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United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child - States Parties Reports |
UNITED
|
CRC
|
NATIONS
|
Distr.
Convention on
the GENERAL
Rights of the Child
CRC/C/8/Add.41
27 April 2000
ENGLISH
Original : FRENCH
COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE
CHILD
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER
ARTICLE 44 OF THE CONVENTION
Initial reports of States parties due in 1993
CÔTE D'IVOIRE
[22 January 1999]
CONTENTS
Part One
General
considerations
Paragraphs Page
I. LAND AND PEOPLE 1 - 20 4
A. The land 1 - 5 4
B. The people 6 - 11 4
C. Economy 12 - 20 4
II. GENERAL POLITICAL STRUCTURE 21 - 29 6
III. GENERAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE PROTECTION
OF HUMAN RIGHTS 30 -
46 7
A. The Constitution or Basic Law 30 - 31 7
B. Legal remedies 32 - 36 7
Paragraphs Page
C. Rights established by the various international human
rights
instruments 37 - 39 8
D. Human rights instruments and national legislation 40 - 42 8
E. Human rights instruments and national judicial bodies
and/or
administrative authorities 43 - 44 9
F. National bodies 45 - 46 9
IV. INFORMATION AND PUBLICITY............................................ 47 - 67 10
A. Action carried out 47 - 54 10
B. The targets 55 11
C. The channels 56 11
D. Towards an appropriate communication policy 57 - 66 11
E. Government bodies responsible for drafting the report 67 13
Part Two
Implementation of the Convention
I. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION 68 - 76 13
A. Measures taken 70 - 73 14
B. Conformity of domestic laws with the Convention 74 - 76 15
II. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD 77 - 99 15
A. Civil and criminal minority 78 - 83 15
B. Employment 84 - 89 16
C. Consent 90 - 92 17
D. Justice 93 - 97 18
E. Consumption of alcohol and other regulated substances 98 - 99 18
III. LIBERTIES AND CIVIL RIGHTS 100 - 118 19
A. Name and preservation of identity 101 - 104 19
B. Nationality 105 - 107 19
C. Access to information 108 - 109 20
D. Freedom of association and peaceful assembly 110 - 113 20
E. Protection of privacy 114 21
F. Right not be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman
or
degrading treatment or punishment 115 - 118 21
IV. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND SUBSTITUTE PROTECTION 119 - 144 21
A. Parental guidance 120 - 121 21
B. Parents’ responsibility 122 - 123 22
C. Separation from the parents 124 - 128 22
Paragraphs Page
D. Family reunification 129 - 131 23
E. Recovery of children’s maintenance allowance 132 - 133 23
F. Children deprived of their family environment 134 - 135 23
G. Adoption 136 - 137 24
H. Abduction and unlawful failure to return 138 24
I. Brutality and negligence, physical and
psychological
rehabilitation, social resettlement 139 - 144 24
V. HEALTH AND WELFARE 145 - 166 25
A. Survival and development 146 - 147 25
B. Disabled children 148 - 152 26
C. Health and medical services 153 - 162 26
D. Social security and care facilities 163 - 165 28
E. Living standards 166 28
VI EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL
ACTIVITIES 167 - 179 29
A. Education 167 - 175 29
B. Socio-educational, cultural and leisure activities 176 - 179 30
VII. SPECIAL MEASURES FOR THE PROTECTION OF
CHILDREN 180 - 190 31
A. Children in extremely difficult circumstances 182 - 189 31
B. Children in emergency situations 190 33
Brief bibliography 33
Annexes 33
Part One
General
considerations
I. LAND AND PEOPLE
A. The
Land
1. Côte d’Ivoire is situated on the west coast of Africa between
the equator and the tropic of Cancer and has a land area
of 322,463
km2. It is bordered by Ghana to the east, Liberia and Guinea to the
west and Mali and Burkina Faso to the north; the Atlantic Ocean
forms a natural
boundary to the south.
2. The relief of Côte d’Ivoire is
relatively flat. It is characterized in the south by plains that descend in
stages
to the Atlantic Ocean; in the centre and north by tiered plateaux; and in
the west by mountains, the highest of which is Mount Tonkoui
(1,218
m).
