Convention on the Rights of the Child
Distr.
GENERAL
CRC/C/15/Add.239
1 July 2004
Original: ENGLISH
COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
Thirty-sixth session
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER ARTICLE 44 OF THE CONVENTION
Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child:
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
1. The Committee considered the second periodic report of the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea (CRC/C/65/Add.24) at its 965th and 966th meetings (see CRC/C/SR.965
and CRC/C/SR.966), held on 1 June 2004, and adopted at the 971st meeting (see
CRC/C/SR.971), held on 4 June 2004, the following concluding observations.
A. Introduction
2. The Committee welcomes the submission of the State party’s reports
which followed the established guidelines. The Committee also takes note of
the timely submission of the written replies to its list of issues (CRC/C/Q/PRK/2),
which allowed for a clearer understanding of the situation of children in the
State party. The Committee notes the constructive dialogue it had with the State
party’s delegation.
B. Follow-up measures undertaken and progress achieved by the State party
3. The Committee notes with appreciation the adoption of the following laws
aimed at enhancing the implementation of the Convention:
(a) The Education Law, adopted in 1999, ensuring free compulsory education for
11 years, including for children with disabilities;
(b) The Law on the Protection of Disabilities, adopted in 2003, ensuring equal
access for persons with disabilities to public places, transportation and public
services; and
(c) The Law on Complaints and Petitions adopted in 1998.
4. The Committee notes the amendments made to various legislative provisions
to enhance the implementation of the Convention, including the Citizenship Law
(1999), the Law on Medical Care (1990), the Law on Compensation for Damages
(2001) and the Inheritance Law (2002).
5. The Committee also notes the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 2001.
C. Factors and difficulties impeding the implementation of the Convention
6. The Committee takes note of the fact that the State party still suffers from
the dissolution of its traditional economic ties at the beginning of the 1990s,
and from the effects of the natural disasters in the mid-1990s, which still
have a negative impact on its economy and trading capacity, despite the economic
reform process it has engaged in since 2002.
D. Principle areas of concern and recommendations
1. General measures of implementation
The Committee’s previous recommendations
7. The Committee notes with satisfaction that some concerns and recommendations
(CRC/C/15/Add.88) made upon the consideration of the State party’s initial
report (CRC/C/3/Add.41) have been addressed through legislative measures and
policies. However, recommendations regarding, inter alia, data collection (para.
22), non-discrimination, the best interests of the child and respect for the
views of the child (para. 11), corporal punishment (para. 13), child abuse and
neglect (para. 19), alternative care (para. 29), and juvenile justice (para.
34) have not been given sufficient follow-up. The Committee notes that these
concerns and recommendations are reiterated in the present document.
8. The Committee urges the State party to make every effort to address those
recommendations from the concluding observations of the initial report that
have not yet been implemented and to address the list of concerns contained
in the present concluding observations on the second periodic report of the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Legislation
9. While taking note of legislative reforms mentioned in paragraph 3 above,
the Committee remains concerned that not all domestic legislation fully conforms
to the principles and provisions of the Convention.
10. The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures
to ensure that its domestic legislation conforms fully to the principles and
provisions of the Convention and ensure that the laws which have already been
amended or adopted are implemented effectively.
National Plan of Action and Coordination
11. The Committee welcomes the establishment of the National Coordination Committee
for the Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (NCRC) on
28 April 1999 and the adoption of a second National Plan of Action for the Well-Being
of Children (2001-2010), which sets out clear goals and a time frame to meet
them. However, the Committee is concerned that the Plan does not deal with the
rights of the child in a comprehensive manner, and at the lack of clear coordination
of the efforts of various ministries to implement the Plan. The Committee also
regrets the lack of information on the financial and human resources provided
both for the implementation of the Plan and its coordination.
12. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Take necessary steps to either supplement the existing National Plan of
Action, or consider drafting a new, comprehensive Plan to include the Millennium
Development Goals and reflect the conclusions contained in “A World Fit
for Children”, and to involve agencies of the United Nations system, international
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and donor countries, as well as children,
in these efforts;
(b) Designate or establish a single governmental body responsible for the effective
coordination of all activities for the future implementation of the National
Plan of Action, and allocate the necessary human and financial resources for
its full implementation, and put in place appropriate coordinating, monitoring
and evaluation mechanisms. This body should also coordinate all other activities
related to the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
including those at the local levels, as well as the concluding observations
of the Committee.
