UNEDITED VERSION
CONCLUDING
OBSERVATIONS
COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF
THE CHILD
CRC/C/PER/CO/3
41st Session
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER ARTICLE 44 OF THE CONVENTION
1. The Committee considered the third periodic
report of
A. Introduction
2. The Committee welcomes the submission of
the State party’s third periodic report as well as the detailed written replies
to its list of issues (CRC/C/Q/PER /3), which allowed the Committee to have a
clear understanding of the situation of children in the State party. It further
welcomes the frank and open dialogue with a high-level and cross-sectoral
delegation.
B. Follow-up measures
undertaken and progress achieved by the State Party
a) the adoption of the National Plan of Action
for Children and Adolescents 2002-2010;
b) the adoption of the National Plan of Action
on the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labour, in 2005;
c) the establishment of the National Programme
against sexual and domestic violence, in 2001;
d) the adoption of the Plan of Action against
Poverty 2004-2006;
e) the launching of the 2005 Programme “Juntos”
aimed at supporting the most disadvantaged families.
a) the Optional Protocols to the Convention on
the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on
the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography on
b) the International Convention on the
Protection on All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, on
c) ILO Conventions No.
138 concerning the 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, respectively on
d) the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and
Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the
2000 United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, on 23
January 2002;
e) the
C. Main subjects of concern and recommendations
1. General Measures of Implementation
(arts.
4, 42 and 44, paragraph 6 of the Convention)
Committee’s
previous recommendations
5.
The Committee notes that some
concerns and recommendations (CRC/C/15/Add.120) made upon the consideration of
the State party’s second periodic report (CRC/C/65/Add.8) have been
addressed. However, it regrets that
other of its concerns and recommendations have been insufficiently or partly
addressed, including, inter alia, those related to the strengthening of
the ‘Ente Rector’ , non-discrimination, resource allocation, respect for the
views of the child, physical and sexual abuse of children within and outside
the family, regional disparities in access to health care, limited access to
education for children belonging to indigenous groups, economic exploitation of
children, administration of juvenile justice.
6.
The Committee urges the
State party to take all necessary measures to address those recommendations in
the concluding observations of the second periodic report that have not yet
been implemented and to provide adequate follow-up to the recommendations
contained in the present concluding observations on the third periodic report.
Legislation and implementation
7. The Committee notes that there are still discrepancies
between some domestic laws and the Convention. Concern is expressed in
particular at the articles in the Code on Children and Adolescent referring to “pernicious gangs”(Decree Law N°
899 on “pandillaje pernicioso”) which provide that persons below 18 in conflict
with this law may be deprived of liberty for up to six years, and at the
so-called “Begging Bill” (“Ley de Mendicidad” No. 28190).
8. The Committee recommends that the State
party increase its efforts to guarantee the full harmonization of its domestic
law with the Convention and to consider repealing the “Begging Bill” and the
article in the Children’s Code referring to “pandillaje pernicioso”.
9. The Committee welcomes the report of the
Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CVR) presented to the President of the
Republic in August 2003 as well as the fact that, among its recommendations,
there is the establishment of an Integral Plan of Reparations for the victims
of violence. However, it is concerned that the recommendations have been only
partly implemented and that, so far, only few victims have been granted
reparations.
10. The
Committee recommends that the State party adequately and effectively implement all
the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in particular those
related to the Integral Plan of Reparations for the victims of violence, and to
pay particular attention to the consequences of the armed conflict for children.
National Plan of Action
11. While the Committee welcomes the adoption of the
National Plan of Action 2002-2010 for children and adolescents, as well as the
establishment of a multi-sectoral Commission for its monitoring and
implementation, it is concerned that there is no specific budget allocation for
the implementation of the Plan of Action and that civil society, including
children organizations, do not have any role within the monitoring Commission.
12. The
Committee recommends that the State party provides the necessary resources both
at the national and local level for an effective implementation of the National
Plan of Action (2002-2010) for children and adolescents with the aim of
realizing the principles and provisions of the Convention, and taking into
account, inter alia, the outcome document “A World Fit for Children” adopted by
the General Assembly special session in May 2002. The Committee also recommends that civil
society, including children organizations, be represented within the monitoring
Commission.
Coordination
13. The Committee is concerned that due to a recent
re-structuring of the Ministry for Women and Social Development (MIMDES), the General Directorate
on Children and Adolescents has been downgraded as a sub-unit within a new unit
for family and community, which may
negatively impact on its potential and effectiveness in the coordination of
activities regarding the implementation of the Convention at all levels of
Government.
