CRC/C/15/Add.237 page 3 8. In light of its previous recommendations (CRC/C/15/Add.69, para. 28), the Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Expedite the comprehensive review of existing legislation, in particular the Child Law, using a rights-based approach, to ensure that it is in full conformity with the principles and provisions of the Convention; (b) Repeal the Whipping Act and amend the Citizenship Act and the Village and Town Acts; and (c) Include the rights of the child in the new State Constitution and expedite the completion of the drafting process. 9. While noting that the State party has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Committee is concerned that it has not yet ratified most of the other main human rights instruments. 10. In order to strengthen the full implementation of all human rights, the Committee encourages the State party to ratify the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. Coordination 11. The Committee notes that the Ministry for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement is the leading ministry regarding the implementation of the Convention. It welcomes the establishment of an interdisciplinary National Committee on the Rights of the Child whose main mandate is the coordination of the work of governmental bodies involved in the implementation of the Child Law. The Committee is nevertheless concerned that this Committee is not fully operational. 12. The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen the National Committee on the Rights of the Child by providing it with the necessary authority and resources to fulfil its mandate, namely to coordinate all activities related to the implementation of the Convention, in an effective manner, horizontally across ministries and vertically, from the national, down to the State, divisional, district and township levels. National plans of action 13. The Committee notes that the National Programme of Action for the Survival, Protection and Development of Children in the 1990s was adopted in 1994 and that the National Health Plan is also an important policy with regard to the implementation of the Convention. However, the Committee is of the view that the implementation of these action plans have been insufficient.

Select target paragraph3