CRC/C/15/Add.60
page 2
recognizes the will of the Government to engage in a process of law reform in
relation to children’s issues and is encouraged by the drafting of a new
Labour Code. The Committee also notes with appreciation the adoption,
following the World Summit for Children, of the National Plan of Action for
the Survival, Protection and Development of Children in 1992. Finally, the
Committee welcomes the Government’s initiative to broadcast a number of
special programmes on Children’s International Radio and Television Day.
C.
Factors and difficulties impeding
the implementation of the Convention
4.
Committee notes that severe economic and social problems have had a
negative impact on the situation of children. The high level of external debt
and the requirements of structural adjustment programmes which have resulted
in budgetary reallocations to the detriment of social services, as well as
unemployment and poverty, have affected the enjoyment of children's rights.
The Committee also notes that there are still traditional practices and
customs which impede the full enjoyment of certain rights of the child.
D.
Principal subjects of concern
5.
The Committee is concerned about the fact that the Convention has not
yet been duly published in the “Official Gazette”.
6.
The Committee is also concerned that insufficient measures have been
taken to ensure that the principles and provisions of the Convention are
widely known to children and adults.
7.
The Committee is concerned at the reservation made to article 14 of the
Convention by the State party, which may affect the implementation of the
rights guaranteed in this article and may raise questions about the
compatibility of the reservation with the object and purpose of the
Convention.
8.
The Committee is concerned at the insufficient coordination between
various ministries, as well as between the central and local authorities, in
the implementation of policies for the promotion and protection of the rights
of the child.
9.
Insufficient attention has been paid to the collection of systematic and
comprehensive data and the identification of appropriate indicators and
monitoring mechanisms in all areas covered by the Convention. Disaggregated
data and appropriate indicators seem to be lacking to assess the situation of
children, especially those who are victims of abuse, ill-treatment or child
labour or are involved with the administration of juvenile justice, as well as
the girl child, children of single-parent families and those born out of
wedlock, children in rural areas, abandoned, institutionalized and disabled
children, and children who, in order to survive, are living and/or working in
the streets.
10.
With regard to the implementation of article 4 of the Convention, the
Committee notes with concern the inadequacy of measures taken to ensure the
implementation of children's economic, social and cultural rights to the
maximum extent of available resources. The Committee is particularly
concerned at the insufficient measures and programmes for the protection of
the rights of the most vulnerable children, especially girls, children living
in rural areas, children who are victims of abuse, children of single parents,
children born out of wedlock, abandoned children, disabled children, and
children who are, in order to survive, forced to live and/or work in the
streets.
11.
The State party has not yet taken fully into account in its legislation
and policies the general principles of the Convention: non-discrimination