3. The climate is influenced by the harmattan, a northerly airstream
characterized by a hot dry wind that blows in December and January,
and by the
monsoon, a mass of humid air coming from the Atlantic Ocean. Côte
d’Ivoire has a very wet sub-equatorial
climate in the south, a mountain
climate in the west and a relatively dry tropical climate in the centre and
north. Mean annual
rainfall varies from 2,300 mm in the south to 900 mm in the
north. This climatic diversity determines the two major types of vegetation:
forest in the south and savannah in the north.
4. There is a fairly
extensive river system. It consists of four major rivers flowing southwards
towards the sea: the Cavally and
Sassandra in the west, the Bandama in the
centre and the Comoé in the east. There is also a very extensive network
of lagoons
in the south.
5. These specific natural features have helped
to create contrasting economic activities. The lagoon area in the south and the
forests
in the west are suitable for cash crops (coffee, cacao, oil palm,
rubber, etc.) and the production of the main food crops (rice,
bananas, etc.).
The savannah zone of the centre and north is more suitable for food crops (yams,
millet, sorghum, rice, etc.), while
the cultivation of cotton has been
introduced more recently.
B. The people
6. According to the most recent estimates of the National Statistics
Institute, the population of Côte d’Ivoire in 1995
was 14,500,000
inhabitants. The population is characterized by its cosmopolitan nature,
youth, drive and uneven distribution.
Between the 12th and 18th centuries large
waves of migrants settled in various parts of the country. Nowadays there are
four major
socio-linguistic groups: the Akan group in the centre, south and
east; the Kru group in the west; and the Mande and Guro groups
in the north.
Côte d'Ivoire always has been and still is subject to migration from
abroad, mainly from the neighbouring countries.
As a result of the way the
territory was divided up in the colonial period, the country still displays
great ethnic diversity (over
60 ethnic groups). French is the official language
of communication.
7. The population is predominantly young. Children
under 15 years of age represent almost half the total population, i.e. 48.2 per
cent in 1993; the under-20s account for 56 per cent. This high proportion of
young people brings with it a heavy demand for education
and health
care.
8. The population is characterized by a high degree of urbanization
(43.6 per cent live in urban areas) and an annual growth rate
of six per cent.
The National Statistics Institute estimated in (February 1994) that the urban
population would exceed the rural
population by 1998: 51.6 per cent as against
48.4 per cent.
9. Population growth is very high (3.8 per cent). This is
accounted for by a number of factors, including the level of inward migration,
the total fertility rate which has remained steady at 6.8 per cent since 1988,
and the significant reduction in the infant morality
rate from 93 deaths per
thousand live births between 1988 and 1993 to 86 per thousand between 1993 and
1998.
10. The geographical distribution reveals the ever-increasing
imbalance between the forest area and the savannah area; although the
latter
covers 52 per cent of the country’s land area, it accounts for only 5.8
per cent of the total population.
11. The citizens of Côte d'Ivoire
are divided between the two major revealed religions: Islam (49 per cent) and
Christianity
(39 per cent). In reality, however, most Ivorians cling to their
traditional beliefs.
C. Economy
12. The economic indicators show that during the first two decades after
Independence
1960-1980) Côte d’Ivoire, which had opted for
economic liberalism, experienced a period of sustained growth, on account
of the
income generated by the sale of the major cash crops (coffee and cacao). In
1980 the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita
was US$ 1240, which put
Côte d’Ivoire in the first rank among the non-oil-producing African
countries.
13. Since 1978, however, the drop in world commodity prices
and substantial unprofitable investments in the semi-public sector have
led to a
proportional drop in external resources and to severe macroeconomic
imbalances.
14. At the end of 1996, the outstanding external debt of
Côte d’Ivoire, including unsecured private debt, amounted to
US$
19,500 million, i.e. 186 per cent of GDP; of this US$ 16,200 million (154 per
cent of GDP) was possible debt. Total external
debt represented 437 per cent of
exports of goods and non-factor services. Public debt represented 359 per cent
of exports of goods
and non-factor services. External public debt at the end of
1996 represented 654 per cent of State revenue.
15. Internal debt was
estimated in 1995 at 1,236,000 million CFA francs, about 25 per cent
of GDP; the arrears of internal payments
accumulated by the State towards the
local private sector amounted to 156,000 million CFA francs. In the past this
situation presented
an obstacle to the creation of new jobs and to the expansion
of internal production.
