COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD EXAMINES REPORT OF MALI

The Committee on the Rights of the Child today reviewed the second periodic report of Mali on how that country is implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Introducing the report, Diallo M’Bodji Sene, Minister for the Promotion of Women, Children and the Family of Mali, wished to underscore the numerous legislative, regulatory and administrative measures that had been taken between 1999 and 2004 with regard to children’s rights. The 10-Year Social and Health Programme, the 10-Year Education Programme, the 10-Year Programme for Justice, and the Strategic Framework for Combating Poverty, all accorded priority to the child and addressed the problems of survival, development, protection and participation. The Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Children and the Family was a member of the various bodies tasked with guiding and executing those programmes.

In preliminary remarks, Committee Expert Awa N'Deye Ouedraogo, who served as Rapporteur for the report of Mali, said she hoped to see better coordination among the various government bodies in terms of implementation of the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, with an independent monitoring structure. A programme to discourage early marriage was needed. Children who were in conflict with the law and those that were in danger should be separated, and not held together as they were at the Bollé centres, and better measures for the protection of children should be set up.

Other Experts raised a series of questions pertaining to, among other things, the lack of clear incorporation of the provisions of the Convention into Malian law; whether the Convention had ever been invoked in court cases; early marriages for girls; child abuse and domestic violence; whether corporal punishment was also prohibited in Koranic schools; training programmes for professionals involved with children; whether there was a complaint mechanism for children; measures to care for street children; and the situation of AIDS orphans.

The Committee will release its formal, written concluding observations and recommendations on the second periodic report of Mali towards the end of its three-week session, which will conclude on 2 February.

The delegation of Mali included Sékou Kasse, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of Mali to the United Nations Office at Geneva, as well as other representatives of the Government of Mali from the Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Children and the Family; the Ministry of Education; and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

As one of the 193 States parties to the Convention, Mali is obliged to present periodic reports to the Committee on its efforts to comply with the provisions of the treaty. The delegation was on hand throughout the day to present the report and to answer questions raised by Committee Experts.

When the Committee reconvenes on Friday, 19 January at 10 a.m., it will consider the third periodic report of Honduras (CRC/C/HND/3).

Report of Mali

The second periodic report of Mali (CRC/C/MLI/2) notes that, while the Child Protection Code defines a child as "any human being who is aged less than 18 years and has not attained the age of majority by special provision", in Mali the age of majority is not uniform. The draft Individuals and Family Code adopted in May 2002 harmonized the ages of majority in civil and criminal matters at 18 years, but that instrument has yet to be adopted by the National Assembly. The minimum age for admission to employment is 14 years, but the country's economic situation makes application of this rule very difficult. Nonetheless, in ratifying the International Labour Organization Minimum Age Convention, Mali decided to raise the minimum age for admission to employment to 15 years, and the Labour Code must now be brought into line with that decision.

The Education Ministry has a section that deals with increasing the number of girls in educational establishments. In the case of basic education, the enrolment rate for girls rose from 33.4 per cent in 1995-1996 to 59.9 per cent in 2003-2004. Despite the positive trend, the gap between the sexes is still large and there are substantial differences from one region to another. There is also an imbalance between boys and girls at all levels of education. The number of girls, which is already low at the basic level, declines at the secondary level and is almost negligible at the post-secondary level.

International adoption is governed by the provisions of the Hague Convention, which Mali ratified in 2001. Within Mali, the provisions of the Kinship Code and the Marriage and Guardianship Code afford protection to adopted children and enable them to maintain ties with their biological families. Protection of the rights of children separated from their parents has been strengthened by the adoption in 2002 of the Child Protection Code, which provides that the child's best interests must be taken into account in any decision about separation from its parents or family, that the child has a right to remain in regular contact and maintain personal relations with its parents, and that the child is entitled to protection of its health and physical and moral integrity and to social and educational assistance. The current machinery is, however, not able to protect them.

Presentation of Report

DIALLO M’BODJI SENE, Minister for the Promotion of Women, Children and the Family of Mali, introducing the report, said that the report had been drafted as the result of a participative process, taking into consideration the views of those concerned, including children themselves through the Children’s Parliament and the Children’s Association. A review of the various points in the report demonstrated that, despite the objective difficulties Mali faced as a poor country, and despite the social and cultural realities, the commitment of the Government of Mali to promote and ensure the rights of the child remained unflagging.

The Minister wished to underscore the numerous legislative, regulatory and administrative measures that had been taken between 1999 and 2004 with regard to children’s rights. The 10-Year Social and Health Programme, the 10-Year Education Programme, the 10-Year Programme for Justice, and the Strategic Framework for Combating Poverty, all accorded priority to the child and addressed the problems of survival, development, protection and participation. The Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Children and the Family, which she headed, was a member of the various bodies tasked with guiding and executing those programmes.

