Committee on the Rights of the Child

Follow-up progress report on individual communications *

I.Introduction

The present report is a compilation of information received from States parties and complainants on measures taken to implement the Views and recommendations on individual communications submitted under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure. The information has been processed in the framework of the follow-up procedure established under article 11 of the Optional Protocol and rule 28 of the rules of procedure under the Optional Protocol. The assessment criteria were as follows:

Assessment criteria
A	Compliance: Measures taken are satisfactory or largely satisfactory
B	Partial compliance: Measures taken are partially satisfactory, but additional information or action is required
C	Non-compliance: Reply received but measures taken are not satisfactory or do not implement the Views or are irrelevant to the Views
D	No reply: No cooperation or no reply received

II.Communications

A.A.B. v. Finland ( CRC/C/86/D/51/2018 )

Date of adoption of Views:	4 February 2021
Subject matter:	Deportation to the Russian Federation of a homosexual couple with a child, risking persecution based on sexual orientation
Articles violated:	Articles 3, 19 and 22 of the Convention

1.Remedy

1.The State party is under an obligation to provide the author with effective reparation, including adequate compensation.

2.The State party is also under an obligation to take all steps necessary to prevent similar violations from occurring in the future, in particular by ensuring that the best interests of the child are effectively and systematically taken into account in the context of asylum proceedings and that children are systematically heard.

3.The State party is requested to publish the Committee’s Views and to have them widely disseminated in the official languages of the State party.

2.Previous follow-up

4.In the follow-up progress report on individual communications adopted at its ninetieth session, the Committee decided, after a first round of exchanges between the parties, to maintain the follow-up dialogue open and to request a meeting with the State party in order to discuss the prompt implementation of the Committee’s Views.

3.State party’s response

5.In a submission dated 27 September 2022, the State party provided information about the steps it has taken to give effect to the Committee’s Views

6.The State party submits that, in 2022, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) assessed the asylum procedure in Finland and determined that the best interests of the child are a primary consideration. UNHCR provided recommendations to the Finnish Immigration Service on how to improve the processing of children’s asylum applications. In its assessment, UNHCR expressed appreciation for the fact that the Finnish Immigration Service takes into consideration age-specific factors in asylum interviews.

7.It was decided in 2021 that, when children under the age of 12 apply for asylum, the service would consider the threshold for violations of their rights or for grounds for asylum to be lower than the standard applied to adults. In any case, the child is always heard and interviewed if the child, guardian or legal counsel so wishes. In other cases, the Asylum Unit assesses the consultation needs based on whether there have been violations of children’s rights, whether children have their own grounds for asylum, whether there is a suspicion of conflict of interest between the child and parent, or whether there is another particular reason for a hearing.

8.A protocol template was prepared for hearings involving young children, the Asylum Unit held training on the subject and the new policy and guidelines have been officially introduced. Furthermore, as indicated in the previous follow-up report, in 2021 the Legal Section of the Finnish Immigration Service issued a memorandum on the Views of the Committee, placing particular emphasis on the effects the Views had had on the activities of the Service.

9.The State party reserves the right to give further consideration to the Views pending ongoing domestic processes.

4.Author’s comments

10.In a submission dated 19 April 2023, the author reiterates his previous comments and notes that the State party has not acknowledged the particular protection needs of children in families headed by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. He highlights that there is no reference to such children in the State party’s response.

11.Moreover, the State party has made no attempt to compensate him for his suffering. He was diagnosed with a disorder owing to trauma experienced in Russian schools following the family’s deportation and is currently on a waiting list for therapy.

5.Decision of the Committee

12.The Committee decides to close the follow-up dialogue with a B assessment (partial compliance).

B.E.H. et al. v. Belgium ( CRC/C/89/D/55/2018 )

Date of adoption of Views:	3 February 2022
Subject matter:	Administrative detention of children subject to a deportation order to Serbia
Articles violated:	Article 37 of the Convention, read alone and in conjunction with article 3

1.Remedy

13.The State party should provide the victims with adequate compensation for the violations of their rights.