16. In 1998, however, Côte d’Ivoire
had expectations of benefiting from the initiative for debt relief of the
heavily
indebted countries, which would reduce the debt by about
67-70 per cent. Nevertheless, the prerequisite for eligibility was an
increase
in the share of the social sectors in the State budget. From 1981
onward, adjustment policies were applied in conjunction with the
IMF (enlarged
facility agreement, 1981-1983; structural adjustment loan from the World Bank,
19811983). On a number of occasions
the external debt of Côte
d’Ivoire has been rescheduled, particularly by the Paris Club
(18 December 1987 and March
1998).
17. Despite a high
economic growth rate (6 per cent in 1997), poverty continues to cause
concern. Indeed, gross income per household
fell by 30 per cent
between 1986 and 1991. This leads to a continuous reduction in the living
standard of households in a context
where social expenditure by the State is
undergoing a parallel reduction. The deadline in the standard of living is all
the more
marked because unemployment has increased considerably in recent years
(6.7 per cent), not to mention the underemployment and hidden
unemployment in the informal sector. Under these circumstances it is easy to
understand the difficulty that families are experiencing
in providing long-term
schooling for their children and providing them with proper food and health
care.
18. A Survey on the impact of devaluation on the vulnerable
populations of Abidjan[1] shows
that the devaluation of the CFA franc (on 11 January 1994) had an
enormous influence on the habits and behaviour of households
with regard to
food. It was found that 62 per cent of households in the
10 communes of Abidjan eat three meals a day; 28 per cent
eat
only two; while up to 10 per cent of households only manage to eat one
meal a day. For 38 per cent of households, the devaluation
led to a
change in the number of meals per day; the reasons behind this change are the
rise in the price of foodstuffs (13 per cent)
and the drop in income
(12 per cent).
19. There has been a revision of the household
shopping list for 68 per cent of households, which no longer buy the
same products
as before devaluation. Obviously, the vulnerable household has no
means of maintaining its level of social expenditure; in order
to survive when
faced by a fall in income and an increase in expenditure, it has to make a
choice in favour of food and to the detriment
of health, children’s
education and housing. As regards education, 28.2 per cent of
households spent nothing at all, while
25.2 per cent spent less than
5,000 CFA francs per month. With regard to health,
28.3 per cent of households spent nothing at all
and
28.6 per cent spent less than 5,000 CFA francs per
month.
20. This strategy adopted by households should lead the Government
to revise its social policy by improving its drugs policy and by
facilitating
access to primary health care so as to counter the marked trend to resort to
informal medicine and self-medication.
Similarly, it should promote access to
education and housing in order to assist poor households to improve their living
conditions.
II. GENERAL POLITICAL STRUCTURE
21. The territory of Côte d’Ivoire became a French colony by
a decree of 10 March 1893. The colonial period was marked
by intense
trade union and political activity. The African Agricultural Union was set up
on 3 July 1944 to defend the interests
of African planters. The
Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI) was founded on
9 April 1946, while the African Democratic
Union (RDA) was founded on
18 October 1946. The PDCI later became a subsection of the RDA. In
1958 Côte d’Ivoire became
a republic within the French Community.
It achieved independence on 7 August 1960.
22. From independence
until 1990 Côte d’Ivoire, under its leader
Félix HouphouëtBoigny, Chairman of the PDCI-RDA,
was a
one-party State. However, under popular pressure the President of the Republic
proclaimed a return to multi-party democracy
on 30 April 1990 in
accordance with article 7 of the Constitution of 3 November
1960.
23. Following the elections of October 1990, the new National
Assembly saw the arrival of two opposition parties alongside the PDCI:
the
Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), with nine deputies and the Ivorian Workers’
Party (PIT), with one deputy.
24. The authorities displayed flexibility
in authorizing the creation of parliamentary opposition group. Moreover, on 6
November
1990 the head of State for the first time appointed a Prime Minister,
who is responsible to the President.
