Committee on the Rights of the Child
21 January 2013 The Committee on the Rights of the Child today reviewed the initial
reports of Burkina Faso on the implementation of the provisions of the
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale
of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and on the
implementation of the provisions of the
Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict.
Dieudonné Marie Désiré Manly, Technical
Advisor, Ministry for Social Action and National Solidarity of Burkina
Faso, introducing the report presented under the Optional Protocol on the
sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, said that the
2009 project on child labour in artisanal mines and quarries had removed
more than 11,000 children working in the mines.
The Government had launched
a help line for child victims of violence in 2011 and had adopted the
national plan for combating the worst forms of child labour in 2012.
Burkina Faso had drafted a general bill on the definition and prohibition
of the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, while a
General Code for the protection of children was being elaborated.
Concerning the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed
conflict, Mr. Manly said it was important to note that Burkina Faso was not
a conflict or post-conflict country and no armed groups operated in the
country.
Many of the issues relative to the involvement of children in
armed conflict, such as recruitment by armed groups or reinsertion and
reintegration of children involved with armed groups, were not applicable
in Burkina Faso.
Since 2012, Burkina Faso had been receiving refugees
escaping the conflict in Northern Mali and in October 2012, some 35,000 had
been hosted in six Burkinabe provinces, most of them children under the age
of 17. In the discussion on the sale of children, child
prostitution and child pornography, the Committee Experts noted that the
legislative efforts undertaken by the State party were rather limited in
nature, while no reform of the criminal legislation had taken place, and
asked whether the legislation currently being drafted would include the
provisions of the Optional Protocol.
The Committee expressed concern about
the widespread practice of child labour and about some customs and
traditions that opened the door to the harmful treatment of women and girls
and led to their exploitation and abuse, including early and forced
marriages, polygamy, inheritance and land ownership and others.
On the involvement of children in armed conflict, the Committee Experts
welcomed the peace in Burkina Faso and cautioned that the situation in
neighbouring Mali might cause the recruitment of children in armed
conflict.
The delegation was asked about the ongoing revision of the
Criminal Code and whether it would criminalize the conscription of
children, about prevention of the recruitment of children on Burkinabe
territory, further information about military schools and academies, a
mechanism to identify children involved in armed conflict in Mali among the
arriving refugees and the training of border officials to this effect, and
the services offered to the children.
In concluding remarks,
Hatem Kotrane, Committee Expert acting as Rapporteur for the report under
the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child
pornography, noted that very little reform of penal and civil legislation
had been undertaken and that all the crimes and offences mentioned by the
Optional Protocol must be included in the domestic legislation.
Bernard Gastaud, Committee Expert acting as Rapporteur for the report
under the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed
conflict, noted the efforts made by Burkina Faso in dealing with the influx
of Malian refugees and reiterated the concern about the lack of criminal
legal provisions in line with international standards.
Also in
concluding observations, Mr. Manly of Burkina Faso, expressed satisfaction
with the discussion and reiterated the openness of Burkina Faso to receive
and consider recommendations of the Committee to improve the rights of
children in the country.
Yanghee Lee, the Committee
Vice-Chairperson, in closing remarks said that Burkina Faso knew where the
challenges were and emphasized that the Optional Protocol on the sale of
children went beyond the narrow scope of trafficking and expressed hope
that the delegation would go back to Burkina Faso with that understanding.
The delegation of Burkina Faso consisted of representatives of
the Ministry for Social Action and National Solidarity, the National
Council for Survival, Protection and Development of the Child, the
Directorate for the management and protection of children and adolescents,
the Ministry for Human Rights and Civic Promotion, and the Permanent
Mission of Burkina Faso to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
The next public meeting of the Committee will be on Tuesday, 22 January
at 9 a.m. when it will consider the initial report of Niue (CRC/C/NIU/1)
via teleconference.
