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United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child - States Parties Reports |
UNITED
NATIONS |
|
CRC
|
|
Convention on the Rights of the Child |
Distr. GENERAL CRC/C/70/Add.6 31 March 2000 Original: ENGLISH |
COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
CONSIDERATION OF
REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER ARTICLE 44 OF THE
CONVENTION
Periodic reports of States parties due in 1998
[15 September 1998]
________________________
*
For the initial report submitted by the Government of Denmark, see
CRC/C/8/Add.8; for its consideration by the Committee, see documents
CRC/C/SR.199 to SR.201.
GE.00-41239 (E)
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
I. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
1 - 3 8
II. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION 4 -
16 8
A. Denmark’s reservation concerning the Convention 4 -
5 8
B. Coordination of Danish policies on children 6 -
10 8
1. The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Children 7 -
9 9
2. The Trans-Ministerial Youth Committee
10 9
C. Participation by private organizations and the
National
Council for Children in initiatives concerning
children 11
- 16 10
1. Private organizations 11 - 12 10
2. The
National Council for Children 13 - 16 10
III. OBSERVATIONS RELATING TO
INDIVIDUAL PROVISIONS
OF THE CONVENTION 17 - 289 11
Article 2 -
Non-discrimination 17 - 20 11
- Racist utterances 17 - 18 11
-
Ethnic minorities and the police 19 - 20 11
Article 3 - Best
interests of the child 21 - 26 12
- Unaccompanied refugee children 21
- 25 12
- Accompanied refugee children 26 12
Article 4 -
Measures to implement the provisions of the
Convention 27 -
43 13
- The Integration Committee 27 - 29 13
- International
aid and development work 30 - 41 13
- The general effort relating
to child labour 31 - 38 13
- Specific projects 39 -
41 14
- Culture 42 - 43 15
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
Article 7 - Seeking to
maintain the child’s ties with both
parents 44 - 59 15
-
Report of the Committee on Child
Legislation 44 - 59 15
- Establishment of paternity 44 - 48 15
- A man’s right to
legal proceedings to establish
paternity 49 16
-
Joint custody for unmarried cohabitants 50 16
- The child’s
right to know its genetic father 51 - 54 16
- Paternity by
artificial insemination 55 - 57 16
- Maternity by artificial
insemination 58 - 59 17
Article 9 - Separation of child and parents
60 - 62 17
Article 10 - Family reunification 63 -
66 17
Article 11 - Illicit transfer and non-return of children abroad
67 - 72 18
Article 12 - Respect for the views of the child 73 -
88 19
- General observations 73 19
- The Act on Names 74 -
75 19
- Adoption 76 19
- Health 77 - 80 19
-
Teaching 81 - 84 20
- Day-care and youth club services
85 20
- Observations on Greenland 86 - 88 20
Article 17 -
Children’s access to information 89 - 95 21
- Culture 89 -
95 21
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
Article 18 - Parental
responsibility and assistance to parents 96 - 167 22
- Custody and
right of access, etc. 96 - 105 22
- Custody 98 - 101 22
- Counselling by child experts 102 - 103 22
- Right of access
104 - 105 22
- The family 106 - 119 23
- Maternity leave
108 23
- Parental leave 109 - 110 24
- Collective
agreements and other agreements 111 - 113 24
- Development of
family-friendly workplaces 114 - 116 24
- Single parents 117 -
118 25
- Teenage mothers and young families 119 25
-
Social Service Act 120 - 124 25
- Day-care services for children 125
- 151 26
- Number of places 135 - 138 28
- Quality of
day-care services for children 139 - 142 28
- Physical environment
in day-care institutions
for children 143 - 145 29
-
Working group on initiatives on bilingual
children in day care,
etc. 146 29
- Cooperation between day-care service and
school 147 30
- Supplements for private day care 148 -
151 30
- Club schemes 152 - 155 30
- Financial allowances for
children and their
families 156 - 167 31
- Child
allowances 158 - 161 31
- General family allowance 162 -
163 32
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
- Compensation
for parents with seriously ill
children 164 32
-
Extra expenses for maintenance of disabled
children at home 165
- 166 32
- Supplementary allowances 167 32
Article 19 -
Protection of the child 168 33
Article 21 - Adoption 169 -
175 33
Article 24 - Standard of health of the child 176 -
184 34
- Alcohol 176 - 178 34
- Eating disorders 179 -
180 34
- Suicide 181 - 182 34
- Observations on Greenland
182 34
- HIV and AIDS 183 35
- Health conditions for
refugee and immigrant
children 184 35
Article 25 -
Review of decisions on placement 185 35
- Observations on Greenland
185 35
Articles 26 and 27 - Social security and the right to a
reasonable
standard of living 186 - 206 35
- Special support
for children and young
people 186 - 192 36
- The Government
action plan for initiatives on
behalf of the most vulnerable
children and
young people 193 - 205 36
- Follow-up on
the action plan 195 36
- Methodological development as part of a
strengthening of cross-disciplinary cooperation
and early efforts 196 - 202 37
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
- Permanent
contact person 203 38
- Open pre-school services for all children
204 - 205 38
- Observations on Greenland 206 38
Article 29
- Education 207 - 215 38
- General observations 207 -
209 38
- Aliens and education 210 - 211 39
- Asylum-seeking
children and education 212 - 215 39
Article 31 - Leisure-time and
cultural interests 216 - 222 40
- Children of culture 216 -
219 40
- Coordination of work in the cultural field 220 -
222 41
Article 32 - Economic exploitation of children,
including
child labour 223 - 234 41
- Labour Ministry action
plan “A clean working
environment by the year 2005”
223 41
- Amendments of the Working Environment Act
as
concerns the work of children and young
people 224 - 231 42
-
Funds for working environment experiments at
educational institutions
232 43
- Statistics on reported occupational injuries and
diseases among children and young people 233 - 234 43
Article 34 -
Sexual exploitation and abuse 235 - 243 44
- Child pornography 235 -
242 44
- Child prostitution 243 45
Article 37 - Children
deprived of their liberty 244 - 261 45
- Young people deprived of
their liberty within the
criminal justice system 244 -
253 45
- Administrative deprivation of the liberty of
children
and young people 254 - 261 47
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
Article 39 - Physical
and mental recovery and
resocialization 262 - 267 48
- Video
interviewing of children 262 - 267 48
Article 40 - Children and the
judicial system 268 - 279 49
- Youth contracts 268 - 273 49
-
Enhanced social efforts towards criminal
and potentially criminal
children and
young people 274 - 279 50
- Strengthened
outreach efforts 275 - 277 50
- Violence secretariat 278 -
279 50
Article 42 - Dissemination of knowledge of the Convention 280
- 289 51
- Field of education 280 - 282 51
- The police 283
- 289 51
I. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
1. This is Denmark’s second periodic report pursuant to
article 44 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child of 20 November
1989
(the Convention). The report accounts for the measures adopted by Denmark to
realize the rights recognized by the Convention
and for the progress made
concerning the enjoyment of these rights since the first report was submitted
in 1993. Information up
until the summer of 1998 has been
included.
2. The proposals and recommendations made by the Committee on
the Rights of the Child on the basis of its review of Denmark’s
first
report are discussed under the observations on the individual provisions of the
Convention.
3. The private organizations, associations and the like that
deal with children’s conditions in Denmark have had an opportunity
to
submit their contributions and views for the purpose of the deliberations of the
Danish Government in connection with its elaboration
of this report.
II. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION
A. Denmark’s reservation concerning the Convention
4. Concerning
Denmark’s reservation to article 40 (2) (b) (v) (right to have criminal
cases tried before two instances), the
Standing Committee on Procedural Law
(Retsplejerådet) submitted a report (report No. 1352/98) in January
1998 on the trial of jury cases. It proposed that jury cases should be tried
before the district court in the first instance, and that appeal against the
district court judgement should lie to the High Court,
which is to be able to
retry the case completely, including both the issue of guilt and the severity of
the sentence. Thus, a proper
two-instance scheme would be implemented, even for
the most serious criminal cases. It has not been finally decided when a bill
in
this field can be introduced.
5. The issue of restricting the right to
appeal district court decisions in minor criminal cases is also comprised in
Denmark’s
declaration not to be bound by article 40 (2) (b) (v) of the
Convention. The Standing Committee on Procedural Law has postponed
this issue
for later consideration.
B. Coordination of Danish policies on children
6. As mentioned in Denmark’s first report,
coordination of the Government’s policies on children is handled by the
Ministerial
Committee on Children (Regeringens Børneudvalg) and a
parallel committee of civil servants, the Inter-Ministerial Committee on
Children (Det Tværministerielle Børneudvalg). Coordination
of the Government’s youth policies is handled by the Trans-Ministerial
Youth Committee (Det Tværministerielle Ungdomsudvalg).
1. The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Children
7. In recent years the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Children has targeted
its work along three approaches to the policies on children
and families with
children:
− Initiatives towards families in general, inter alia, the project “Better harmony between working life and family life” (Bedre sammenhæng mellem arbejdsliv og familieliv);
− Initiatives targeted at children and young people, such as “Children as fellow citizens” (Børn som medborgere), “Children’s active participation in society” (Børns aktive medvirken i samfundet) and the work of elaborating a coherent youth policy;
− Initiatives targeted at the most vulnerable children, young people and families, such as an action plan for the most vulnerable children and young people.
8. Only by working along all three approaches
concurrently is it possible to create an expedient and coherent policy on
children and
families with children.
9. On 1 January 1997, the
Inter-Ministerial Committee on Children received updated terms of reference. It
appears from the terms
of reference that parents carry the main responsibility
for children’s upbringing and that the task of society is to contribute
by
creating the best possible framework to enable parents to live up to their
responsibility, and to support children, young people
and families that need
help nevertheless. Children and their families must have coherent everyday
lives. According to its terms
of reference. the Inter-Ministerial Committee on
Children has to promote these objectives in its permanent work by increasing the
attention paid to the situation of children and their families in the work
performed by the ministries, by taking interministerial
initiatives and in
general by promoting concerted efforts. The goal is for the children-and-family
approach to be a natural part
of the daily work of the ministries.
2. The Trans-Ministerial Youth Committee
10. In January 1997, the Ministerial Committee on Children set up the
Trans-Ministerial Youth Committee, a committee of civil servants
from a number
of ministries. The task of the Committee is, according to its terms of
reference, regularly to prepare proposals for
transministerial youth policies.
At intervals of two to three years, the Committee is thus to prepare a youth
policy paper reviewing
the work on youth policies of the preceding years as well
as proposals for the future youth policy of the Government. It also appears
from the terms of reference of the Committee that it must involve, inter
alia, the young people in the development of the youth
policy.
C. Participation by private organizations and the National
Council
for Children in initiatives concerning children
1. Private organizations
11. In Denmark it is the task of the State to lay down general guidelines for
the various initiatives relating to children and young
people. In this
connection, private organizations are involved in different ways depending on
the nature of the individual initiatives.
12. Responsibility for
implementation of the provisions laid down at the central level in respect of
children and young people rests
with the local and county authorities to a wide
extent. Both local and county authorities may use private organizations and
associations
to perform these tasks. To promote cooperate with voluntary social
work, the Social Service Act (lov om social service), which became
effective on 1 July 1998, lays down that local and county authorities must
cooperate with voluntary social organizations
and associations. An annual
amount of DKr 100 million has been appropriated to support the voluntary social
work.
2. The National Council for Children
13. To further promote the work of including the interests of children and
young people in community planning, 1993 saw an initiative
to set up a council
for children. The National Council for Children
(Børnerådet) was appointed in the summer of 1994 for a trial
period. After the trial period the National Council for Children was made
permanent
from 1 July 1998. A ministerial Order on a National Council for
Children has been prepared, describing its composition and tasks.
14. The
National Council for Children has an independent and interdisciplinary
composition. Together, the members must represent
a wide insight into issues
concerning children’s upbringing and development, children’s lives
at school and at leisure,
their cultural lives, child health, the legal position
of children and children with special needs.
15. The tasks of the
National Council for Children include:
− Working to ensure children’s rights and to direct focus on and inform about children’s conditions in society;
− Advising authorities on questions relating to children’s conditions;
− Including children’s views in its work; and
− Assessing the conditions under which children in Denmark live in the light of the provisions and intentions of the Convention.
16. In relation to the trial period, the field of
competence of the National Council for Children has been expended. One example
is that the Council has received a proper “watchdog function” in
connection with implementation and follow-up of the
Convention, and the Council
has become a hearing instance in connection with new legislation, etc. involving
the conditions of children
and young people.
