and that 44 per cent of boys and 75 per cent of girls did not use condoms during sex.

133.The AIDS Indicators Survey also indicated that 73 per cent of young men and 56 per cent of young women had first had sex before the age of 18 years and that only 12 per cent of women and 30 per cent of men had used a condom when they had last had high-risk sex.

134.According to the report on the survey of students’ and teachers’ knowledge, attitudes and practices with respect to sexually transmitted infections, HIV/AIDS and pregnancy and the situation analysis of orphans and vulnerable children in schools, which was carried out by the Directorate of Mutual Benefit Insurance and Welfare in 2009 in the areas of Abidjan, Aboisso, Man and Korhogo, 47.6 per cent of teachers had had sex with a student. The survey also revealed that the average age of first sexual intercourse was 14.66 years.

135.These studies show the persistence of risky behaviour, which, in the absence of a national strategy on adolescent health problems, is being addressed through sectoral interventions, including the behaviour change communication activities planned under the National Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS and the interventions provided for under the National Reproductive Health Programme.

136.As part of a youth health project conducted by the Ministry of Youth and Sport, 13 listening and advice centres have been built across the country. UNICEF supported the Ministry in introducing a strategic framework for combating HIV/AIDS.

6.2.3Harmful traditional practices

R 45. The Committee urges the State party to continue its efforts to end the practice of female genital mutilation, inter alia through enforcement of legislation and implementation of programmes sensitizing the population about its harmful effects.

1.Legislative and regulatory measures

137.At the legislative level, the country demonstrated its commitment to combating female genital mutilation by adopting Act No. 98-757 of 23 December 1998 on the suppression of certain forms of violence against women, which establishes penalties for perpetrators of 1 to 5 years’ imprisonment and up to 20 years’ imprisonment if the victim dies.

138.Article 3 of the Constitution of 2000 also reaffirms the ban on mutilation and all forms of degradation of human beings.

139.On 28 July 2010, the Ivorian Parliament drafted a motion calling on the United Nations General Assembly, at its sixty-fifth session, to adopt a resolution banning female genital mutilation globally.

2.Administrative measures

140.The country has based its response to the phenomenon of female genital mutilation on a synergy between the activities of the ministry responsible for children, development partners and civil society organizations. Examples of this cooperation include the following:

•A national action plan for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 was approved in 2008.

•A national strategy to combat gender-based violence was prepared in December 2008.

•Counselling offices were set up by the National Committee to Combat Violence against Women and Children to provide psychosocial support to victims of violence, including female genital mutilation, in the communes of Abidjan and in the interior of the country.

•Capacity-building for opinion leaders.

•With the support of UNICEF, a compendium of legal instruments on combating female genital mutilation was put together by the NGO Organisation Nationale pour l’Enfant et la Famille (National Organization for Children and Families).

•Public ceremonies were organized to renounce female genital mutilation.

•With the support of UNICEF, mass community awareness-raising campaigns were organized at the local level to kick-start the process of abandoning female genital mutilation. In all, more than 300,000 people were reached.

•Radio spots were produced and broadcast in national languages.

•A campaign of zero tolerance towards female genital mutilation was launched.

•The National Committee to Combat Violence against Women and Children organized 27 meetings with decision-makers on the effective implementation of Act No. 98-757 of 1998.

•In 2009–2010, the Directorate of Gender Equality and Promotion, the Directorate of Mutual Benefit Insurance and Welfare and the National School and University Health Programme worked in collaboration to organize sessions to raise awareness of female genital mutilation and sexual violence in 543 schools in the most affected regions.

•Committees have been set up throughout the country to monitor and raise awareness of gender-based violence and female genital mutilation.

•In February 2013, on the occasion of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, the Directorate of Gender Equality and Promotion initiated a dialogue with leaders of communities in which female genital mutilation was highly prevalent and women who performed excisions or had previously done so. Following these discussions, the leaders made a commitment to abandoning the practice.

•150 women who performed excisions were identified for retraining in alternative income-generating activities.

•General Assembly resolution 67/146 of 20 December 2012 on intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilations was disseminated.

3.Statistical data

141.More than two in five women questioned as part of the 2011–2012 Multiple-Indicator Demographic and Health Survey said that they had been subjected to excision, most of them (53 per cent) before the age of 5 years. The prevalence of female genital mutilation fell over the period 1998–2012.

142.The practice was most prevalent in the North-West region (80 per cent) and the North region (74 per cent). Excision had been practised on 11 per cent of girls aged under 14 years. The type of excision most frequently practised on women aged 15 to 49 years involved removing flesh (71 per cent). However, 14 per cent of girls aged under 15 years of age who been subjected to excision had had their vagina sewn closed. This proportion rose to 32 per cent in the centre-west of the country; it stood at 31 per cent in the city of Abidjan.

143.Going forward, and with a view to accelerating the abandonment of the practice, the Government aims to gear its strategies primarily towards disseminating and strictly applying the law banning female genital mutilation in Côte d’Ivoire, including by ensuring the implementation of framework documents setting out the action to be taken at a national level to combat the practice.

6.3Social security and childcare services and facilities (arts. 26 and 18 (3))

144.The State requires all employers to insure their employees against occupational accidents. In practice, this regulatory provision, which is reaffirmed in the Labour Code, is not fully implemented. Many workers have no legal protection (no social security coverage) and face precarious conditions.

145.The Ivorian social security system remains strongly affected by discrimination. The majority of the population (over 90 per cent), consisting in the main of farmers, workers in the informal sector and the poor, is not covered by the system.

146.The system includes the following entities:

•The Social Insurance Institution-National Social Insurance Fund

•The Social Insurance Institution-General Civil Servants’ Retirement Fund

•Private insurance schemes

•Mutual benefit societies

147.Overall, all social institutions included, less than 10 per cent of the total population currently has social security coverage.

148.The Government has introduced universal health-care coverage to overcome this deficiency.

149.With regard to childcare facilities, the ministry responsible for children ensures the running of day-care centres (for children aged under 2 years) and kindergartens (for children aged 2 to 6 years). According to the most recent map of social services, which was drawn up in 2009, there were 11 day-care centres and kindergartens in the country, 9 of which were private. However, they are insufficient in number to meet demand from the population.

6.4Standard of living (art. 27 (1) to (3))

R 49. The Committee encourages the State party to revise its social policy by improving its drug policy and by facilitating access to primary health care. Similarly, the Committee recommends that the State party promote access to education and adequate housing in order to assist poor families and their children to improve their living conditions.