14.The State party is under an obligation to prevent the recurrence of such violations by ensuring that children’s best interests are a primary consideration in decisions about their returns.

15.The State party is requested to publish the Views and to disseminate them widely.

2.State party’s response

16.In a submission dated 5 September 2022, the State party provided its observations.

17.Following the issuance of the Committee’s Views, the State party has proposed appropriate redress in the form of financial compensation for the victims.

18.Regarding the obligation to prevent similar violations in the future, the State party has taken steps to rectify its approach to the detention of children. As a result, as announced by the Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration in a general policy note dated 4 November 2020, children can no longer be detained in closed centres.

19.Furthermore, in addition to being widely disseminated within the administration, the Committee’s Views were published on the website of the Immigration Office, along with summaries in French and Dutch.

3.Author’s comments

20.In her submission dated 20 April 2023, the author confirmed that the State party had offered the victims financial compensation, which it has already paid.

21.The author submits that the relevant legislation concerning this matter has not yet been amended. Despite the general policy note mentioned by the State party, article 74/9 of the Act of 15 December 1980 on the entry, temporary or permanent residence and removal of aliens, and article 83/11 of the Royal Decree of 22 July 2018 still provide that children and their family can be confined in a closed centre. A legislative amendment should be adopted as soon as possible to properly implement the decision made by the Committee and to prevent the recurrence of similar violations in the future.

4.Decision of the Committee

22.The Committee decides to close the follow-up dialogue with an A assessment (compliance), given that the measures adopted by the State party are satisfactory.

C.N.B . v. Georgia ( CRC/C/90/D/84/2019 )

Date of adoption of Views:	1 June 2022
Subject matter:	Protection of the child from corporal punishment at school
Articles violated:	Article 19 of the Convention

1.Remedy

23.The State party is under an obligation to provide the author with effective reparation.

24.The State party is also under an obligation to take all steps necessary to prevent similar violations from occurring in the future, in particular by ensuring that cases of corporal punishment are promptly and effectively investigated.

25.The State party is requested to publish the Views and to disseminate them widely in its official language.

2.State party’s response

26.In a submission dated 8 December 2022, the State party provided its observations.

27.On 2 August 2022, following the issuance of the Committee’s Views, the case was transferred to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Georgia for thorough investigation. Pursuant to the child protection referral procedures approved by Government Ordinance No. 437 of 12 September 2016, information relating to alleged violations against children was sent to the Agency for Protection and Assistance to Victims and Persons Affected by Human Trafficking for further response. A social worker visited and interviewed the author and his legal representative, after which a corresponding conclusion was reached, and the results were reported to the Office of the Prosecutor General.

28.The State party submits that detailed information on the child’s family and all actions taken in relation to the incident of 24 January 2017 was reviewed by the social services agency. It submits that surveillance footage, photographs and other evidence relevant to the investigation were reviewed. Furthermore, the expert who drafted the forensic medical examination report on the child’s injuries, the director of the kindergarten and the assistant of the kindergarten teacher were interviewed regarding the measures taken.

29.The State party submits that, in order to ensure a comprehensive reinvestigation of the case, there are currently plans to interview N.B.’s parents, employees of the kindergarten who may have witnessed the violence, the teacher, the school nurse, parents of children who were present on the day of the incident and the doctors and nurses who first saw N.B.’s injuries. The State party also plans to request copies of the files of civil case No. 2/7359-17 (dismissal of the teacher and her subsequent reinstatement) in order to clarify the basis of the court’s decision to repeal the dismissal order. In addition, the State party plans to order an additional medical examination regarding the origin of the injury inflicted on the child to determine the existence of a direct connection between the teacher’s actions and the result.

30.Based on the legislative package drafted in 2016 by the Ministry of Justice, domestic legislation includes mechanisms for granting financial compensation to the victims and reopening the judgments of the domestic courts on the basis of the treaty bodies’ Views. Victims can apply for compensation for damages on the basis of adopted Views. According to the information provided by the Tbilisi City Court, the author applied to the administrative courts for compensation on 28 October 2022 and the case before the court is under consideration.