25. On 7 December 1993, following
the death of President Félix Houphouët-Boigny, the President of
the National Assembly,
Henri Konan Bédié, assumed the
presidency in accordance with article 11 of the Constitution. He combined
the functions of President of the Republic with the leadership of his party, the
PDCI-RDA. In the 1995 presidential
elections the constitutional successor stood
as his party’s candidate and was elected for the first time by the Ivorian
people.
26. Article 2 of the Constitution stipulates that the Republic of
Côte d’Ivoire is one and indivisible, secular, democratic and
social. The Constitution guarantees the separation of the three powers:
executive, legislature and judiciary. Executive power is in the hands of the
President
of the Republic, who is elected by direct universal suffrage for five
years and may be re-elected; he is the Head of State and appoints
the Prime
Minister who is the head of Government. It should be noted that since 1993
the Government has included a minister from
an opposition party, the Social
Democratic Union (USD).
27. The National Assembly is made up of
representatives of the people who since 1980 have been elected for five
years by direct universal
suffrage. Since the last legislative elections three
parliamentary groups have been represented in the Assembly: the PDCI, the
party
in power (149 seats), the FPI and the Union of Republicans (RDR) (13 seats
apiece).
28. The Constitutional council created by an Act of
16 August 1994 is responsible for electoral matters (presidential and
legislative
elections) and for the verification of constitutionality, which was
previously the prerogative of the Supreme Court. Referral to
the Constitutional
Council for the verification of the constitutionality of laws is the sole
prerogative of the President of the
Republic and the President of the National
Assembly.
29. A National Security Council was set up in 1997. Its
purpose is to combat insecurity.
III. GENERAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE PROTECTION
OF HUMAN
RIGHTS
A. The Constitution or Basic Law
30. The Constitution accords Ivorian citizens the rights and liberties
that they exercise under the supervision of the judicial authority. The
judicial
authority, as the guardian of individual freedom, ensures respect for
fundamental rights under the conditions laid down by law.
31. The
initiative for amnesty laws lies with the President of the Republic conjointly
with the National Assembly; the President has
the right to issue pardons.
Pardon decrees have regularly been issued on the eve of the National Festival.
A number of amnesty
laws were passed on the President’s initiative
in 1985, 1992 and 1994. The last of these, granting amnesty for various
offences
committed by women and persons under 18 years of age, exclusively
concerned these two groups (Act No. 94-499 of 6 September 1994).
B. Legal remedies
32. Any person who believes that his or her rights have been infringed
may apply to the competent courts. The judicial system, which
has traditionally
been based on the principle of two hearings and jurisdictional unity, is
undergoing substantial changes. The effect
of the reforms in progress is to
make the Supreme Court into a third level of jurisdiction. Attention is drawn
to the introduction
of collegial responsibility in the courts of first instance,
which constitutes an additional safeguard for the citizen.
33. The lower
courts and their separate divisions are competent in the first instance in all
civil, commercial and administrative
matters unless otherwise provided by the
law, particularly in the case of annulment proceedings which come within the
jurisdiction
of the Administrative Division of the Supreme Court.
34. Any
person who believes that he or she has been wronged by the decision of the court
of first instance may take the matter to
the Court of Appeal, which decides in
the second instance. A litigant who is dissatisfied with the decisions of the
lower courts
may take the case to the Supreme Court of Côte
d’Ivoire, the highest court which supervises and harmonizes the
application
and interpretation of the law in all cases. It comprises three
divisions: the Judicial Division, the Administrative Division and
the Audit
Division. The Administrative Division has jurisdiction not only in illegality
proceedings but also in proceedings concerning
municipal elections or
administrative bodies.
35. Although legal remedies do exist, their
application is subject to compliance with certain conditions that exclude the
child.
The child must be represented by an adult.
36. The victim of an
injury may claim damages in compensation for the injury he or she has suffered.
However, there are restrictions
in respect of certain laws, such as the code of
the Conference on the Insurance Market (CIMA code) in which the amount is
already
fixed. A compensation system exists for the victims of judicial errors
or for acquitted individuals who receive indemnities and
assistance from the
State.
C. Rights established by the various international human rights instruments
37. Côte d’Ivoire has ratified several international legal
instruments. In the preamble to the 1960 Constitution it proclaims its
adherence to the principle of democracy and human rights embodied in the French
Declaration of the Rights of Man
and Citizen of 1789 and the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.