Independent monitoring
13. While welcoming the adoption of the Law on Complaints and Petitions in June
1998, the Committee notes with concern that, although there are many institutions
that have the ability to receive complaints, this is restricted to complaints
on their own mandates. Furthermore, the Committee expresses concern over their
lack of independence, their limited accessibility, and that children have little
or no knowledge of their existence or their functions.
14. The Committee recommends that the State party improve the existing complaints
mechanisms, inter alia, by issuing clear guidelines that are understandable
and accessible to children, and guaranteeing that filing individual complaints
against any particular institution will have no negative consequences for the
child. In addition, the Committee strongly recommends the State party to establish
an independent and effective mechanism, taking into account the Committee’s
General Comment No. 2 on national human rights institutions, and in accordance
with the Paris Principles (General Assembly resolution 48/134). Such an institution
should monitor the implementation of the Convention, be easily accessible for
children, be provided with adequate human and financial resources, and have
the power to deal with complaints from children in a child sensitive and expeditious
manner and to provide remedies for violations of their rights under the Convention.
Cooperation with civil society
15. The Committee is concerned that despite its previous recommendations, insufficient
efforts have been made to involve civil society in the implementation of the
Convention, its rights-based approach and its reporting process.
16. The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to
systematically involve communities and other elements of civil society throughout
all stages of the implementation of the Convention, including the formulation
of policies and programmes, and in the drafting process of the next report to
the Committee.
Resources for children
17. The Committee is concerned that despite the increase of the social budget,
expenditures for children in absolute terms, especially in the education and
health sectors, have decreased over the years.
18. The Committee recommends that the State party pay particular attention to
the full implementation of article 4 of the Convention by prioritizing budgetary
allocations to ensure implementation of the economic, social and cultural rights
of children, in particular those belonging to economically disadvantaged groups,
“to the maximum extent of … available resources and, where needed,
within the framework of international cooperation”.
Data collection
19. The Committee is concerned at the absence of reliable data and the lack
of an adequate national qualitative and quantitative data collection system
in all areas covered by the Convention, which limits the State party’s
capacity to adopt appropriate policies and programmes.
20. The Committee recommends that the State party continue to develop a system
of qualitative and quantitative data collection and indicators consistent with
the Convention and disaggregated by gender, age, provinces and cities, as well
as urban and rural areas. This system should cover all children up to the age
of 18 years, with specific emphasis on those who are particularly vulnerable.
It further encourages the State party to use these indicators and data in the
formulation of laws, policies and programmes for the effective monitoring, evaluation
and implementation of the Convention both at the national and local levels.
The Committee recommends that the State party seek technical assistance from,
inter alia, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Population
Fund and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
International cooperation
21. The Committee notes that the State party’s cooperation with United
Nations bodies and specialized agencies and international NGOs have significantly
contributed to the implementation of the rights of children, but is concerned
that a large proportion of children are still in need of humanitarian assistance,
which indicates the necessity for the State party to strengthen its international
cooperation.
22. The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its cooperation
with United Nations bodies and specialized agencies and the international donor
community in the area of policy planning, and to provide them with full access
to all vulnerable groups, in particular children, and to areas which require
special attention and share information on policies and financial expenditures
in the social sector.
Training and dissemination
23. While aware of the measures undertaken by the State party to promote awareness
of the principles and provisions of the Convention, the Committee is of the
opinion that these measures need to be strengthened and systematized with a
specific focus on the child as a subject of rights. In this respect, the Committee
is concerned at the lack of a systematic plan to introduce training and awareness
among professional groups working for and with children, as well as children
themselves.
24. In line with its previous recommendations (CRC/C/15/Add.88, para. 35) and
article 42 of the Convention, the Committee recommends that the State party
strengthen its efforts to disseminate the principles and provisions of the Convention
as a measure to sensitize society about children’s rights. Moreover, the
Committee encourages the State party to undertake systematic education and training
on the provisions of the Convention for all professional groups working for
and with children, in particular parliamentarians, judges, lawyers, law enforcement
officials, civil servants, municipal workers, personnel working in institutions
and places of detention for children, as well as teachers, health personnel,
psychologists and social workers and the children themselves. Technical assistance
from, inter alia, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights and UNICEF could be requested in this regard.
2. Definition of the child
25. The Committee reiterates its previous concerns that the age of majority,
set at 17, does not ensure full protection for all persons under 18 and that
some legal minimum ages are discriminatory, such as the age of marriage for
girls (17), which is different to the one of boys (18).
