COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD EXAMINES REPORT OF SURINAME
The Committee on the Rights of the Child today reviewed the second periodic report of Suriname on how that country is implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Introducing the report, Hendrik S. Setrowidjojo, Minister of Social Affairs and Housing of Suriname, said that research and data-gathering were being enhanced in order to better structure the policies of the Government. Vital surveys such as the General Census (2005) and the Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey (2006) had provided accurate data on the situation of children and their families. Those new figures were currently being analysed. However, a quick look at some of the available data on child health showed that the Government had increased the immunization coverage from 70 per cent in 2000 to 85 per cent in 2004. Enrolment in preschools and primary schools had increased over the years 2003 to 2005, and there had also been an increase in the percentage of children completing primary education, namely, 67 per cent in 2003, as compared with 73 per cent in 2005.
In preliminary remarks, Kamal Siddiqui, the Committee Expert serving as Country Rapporteur, thanked the delegation for the frank and fruitful dialogue. The Committee had learned much about the situation of child rights in Suriname and what was being done to implement the provisions of the Convention over the course of the discussion. In general, the concluding observations of the Committee would not only constructively analyse the strength and weaknesses of the State party with regard to the implementation of the Convention, but would also develop recommendations to further the rights of children.
Experts raised a series of questions pertaining to, among other things, the fact that 50 per cent of parents supported the use of corporal punishment in schools; measures to ensure children's right to free association; why draft legislation regarding the regulation of children's institutions had not been adopted yet; how was the decision to place children in institutions made and how were such institutions evaluated; the fact that informal foster homes, or "kweekje", did not appear to be regulated at all; whether there were any shelters for abused children; policy regarding adoptions as compared with foster care; what determined whether a child between the ages of 16 and 18 was to be tried as a minor or an adult, which appeared to be in the judge's sole discretion; and confirmation as to whether all children in conflict with the law systematically received legal aid to defend themselves.
The Committee will release its formal, written concluding observations and recommendations on the second periodic report of Suriname towards the end of its three-week session, which will conclude on 2 February.
The delegation of Suriname also included representatives from the Department of Research and Planning of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing; the Bureau for the Rights of the Child; the Ministry of Education and Community Development; the Ministry of Health; and from the Embassy of Suriname to the United States.
When the Committee next reconvenes in public, on Thursday, 25 January at 10 a.m., it will consider the initial report of Malaysia (CRC/C/MYS/1).
Report of Suriname
The second periodic report of Suriname (CRC/C/SUR/2) notes that the shortening of the term of the former Government by one year had consequences for the continuation of the activities of the National Steering Committee for Youth Affairs, which was dissolved in November 2000 by Presidential resolution. The Steering Committee had not officially replaced the National Commission on the Rights of the Child, established in 1995 to prepare the State party’s report, to coordinate and monitor the implementation of the Convention. However, after the Commission discontinued its functioning, the Government decided to appoint a Steering Committee (in 1998), placed under the direct supervision of the President and chaired by the Deputy Minister for Social Affairs and Housing. An important initiative in 1999 was the preparation for the re-establishment of the National Bureau for the Rights of the Child in 2001. The tasks of the Bureau will be to promote child rights and act as the national focal point for affairs concerning children in Suriname.
The Government recognizes the need to institute a comprehensive and child-friendly mechanism for the submission and investigation of complaints from children. Currently, the Youth Police is the only place where children can submit official complaints for investigation. The Youth Police receive many complaints that are beyond their mandate and that can be resolved through the provision of social guidance, intermediation or counselling. In such cases, they refer complaints to the proper authorities or organizations. With reference to social care for juveniles, it should be confirmed that the Division for Youth Care has hardly functioned according to its responsibilities in the past seven years. The correctional institution for girls is still closed. Also, no legal provisions have been made as yet for the supervision and inspection of private institutions with regard to professional requirements for personnel, safety, confidentiality and other important matters.
Presentation of Report
HENDRIK S. SETROWIDJOJO, Minister of Social Affairs and Housing of Suriname, presenting the report, said that although the availability of adequate financial and human resources had impeded some of its goals, the Government had continued its efforts towards improving the well-being of children in Suriname. The development of a specific five-year policy plan for children in 2002 had been a major achievement in that regard. During the past years, policy plans had been developed regarding health, education, legal protection and security, people with disabilities, and HIV/AIDS, indicating some of the main priorities of the Government.
