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extent to which they are victims of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
and punishment; economic exploitation, including forced labour; commercial sexual
exploitation; sale, trafficking and abduction; and abandonment, abuse and neglect.
Internally displaced children
56.
The Committee notes the adoption of the Forcibly Displaced Persons-Exiles Act and the
State party’s efforts, in cooperation with UNHCR, to provide humanitarian assistance to
internally displaced persons, including free health care and education for children. However, the
Committee remains concerned about their situation.
57.
The Committee recommends that the State party implement the “New Approach”
to internal displacement, which is to improve the current conditions of internally displaced
persons while continuing to support their right to return voluntarily to their homes in
safety and dignity, as developed by UNDP, UNHCR, the World Bank and the Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and endorsed by the State party.
Children in armed conflict
58.
The Committee is concerned that insufficient efforts have been made to guarantee and
protect the rights of children living in conflict areas, including in South Ossetia and Abkhazia
(especially in the Gali district). The Committee expresses grave concern at the significant
number of landmines still in the State party, especially in the western regions along the border
zones. The Committee notes with concern the insufficient efforts made by the State party to
locate and clear these landmines and to protect children in this regard. Concern is also expressed
about the inadequate programmes to facilitate the care and rehabilitation of child victims of
landmines and the insufficient efforts to raise awareness and to prevent accidents involving
children and landmines.
59.
In light of articles 38 and 39 of the Convention, the Committee recommends that the
State party take all appropriate measures to ensure the protection and care of children
affected by armed conflict, including their physical and psychological recovery and social
reintegration. The Committee strongly recommends that the State party take all
appropriate measures to locate and clear the landmines in its territory, and promote
awareness about the potential dangers. The State party is recommended to undertake a
study to determine the impact of landmines in its territory, particularly as this affects
children living in the western regions along the border. The Committee recommends that
the State party reinforce its efforts to accede to the Convention on the Prohibition of the
Use, Production, Transfer and Stockpiling of Anti-Personnel Landmines and on Their
Destruction, which it signed in December 1997. Additionally, the State party is encouraged
to seek technical cooperation with the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS),
among others.
Economic exploitation
60.
The Committee welcomes the State party’s ratification of the ILO Convention concerning
the Minimum Age for Access to Employment (No. 138). In light of the current economic