III. OBSERVATIONS RELATING TO INDIVIDUAL
PROVISIONS OF
THE CONVENTION
Article 2 - Non-discrimination
Racist utterances
17. As
mentioned in Denmark’s first report, section 266 b of the Danish
Criminal Code (straffeloven) makes it a criminal offence to make
statements or impart other information in public or with the intention of wider
dissemination
by which a group of people is threatened, insulted or degraded on
account of race, colour, national or ethnic origin, religion or
sexual
inclination. Section 266 b of the Criminal Code also applies in cases involving
children.
18. Section 266 b of the Criminal Code was amended in 1995, a
subsection (2) on propaganda activities being inserted. It appears
from the
memorandum to the bill that the object is to increase the punishment for certain
forms of violation of section 266 b of
the Criminal Code, especially
to try to prevent Denmark from becoming a sanctuary for Nazi or racist
propaganda. In this connection
a more strict enforcement of
section 266 b of the Criminal Code is intended through a change in the
way the prosecuting authorities
charge suspects.
Ethnic minorities and the police
19. Together with the Documentation and Advisory
Centre on Racial Discrimination (Dokumentations- og Rådgivningscentret
om racediskrimination, DRC) and the National Commissioner of Police, the
Ministry of Justice has prepared a brochure concerning ethnic minorities and the
police. The brochure was published in the autumn of 1997. The purpose of the
brochure is to inform about rights and duties in relation
to the police and thus
to help improve the contact between the police and ethnic minorities. The
brochure, which has been distributed
to all police districts and to the DRC for
further distribution, has been prepared in a number of different
languages.
20. In addition, in 1997 the Copenhagen Police prepared a
special strategy on the relationship between the Copenhagen Police and ethnic
minorities. The purpose of the strategy is to strengthen confidence in the
police and the cooperation between the police and ethnic
minorities and to
identify possible areas of conflict and point to possible solutions.
Article 3 Best interests of the child
Unaccompanied refugee children
21. In relation to
unaccompanied refugee minors deemed sufficiently mature to undergo actual asylum
case examination, a special observer
scheme has been established. The observer
scheme means that an observer from the Danish Red Cross is present in connection
with
the minor’s asylum interview with the Danish Immigration Service
(Udlændingestyrelsen) and in connection with the trial of the
minor’s case before the Refugee Board (Flygtningenævnet). An
expansion of this observer scheme to include serving on the child the decisions
of the Danish Immigration Service and the Refugee
Board in the asylum case is
being considered.
22. In addition, the Danish Immigration Service has
appointed an internal working group which is finishing a report on unaccompanied
minor asylum-seekers, which is expected to contain a number of proposals for
improving the conditions for this group of children.
23. Unaccompanied
refugee children are accommodated at two special children’s centres with
improved conditions compared with
ordinary accommodation centres, both in
respect of space and of staffing.
24. In 1996, the children’s
centres were assessed by the Centre for Alternative Social Analysis (Center
for Alternativ Samfundsanalyse), which points to various possibilities for
further improvements for the unaccompanied refugee children. In recent years
the physical
facilities of the centres have been continuously adapted so as to
be optimum at any time under the given conditions. Furthermore,
an enhancement
of both the educational work and the further training of centre staff has been
initiated.
25. Quite a number of unaccompanied minor refugee children are
accommodated privately with relatives or a foster family after a stay
of some
duration at one of the children’s centres. Such private accommodation
must be approved by both the Danish Red Cross
and the Danish Immigration Service
as well as the local authority of residence.
Accompanied refugee children
26. Refugee children who arrive in Denmark
together with their parents are accommodated together with them, and children
accompanied
by a person than the person having custody are accommodated together
with that person. In these cases they are accommodated in a
specific
accommodation centre. Concerning children of asylum-seekers who are deprived of
their liberty, reference is made to the
observations below under
article 9.
Article 4 - Measures to implement the provisions of the Convention
The Integration Committee
27. The Integration
Committee (Integrationsudvalget) under the Ministry of the Interior
submitted a report in May 1997 on the integration of refugees and immigrants.
The report contains
a large number of proposals for integration initiatives
towards children and young people.
28. Among these proposals is further
education of the professions working daily with children and young immigrants
and refugees.
Thus, the Committee proposes that the local authorities should
ensure that employees of municipal institutions have a possibility
of attending
the requisite courses in multicultural understanding, and that cultural
understanding should be integrated as a theme
in relevant subjects in the
training of pre-school teachers and youth educators. Similarly, the Committee
proposes further education
in cultural understanding for teachers and guidance
counsellors at institutions of secondary education, to the extent
required.
29. The Committee also proposes that a determined effort be
made to strengthen the participation of young immigrants and refugees
in
leisure-time schemes and that initiatives are taken at municipal and local
levels to strengthen information efforts towards bilingual
young people and
their parents about the leisure activities offered locally.
International aid and development work
30. The consideration of children is an integral
part of the Danish efforts for human rights and democracy. An important part of
these efforts involves special activities for especially exposed population
groups, such as aborigines, victims of torture, children
and the disabled. The
following examples of the Danish efforts in relation to children can be
mentioned.
The general effort relating to child
labour
31. The Social Summit held in Copenhagen in March 1995 adopted
a number of recommendations that the countries are to try to observe
for the
purpose of fighting child labour.
32. Within the World Trade
Organization, Denmark is working for the appointment of a group to consider in
detail the correlation between
trade and worker rights, including a prohibition
against child labour.
33. Within the European Union, certain of the
preferences of a developing country in relation to its trade with the
European Union
(the generalized system of preferences (GSP)) can be
withdrawn if a developing country does not observe the obligation not to use
child labour.
34. Denmark contributes an annual amount of DKr 5 million
to the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour of the
ILO.
In addition, Denmark takes an active part in the elaboration of the ILO
convention on elimination of the worst forms of child
labour.
35. In
1997, Denmark granted DKr 40 million to the emergency aid programme of UNICEF
and DKr 5 million to UNICEF via the decentralized
granting powers of the Danish
embassies. Moreover, in 1998 the intention is to grant a contribution to UNICEF
of DKr 200 million
for the work of the organization. In addition, a
consultant financed by Denmark is being appointed to the UNICEF Division for
Child
Protection in New York.
36. Apart from this, Denmark supports
UNICEF’s work through active participation in the board meetings of the
organization and
through influence of the organization during the annual
negotiations with UNICEF, in which Denmark takes part at a high level.
Furthermore,
Denmark supports European and international efforts to fight
commercial exploitation of children, most recently by participation
in the
Council of Europe conference in May 1998 relating to the followup to the
Stockholm conference held in 1996 on commercial sexual
exploitation of
children.
37. Denmark is an active participant in the work of elaborating
two optional protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In the
working group on an optional protocol on children in armed conflicts, Denmark is
working for the elimination of the use of
children for participation in armed
combat, and Denmark also supports a minimum age limit of 18 years for
recruitment to the armed
forces. As concerns the working group on sale of
children, child prostitution and child pornography, Denmark is working for a
protocol
that can effectively strengthen the legal tools for a national and
international fight against the commercial exploitation of
children.
38. Denmark currently has a dialogue with the 20 socalled
programme countries on which Danish bilateral development aid is concentrated.
This is done, for example, during the annual negotiations in which the
ratification and observance of relevant conventions on child
labour are
discussed. The 20 programme countries are: Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan,
Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Eritrea, Ghana,
India, Kenya, Malawi,
Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Tanzania, Uganda, Viet Nam, Zambia and
Zimbabwe.
Specific projects
39. During the first six
months of 1998, a global march against child labour will be completed, starting
at four different places:
the Philippines, South Africa, Brazil and the
United States. Through the labour organization the Danish Confederation of
Trade
Unions (Landsorganisationen i Danmark), the Danish Ministry of
Foreign Affairs has granted US$ 40,000 for implementation of the march, and
DKr 100,000 have been granted
for information in Denmark.
40. In the
period from 1994 to the end of 1997 a total of 31 projects were planned,
implemented or concluded, aimed specifically at
education, rights,
rehabilitation, capacitybuilding and the fight against child labour. The
accumulated grants for these projects
total about DKr 110 million.
The projects are distributed geographically, with 12 in Africa, 11 in Asia
and 8 in Latin America.
The projects are implemented mainly by
nongovernmental organizations and are typically financed via the decentralized
granting powers
of the embassies.
41. In 1996 and 1997, Denmark
furthermore supported Defence for Children International with about DKr 500,000
a year.
Culture
42. In 1997, the Ministry of Culture in
cooperation with the Ministries of Ecclesiastical Affairs, Social Affairs and
Education initiated
a threeyear pilot scheme supporting art and culture in
children’s institutions.
43. “Culture and preventive
work” (Kultur og det forebyggende arbejde) is also an
interministerial initiative aiming to develop new forms and methods of
cooperation in the preventive work among exposed
groups of children and young
people. These new forms and methods of cooperation have been prepared through
several years of committee
work and are now being realized in the form of a
number of development projects with selected local authorities. The cooperation
will involve the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Education, the
National Board of Health (Sundhedsstyrelsen), and the Danish Crime
Prevention Council (Det Kriminalpræventive Råd).
Article 7 Seeking to maintain the child’s
ties with both parents
Report of the Committee on Child Legislation
Establishment of paternity
44. In
1997, the Committee on Child Legislation (Børnelovsudvalget) of
the Ministry of Justice submitted a report on the legal position of children
(report No. 1350/1997).
45. The report expresses fundamental views on a
child’s right to two parents and on equality between children of married
parents
and those of parents cohabiting without being married.
46. The
result of the change in family patterns is that about 41 per cent of
all children, just under 28,000 children a year, are
borne by women living
in cohabitation without being married.
47. Against this background, the
report proposes a new system of establishing paternity that gives married and
unmarried cohabitants
the same legal position concerning how to establish
paternity. When the parents are cohabiting, whether they are married or not,
paternity then normally just has to be stated and registered in connection with
the preparation of birth papers.
48. According to the proposal of the
Committee on Child Legislation, attempts should be made to settle the remaining
rather few paternity
cases by means of the local government offices of the
counties, which will be empowered to procure DNA evidence to the extent
necessary.
The new DNA methods mean that in almost all cases the child’s
father can be established with a probability amounting almost
to certainty.
When a DNA test points to a specific man as the father, the man must therefore
normally be expected to acknowledge
his paternity voluntarily. The few cases
that cannot be settled by the local government office will have to be brought
before the
court, which can issue an order of paternity, if
necessary.
A man’s right to legal proceedings to establish
paternity
49. Pursuant to the present rules of the Children’s
Act (børneloven) only a husband has a right to institute
affiliation proceedings to have his paternity established. In the report, the
Committee
on Child Legislation proposes that other men should also have a right
to legal proceedings to determine paternity.
Joint custody for
unmarried cohabitants
50. In the report, the Committee on Child
Legislation proposes to introduce rules on automatic joint custody for unmarried
cohabitants.
This proposal is discussed in detail below in connection with
article 18.
The child’s right to know its genetic
father
51. The Committee on Child Legislation has also proposed rules
aiming to ensure the child’s right to know its genetic
father.
52. According to the proposal, a child for whom, at the time of
birth or later, no father has been established should have free access
to
instituting affiliation proceedings if circumstantial evidence points to a
specific man as the child’s father.
53. If paternity has been
established, however, according to the proposal of the Committee it would only
be possible to request resumption
of the affiliation proceedings if the mother,
the child or a guardian of the child and the father or his estate agree and it
is rendered
probable that another man can become the child’s
father.
54. Besides the rules on the child’s right to have
paternity established by instituting or resuming affiliation proceedings,
the
Committee on Child Legislation proposes that the child should have a wide right
of access to documents concerning the question
of who its genetic father
is.
Paternity by artificial insemination
55. The Committee
on Child Legislation proposes that the husband or the cohabitant is to be the
child’s father if he has consented
to artificial insemination and the
child has been conceived thereby.
56. It follows from Act No. 460 of 10
June 1997 on artificial insemination in connection with medical treatment,
diagnostics and research,
etc., that a sperm donor is to remain anonymous if the
sperm was donated for the purpose of a doctor’s use for artificial
insemination
or to a public or private sperm bank operated under a
doctor’s responsibility. Against this background, the Committee on Child
Legislation proposes that it be specified that a sperm donor cannot be
adjudicated father of a child conceived by artificial insemination
with his
sperm in such cases.
57. The Committee on Child Legislation further
proposes that in case of inseminations performed without the assistance of a
doctor
or under his responsibility, the donor should not be anonymous.
Therefore, a donor or a partner should be able to be adjudicated
father also
because no forensic genetically applicable distinction can be made between a
sexual relationship and insemination without
the assistance of a
doctor.
