COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD REVIEWS SITUATION OF CHILDREN IN THE LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
The Committee on the Rights of the Child today concluded its consideration of the combined third to sixth periodic reports of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic on measures taken to implement the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Alounkeo Kittikhoun, Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office, Vice-President of the National Commission for the Advancement of Women, Mothers and Children of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, in the introduction of the report, said that the National Commission for Mothers and Children, set up in 1992, played a key role in the promotion and protection of children’s rights, and took the leading role in the preparation of the periodic reports to the Committee. The Lao People’s Democratic Republic was a multi-ethnic nation of 49 ethnic groups who lived in harmony; the Constitution, laws and policies encouraged solidarity, non-discrimination and equal treatment of all ethnic groups. The rights of women, children and persons with disabilities were protected and promoted through the Constitution and national laws, as well as national strategies and action plans. In this context, the Minister highlighted the Law on Development and Protection of Women, Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Children, Juvenile Criminal Procedure Law, and the recently adopted Law on Prevention of Violence against Women and Children. With the implementation the 7th and 8th Five-Year National Socio-Economic Development Plan, significant progress was being made in the area of health, education, nutrition, survival, development, protection, and participation of children, he concluded.
Committee Experts acknowledged the participation of children of various backgrounds in the preparation of the reports and commended the efforts to improve the national legal and policy framework. But children, who made up one-third of the population, did not benefit equally from the rapid economic growth and increased financial resources available to the Government; disparities were increasing, particularly between urban and rural areas and in the distribution of income, with direct impact on health outcomes for infants, children and mothers and school enrollment rates. The development of the anti-discrimination and equality strategy had been postponed for lack of funding, Experts remarked and raised concern about the situation of children from ethnic communities living in very remote areas and their equal access to basic services, including health, education, and water and sanitation, and equal participation in decision-making. The Committee was very concerned by the exceptions to the legal age of marriage, noting that more than a third of the country's women married before the age of 18; high prevalence of violence, abuse and neglect of children; low birth registration rates; and the number of children injured or killed in road traffic accidents and by unexploded ordnances. Child pornography, the Experts said, was easily available and the number of children victims of trafficking and exploitation was very high; there were children being sold for marriage to China, children were being forced into prostitution in karaoke bars, and sex tourism was on the rise.
In concluding remarks, Mr. Kittikhoun expressed sincere appreciation for the Committee’s objective and constructive assessments and recommendations for the promotion and protection of children’s rights in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, which he said was a continuous and evolving process.
Benyam Dawit Mezmur, Committee Expert and Member of the Task Force for the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, in conclusion, urged more attention to violence against children, residential care placements, and the rights of children with disabilities.
The delegation of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic included representatives of the National Commission for the Advancement of Women, Mothers and Children, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Lao Women’s Union, and members of the Permanent Mission of El Salvador to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
All the documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage, and the webcast of the Committee’s public meetings are available here.
The Committee will next meet in public at 10 a.m. on Monday, 24 September, to consider Niger’s combined third to fifth periodic reports under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/NER/3-5) and its initial report under the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (CRC/C/OPSC/NER/1).
Report
The Committee has before it the combined third to sixth periodic reports of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (CRC/C/LAO/3-6).
Presentation of the Report
ALOUNKEO KITTIKHOUN, Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office, Vice-President of the National Commission for the Advancement of Women, Mothers and Children of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, in the introduction of the report said that, following the country’s second periodic review in 2011, the Committee’s concluding observations had been translated to Laotian and disseminated to relevant ministries, Government officials, stakeholders, and the public. The responsibilities for their implementation had been clearly assigned to line ministries and State organizations at the central and local levels, the Minister said, while many had been integrated into the 7th and 8th Five-Year National Socio-Economic Development Plan and were being implemented through a range of laws, policies, strategies and action programmes. The National Commission for Mothers and Children, set up in 1992, still played a key role in the promotion and protection of children’s rights, and took the leading role in the preparation of the periodic reports to the Committee, with the participation of and in consultation with relevant Government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and international development partners. The report had been prepared with the technical cooperation and support from the United Nations Children’s Fund and Child Fund Laos, the Minister explained.