150.According to the preliminary results of the 2008 quality of life survey, around half of the population is living in absolute poverty. The percentage of people living in absolute poverty has increased significantly over the last two decades, from 10 per cent in 1985 to 38.4 per cent in 2002 and 48.9 per cent in 2008. Poverty began to increase in the 1980s and 1990s and continued on the same trajectory during the political turmoil of 1999 and the military and political crisis of 2002.

151.Poverty is more prevalent in rural areas (64 per cent) than in urban areas (32 per cent), but increasing urbanization leads to higher levels of urban poverty and inequality, particularly in the city of Abidjan.

152.At the national level, the poverty gap rose from 13 per cent in 2002 to 18 per cent in 2008, which reflects an increase in the gap between the average income of people living below the poverty line and the poverty line itself. The overall level of income inequality is high.

153.The country’s contributory social security system offers retirement rights, maternity benefits, sick pay and disability allowances to workers in the formal sector and, to some extent, to their families. However, those covered represent around 10 per cent of the population and, moreover, they already receive regular income and thus tend not to be among the most vulnerable.

154.There are also some non-contributory systems administered by different ministries. These programmes, which cover scholarships, assistance for persons with disabilities, support for victims of war and the poor, subsidized health care and unemployment benefits, are managed by eight central ministries and the decentralized institutions, including the districts. Among the ministries, the main social security providers are the ministry responsible for social affairs, the ministry responsible for solidarity, the ministry responsible for health and AIDS control (which operates funds for the poor in the main hospitals) and the ministry responsible for education. The ministry responsible for children runs orphanages and the ministry responsible for social affairs runs institutions for persons with disabilities. The budget for these programmes is relatively small, and negligible compared to the central budget.

155.Beyond the social security system for workers in the formal sector and the small-scale non-contributory systems mentioned above, Côte d’Ivoire lacks a formal social protection system to provide social security for poor and vulnerable families.

156.The lack of such a system leaves poor people dependent on traditional, informal solidarity mechanisms. While these mechanisms are deeply rooted in Ivorian social traditions, their capacity to absorb shocks is limited.

157.There are mutual benefit societies throughout the country, but their members represent a tiny fraction of the population. These schemes offer limited benefits, mainly because of their small size and lack of organization. They operate on a contributory basis, which often puts them out of reach of the poorest, the most disadvantaged families and those unable to pay the membership fees.

158.In Côte d’Ivoire, primary education is provided free of charge from the first to the sixth grades (CP1 to CM2).

159.However, school management committees generally require families to pay enrolment fees to cover the costs of running their schools. Health-care services, including basic health-care services, are provided free of charge only for children aged under 5 years, pregnant women and students, through the National Programme for Health in Schools and Universities.

160.The reasons for the very limited access to health-care services include the fact that they are not provided free of charge and the limited geographical coverage of health-care facilities.

161.In Côte d’Ivoire, the institutional and policy framework governing social protection is weak.

162.Over the period 1990–2010, Côte d’Ivoire made insufficient progress to meet the Millennium Development Goals for access to water (which rose from 76 per cent to 80 per cent) and sanitation (which rose from 20 per cent to 24 per cent). The most recent figures indicate that the situation has become even more precarious: nationally, 78.4 per cent of the population has access to safe water and 21.9 per cent to improved sanitation.

VII.Education, leisure and cultural activities

7.1Education, including vocational training and guidance (art. 28)

R 51. The Committee urges the State party to adopt and implement the project to make primary education free to all and compulsory. The Committee also recommends raising the level of educational achievement among children through, inter alia, increasing the number of available schools and classes, providing for the initial and ongoing training of more teachers and school inspectors, developing standard national textbooks, increasing the rates of enrolment and providing assistance with school fees, uniforms and other equipment for poor families. The Committee recommends in addition that the State party ensure that children with disabilities have access to formal and vocational educational opportunities and that every effort be made to ensure that girls and boys, as well as children from urban and rural areas, have equal access to educational opportunities.

1.Programmatic framework

163.The challenging macroeconomic environment in Côte d’Ivoire over the last 20 years has had particularly negative consequences for the education system.

164.The national education/training development plan drawn up in 1997 formally outlined the major choices that should have governed national policy between 1998 and 2010.

165.The plan proved difficult to implement, in particular because of the military and political crisis of 2002. For the purposes of assessing the education system, in 2002, Côte d’Ivoire undertook to prepare the “State Report on the Ivorian Education System”, but work in that area was interrupted by the political crisis. It recommenced in 2007, and the Report was finally published on 30 May 2009.

166.The main findings of the Report were:

•Quantitatively insufficient primary education coverage, with a gross enrolment ratio of 74 per cent and a primary education completion rate still below 50 per cent (at 47 per cent).

•An imbalance between the higher and lower levels of the system: while too few children attended primary school, the higher levels, which were very expensive, were overburdened and inefficient.

•Significant managerial shortcomings.

•Persistent and substantial social inequalities in terms of both enrolment and the allocation of public resources, rendering the Ivorian education system inequitable.

167.In order to respond to these concerns and set out some basic policy options designed to achieve universal primary schooling, the “Medium-term Education Sector Action Plan 2010–2013” was formulated by the three ministries responsible for the sector and approved in June 2010.

2.Steps taken to raise the level of educational achievement among children

168.Pursuant to article 7 of the Constitution, the State guarantees all citizens equal access to education.

169.The crisis, related in particular to the period of armed conflict, greatly hindered access to schooling for children from many regions of the country for several years.

170.Accordingly, the Government put in place a number of measures, including through the approval, in October 2003, of the “Action Plan for the Post-Conflict Reconstruction of the System”, the primary objectives of which were: to ensure that teachers were available throughout the country, so that children in formerly besieged areas could return to school; to rehabilitate infrastructure; to organize competitive and other examinations; and to provide student counselling services.