Maternity by artificial insemination
58. The
Committee on Child Legislation proposes a legal provision to the effect that the
mother of a child conceived by artificial
insemination is the woman giving birth
to the child. Such rule corresponds to what is assumed to be applicable law
without any legislative
support.
59. It has not been decided when a bill
based on the report of the Committee on Child Legislation can be
introduced.
Article 9 Separation of child and parents
60. Since the summer of 1998, as a pilot scheme, the Institution for Detained
AsylumSeekers in the Sandholm Camp of the Prison and
Probation Service has been
able to receive asylumseekers with small children (preschool age) deprived of
their liberty. The pilot
scheme will be evaluated after one
year.
61. The pilot scheme means that a small section of the Sandholm
Camp has been rearranged so that it can be completely isolated from
the
remaining part of the camp. Thus, the children will have contact with no other
detainees than the detained parents and any other
detained asylumseekers with
small children. The Danish Red Cross will see to it that the children
receive a preschool offer outside
the closed section during the
daytime.
62. As formerly, and to the extent possible, attempts will be
made to avoid depriving families or single men and women with children
of their
liberty. In the cases where such deprivation is necessary, the pilot scheme
means that separation of the detainees and
their small children is avoided, and
efforts will be made to examine their case rapidly so that the detention will be
as brief as
possible.
Article 10 Family reunification
63. When a child applies for a residence permit for Denmark, this typically
occurs concurrently with an asylum application from one
or both parents. In
these cases, the parents attend to the best interests of the
child.
64. In the cases where a child staying abroad applies for family
reunification in Denmark, the interests of the child are handled
by either a
family member residing in Denmark or a parent in the country of origin. In some
cases, one parent is staying in Denmark
while the other parent is staying in the
country of origin. Also in these cases the parents attend to the best interests
of the
child.
65. The Danish alien’s authorities have no knowledge
of cases where unaccompanied minors have filed applications for family
reunification.
66. Family reunification cases relating to children are
examined within the framework of the Aliens Act (udlændingeloven)
and the Public Administration Act (forvaltningsloven). The Danish
Immigration Service endeavours to examine these cases as quickly as possible.
The average examination time is about
three months at present, but work is being
done to halve it during 1998.
Article 11 Illicit transfer and nonreturn of children abroad
67. As is known, Denmark has ratified the Hague
Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction of 1980 and the
Council
of Europe Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions
concerning Custody of Children and on Restoration of Custody of
Children of
1980.
68. Denmark’s accession to these conventions has considerably
improved the possibilities of avoiding abduction of children residing
in Denmark
to another country and the possibilities of having children who are abducted out
of Denmark contrary to the rules returned
to Denmark.
69. In return for
the protection afforded by said conventions to children residing in Denmark,
Denmark has to honour the rules on
custody applying to children residing in
other contracting States and, if the occasion arises, be prepared to return the
children
transferred to Denmark contrary to these rules.
70. Against this
background, the Ministry of Justice is very aware of the importance of private
individuals having the possibility
of receiving guidance on these conventions.
This applies not least to persons who are residing in a country which has
acceded to
the conventions and which are considering, contrary to the rules of
that country, bringing their child with them home to Denmark.
In these cases it
is crucial, if those persons apply to the Danish authorities for advice, that
they are notified of the fact that
under the rules of said conventions Denmark
may be under an obligation to return the child.
71. To ensure that the
persons involved receive the requisite guidance, the Directorate of Private Law
(under the Ministry of Justice),
which is appointed the central authority in
Denmark under the conventions, places the experience and knowledge on the
conventions
which the Directorate has acquired in this capacity at the disposal
of persons who approach the Directorate.
72. The Ministry of Foreign
Affairs has also instructed Danish embassies and consular representations abroad
to recommend to persons
seeking advice and guidance on these questions in
countries covered by said conventions to contact the Directorate of Private
Law
if necessary through the Foreign Service. The Danish representations
abroad have also been instructed, in a given case, to advise
the persons in
question to seek legal advice in the country of residence as well.
Article 12 Respect for the views of the child
General observations
73. In recent years
there has been much focus on the codetermination and influence of children and
young people on their own lives.
The InterMinisterial Committee on the Child,
for example, has concluded experiments with codetermination of children and
young people
in daycare services, schools, associations and libraries. The
experiments have shown that even very small children are able to make
decisions
when due consideration is given to their age and stage of development in
general.
The Act on Names
74. An amendment of the Act on Names
(navneloven) in 1997 changed the rules on inclusion of the view of the
child on a change of its name. Pursuant to the former rules, in principle,
change of a child’s name only required the child’s consent if the
child was 12 years old or more.
75. Pursuant to the amendment in
1997, children below 12 years of age must also be involved in a case on
change of the child’s
name. There is no actual requirement of consent
from the child, as with children of 12 years or more. However, information
on the
child’s views on the contemplated change of name must be available
to the extent allowed by the child’s maturity and
the circumstances of the
case. The decision should also, to the widest extent possible, take into
consideration the child’s
view on the change of name contemplated.
Adoption
76. Also concerning adoption, said amendment in
1997 introduced rules on involvement of children below the age of 12 in cases
concerning
them. Reference is made to what is stated below concerning
article 21.
Health
77. In the health field, the Folketing
adopted an act on the legal position of patients in June 1998, the object
of which is, inter alia, to involve children and young people as
much as possible in the decision process concerning their conditions, adapted to
their general
maturity and situation in general.
78. As a main rule,
young people who are past 15 years of age thus have to give their consent to
medical treatment, etc., pursuant
to the act. The person having custody is to
have the same information as the young person and in general be involved in the
decisionmaking
of the young person.
79. In the cases where the young
person and the parents disagree, the view of the young person is decisive. Only
when a medical officer
deems, upon individual assessment, that the young person
is not capable of understanding the consequences of his or her decision
is the
view of the person having custody decisive.
80. Children and young people
under 15 years of age who are sufficiently mature to decide on medical treatment
are to be informed
and involved in the discussions on the treatment, but there
is no requirement of consent proper.
Teaching
81. The Education (Folkeskole) Act
(folkeskoleloven) stipulates that pupils must be represented on school
boards with voting rights and that the head of the school is to involve the
pupils in issues concerning their safety and health. In addition, the Education
(Folkeskole) Act has a number of provisions on involvement of pupils in
connection with decisions on the pupils’ participation in examinations
after the ninth and tenth forms, the choice of certain subjects and decisions on
continued school in the tenth form, etc.
82. Finally, the Education
(Folkeskole) Act has provisions on the formation of pupils’
councils at every school with the fifth or higher forms. The pupils’
council will naturally be the body that attends to the pupils’ joint
interests towards the school and towards the local authorities.
The pupils
themselves decide how the pupils’ council is to be composed and how it
should be elected.
83. Denmark has nationwide pupils’
organizations. The Ministry of Education consistently sends bills and proposals
for administrative
regulations to these organizations for hearing. In addition,
there is an increasing tendency for the pupils’ organizations
to become
represented on ministerial committees.
84. In January 1997, the Minister
of Education submitted a statement to the Folketing on representative
democracy in the educational system illustrating the scope of the representation
of pupils and students, both in
the controlling bodies of the institutions and
in central councils. The statement concludes with a proposal on
11 fundamental rules
for the democratic structure in the entire educational
field. Most of the 11 fundamental rules have already been introduced in
the
primary school field.
Daycare and youth club services
85. It appears from the provision in the Social
Service Act on the objective of daycare services that they should offer children
the
possibility of codetermination and coresponsibility and as part of this
contribute to develop children’s independence and abilities
to take part
in binding relationships. It also appears from the rules on youth club services
in the Social Service Act that the
guidelines to be laid down by local
authorities for the services are to ensure that children and young people have
influence on the
contents of the individual service.
Observations on Greenland
86. In 1993, the Landsting Regulation for
Children and Young People was amended to ensure accordance with the Convention,
including the stipulation in article
12 requiring the views of the child to
be involved in matters affecting the child.
87. Thus, section 10 (3) of
the Regulation lays down that when cases on measures pursuant to the Act are
heard, the child’s
views must be emphasized.
88. In cases on
placement outside the home without consent and in cases of refusal to return
children to their parents, sections 16
and 25 thus establish that all
parties to the case must be encouraged to assist in the clarification of the
case and to give a statement
to the social welfare committee.
Article 17 Children’s access to
information
Culture
89. Since Denmark’s first report, a number
of acts have been implemented or amended in the field of culture to consider the
special needs of children and young people even more.
90. Pursuant to the
Danish Public Libraries Act (biblioteksloven), every Danish local
authority thus has a duty either alone or together with other local authorities
to maintain a public library
with a special department for
children.
91. The Theatre Act (teaterloven) lays down in the
theatre field that the Travelling Children’s Theatre (Det Rejsende
Børneteater) and the Reachingout Theatre (Det Opsøgende
Teater) subsidized by State and county authorities must contribute to
covering the need for travelling children’s theatres in the
entire
country. In addition, the Danish Theatre Council (Teaterrådet)
appointed pursuant to the Act is to use a considerable part of its grant to
support theatre activities addressing children and young
people. Finally, the
Act requires the State to repay half the price of the performances for
children’s theatres approved for
repayment purchased by local and county
authorities.
92. It follows from the Museums Act (museumsloven)
that to obtain and maintain State subsidies, a museum must give free access to
pupils visiting the museum as part of their instruction.
93. An amendment
to the Film Act (filmloven) in 1997 abolished the State Film Censorship
(Statens Filmcensur) and replaced it by the Media Council for Children
and Youth (Medierådet for Børn og Unge), which has a wider
composition and a broader mandate than the State Film Censorship.
94. In
connection with the amendment to the Film Act, the age limits for children
applying for public showing or commercial sale, hire or lending of films were
lowered from 12 and 16
years respectively to 11 and 15 years.
Moreover, an adult companion scheme in the cinemas was introduced for children
over 7, whereupon
children over 7 accompanied by parents or another adult can
have access to all films.
95. The amendment also established that the
Danish Film Institute (Det Danske Filminstitut), which is in charge of
the distribution of State grants for cinematographic art, film culture and
cinematographic culture, must
employ a children’s film consultant for the
feature film field and a
children’s film consultant for the short
feature and documentary film fields, and that at least 25 per cent of
the funds set
aside for the production of feature films, short feature films and
documentary films is to be used for films for children and young
people.
Article 18 Parental responsibility and assistance to
parents
Custody and right of access, etc.
96. On 1 January 1996, a new
Act on Custody and the Right of Access (lov om forældremyndighed og
samvær) came into effect.
97. The Act involved a revision and
modernization of the rules applicable so far in the Legal Capacity Act
(myndighedsloven) concerning custody, right of access and counselling by
child experts.
Custody
98. According to the new Act, joint
custody for unmarried cohabitants still presupposes agreement between the
parents.
99. However, the Act involved a strengthening of the legal
position of the unmarried father who has no share of custody. Access to
a
transfer of custody to the father on cessation of longterm cohabitation with the
mother has thus been relaxed so that the court
now has to decide in these cases
which of the parents is to have custody alone, especially taking account of the
best interests of
the child. In the cases where the parents did not cohabit or
where cohabitation was not of long duration, custody can be transferred
from the
mother to the father if the change is in the best interests of the
child.
100. In a report from 1997 on the legal position of children
(report No. 1350/1997), the Committee on Child Legislation of the Ministry
of Justice has proposed rules on automatic joint custody for unmarried
cohabitants. Pursuant to the proposal, unmarried cohabitants
automatically
receive joint custody in connection with registration of the paternity of a
newborn child if the parties declare that
they cohabit, that it is their common
child and that they will together take care of and take responsibility for the
child. If one
of the parents chooses to have the paternity established through
affiliation proceedings with the local government office of the
county, joint
custody is not granted unless the parents so agree. Thus the proposal does not
impose compulsory joint custody.
101. It has not been decided when a bill
based on the report of the Committee on Child Legislation can be
introduced.
Counselling by child experts
102. In
connection with implementation of the Act on Custody and Right of Access, the
rules on counselling by child experts were extended.
The starting point is
still that the local government office of the county is to offer parents and
children counselling by child
experts in case of disagreement on custody and the
right of access. The purpose is to help the parties solve the conflict, taking
into account the best interests of the child. However, a new feature is that
the local government office of the county can now also
offer counselling on
custody and the right of access although there is no disagreement on the issue
if the office deems that there
is a special need
therefor.