The Lao People’s Democratic Republic, continued Mr. Kittikhoun, was a multi-ethnic nation of 49 ethnic groups who lived in harmony; the Constitution, laws and policies encouraged solidarity, non-discrimination and equal treatment of all ethnic groups. Any acts of division of solidarity among the ethnic groups were prohibited and sanctioned by law. The rights of women, children and persons with disabilities were protected and promoted through the Constitution and national laws, as well as national strategies and action plans. In this context, the Minister highlighted the Law on Development and Protection of Women, Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Children, Juvenile Criminal Procedure Law, and the recently adopted Law on Prevention of Violence against Women and Children.
The Lao People’s Democratic Republic continued to improve its governance and public administration, the Minister said, in order to be more effective, transparent, accountable, and participatory, and to provide better services to the children. The Government was implementing the Legal Sector Master Plan on the Development of the Rule of Law by 2020, and the National Assembly had adopted or amended more than 100 laws, including on the judiciary, on national defence and on public security, and the laws in economic, social, cultural and environmental domains. With the implementation of activities under the 7th and 8th Five-Year National Socio-Economic Development Plan, significant progress was being made in the area of health, education, nutrition, survival, development, protection, and participation of children.
At the regional level, in particular in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic was contributing to the development of children’s rights, institutional building and standard setting, and drafting of declarations, and was also actively participating the Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Women and Children of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Mr. Kittikhoun concluded.
Questions by Committee Experts
VELINA TODOROVA, Committee Rapporteur and Coordinator of the Task Force on the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, noted with satisfaction the participatory approach in the preparation of the report, especially consultations with children of various backgrounds, and expressed hope that it would be replicated in future drafting of all national plans and policies.
The Rapporteur commended the country’s accession to all but two United Nations human rights treaties and the efforts to improve the national legal and policy framework. Would the Lao People’s Democratic Republic withdraw the reservation on the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and ratify the Optional Protocol on a communications procedure? A national human rights institution in line with the Paris Principles would be very valuable in protecting the rights of children, she remarked, and asked which Government body was responsible for policy coordination between different ministries.
Turning to national strategies and policies for children, Ms. Todorova inquired whether the country would adopt a multi-sectoral approach to child protection, noting that such an approach was more adequate to the nature of children’s rights and social realities and challenges. Could the delegation inform the Committee on the status of implementation of current strategies in the field of children’s rights, especially their outcomes and impacts?
Children made up one-third of the population in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and yet did not benefit from the rapid economic growth and increased financial resources available to the Government, the Rapporteur said. Where there any debates on the reform and professionalization of the child protection system and on enabling the allocation of resources for children at district and local levels? Was there an established and efficient administrative system for data collection for children, disaggregated by age, sex, origin, geographical location, disability and other characteristics?
Civil society space was limited, the Rapporteur noted, asking whether legal and policy changes were envisaged in order to ease the complex procedures for registration of civil society organizations and facilitate their dialogue with the Government.
Other Experts noted that more than a third of the country's women were married before the age of 18, and asked about the criteria for the exceptions to the legal age of marriage, the authority that made the decision, and how the best interest of the child was considered in this process. Which concrete measures were being deployed to fight early marriage of girls?
The development of the anti-discrimination and equality strategy had been postponed for lack of funding, the Experts remarked, and asked about steps taken to eradicate ethnicity-based discrimination and protect the equality of rights of all ethnic groups. Expressing concern about the situation of children from ethnic communities living in very remote areas, they asked the delegation to explain how the authorities guaranteed that children from all ethnic groups enjoyed equal access to basic services, including health, education, and water and sanitation, and that they equally participated in decision-making.