171.The results obtained include:

•The establishment, in the area under government control, of 78 satellite schools that took in 21,517 children, and the school enrolment of an additional 49,896 children thanks to the opening of 572 classrooms

•The redeployment of management staff and teachers, which involved the payment of incentive bonuses

•The revision and adjustment of training curricula in the light of the crisis

•The organization and holding, in 2006, of school examinations in the northern, central and western regions

•The rehabilitation and re-equipment, in 2005, of 200 primary schools in the former northern, central and western regions, as part of a project entitled “School: a Conducive Environment for Peace and Tolerance”

•The rehabilitation and re-equipment, between 2008 and 2010, of 150 primary schools in the former northern, central and western regions with the support of Japan and the African Development Bank, as part of the “Post-Crisis Institutional and Multisectoral Support Project”, specifically the section on the restoration of primary education

•The distribution, between 2004 and 2008, of 1,050,000 school kits and more than 20,000 recreation and education kits in formerly besieged areas to enable children to return to school, thanks to the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme and the European Union

•The provision of free schooling from 2012 to 2013 through the distribution, by the State, of 1,500,000 school kits and textbooks

•The construction, between 2011 and 2013, of 36,000 classrooms, and the rehabilitation of existing infrastructure

172.To ensure that the four-year campaign that enabled 1.2 million children to attend or return to school had a lasting impact, communication networks were put in place in 14 Regional Directorates of Education and Technical Training to serve as conduits not only for the measures and messages of the Ministry of Education and Technical Training and other partners in the education system but also for awareness-raising and advocacy campaigns among the public at large.

173.Between 2008 and 2011, over 4,000 volunteer teachers were trained and recruited into the civil service with the backing of the African Development Bank, as part of the “Post-Crisis Institutional and Multisectoral Support Project”.

174.In 2012, a total of 3,000 secondary-school contract teachers and 5,000 primary-school teachers were recruited on an exceptional basis. The recruitment of a further 8,000 primary-school teachers is anticipated for 2013.

175.The State’s commitment to encouraging children to attend and remain in school has been manifested by not only emergency measures but also various other actions, including actions to improve access to preschool education, reduce the cost of primary education for families and increase the number of available schools and classrooms.

176.The need to expedite the construction and rehabilitation of schools has been recognized in the Medium-term Education Sector Action Plan, which provides for the construction of 1,500 new classrooms per year in primary schools alone, the universal introduction and continued existence of school canteens, the annual recruitment of teachers and the development of alternative education solutions.

177.As part of the implementation of the Presidential Emergency Programme, 191 community schools with 675 classrooms were identified throughout the country and are being constructed out of permanent materials, along with 56 housing units for teachers.

178.All these measures have led to a gradual improvement with regard to key indicators over the period 2001–2008, as illustrated by the tables below:

Table 1

	00/01	01/02	05/06	06/07	07/08	08/09	10/11	11/12	12/13
Overall	63.4%	66.4%	70.6%	70.6%	76.9%	73.4%	78.1%	87.8%	88.7%
Boys	68.2%	69.9%	77.0%	76.9%	83.9%	77.4%	81.6%	91.4%	91.4%
Girls	58.5%	62.8%	64.1%	64.4%	70.0%	69.3%	74.4%	84.2%	85.9%

Gross primary-school admission rate ( source : Directorate of Information Technology, Planning, Evaluation and Statistics)

Table 2

	00/01	01/02	05/06	06/07	07/08	08/09	10/11	11/12	12/13
Overall	74.0%	76.0%	74.0%	74.3%	77.9%	76.2%	83.8%	89.3%	91.2%
Boys	81.5%	83.8%	81.9%	82.5%	79.6%	82.6%	89.8%	95.1%	96.3%
Girls	66.0%	67.7%	65.9%	66.1%	63.7%	69.4%	77.5%	83.2%	85.8%

Gross school enrolment rate ( source : Directorate of Information Technology, Planning, Evaluation and Statistics)

Table 3

	00/01	01/02	05/06	06/07	07/08	08/09	10/11	11/12	12/13
Overall	46.7%	45.0%	43.1%	46.0%	51.1%	48.5%	54.2%	59.1%	58.2%
Boys	54.4%	52.7%	52.3%	53.4%	59.8%	55.7%	61.9%	66.3%	64.0%
Girls	38.4%	36.8%	33.5%	38.3%	42.2%	41.1%	46.3%	51.5%	52.1%
Gender gap	16.0%	15.8%	18.8%	15.1%	17.6%	14.6%	15.6%	14.8%	11.9%

179.This progress, however, was not sufficient to achieve the target of ensuring that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, would be able to complete a full course of primary schooling. Consequently, the Medium-term Education Sector Action Plan and the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper placed high priority on the development of primary education, in terms of access, retention and quality.

180.Making primary education universal in Côte d’Ivoire entails increasing the supply and, by extension, recruiting and deploying teachers in far greater numbers than in recent years, in which, despite the annual recruitment of teachers, there has not been a significant change in the student-teacher ratio, which has dropped from 46 to 42.

Table 4

Student-teacher ratio

Academic year	Number of students	Number of teachers	Student-teacher ratio
2000/01	2 046 861	44 424	46
2001/02	2 113 836	52 725	40
2002/03	1 478 093	36 474	41
2003/04	1 624 349	37 146	44
2004/05	1 715 901	38 116	45
2005/06	2 111 975	45 804	46
2006/07	2 179 801	53 161	41
2007/08	2 356 240	56 248	42
2008/09	2 383 359	56 433	42
2010/11	2 704 458	65 228	41
2011/12	2 920 791	70 016	42
2012/13	3 021 417	73 691	41

Source : Directorate of Information Technology, Planning, Evaluation and Statistics.

3.Steps taken to ensure that girls and boys have equal access to education

181.An analysis of the statistics available with regard to primary education reveals a disparity between girls and boys. In addition to aforementioned regulatory measures (see the circulars on the enrolment of girls in the first year of primary school as part of efforts to remove the barriers to access to education for boys and girls and on the reintegration of teenage mothers), a number of activities have been undertaken by the Government to improve girls’ access to education, including the creation, in 1998, of the Unit for the Promotion of the Education and Training of Girls and Women within the Ministry of Education and Technical Training. This Unit became the Girls’ Education Service of the Division for Education for All, which is now part of the Directorate of Primary and Secondary Schools of the Ministry.

182.Starting in 2006, the Girls’ Education Service, which works closely with the gender unit established by the Directorate of Gender Equality of the Ministry of Solidarity, Family, Women and Children, took the lead in the preparation of the Strategic Plan for Girls’ Education in Côte d’Ivoire 2007–2011.

183.To spearhead the implementation of the Plan, which was the subject of a mid-term review in 2009, a partnership network inspired by the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative was put in place and institutionalized by interministerial decree No. 0066 of 2 August 2011 of the Ministry of Education and Technical Training and the Ministry of the Family, Women and Social Affairs.

184.The main activities under the Plan, which has the support of UNICEF, may be summarized as follows:

•The creation of 79 clubs for mothers of girl pupils in some establishments, including around 30 in the north of the country, aimed at encouraging mothers to become more involved in their daughters’ schooling by stimulating demand for education in the community. Ten club facilities were equipped with multipurpose mills to help to develop income-generating activities to support the school enrolment of girls.