26. The Committee reiterates its previous recommendation that the State party
increase the age of majority to 18. The Committee further recommends that the
State party raise the minimum age of marriage for girls to that of boys (18
years).
3. General principles
Non-discrimination
27. The Committee is concerned that some groups of children, including children
with disabilities, children belonging to different social groups, and children
living in rural and remote areas, suffer from disparities in accessing basic
services. In some instances, girls still suffer from prejudicial traditional
stereotypes.
28. The Committee recommends that the State party increase its efforts to ensure
implementation of existing laws guaranteeing the principle of non-discrimination
and full compliance with article 2 of the Convention, and to adopt a proactive
and comprehensive strategy to eliminate discrimination on any grounds and against
all vulnerable groups. The Committee requests the State party to pay particular
attention to children with disabilities, children belonging to different social
groups, and those living in rural and remote areas, as well as to preventing
and combating prejudicial stereotypes against girls and women.
29. The Committee requests that specific information be included in the next
periodic report on the measures and programmes relevant to the Convention on
the Rights of the Child undertaken by the State party to follow up on the Durban
Declaration and Programme of Action adopted at the World Conference Against
Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, and taking
account of General Comment No. 1 on the aims of education.
Respect for the views of the child
30. The Committee notes that children are given opportunities for participation,
principally through the Youth League and Children’s Unions. However, it
is concerned that children’s opinions are not given sufficient consideration
and that respect for their views remains limited in the family, in schools,
in courts and before administrative authorities and in society at large, due
mainly to traditional and patriarchal attitudes. It is also concerned that child
participation remains essentially a formal and hierarchical concept, and that
creative and informal channels of participation are not given enough consideration
and weight.
31. The Committee encourages the State party to ensure that children’s
views are given due consideration, in accordance with article 12 of the Convention,
in the family, at schools, in the courts, and in all relevant administrative
and other procedures concerning them. This should be undertaken through, inter
alia, the adoption of appropriate legislation and policies, the training of
professionals, awareness-raising of the public at large and the establishment
of specific creative and informal activities in and outside schools.
4. Civil rights and freedoms
32. The Committee is concerned about the lack of information on civil and political
rights and persistent reports of limitations on the civil and political rights
of citizens, including children, in particular freedoms of opinion, expression,
thought, conscience, religion, and movement, as well as the right to privacy,
as stated by the Commission on Human Rights in its resolutions 2003/10 and 2004/13.
33. The Committee recommends the State party to provide concrete information
in its next report, citing examples of daily practices, on the ways domestic
provisions apply to persons under the age of 18 in the State party, with specific
reference to the rights enshrined in articles 13 to 17 of the Convention, including
freedom of opinion, expression, thought, conscience, religion, and movement,
as well as the right to privacy.
Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
34. The Committee is concerned at the various reports on the persistence of
some forms of institutional violence against persons under 18, especially in
detention and in social institutions.
35. The Committee recommends the State party to continue and strengthen all
necessary measures to prevent and eliminate any form of institutional violence.
Corporal punishment
36. While welcoming the positive steps taken by the State party and the information
that it has almost eliminated corporal punishment through, inter alia, public
campaigns, the Committee remains concerned that owing to traditional customs,
corporal punishment may still be practised and accepted in schools, families,
and care institutions.
37. The Committee encourages the State party to continue to reinforce its public
awareness campaigns to promote positive, participatory and non-violent forms
of discipline as an alternative to corporal punishment at all levels of society.
5. Family environment and alternative care
Parental responsibilities and childcare services
38. The Committee notes with appreciation the commitment of the State party
to early childcare based on the 1976 Law on Nursery and Upbringing of Children.
However, it is concerned at the excessive degree of State involvement in childcare
to the detriment of the parental involvement, hindering psychosocial and cognitive
development of children. Of particular concern are the widespread practice of
leaving children in nurseries from Mondays to Saturdays and the upbringing of
twins and triplets being relinquished to the State. Furthermore, the Committee
expresses concern over the lack of human and financial resources available for
nurseries, which affects the quality of care.
39. In the light of article 18, paragraph 1 of the Convention, the Committee
recommends that the State party place greater emphasis on its policies on the
primary responsibilities of parents, and to encourage and provide parents with
the necessary support to enable their greater involvement in the nursing and
upbringing of their children, reducing the role of the State to a subsidiary
and not a primary one.