14. The Committee recommends that the State
Party give adequate mandate to the General Directorate on
children and adolescents
in order to enable it to coordinate activities for the implementation of the
Convention. In this regard, special
attention should be given to make decentralization effective in terms of
financial and human resources, functions and empowerment and to ensure effective
coordination of the decentralized bodies.
15. The Committee is further concerned that the
“Defensorias
16. The Committee recommends that the General Directorate
on Children and Adolescents systematically develop training in children’s
rights for the “Defensorias” at municipal level and provide them with adequate
financial resources both from the national budget and from the international
cooperation funds.
Independent Monitoring
17. The Committee is
concerned that there is no Ombudsman (Defensoria del Pueblo) specifically
devoted to monitor the implementation of children’s rights.
18. In
light of its General Comment No. 2 on national human rights institutions (2002)
and of the Paris Principles (General Assembly resolution 48/134, Annex), the
Committee recommends that the State party envisage the creation of an Ombudsman
for Children at the national level with coordinating functions and provided
with adequate human and financial resources. The Committee further
recommends that the Office of the Ombudsman have the mandate to deal with
complaints from children in a child-sensitive and expeditious manner.
Resources for children
19. The Committee is concerned that - despite
the constant growth in the economy (24% between 2001 and 2005) and the
incorporation of children’s issues into policy priorities - the allocation and
implementation of current budget for children is insufficient. Furthermore, while
welcoming the development of minimum standards for budgeting, the Committee is
concerned that recently some of the budget allocated for education, health care
and other services declined (on percentage of the budget/GDP) and that some of
the budgets earmarked for specific groups of children were not exclusively
spent for these target groups.
20. The Committee recommends that the State
party, in accordance with article 4 of the Convention, increase budget
allocations for the implementation of the rights recognized in the Convention
and prioritize them in order to ensure implementation of the economic, social
and cultural rights of all children, especially those belonging to economically
disadvantaged groups, such as indigenous children.
Data collection
21. While the Committee welcomes the presence
of statistical data and information throughout the report and the written
replies, it is concerned that information on children with disabilities and
indigenous children is limited and that there is no centralized data management
system to monitor progress on the indicators defined in the National Plan of
Action for Children and Adolescents (NAPCA) and in other social programs and
plans.
22. The Committee recommends that the State
party continue and strengthen its efforts to develop a comprehensive system of
data collection on the implementation of the Convention covering all children
below the age of 18 years and disaggregated by those groups of children who are
in need of special protection, including indigenous children, children
belonging to minority groups, children living or working in the streets, child
domestic workers, children with disabilities and children in institutions
Training/dissemination of the Convention
23. The Committee regrets the paucity of information
with respect to the training and/or the dissemination of the Convention.
24. The Committee recommends that the State
party strengthen its efforts to disseminate in a systematic and permanent
manner the Convention throughout the country and to raise public awareness, in
particular among children themselves and parents, about its principles and
provisions.
25. Furthermore, the Committee encourages the
State party to strengthen its efforts to provide adequate and systematic
training and/or sensitization on children’s rights of professionals working
with and for children, in particular law enforcement officials, as well as
parliamentarians, judges, lawyers, health and local Government personnel, media,
social workers, teachers, school administrators and others as required.
2. General Principles
(arts. 2, 3, 6 and 12 of the Convention)
Non-discrimination
26. The Committee is concerned that de facto
discrimination still exists towards certain vulnerable groups, such as
children with disabilities, indigenous children, children living in rural and
remote areas and those working or living in the streets.
27. 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 adopt a proactive and comprehensive strategy
to eliminate discrimination on any grounds and against all vulnerable groups
throughout the country.
28. The Committee also request 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 Declaration and Programme of Action adopted
at the 2001 World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia
and Related Intolerance, also taking into account the Committee’s General
Comment n° 1 on article 29(1) of the Convention (aims of education).
Best interests of the child
Respect for the views of the child
31. The Committee notes the State party’s efforts
to promote respect for the views of the child in school, but it remains
concerned at their still limited participation in matters affecting them, in
particular in the family, in schools and in the local community. The Committee is further concerned at reports
that children were not included in decisions of local authorities which
severely affected vulnerable groups of children.
32. The Committee recommends that the State
party promote, facilitate and implement in practice, within the family,
schools, community, other institutions as well as in judicial and
administrative procedures, the principle of respect for the views as well as of
participation of children in all matters affecting them, in accordance with
article 12 of the Convention.