What concrete steps were being taken to reduce disparities between rural and urban areas in aces to and quality of basic services? The number of children in the first grade was six times higher for well-off families compared to poor families – how was this manifestation of income disparities being addressed?
The Committee was very concerned about the number of children injured or killed by road traffic accidents and by unexploded ordnances, they said and asked whether guidelines were in place to ensure that the principle of best interest of the child was applied in practice.
On birth registration, the Experts took note of the commitment to ensure that 70 per cent of all births were registered by 2024, and asked about the current registration rates, the current efforts to register children in rural areas, and whether the nominal fee, which was sometimes a barrier to registration, would be removed.
The delegation was asked about the enjoyment of the right to freedom of belief and the status of religions that the State did not recognize as official religions.
Turning to violence against children, the Experts asked whether the definition of corporal punishment under the Penal Code provided for the prohibition of all types of corporal punishment, even the weakest ones, such a slap. The national household survey on violence against children had shown high figures of abuse and neglect, they remarked, and asked about the progress in implementing initiatives to combat violence and sexual violence against children. In this context, what could be done to break the silence and change the mindsets?
Did the Government increase the number of social workers and the budget to fight violence against children? Were the cases of abuse systematically reported, and were the children aware of the existence of the hotlines? Could the delegation provide concrete information on possible cases of sexual violence or corporal punishment in Buddhist temples?
Responses by the Delegation
Responding to the first round of Committee’s questions, the delegation said that the ratification of international instruments required complex preparation and a substantial budget and that, at the moment, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic did not have sufficient resources to accede to the last two international human rights treaties. The reservation on article 5 of the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography had been entered because the issue of extradition was indeed linked to human rights, but it was also linked to diplomatic relations between countries, which was a sensitive and delicate area. Without a bilateral treaty with the country of the person in question, the national law on extradition applied, explained the delegate.
With regard to the national human rights institution, the Lao People's Democratic Republic had already established numerous commissions to monitor the implementation of human rights, including the National Commission for the Advancement of Women, Mothers and Children and the National Commission for People with Disabilities and the Elderly, which coordinated the implementation of the conventions the country had ratified.
In order to streamline the activities and coordination, the secretariats of the National Commission for Mothers and Children and the National Commission for the Advancement of Women, Mothers and Children had been merged and moved into the premises of the Lao Women’s Union; the two Commissions kept their portfolio of activities separate. The Secretariat was chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, while Mr. Kittikhoun, Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office, and the President of the Lao Women’s Union were the vice-chairs.
There were no exceptions to the Family Law in matters of legal age of marriage, insisted the delegation. Marriage could be contracted only between persons over 18 years of age; a marriage with a minor constituted a criminal offense and was annulled.
Consultations and forums were being organized so that children could express their views on the role they wanted to play in the society and give their opinion on policies that concerned them. The report to the Committee, for example, had been prepared with the contribution from the Laotian children, said the delegation. Additionally, the National Children’s Day was celebrated every year, there were seminars and workshops on the implementation of the Convention, and manuals on children’s involvement and participation at local and national levels.
Based on the findings of the national study on violence against children which had been recently completed, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic had adopted in June 2018 a multi-sectoral priority action plan which contained priority actions to address violence against children. The focus would be, inter alia, on breaking the silence on violence, changing the attitudes and mentality, and protecting children from violence, trafficking sexual exploitation, and child labour. Institutions from all relevant sectors - justice, education, health and the social sector, would actively collaborate and coordinate their efforts in the implementation of this plan.
The Lao People’s Democratic Republic did not have a policy that promoted one religion over another and its Constitution did not reference a national religion. The state was entirely secular, clarified the delegation, noting that the choice of religion was an individual matter. Buddhists were specifically mentioned in the Constitution because more than 80 per cent of the population was Buddhist, but there was no State discrimination when it came to different religions.