•Advocacy for the signing of a memorandum, which took place in March 2009, by the Union of Ivorian Cities and Municipalities and the Assembly of Ivorian Districts and Departments to affirm their commitment to incorporate, in their development plans, initiatives in favour of girls’ education.

•The establishment of local committees to raise awareness of girls’ education in the northern, central and western regions, as part of back-to-school campaigns.

•Participation in the project entitled “School: a Conducive Environment for Peace and Tolerance”, which was piloted in 200 primary schools from 2005 to 2010, and in the project entitled “School: a Friendly Environment for Children; a Friendly Environment for Girls”, which has been in the process of formalization since 2012 with a view to its implementation in 150 primary schools in 11 Regional Directorates of Education and Technical Training.

185.To strengthen the impact of these measures, the Ministry of Education and Technical Training intends to develop specific support for girls’ education by trialling positive incentives for girls who attend school in rural areas, such as dry rations for girls in years 4 and 5 (cours moyen) in areas targeted because of the particularly low school enrolment rate of girls.

4.Steps taken to ensure that children in urban and rural areas have equal access to education

Community schools

186.The purpose of community schools is to guarantee the enrolment of children in localities far from formal schools, mainly in rural areas.

187.There are 471 community schools – of which 102 have already been added to the school zoning map – currently registered by the Ministry of Education and Technical Training, with a total of 32,437 students (13,663 girls and 18,774 boys).

5.Steps taken to ensure that children with disabilities have access to formal and vocational educational opportunities

188.Children with physical disabilities are taught in public schools, but there are only very limited statistics concerning their school attendance, which makes it difficult to obtain a realistic estimate of their specific needs. As a result, the Ministry of Education and Technical Training intends to take them into account in national education statistics as of the beginning of next academic year (2013/14).

189.The integrated schooling project (see section 6.2) sought to meet the need to provide education to other children with specific/special needs, including those with sensory disabilities, within the national education system, in establishments other than specialized institutions. The project, which was terminated prematurely, was relaunched in January 2010 thanks to the support of UNICEF. A study on children with special needs is under way with a view to establishing integrated schools.

Number of children with sensory disabilities enrolled in school in 2010:

•185 in mainstream secondary schools;

•1,350 in special primary schools (the Ivorian National Institute for Blind People and the Ivorian School for Deaf Children).

6.Steps taken to ensure that Koranic schools and Islamic schools respect national school curricula and aims of education and are placed under the authority of the Ministry of Education

190.For a number of years, the Ministry of Education and Technical Training has been engaged in a consultative process on how to integrate Koranic schools and Islamic schools into the formal education system with the collaboration of the Muslim community, advocates of Islamic schools and development partners, including UNICEF. The activities undertaken to this end are:

•The introduction, in 2005, of picture boxes in Koranic schools to facilitate the learning of life skills related to the prevention of illnesses common in the country and HIV/AIDS infection, and to hygiene and civic education

•The organization of a workshop on the functional links between Islamic schools and the formal education system (May 2008)

•The carrying out, by an international research consultancy, of a diagnostic survey on the development of strategies for the integration of Islamic schools into the formal system (October to December 2008)

•The sharing of the results of the study and their submission to the Ministry of Education and Technical Training (July 2009)

191.Based on visits conducted in 611 establishments, the study estimated the total number of staff members in Koranic schools across the country to be 1,020, and the number of students to be 486,230. At present, only 15 establishments teach science and literature curricula authorized or recognized by the State.

192.At the same time, a process was begun to integrate into the formal system the 43 Islamic religious schools identified in the study as having curricula that complied with official teaching standards.

•An advisory committee on the integration of Islamic schools was set up in 2011.

•In 2011, evaluations were conducted of 22 Islamic schools, which were integrated into the formal education system.

•In 2012, evaluations were conducted of 94 Islamic schools, which were integrated into the formal education system.

•In 2012/13, 107,136 school kits were distributed in the 22 Islamic schools mentioned above.

7.Budgetary resources allocated

Year	State expenditure (in billions of CFA francs)	Public expenditure on education	Current expenditure on education	Total expenditure on education
Current	Investment from resources	Total	% o f current State expenditure, excluding d ebt	% of GDP	% of total State expenditure	% of GDP
Current expenditure, excluding debt	Debt service	Capital	Total	Current (in billions of CFA francs)	Constant CFA francs at the 2007 rate	Domestic	Foreign	Total
Billion	Population aged 6–15 years
2001	894.3	259.7	143.3	1,297.3	287.6	337.3	79,169			13.4	301.0	32.2	3.7	23.2	3.9
2002	1 056.1	244.9	257.1	1 558.1	331.6	377.4	87 120			20.2	351.8	31.4	4.1	22.6	4.4
2003	1 170.8	231.4	213.7	1 615.9	334.9	369.0	83 865			18.3	353.2	28.6	4.2	21.9	4.4
2004	1 223.4	181.4	228.2	1 633.0	336.5	365.4	81 894			24.2	360.7	27. 5	4.1	22.1	4.4
2005	1 280.9	177.5	235.3	1 693.7	352.2	368.2	81 270			17.5	369.8	27.5	4.1	21.8	4.3
2006	1 426.2	131.9	279.4	1 837.5	360.9	368.2	79 934			21.8	382.7	25.3	3.9	20.8	4.2
2007	1 522.0	138.8	271.2	1 932.0	392.0	392.0	83 593			27.3**	419.3	25.8	4.1	21.7	4.4
2008**	1 554.9	144.3	411.2	2 110.4

Source: State Report on the Education System * Actual expenditure; ** Estimates.

193.Public current expenditure on education increased in nominal terms from 220.6 billion CFA francs in 1990 to 392 billion CFA francs in 2007. In constant terms (CFA francs at the 2007 rate), the progression was far less marked. However, the 2011–2013 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework provided for an increase in the budgetary resources allocated to national education from no less than 3.2 per cent of the gross domestic product in 2007 to 4.2 per cent by 2013.

7.2Goals and quality of education (art. 29)

R 52. The Committee recommends that the State party pursue its efforts to include “education for peace and tolerance”, children’s rights and other human rights subjects in the curricula of primary and secondary schools, and that assistance be requested from UNICEF and UNESCO in this regard.