103. Concerning the issue of counselling by child experts, the
Ministry of Justice (The Directorate of Private Law) in 1997 initiated
a pilot
scheme at the local government offices of Copenhagen and of Vejle county with
increased counselling of children of cohabitants
breaking up their relationship
and from dissolved marriages. The pilot scheme is aimed at children involved in
a conflict of custody
or right of access. The pilot scheme expires at
New Year 19981999 and will then be evaluated.
Right of
access
104. In April and in November 1997, the Ministry of Justice
(Directorate of Private Law) issued new guidelines to the local government
offices of the counties on, inter alia, determination of the right
of access. Together, the new guidelines improve the opportunities for the
parent who does not have the
child living with him or her to be together with
the child.
105. Furthermore, on 1 January 1998, the local government
office of Copenhagen County introduced a oneyear pilot scheme of mediation
in
cases relating to right of access. The basic idea of the scheme is an offer of
alternative conflict solution where the mediators
are to assist the parents in
assuming responsibility themselves for making an agreement on the right of
access.
The family
106. The family is the foundation and the
framework of the child’s upbringing, and the parents have the primary
responsibility
for their children’s upbringing and development. Society
must support families with children to enable them to perform this
task.
107. Since most parents both mothers and fathers are connected
with the labour market, this means that both legislation, collective
agreements
and other labour market agreements as well as the individual undertakings, in
addition to the families themselves, have
a responsibility for creating an
appropriate framework for families with children to give them better
opportunities of being together
with the children and each
other.
Maternity leave
108. The provisions on maternity
leave have been much improved over the years. According to the present
provisions, parents are entitled
to a total of 24 weeks’ leave after the
birth. The first 14 weeks are the mother’s alone the father
is, however, entitled
to two weeks’ paternity leave during this period.
For the fifteenth to the twentyfourth week after the birth, the parents
can
agree which of them will stay at home with the child. In addition, as from
1 April 1998, the father is entitled to take two
weeks’
paternity leave in weeks 25 and 26 after the birth of the
child.
Parental leave
109. The Leaves Act
(orlovsloven) allows parents to take leave to mind their own children for
a consecutive period of at least 13 weeks and not more than 52 weeks
when the children are between 0 and 8 years. Employees have an absolute
right to leave from work to mind their own children for
a consecutive period of
13 weeks. However, they have a right to leave for up to 26 weeks if
the child was not yet one year old when
the leave began. If an employee wants
more leave than the 13 or 26 weeks to which he or she is entitled, such
leave must be agreed
with the employer.
110. About 70 per cent of
those who take parental leave take their leave in direct extension of the
maternity leave.
Collective agreements and other
agreements
111. The labour market parties and the individual
undertakings and workplaces also have a crucial role to play for families with
children
to have the possibility of adapting their working lives and family
lives in an expedient manner.
112. Many improvements have been introduced
in the collective agreements and other labour market agreements over the years.
Most
collective agreements and other agreements have now introduced the
possibility of parttime work, a day off on the first sickday of
children, etc.
The collective agreements in the public labour market also entitles each
employed parent of children born 1 April
1995 or later to 10 days
of family care.
113. The possibility of working at home by means of IT
(teleworking) is gradually being included in collective agreements and is an
element of the development of greater flexibility in the labour market. It is
widely agreed that teleworking should be a supplement
to the existing form of
work. This may contribute to giving families with children the possibility of a
more flexible adaptation
between family life and working life.
Development of familyfriendly workplaces
114. For a number of years, the InterMinisterial
Committee on Children has worked to promote better harmony between family life
and
working life. During the years 1994 and 1995, specific projects were
initiated at five undertakings. The project was to test models
for the planning
of working conditions in a way that accommodates the special needs of families
with children. Project evaluation
showed that even in an expanding undertaking
it is possible to arrange working conditions in a familyfriendly
manner.
115. The development of familyfriendly workplaces has also been
followed up on as part of the campaign “Our Common Concern
an initiative
to promote the business sector’s social commitment”
(Virksomhedernes sociale engagement) initiated by the Minister of Social
Affairs in 1994. The aim of the campaign is to create a new development in
social policies
that gives enterprises a larger role in social policies, meaning
that they assume a greater, specific
coresponsibility for social welfare.
Enterprises may express their increased social commitment in greater efforts
towards vulnerable
groups, strengthening of staff policies with social and
family policy aspects, etc. The enterprises have shown great interest in
the
campaign.
116. Many enterprises have already come far in the development
of familyfriendly workplaces, and others are following. Many enterprises
are
now staking much on familyfriendly workplaces that allow employees with children
to give priority to their family lives to the
widest extent possible in certain
periods. Young parents seek the workplaces and the jobs that exhibit an
understanding for the
need of employees to adapt family life and working life in
a manner that covers their requirements.
Single parents
117. In addition to the financial benefits for
which single parents are eligible, such as a child allowance, financial
assistance
can be granted to persons having limited work capacity. The
assistance may be granted to single parents locked into a social situation,
for
example because they became single parents before their prevocational education
had been completed. The assistance may be retraining,
vocational training,
education, etc. It is a condition for assistance under the employment
rehabilitation provisions that there
be a realistic possibility that the
assistance will lead to full or partial selfmaintenance.
118. One of the
groups of single parents eligible for a special effort is single parents with
several children and with a loose or
no connection with the labour market. The
InterMinisterial Committee on Children has initiated a user survey to illustrate
the experiences
of single parents with the assistance and support given to them
and to illustrate what new initiatives, if any, may be needed.
Teenage mothers and young families
119. In some cases, specially targeted support
is required for certain groups of families with children. About
23 per cent of children
are borne by teenage mothers, and often
teenage mothers and very young families with children are more vulnerable and
uncertain as
to their parenting task than are older parents. Therefore, several
local authorities have established special places open to young
parents where
they can receive the assistance and help they need. In some places, family
houses and the like are the basis of the
support, but the support may also be
structured differently, for example by means of selfhelp groups. The book
“Young parents
on their way!” (Unge forældre på
vej!) issued by the Ministries of Health and Social Affairs describes eight
cases of support for teenage mothers and very young families.
Social Service Act
120. With effect from 1 July 1998, the
Social Assistance Act (bistandsloven) was replaced by three new acts:
the Social Service Act (lov om social service), the Act on Due Process
and Administration in the Social Field (lov om retssikkerhed og
administration på det social område), and the Act on Active
Social Policy (lov om aktiv socialpolitik). The relevant rules for
children
and young people can be found in the Social Service Act and the Act
on Due Process and Administration in the Social Field. The Social
Service Act
maintains the general principles of the Social Assistance Act.
121. The
provisions on children and young people of the Social Service Act and the
pertinent guidelines on daycare services for children
pursuant to the Act have
been drafted with due consideration for the principles of the
Convention.
122. The memorandum to the bill states that the provisions in
the field of children and young people have been drafted in accordance
with the
principles of the Convention. It is thus stressed that children and young
people are independent individuals with independent
rights, and that the family
is in principle the framework for the upbringing of children and young people.
Society has an obligation
to provide suitable facilities for the upbringing and
development of children and young people and to provide the requisite support
to
the families and their children and young people.
123. The guidelines
specifically refer to article 12 of the Convention concerning
children’s codetermination and coinfluence.
124. Section 4 of
the Social Service Act is a general objectives clause for children and young
people, stating the objectives of the
aggregate local and county
authorities’ efforts in the entire field of children and young people.
The provision is worded
as follows:
“Section 4. (1) The local and county authorities shall ensure that the assignments and services comprising children, young people and their families are carried out in cooperation with the parents and so that the development, welfare and independence of children and young people are promoted. This applies both to the carrying out of the general and preventive work and to the targeted effort towards children and young people with reduced physical or mental functionality or with another special need for support.
(2) The local and county authorities shall ensure that the efforts initiated
pursuant to this Act towards children and young people
with reduced physical or
mental functionality or with another special need for support are correlated
with the efforts initiated
towards the same children and young people under
other legislation.”
Daycare services for children
125. The Social Service Act contains an
elaboration of the objectives clause for day care for children, amended rules
for enrolment
in day care, introduction of a permanent scheme with allowances
for parents electing private day care (free choice scheme), and introduction
of
rules on parental boards in special daycare institutions for children with
considerably and permanently reduced physical or mental
functionality.
126. The purpose of daycare services for children is to
give children educational and social opportunities as well as care. According
to the provision of the Social Service Act that lays down the objective of
daycare services, the needs and development of the child
are to be the focus
while initiatives must be prepared in cooperation with the parents. Day care is
intended to help give the child
a good and secure childhood and at the same time
support the child in its personal development through the acquisition of a large
number of social and general skills.
127. To ensure that all children
have an equal right and opportunity to get a place in a daycare institution, the
former enrolment
rules were amended by the Social Service Act so that now places
in daycare institutions are to be allocated according to seniority:
children
are enrolled on the basis of their position on a waiting list, if any, according
to either date of birth or time of application.
Deviations from the seniority
principle may only occur if a child has a special need for a place for social or
educational reasons,
or if a place is badly needed.
128. The local
authorities are responsible for providing the requisite number of places in
publicly subsidized daycare schemes (municipal
day care, municipal and nonprofit
institutions and pool schemes) as well as club schemes for children and young
people. The responsibility
includes not only the establishment and operation of
the schemes, but also supervision. Daycare services are financed by the local
authorities. In addition, according to the Education (Folkeskole) Act,
the local authorities are also responsible for establishing places in
schoolbased leisuretime care schemes.
129. The objective is for children
who are socially, mentally or physically disabled to have a childhood as close
to “normal”
as possible. An important goal is therefore that these
children be integrated in the general daycare services for children often
with
special support in the form of extra staff. Children with a special need for
treatment may be offered a place in countybased
daycare institutions where
special expertise is available.
130. The cost of the child’s stay
in day care that is borne by parents corresponds to 30 per cent of
operational costs. A multiplechild
rebate is offered to parents with several
children in public daycare services so that parents pay the full price for the
most expensive
place, but only half the price for subsequent places. The rules
on multiplechild rebate were amended with effect from 1 January
1995. If
parental income is within certain limits, the parents qualify for fully or
partially free places. In addition, fully or
partially free places can be
awarded for social, educational or therapeutic reasons.
131. Furthermore,
the local authority may grant a supplement to reduce parents’ costs; this
aims at evenly distributing the
costs of the different daycare services provided
by the local authority.
132. Daycare institutions must have a parental
board empowered to take decisions on essential issues. The parental boards must
have
influence on the principles of the work of the daycare institution and on
the expenditure of funds within a budget limit, and they
must have a right to
make recommendations to the local authority in connection with the appointment
of staff.
133. The Social Service Act also provides for the possibility
that the local or county authority can entrust parental boards with
further
powers.
134. It is also important that the child has an opportunity to
exercise codetermination and influence on the facilities and daily
routines of
the daycare institution. Results from an experiment on children’s
codetermination in daycare institutions during
the years 1994 and 1995
showed that even very small children are capable of making decisions on things
of importance to them.
Number of places
135. During the period 19931998 about 136,000
more children aged 6 months to 9 years were enrolled in public day care, and now
just
under 500,000 places are available for this age group, corresponding to
about 78 per cent of children attending a public daycare
service, as shown in
table 1 below:
Table 1
Children enrolled in public day care
(19931998) |
|||
|
Growth (19931998)
(rounded off) |
Enrolled,
total (1998) |
Coverage, %
(1998) |
6 months 2 years
|
19 000
|
117 000
|
67
|
3 5 years
|
44 000
|
186 000
|
89
|
6 9 years
|
73 000
|
196 000
|
77
|
6 months 9 years (total)
|
136 000
|
499 000
|
78
|
136. Despite this strong expansion of daycare services for children there
were still just over 11,000 children aged 6 months to 9
years on the
waiting list for a place in public day care in January 1998.
137. In
addition to the public daycare services, there is private daycare run by private
individuals without public subsidies.
138. The vast majority of Danish
parents prefer public daycare services, since their standards are high.
Quality of daycare services for children
139. Against the background of an agenda adopted
by the Folketing, the Ministry of Social Affairs in 1995 appointed a
working group for preparing material, etc. that can contribute to increased
debate
and focus on quality development as well as support the continuous
process of determining quality goals both at the overall municipal
level and for
each daycare institution. The point of departure for the work of the working
group was that quality is developed and
determined by interaction between the
local authority, the daycare institution and parents.
140. In September
1997 the working group issued the report “Quality development in daycare
services for children experiences
from four local authorities”
(Kvalitetsudvikling i dagtilbud for børn erfaringer fra 4
kommuner). This publication focuses on the process in the local authorities
concerning quality development in the daycare service field and
is intended as
an inspiration for both local authorities well on their way and for local
authorities that are about to start such
a process.