Since the HIV sero prevalence rate among pregnant women in the age group 15 to 24 was 1 per cent, the Government had evaluated the existing mother-to-child transmission prevention programme. As a consequence, the Minister noted that the programme had been revised and the outcome would be implemented shortly. In order to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health, the Government had drafted the mother and child health care policy and the sexual and reproductive health care policy, focusing on safe motherhood and family planning.
The Government had found the participation of young people in social and community affairs of importance and therefore had implemented a model of a Youth Parliament. The Minister felt that Suriname's participation in the CARICOM Youth Ambassadors Programme was a particular indication, that young people should get the opportunity to express their beliefs freely and independently, so they could mobilize their peers to think about how to shape their own future.
Research and data-gathering were being enhanced in order to better structure the policies of the Government. Vital surveys such as the General Census (2005) and the Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey (2006) had provided accurate data on the situation of children and their families. Those new figures were currently being analysed. However, a quick look at some of the available data on child health, showed that the Government had increased the immunization coverage from 70 per cent in 2000 to 85 per cent in 2004. Enrolment in preschools and primary schools had increased over the years, at least if the figures for 2003, 2004 and 2005 were compared. There had also been an increase in the percentage of children completing primary education, the Minister said, namely, 67 per cent in 2003, as compared with 73 per cent in 2005.
However, the Minister indicated that it was alarming that there was a decrease in the percentage of children completing secondary school, namely 60 per cent in 2003 as compared with 54 per cent in 2005. Research was necessary to identify the reason for that decrease so that proper measures could be taken. The number of reported child abuse cases had also increased: in 2003 that number had been 167, and in 2005 it had reached 242. The Government's initiative to set up a child abuse prevention network, which acted independently, had been undertaken to ensure that guidance was provided, especially for victims. Other measures such as raising awareness among the community on the negative consequences for children who had been abused would also be enhanced.
In order to better understand the numerous and complex problems concerning children and their families in interior areas, situation analyses had been undertaken in those locations, the Minister said. Based on the outcomes, the Government had formulated explicit actions to tackle the problems, including: the improvement of the birth registration system; the establishment of teams in two districts in the interior to promote early childhood development; the assurance of primary and secondary health care, almost free of charge; the establishment of school health clubs, where children and youth were being informed about critical health issues and healthy lifestyles; the combating of malaria, which had resulted in a decrease of the number of malaria cases by 75 per cent in 2006; the enhancement of the quality and availability of education through the execution of a three-year programme to improve capacity of the teachers and the construction of primary schools, as well as the construction of one secondary school, with support from non-governmental organizations.
Legislative reforms were gradually being implemented. Yet, the Minister acknowledged that matters should be accomplished much faster. A clear implementation of articles 3, 9 and 12 of the Convention had been the approval of legislation in regard to the right of children to be in contact with their parents. Legislation with respect to childcare, foster children and the rights of children to express their opinion were currently in the pipeline and would shortly be approved.
On the issue of juvenile justice, the Minister pointed to the start of a pilot project "alternative sanctions for youngsters", by which incarceration of juvenile offenders would be the last measure, as provided for in article 37 (b) of the Convention. Since July 2005, all juvenile offenders in pre-trial detention received immediate legal aid from a lawyer within 24 hours.
Questions by Experts
KAMAL SIDDIQUI, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of Suriname, said that, as he understood it, since October 2000, there had been no official body to effectively coordinate and monitor the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The previous structure had been abolished, but the Government of Suriname/UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Multi-Sectoral Coordination Committee now in place had apparently had a number of problems: it dealt only with UNICEF projects; it was heavily biased in favour of members with a legal background having little awareness about development needs and the rights of children; and there was no non-governmental organization representative on that body. What did the Government propose to do about that situation? The National Bureau for the Rights of the Child now acted as a monitoring structure to register and address complaints for children concerning violation of their rights, but there had been reports that it had not received adequate financial and human resources and that it was not easily accessible to the children.
