COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
Forty-second session
15 May – 2 June 2006
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
List of issues to be taken up in connection with the consideration
of the second periodic report of LATVIA ( CRC/C/83/Add.16 )
Part I
Under this section the State party is requested to submit in written form additional and updated information, if possible, before 5 April 2006 .
Data and statistics, if available
Please provide disaggregated statistical data (by sex, age, ethnic groups and other minorities, urban and rural areas) covering the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 on the:
number and proportion of children under 18 living in the State party;
number and proportion of children belonging to minorities; and
number of refugee and asylum-seeking children.
2.In the light of article 4 of the Convention, please provide disaggregated data on budget allocations and trends (in absolute figures and percentages of the national budget or GDP) for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 regarding the implementation of the Convention, evaluating also the priorities for budgetary expenditures given to the following:
education (different types of education, i.e. pre-primary, primary and secondary education, and vocational training);
child care services, including day care centers;
health care (different types of health services, i.e. primary health care, vaccination programmes, adolescent health care, HIV/AIDS and other health care services for children, including social insurance);
programmes and services for children with disabilities;
support programmes for families;
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protection of children in need of alternative care including the support of care institutions;
programmes and activities for the prevention of and protection from child abuse, child sexual exploitation and child labour; and
juvenile justice and the recovery and social reintegration of juvenile offenders.
Please also indicate the estimated expenses of the private sector, in particular for health and education.
With reference to children deprived of a family environment and separated from their parents, please provide disaggregated data (by sex, age, ethnic groups and other minorities, urban and rural areas) for 2003, 2004 and 2005 on the number of children:
separated from their parents;
placed in institutions;
placed with foster families; and
adopted domestically and through inter-country adoptions.
Please specify the number of children with disabilities, up to the age of 18, disaggregated by sex, age, ethnic groups and other minorities, urban and rural areas, covering the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 who were:
living with their families;
living in institutions;
placed with foster families;
attending regular schools;
attending special schools; and
not attending any school.
5.Please provide disaggregated statistical data (by sex, age, ethnic groups and other minorities, urban and rural areas) covering the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 on:
rates of infant and child mortality;
rates of immunization;
rates of malnutrition;
children infected with and/or affected by HIV/AIDS;
early pregnancies, abortions, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), mental health problems (e.g. suicide rates, eating disorders, depression), tobacco use, alcohol and drug abuse; and
the percentage of health professionals working in health care services for children.
6.With reference to child abuse, please provide disaggregated data (by sex, age, ethnic groups and other minorities, and types of violations reported) covering the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 on the:
number of reported cases of child abuse;
number and percentage of reports which have resulted in a court decision or other form of follow-up; and
number of child victims that have received counselling and assistance in recovery.
7.Please specify the criteria for ‘poverty’ and indicate the number of children living below the poverty line. Please also specify the support for children living below the poverty line.
8.With reference to the right to education, please provide disaggregated statistical data (by sex, age, ethnic groups, including minorities and immigrant children, urban and rural areas) covering the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 in percentages in the relevant age groups on:
literacy rates;
the rates of enrolment and completion;
the number and percentage of drop-outs, repetition and retention; and
the teacher per child ratio and number of children per class.
9.Please provide disaggregated statistical data (including by sex, age, ethnic groups and other minorities, urban and rural areas and type of crime) covering the years 2003, 2004 and 2005, in particular on the:
number of persons below 18 who have allegedly committed a crime and been reported to the police;
number of persons below 18 who have been convicted of a crime, sentenced and the types of punishment or sanctions including length of deprivation of liberty;
number of persons below 18 who have been tried as adults;
number of detention facilities for persons below 18 and their capacity;
number of persons below 18 detained in these facilities and minors detained in adult facilities;
number of persons below 18 kept in pre-trial detention and the average length of their detention; and
number of reported cases of abuse and maltreatment of persons below 18 at the time of their arrest and detention.