40. The Committee notes the State party’s commitment to early childhood
development and the high enrolment rates in nurseries and kindergartens. However,
it is concerned that the economic hardships facing the country have negatively
affected the quality of services provided by childcare facilities, and that
there is no comprehensive strategy to address this problem.
41. The Committee recommends the State party to promote day-care nurseries and
kindergartens and to discourage the use of the 24-hour nursery and kindergarten
system (often 5 days a week), to be used by parents only as a last resort. The
Committee recommends the State party to develop a strategy to increase the financial
and human resources available for childcare facilities and ensure a basic minimum
standard of services for all institutions, in particular with regard to nutrition,
heating, water, sanitation and hygiene.
Separation of children from parents
42. The Committee is concerned at the information that the whereabouts of parents
may not be provided to children if the parents have been sentenced to reform
through labour or have been punished by death for a crime.
43. The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures
in line with article 9, paragraph 3, of the Convention to keep children informed
about the whereabouts of their parents, and to fully implement their right to
maintain personal relations and direct contact with both parents on a regular
basis.
Alternative care
44. The Committee is concerned at the relatively high numbers of children who
are separated from their parents and are living in institutions, such as children’s
homes, orphanages and orphan schools.
45. The Committee recommends the State party:
(a) To undertake the necessary measures to reduce the institutionalization of
childcare by strengthening and supporting the system of foster care, family
group homes (4-6 children) and, whenever appropriate, domestic adoption;
(b) To ensure that placements in institutions, if made, are periodically reviewed,
in accordance with article 25 of the Convention;
(c) To consider adopting legislation on adoption, in light of the provisions
of the Convention; and
(d) To consider ratifying the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and
Cooperation in respect of Intercountry Adoption of 1993.
Abuse and neglect
46. The Committee notes the low number of cases of child abuse reported in families
and the absence of any reported cases of abuse outside the family, which may
indicate underreporting. The Committee is concerned about the State party’s
assertion that “as violence, abuse, neglect, maltreatment and exploitation
of children are no longer a social issue, the social reintegration of the victim
is no longer a matter of great concern” (CRC/C/65/Add.24, para. 145).
The Committee also notes some seemingly confusing information on the prevalence
of abuse and neglect of children. The low number of reported cases may be a
reflection of the reality, but may also be indicative of an ineffective reporting
system.
47. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Conduct an in-depth study to find out the nature and the extent of abuse
and neglect, with a view to developing a strategy to deal with this phenomenon;
(b) Give attention to addressing and overcoming sociocultural barriers associated
with child abuse and neglect;
(c) Ensure that child victims receive appropriate support and services;
(d) Train parents, teachers, law enforcement officials, care workers, judges
and health professionals on the identification, on reporting and management
of ill-treatment cases; and
(e) Seek assistance from, among others, UNICEF.
6. Basic health and welfare
Children with disabilities
48. The Committee notes with appreciation the new legislation enacted in 2003
to protect the rights of disabled persons and the active work undertaken since
1998 by the Korean Association for Supporting the Disabled, including its first
survey. It remains nevertheless concerned at the very poor living conditions
of the disabled, their lack of integration in schools and society at large,
the lack of recovery measures, and at prevailing discriminatory attitudes toward
them in society.
49. In line with the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for
Persons with Disabilities (General Assembly resolution 48/96) and the recommendations
adopted by the Committee at its day of general discussion on the rights of children
with disabilities (CRC/C/69), it is recommended that the State party:
(a) Establish a comprehensive and inclusive policy for children with disabilities;
(b) Take effective measures to collect adequate and disaggregated statistical
data on children with disabilities and use such data in developing policies
and programmes to prevent disabilities and to assist disabled children;
(c) Reinforce its efforts to develop early detection programmes to prevent and
remedy disabilities;
(d) Establish special education programmes for disabled children and integrate
them in the regular school system to the extent possible;
(e) Undertake awareness-raising campaigns to sensitize the public, and parents
in particular, about the rights and special needs of children with disabilities,
including those with mental health concerns;
(f) Increase resources, both financial and human, for special education, including
vocational training, and the support given to families of children with disabilities;
(g) Seek technical cooperation from, among others, UNICEF and WHO for the training
of professional staff, including teachers working with children with disabilities.
Basic health and health services
50. While noting that health services are free and cover all areas of the country,
the Committee is concerned about increasing infant and child mortality rates,
high rates of malnutrition and stunting in children, alarming increases in maternal
mortality rates and due to the high rate of voluntary termination of pregnancy.