3. Civil Rights and Freedoms
(arts. 7, 8, 113-17 and 37(a)
of the Convention)
Birth registration
33. The Committee appreciates the considerable
efforts demonstrated by the State party towards achieving birth registration
for all children. However, the Committee is concerned that there are still
about 15% of Peruvian children who are not properly inscribed in the Civil
Registry System, mostly children in rural and remote areas of the country.
34. The Committee reiterates its previous
recommendation and urges the State party to make a priority of the immediate
registration of the births of all children, and to promote and facilitate the
registration of those children who were not previously registered at birth, in
light of article 7 of the Convention. In particular, the State party should
modernize and ensure the proper operation and maintenance of the Registrar’s
Office, including by providing it with the necessary financial resources,
qualified and well-trained staff and making the system more accessible
throughout the country.
4. Family Environment and Alternative Care
(arts. 5; 18 (paras. 1-2); 9-11; 19-21; 25; 27
(para.4); and 39 of the Convention)
Family care
and parental responsibilities
35. The Committee welcomes the fact that one of
the goals of the National Plan of Action is to assist parents to fulfil their
responsibilities, but it is concerned at the lack of a comprehensive set of
measures to support and empower the most vulnerable families.
36. The Committee recommends that the State
party strengthen its efforts to provide vulnerable families with the necessary
support, inter alia by increasing the budget for financial and other
assistance, including counselling and empowerment of these families.
Alternative care
37. The Committee is concerned at the fact that
placement in institution is not always used as a measure of last resort.
Furthermore, it is also concerned that some of the institutions for the care of
children temporarily or permanently deprived of their family environment are in
precarious conditions and that there is limited capacity to serve all children
in need of alternative care and who cannot be cared for in family type
alternative care.
38. The Committee recommends that, when
placement in institution is the necessary last resort for children temporarily
or permanently deprived of family environment, the State party ensure that
suitable institutions for the care of children be available. The Committee
further recommends that the State party recognize the right of children placed
in institutions to a periodic review of the treatment provided to the child and
all other circumstances relevant to his or her placement. In addition, a
complaint mechanism should be available and accessible for children placed in
institutions.
Violence,
abuse, neglect and maltreatment
39. The Committee is concerned that – despite
recent measures taken in this respect -domestic violence and abuse on children,
including sexual abuse is widespread in the society and that the Criminal Code
does not provide for adequate protection against these forms of abuse.
40. The Committee urges the State party to
strengthen its efforts to:
a) prevent and combat ill-treatment of
children within the family;
b) reinforce the mechanisms monitoring the
extent of violence, injury or abuse, neglect, maltreatment or exploitation
considered by article 19, including within the family, schools, in
institutional or other care;
c) introduce in the Criminal Code provisions
specifically addressing these forms of violence and abuse;
d) expand its toll free child helpline
service, Teléfono Anar, in order to be able to reach out to children in remote
areas throughout the country.
Corporal punishment
42. While the Committee welcomes that there are
legal provisions in place to prohibit corporal punishment both in the Penal
Code and in Law N° 26260, it expresses concern that corporal punishment is
lawful at home and is still widely practiced in the society as an accepted
measure of discipline, both within the family and at school. Furthermore, the
Committee is concerned that a recent survey showed that children themselves
regard this practice as a natural means of discipline and education.
43. The Committee recommends that the State
party introduce and enforce legislation explicitly prohibiting all forms of
corporal punishment of children in all settings, including the home. The State
party should also conduct awareness raising and public education campaigns
against corporal punishment and promote non-violent, participatory methods of
childrearing and education.
5. Basic Health and Welfare
(arts. 6; 18, para.3; 23; 24; 26; 27, paras 1-3 of the
Convention)
Children with disabilities
44. The Committee welcomes the establishment of
the National Council for the Integration of Disabled Persons (CONADIS) within
the MIMDES, as well as the campaigns to sensitize the public against
marginalization and prejudices towards persons with disabilities, including
children. It expresses concern, however, about the general situation of
children with disabilities in the country, who continue to face discrimination,
and at the information that very limited infrastructure exist for their care.
45. The
Committee encourages the State party to actively pursue its current efforts and
to continue to:
a) ensure
that policies and practice in relation to children with disabilities take due
regard of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons
with Disabilities (General Assembly resolution 48/96) and of the Committee’s
recommendations adopted at its day of general discussion on “Children with
disabilities” (see CRC/C/69);
b) pursue
efforts to ensure that children with disabilities enjoy full integration,
including mainstream education, and participation in social, cultural and sport
activities;
c) undertake
greater efforts to make available the necessary professional (i.e. disability
specialists) and financial resources, especially at the local level, and to
promote and expand community-based rehabilitation and social reintegration
programmes, including parent support groups;
d) strengthen
public awareness campaigns to change negative public attitudes.