31.With regard to steps taken to prevent similar violations from occurring in the future, on 20 September 2019, Georgia adopted the Code on the Rights of the Child, which explicitly prohibits corporal punishment of children in all settings. A commentary on the Code was published in December 2021 to ensure the correct understanding and application of the law. Furthermore, the Parliamentary Human Rights Protection and Civil Integration Committee cooperates with international and local organizations, using various supervisory mechanisms, to monitor the implementation of the Code and to improve the existing legislation on the rights of the child. That Committee has also adopted an action plan for 2019–2024 that includes ensuring the compliance of other national legislation with the Code, the introduction of child-friendly justice and carrying out awareness-raising campaigns.

32.On 17 September 2020, the State party adopted Decree No. 125, providing for a psychosocial service for child victims of violence. The justice system works collaboratively with other systems to avoid the revictimization and retraumatization of children. On 13 August 2021, the State party adopted the 24-hour emergency response mechanism, which provides for a prompt response to emergencies occurring at night and is aimed at protecting children working and living in the streets and preventing violence against children. On 22 June 2021, the office of the Witness and Victim Coordinator was established, aimed at protecting the interests of victims, including child victims. The Coordinator facilitates victims’ participation in proceedings, helps them to reduce the stress caused by the crime and aims to prevent revictimization and secondary victimization. In the case of child victims and witnesses, the Coordinator is responsible for informing witnesses and victims about the progress of the investigation and explaining their rights and the legal procedures in terms that are understandable to the child. The Coordinator also attends investigative and procedural actions to provide emotional support.

33.With regard to investigating cases of corporal punishment, the investigative authorities order forensic expert examination into cases concerning violence against children to be conducted at the Levan Samkharauli National Forensics Bureau. Should children disclose any information on violence against them, the National Forensics Bureau is under an obligation to officially notify the investigative authorities. In cases involving violence against children, the investigative authorities frequently order forensic medical expert examinations and forensic psychology assessments. The State party submits that it implemented the standard operating procedures for the protection of children from violence and negligence, which cover medical examination by a doctor in case of suspicion of violence.

34.In January 2018, the Department of Human Rights Protection was established in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and in February 2019, its mandate was extended and it was renamed the Human Rights Protection and Investigation Quality Monitoring Department. The Department is mandated with ensuring the effectiveness of a timely response and investigation of crimes, including those committed by and against children. If there are signs of a crime, the Ministry initiates investigation. After the investigation is launched, the Department monitors the process. In order to improve the quality of investigations, guidelines on the investigation of the above-mentioned crimes are being developed and recommendations are being prepared and put into practice. The guidelines and recommendations are updated periodically, taking into account legislative amendments and existing challenges.

35.The State party is actively implementing child-friendly mechanisms for the process of interviewing children in a safe and comfortable environment, which includes reducing the number of persons in direct contact with the child during interrogation. On 12 September 2016, the State party approved referral procedures for the protection of children, regulating the measures for identifying, protecting and assisting child victims of violence and unprotected children. The Office of Resource Officers of Educational Institutions carries out identification of signs of violent behaviour at schools. The Office then applies the child protection referral procedure to direct the child to the Agency for Protection and Assistance to Victims and Persons Affected by Human Trafficking or to the psychosocial centre of the Office of Resource Officers.

36.In 2022, the Prosecutor’s Office updated its guidelines on juvenile justice issues and held a series of workshops in which persons specializing in juvenile justice participated. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Centre for Psychological and Social Services hold regular campaigns, informational meetings and training courses for citizens, including parents, schoolteachers, school administrative staff and police officers on several issues pertaining to children’s rights, including different forms of violence.

37.The State party affirms that the Committee’s Views were translated into Georgian and published in the Official Gazette.

3.Author’s comments

38.In his submission dated 3 September 2023, the author submits that the investigation into his case is still pending, with no results to date. He has not been granted victim status and has not been given access to the case material, so there is no way to confirm any of the investigative actions mentioned by the State party. Owing to the delay, the author considers the investigation to be ineffective.

