COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILDFifty-first session25 May - 12 June 2009

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTIONON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

List of issues to be taken up in connection with the considerationof the fourth periodic report of Sweden (CRC/C/SWE/4)

Under this section the State party is requested to submit in written form additional and updated information, if possible before 6 April 2009

PART I

Please provide further information on progress made in incorporating the Convention into the national legal system as well as the remaining challenges in this respect.

According to paragraph 7 of the State party report, the Swedish Agency for Public Management was instructed by the Government to carry out a review of the public authority structure in the area of child policy. Please inform the Committee of the outcome of this review, including proposals and recommendations.

Please inform the Committee of measures taken by the State party to influence decisions taken by municipalities and regional councils and thus address the large disparities that remain between municipalities, county councils and regions concerning the implementation of the Convention. These include variations in the level of child poverty, resources available to the social services for children at risk, and academic results between different schools and regions.

GE.09-40998

Please briefly describe measures taken to promote the rights of the child under the National Action Plan for Human Rights 2006-2009 and the impact of those measures on the promotion and protection of children’s rights. Please indicate whether the Delegation for Human Rights in Sweden promotes the rights of children under the Convention and provide some examples in this respect.

Please elaborate on the modification of the tasks of the Children’s Ombudsman in relation to the Convention, as contained in Government Communication 2007/08:111 (“Child Policy – a Policy for Children’s Rights”)and explain if the modified tasks will be accompanied by enhanced budgetary allocation. Is the State party intending to provide the Children’s Ombudsman with the mandate to investigate individual complaints from or about children? Furthermore, please inform the Committee of any measures taken by the State party to promote the establishment of local representatives for children and young people.

Further to the Committee’s 2005 concluding observations and paragraphs 23-30 of the State party report, please provide an update on measures taken to establish a coordinated approach between all entities which collect data on children, and to introduce a comprehensive system of data collection incorporating all areas covered by the Convention. Please inform the Committee of any measures taken to implement its recommendation to collect and categorize statistics on children with disabilities. Has the State party taken any steps to separate the data in respect of crimes against children aged 15-18 from crimes against adults?

Please inform the Committee of the status of the inquiry set up by the Government into the introduction of a support requirement as a condition for family immigration of foreign citizens and stateless persons. In particular, please indicate measures already taken and/or foreseen by the State party to ensure that family reunification procedures do not entail a risk of infringement of children’s rights.

Further to the new law (Swedish Code of Statutes 2008:344) on health care and medical services for asylum-seekers and former asylum-seekers or “children in hiding”, please inform the Committee if the State party is considering an expansion of the groups that have such a right to also include undocumented children and undocumented pregnant women who at present only have a right to urgent medical care, with no subsidies. Please also inform the Committee of measures taken to ensure that all children, including “children in hiding” and undocumented children, have a right to education in Sweden.

Please describe briefly the results of the measures introduced in Sweden since 2005 to prevent bullying in schools and inform the Committee of any measures to increase the participation of children in efforts to eradicate bullying. What initiatives are being taken to address bullying and harassment outside classrooms or school yards, including by mobile phone and in virtual meeting places?

According to paragraph 232 of the State party report, the Parliament (Riksdag) ordered an amendment to the Act on Representation and Custodianship for Unaccompanied Children in 2006 to include appointment of a temporary guardian (or “trustee”) for each unaccompanied asylum-seeking child within 24 hours of arrival. Please inform the Committee if the Government is planning to present a legislative amendment proposal in this respect.

Please inform the Committee of the status and content of the national action plans to combat sexual exploitation of children and against prostitution and trafficking in people for sexual purposes, as referred to in paragraph 266 of the State party report, as well as the budgetary allocations for their effective implementation.

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

Under this section, the State party is invited to briefly update (3 pages maximum) the information provided in its report with regard to:

New bills or enacted legislation;

New institutions;

Newly implemented policies;

Newly implemented programmes and projects, and their scope.

PART III

Data and statistics, if available

In the light of article 4 of the Convention, please provide updated data for 2006, 2007 and 2008, on budget allocations (including trends analysis) regarding the implementation of the Convention throughout Sweden in the areas of education and health.

Please provide updated data for 2006, 2007 and 2008 on the number of children involved in sexual exploitation, including prostitution, pornography and trafficking, and the number of those children who were provided access to recovery and social reintegration services.

Please provide updated data for 2006, 2007 and 2008 on the number of Swedish citizens involved in sexual exploitation of children abroad and indicate the types of offences. Please also provide information on investigation, prosecution and punishment of the perpetrators.

PART IV

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

The mandate of the Office of the Children’s Ombudsman.

Awareness and knowledge of the Convention.

Protection from discrimination, in particular with respect to children belonging to ethnic minorities, asylum-seeking children, immigrant children, children living in poverty, children with disabilities and children in alternative care.

Children in alternative care.

Domestic violence, including corporal punishment, child abuse and sexual abuse.

Children with disabilities, in particular their access to education and social and health services as well as cultural and recreational activities.

Basic health and welfare, access to health services, adolescent health (e.g. suicide, teenage pregnancies), mental health.

Access to alternative/complementary medical treatment in respect of children under the age of eight, pregnant women and women in labour.

Children living in poverty, including regional disparities.

Children and education, including measures to address bullying in schools, special needs of children and human rights education.

Refugee and asylum-seeking children.

Alcohol and substance abuse.

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