Health and health services
46. The Committee is concerned that:
a) access to health and health services is
inadequate especially in rural and remote areas of the country, resulting in
significant disparities in health care provisions;
b) the rate of maternal, infant and under-five
mortality, despite some improvements, continue to be among the highest in
c) there is high incidence of hepatitis B and
anaemia especially among particular groups of indigenous people;
d) a significant proportion of people living
in poverty and extreme poverty, including women and children under 18, are
reportedly not affiliated to SIS (Seguro Integral de Salud);
e) despite various programmes undertaken in
this respect - including the National Programme of Food Assistance (PRONAA)-, 25% of children under 5 years of age and 32% of children
under two years of age still suffer from chronic malnutrition;
47. The Committee recommends that the State
party:
a)
ensure
basic health care and services to all children throughout the country and
continue to address the problem of malnutrition, with special emphasis on rural
and remote areas;
b)
strengthen
its efforts to urgently tackle infant, child and maternal mortality throughout
the country;
c)
expand
the “Health Integral Service” (Servicio Integral de Salud) addressed to
families living in poverty or extreme poverty;
d)
give special attention to the problem of
indigenous communities affected by Hepatitis B epidemic, including by urgently ensuring
vaccination for newborn babies.
48. The Committee notes the concerns of the
Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest
attainable standard of physical and mental health, who recently visited the State
party, with respect to the potential impact that bilateral Trade Agreements may
have on the access to affordable essential medicines for some individuals and
groups, including antiretrovirals for people with HIV/AIDS
(E/CN.4/2005/51/Add.3).
49. The Committee recommends that the State
party always take its human rights obligations into account when negotiating
Trade Agreements, in particular as to the possible impact of commercial
agreements on the full enjoyment of the right to health.
Environmental health
50. The Committee is concerned about
environmental health problems arising from a lack of access to safe water,
inadequate sanitation and contamination by extractive industries, which mainly
affect the health and livelihoods of vulnerable groups, including children.
51. The Committee reiterates the recommendation
of the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the
highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, that the State party carry out
independent, rights‑based environmental and social impact assessments
prior to the setting up of all mining or other industrial projects that may
have harmful impacts on the right to health of children. The Committee further
recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to provide sanitation
and safe drinking water to all the population, with special attention to rural
and remote areas.
Adolescent health
52. The Committee is concerned at the high rate
of teenage pregnancies and at the number of teenage girls dying as a result of
abortions. Furthermore, the Committee is concerned at the lack of adequate
sexual and reproductive health services, also due to insufficient allocation of
resources in these sectors.
53. The Committee recommends that the State
party, taking into account the Committee’s General Comment on adolescent health
and development in the context of the Convention (CRC/GC/2003/4), ensure access
to reproductive health services to all adolescents and conduct
awareness-raising campaigns to fully inform adolescents of reproductive health
rights, including prevention of Sexually Transmittable Diseases (STDs) and
early pregnancies. Furthermore, the State party should take all possible
measures to address the issue of death of teenage girls as a result of abortion.
Mental health
54. The Committee is concerned at the high incidence
of drug, alcohol and tobacco consumption among adolescents as well as at the rate of youth suicides,
especially in some departments, such as
55. The Committee recommends that the State party provide adequate access to
mental health services to all children and take all necessary measures to fight
drug, alcohol and tobacco addictions including, inter alia, by providing
specific rehabilitation services.
HIV/AIDS
56. The Committee is concerned about the
increase of HIV/AIDS among children and adolescents partly due to mother-to-child
transmission. The Committee is also concerned that:
a)
only 8% of HIV-positive mothers had access to
antiretroviral treatment, which is essential to prevent HIV/AIDS mother-to-child
transmission;
b) children orphaned
due to HIV/AIDS and HIV-positive children are discriminated against in school
and within the society;
c) there is limited access to HIV-testing.