The implementation of those institutional measures had allowed real progress to be achieved in applying the fundamental principles in defence of children’s freedoms and civil rights. The Constitution of Mali enshrined those rights. The Child Protection Code, and the international conventions to which Mali was a party, today guaranteed the right to life, survival, development and free expression to children, the Minister stressed.

Regarding special protection measures, involving children in conflict with the law and the exploitation of children (whether through child labour or by means of trafficking in children), the Minister drew attention with satisfaction to the efforts of civil society organizations in that regard, which in many cases were able to supplement the insufficient resources of the Government, in particular in the area of protective care for children.

To understand the importance of the progress achieved, it was necessary to point out that there were numerous obstacles facing the effective implementation of children’s rights in Mali: the very high illiteracy rate in the country, especially among women; the lack of resources, in particular in view of the scope of the problems faced in the areas of health and special protection for children; and the weight of socio-cultural pressures regarding issues such as child labour, education for girls and female genital mutilation.

In the face of such challenges, the Minister stressed the need for a change in mentality and behaviour, which would take time. Mali remained optimistic about the challenges it faced in implementing children’s rights: the progress made so far augured well for the future.

Questions by Experts

AWA N'DEYE OUEDRAOGO, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of Mali, was pleased to note that non-governmental organizations had participated in drafting Mali’s second periodic report, and she found that it was critical and objective.

Ms. Ouedraogo was concerned, however, about the segmented situation with regard to the Convention’s implementation. The 1992-2000 National Plan of Action for the Survival, Development and Protection of Children had been completed, and an assessment was made, but unfortunately it was not pursued. It was not clear if its objectives had been achieved or not. A global action plan had been abandoned, which was to be regretted.

There had been a 2002-2006 Strategic Plan of the Ministry for the Advancement of Women, the Child and the Family, which undertook to define the national policy for the promotion of children, Ms. Ouedraogo noted. Significantly, that plan took into account the issue of protection. However, the Committee would appreciate an assessment of progress achieved. In that connection, resources needed to be allocated to the National Monitoring and Assessment Committee for the Strategic Plan so that it could work more effectively. In addition, the local committees needed to be integrated into the National Committee.

Ms. Ouedraogo noted with satisfaction that there was a 2004-2008 action plan to improve registration of civil status, but it was not clear that it was operational, and she wished to know what its status was. She underscored that birth registration should be free of charge. Further, did a Malian mother have the ability to transfer Malian citizenship to her children?

With regard to information, Ms. Ouedraogo was concerned about the proliferation of cybercafés and video clubs, and wondered what was being done to protect children from harmful material that they could access through those establishments. Conversely, she would like to know what was being done to promote children’s access to libraries.

Other Experts raised a series of questions pertaining to, among other things, the lack of clear incorporation of the provisions of the Convention into Malian law; whether the Convention had ever been invoked in court cases; early marriages for girls; child abuse and domestic violence; whether corporal punishment was also prohibited in Koranic schools; training programmes for professionals involved with children; and how many children had filed complaints with the Ombudsperson, established in 1997, and how many cases had been prosecuted in that connection.

In addition, questions expressed by Experts concerned child victims of torture and measures taken to combat child torture, including through the training of police officers. Regarding a child’s right to be heard, an Expert wondered exactly how the national Children’s Parliament worked and what advisory role it played. Also, were there similar bodies at the community level?

Response by the Delegation

With regard to the failure to extend the Action Plan 1992-2000, and the installation of sectoral programmes in its place – the 10-year programmes that had been mentioned for such areas as education and health – and charges that this resulted in a segmented approach to the implementation of the Convention, the delegation agreed with that assessment. When Mali had carried out the 1992-2000 Action Plan results had been obtained and perhaps it would have been better not to abandon it. Nevertheless, it had been done. It was believed, however, that the 10-year sectoral plans would effectively ensure that children’s rights were protected. The Strategic Plan 2002-2006, one segment of which addressed children, also sought to fill any gaps in the sectoral plans, taking into account all the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The 2004-2008 action plan to improve registration of civil status was indeed in force, the delegation confirmed. It had been prepared by the Department of Civil Affairs. A new law on civil status was enacted last year, which ensured that all these procedures were free of charge.

On the issue of child protection, that was covered in the Child Protection Code, which provided for the appointment of a Child Protection Officer within the office of each regional governor. The definition of the structure for child protection had now been defined, what remained was the need to implement it, the delegation said.

The State Ombudsman was appointed by the President for a seven-year term, and was totally independent. However, the document outlining the Ombudsman’s mandate did not specifically address the issue of children. Therefore, the delegation was of the opinion that handling complaints from children was not within the Ombudsman’s mandate.