141. The working
group is finishing the next report, which discusses a number of themes, each
about quality in daycare services, from
an educational aspect.
142. In
1995, the “Guidelines on help for children and young people through
dialogue and cooperation with parents Review of
the rules on
confidentiality” (Vejledningen om hjælp til børn og unge
gennem dialog og samarbejde med forældrene Gennemgang af reglerne om
tavshedspligt) were issued. The purpose of the guidelines is to give staff
in daycare institutions better qualifications for making early and
more targeted
efforts towards families with children threatened by
problems.
Physical environment in daycare institutions for
children
143. Quality in children’s lives also involves their
growing up in healthy surroundings, including the daycare institutions
for
children. Lately, therefore, the focus has been on the physical environment in
daycare institutions for children, including
problems of noise, toxic materials,
etc.
144. For the purpose of mapping applicable rules and guidelines on
the physical environment in daycare institutions for children,
a working group
has been appointed with representatives from the Ministry of Social Affairs, the
Ministry of Housing, the Ministry
of Labour, the National Board of Health and
the Danish Environmental Protection Agency
(Miljøstyrelsen).
145. In June 1998, the Ministry of Social
Affairs issued the brochure “Environmental rules for children Rules and
guidelines
of direct and indirect importance to the physical environment in
daycare institutions for children” (Miljøregler for børn
Regler og retningslinjer m.v. af direkte og indirekte betydning for det fysiske
miljø i
dagtilbud til børn), especially aimed at local
authority administrations and the daycare services. The brochure has a list of
relevant guidelines.
Working group on initiatives on bilingual
children in day care, etc.
146. For the purpose of strengthening the
integration of immigrant and refugee children, the Ministry of Social Affairs is
appointing
a working group to prepare stimulating material that is to describe
good and exciting initiatives and practical experiences of daycare
services,
languagestimulating opportunities pursuant to section 4 of the Education
(Folkeskole) Act, as well as educational opportunities for preschool
teachers in relation to their work with bilingual small
children.
Cooperation between daycare service and
schools
147. A working group has been appointed on cooperation
between daycare services and schools with representatives from the Ministry
of
Social Affairs and the Ministry of Education. In the autumn of 1998, the
working group is expected to issue material on stimulating
children’s
linguistic development and formation of concepts in daycare institutions for
children aged 06 years and on how to
ensure a successful transition from
preschool care to school.
Supplements for private day
care
148. Based on a pilot scheme in 1996 and 1997, a permanent
scheme has been introduced as from 1 January 1998 enabling local
authorities
to give parents the choice between a place in a public daycare
service or a financial supplement towards payment for private day
care.
149. Introduction of the scheme by each local authority is
voluntary. It applies to children aged 6 months to 5 years. However,
the local
authority may decide that the scheme is to apply only to children in a certain
part of the age group. If the local authority
chooses to introduce the scheme,
all parents with children in the relevant age group must be able to make use of
it.
150. The supplement will be the same for all children in the same age
group. It can amount to a maximum of 85 per cent of the cheapest
net
operational expense per place for the relevant age group in a public daycare
service under the local authority. The parents
have to pay 30 per cent of the
actual expenses of the private day care themselves, however.
151. Since
1 January 1994, local authorities have been able to grant a
supplementary allowance to parents receiving parental leave
benefits to give
parents a further incentive to take parental leave. The allowance can amount to
a maximum of DKr 35,000.
Club schemes
152. The Social
Service Act has provisions on club schemes and other socioeducational
leisuretime services for older children and
young people. It follows from the
provisions that the local authorities have a duty to provide appropriate
services for older children
and young people, and that the local authorities
must lay down goals and frameworks for the activities of the
clubs.
153. The purpose of the clubs is to provide an opportunity for
general leisuretime activities, in particular for older children and
young
people not availing themselves of other leisuretime services. The clubs have to
cooperate with the children and young people
to create activities and forms of
being together that promote the multifaceted development and independence of the
individual and
his or her ability to take part in a binding relationship. It
also follows directly from the Social Service Act that children and
young people
must have an influence on the contents of the individual service.
154. In
1995, 1996 and 1997 a special club fund was appropriated to support the
development of club schemes, as mentioned below in
paragraph 198. The
Ministry of Social Affairs has
granted support from this fund for a number
of club projects, partly to develop codetermination of children and young people
in the
clubs, partly to strengthen clubs’ efforts in relation to children
and young people at social risk, including ethnic minorities.
155. To
further support and promote the development of codetermination in the clubs,
in 1997 the Ministry of Social Affairs together
with the Ministry of
Education published a book to stimulate debate on the subject as part of the
Government’s youth policy.
In 1998, this is followed up by an
inspirational campaign for and with club members on the possibilities for
influence and codetermination
in clubs.
Financial allowances for children and their families
156. The general family allowance, special child
allowance and multiple birth allowance are paid out automatically without
application,
whereas ordinary and extra child allowances as well as adoption
allowance must be applied for. Normally the child’s mother
or the person
having custody of the child receives the money. If deemed in the best interests
of the child, the child may receive
the money itself.
157. Child and
family allowances are tax free and, as a general rule, are paid out only in
Denmark, but the conditions of Danish nationality,
permanent residence and
payment of tax may be deviated from in accordance with the provisions laid down
in the EC Regulation on Social
Security and in social security agreements
entered into with other countries.
Child
allowances
158. There are different forms of child allowances paid
out to certain groups of children under 18: ordinary, extra and special
child
allowances, multiple birth allowance and adoption
allowance.
159. With effect from 24 December 1993, child
allowances can be paid out to the spouse of a prisoner, and at his or her
release, the
local authority has to assess whether any maintenance debt incurred
during the prison period is to be remitted.
160. Compared with the
information in Denmark’s first report, the amount of the allowances has
been adjusted. The annual allowances
as of 1 January 1998 amount
to:
Ordinary child allowance DKr 4 644
Extra child
allowance DKr 3 548
Special child allowance DKr 17
820
(highest rate)
Special child allowance DKr 8
994
Multiple birth allowance DKr 5 740
161. The adoption
allowance is a lump sum payment of DKr 33,087.
General family
allowance
162. This allowance is paid out for all children under
18.
163. With effect from 18 March 1994, the Act on General
Family Allowance (lov om en børnefamilieydelse) was amended to
make it possible to pay out the general family allowance to the spouse of a
prisoner, etc. With effect from 1 January
1995, the allowance was
increased separately for children from 0 to 2 years old. The
annual amounts of the general family allowance
as from 1 January 1998
are:
02 DKr 11 000
36 DKr 10 000
717 DKr 7
800
Compensation for parents with seriously ill
children
164. Pursuant to section 19 a of the Act on Benefits at
Sickness or Birth (lov om dagpenge ved sygdom eller barsel), parents of
seriously ill children less than 14 years old qualify for financial compensation
if they give up their work in full
or in part to be together with their child in
connection with the child’s illness. It is a condition that the illness
be deemed
to entail a need for hospitalization or the like for 25 days or
more. However, the requirement of 25 days does not apply to single
parents.
Extra expenses for maintenance of disabled children at
home
165. Pursuant to section 28 of the Social Service Act,
persons who provide for a physically or mentally disabled child under 18 at
home qualify for a grant to cover the expenses incurred as a consequence of the
handicap, i.e. the requisite extra expenses beyond
the expenses that the family
would have had if the child were not disabled. Furthermore, pursuant to
section 29 of the Social Service
Act, such persons are entitled to a
supplement to cover lost pay in cases where it is a necessary consequence of the
handicap that
the child be cared for at home and it is most expedient that the
mother or the father care for it.
166. The object of the provision is,
through the benefits, to assist the child or the young person in remaining at
home and to assist
the family in living as normally as possible despite the
disablement and thus avoid placement away from home.
Supplementary
allowances
167. As from 1 January 1994, the local
authorities have been able to choose to give a supplementary allowance of a
maximum of DKr
35,000 annually to parents receiving parental leave
benefits. The scheme was to be reviewed after two years and was then made
permanent.
Article 19 Protection of the child
168. An amendment in 1997 of the Act on Custody
and the Right of Access abolished the socalled right of chastisement. The
amendment
lays down, inter alia, that a child must not be exposed to
corporal punishment or other degrading treatment.
Article 21 Adoption
169. In 1997, Denmark ratified the Hague
Convention on Protection of Children and on Cooperation in Respect of
Intercountry Adoption
of 1993.
170. The ratification necessitated
amendments to the Adoption Act (adoptionsloven), among others. The
amendment was effected in the spring of 1997.
171. One of the amendments
of the Adoption Act was to ensure that the child is involved even more than
previously in the examination
of an adoption case. Adoption of a child having
passed its twelfth birthday should now only be granted if the child consents to
it. It is further a condition that an interview has been conducted with the
child on the adoption and its implications before gives
its consent. If the
child or its parents have received payment to grant consent, adoption will be
refused.
172. If the child is under 12 years of age, information on its
views on the intended adoption must be available to the extent allowed
by the
maturity of the child and the circumstances of the case. The decision should
consider the child’s views to the greatest
extent
possible.
173. Towards the end of 1997, the Danish Government introduced
a further bill to amend the Adoption Act. This bill contained a number
of
proposals for reforms in the adoption field. The bill lapsed because the general
election to the Folketing was called in the spring of 1998; it is
expected to be reintroduced during the autumn of 1998.
174. One of the
provisions concerns involvement of the child in a decision to terminate adoptive
relationships. Pursuant to the bill,
such termination must not be possible
without the child’s consent if the child is 12 years old or more.
Furthermore, according
to the bill an interview must be conducted with the child
on the termination and its implications before the child gives its
consent.
175. If the child is under 12 years of age, information on its
views on the intended termination of the adoptive relationship must
be available
to the extent allowed by the maturity of the child and the circumstances of the
case. The decision should consider
the child’s views on the intended
termination of the adoptive relationship to the greatest extent
possible.
Article 24 Standard of health of the child
Alcohol
176. Although the
aggregate alcohol consumption in Denmark has been stagnant in recent years,
consumption among the very young has
been increasing. Therefore, an enhanced
preventive effort is needed towards young people.
177. On
1 July 1998, an act entered into force prohibiting the sale of alcohol
to children below the age of 15 from shops. In extension
of the introduction of
this age limit, all primary schools, continuing schools, secondary schools,
youth schools and vocational schools
will be encouraged by the Government to
introduce an alcohol policy in the individual
institutions.
178. Moreover, a followup informative campaign is planned
for children, young people and their parents.
Eating
disorders
179. In recent years more and more attention has been
focused on eating disorders of greater or lesser severity, especially in young
girls. A study carried out by the Danish Institute of Clinical Epidemiology
(Dansk Institut for Klinisk Epidemiologi) shows that almost one third of
young women between 14 and 24 years have an eating conduct giving rise to a risk
of developing anorexia
or bulimia. Only 23 per cent of young men at the same
age have a problematic relationship to food and weight. Girls developing
a
serious degree of eating disorder also have a greater risk of becoming suicidal
and prone to other selfdestructive behaviour.
Furthermore, a large weight loss
also entails a risk of permanent physical damage.
180. Because of this
apparently increasing problem, the Danish Government is going to initiate an
attitudinal, informative campaign
on eating disorders and the risk incurred by
large weight losses. The informative campaign is to be implemented together
with parents,
friends, teachers and others with close contact with young people.
The informative campaign will aim at prevention in several phases
from
strengthening of selfconfidence and body consciousness early in childhood to
information aimed at young people whose behaviour
shows that they are at
risk.
Suicide
181. The prevention of suicide is a high-ranking
subject for the Danish Government, and the National Board of Health has set up a
committee to prepare a proposal for an action plan to prevent suicides and
attempted suicides in Denmark. The target group of the
committee is all age
groups, including children and young people, and the committee is expected to
publish its proposal in the summer
of 1998.
Observations on
Greenland
182. To prevent suicides among children and young people in
East Greenland, the local authority of Tasiilaq has initiated courses
for
specialists and relatives in aid and support during crises.
HIV and AIDS
183. The National Board of Health has prepared
informative material on HIV-infected children and children suffering from AIDS
for
institutional staff, school staff and parents. The material deals with a
number of different aspects concerning the lives of HIV-infected
children and
their relatives, and therefore the subjects are of a medical, legal,
psychological and social nature.
Health conditions for refugee and immigrant children
184. All asylum-seekers - including minors - are
given medical assistance for acute conditions without the provision of a
financial
guarantee, while the Danish Immigration Service generally provides
security for other health treatment. The same health treatment
is given to
refugee and immigrant children as to Danish children. However, asylum-seeker
children are considered children with a
special need, which means that in
addition to the usual prophylactic health examinations and vaccinations, they
are called in for
an annual medical check-up, etc.