Mr. Siddiqui noted with great appreciation that Suriname had established a Child Indicatory Monitoring System and had arranged for yearly publication of relevant data. Suriname also deserved praise for developing the Children in Need of Special Protection Monitoring System, as well as other data or information collection systems. Indeed, there were few developing countries that could match Suriname in that regard. However, he had two concerns: the data was not sufficiently disaggregated to include information on a wide range of vulnerable groups such as street children, children belonging to minority or indigenous groups, and children subject to sexual exploitation; and, secondly, the data gathering was not adequately used for policy-making.
On the budget, Mr. Siddiqui observed that, while at present about 25 per cent of Suriname's budget was spent on the social sector, more than two thirds of it went to salary and overhead costs. The report stated that about 20 per cent of the budget should be dedicated to actual activities in the social sector, which meant that 37 per cent of the budget would have to be allocated for social sector activities. The Government had set a goal of reaching 20 per cent spending on social sector activities by 2001. Had that target been met, and if not why not?
On independent monitoring, the Child Indicatory Monitoring Mechanism System mentioned earlier essentially served as a data-collection arrangement. It could not serve as a monitoring mechanism because it could not receive or investigate complaints. In the report, the possibility of establishing a full-fledged Ombudsperson had been suggested. Mr. Siddiqui wished to know when that was planned and asked for an outline.
Regarding a national plan of action, Mr. Siddiqui pointed out that, in recent years, Suriname had developed three important documents: the National Youth Policy Framework in 2000; the National Policy Plan for Children in 2001; and the National Policy Plan for Children, 2002-2006. He was concerned to know whether any evaluation of the implementation of those plans had been carried out. Finally, he wished to know how Suriname proposed to go about the National Policy Plan for 2007-2011 in terms of content, links with the national Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, budget allocations, follow-up mechanisms and for its full implementation and evaluation.
Several Experts praised Suriname for the clear will to improve the situation of children in the country despite a lack of funds and the magnitude of the problems faced.
Experts raised a series of questions pertaining to, among other things, the fact that bills for the incorporation of the Convention's provisions in Suriname's domestic legislation had still not been adopted; the fact that 50 per cent of parents supported the use of corporal punishment in schools; financial support for the Youth Council and the Youth Parliament; whether the courts used the best interests of the child in making their decisions; measures to ensure children's right to free association; and whether regulations provided for children's rights to privacy, in particular for children in institutions.
On the topic of discrimination, an Expert pointed to some examples of discrimination against children, including children born out of wedlock and against boys with regard to the age of sexual consent. In that connection, he wished to know whether Suriname's Constitution prohibited discrimination. Another aspect of discrimination was the gap that existed between the effective enjoyment of rights of children in rural and remote areas versus those in the cities. What was being done to address that situation?
Response by the Delegation
Responding to these questions and others, the delegation said that, regarding conformity of national legislation with the Convention, it agreed that the draft legislation in this area had been dragging on to long. Currently a number of bills with this effect were before the State Council, from where they would go to the National Assembly for approval. The delegation could therefore not give an exact time frame, but could say that there was only one last step to go. One such bill – on the rights of children with divorced parents – had already been approved.
The delegation said that the convention took precedence over all domestic law, including even the Constitution. Judges had been trained on the articles of the Convention and it was being used by the court system. Unfortunately, the delegation did not have the figures right now, but would report back on instances of the Convention's application in domestic courts.
Regarding the five-year Government/UNICEF Project Plan of Action, the delegation confirmed that there were currently no non-governmental organization members involved in the coordination body, but that would be changed.
It was true that the Child Rights Bureau was not competent to hear individual complaints by children, but they did refer children's complaints to various agencies, including non-governmental organizations, which could address them.
On the planned Ombudsperson Institution, the delegation observed that as a preliminary step, they needed to re-establish the National Commission on the Rights of the Child.
In response to the Rapporteur's comment, the delegation wished to clarify that, slowly, a bit of progress was being achieved in terms of using statistics to develop policy. That could be seen in the HIV/AIDS programme.
On corporal punishment, the delegation noted that, although there was a written recommendation from the Minister of Education against corporal punishment in schools, in practice that was not always the case, and there was no law prohibiting it in the home. It was clear that headway had to be made in addressing corporal punishment in the home if attitudes were to be changed in this area. However, not much progress had been made.
On discrimination, the penal code had been revised to equalize the provisions for boys and girls with respect to the age of sexual consent, and it just remained for that revision to be approved. In terms of legislation protecting children from discrimination, the delegation did not think there was any specific provision on this point.