39.On 28 October 2022, the author applied to the National Administrative Courts for 50,000 lari (approximately $18,500) for non-pecuniary damages. Since then, there have been no developments in the case and no hearing has been scheduled. The author considers the court proceedings on assigning compensation to be ineffective owing to this delay.

40.National legislation does not fully comply with the Convention and the author is unaware of any government plans to ensure compliance. Although Georgia has adopted legislation on children’s rights, its enforcement is ineffective since there are no regulations, procedures or protocols to guide the enforcement. The State party should provide the Committee with information about the implementation, results and impact of the efforts to uphold children’s rights.

41.Enforcement of the law to protect children from corporal punishment is a challenge in Georgia because prosecutorial and law enforcement agencies have not developed the protocols necessary to respond effectively to corporal punishment cases. They refuse to launch investigations and grant victim status to children with disabilities and do not request or issue proportional sentences. There have been serious cases of corporal punishment and alleged torture of children living in institutions that have not been investigated, such as the Ninotsminda Orphanage case.

42.The State party has made no progress in reforming juvenile justice in terms of measurable outcomes. Non-governmental organizations have observed a deterioration throughout the juvenile justice system in terms of court hearings, the actions of judges and lawyers, courtroom conditions and children’s level of participation in proceedings. In most cases, children do not receive support from legal representatives or cannot communicate with them, and the judiciary system does not select judges who are specialized in juvenile justice.

43.Although psychosocial services for child victims of violence may have been adopted, the State party has not developed an action plan for their implementation with an appropriate budgetary allocation.

44.The relevant authorities rarely follow child referral procedures and the provision prohibiting the violation of referral procedures is rarely enforced.

4.Decision of the Committee

45.The Committee decides to maintain the follow-up dialogue open and to request further information from the State party on the prompt implementation of the Committee’s Views, including reparation provided to the author.

D.S.M.F. v. Denmark ( CRC/C/90/D/96/2019 )

Date of adoption of Views:	27 May 2022
Subject matter:	Deportation of a girl to Somalia, where she would allegedly risk being forcefully subjected to female genital mutilation
Articles violated:	Articles 3 and 19 of the Convention

1.Remedy

46.The State party is under an obligation to renounce the deportation of S.M.F. to Somalia and to ensure that she is not separated from her mother and her siblings.

47.The State party is also under an obligation to take all steps necessary to prevent similar violations from occurring in the future. In this regard, the State party is requested to ensure that asylum proceedings affecting children include a best interests analysis and that, where a risk of a serious violation of the rights of a child is invoked as a ground for non-refoulement, the specific circumstances in which the children would be returned are duly taken into account.

48.The State party is requested to publish the Views and to disseminate them widely.

2.State party’s response

49.In a submission dated 21 December 2022, the State party provided its observations.

50.On 8 July 2022, the Refugee Appeals Board reopened the case and reconsidered the asylum applications of S.M.F., her siblings and the author, taking into account the Committee’s Views. On 28 December 2022, the Board granted S.M.F. and her family asylum under section 7 (1) of the Danish Aliens Act.

51.In order to prevent similar violations in the future, the Committee’s Views in this case will be taken into account by the Danish Immigration Service and the Refugee Appeals Board in their assessment of the international obligations of Denmark. To ensure that all members of the Board are aware of the Views and decisions adopted by the treaty bodies, all Views and decisions in cases against Denmark involving the Board are published on its website.

52.The Board generally reopens all cases in which criticism has been raised. The case is then heard by a new panel of members who were not involved in the previous hearing of the case. Following the new hearing, the Board uploads an anonymized version of the new decision to its website.

53.The Committee’s Views in cases against Denmark involving the Board will also be reported in the Board’s annual report, which is distributed to all members of the Board and includes a chapter on cases brought before international bodies.

54.The Committee’s Views are publicly available on the website of the Refugee Appeals Board. In the light of the prevalence of English language skills in Denmark, the State party sees no reason for a full translation of the Committee’s Views into Danish.