There were children’s courts where children themselves, or legally defined persons acting on their behalf, could raise complaints directly. However, the delegation stressed that such an event was very uncommon, and they had no specific case they could cite. It had to do largely with the larger culture in Malian society - most abuse took place within the context of the family and it stayed within the family. People were not used to bringing such matters before the authorities.

Regarding the alternative penalties for children in conflict with the law, the proposed remedy of supervised freedom was not yet an alternative. The training for the child surveillance agents was not complete. However, it was hoped that this would be in place soon.

While there were no cases in which the Convention had been invoked, the delegation was of the opinion that that was owing largely to a failure of information. No one had brought a case so far in Mali alleging that their rights under the Convention had been infringed. There was a need to raise awareness on the Convention’s provisions.

Regarding the issue of Koranic schools, the delegation clarified that there were two separate cases: there were Koranic schools and there were Madrasas. The Madrasa was under government supervision, whereas Koranic schools counted as informal education. A United Nations Children’s Fund study on Koranic schools was currently under way, but they did not have the results as yet. A training programme was being contemplated to raise awareness among Koranic teachers on the rights of the child and to respect the provisions of the Convention.

On integration of Tuareg children in the educational system, the delegation pointed out that the Tuaregs were a nomadic people, so their schools had to be mobile as well. A programme for such mobile schools was currently being implemented.

Mali’s programme to combat female genital mutilation was supported by the State and various UN agencies. An assessment of that programme showed a slight decrease in the rate. Unfortunately, the practice was still prevalent.

Further Questions by Experts

During the second round of questions, the Rapporteur asked about the protection of children in refugee camps, in particular the protection of girls. She was also concerned to know what measures were being taken to address the issue of street children and to provide for their care.

Other Experts asked further questions on topics including, among others, whether there were foster homes in Mali; the apparent discrepancy between various provisions for the minimum age of criminal responsibility (alternatively set at 13 and at 18); what programmes existed to address the high drop-out rate and keep children in school; more information on the Development Education Centres, which were supposed to serve children who were not in school; whether all those involved in juvenile justice, in particular the judges, received training on the Convention; and detention limits for children.

Questions from Experts, on the issue of health, addressed the continuing high incidence of malaria and malnutrition among children; psychological services for children, especially adolescents; the high incidence of sexually transmitted diseases among children; information on AIDS orphans and what was being done to protect them; what follow-up there had been in Mali to the UN Report on Violence against Children and its recommendations; and care for mentally ill children who were taken into custody.

Among other concerns voiced by Experts, an Expert wanted to know if Mali had a specific programme to address trafficking in children, in particularly in light of the reports of children being trafficked to Côte d’Ivoire. On the issue of child labour, an Expert was confused by conflicting information about the minimum age for employment in Mali in the report, and asked for clarification.

An Expert underscored the importance of addressing poverty as a priority if children’s rights were to be guaranteed in Mali. In that regard, a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper had been launched in 1998, and he wished to know whether it was child-sensitive, and if children’s organizations had been consulted. Furthermore had the Strategy been implemented and was there a monitoring mechanism in place to ensure that?

Response by Delegation

The delegation, in response to those and other questions, said that, insofar as refugee children were concerned, in Mali since 1998, as stated in the report, a law on the status of refugees had been implemented to ensure refugees received the same treatment as a national with regard to access to medical care, the labour market, social security and education. Mali had also ratified a number of important refugee conventions, including the Geneva Convention on Refugees. In terms of repatriation, Mali tried to locate parents wherever possible, with the help of the International Organization for Migration and the UN Refugee Agency. The delegation recalled that from 1998 to 2005, some 380,000 children between the ages of 0 and 4 had taken refugee in the country.

On adoption, the delegation pointed out that in 2001 Mali had adopted the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. The real difficulty was that there was a need to publicize that fact and to raise awareness among the judiciary, in particular concerning that Convention.

Turning to the issue of children placed in institutions, the delegation said it was true that children in conflict with the law were sometimes kept together with other children in care situations. Mali had recently established at Bollé specialized detention and rehabilitation centres for boys and for girls to offer separate facilities for children in conflict with the law. Actually, women and girls were kept together, but the boys were held separately. The children received in the centre were both those who had been in conflict with the law, as well as difficult, and often violent, children referred to the centres by parents who were unable to control them. In the cases of difficult children referred by their parents, a judge heard the complaints and determined whether or not the child would be taken into care. Of course it was not an ideal situation, and it was hoped that in the future children who were in conflict with the law would be held separately from those who were not.

In theory, there were to be children’s courts established in all the districts of the country, the delegation said. In reality, however, there was only one juvenile court in Bamako.