To encourage children to express their views, some training sessions had been held in schools, with staff to encourage children to express themselves, as well as trainings with judges and police to familiarize them with the provisions of the Convention.
The Teenage Mother Programme had been established to encourage girls who were mothers to return to school to complete their secondary education.
Inequalities in the marriage age for males and females had now been overcome and the legal age for marriage set at 18 years.
Regarding freedom of association, a children's association was being promoted through the Directorate of Youth Affairs.
Further Questions by Experts
During the second round of questions, the Rapporteur asked for statistics on poverty and information on poverty trends. Had evaluations been carried out on the Poverty Reduction Plans previously implemented and was there a new Poverty Reduction Strategy in place?
Other Experts asked further questions on topics including, among others, why draft legislation regarding the regulation of children's institutions had not been adopted yet; how was the decision to place children in institutions made and how were such institutions evaluated, in the absence of that draft legislation; the fact that informal foster homes, or "kweekje", did not appear to be regulated at all; whether there were any shelters for abused children; policy regarding adoptions as compared with foster care; the seemingly standard practice of denying bail to children held in detention; what determined whether a child between the ages of 16 and 18 was tried as a minor or an adult, which appeared to be at the judge's sole discretion; and confirmation as to whether all children in conflict with the law systematically received legal aid to defend themselves.
An Expert was concerned that there were no facilities or places for children to exercise their right to play except in the street. Another Expert asked for more information about how the Government intended to reduce educational disparities between the urban centres and the interior. He was also concerned about a lack of pre-school programmes.
Other questions centred on concerns including what plans existed to combat trafficking in children; provisions for adolescent mental health; high school drop-out rates; violence against children; and a high rate of alcohol consumption among children.
Finally, the Chairperson asked for explanation as to why it took so long to implement the children's bills that were currently before the State Council.
Response by Delegation
The delegation, in response to the second cluster of questions, said that over the past year studies and surveys on education had been undertaken, many with the aid of international funding. A five-year education sector plan had been devised covering all aspects of education, including pre-school, primary, and secondary education in the interior, and adult education. An Early Childhood Education programme, which had been implemented in 2005, had made early childhood education compulsory. A Child Friends Programme had been executed in the interior. It taught teachers and parents how to make education in the interior more child-friendly. That included the use of the home-language of the children. As of 2003 a programme to improve teachers' training in schools in the interior had been in place in the major schools there. In 2007, following an evaluation, that programme would be applied to all schools in the interior.
The Government and the Interdevelopment Bank had signed an agreement in March 2004 to improve quality and increase efficiency of the basic education system by updating curricula and providing schools with build up management capacity at school level. That programme was still in the development stage, the delegation said.
Concerning children with disabilities, the law on disabilities was still in the draft stage. Currently there were 500 children in a special school for children with disabilities, the delegation said.
There had been several Poverty Reduction Strategies in Suriname, the delegation noted, but the programmes had not been implemented. Measures to help the poor and disadvantaged segments of the population had been taken, however, for example with regard to access to subsidized health care. According to a household survey conducted last year in three urban districts, between 50 to 75 per cent of the population lived under the poverty line. There was no national data on the subject. The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Agriculture had launched an agricultural production diversification programme to ensure a better diet for the population in the interior. Traditionally, the population in the interior lived on a few staple products, including beef and cassava, and did not grow or eat vegetables.
Infant mortality was high, given low breastfeeding rates (30 per cent) and high levels of child malnutrition. One cause of low breastfeeding rates was that most women worked and had to return to work six weeks after they gave birth. A programme to encourage breastfeeding was in place, and they were awaiting results of an evaluation that had been undertaken to access that programme's effectiveness.
On health programmes, the delegation said there was a five-year plan in place with seven strategic goals, including to reduce malnutrition and to address issues related to HIV/AIDS and to combat the spread of that disease. Funding had been received from the Dutch Government and the Interdevelopment Bank which should ensure its implementation. In particular, the HIV/AIDS and Malaria programme had similarly received a large injection of funds from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and further funds from the European Community. In that connection, a survey had shown that only one third of the population was well informed about HIV/AIDS and condom use was low. It was hoped that the HIV/AIDS programme would address change that situation.