Article 25 - Review of decisions on placement
Observations on Greenland
185. As mentioned under
article 12, the Landsting Regulation for Children and Young People was
amended in 1993 to ensure observance of the Convention. Section 34 (3) of
the Regulation
now lays down, as far as placement of children is concerned, that
cases of placement with a foster family arranged by the local authority
must be
reviewed at least once a year.
Articles 26 and 27 - Social security and the right to a reasonable
Special support for children and young people
186. The most important new rules in the Social
Service Act in the field of special measures for children and young people are
those
emphasizing preventive work.
187. An objects clause has been
introduced in section 32 of the Act. It appears from this that the object
of granting support to
the children and young people who have a special need
therefor is to create the best possible conditions of upbringing for these
children and young people so that - despite their individual difficulties -
they can obtain the same conditions of personal activity,
development and health
as their peers.
188. the support must be given as early and as coherently
as possible so that, to the extent possible, incipient problems with the
child
or the young person can be remedied in the environment of the supported person.
In each case, the support must be designed
on the basis of a specific assessment
of the situation of the individual child or young person and the family. The
views of the
child or the young person must always be included and suitably
emphasized in accordance with age and maturity.
189. As far as possible,
the difficulties of the child or the young person must be solved together with
the family and with its participation.
Where this is not possible, the
background, purpose and content of the measure must be made clear to the holder
of custody and the
child or the young person.
190. If it must be assumed
that a child or a young person needs special support, the local authority must
cause an examination of
the situation of the child or the young person to be
made. As part of this examination the Social Service Act specifies that the
local authority must involve the specialists who already have knowledge of the
situation of the child or the young person and the
family. This may be done by
involving visiting nurses, pre-school teachers, youth educators, psychologists,
teachers or others.
191. Before a decision is made to place a child or a
young person away from home, the local authority has to prepare a plan for the
stay away from home of the child or the young person. The rules on the
preparation of plans specify that the plan has to state what
forms of support
are to be initiated for the family independently while the child or the young
person stays away from home and after
the return of the child.
192. The
Social Service Act has specified that, before the child or the young person
returns home, the above plan must be revised
together with the holder of custody
and the child or the young person to determine the support to be offered to the
family in connection
with and after the return. Correspondingly, the plan must
be reviewed when a placement terminates because the young person turns
18. This
must be done to determine what form of support and guidance is to be given to
the young person concerning housing, education
and training, work and personal
counselling.
The Government action plan for initiatives on behalf of
the most vulnerable children and young people
193. In 1994, the
Ministerial Committee on Children issued an action plan for an enhanced effort
towards the most vulnerable children
and young people based on,
inter alia, the exploratory work published in the publication
“Children at risk - who are they, and what do we do?”
(Risikobørn - hvem er de, og hvad gør
vi?).
194. During the past four years, a number of ministries have
worked on a follow-up to the initiatives of the action plan. This has
been done
through new legislation, guidelines, catalogues of ideas, other motivational
material and initiation of local development
projects, etc. All initiatives
have had the aim of supporting and promoting strengthened and enhanced efforts
towards the most vulnerable
children, young people and families with
children.
Follow-up on the action plan
195. New
legislation has been implemented as a direct follow-up on the action plan,
partly in the form of the new club rules in the
Social Assistance Act which came
into effect on 1 July 1995 and continued unchanged in the Social
Service Act at the abolition of
the Social Assistance Act on 1 July 1998, partly
in the form of new legislation on health schemes for children which entered into
force on 1 January 1996. The new provisions are now being incorporated in local
authority work with children and young people.
In support of this, guidelines
for both new acts have been published. Furthermore, a number of central funds
have been earmarked
for support to specific local development projects aimed at
the most vulnerable children, young people and families with
children.
Methodological development as part of a strengthening of
cross-disciplinary cooperation
and early efforts
196. The
action plan sets the scene for a number of specific methodological development
projects, the purposes of which are to develop
cross-disciplinary and
cross-sectoral cooperation in each local authority, for example by establishing
inter-professional teams;
to establish open, anonymous counselling centres and
contact places; to establish special day-care services; and to develop new forms
of club schemes for older children and young people, etc.
197. To
implement the methodological development projects in local and county
authorities, a pool of funds was appropriated in the
Finance Act for 1995
and the following years of DKr 15 million for a special effort towards
the most vulnerable children and young
people.
198. In 1995, 1996 and
1997, DKr 5 million were appropriated for a fund for the development of
local club services specially aimed
at the exposed and most vulnerable groups of
older children and young people. The purpose of the fund is to develop forms of
club
services and other socio-educational leisure-time services that can improve
the possibilities for action of local authorities in
favour of the groups of
children and young people that have such major problems of a social, mental or
physical nature that they
are not directly capable of utilizing the existing
services.
199. To further strengthen the efforts on behalf of the most
vulnerable children, young people and families with children, the Finance
Acts
for 1996-1998 appropriated DKr 10 million each year for a special project,
“Drop helplessness - establish contact”
(Drop afmagten - skab
kontakten). The funds are to be used for methodological development
projects the target group of which is the absolutely most vulnerable group
of
young people. The goal is to develop working methods for establishing and
maintaining contact with young people who have such
overwhelming social
difficulties that they risk dropping completely out of the general social
community. Targeted methodological
development projects were initiated in five
local authorities during the spring of 1996. Moreover, it is possible that a
small number
of local authorities may obtain support for projects within the
purpose of the fund.
200. Finally, the Finance Act appropriated a fund
totalling DKr 175 million over the years 1996-1999. The purpose of the
fund is
to support local authority development of services for families with
children living through a crisis, including counselling and
treatment.
201. The target group is families in a “grey zone”
where they do not yet have such massive difficulties that they are
comprised by
the local authority obligation to initiate remedial measures proper, but who
nevertheless need a targeted effort to
overcome their
difficulties.
202. These pools of funds have granted support to,
inter alia, a number of projects aiming to strengthen efforts
towards children, young people and families from ethnic minorities to improve
the integration of immigrant children and young people into Danish
society.
Permanent contact person
203. In cases where a
child or a young person has a special need for support which their family is not
capable of giving the local
authority must appoint a permanent contact person
for the child or young person. The permanent contact person is to act partly as
the adult whom the young person can always approach when help is needed, partly
as the adult who always can and must intervene when
the young person displays
unacceptable behaviour.
Open pre-school services for all
children
204. A pool of funds for families with children totalling
DKr 300 million and distributed to the local authorities was appropriated
for the fiscal years 1994 and 1995. The Government encouraged the local
authorities to use the family pool to establish new, open
educational services
for pre-school children without a need for care proper. The target group of the
open educational services is
children aged 1 to 5 whose parents care for the
child themselves permanently or for a period, while still wanting the child to
have
the opportunity to associate with other children in facilities outside the
home.
205. Within the quality development programme of the Ministry of
Social Affairs, open educational services for pre-school children
is one of the
high-priority areas for which local authorities can apply for financial
support.
Observations on Greenland
206. Tasiilaq local authority in East Greenland
has initiated a special effort towards children and young people. In that
connection,
they have established an “at home” corps of three
educators who are to function as support persons for vulnerable families.
Furthermore, support has been granted for a community room for children and
young people.
Article 29 - Education
General observations
207. According to the
objects clause of the Education (Folkeskole) Act, primary school has to
familiarize pupils with Danish culture and contribute to their understanding of
other cultures and of
human interaction with nature. The school must further
prepare the pupils for codetermination, coresponsibility, rights and duties
in a
society of freedom and representative government. Therefore, according to the
objects clause, the instruction given by the
school and its entire daily life
must build on intellectual liberty, equal worth and
democracy.
208. According to the view of the Danish Government, this
wording accords well with the teaching objectives of the Convention. In
addition to this general object, which necessitates inclusion of human rights in
the instruction given, the Ministry of Education
has set up express requirements
of instruction in human rights as part of a number of subjects. In the opinion
of the Danish Government,
it will not be expedient for the central authority to
lay down requirements to the effect that instruction, especially about the
Convention, is to be included in the curricula of the schools. This is due to
the fact that in Denmark, the central authority traditionally
only stipulates
the object of the instruction given in the individual subjects and compulsory
themes, as well as central areas of
knowledge and skills, whereas there is no
tradition of laying down detailed rules on the contents of schools’
curricula.
209. The Ministerial Order relating to the new teacher
training course, which started in August 1998, does, however, have a
provision
declaring that human rights and the rights of the child are parts of
the central areas of knowledge and skills in the compulsory
subject of
educational theory and practice.
Aliens and education
210. An amendment of the Education
(Folkeskole) Act in 1997 allowed local authorities to establish special
pre-school services to be offered to bilingual children who had not yet
started
school. The purpose of the special pre-school services was to ensure that the
bilingual children had sufficient knowledge
of the Danish language when they
started school.
211. As part of the Government’s efforts to
strengthen the integration of children of refugees and immigrants, an amendment
in June 1998 made it compulsory for local authorities to establish such
pre-school services. The amendment means that the local
authorities have to
establish special language-stimulating services with 15 weekly lessons for
bilingual children not enrolled in
a day-care institution. If the children are
enrolled in a day-care institution, special support must be offered if it is
deemed
that the linguistic development of the children cannot sufficiently be
promoted within the educational possibilities of the institution
itself. The
offer of language-stimulating activities must be given when the child is about
four years old. The Government has appropriated
DKr 66.4 million over four
years for implementation of the new language-stimulating services. The
individual local authorities decide
themselves how to organize the services.
The services include mainly playing and other activities suited to stimulate the
linguistic
development of children.
Asylum-seeking children and education
212. To ensure that Denmark fully lives up to
the requirement of article 28 (1) (a) of the Convention, the
Aliens Act has been amended
so that it now appears from the Act that all
children whose application for a residence permit pursuant to section 7 of the
Aliens
Act (asylum) is being examined must receive specially planned
instruction.
213. The Finance Act of 1997 appropriated resources so that
the Danish Red Cross can offer minor asylum-seekers equal but adapted
instruction respecting the special situation of these children.
214. With
effect from the school year 1997/98, the Danish Red Cross has made improvements
to the instruction given in accordance with
recommendations made in a 1996
report on the teaching of asylum-seeking children (report No. 1322/96).
Accordingly, all asylum-seeking
children aged 7 to 16 years must receive
instruction. In practice, asylum-seeking children whose applications for asylum
have been
finally refused take part in the instruction on an equal footing with
other children. The instruction is divided by age, and all
subjects from the
Danish primary school are taught. The total number of lessons is 20-28 a week.
Altogether, asylum-seeking children
receive instruction corresponding to the
instruction given to bilingual children in primary school. furthermore, both
the educational
work and the post-qualifying education of teachers have been
strengthened, resulting in a higher quality of instruction.
215. The
expansion and differentiation of the instruction given to minor asylum-seekers
have led to the establishment of more new
classes, necessitating alteration and
extension of existing schools and the establishment of new schools. To the
extent possible,
the schools are provided with the same facilities as ordinary
primary schools. Where possible, central schools have been established,
providing the advantage that the pupils have an opportunity to meet more
children of their own age. For pupils in accommodation
centres not located near
a central school, a possibility of instruction at smaller schools at or close to
the centre has been established.
In the cases where instruction is given in the
accommodation centre, the classrooms have been separated from the rest of the
centre
to make schooldays as everyday-like as possible.
Article 31 - Leisure-time and cultural interests
Children of Culture
216. It was mentioned
in Denmark’s first report that a committee had been set up under the
Ministry of Culture entrusted with
the task of advising the Ministry on issues
concerning children and culture. This advisory committee was made permanent in
1994
with amended terms of reference under the name “Children of
Culture” (Kulturens Børn).
217. The tasks of the
Children of Culture committee are to advise and assist the Ministry of Culture
on issues relating to children,
young people and culture. The committee is to
monitor developments in the field and to communicate information and experiences
to
relevant groups and institutions. It must support and stimulate the work
with children’s and youth culture across the country
and inspire novel
thinking and development at central and local levels. Furthermore, the
committee is to start initiatives and projects
within fields requiring a special
effort and finally, in cooperation with the other advisory bodies and
institutions, it is to perform
the tasks given to it by the Minister and the
Ministry.
218. In recent years, the Children of Culture committee has
concentrated on the following five thematic areas:
− Initiatives within professional children’s culture;
− Initiatives within local and county authority work with children and culture;
− Initiatives within research and information on children and culture;
− Initiatives on children and culture in cooperation with the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Children;
− Initiatives within international and Nordic cultural cooperation.