10.With reference to special protection measures, please provide statistical data (including by sex, age, ethnic groups and other minorities, urban and rural areas) for the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 on the number of:
children involved in sexual exploitation, including prostitution, pornography and trafficking and the number of those children provided with access to recovery, reintegration services and other forms of assistance;
the number of unaccompanied minors and asylum-seeking and refugee children;
children under the age of 16 involved in child labour; and
street children.
B. General Measures of Implementation
The Committee would appreciate receiving information on intended or planned activities related to recommendations contained in the Committee’s previous concluding observations (CRC/C/15/Add.142) on the initial report of Latvia (CRC/C/11/Add.22) which have not yet been fully implemented. In particular, the Committee would like information related to the implementation of its concluding observations regarding: the amendment and enactment of relevant legislation (paras. 7, 21), coordinated policies relating to the rights of children (para. 9); the allocation of budgetary resources (paras. 11); the development of a system of disaggregated data collection and indicators (paras. 15, 24); and the participation and involvement of relevant non-governmental organizations (para. 19). Please explain the obstacles to implementation of the Convention and how the State party envisages overcoming them.
2.Please provide information on the current status of the National Program for Improving the Situation of Children and Family (2003), the Principal Positions Latvia Fit for Children (2004-2005), the Framework Document on National Family Policy and the Action Plan for Implementation of the Strategy for Healthcare of Mother and Child. Please also indicate what measures are planned or in place to establish a comprehensive, long-term national policy and national plan of action on children.
3.Please provide information on cases, if any, where the Convention has been directly invoked in domestic courts in Latvia, including the Satversme Court, and if so, please provide examples of such cases.
4.Please provide information on the steps which have been taken to address the disparities that exist between law and practice.
5. With regard to the Latvian National Human Rights Office’s Section for Protection of the Rights of the Child, please provide detailed information on the number, type and outcomes of individual complaints and indicate the extent to which efforts have been undertaken to widely publicize the availability of this procedure. Please also provide an update on the status of the draft law on Public Advocate to establish an ombudsman in Latvia.
Please provide specific information on the nature and role of non-governmental organizations in the implementation of the Convention as well as in the preparation process of State party reports.
Please indicate the status of plans to disseminate the Convention and the State party report and on efforts that have been undertaken to provide training, awareness on the Convention and on human rights in general, to children, parents, teachers, social workers and other professionals working with and for children in all areas of the State party.
8. Please indicate the issues affecting children that the State party considers to be priorities requiring the most urgent attention with regard to the implementation of the Convention.
Part II
Please provide the Committee with copies of the text of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in all official languages of the State party as well as in other languages or dialects, when available. If possible, please submit these texts in electronic form.
Part III
Under this section, the State party is invited to briefly (3 pages maximum) update the information provided in its report with regard to:
New bills or enacted legislation;
New institutions;
Newly implemented policies; and
Newly implemented programmes and projects and their scope.
Part IV
The following is a preliminary list of major issues (that does not contain issues already covered in Part I) that the Committee may take up during the dialogue with the State party. They do no require written answers. This list is not exhaustive as other issues might be raised in course of the dialogue.
The State party's strategy to strengthen the overall implementation of the Convention with particular attention to the general principles of the Convention (non-discrimination (art.2), the best interests of the child (art.3) and the right of the child to express his or her own views freely in all matters affecting him or her (art.12)).
All forms of violence against children, including corporal punishment and sexual abuse, within the home, schools and other institutions.
Adoption and regulation of alternative care for children separated from their parents.
Access to health care and in particular, adolescent health concerns, including reproductive health, mental health, alcohol and drug abuse and youth suicide.
Children infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS.
Children with disabilities.
Disparities with respect to the standard of living and social security.
The situation of children belonging to ethnic minorities and the support and protection services provided for asylum-seeking children, including access to education.
Education, including language policy.
Non-citizens, including birth registration.
Child labour, sexual exploitation, trafficking and sale of children.
Juvenile justice.
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