Committee on the Rights of the Child

List of issues in relation to the combined sixth and seventh periodic reports of Senegal *

1.The State party is requested to submit in writing additional, updated information, of 10,700 words maximum, by 15 October 2023. The Committee may take up all aspects of children’s rights set out in the Convention during the dialogue with the State party.

Part I

2.Please provide information on measures taken to:

(a)Expedite the adoption of the Children’s Code and other laws applicable to children so as to bring them into line with the Convention and the Optional Protocols thereto, as well as the establishment of a provisional timetable for adoption, specifying whether there are penalties for non-compliance with the provisions of the Code;

(b)Adopt a third action plan for the National Child Protection Strategy to follow the second action plan established for the period 2016–2018, specifying the implementation measures planned and the resources allocated;

(c)Allocate an additional share of the budget, on the basis of the significant increase in tax revenue, to support stakeholders in results-based planning and improving indicators concerning children;

(d)Draw up a national action plan on the environment and climate change that pays particular attention to the risks of flooding, drought, soil erosion and the spread of disease and which seeks to, inter alia, ensure access to water and food security for particularly vulnerable people, including children. Please also indicate how children are invited to participate in the plan.

3.Please provide updated information on:

(a)Efforts to strengthen the Senegalese Committee for Human Rights, in particular to ensure its independence and impartiality and the allocation of sufficient human and financial resources;

(b)The adoption of the draft bill to establish the Children’s Ombudsman, including information on its powers to receive, investigate and rule on complaints lodged by children, and on its mandate, immunities and resources.

4.In the light of the recommendation made by the Committee in its concluding observations on the State party’s combined third to fifth periodic reports,please indicate the measures taken by the State party to raise the age of marriage to 18 for boys and girls and to eliminate child marriages.

5.In the light of the recommendation made by the Committee in its concluding observations on the State party’s previous report,and taking into account the information provided in paragraphs 95 and 96 of the State party’s report,please indicate any measures taken to ensure that the Children’s Parliament is provided with sufficient human, technical and financial resources to carry out its mission.

6.In the light of the information provided in paragraphs 99 to 103 of the State party’s report, please indicate measures taken to ensure free birth registration at the local level for all children under the age of 5, to extend this facility throughout the country and to ensure access for all children to education and health care without discrimination. Please indicate measures taken by the State party to ensure that any child born or found on its territory who would otherwise be stateless may acquire Senegalese nationality.

7.Please provide information on:

(a)The repeal of all provisions authorizing corporal punishment, including article 285 of the Family Code, in accordance with the recommendation made by the Committee in its concluding observations on the State party’s previous report;

(b)Measures taken to combat all forms of violence against children, particularly sexual violence against girls and boys;

(c)The implementation of a national strategy and a 2021–2026 action plan to eradicate female genital mutilation, referred to in paragraph 28 of the State party’s report, as well as on the reporting platform for cases of female genital mutilation in the region of Tambacounda, referred to in paragraph 58 of the report;

(d)Measures taken to combat child marriage and early pregnancy.

8.Please provide information on measures taken to adopt a legal and procedural framework to support the implementation of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of Intercountry Adoption.

9.In the light of the recommendation made by the Committee in its concluding observations on the State party’s previous report,and in view of the information provided in paragraphs 201 and 202 of the State party’s report, please provide detailed information on measures taken to develop inclusive education, in particular by adapting the school environment and building the capacity of teachers and specialized staff. In the light of the information provided in paragraphs 203 and 204 of the State party’s report, please also provide information on measures taken to combat the stigmatization of children with disabilities and to establish a mechanism for reporting and handling cases of ill-treatment of these children.

10.In the light of the recommendation made by the Committee in its concluding observations on the State party’s previous report,please provide information on the State party’s intention to decriminalize abortion in all circumstances, with a view to guaranteeing the best interests of pregnant teenagers. Please also provide detailed information on measures taken to:

(a)Reduce regional disparities in access to quality health care for mothers and children;

(b)Combat infant mortality, malnutrition, HIV infection and drug and substance abuse;

(c)Ensure access to mental health care for all children.

11.In the light of the information provided in paragraphs 259 and 260 of the State party’s report, please provide detailed information on measures taken to ensure girls’ education, in particular by combating early marriage and teenage pregnancy as well as sexual violence and harassment in schools, as recommended by the Committee in its concluding observations on the State party’s previous report.Please also provide information on the adoption of the bill on the status of daara and on measures taken to increase the resources allocated to the Daara Modernization Support Project.

12.Please provide detailed information on measures taken to:

(a)Expedite the adoption of the new section L.145 of the Labour Code;

(b)Ensure respect for the provisions on child labour in the formal and informal sectors, including in the context of the practice of confiage;

(c)Ensure that labour inspectorates are provided with the necessary resources to carry out their oversight activities.

