A/HRC/18/35/Add.6 professionals for New Caledonia is quite costly. Furthermore, less than 5 per cent of publicsector employees are Kanak, with most working in the lowest salary categories.31 57. In the area of health, reports to the Special Rapporteur indicated that, the despite the high level of health care that is generally provided in New Caledonia, the Kanak population compares unfavourably to its European counterpart in terms of life expectancy, infant mortality, thyroid cancer, leprosy, tuberculosis, rheumatoid arthritis and suicide. 32 There is a strong preference in Kanak communities for traditional medicine, access to Kanak midwives, and increased emphasis on prevention. 58. The composition of the prison population is a predictable outcome of the socioeconomic disparities in New Caledonia; at least 90 per cent of the prison population at Camp Est (the central prison facility) and 99 per cent of incarcerated youth are Kanak, according to the Customary Senate and prison authorities. While the crime rate in New Caledonia is no higher than in France, the rate of convictions is higher, according to prison authorities, indicating a troubling tendency by the judiciary in New Caledonia to incarcerate offenders at a higher rate or impose harsher sentences. The Special Rapporteur was interested to hear of new initiatives to reduce incarceration time by introducing electronic monitoring, and of ongoing renovations supported by the Government of France to bring detention facilities up to European Union standards. Although the newly opened juvenile facility is fully compliant with these standards, the facilities for adult male inmates are overcrowded with insufficient air circulation. G. Children and youth 59. The Special Rapporteur found a general perception that Kanak youth are in crisis, with high rates of school dropouts, alcohol and marijuana abuse, high-risk sexual behavior, reckless driving, suicide, low employment, and pervasive alienation from both traditional Kanak culture and Western culture in Nouméa. The Customary Senate also noted among Kanak youth high levels of disrespect for parental authority and loss of customary knowledge, and recommended the creation of Kanak youth or cultural centres. However, community leaders have faced obstacles in developing such centres and related initiatives. Despite strongly supporting the idea of targeted initiatives to respond to the needs of Kanak youth, the Customary Senate complains that it has neither the decision-making authority nor budgetary capability to effectively pursue them. H. Issues confronting Kanak women 60. The Special Rapporteur heard from a number of Kanak women who expressed concern over the pollution, lack of garbage collection, clean drinking water and employment opportunities that would enable them to better care for their families and children. Women’s groups expressed frustration at their inability to access funding and support to implement their own development projects, such as small-income generating projects, local training programmes, and similar initiatives. 61. Some women with whom the Special Rapporteur met identified a tension between certain aspects of Kanak culture and their legal entitlement to be treated equally – for 31 32 Information provided to the Special Rapporteur by the Union des Syndicats des Travailleurs Kanak et des Exploités (USTKE), 8 February 2011. Dynamique FLNKS Sud, “Droits Autochtones Secteur Santé: à l’intention de Monsieur James Anaya, Rapporteur Special à l’ONU” (8 February 2011). 17