3.Author’s comments

55.In a submission dated 2 November 2023, the author submits that S.M.F. was granted asylum in Denmark and that the State party has given effect to the Committee’s Views in this case.

56.The State party has not changed its approach in considering other cases before the Committee.

4.Decision of the Committee

57.The Committee decides to close the follow-up dialogue with an A assessment (compliance), given that the measures adopted by the State party are largely satisfactory.

E.S.K. v. Denmark ( CRC/C/90/D/99/2019 )

Date of adoption of Views:	1 June 2022
Subject matter:	Deportation of a girl to India, where she might suffer violence from her father
Articles violated:	Articles 3, 6, 22 and 37 (a) of the Convention

1.Remedy

58.The State party is obligated to reconsider the decision to deport S.K. and her mother to India, ensuring that the best interests of the child are a primary consideration in its reconsideration, while taking into account the particular circumstances of the case.

59.The State party is requested to publish the Committee’s Views and have them widely disseminated in its official language.

2.State party’s response

60.In a submission dated 9 January 2023, the State party provided its observations.

61.Having received the Committee’s Views, on 20 July 2022, the Refugee Appeals Board decided to reopen the author’s case for review at an oral hearing before a new panel. A new oral hearing was held on 9 September 2022, at which the Board reconsidered the author’s application for asylum, taking into account the Committee’s Views. On 9 September 2022, the Board granted the author and her daughter, S.K., asylum under section 7 (2) of the Danish Aliens Act.

62.The State party therefore submits that is has given full effect to the Views adopted by the Committee on 1 June 2022 by reconsidering the author and S.K.’s claim and subsequently granting them both asylum.

63.The Committee’s Views are publicly available on the website of the Refugee Appeals Board and were included in the Board’s annual report, which is also available on the same website. In the light of the prevalence of English language skills in Denmark, the State party sees no reason for a full translation of the Committee’s Views into Danish.

3.Author’s comments

64.In a submission dated 4 August 2023, the author’s counsel indicated that the State party had given full effect to the Views adopted by the Committee and that counsel had no further comments.

4.Decision of the Committee

65.The Committee decides to close the follow-up dialogue with an A assessment (compliance), given that the measures adopted by the State party are largely satisfactory.

F.S.N. et al. v. Finland ( CRC/C/91/D/100/2019 )

Date of adoption of Views:	12 September 2022
Subject matter:	Repatriation from refugee camps in the Syrian Arab Republic of children whose parents are linked to terrorist activities
Articles violated:	Articles 6 (1) and 37 (a) of the Convention

1.Remedy

66.The State party should provide the authors and the child victims with effective reparation for the violations suffered. The State party is also under an obligation to prevent similar violations in the future. In this regard, the Committee recommends that the State party:

(a)Take urgent positive measures to repatriate the child victims, acting in good faith;

(b)Support the reintegration and resettlement of each child who has been repatriated or resettled;

(c)Take additional measures, in the meantime, to mitigate the risks to the lives, survival and development of the child victims while they remain in the north-east of the Syrian Arab Republic.

67.The State party is requested to publish the Views and have them widely disseminated in its official language.

2.State party’s response

68.In a submission dated 11 April 2023, the State party provided its observations.

69.The State party acknowledges that the circumstances in the camps in the north-east of the Syrian Arab Republic put the safety and well-being of the children at risk. It must be acknowledged that the emergence of the camps has posed an unprecedented challenge for the international community, including complex legal and jurisdictional issues.

70.The State party has been working diligently to address the repatriation of the children within the confines of legal and security constraints. In accordance with its unequivocal resolve, and should the circumstances allow the Finnish authorities to repatriate the individuals remaining in the camps, they would do so as soon as possible.