Reports The
initial report of Burkina Faso under the Optional Protocol to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child
prostitution and child pornography can be read here: (
CRC/C/OPSC/BFA/1) and Burkina Faso’s initial
report under the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed
conflict can be read here: (
CRC/C/OPAC/BFA/1).
Statements by
the Delegation DIEUDONNE MARIE DESIRE MANLY,
Technical
Advisor, Ministry of Social Action and National Solidarity of Burkina Faso,
said that both reports presented by Burkina Faso had been prepared as per
the Committee’s technical guidelines and in a participative manner.
Concerning the report under the Optional Protocol to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child
prostitution and child pornography,
Burkina Faso had launched in 2009 a
project on child labour in artisanal mines and quarries, which had allowed
for the removal from the mines of more than 11,000 children.
It had also
launched a help line in 2011 for child victims of violence.
The Government
had adopted a national plan for combating the worst forms of child labour
in 2012 and had implemented several campaigns on the sale and exploitation
of children.
The data collection system currently in place could not
provide all the data required by the Optional Protocol, but it was known
that in 2012, there were 1,910 children victims of trafficking.
A number of
laws had been adopted to enable the implementation of the provisions of the
Optional Protocol, including the decree on conditions to open centres for
children in distress, the decree on the placement and monitoring of
children in institutions and foster families, and the decree of 2010 on the
creation of a central adoption agency.
Information campaigns to disseminate
the provisions of the Optional Protocol had targeted cinema and Internet
café managers, persons working in the area of children’s
rights, persons in charge of child victims of violence, and students.
Burkina Faso had drafted a general bill on the definition and prohibition
of the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, while a
General Code for the protection of children was being elaborated.
The
country was part of the regional cooperation process to combat trafficking
in children, and was scheduled to sign a cooperation agreement with
Côte d’Ivoire on the fight against cross-border trafficking in
children this January. Turning to the report presented under
the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the
involvement of children in armed conflict, Mr. Manly said that the
recruitment of children into armed forces had already been prohibited in
Burkina Faso and that the age of recruitment had been increased to 20 years
in 2012.
The National Council for the Survival and Development of Children
had a permanent secretariat which played a key role in disseminating the
provisions of the Optional Protocol and played a coordinating role in its
implementation.
Some legal texts had been adopted to ensure the
implementation of the provisions of the Optional Protocol in domestic
legislation, such as the 2012 decree on the organization of operations
following contingency calls.
Burkina Faso was not a conflict or
post-conflict country and there were no armed groups operating in the
country; therefore the reinsertion of children involved in armed conflict
or recruitment of children by armed groups was not an issue. Since 2012,
Burkina Faso had been receiving refugees escaping the conflict in Northern
Mali and in October 2012, some 35,000 had been hosted in six Burkinabe
provinces, most of them children under the age of 17.
The
implementation strategy of the two Optional Protocols was inscribed in the
global framework for the promotion of the rights of the child.
A clear
political commitment to children’s rights was evident in a number of
key policy documents, such as the 2010 Accelerated Growth and Sustainable
Development Strategy and in child policies adopted by the Ministry for
Children.
The country faced a number of difficulties in achieving the set
goals in the promotion and protection of children’s rights, such as
the lack of resources, lack of domestic standards to implement the
provisions, and the lack of legal norms for the implementation of certain
provisions.
In closing, Mr. Manly reiterated the importance of continued
technical assistance and international cooperation to ensure an environment
conducive to the growth and development of children in Burkina Faso.
Examination of the Report under the Optional Protocol to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child
Prostitution and Child Pornography
Questions by Experts
HATEM KOTRANE,
Committee Vice-Chairperson and the
Rapporteur for the Report of Burkina Faso under the Optional Protocol on
the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, expressed
the satisfaction of the Committee with the fruitful relationship with
Burkina Faso which was very punctual in submitting its reports.
The Country
Rapporteur noted the participative method in the preparation of the reports
and asked the delegation to provide more information about the measures
undertaken to disseminate the provisions of the Optional Protocol.