It is also very concerned that, despite the competence of doctors and other
medical or paramedical staff, hospitals and clinics acutely suffer from shortages
of basic medicine and medical instruments. The Committee is also seriously concerned
that access to clean drinking water is rare in the country, sanitation conditions
are poor, and that human excrements are sometimes used as fertilizers.
51. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Take all necessary measures to improve the quality of its health system
and its health expenditures, reducing infant, child and maternal mortality rates,
preventing communicable diseases by stepping up immunization programmes, preventing
and treating diarrhoeal diseases and acute respiratory tract infections and
malaria, among others;
(b) Improve accessibility to information on family planning and availability
of contraceptives;
(c) Effectively address the serious issue of malnutrition by providing adequate
nutritional food and supplements, as well as education on healthy early habits;
and
(d) Seek, where necessary, international cooperation.
Adolescent health
52. The Committee is concerned that insufficient attention has been given to
adolescent health issues, including developmental, mental and reproductive health
concerns.
53. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Undertake a comprehensive study to assess the nature and extent of adolescent
health problems, and, with the full participation of adolescents, use this as
a basis to formulate adolescent health policies and programmes, and especially
reproductive health education and child-sensitive counselling services with
a particular focus on the prevention of sexually transmitted infections;
(b) Strengthen developmental and mental health counselling services and make
them known and accessible to adolescents.
7. Education, leisure and cultural activities
54. The Committee notes the State party’s commitment to free universal
education, particularly in the light of its current economic difficulties, and
welcomes the information that compulsory education up to the age of 17 is free.
However, the Committee remains concerned at the following problematic aspects
with regard to education:
(a) Increasing absenteeism and seasonally low attendance rates of 60-80 per
cent as a result of the prolonged economic hardship;
(b) Hidden costs for parents, which constitute a serious burden in sending children
to schools;
(c) The quality of education, which requires further improvement;
(d) That political background, opinions and activities can have an influence
on admission to higher education;
(e) That aims of education as stipulated in article 29 of the Convention are
not at the centre of the learning process;
(f) Human rights, including child rights, are not fully integrated into the
school curricula, but only constitutes a part of “Virtue and Law”
courses.
55. The Committee welcomes the recent efforts of the State party to increase
the quality of its education system and encourages that these efforts be pursued.
It also recommends that the State party:
(a) Take measures to prevent and reduce absenteeism, including by providing
adequate heating of school buildings in wintertime;
(b) Ensure that female pupils have the same opportunities as male pupils to
access higher education;
(c) Sensitize the general public and children in particular to ensure that traditional
gender stereotypes do not dictate the subjects studied by male and female pupils;
(d) Facilitate children’s access to information, including strengthening
of efforts to increase access of the population to materials from other countries,
and strengthen student exchange programmes;
(e) Ensure full implementation of the aims of education, taking into account
article 29 of the Convention and the Committee’s General Comment No. 2;
(f) Integrate human rights and, in particular, child rights, in the school curricula
as a subject on its own; and
(g) Seek technical assistance from, inter alia, UNESCO and UNICEF.
8. Special protection measures
Children and military service
56. The Committee is concerned that, according to the current legislation, the
minimum age for voluntary enlistment in the armed forces is set at 16 years
and that, according to information it provided to the Committee on Economic,
Cultural and Social Rights (HR/CESCR/NONE/2003/1), children attending school
follow military camps during summer holidays, where “they learn how to
dismantle and assemble weapons”.
57. The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures
to ensure that article 38, paragraph 3, of the Convention is respected and to
ensure that recruitment is genuinely voluntary when recruiting children between
16 and 18, and that priority will be given to the oldest applicants. The Committee
also recommends the State party to ratify the Protocol to the Convention (see
para. 66 below) and increase by law the age for recruitment and voluntary enlistment
to 18 years. Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the State party take
all necessary measures to avoid the early militarization of children.
Child returnees
58. The Committee is concerned that, according to the State party information,
there are some children from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
that cross the borders and apparently live on the streets of some Chinese cities
close to the border which they cross. The Committee is deeply concerned at the
information that children and their families who return or are deported back
to the State party are considered not as victims, but as perpetrators of a crime.
59. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Assess and analyse the causes of children crossing the borders to other
countries;
(b) Treat the children who return to the State party as victims and not as perpetrators
of a crime;
(c) Negotiate their safe repatriation with the Chinese authorities; and
(d) Provide them with the necessary support for reintegration and counselling.