With regard to the age of legal responsibility, the delegation clarified that children 13 and over were criminally responsible in Mali. However, if a child under 13 were convicted of a crime his parents could be held civilly responsible for his actions, and might be ordered to pay damages to the child’s victims. Children 13 and over could be placed in preventive detention by a judge for up to 6 months for a misdemeanour and up to 12 months for a crime. Over the age of 15, a child could be held in police custody for 20 hours, with a possible extension of 10 hours by decision of the procurator or children’s judge.

School was free in principle, the delegation said, but in practice it was a bit different. The important point was that no child was excluded from public school because he or she could not afford a uniform or could not pay school fees. Disabled children did have access to education just as “normal” children did. There were currently nine institutions for the blind, the physically handicapped and the mentally handicapped, with 125 specialized teachers caring for 1,602 children. The institutes were mainly in urban centres, however, and obviously thousands of handicapped children could not benefit from them. In 2004 an educational policy was promulgated that called for special educational arrangements to be the exception and to strive for integrated education as the rule.

To address the fact that the rate of breastfeeding had gone down, Mali’s maternal care clinics had programmes to promote breastfeeding. Homes to receive women and children were also being set up where women could meet and receive information, the delegation said.

Mali was a pioneer in the area of combating child trafficking, the delegation said. In 2000 it signed its first cooperation agreement to combat the slave trade between Mali and Côte d’Ivoire. A similar agreement with Burkina Faso followed, as well as a cooperation agreement with Senegal, and one with Guinea. In addition, Mali was a party to the multilateral agreement between countries of the Economic Community of West African States and, last year, the Abuja agreement among central and west African Governments had been signed. A ministerial decree had been passed in April 2006, which called for setting up an eight-member monitoring committee to implement all of those agreements.

There were no statistics on street children, but a national survey was planned, the delegation said.

Turning to health issues, the delegation affirmed that there was a Malaria programme in place in Mali that, among other things, systematically distributed insecticide treated bed nets to pregnant women. The World Bank had just given a major injection of funds for this purpose.

The delegation said, with regard to AIDS orphans, such children were generally cared for by members of the extended family. There was basically no separation or special treatment for such children.

The minimum age of employment for children was set at 14 in Mali’s Labour Code, which was not in contradiction with the ILO Convention No. 138 on the subject, the delegation pointed out. That Convention provided for leeway for developing countries. However, Mali was still trying to get that minimum raised to the age of 15 and it was hoped that could be adopted soon.

On adolescent health, the delegation said there was a youth programme in Mali that dealt with all sorts of health issues concerning young people, such as reproductive health. There was also an association that helped to train adolescent girls coming to urban centres from rural areas looking for work. Those associations provided information on reproductive health as well.

In May 2005 there had been a subregional gathering in Mali of west and central African countries to discuss and contribute to the UN Study on Violence against Children. Mali had taken part in the launching of the study in Dakar. The delegation stressed that Mali supported all the findings and recommendations embodied in that report.

The delegation acknowledged the exploitation that took place for young girls coming to the country to work as maids. Several non-governmental organizations were involved in trying to assist those maids so that they could, for example, sue those who had exploited them.

Children had not been consulted in developing the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. However, the delegation affirmed that government bodies involved with children had been consulted, including the Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Children and the Family.

For drug abuse, there was a behaviour brigade in Mali, a sort of police for minors that dealt with this issue. Apart from the Bollé centres, however, there were no specific institutes for drug rehabilitation, the delegation said.

Early marriages did exist. Among certain peoples, in their tradition a girl could be given away for marriage at 11 or 12 years of age. The delegation was unaware of any specific measure against that practice, unless, for example, the marriage resulted in a health problem such as a very early pregnancy, that was brought to the authorities’ notice.

Preliminary Remarks

AWA N'DEYE OUEDRAOGO, the Committee Expert serving as Country Rapporteur, in preliminary concluding remarks, said she appreciated the open, frank and constructive dialogue that had been held with the Malian delegation. There were still many challenges ahead, and she was sure that with the political will and much effort Mali could improve its implementation of the Convention.

Ms. Ouedraogo hoped that Mali would quickly withdraw its reservation to article 16 of the Convention, which was no longer pertinent given changes in the country’s legislation. In terms of pending legislation, she urged Mali to adopt the code of the person rapidly.

Ms. Ouedraogo also hoped to see better coordination among the various government bodies in terms of implementation of the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, with an independent monitoring structure. In that connection, the National Committee for Human Rights needed to be strengthened and given sufficient funds.

A programme to discourage early marriage should be established, Ms. Ouedraogo said. She believed that the delegation agreed that children who were in conflict with the law and those that were in danger should be separated, and not held together as they were at the Bollé centres. Better measures for protection of children were also needed. Finally, she believed that the Government needed to do more to raise awareness about the Convention and it should publicize the present report and the concluding observations of the Committee.


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