13.In the light of the recommendation made by the Committee in its concluding observations on the State party’s previous reportand the information provided in paragraphs 319 to 321 of the State party’s report, please provide information on:

(a)The State party’s intention to amend relevant laws to expressly prohibit all forms of begging, including article 245 of the Criminal Code;

(b)Measures taken to carry out an in-depth study of the extent of the phenomenon of talibé children and their living conditions, as well as measures taken to combat all forms of ill-treatment to which they may be subjected and to ensure that perpetrators are prosecuted and convicted;

(c)Follow-up of children removed from street situations and the conviction of any perpetrators, in view of the information provided in paragraph 271 of the State party’s report.

14.Please provide information on the State party’s intention to expedite the adoption of the revised versions of the Criminal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure. In the light of the information provided in paragraphs 349 to 351 of the State party’s report, please also provide detailed information on measures taken to ensure the application of legal provisions guaranteeing that the detention of children is used only as a measure of last resort and that children are not detained with adults. Lastly, please provide information on measures taken to ensure that all services for the non-institutional supervision of minors are provided with the resources needed to carry out their mission and that such services are present in all of the country’s departments.

Part II

15.The Committee invites the State party to provide a brief update, of no more than three pages, on the information set out in its report with regard to the following:

(a)New bills or laws and their respective regulations;

(b)New institutions and their mandates or institutional reforms;

(c)Recently introduced policies, programmes and action plans and their scope and financing;

(d)Recent ratifications of human rights instruments.

Part III

Data, statistics and other information, if available

16.Please provide consolidated information for the past three years on the budget lines regarding children and the social sectors, indicating the percentage of each budget line in terms of the total national budget and the gross national product. Please also provide information on the geographical allocation of those resources.

17.Please provide updated statistical data, for the past three years, disaggregated by age, sex, type of disability, ethnic origin, national origin, geographic location and socioeconomic status, on:

(a)Cases of abuse and violence against children, including torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, all forms of corporal punishment, child sexual abuse in and outside the home, domestic violence, bullying, online violence and abuse, and sexual violence and abuse, indicating in particular any sentences handed down to perpetrators as well as the redress and compensation provided to victims;

(b)Children who are victims of female genital mutilation, including any sentences handed down to perpetrators as well as the redress and compensation provided to victims;

(c)Cases of child marriage and teenage pregnancy;

(d)Stateless children;

(e)Children infected with HIV and malaria;

(f)Infant and maternal mortality rates and the rate of malnutrition;

(g)Children in situations of drug and substance abuse;

(h)Children with disabilities, including intellectual disabilities and psychosocial disabilities;

(i)Children living in poverty;

(j)Asylum-seeking, refugee, internally displaced and migrant children, including those in detention;

(k)Working children, including in the informal sector;

(l)Children in street situations and talibé children;

(m)Cases of confiage.

18.Please provide data, for the past three years, disaggregated by age, sex, socioeconomic background, type of disability, ethnic origin and geographic location regarding the situation of children deprived of a family environment, on the number of children:

(a)Separated from their families, including data on the duration of the separation;

(b)Placed in institutions, as well as the number of institutions, and data on the children placed in each institution, disaggregated by age and sex;

(c)Placed with foster families;

(d)Placed with another family on an informal basis;

(e)Adopted domestically and through intercountry and private adoption, including data on the country of residence of the adoptive parents.

19.Please provide data, for the past three years, disaggregated by age, sex, type of disability, ethnic origin and geographic location, on the number of children with disabilities who are or have been:

(a)Living with their families;

(b)Living in institutions;

(c)Attending regular primary schools;

(d)Attending regular secondary schools;

(e)Attending special schools;

(f)Out of school;

(g)Abandoned by their families.

20.Please provide updated statistical data, for the past three years, disaggregated by age, sex, type of offence, ethnic origin, national origin, geographic location and socioeconomic status, on children in conflict with the law who have been:

(a)Arrested;

(b)Referred to diversion programmes;

(c)Held in pretrial detention;

(d)Detained with adults;

(e)Convicted and are serving a sentence in detention, indicating the length of the sentence in each case.

21.Please provide information on how a children’s rights-based approach is integrated into the planning, implementation and monitoring of measures for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, including with regard to the participation of children and data collection, and how those measures promote the realization of children’s rights under the Convention and the Optional Protocols thereto.

22.Please provide the Committee with an update of any data in the State party’s report that may have become outdated by more recent data collected or other new developments.

23.In addition, the State party may list areas affecting children that it considers to be of priority with regard to the implementation of the Convention.