The legislation regulating the activities of Buddhist temples contained more than 200 articles, mostly devoted to maintaining harmony and peace in the temples. Any abuse of children – including in the temples - was against the rules of Buddhism and against the law, and perpetrators would be adequately punished.
With regard to birth registration, the Government was making every effort to facilitate the procedure. The Law of Family Registration had introduced a more efficient registration procedure and allowed for the registration in district offices. The administrative registration fees for births had been abolished and by 2020, a computerized registration system would be operational throughout the country.
Turning to the cooperation with non-governmental organizations, the delegation explained that the Government was expanding its efforts to facilitate their work in accordance with the national legislation. International non-governmental organizations wishing to start operations or projects in the country had to follow the guidelines of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which regulated the issues such as project approval or issuing of visas and work permits for staff. As of 2015, there were 163 international non-governmental organizations active in the country, running 334 projects in the field of education, sport, social sector, or agriculture.
The new definition of corporal punishment in the Penal Code included also the lightest forms of corporal punishment, thus hitting a child was recognized as corporal punishment and was sanctioned by the law. In this area, the Penal Code supplemented the legislation on preventing and suppressing violence against women and children, the delegation explained.
The legislation in the area of discrimination, continued the delegate, was comprehensive and the prohibition of discrimination was a principle enshrined in the Constitution. The Lao People’s Democratic Republic was in the process of adoption of a law on gender equality in all areas of life, while discrimination against children was criminalized and sanctioned as per the provisions of the Penal Code.
The country lacked experienced social workers, the delegation acknowledged, thus the authorities were cooperating with its international partners in providing professional training to the staff, as well as university-level courses and programmes.
The National Commission for the Advancement of Women, Mothers and Children was being given the means to function, said the delegation, and reminded that the Lao People's Democratic Republic was still one of the least developed countries, with extremely limited resources. This was the main reason why budgetary allocations to certain sectors did not reach the requirements and failed to generate the required services for the population. A package of measures to lift the country from the least developed status by 2030 was currently being implemented, and it included tax and financial reforms and a range of activities in the agro-food sector.
With regard to freedom of expression, the law complied with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the Media Law required the State to give the media the opportunity to collect and disseminate quality information, while a decree governing foreign media operating in the country allowed the foreign press to transmit information that did not affect the national security of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
Questions by Committee Experts
In the next round of questions, Committee Experts asked about the role of fathers in the upbringing of children, noting that they were absent from the official title of the National Commission for the Advancement of Women, Mothers and Children. The delegation was asked to inform on the Child Protection Network and whether it was operational throughout the country, and to explain whether children could be removed from their families, under what circumstances, and by which authority.
The number of children in residential care was on the rise, the Experts noted with concern, asking about measures to address this issue and also inquiring about a mechanism that monitored the situation of children living in pagodas or monasteries. What was the status of the law on adoption and was commercial surrogacy legal?
The ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the establishment of a Commission for Persons with Disabilities and Elderly were commendable steps, but the number of families with children with disabilities which received the support was very small. Furthermore, the National Action Plan for Inclusive Education did not lead to the expected results and special schools were still regarded as a better choice for children with disabilities. Was there a specific policy for children with disabilities and what was being done to promote their inclusion in mainstream education, especially in the rural areas? What happened with children with disabilities that could not be cared for by their families?
The Committee remained concerned about the relatively high rates of infant mortality, and inquired about the results of the different studies on child nutrition. It seemed that nine hospitals alone received 40 per cent of the health budget – why was it so? Was an increase in allocations for health possible?
The State party report was silent on early childhood education, and it was not clear what was being done to improve the quality of educational content in primary and secondary schools and to ensure that the objectives of secondary and vocational education met the demands of the labour market. Had progress been made in achieving gender parity in school enrolments and was human rights education a part of curricula at all levels?