194.Côte d’Ivoire undertook to make human rights education a reality in its education system. To this end, it adopted several measures:

•The creation, in 2005, of clubs run under the title “Children: Messengers of Peace” in 200 primary schools in the country, and the development, in 2005, of the “Peace and Tolerance Education Programme”, which was incorporated into primary-school curricula

•The appointment, by Ministry of Education Decree No. 0073 of 18 July 2006, of a focal point for the coordination of the World Programme for Human Rights Education, in accordance with United Nations General Assembly resolutions 59/113 A and 59/113 B

•The establishment, in April 2008, of the National Committee on the World Programme for Human Rights Education

•The holding, on 3 April 2009, of a workshop to mark the official launch of operational activities under the World Programme for Human Rights Education, at which key resolutions were adopted on the incorporation of human rights in the education system as a specific discipline on the same basis as other subjects, under the title “Human Rights and Citizenship Education”, and as a replacement for civic education and ethics

•The adoption, in 2009, of the National Action Plan for the Global Programme, the objective of which was to introduce Human Rights and Citizenship Education as a specific subject in 2011, and of an amended and approved draft timeline of activities

•The approval, in January 2010, of all the curricula developed for the subject “Human Rights and Citizenship Education”

•The provision, in October 2010, of human rights training to Human Rights and Citizenship Education trainers and developers

195.In preparation for the widespread introduction of the subject in the 2011/12 academic year, a project to test, monitor and oversee Human Rights and Citizenship Education curricula in pilot classes was conceived and is awaiting funding.

7.3Rest, leisure, play and cultural and artistic activities (art. 31)

196.The Ministry of Youth, Sport and Leisure is behind the drafting of a national youth policy, a national sport policy, a national leisure policy and a sports reform bill. To give effect to children’s rights to leisure and cultural activities, the Ministry implements recreational, sports, cultural and arts programmes at the local, regional and national levels. Examples include:

•The establishment of 111 socio-educational centres (youth centres, youth information centres, hostels, youth homes)

•The organization of annual holiday and day camps for children and young people aged 4 to 18 years

197.It should however be noted that there are other camps organized by private promoters.

198.In addition, the scouts and other youth clubs organize rural youth camps aimed at children and young people aged 10 years and over:

•The organization of sports activities by the Directorate of Grassroots Sport and the Ivorian Office for School and University Sports

•The building of infrastructure

199.Other institutions, such as the ministries responsible for education, security and children, and civil society organizations, also develop leisure, sports and cultural programmes for all children without discrimination.

VIII.Special protection measures

8.1Children in situations of emergency

8.1.1Refugee children (art. 22)

R 60. The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen the legal protection of refugee children and implement the project agreement with UNHCR. The Committee encourages the State party to continue and expand its cooperation with international agencies such as UNHCR and UNICEF.

200.Côte d’Ivoire ratified the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its Protocol on 8 December 1961. It is also a signatory to the 1969 Organization of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa.

201.Moreover, article 12 of the 2000 Constitution recognizes the right to asylum of all persons persecuted because of their political, religious or philosophical convictions, or ethnicity.

202.There are no refugee camps in Côte d’Ivoire. The Government has adopted the following strategies for receiving asylum seekers: voluntary repatriation, a return to third countries willing to accept the refugee, and integration into local communities.

203.The Support Service for Refugees and Stateless Persons, in close collaboration with UNHCR, is responsible for drawing up the policy on care for refugees, stateless persons and internal refugees, including children.

204.The Service, in collaboration with UNHCR and the Ministry of Justice, has encouraged the courts to organize special mobile hearings to register refugee children aged 0 to 13 years of age who were not registered at birth. Children aged 14 years and over are issued with a refugee identity card.

205.In terms of access to education, Côte d’Ivoire, in collaboration with partners from the United Nations system, has authorized the creation of English-speaking schools for the children of refugees who arrived from English-speaking areas between 1989 and 2002.

206.Since 2001, it has enabled the integration of Liberian children into the education system through the 2001 Education Programme. These children now benefit from the same access as nationals to free primary education and, thanks to support from UNHCR, from assistance in the form of school supplies and health care.

207.In 2013, there were 11,268 registered refugee children aged 0 to 18 years in the UNHCR database, of whom 5,671 were girls and 5,597 were boys. This indicates a downward trend.

208.Since 2002, the issue of internally displaced persons has become more worrying. An extrapolation of the data collected in a 2005 survey on such persons gives an estimate of 709,377 persons displaced during the crisis in five selected departments, of whom 67.5 per cent were in the city of Abidjan and almost half (47.6 per cent) were under 19 years of age.

209.In order to provide an appropriate response to this emerging issue, various activities were undertaken by the Support Service for Refugees and Stateless Persons and UNHCR during the period 2005–2010 with the support of implementing partners. The objectives of these activities were to enhance the protection afforded to refugee and displaced children and strengthen the capacities of local communities in hosting areas to receive and care for children (particularly in the departments of Tabou and Guiglo for refugee children from Liberia, who remain the majority, and in the city of Abidjan for internally displaced children).

210.Regarding access to drinking water and a healthy environment, hygiene education sessions were organized with the support of UNICEF in nine reception centres for refugees and displaced persons in Abidjan and Duékoué in 2004. Around 1,000 latrines, roughly 100 shower cubicles and some handwashing devices were also installed in reception centres for refugees and displaced persons and in schools in Abidjan, Yamoussoukro, Guiglo and Duékoué.

211.In 2008, the ministry responsible for children set up a monitoring, evaluation and referencing body for cases involving unaccompanied and separated children, namely the Best Interest Determination Committee.

8.1.2Children in armed conflicts (art. 38)

212.Under Act No. 95-695 of 7 September 1995 concerning the Armed Forces Code, the minimum age for national service and voluntary recruitment is 18 years.

213.Children associated with armed groups have become a reality in Côte d’Ivoire since the outbreak of the military and political crisis.

214.To address this situation, in 2002, the Government, with the support of UNICEF, launched a prevention, demobilization and reintegration programme for children associated with armed groups.

215.Since 2003, the programme has been implemented under the National Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Programme, which has led to the establishment of a unit for children associated with armed forces and groups.

216.In this connection, five transitional and orientation centres were equipped: one in Man, two in Bouaké and two in Korhogo. The activities undertaken as part of the prevention, demobilization and reintegration programme for children associated with armed groups have mainly revolved around providing care to children involved or at risk of being involved in the activities of armed groups.

217.The activities were carried out thanks to support on the ground from the National Agency for Rural Development Aid, the Independent Literacy Service under the Ministry of Education and Technical Training and local NGOs.

218.From 2002 to 2008, care was provided to 143,719 children affected by the conflict in the northern, central and western regions, including 3,015 children associated with armed groups, of whom 1,300 were reintegrated into formal education. Those who were unable to return to school received vocational training.