The
legislative efforts undertaken by the State party were rather limited in
nature, while no reform of the criminal legislation had taken place.
The
provisions of the Optional Protocol were not directly applicable in the
domestic law in Burkina Faso.
Did the legislation that was currently being
drafted, such as the general bill on the definition and prohibition of sale
of children, child prostitution and child pornography and the General Code
for the Protection of Children, include the provisions of the Optional
Protocol?
Did the Criminal Code explicitly prohibit and punish child
pornography and child prostitution, and how was a child considered to be a
victim of prostitution?
Acts committed outside of the State party were not
criminalized in domestic law; were there plans to amend this legislation
and ensure it was in line with the Optional Protocol?
How would the
criminal legislation be amended to bring it in line with the provisions of
the Optional Protocol?
Another Expert asked
what campaigns were
envisaged or carried out to ensure that the provisions of the Optional
Protocol were well known by the population, which was in large part
illiterate.
Activities undertaken to combat early marriage made quite a
long list, said another Expert, and asked whether there were any plans to
increase the minimum age of marriage and how the laws on early marriage and
forced marriage were implemented in practice.
Could the delegation provide
more information about the help line, how it was resourced, managed and
operated and how many calls it received?
The Committee was
rather concerned that the knowledge about the two Optional Protocols among
the population was rather low, particularly among girls who were the
principal victims of the sale of children, child prostitution and child
pornography.
There was little research and data gathering on those issues
that affected the Burkinabe children and the implementation of the two
Optional Protocols was rather inadequate.
What concrete measures were being
undertaken to increase the knowledge of the Protocols among the population?
Some customs and traditions
had opened the door for the harmful
treatment of women and girls, such as polygamy, marrying brothers of
deceased husbands, inheritance, land ownership and others that led to the
abuse and exploitation of girls.
What was being done in practice to change
norms and legislation and to bring about cultural change in the
understanding of the role of women and girls?
How did legislation regulate
the private sector to ensure that their actions did not have a negative
impact on the rights of children, including in protecting children from
child labour?
The delegation
was asked to elaborate on the
implementation of the national action plan to combat the worst forms of
child labour, the findings of the national study into the causes and nature
of sexual exploitation and child pornography in the country, coordination
on the implementation of the Optional Protocol, measures to address deep
rooted traditions concerning talibé children, child labour, early
marriage and others, exercising of extra-territorial authorities,
international adoptions, and birth registration and the reasons why rates
were low.
Mr. Zermatten, Committee Chairperson,
asked about
criminal responsibility of legal persons for crimes of child pornography
and child prostitution, for example companies that manufactured and sold
this kind of material.
Could the current laws on the media ensure the
adequate protection of the image of children?
What resources
were being dedicated specifically to meet the requirements of the
implementation of the Optional Protocol, either through the National
Poverty Reduction Plan or through some other mechanism?
Response by Delegation
In response to these
questions and comments and others, the delegation said the various
provisions of the two Optional Protocols were spread out in various texts
which condemned
the sale of children, child pornography and child
prostitution, and the involvement of children in armed conflict.
Burkina
Faso had never interrupted international adoption in course and had
strengthened the local capacity by setting up a central authority in charge
of international adoption in line with the provisions of the Hague
Convention.
The authorities were not aware of adoptions taking place
outside of the legal framework; all adoptions had to take place through the
State structures and using the Hague procedures.
Illegal practices in
international adoption were considered as criminal offences and were
punishable under the criminal code.
The Government was providing support to
orphanages and foster parents, who received some compensation. When a child
was intercepted as a victim of trafficking, he or she was taken to a care
centre prior to a reunion with the parents.
The child had to have a lawyer
and depending on the age of the child and nature of the offence,
proceedings could take place in public or could be filmed by camera, and
the judge could also decide upon the need for the victim to face the
perpetrator.
Civil society was a partner of the Government and
their efforts to promote the rights of children were well appreciated, as
were the activities to disseminate and raise awareness about the Convention
and the Optional Protocols.