Economic exploitation
60. While noting that the minimum age for employment and labour is set at 16,
the Committee notes that the State party has not ratified ILO Conventions No.
138 concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment, and No. 182 concerning
the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms
of Child Labour, whose ratification would further improve the protection of
persons below 18 from economic exploitation. The Committee also notes that the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is not yet a member of the International
Labour Organization.
61. The Committee recommends the State party to consider membership in ILO in
order to be in a position to hereafter consider ratifying relevant ILO international
conventions to protect persons below 18 from economic exploitation, and that
it strictly apply the minimum age for access to employment (16).
Trafficking in children
62. The Committee notes the lack of information in the State party report on
human trafficking, in particular, involving children.
63. In the light of article 34 and other related articles of the Convention,
the Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Undertake a comprehensive study to assess the nature and the extent of human
trafficking, in particular involving children;
(b) Ensure the protection from sexual exploitation and trafficking in relevant
legislation to all boys and girls below the age of 18 years; and
(c) Pursue efforts to combat sexual exploitation in accordance with the 1996
Declaration and Agenda for Action and the 2001 Global Commitment adopted at
the World Congresses against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children.
Juvenile justice
64. The Committee takes note that most persons under the age of 17 in conflict
with the law are dealt with without resorting to judicial proceedings, but the
Committee remains unclear on how the safeguards enshrined in the Convention,
especially in articles 37 and 40, are fully respected in this regard. In particular,
it is concerned about the independence and impartiality of the authority taking
the sentencing decisions. The Committee remains also unclear about the type
of sentencing, called “public education measures”, which is applied
to persons under 17. Furthermore, the Committee is very concerned that persons
aged 17 are considered and treated as adults in the justice system, and therefore
do not benefit from the special protection measures recognized in the Convention
and can be sentenced to “reform through labour”.
65. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Review its legislation and policies to ensure that the treatment of all
persons in conflict with the law under the age of 18 conforms entirely to international
juvenile justice standards and, in particular, articles 37, 40 and 39 of the
Convention, as well as the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration
of Juvenile Justice (The Beijing Rules) and the United Nations Guidelines for
the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (The Riyadh Guidelines), and ensure its
full implementation;
(b) Amend the law so that persons under 18 are not sentenced to “reform
through labour”;
(c) Provide in its next periodic report detailed information on how the non
judicial approach of the State party conforms to the human rights safeguards
enshrined in articles 37, 40 and 39 of the Convention and on the nature and
application of the sentence of “public education measures”;
(d) Provide in its next periodic report detailed information on the number of
children that have appealed to a higher competent, independent and impartial
authority according to law, and on the outcomes of these appeals;
(e) Develop programmes for the reintegration of juvenile offenders, including
those that were subject to education measures instead of detention; and
(f) Seek technical cooperation from, inter alia, OHCHR and UNICEF.
9. Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child
66. The Committee recommends that the State party ratify the Optional Protocols
to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child
prostitution and child pornography and on the involvement of children in armed
conflict.
10. Dissemination of documents
67. Finally, in the light of article 44, paragraph 6, of the Convention, the
Committee recommends that the second periodic report and written replies submitted
by the State party be made widely available to the public at large and that
the publication of the report be considered, along with the relevant summary
records and concluding observations adopted by the Committee. Such a document
should be widely distributed in order to generate debate and awareness of the
Convention and its implementation and monitoring within the Government, the
Parliament and the general public, including concerned non-governmental organizations.
11. Next report
68. In the light of the recommendation on reporting periodicity adopted by the
Committee and described in the report on its twenty-ninth session (CRC/C/114),
the Committee underlines the importance of a reporting practice that is in full
compliance with the provisions of article 44 of the Convention. An important
aspect of States parties’ responsibilities to children under the Convention
is ensuring that the Committee on the Rights of the Child has regular opportunities
to examine the progress made in the Convention’s implementation. In this
regard, regular and timely reporting by States parties is crucial. As an exceptional
measure, in order to help the State party catch up with its reporting obligations
in full compliance with the Convention, the Committee invites the State party
to submit its third and fourth reports in one consolidated report by 20 October
2007, the due date for the submission of the fourth report. This consolidated
report should not exceed 120 pages (see CRC/C/118). The Committee expects the
State party to report every five years thereafter, as foreseen by the Convention.