57. The Committee recommends that
the State party, taking
into account the Committee’s General Comment No. 3 on HIV/AIDS and the rights
of the child and the International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights
(E/CN.4/1997/37):
a) strengthen its measures to prevent mother-to-child transmission,
inter alia, through coordination with the activities aimed at reducing maternal
mortality;
b) provide antiretroviral treatment to HIV-positive women and expand
the coverage of HIV tests for pregnant women;
c) pay particular attention to children infected and affected by
HIV/AIDS or who have become orphans due to the death of their parents from AIDS,
through providing adequate medical, psychological and material support and by
involving the community;
d) strengthen its efforts by conducting campaigns and programmes to
raise awareness about HIV/AIDS among adolescents, particularly among those
belonging to vulnerable groups as well as the population at large, so as to
reduce discrimination against children infected and affected by HIV/AIDS;
e) ensure the provision of adequate financial
and human resources for the effective implementation of the HIV/AIDS Strategic
National Plan;
f)
seek
further technical assistance from, inter alia, the UN Joint Programme on
HIV/AIDS and UNICEF.
Standard of living
58. The Committee is concerned about the high
degree of poverty in the country, where – according to the State party’s written
replies – about 2/3 of children live in poverty, while about 30 % of them are
in a situation of extreme poverty. The Committee is further concerned that
housing and living conditions in rural areas are very poor and that only 34%
of families living in rural areas have access to water (while this percentage
rises to 74% for the urban areas).
59. The Committee recommends that the State
party take all possible actions, including providing additional and better
managed resources, to reduce poverty and ensure universal access to basic goods
and services, including housing and clean drinking water, paying special attention
to remote and rural areas.
6. Education,
Leisure and Cultural Activities
(arts. 28, 29 and 31 of the Convention)
60. The Committee welcomes the active role of
school councils as well as the programmes developed by the State party especially
in the field of pre-primary education, such as PRONEI and WAWA WASI. Likewise,
the Committee also welcomes the increase in the completion rate of primary
education. However, it is still concerned about:
a) the low level of budget allocations for
education and the minimal increases planned by the Government;
b) the discrepancies –both in quality and
infrastructure – between urban and rural schools and public and private
schools. In particular, the Committee is concerned about the deplorable
conditions of schools in remote areas and the low quality of education there;
c) the lack of adequate training of teachers,
including skills for intercultural bilingual education to indigenous
communities;
d) the fact that neither at primary nor at the
secondary level all children attend school regularly, that drop-out and
repetition rates are very high and that almost every fourth adolescent (age 12
to 17) has left school, inter alia because of lack of schools;
e) the even higher non-attendance and earlier
drop-out of girls because of traditional views and partly due to early
pregnancies and maternity;
f)
the
limited access to vocational training;
g) hidden costs associated with schooling;
h) the results of the Program for
International Study Assessment (
61. The Committee recommends that the State
party:
a) emphasize
the quality of education and accelerate the increase of better targeted
resources to education in the national budget;
b) increase the efforts to improve conditions
of schools in remote and rural areas and eliminate discrepancies in access to quality
education between urban and rural areas;
c) strengthen
measures aimed at increasing enrolment and completion rates as well as reducing
drop-out rates;
d) strengthen
efforts at teacher training, and improve their working conditions, including
salaries;
e) improve
intercultural bilingual education;
f)
increase its efforts to relieve families
from additional and hidden costs of school attendance;
g) provide
more demand driven technical and vocational training and organize vocational
counselling for children;
h) increase
education opportunities for children outside schools and working children through
specific programs tailored to their life conditions;
i)
seek technical assistance from UNESCO and
UNICEF.
7. Special Protection Measures
(arts. 22; 30; 38; 39; 40; 37 (b)-(d); 32-36 of the
Convention)
Economic exploitation, including child
labour
62. While the Committee welcomes the State
party’s legislative and other measures in the area of child labour, e.g. via the
activities of labour inspectors, it remains deeply concerned at the information
that hundreds of thousands of children and adolescents are in the labour
market, especially in the informal sector, marginalized from education and
victims of exploitation and abuse. The Committee is further concerned
that legislative provisions protecting children from economic exploitation are
often violated and that children are exposed to dangerous and/or degrading
work, including in mines, garbage dumps and battery recycling.
63. The Committee is further concerned at the
fact that the minimum age for admission to employment is set at 14 years, which
is below the age of end of compulsory education, set at 15 years.
64. The Committee recommends the State party
to:
a) undertake
a survey of the number of children working, including as domestic workers and
in the agricultural sector, in order to design and implement comprehensive
strategies and policies to prevent and combat their economic exploitation. To
this end, the State party should take into adequate account the views of
children organizations;
b) ensure
the full implementation of legislation covering art. 32 of the Convention, and
ILO Conventions No. 138 and No. 182, including the prevention of the worst
forms of child labour as listed in accordance with ILO Conventions;
c) increase
the minimum age for admission to employment to 15 years, when compulsory
education ends.
d) <