The Government was very open to participation
and input of the civil society, which was involved from the start in the
preparation of the reports.
Mines did not employ children under the age of
18, but children could be involved in small-scale gold washing activities
in remote areas.
Child labour was widespread in the country and
child labourers had even formed associations to further their interests.
Many forms of hard labour were prohibited by law and the Government was
investing efforts in protecting children from exploitation and worst forms
of labour.
There were parents who sent their children to work in the fields
of Côte d’Ivoire, but this was an illegal practice which was
considered as a form of sale of children and trafficking in children.
Distinction needed to be made between child labour in the country and
abroad, as those were considered differently under the law.
“Confiage” was a traditional practice of sending the children
to paternal or maternal grandparents to take care of them but with
increased school enrolment rates this practice was about to die off.
There
had been cases of trans-border trafficking of children to Mali and
Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso was aware of the need to
strengthen regional cooperation to successfully tackle this problem.
The minimum age for marriage was 17 for girls and currently there
was a draft law which would bring the minimum age to 18 for both girls and
boys.
The call to abolish polygamy had caused a public outcry and it would
not be possible to do away with this practice overnight.
The hotline for
child victims of violence was operational and was manned with trained
multidisciplinary teams which operated 24/7.
A person who received the call
made a complaint and contacted the intervention team directly.
Those
working with children had a duty to report, but it was usually other
professionals or other people in contact with children who reported
violence.
In known cases of forced marriage, sentences were handed down to
perpetrators; but this phenomenon often took place inside the family and it
was very hard to identify the practice and undertake legal action. Legally,
forced marriages did not exist in Burkina Faso, but forced free unions
existed.
School drop out rates for girls were rather high and
were mainly due to girls being kept home to take care of household chores.
The Government and its partners had increased assistance for school
enrolment and retention for girls, and school drop out rates were now
decreasing.
In 2010, Burkina Faso had been involved in drafting the General
Protection Code for Children, but had been told that it did not comply with
the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The general
code had been abandoned and had been turned to the code on children in
conflict with the law.
The Committee Experts noted that forced
marriage, even if did not exist in the law, was a practice and a reality
for children and asked what were the intentions of the Government to
address this problem. Responding, the delegation said that it was usually
the parents who arranged the early marriage or union. As a part of
reviewing the Family Code, the age of marriage for boys and girls would be
raised to 18 years of age.
The schooling rates were on the rise and the
young people themselves often reported that they would be married off. It
was hard to change these practices and it would take time.
Awareness
raising on early and forced marriages was being undertaken with traditional
and customary authorities and sensitisation was undertaken for people in
remote areas.
The National Human Rights Commission could
receive complaints of violations of the rights of the child.
The new
Commission had been established as a national human rights institution
under the Paris Principles in 2010; it was independent in terms of
financial resources and its management, and could monitor the activities of
the Government and undertake the necessary investigations.
The Commission
had the Chamber for the Rights of the Children which was in charge of
children’s rights and their violation.
Birth registration
rates were on the rise thanks to the increase in the number of health
centres, the 2007 sensitization campaign and the issuing of the replacement
birth certificates for voters without one. Children under the age of 13
could not be prosecuted.
Children offenders were placed in protective
custody and were assisted throughout the process.
Legislation
on the media protected human rights and penalties had been established, for
example in December 2012 a daily had been suspended because it had
published pictures of children living in the streets.
Measures taken by the
Government showed the commitment to avoid publishing and using any images
that might compromise the rights of children.
On the legal
basis for decisions on extradition for offences against children, Burkina
Faso adhered to international legislation; extraditions were undertaken for
acts considered offences under international legislation and the Criminal
Code.
This excluded the principle of dual criminality. One of the failings
of the system was evident in this, if someone committed an offence towards
a child abroad, and the country where the offence took place did not
criminalize that act or did not ratify the Optional Protocol, then it was
very difficult to extradite.