219. Through Children of Culture, the Ministry
of Culture currently has contact with a number of associations, interest groups,
cultural
institutions and professional organizations, including in the context
of voluntary association work. This contact is maintained
partly in the form of
annual contact meetings, partly in the form of working meetings, seminars, etc.
focusing on special themes.
Coordination of work in the cultural field
220. For a number of years, the Ministry of
Culture has cooperated closely with counties and local authorities nationwide to
inspire
novel thinking and develop forms and methods of work capable of ensuring
that children and young people have access to cultural life
in a broad sense.
This cooperation with local and county authorities has consisted of the
establishment of a network of more than
20 local authorities and 3 counties,
regular contact meetings with local authorities across the country, and the
publishing of various
publications on current themes in municipal
work.
221. One example of such an initiative is a pilot scheme supporting
the efforts of local authorities in the fields of art and culture
in
children’s and youth institutions, which gave rise to considerable
national interest. More than 85 local authorities applied
to participate in the
pilot scheme, and 20 local authorities were selected. In the long term, the
intention is to anchor this work
both in local authority budgets and in the
daily lives of the institutions, from nursery schools, primary schools and
school-based
leisure-time care schemes to leisure-time and youth
clubs.
222. In recent years, county and local authorities have shown
increasing interest in making an effort in the field of children and
culture,
and in the regional cultural experiments several of the participants have wanted
to give priority to this special field.
Article 32 - Economic exploitation of children, including child labour
Labour Ministry action plan “A clean working environment by the year 2005”
223. By adopting an
action plan for the working environment field in 1996, the Danish Government put
a focus on the labour of children
and young people. The action plan sets out
the overall goals in terms of prevention for the working environment in Denmark
until
the year 2005. The action plan consists of seven concepts based,
inter alia, on the registration by the Danish Working Environment
Service (Arbejdstilsynet) of influences on the working environment
conditions of health in various sectors. One of the concepts of the action plan
concerns
preventing children and young people from being injured at work. The
work of children and young people is thus a higher-priority
area within the
Danish working environmental effort. The action plan manifests itself in a
number of efforts in relation to the
work of children and young people during
these years.
Amendments of the Working Environment Act as concerns the
work of children and young people
224. National regulation of
the work of children and young people is based on a 1994 directive of the
European Union on the protection
of young people in the workplace. This
directive was implemented in Danish law by amendment of the Working Environment
Act (arbejdsmiljøloven) in 1996. In addition, Denmark has
ratified ILO Convention No. 138 on minimum age for access to
employment.
225. Accordingly, children under the age of 13 cannot
lawfully take on work except for performances in cultural contexts. This may
be
participation in plays or commercials. Employment requires permission from the
local police, who must determine whether the performance
in question is
appropriate.
226. Children between 13 and 15 years of age may only accept
employment within a small number of defined leisure-time jobs not involving
any
form of strain. Nor are they allowed to work with machines. For young people
between the ages of 13 and 15 or obliged to receive
instruction, daily working
hours must not exceed two hours on schooldays and seven hours on non-schooldays.
The total weekly working
time is not allowed to exceed 12 hours in weeks
containing schooldays.
227. The point of departure is thus that children
have to be 15 years old and to have fulfilled their statutory duty to receive
instruction
to be able to take on work. The duty to receive instruction in
Denmark is satisfied by nine years of school. The work that young
people can
take on is limited. Thus, young people are not allowed to work with dangerous
machines, dangerous substances or materials
or in other ways be exposed to major
strain until they have attained the age of 18.
228. The Danish
Government thus endeavours to ensure that as a main rule children and young
people have completed their statutory
education before they take on paid
work.
229. As part of ensuring that children below the age of 13 do not
work, the regional customs and tax authorities have been ordered
to inform the
Danish Working Environment Service if applications for a tax deduction card for
children below the age of 13 are lodged,
and unlawful labour is
suspected.
230. As part of the control by the Danish Working Environment
Service to ensure that the rules on child labour are observed, a campaign
against child labour was undertaken during the summer holiday of 1997. A
total of almost 2,000 enterprises were visited during one
week. These were
mainly shops, restaurants, newsagents, ice cream bars and other places employing
young people during the summer
period.
231. The general conclusion was
that the rules were observed in 90 per cent of the places visited. In
a few cases, the Danish Working
Environment Service saw children under 13 at
work.
Funds for working environment experiments at educational institutions
232. A DKr 3.2 million fund has been
established for experiments with the working environment at educational
institutions during the
period 1996-2001. The fund is part of the practical
implementation of a report on the safety and health of pupils and students
prepared
by an inter-ministerial working group. the fund is used for:
− Experiments involving pupils and students in connection with the safety work of schools and educational institutions;
− Devising experiments, with the active involvement of pupils and students, concerning the safety and health situation at schools and educational institutions;
− Experiments concerning instruction and teaching materials on health and safety issues, particularly in relation to future teachers.
Statistics on reported occupational injuries and diseases among children and young people
Table 2
Reported injuries among children and young people under 18
years of age
|
||||||
0-9 years
|
10-12 years
|
13-14 years
|
15 years
|
16-17 years
|
Total
|
|
1984
|
6
|
8
|
27
|
95
|
1 252
|
1 388
|
1985
|
4
|
7
|
38
|
129
|
1 279
|
1 457
|
1986
|
7
|
11
|
51
|
145
|
1 268
|
1 482
|
1987
|
2
|
17
|
54
|
135
|
1 241
|
1 449
|
1988
|
5
|
9
|
49
|
125
|
1 198
|
1 386
|
1989
|
2
|
17
|
40
|
85
|
986
|
1 130
|
1990
|
2
|
11
|
27
|
97
|
761
|
898
|
1991
|
4
|
7
|
21
|
63
|
650
|
745
|
1992
|
5
|
11
|
23
|
50
|
611
|
700
|
1993
|
5
|
7
|
24
|
58
|
498
|
592
|
1994
|
1
|
14
|
34
|
87
|
548
|
684
|
1995
|
2
|
9
|
51
|
74
|
556
|
692
|
Total
|
45
|
128
|
439
|
1 143
|
10 848
|
12 603
|
233. A look at the development in the number of reported injuries of
children and young people under the age of 18, as shown in table
2, shows a
marked drop as from 1989. One of the explanations for this may be a drop in
employment. It may also be seen as a consequence
of the 1989 Order of the
Ministry of Labour containing provisions in connection with work involving
danger for the safety, health
or development of children and young
people.
Table 3
Reported occupational diseases among 10- to
17-year-olds
|
|||||
10-12 years
|
13-14 years
|
15 years
|
16-17 years
|
Total
|
|
1984
|
|
|
2
|
65
|
67
|
1985
|
|
4
|
4
|
67
|
75
|
1986
|
|
3
|
14
|
138
|
155
|
1987
|
|
4
|
13
|
120
|
137
|
1988
|
1
|
4
|
7
|
117
|
129
|
1989
|
|
4
|
8
|
105
|
117
|
1990
|
|
5
|
11
|
82
|
98
|
1991
|
|
6
|
7
|
73
|
86
|
1992
|
|
1
|
9
|
71
|
81
|
1993
|
|
1
|
6
|
56
|
63
|
1994
|
|
|
4
|
47
|
51
|
1995
|
|
2
|
4
|
36
|
42
|
Total
|
1
|
34
|
89
|
977
|
1 101
|
234. It appears from table 3 that reports of occupational diseases have
dropped as from 1989 just as for occupational injuries.
Article 34 - Sexual exploitation and abuse
Child pornography
235. Pursuant
to section 235 (1) of the Danish Criminal Code, a person who commercially sells
or otherwise disseminates, or who, with
such an intention, produces or procures
obscene photographs, films or similar objects of children commits an offence.
The offender
is liable to a fine, lenient imprisonment or ordinary imprisonment
for a term not exceeding six months.
236. An amendment in 1994 inserted a
subsection (2) into section 235 of the Criminal Code. Pursuant to
subsection (2), possession
of photographs, films or similar objects of children
having intercourse or sexual relations other than intercourse is punishable
with
a fine. A person in possession of photographs, films or similar objects of
children having sexual relations with animals or
using objects in a highly
obscene manner is liable to the same punishment.
237. The purpose of
criminalizing the possession of gross child pornographic material is to increase
the protection of children against
sexual abuse. The prohibition marks a clear
rejection of sexual abuse of children while contributing to protecting
children’s
rights. In addition, a prohibition against possession may
result in a certain limitation of the demand for child pornographic material
and
associated sexual outrages against children.
238. As a follow-up to the
amendment of 1994 and to increase efforts against child pornography and initiate
steps to increase coordination
for the purpose of making the existing efforts
against child pornography more efficient, the National Commissioner of Police in
May
1995 established a national data collection. The data collection
contains the experiences of the individual police districts with
and collected
data on child pornography, and information received from foreign collaborators.
In the autumn of 1997, the Ministry
of Justice appointed a Committee on Economic
Crime and Computer Crime. The tasks of the Committee include an assessment of
the forms
of crime made possible by the information society. In this
connection, the Committee will assess the need for a revision of section
235 of
the Criminal Code, also in the light of the increasing spread of the
Internet.
239. Because of the hidden and organized nature of the crime
and its international scope, the police can reap great benefits from
the
national data collection. This applies especially to the questions of where and
how recruitment of children take place, what
places and methods of production
are used, how smuggling and distribution take place, and what organizations are
presumed to be behind
child pornography.
240. The establishment of a data
register for registration of child pornography is being considered at the
moment. If established,
a supplementary register of this nature can provide
better possibilities of analysis and search, and the possibilities of central
coordination of the fight against child pornography would thus be further
improved.
241. Also, the Serious Crime Squad of the National Commissioner
of Police has established an IT support unit that can assist the
police
districts in investigating cases on child pornography,
etc.
242. Based on statements from all the district public prosecutors in
Denmark, the Director of Public Prosecutions has stated that
at present legal
practice in the form of judicial and extrajudicial decisions concerning cases of
violation of section 235 of the
Criminal Code on child pornography is
limited. At present, a small number of cases are pending, including cases
involving the use
of the Internet.
Child prostitution
243. As part of the efforts against sexual
abuse of minors, the introduction of a bill to amend the Criminal Code is being
considered
whereby it will be an offence to be the client of a (female or male)
minor who earns his or her living in full or in part by prostitution.
Article 37 - Children deprived of their liberty
Young people deprived of their liberty within the criminal justice system
244. In connection
with Denmark’s ratification of the Convention in 1991, amended rules
on placement of juvenile detainees were
introduced, in particular so that the
association of young offenders with others became subject to increased control
by the establishment
of special units for juvenile detainees in Blegdamsvejen
Prison and Søbysøgård State Prison.
245. During the
period January 1994 to August 1996, the special units accommodated on average
two to four young offenders. Experience
showed that the scheme of special
juvenile units was associated with great inconvenience for the young offenders,
manifested in particular
by the fact that they felt isolated both in relation to
the other inmates and in relation to family and relatives. Because of the
distance from their home regions, the young offenders often found it difficult
to obtain leave, and visiting was also difficult.
Moreover, the young offenders
felt encouraged to arrange their daily lives in accordance with a special youth
culture, expressing
itself, inter alia, in a lack of understanding
of the benefits of cleaning, clearing-up and general hygiene, and of the
usefulness of maintaining their
surroundings intact. From other institutional
stays, the young people were used to having much support from educators and
therapists,
whereas in prison they had to administer their affairs
themselves.
246. Against that background, it has been decided to change
the placement scheme for the 15 to 17-year-olds and abolish the
special
juvenile units in Blegdamsvejen Prison and
Søbysøgård State Prison.
247. Consequently, to the
extent possible, the 15- to 17-year-olds will be remanded in “surrogate
custody”, in the secured
social institutions; those who cannot be placed
in surrogate custody are placed in the first instance in a local prison which,
in
view of the desirability of maintaining contact with family, etc., should be
near the place of residence, to the extent possible.
However, a specific
assessment based on the information available on, inter alia, the
current occupancy composition of the prison, must decide whether placement must
be in another local prison instead.
248. In the individual local prison,
the 15- to 17-year-olds are placed, following a specific assessment, in the unit
best able to
meet the consideration of protecting the young offender against
unfortunate influence from co-inmates. If there are more inmates
below the age
of 18 in the local prison, a specific assessment will decide whether it is
desirable to place them in the
same unit, and whether association between
them is desirable in general.
249. In all cases where young offenders
below the age of 18 have been sentenced to unconditional imprisonment, an
assessment must
show whether there is a basis for placing the young offenders in
a treatment institution or the like pursuant to section 49 (2) of
the
Criminal Code. For a detailed discussion, please see paragraphs 254261 on
administrative deprivation of the liberty of children
and young
people.