219.Advocacy and awareness-raising activities carried out within the Forces armées des Forces nouvelles brought about the signing, in September 2003, of a declaration on the demobilization and reintegration of child soldiers, in which the Forces armées des Forces nouvelles made a commitment to respect children’s rights and international humanitarian law.

220.In 2005, following the adoption of United Nations Security Council resolution 1612 (2005) on children and armed conflict, this commitment was backed up by an action plan to end the use of children at military assembly points. The plan provided for the nomination of two focal points for each of the 10 military zones under the control of the Forces armées des Forces nouvelles. The focal points were given training in the protection of children in situations of armed conflict and in relevant international law by partners such as UNICEF, the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire, Save the Children and the International Rescue Committee.

221.As part of the same process launched by the Forces armées des Forces nouvelles, an action plan to prevent the use of children associated with armed groups was signed in September 2006 by the Forces de Résistance du Grand-Ouest.

222.In 2007, following visits conducted under the National Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Programme and by an independent verification commission composed of UNICEF, the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire, Save the Children and the International Rescue Committee, it was concluded that there were no longer any children present in military sites under the control of the Forces armées des Forces nouvelles or the Forces de Résistance du Grand-Ouest.

223.The information collected during these visits served as the basis for the report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Côte d’Ivoire (S/2007/515) presented to the Working Group put in place by the Security Council to monitor the implementation of resolution 1612, which examined the situation in Côte d’Ivoire in September 2007.

224.The Working Group noted a genuine commitment by all parties associated with the conflict to stop recruiting children, and that there was no longer any evidence of the unlawful use of children by armed groups.

225.Thanks to these joint efforts, since August 2008, the Forces armées des Forces nouvelles and the four militia groups associated with the conflict in Côte d’Ivoire are no longer on the list of armed groups and forces that, according to the United Nations Security Council, use children. The United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire and UNICEF continue not only to watch out for and report grave child rights violations in Côte d’Ivoire but also to monitor the fulfilment of the commitments made by the parties to put an end to the recruitment and sexual abuse of children. In this context, a quarterly report prepared by the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire and UNICEF is submitted to the Security Council through the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Côte d’Ivoire.

226.Steps have also been taken to strengthen the national legal framework for the protection of children through the ratification, on 12 March 2012, of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict.

8.2Children in conflict with the law

8.2.1Administration of juvenile justice (art. 40)

R 62. The Committee recommends that the State party take additional steps to reform the system of juvenile justice in the spirit of the Convention, in particular articles 37, 40 and 39, and other United Nations standards in the field of juvenile justice, including the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice.

(a)Analysis of the juvenile justice system

227.Articles 20, 21 and 22 of the Constitution guarantee that children will not be prosecuted for acts not provided for by law or detained arbitrarily.

228.Pursuant to article 14 of the Criminal Code, anyone aged under 18 years at the time of the offence is a minor for the purposes of criminal law. Article 116 of the Code provides for reduced criminal sanctions for minors based on their age-group categorization.

229.The administration of juvenile justice is governed by section 10 (arts. 756 to 809) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, on juvenile delinquency, which establishes the procedure applicable to minors in conflict with the law and which courts are competent to try them.

230.In accordance with these articles, three specialized courts are competent to handle cases involving minors:

•Children’s judges are competent to try, in chambers, offences committed by persons under 18 years of age that are not serious enough to justify the intervention of a juvenile court.

•Juvenile courts are competent to try serious offences committed by persons under 18 years of age, and crimes committed by persons under 16 years of age. They are composed of a children’s judge and two associate judges appointed by decree of the Minister of Justice.

•Juvenile assize courts are competent to try “minors of at least 16 years of age who are charged with a crime”. They are composed of a president and two members chosen from the pool of children’s judges.

231.Appeals against judgments handed down by children’s judges and juvenile courts are dealt with by courts of appeal in special hearings following the same procedure as at the first-instance stage (Code of Criminal Procedure, art. 794).

232.The judges who serve on these courts are appointed on the strength of their interest in juvenile affairs (Code of Criminal Procedure, art. 768). Non-presiding juvenile court judges are selected on the same basis, and for their competence (Code of Criminal Procedure, art. 780).

233.There is a children’s judge and a juvenile court attached to all courts of first instance and their separate divisions.

234.The Ivorian Code of Criminal Procedure does not contain specific provisions for minors in relation to preliminary inquiries conducted by the judicial police. Thus, at present, rules of ordinary law apply. However, the Ministry of Justice and development partners are considering ways of improving the legislative framework.

235.In 1981, a special division of the police force known as the “Brigade for the Protection of Minors” was established to deal specifically with juveniles.

236.However, judicial police officers are under no legal obligation to hand over minors in their custody to the Brigade.

237.When a minor in the custody of the police or the gendarmerie is brought before the public prosecutor, the prosecutor forwards the minor’s case file to a children’s judge by means of a procedural measure consisting of a written application requesting the opening of an investigation. This is because Ivorian law does not provide for the use of non-custodial measures in legal disputes involving minors.

238.Pursuant to article 802 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, minors must be brought before a children’s judge or juvenile court within 48 hours.

239. The children’s judge then carries out all the actions and investigations required to discover the truth. To this end, he or she orders a social inquiry.

240.Out of respect for the opinions and best interests of the child, minors are heard at all phases of the proceedings, in the presence of either their parents or a counsel. Article 770 of the Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates that “if the minor, or his or her legal representative, fails to appoint a defence counsel, the children’s judge will assign counsel automatically or instruct the chair of the local bar to do so”.

241.This provision of the Code is seldom applied, because of the lack of a payment mechanism for court-appointed lawyers.

242.On 11 December 2012, to rectify this situation, which is detrimental to all persons subject to the law, but especially minors, the Ministry of Justice, Human Rights and Civil Liberties signed an agreement with the Ivorian Bar Association as part of the Justice and Prison System Reform and Modernization Project funded by the European Union.

243.In accordance with the agreement, lawyers of the Ivorian Bar Association have, since July 2013, offered free legal aid at the court of first instance in Abidjan and at the Abidjan Detention and Correction Centre. From the start of the 2013–2014 judicial year, the second component of the reform will be implemented. It will consist in the provision of legal assistance by the Bar Association in around 550 cases each year.

244.When dealing with an offence suspected to have been committed by a minor, children’s judges have several options. They may decide:

•To apply, provisionally, one of the placement, supervision, protection or education measures provided for in article 770 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

•Under article 771 of the Code, to place the minor in pretrial detention in a detention and correction centre, each of which has a separate cell or wing for children remanded in custody. Such a measure may, however, be applied to minors aged over 13 years only if deemed absolutely necessary.