In case of female genital mutilation for
example, heavy sanctions were accorded by the domestic legislation, and so
the transnational aspect of the practice was on the increase, with the
people going abroad.
If a perpetrator was a national of Burkina Faso and
committed a crime abroad, domestic courts could deliver sanction upon
return to the country; the problem was in establishing the facts of the
crime and identifying the perpetrator.
Legal entities had the
obligation to protect children from exploitation, and in the tourism sector
the Government sensitized both legal and physical persons about the
provisions of the Optional Protocol.
There were no specific budget lines
allocated to combating violence against children, but the financial and
technical resources were provided thorough the budget of the Ministry for
Children.
Trafficking of children was clearly defined in the
law and the Government worked with its partners to operate the helpline.
One of the priorities of the Poverty Reduction Strategy was child
protection, and given the numbers of young people in the population, the
child was a focus for the Government.
The Ministry for Social Action was
the focal point for all the child protection activities of the Government.
Caring for the taléb children was part of the activities for
children living in the street and the Government had established a
technical committee for their protection.
Concerning the
legislative framework, it was important to say that there was an
inter-ministerial Committee looking into the overhauling of the Criminal
Code to bring it in line with international instruments that Burkina Faso
had ratified. With regard to coordination issues, the National Council for
the Survival and Development of Children was an intern-ministerial unit
composed of all the ministries that had rights of children in their
mandates, while members of civil society were involved as technical and
financial partners.
The Council conducted the National Children’s
Forum which took place every three years to look into children’s
issues, and held regular meetings at the national and regional levels.
The
Council was in charge of coordinating the Convention on the Rights of the
Child and its Optional Protocols and the African Charter on the Rights and
the Welfare of the Child.
Examination of the Report under the
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the
Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict
Questions by
Experts
BERNARD GASTAUD,
Committee Expert acting as
Rapporteur for the Report under the Optional Protocol on the involvement of
children in armed conflict, welcomed the progress in Burkina Faso, a
country that lived in peace, but situations in several neighbouring
countries, such as Mali at the moment and earlier Côte
d’Ivoire, should be observed.
According to the law, conscription into
the army or foreign armed groups was a crime, but it was not sufficiently
defined in the law.
What was the status of the revision of the Criminal
Code and would it define those elements?
The conflict between the armed
groups and the national army in Mali made it very likely that children
would be recruited.
How would Burkina Faso prevent any recruitment of the
children on its territory?
What measures were being taken and what means
were been mobilized to strengthen the knowledge of children’s rights?
Children aged 11 and older could be schooled in military-type schools,
could the delegation provide more information about this?
Other
Experts asked the delegation about the mechanism to identify children
involved in armed conflict in Mali among the arriving refugees, training of
border officials to this effect and the services offered to the children;
the increase in the involvement of girls in the military schools; and the
training of peacekeepers in the two Optional Protocols.
Response by Delegation Le Prytanée
Militaire de Kadiogo (PMK) was a military school that had the authority to
recruit children coming out of the primary school, aged 11, and provide
them with an education for both military and civilian careers.
At the end
of their schooling, they had to pass a test to join the military.
There had
been no cases of abuse in those settings.
With regard to the presence of
women in the army, the Government was promoting recruitment of both young
men and young women and training them according to international standards
to ensure they could be sent to other countries.
The Unit for
Children’s Rights was in charge of training and dissemination of the
Convention and the Optional Protocols among the soldiers.
Concerning the prevention of recruitment of children beyond the borders,
the delegation said that a committee had been set up to work with the
regions where a problem was identified to assist them in ensuring that the
rights of children were not violated and that cross-border conscriptions
did not take place.
Schools had been set in refugee camps to ensure that
they continued their education and to provide a more secure environment for
the children. The ratification of the Rome Statute meant the
overhauling of several legal statutes and the inter-ministerial Committee
had set up a special law to implement the Rome Statute.
There were no cases
of Burkinabe children conscripted into armed conflict in the country or
abroad.