It was reported that 750,000 children in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic did not have adequate access to clean water and sanitation. What was being done to clean up the rivers, protect children from contaminated water, stop deforestation, and prohibit the sale of alcohol and tobacco to children)
Child pornography, the Experts said with concern, was easily available and the number of children victims of trafficking and exploitation was very high; there were cases of children being sold for marriage to China, children were being forced into prostitution in karaoke bars, and sex tourism was on the rise. The Lao People’s Democratic Republic should adopt a national plan of action to implement the provisions of the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and increase its cooperation with Interpol in fighting those phenomena.
The delegation was asked to inform on the fight against corruption, the system in place to prevent relocation of indigenous peoples, whether children drug users were seen as victims or criminals, measures in place to protect migrant children.
The Experts asked whether there was a comprehensive and compulsory sexual and reproductive health education in schools, whether abortion was legal, and what was being done to enable access to contraceptives for adolescents.
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation addressed the questions raised on the child protection network in the country, and explained that due to financial constraints and challenges, the status of the network varied from one district to another. Villagers had the responsibility to report all cases of violence against children to the National Commission for the Advancement of Women, Mothers and Children on violence against children. Members of the village mediation committees were trained in the promotion and protection of the rights of the children. In dangerous situations, or in case of removal of children from the families, village child protection network and the mediation committee would start the mediation process; if the crisis continued, the social workers and the police would get informed and included, depending on the severity of the case. All those operating in the child protection network were volunteers, the delegation said, explaining that the authorities relied on volunteering because of the limited budget.
Village mediation units were a part of the culture in the country, the delegation explained, adding that they had been created by the initiative from the Ministry of Justice, which saw them as a vehicle of dissemination of law at the grassroots level, and as a mechanism to resolve disputed before they reached courts. The capacity building of its members was supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund and other development partners.
Explaining the delay in the creation of the protection mechanism, the delegation said that the survey on the violence against children had been conducted in 2014 and published in 2016. The delay in publishing was due to the scope of work and the fact that it was the very first such survey on the national level, in which international methodology and standards had been used. The release of the report in June 2018 had been accompanied by the launch of the national action plan against violence against children.
Turning to disparity between rural and urban areas, including in child and maternal mortality, the delegation said that the country was very mountainous and it suffered heavy rain during the monsoon season, which lasted for three months and made many areas of the country practically unreachable. The population was often cut off from the world, without access to health centres; giving birth in rural areas during the rainy season was very difficult. The country was working on improving road infrastructure, strengthening early referral system for at-risk pregnancies, and training local health staff. As a result, infant and maternal mortality were on the decline.
The delegation reiterated that poverty reduction and rural economic, social and cultural development were the Government’s priorities. The national programme for rural development and the Poverty Reduction Fund to reduce poverty in most disadvantaged villages were being managed by local committees who had the authority to decide how and where to spend the funds. The People’s Provincial Assemblies had a significant role in educating the local governments on how to making best of resources available to them. There were also programmes addressing poor water and sanitation quality in poor areas, but the nature of the problem was often linked with geography and climate and the change of dry and wet seasons.
The delegation explained that the Government was doing its utmost to promote economic and social development. Public spending on education had increased from 13.2 to 13.8 per cent of public expenditure; the new law on education already provided for a further increase in this budget for the coming years. The National Education Action Plan aimed to increase resources for the early childhood sector. Health budgets had also been increased, with some of additional resources being earmarked for mother and child health. However, the overall economic situation in the country was a limiting factor in ensuring an increased and sustained budgetary allocation for basic services.
In the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the father and the mother had common obligations with regard to the upbringing of children, it was stated in response to an observation on the absence of the father in the title of the National Commission for the Promotion of Women, Mothers and Children. Both parents had a duty and an obligation to protect their children. However, the authorities believe that mothers and children are among the vulnerable groups, so they have taken specific measures to help them.
The delegation explained that young boys could become novices and then monks according to their maturity. Parents' permission to enter the monastery was required, as was a certificate by the competent local authority. A novice remained a full member of his family, and in some villages, parents continued to provide for their son who lived in a monastery, while monks depended on the community that fed them.