245.Article 796 of the Code of Criminal Procedure establishes that orders issued by children’s judges in relation to the interim measures set out in articles 770 and 771 of the Code may be appealed.

246.In Côte d’Ivoire, there are three public juvenile observation centres, but only the one in Abidjan is operational. The centres in the cities of Bouaké and Man are being rehabilitated. As a result, children’s judges serving on courts in Abidjan and Yopougon are the only ones who may order the placement of a minor in an observation centre. The Justice and Prison System Reform and Modernization Project funded by the European Union for the period 2012–2015 provides for the construction and fitting out of facilities for the rehabilitation of minors in conflict with the law in Abidjan and other large urban centres, in particular Bouaké and Man. Minors are placed in observation centres under interim custody orders and are looked after by social workers.

247.In terms of private institutions, the Erb Aloïs Rehabilitation Centre is a reception and transit facility in Abidjan for children subject to judicial measures. Pursuant to decree No. 04/MJLP/DAPES of 9 August 1998, it was authorized by the Ministry of Justice to hold minors in temporary custody by order of a children’s judge. Since its inception, 300 minors have been placed in the Centre as an alternative to imprisonment. Owing to a lack of funding, however, the Centre has been closed since August 2010. In addition to the Centre, there is the Communauté Abel education and vocational centre in Grand-Bassam, the Zagal centre in Yopougon run by the Amigo Doumé Foundation and the Lomanan education centre in Korhogo run by the National Association for Children in Danger.

248.Article 772 of the Code of Criminal Procedure establishes that, at the end of the pretrial investigation, the children’s judge may forward the case file to the public prosecutor’s office, on his or her own initiative or at the office’s request. If there is sufficient evidence against the minor in question, the judge may then:

•By a judgment delivered in closed session, issue an acquittal or admonishment, return the minor to his or her parents or guardian, or place the minor under the regime of non-custodial supervision up to the age of, at most, 21 years.

•Order the minor to appear before a juvenile court, unless the minor is over 16 years old and suspected of a crime, in which case all the material on file is transmitted to the indictments chamber, which orders defendants to appear before a juvenile assize court.

249.Juvenile courts and juvenile assize courts can choose whether to impose an educational placement measure or a criminal conviction.

250.Articles 791 and 793 provide that rules of ordinary law apply to appeals against judgments issued by children’s judges and juvenile courts. Such appeals are therefore dealt with by courts of appeal in special hearings.

251.The only public education and vocational training establishment empowered to receive minors subject to a placement measure ordered by a juvenile court or juvenile assize court is the Dabou rehabilitation centre.

252.According to statistics from 2012, the number of minors subject to interim custody orders stood at 215, compared to 261 in 2009 and 507 in 2001.

253.The downward trend clearly shows that efforts are being made to limit the use of interim measures involving deprivation of liberty.

254.In 2012, in order to have an overview of the situation of minors in conflict with the law, including those subject to a provisional or definitive placement or education measure, the Office for the Judicial Protection of Children and Young People created an integrated system in every court to collect data on the situation of children in conflict with the law.

(b)Steps taken to improve the juvenile justice system

255.In 2012, the Office conducted a national study on the status of the juvenile justice system. In 2013, the Ministry of Justice adopted a sectoral policy guidance document that included a budgeted action plan and a section on juvenile justice. A national policy for the judicial protection of children and young people is being developed.

256.The outcome of these initiatives led to, inter alia, an acknowledgement of the need to review certain laws and regulations, which have already been identified by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. In this regard, the European Commission is expected to provide technical assistance as part of its Justice and Prison System Reform and Modernization Project.

257.On 11 December 2012, a partnership agreement was signed with the Ivorian Bar Association with the intention of establishing a legal and judicial assistance scheme for vulnerable groups, including minors.

258.In addition, several training workshops and seminars have been organized for juvenile justice professionals. As to the establishment of reintegration and rehabilitation programmes for minors who have been through legal proceedings, there are private facilities offering tailored programmes.

8.2.2Children deprived of liberty, including children subjected to any form of detention, imprisonment or placement in a supervised institution (art. 37 (b), (c) and (d))

R 31. The Committee urges the State party to take all necessary measures to improve the conditions of detention of children in prisons and to ensure that each case of violence and abuse is duly investigated in order to avoid impunity being enjoyed by the perpetrators.

259.Steps have been taken to improve the conditions of detention of minors, including:

•The development or construction of 10 wings for minors in detention centres in Dimbokro, Toumodi, Agboville, Divo, Grand-Bassam, Aboisso, Tabou, Daloa and Gagnoa.

•The scheduling of work in detention centres in Abengourou, Bondoukou, Bongouanou, Bouaké, Daloa, Grand-Bassam, Korhogo, Man and Oumé to create separate quarters for minors. Measures to improve the conditions in which minors are detained are also planned.

•The distribution, in 2004–2005, of educational kits funded by UNICEF among children in public juvenile observation centres.

•The cleaning, in February 2006, of the juvenile observation centre in Abidjan, with the support of the Canadian Embassy.

•The construction, in 2007, of custody cells reserved for minors held by the Brigade for the Protection of Minors, with funding from the International Catholic Child Bureau.

•The rehabilitation of the public juvenile observation centre infirmary.

•The fitting out of a special cell for girls and pregnant women in the women’s building of the Abidjan Detention and Correction Centre.

•The creation, thanks to the MTN Foundation, of a play area for children living with their mothers in prison.

•The provision, on a permanent basis, of specialized teaching staff, including stakeholders from NGOs (at the Abidjan Detention and Correction Centre and the juvenile observation centre in Abidjan).

•The construction and opening, in 2011, of juvenile observation centres in line with international standards in Abidjan and in other courts of first instance, and the creation, in 2010, and then on an annual basis at a rate of three per year, of separate sections for minors and women not already benefiting from such an arrangement, all as part of the Strategy to Improve the Treatment of Vulnerable Groups under the action plan of the Ministry of Justice.

•The start of work to build a reception and rehabilitation centre for children in conflict with the law, which will constitute a genuine alternative to imprisonment at the Zagal centre.

•The adoption of a national policy document on health in prisons.

8.3Children in situations of exploitation, including measures for their physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration

8.3.1Economic exploitation, including child labour (art. 32)

R 54. The Committee recommends that the State party make every effort to ratify and implement ILO Convention (No. 138) on the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment and ILO Convention (No. 182) concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour. The Committee recommends that the State party seek assistance from ILO/IPEC in this regard.