Armed forces were trained in international humanitarian law and on
the Optional Protocols; training was done in universities, while various
training activities were organized by several ministries.
An
inter-ministerial Committee on international humanitarian law was in place
and was in charge of providing training courses in the subject matter.
The Committee Experts asked about a complaint mechanism that
children or their parents had at their disposal to report the involvement
of children in armed conflict; whether the recruitment of children was a
crime under the law; and the means and resources for providing care for
refugees.
The delegation said that it would be very difficult
to be certain that there was no cross-border recruitment of children.
The
crisis in Mali was still ongoing and it shared 2,000 kilometres of border
with Burkina Faso.
The law on the implementation of the Rome Statute was
being drafted at the moment and it was important to disassociate the
provisions of the Rome Statute and look separately into the offences.
No one had brought to the attention of the Government the presence
of Burkinabe children in any armed forces.
Caring for refugees started with
the National Refugee Council identifying them and providing basic services
such as food, shelter and health, as well as psychosocial services.
School
aged children were sent to school and those of university age were sent to
the capital and enrolled in public universities.
Concerning punishment of
those found guilty of the recruitment of children in armed conflict, the
delegation said that the international provisions needed to be transposed
in domestic laws and that was one of the purposes of the ongoing revision
of the laws.
Burkina Faso intended to apply a holistic approach
to children’s rights, including those guaranteed by the Optional
Protocol; budgets were not allocated specifically for this purpose, but
budgetary lines existed in relevant ministries, and some resources were
being provided by partners such as the United Nations Children’s
Fund.
The responsibility for the prevention of the recruitment
of children for the conflict in Mali had been devolved to the provinces
which had been informed of measures they could undertake, and about the
ways to deal with the refugees.
Provincial authorities were supported by
partners such as the United Nations Children’s Fund.
With regard to
the monitoring of the cross-border recruitment, the military was involved
as well, and its officers had received training in children’s rights
and had in place the military security mechanism to protect civilians in
times of crisis.
In addition to social protection measures for
refugees entering Burkina Faso, there were sensitization activities for
refugees and the local population on a number of subjects.
Assisting
refugees was not a simple undertaking, from their identification and
registration, to the identification of children in special circumstances.
Measures were effective but were not enough given the number of refugees
and the scope of the crisis.
The staff of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees were working on sites in the north of the country
and assisting the authorities in providing services and assistance to the
refugee population.
Concluding Remarks HATEM KOTRANE,
Committee Vice-Chairperson and the
Rapporteur for the Report under the Optional Protocol on the sale of
children, child prostitution and child pornography, said that Burkina Faso
was making significant efforts to align its legislation with the spirit of
the Convention and the Optional Protocol, but the fact was that the very
little reform of penal and civil legislation had been undertaken.
All the
crimes and offences mentioned by the Optional Protocol must be included in
the domestic legislation.
The focus must be on prevention too, in the
tourist industry, international adoption and alternative care, children
living in the street and other areas.
The Committee recommended further
efforts in sensitization and awareness raising among the population on
children’s rights and the provisions of the Optional Protocol.
BERNARD GASTAUD,
Committee Expert acting as Rapporteur for the
Report under the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed
conflict, noted the efforts made by Burkina Faso in dealing with the influx
of Malian refugees given the scarce resources the country had, and
reiterated the concern about the lack of criminal legal provisions in line
with international standards.
DIEUDONNE MARIE DESIRE MANLY,
Technical Advisor, Ministry of Social Action and National Solidarity,
expressed satisfaction with the discussion with the Committee and
reiterated the openness to recommendations of the Committee to improve the
rights of children in Burkina Faso without any discrimination.
YANGHEE LEE,
Committee Vice-Chairperson, said that Burkina Faso knew
where the challenges were and emphasized that the Optional Protocol on the
sale of children went beyond the narrow scope of trafficking and expressed
hope that the delegation would go back to Burkina Faso with that
understanding.
(Rome) –
“But those who do
want to apply for asylum should not be turned away.” 