250. Those 15to17year olds who are to serve in an open prison are
basically placed according to a geographical principle of proximity
so that they
can maintain their contact with family and can conclude their term in prison via
educational institutions, social institutions,
etc. close to their place of
residence.
251. However, deviations from the principle of proximity may
occur if it is deemed well founded based on a specific assessment of
the
inmate’s situation and the nature and current occupancy composition of the
institution in question. The considerations
should include the possibilities of
placing the young offender in special units, such as drugfree units or units for
inmates requiring
special care.
252. Those 15to17year olds who are to
serve in a closed prison are still placed in Ringe State Prison, which is
intended for young
criminal males up to 23 years of age as well as women
(no age limit), as the experience in this respect has been good. This prison
can offer specially targeted therapy for young offenders.
253. In
connection with custody on remand and imprisonment, young offenders between 15
and 17 years of age are only allowed to associate
with older inmates when
this is in accordance with the best interests of the young people.
Administrative deprivation of the liberty of children and young people
254. It appears from section 108 (1)
of the Social Service Act that children or young people may only be placed in a
secured unit
when the situation makes this absolutely necessary in each case.
The detailed rules on the use of secured units for children and
young people are
laid down in an Order on the Use of Force, etc., in Residential Institutions for
Children and Young People and in
SocioEducational Accommodation for Children and
Young People for more than Four Persons (bekendtgørelse om
magtanvendelse m.v. i døgninstitutioner for børn og unge og i
opholdssteder for børn
og unge for flere end 4 personer) issued by
the Ministry of Social Affairs.
255. It follows from section 4 of
the Order that a place in a secured unit may be used if:
(a) It is
absolutely required to prevent the young person from harming himself or herself
or others, and that it has not reasonably
been possible to avert such danger by
other more lenient measures;
(b) It is absolutely required during an
introductory period of observation in order to provide a basis for further
socioeducational
therapy;
(c) The introductory period of observation has
established that it is absolutely required to initiate a longterm course of
therapy
in a secured unit;
(d) The stay replaces surrogate custody;
or
(e) The stay is part of the serving of a sentence pursuant to
section 49 (2) of the Criminal Code, and the conditions of one of the
above items are satisfied at the same time.
256. In connection with the
adoption by the Folketing of the socalled “AntiViolence
Package” in May 1997 it was decided at the same time to change the use of
places in secured
social institutions and enlarge their number. The Order on
the Use of Force, etc., mentioned in paragraph 254, now allows initiation
of a therapeutic effort proper towards young people in secured units in very
special cases.
257. Longterm therapy can now be initiated both as part of
a therapeutic effort towards young people placed away from home as part
of a
remedial measure, and towards 15 to17year olds serving a prison sentence
pursuant to section 49 (2) of the Criminal Code.
258. Placement
in a secured unit with a view to longterm therapy presupposes that it is
absolutely required that the therapeutic effort
involves retention of the young
person in a secured unit and that it cannot in any manner be initiated outside
of closed facilities.
259. A stay in a secured unit may only last for as
long as the situation makes it absolutely required in the individual case. The
Order on the Use of Force, etc. lays down rules on the duration of stays in a
secured unit, possibilities of exemption and maximum
limits for the aggregate
duration of a stay. The limits of duration depend on whether the young person
is at least 15 years old.
260. The local authority makes the
decision normally on the basis of a recommendation from the secured
unit on cessation of the
child’s or the young person’s
placement in a secured unit in cases where the young person is not placed in
surrogate
custody. If the head of the secured unit does not agree with the
assessment of the local authority that the conditions for continued
placement of
a child or young person in a secured unit are satisfied, including that the
situation still makes it absolutely required
that placement must be in a secured
unit, the county council of the county where the secured unit is located makes
the decision.
261. The Government has appropriated a total grant of DKr
13.75 million for establishing 11 new places in secured
institutions for
longterm courses of therapy for young people in urgent need of
therapy for a pilot period of three years. These places will also
be used for
very hardened young offenders who have to serve prison sentences for violence.
Moreover, a special, secured unit will
be arranged with a higher staff ratio
especially for the use of young people who have so far been rejected from
surrogate custody
in a secured unit because of their behaviour.
Article 39 Physical and mental recovery and resocialization
Video interviewing of children
262. In May 1995, a
working group submitted a report concerning video interviewing of children in
sexual cases. The working group
consisted of representatives from police
districts, the National Commissioner of Police, the superior prosecution
authority and a
paediatric specialist. The report makes a comprehensive
assessment of experiences gained concerning video interviewing of children
in
sexual cases, including interviewing techniques, technical equipment and the
fittingout of interviewing rooms. Moreover, the
report has a number of
recommendations.
263. It is common practice for the police to videotape
interviews of children who have been exposed to sexual
outrages.
264. Videotaping of the interview is done partly to secure the
child’s statement early in the investigation before the child
represses
the experience or is exposed to influence from its surroundings, partly to use
the videotape as evidence during the trial
if the court so permits. This avoids
having to expose the child to testifying in court.
265. The decision to
videotape the interviewing of a child is made by the police. The question of
the lawfulness of this investigative
step can be brought before the court by the
defence counsel or the person charged pursuant to section 746 of the Danish
Administration
of Justice Act (retsplejeloven).
266. A videotape
of the interview of a child can only be used as evidence during the trial if the
court so permits (section 877 (3)
of the Administration of Justice
Act). If showing of the videotape is permitted, the court decides what
importance to attach to
the showing as evidence.
267. During recent years
a practice has developed, according to which the court widely permits the
showing of video interviews of
children in sexual cases when certain conditions
are satisfied. It is thus a condition that the defence counsel has had an
opportunity
to witness the interview typically from an adjoining
room and that the defence counsel also has had an opportunity to put
questions
to the child through the police officer carrying out the
interview.
Article 40 Children and the judicial system
Youth contracts
268. Denmark’s
first report recounted an experiment with youth contracts, according to which
young offenders aged 1517 years
committed themselves, with the consent of
their parents, to participating in certain specified and listed activities, etc.
in exchange
for the prosecution refraining from further proceedings and so that
the offence would not be recorded in the young person’s
criminal record.
These activities might be, for example, the commencement of an educational
course or enrolment in various forms
of leisuretime clubs or
associations.
269. The pilot scheme was implemented in the period
1 September 199131 August 1993. Based on the assessment of
the pilot scheme,
the scheme with a few adjustments has been made
permanent and nationwide with effect from August 1998.
270. The scheme
will include young people aged 15 to 17 years who have not entered a more
permanent pattern of crime but who, according
to legal practice, are facing
conditional discharge or possibly a first suspended sentence. The offenders
will typically have committed
their first, second or third offence of burglary
or other theft, certain offences of malicious damage, or thefts for limited
purposes
of bicycles or cars without at the same time causing specific danger of
injury to persons or damage to objects.
271. A youth contract is
concluded with the police and the social authorities, and the youth contract
scheme ensures coordination
of the reactions of the police and the local
authorities to the young offenders in question. As part of the agreement (the
contract)
with the young offender, the prosecutor will refrain from further
prosecution, and the police will be instructed to take a number
of initiatives
to promote rapid reaction in respect of the young offender.
272. It has
also been decided that conclusion of a youth contract must appear on the young
offender’s private criminal record
for one year in the first case. At
this point the permanent scheme deviates from the experimental scheme where the
offence was not
recorded at all in the criminal register of the young
offender.
273. The solution chosen means that youth contracts are made
attractive to young offenders while an element of crime prevention is
maintained
in relation to registration of crime in the private criminal records.
Enhanced social efforts towards criminal and potentially criminal children and young people
274. In 1997, in connection with adoption of
the “AntiViolence Package” a number of initiatives were taken to
enhance
the efforts on behalf of potentially criminal, older children and young
people, and the efforts are followed up further in 1998.
In the social field,
the efforts comprise a wide range of complementary initiatives, the overall
purpose of which is both to prevent
crime among children and young people and to
stop an incipient criminal career and shift the young people to a better
track.
Strengthened outreach efforts
275. An annual pool
of DKr 40 million for 3½ years from 1997 until and including 2000 has
been appropriated, and local and county
authorities can apply for support from
it for partial coverage of expenses for a strengthened effort towards older
children and young
people exhibiting inappropriate
behaviour.
276. Efforts may include an increased number of streetlevel
staff and a changed approach on the part of leisuretime and youth clubs
that
involves the entire local community in their field of work. Attention can be
focused on increased cooperation between schools,
social authorities and the
police, and the work of voluntary organizations in relation to these children
and young people can be
strengthened.
277. The purpose of strengthening
local efforts is to be able to establish and maintain contact with these young
people at the earliest
time possible and thus create a basis for a constructive
course of development or therapy with the child or the young person individually
and in positive social relationships.
Violence
secretariat
278. To be in charge of the overall implementation and
management of the Government’s efforts against violence, a secretariat
has
been established for a period from 1998 until and including 2000. The
secretariat will report to a Committee of Ministers consisting
of the Ministers
of Justice, Education and Social Affairs.
279. The secretariat is to take
initiatives ranging across both the preventive and the enforcement level in the
efforts against child
and juvenile crime, especially crimes of violence. The
tasks of the secretariat are also to provide consultancy assistance to local
authorities and police districts, to promote cooperation between schools, social
authorities and the police, to communicate constructive
experiences of
controlling violence, and to initiate preventive campaigns and development of
programmes and methods of conflict solution
for children and young
people.
Article 42 Dissemination of knowledge of the Convention
Field of education
280. The Ministry of
Education has taken several specific initiatives for disseminating knowledge of
the Convention. Thus, in 1998,
a world conference about the Convention was held
in Copenhagen. A large number of persons in charge of education and other
interested
parties from the educational sector in Denmark and the rest of the
world, as well as pupils and students, attended the conference.
The result of
the discussions during the conference will be communicated to schools and other
educational institutions.
281. In addition, the Ministry of Education
cooperates with the Danish Centre for Human Rights (Det Danske Center for
Menneskerettigheder) to hold a number of courses for teachers at all levels
on instruction in human rights. The Convention on the Rights of the Child
is a
natural and important part of these courses.
282. In this connection, the
Ministry of Education has supported the publication of a bibliography containing
an exhaustive description
of teaching materials on human rights, including
videos and CD-ROMs. Some of the more recent teaching materials on human rights
are a teacher’s package on children’s rights published in 1997 by
UNICEF Denmark, the books “Children in all countries”
(Børn i alle lande) and “Children’s rights”
(Børns rettigheder) published by the Danish Centre for Human
Rights, as well as the thematic booklet “Children’s rights in
Denmark and the
rest of the world” (Børns rettigheder i Danmark
og i resten af verden) published by the Danish National Innovation Centre
for General Education (Statens Pædagogiske
Forsøgscenter).
The police
283. Police training in Denmark consists of a
threeyear basic training course and some compulsory further education
courses.
284. Concerning the field of the Convention, the basic course
has as its point of departure the provisions of the Criminal Code and
the
Administration of Justice Act that take into consideration protection of
children and young people. Instruction is also given
in a number of areas in
the special legislation where the provisions of the Convention have been
reflected. Examples are the Social
Assistance Act (as from
1 July 1998 the Social Service Act, etc., see para. 120
above), the Act on Protection of the Working Environment
(arbejdsmiljøbeskyttelsesloven), the Act on Guardianship
(værgemålsloven), and the Act on Custody and the Right of
Access.
285. The instruction also includes the binding administrative
regulations from the various ministries and from the Director of Public
Prosecutions, etc. pertaining to said legislation. Instruction in the subject
of psychology includes the issue of the behaviour
of children and young people,
their conditions of upbringing and their patterns of
reaction.
286. During the autumn of 1997, an independent subject called
“International affairs” was introduced in the police training
course
to clarify and strengthen the training concerning international human rights
instruments and matters regulated thereby. In
connection with a review of the
subject of human rights, the conventions of the United Nations and the
Council of Europe for the
protection of human rights are also
taught.
287. The compulsory further education courses deal with the
provisions of the Convention in connection with a review of the relevant
provisions in the Administration of Justice Act and special legislation as well
as binding administrative regulations.
288. A newly established course
for police officers in the fight against computer crime provides instruction
that aims at investigation
of cases of child pornography offered via the
Internet.
289. One of the special courses concerns processing of cases of
sexual outrages against children. The instruction in this special
course is
based on implementing efficient investigation while at the same time performing
the investigation so as to give special
consideration to protection of the child
victim. The instruction thus also thoroughly deals with interviewing techniques
and the
interviewing forms especially associated with this subject.
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