Buddhist temples and villages worked in cooperation when it came to the lives of novices and monks. Civil authorities monitored the conditions in temples in close detail and reacted if anything illegal happened. Emergency hotlines were open to anyone to report abuses, including novices and monks, and so far no complaints of abuse or corporal punishment had been received. The Monasteries Regulatory Code provided that novices and monks must have an identity card and be registered in the civil registry.
The Lao People’s Democratic Republic was committed to promoting the activities of non-governmental organizations and said that delays in registration could be attributed to lack of capacity of Government’s officials on how to effectively implement the registration process, and also to inadequate knowledge of the guidelines and regulations by civil society organizations.
As for the question raised on relocation of indigenous peoples, the delegation explained that the construction of a major development project must be preceded by an assessment of its social and environmental impacts, and public consultations with the people concerned must be held. The delegate stressed that there were no indigenous peoples in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, but rather 49 ethnicities who enjoyed equal rights.
During the first six months of 2018, more than half of the road accidents involved children under 17 years of age. The national action plan to combat road accidents had been adopted and awareness campaigns on road traffic and road safety were being undertaken, especially in schools.
The delegation indicated that there was a cooperation platform and a secretariat for combating trafficking in human beings; regional exchanges on the topic were being held regularly with Thailand, Myanmar and China; and training on early identification of victims and awareness raising on trafficking in persons was being undertaken. A survey on the risks of Lao women and children being trafficked was ongoing, while the Tourism Act clearly prohibited companies in this sector from offering prostitution activities. Information was distributed to hoteliers and tourists, so that they knew what was legal or not. The sale of children was a criminal act under the Penal Code, while the Labour Law set the minimum age employment at 14 years and authorised light work for this group for up to six hours a day.
Children addicted to drugs were treated as users in general, unless they committed a crime. At the moment, 79 children were in detention on drug-related charges. Children over the age of 15 had legal capacity and could be sentenced for drug trafficking. The Lao People's Democratic Republic was a member of Interpol and coordinated some actions with this organization. The United Nations Convention against Corruption was being implemented in the country, which had put in place prevention and monitoring mechanisms.
More than 50,000 people, many of them children, had been injured or killed by unexploded ordnances, left behind after the war. Non-governmental organizations were working in the field to find and safely remove them and the authorities are working to raise awareness of communities living in the affected areas, with funding from international community. Victim assistance required time and resources, delegation said, noting that 1,000 victims were waiting for help today.
Children with disabilities had the right to a free access to health care, medicines and assistive devices, and there were additional schools for different types of disabilities. Early identification was still a big challenge and the trainings of the professionals were ongoing to improve the condition.
Abortion was banned but the doctors would consider it if a foetus had a fatal malformation, on a case-by-case basis. Surrogacy was prohibited by the Penal Code and the school curricula have been revised to incorporate sexual and reproductive health education.
Birth registration was free of charge and birth certificates were issued by the hospitals immediately after the birth. Mothers who did not give birth in a hospital had to report the birth to the district registry office.
Concluding Remarks
ALOUNKEO KITTIKHOUN, Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office, Vice-President of the National Commission for the Advancement of Women, Mothers and Children of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, expressed sincere appreciation for the Committee’s objective and constructive assessments and recommendations for the promotion and protection of children’s rights in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, which was a continuous and evolving process. The priorities for the next five years, he said, would include the continued efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals and further reduce poverty. The dialogue and exchange of experience with other countries, internationally and in the region, would continue in order identify best practices and implement them in the promotion and protection of the rights of the Laotian child.
BENYAM DAWIT MEZMUR, Committee Expert and Member of the Task Force for the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, thanked the delegation the efforts made so far in the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and urged more attention to violence against children, residential care placements, and the rights of children with disabilities.
For use of the information media; not an official record
CRC18.025E