On alcohol and drug abuse, the Government was preparing a road map for the ratification of the Tobacco Convention; was undertaking an assessment of current smoke-free initiatives in Suriname; and was working to declare all public offices and primary and secondary schools smoke free environments.
On juvenile justice, the delegation said the age of criminal responsibility, which was set at between 17 and 18 years, varied depending on the crime. For a crime such as murder, committed by more than one child, the participants in such a murder aged between 17 and 18 would be tried as adults. The Child Protection Section of the Ministry of Justice guided children in conflict with the law through the whole process up until the sentence was read. There was one juvenile prosecutor to deal with juvenile affairs. In 2004 an action plan on children was implemented. Among others, the plan called for the construction of a child detention facility, which would be completed in August this year.
Children in conflict with law who were in custody were able to have access to both primary and secondary education, as well as vocational training.
Here the Chairman wished to clarify the provisions regarding the age of criminal responsibility. According to his reading of the Criminal Code, children under 10 could not be criminally prosecuted. Children from 10 to 16 could be prosecuted, but as children, and would therefore receive reduced penalties, equal to one third of the adult penalties. Children between 16 and 18 could be prosecuted as adults or as children, at the discretion of the judge.
On legal aid for children, the delegation said that in most cases it was the families of the children who contacted a lawyer. There were two lawyers from the Ministry of Social Affairs, on the payroll of the Ministry of Justice and Police, who were mandated to represent children free of charge. The police were required to ask the child if he wished to be represented by a lawyer, and if they wanted a lawyer and could not afford to pay, the police contacted those lawyers on staff. Admittedly, the fact that there were only two lawyers posed a problem for children in the interior who were in conflict with the law.
On children in institutions, the delegation responded that there were indeed a high number of children under institutional care. Last year, the Ministry for Social Affairs and Housing registered 47 such institutions, caring for 1,437 children. There was no specific policy on family reunification. However, they had worked with mothers who had put their children in institutions – generally working mothers with five or more children – to guide those mothers, with the help of non-governmental organizations, to reunify their families. That was a sort of pilot project, begun last year, and had only involved 12 families. They would have to wait and see what the results were.
Inspection of institutions was provided in the sense that the Bureau for Public Health analysed the environmental health situation of children in institutions, the delegation said. The government-run girls' shelter had indeed been closed. There were, however, two such shelters for children that were run by non-governmental organizations with Governmental assistance.
Child protection measures were executed through the Bureau for Family Law Affairs. If the police received a complaint of abuse, the Police would investigate it and the child would be placed in one of the non-governmental organization shelters in the meantime. If the parents were found to be guilty of abuse, the children would remain in care in an institution. Currently there was no government helpline for children, but it was hoped that would be reinstated in April. There was, however, a child abuse network, the delegation highlighted, including 32 non-governmental organizations. A child could phone any of those institutions and receive help in cases of abuse.
With regard to placing children in foster families rather than in institutions, there were simply not enough foster families available, the delegation observed. The Foster Children bill had simply not been approved. It had been revised again, in 2005, and was now going through the system. The informal "kweekje" system largely involved children in the care of members of their extended family. That system was indeed very informal, and there was no supervision or even exact figures of children in such care.
On children with disabilities, the delegation noted that there was a medical bureau where parents with children with disabilities could request assistance and information on issues such as education for their children. The formation of parents associations, for parents of disabled children, was also being encouraged. They were hoping to introduce discussion about disability into the school curricula.
There were no reported cases of child abduction in Suriname, according to the delegation.
Concerning playgrounds and the right to play, the Ministry of Education was now making an inventory of public playgrounds as part of a plan to rehabilitate them. In the summer and during the holidays, children could also participate in a special programme of the Department of Youth Affairs.
Preliminary Remarks
KAMAL SIDDIQUI, the Committee Expert serving as Country Rapporteur, in preliminary concluding remarks, thanked the delegation for the frank and fruitful dialogue. The Committee had learned much about the situation of child rights in Suriname and what was being done to implement the provisions of the Convention over the course of the discussion. In general, the concluding observations of the Committee would not only constructively analyse the strength and weaknesses of the State party with regard to the implementation of the Convention, but would also develop recommendations to further the rights of children. He thanked the delegation for making this dialogue fruitful and lively and wished them a safe journey home.
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