260.Several surveys have given the Government an insight into the situation of child labour in Côte d’Ivoire, with the most recent national survey having been conducted by the National Institute of Statistics in 2005.

261.In addition, a number of sectoral studies on trafficking in children and child labour have been carried out in specific geographical areas and have concerned the involvement of children in cocoa production.

262.Faced with the realities of trafficking in children and child labour, the Ivorian Government has taken numerous legislative and administrative measures.

1.Legislative and regulatory measures

263.The specific source of regulations on child labour in Côte d’Ivoire remains Act No. 95-15 of 12 January 1995 on the Labour Code, which sets out several principles concerning children’s labour rights.

264.The legislative and regulatory framework for combating child trafficking, exploitation and labour has been strengthened by a number of international, subregional and national texts.

2.Administrative measures

265.Since 2011, two committees have been established, namely:

•The Interministerial Committee to Combat Child Trafficking, Exploitation and Labour

•The National Committee for the Oversight of Actions to Combat Child Trafficking, Exploitation and Labour

266.The two committees operate on an integrated platform for consultation and collaboration, which also serves as a mechanism for coordination and project approval. Bearing in mind the committees’ mandates, the National Action Plan to Combat Child Trafficking, Exploitation and Labour 2012–2014 was adopted and approved.

267.Responsibility for coordinating all measures taken in this regard was entrusted to the Independent Service to Combat Child Labour, which has since become the Directorate to Combat Child Labour.

8.3.2Drug abuse (art. 33)

1.Legislative framework

268.As part of drug control efforts, Côte d’Ivoire has ratified various international conventions:

•The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961

•The Vienna Convention of 21 February 1971 on Psychotropic Substances

•The United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988

•The declaration and plan of action to combat drug abuse and illicit trafficking in Africa

269.At the national level, article 2 of Act No. 88-688 of 22 July 1988, relating to the punishment of the trafficking and unlawful use of drugs and psychotropic and poisonous substances, is devoted to minors.

2.Administrative measures

270.In 1994, the Ivorian Government set up an interministerial anti-drug committee tasked with coordinating the activities of the departments and bodies involved in preventing, raising awareness of, and punishing drug abuse, and in providing medical and social assistance to victims. Côte d’Ivoire also has a regional anti-drug training centre. The National Programme to Combat Tobacco Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug Abuse and Other Addictions was established in 2008.

3.Sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (art. 34)

Legislative and regulatory measures

271.Judicial efforts to combat sexual exploitation are based on the provisions of the 1960 Criminal Code concerning procuring and the incitement of minors to immoral behaviour.

272.Articles 334 to 338 of the Ivorian Criminal Code cover acts contrary to public morals, for which the punishments are more severe when the victim is a minor. Article 354 of the Code punishes sexual violence.

273.In addition to these provisions of the Criminal Code, various legislative measures have been taken to strengthen the protection of children from exploitation and sexual abuse:

•The ratification, in 2002, of the ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)

•The adoption by the National Assembly, on 24 May 2007, of a law authorizing the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography

•The adoption of Act No. 2010-272 of 30 September 2010, which prohibits trafficking in children and the worst forms of child labour

•The formulation of a draft national strategy to combat gender-based violence

Administrative measures

•The finalization and approval, in June 2012, of the strategy to combat gender-based violence

•The adoption, in November 2007, of a national action plan against child trafficking and child labour

•The adoption, in December 2007, of the National Action Plan for Children 2008–2012

•The adoption, in 2008, of an action plan for the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 (2008–2012)

274.As part of the implementation of these strategies, various initiatives have been undertaken by the different national bodies involved in prevention and the provision of care to child victims, including the National Steering Committee to Combat Child Labour under the Ministry of the Civil Service and Employment, the National Committee to Combat the Trafficking and Exploitation of Children, the National Committee to Combat Violence against Women and Children, the Directorate of Gender Equality under the Ministry of the Family, Women and Social Affairs and the Directorate of Reciprocity and School-based Social Work under the Ministry of Education.

Statistical data

275.Sexual abuse and exploitation are an alarming reality in the country, but, despite their growing visibility, it is not yet possible to estimate their extent owing to a lack of reliable instruments at the national level.

276.The sectoral studies carried out by the ministry responsible for children in 2007 and 2008 on gender-based violence and, as part of a project to combat trafficking and the worst forms of child labour, on the sexual exploitation of children in two communes of Abidjan (Yopougon and Adjamé) appear to confirm the prevalence of sexual abuse and exploitation. According to the results of these studies, the most affected groups are child domestic workers, street children and detained children.

8.3.3Abduction of, sale of, or traffic in, children (art. 35)

R 56. The Committee strongly encourages the State party to pursue its efforts in implementing the bilateral agreement with the Government of Mali and in extending this experience to other concerned countries. In addition, the Committee recommends that measures such as a comprehensive programme to prevent and combat the trafficking and sale of children be taken on an urgent basis, including an awareness raising campaign and educational programmes.

1.Legislative and regulatory measures

277.In Côte d’Ivoire, the abduction of, sale of or traffic in children is a criminal offence punishable under the Criminal Code. Côte d’Ivoire has signed or ratified a number of legal instruments for the protection of children.

2.Administrative measures

278.The anti-trafficking actions undertaken by the Government are part of wider efforts to combat trafficking in children and child labour.

8.3.4Children accused of sorcery

279.Such children are victims of a grave violation of their fundamental rights. For sociocultural reasons, their parents are complicit in all the cruel and inhuman treatment that they suffer.

8.4Children living or working on the streets

R 58. The Committee recommends that the State party make operational the inter-ministerial committee and the multidisciplinary national commission to ensure that children living in the streets are provided with adequate nutrition, clothing, housing, health care and educational opportunities, including vocational and life-skills training, in order to support their full development. Moreover, the State party should ensure that these children are provided with rehabilitation services for physical, sexual and substance abuse, protection from police brutality, and services for reconciliation with their families.

280.There are no recent national statistics on children who have experienced social dislocation or a family breakdown. Reference must therefore be made to studies conducted on an ad hoc basis by organizations or institutions. According to the latest such study, there are an estimated 15,330 street children in Abidjan and in six cities further inland.

281.The policy introduced by the Government focuses on prevention and measures to remove children from the streets. Further support is provided through the Programme for the Protection of Vulnerable Children and Adolescents, and by national and local NGOs and charitable and social institutions that form part of the Street Children Network.