71.The State party regrets that the Committee has not provided detailed reasoning for the violations of the Convention or an assessment of the measures the State party has taken. The Committee failed to evaluate the State party’s ability to repatriate the remaining individuals. The only evidence of its capability to repatriate the remaining children was the successful repatriations that have occurred to date. The Committee made no examination or evaluation of the State party’s detailed observations. While giving due consideration to the Committee’s Views, the State party considers that they do not reflect the reality in which the State party has to act when trying to repatriate the remaining children.

72.With regard to the admissibility of the communication, the State party submits that the lack of reasoning also concerns the finding of competence ratione personae over the children, which differs from the finding of the European Court of Human Rights. The Committee seems to base its finding concerning jurisdiction on the children’s nationality, on the one hand, and the State party’s capability and power to protect the children’s rights by taking action to repatriate them or provide other consular responses, on the other. The State party is concerned about those assumptions, which are contrary to the findings of the European Court.

73.With regard to effective reparation, the State party notes that the Committee states in its Views that the State party should provide “the authors and the child victims” with effective reparation. However, since the authors have not claimed to be victims of violations of the Convention and they are not persons under 18 years of age, the State party contends that the Committee does not have competence to give any views or recommendations concerning the authors. It also notes, in any case, that neither the Convention nor the Optional Protocol include an obligation to provide reparation.

74.With regard to the obligation to prevent similar violations in the future, in the submissions it has been sending the Committee since 2019, the State party has highlighted the Government’s resolve to repatriate children from the Hawl camp as soon as possible. This resolve is based on the fact that the Constitution of Finland requires active measures from the authorities for the protection of basic rights and human rights, and that in the State party’s view, the rights of the child require special protection. If the circumstances allowed the Finnish authorities to repatriate the remaining individuals, they would do so as soon as possible. The Government formulated a policy in 2019 that resulted in the repatriation of children together with their mothers as quickly as possible, which was the first of its kind – if not the very first – in the European Union. Moreover, since late 2019 or early 2020, the Finnish authorities have maintained regular contact with detained individuals and have repatriated 35 individuals (26 children and 9 women) who had previously been held in the camps in the north-east of the Syrian Arab Republic.

75.Approximately 10 individuals (most of them children) remain detained in the camps, but despite the best efforts of the Government of Finland, none of the adults still in detention have requested help for their children or themselves or shown any willingness to engage with the Government’s representatives. In fact, they have all refused any contact with the representatives and have gone into hiding. It is not possible to repatriate citizens against their will. Not only is separating children from their caregivers against the children’s best interests, but it is also impossible, since the non-State actor in control of the territory does not allow children to be separated from their caregivers.

76.Consequently, the State party remains firmly of the view that urgent positive measures have already been taken, acting in good faith, to repatriate the child victims. It has already taken measures to mitigate the risks to the children in the north-eastern Syrian camps and supported the reintegration of each child who has been repatriated.

3.Authors’ comments

77.In their submission dated 31 August 2023, the authors submit that there are no grounds for questioning the Committee’s Views and no need to do so. The State party appears to seek to revisit the admissibility and merits of the communication.

78.The Committee has been clear concerning the violations of the Convention by the State party and its obligation to remedy those violations. They request that the State party continue communicating and negotiating with the administration that guards the camp to repatriate the children, and that it attempt to establish communication with the mothers of the children who are still at the camp with the aim of repatriation.

79.The authors acknowledge the positive measures that the State party has taken in the wake of the repatriation of some children and the mitigating measures that have been implemented to support the children who remain in the camp.

80.In response to the State party’s submission that it has repatriated 26 children, the authors emphasize that only half of the children received help from the State party to leave the camp. The remainder left the camp and travelled to the Turkish border on their own and received assistance from the State party only once they were in Türkiye.

81.The authors submit that the situation in the camp, in terms of health and security, has deteriorated significantly since 2019 and communication with persons in the camp has become more difficult.

4.Decision of the Committee

82.Pursuant to the information provided and a meeting held between the Committee and the State party on 16 May 2023, the Committee decides to maintain the follow-up dialogue open and to request up-to-date information from the State party on the implementation of the Committee’s Views, including any specific measures taken to attempt to seek the mothers’ consent to be repatriated with the children.