38. Côte d’Ivoire has
ratified the following international instruments:
– Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of 1984:
– African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights of 1981;
– International covenants of 1966;
– Geneva Convention of 1949;
– Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women of 1979;
– Convention on the Rights of the Child of
1989.
39. Departures from the fundamental rights provided for by the
Constitution relate to the restrictions placed on public freedoms (police
measures, etc.).
D. Human rights instruments and national legislation
40. A number of international instruments protecting human rights are now
used as a source of
national laws. Accordingly, in accordance with articles
28 and 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Ivorian legislative
adopted the Education Act of 7 September 1995 which embraces the objectives of
education contained in the Convention although it does not make primary
education
compulsory. There is a national education and training plan which
encourages parents to send their children to school, especially
girls.
41. The new Labour Code of 12 January 1995 regulates the working
conditions of women and children (chapter 3, articles 23-1 to 23-9)
in
accordance with article 32 of the Convention. Implementing decrees regulate the
fee-charging employment agencies and strengthen
the supervision of the
application of social laws, particularly as regards working conditions,
professional relationships and employment.
42. The Armed Forces Code of
7 September 1995 defines the general status of military personnel,
establishes a minimum age (18 years)
for compulsory national service
(article 82) and prohibits acts contrary to international law governing
armed conflicts.
E. Human rights instruments and national judicial bodies
and/or
administrative authorities
43. In the hierarchy of international standards, the various human rights
instruments take precedence over domestic law as soon as
they are published
(article 56 of the Constitution). These instruments may be invoked before
the courts or administrative authorities. In cases where they are not
specifically referred
to in the legislation, they are still a point of reference
in substantiating the decisions taken. Accordingly, although the African
Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child has not been ratified by
Côte d’Ivoire, it is widely quoted in the National
Action Programme
for the Survival, Protection and Development of the Ivorian Child for the
Year 2000.
44. The principles of non-discrimination and the best
interests of the child underlie the decisions of the civil courts concerning
the
education, custody, maintenance and health care of the child.
F. National bodies
45. The promotion of human rights is undertaken by a number of bodies,
including:
Ivorian League for Human Rights (LIDHO);
Amnesty International (Côte d’Ivoire section);
Study and Research Group on Democracy and Economic and Social Development in Côte d’Ivoire (GERDDES-CI);
Ivorian Democratic Women’s Movement (MIFED);
Ivorian Association for the Protection of Women’s Rights (AIDF);
Association of Women Lawyers of Côte d’Ivoire (AFJCI);
National Association for Assistance to Prisoners (ANAP);
Prisonniers sans Frontière;
Hope Committee;
Association for Assistance to Female Prisoners (AAFD).
46. A number of
bodies specialize in the development and protection of the child. These
include:
International Catholic Child Bureau (ICCB Côte d’Ivoire);
Association of Catholic Scouts of Côte d’Ivoire (ASCCI);
Port-Bouët pilot centre;
Ivorian Committee for the Decade of the African Child (CIDEA);
Children’s Parliament;
ABEL-LVIA Community;
“NAMANS” Association;
Médecins du Monde;
Pan-African Ki-Yi Training Centre;
Youth and Childhood Association of Côte d’Ivoire (AJECI);
National Federation of Associations and Movements for Continuous Education in
Côte d’Ivoire (FENAMEPCI).
IV. INFORMATION AND PUBLICITY
A. Action carried out
47. In accordance with article 42 of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, specific action has been taken to make the Convention
widely known.
Seminars and workshops, conferences, meetings and a variety of cultural and
leisure activities have been organized
to raise the awareness of the
authorities, the public and children themselves concerning the problems of
childhood and to make the
Convention known.
1. Seminars and
workshops
48. The following meetings have taken
place:
(a) “Children in difficulties: what is the best policy for
social integration and reintegration” (Abidjan, 25-26 July
1996): the
objective of this meeting was to review the situation of children in extremely
difficult circumstances in order to propose
solutions to the
Government;
(b) “Publicizing the Convention on the Rights of the
Child” (Abidjan, 1012 March 1997): the objective was to make
the
Convention accessible to social workers and the various partners
concerned;
(c) “Sexual exploitation of children for commercial
purposes” (Abidjan, 78 October 1997); this was a follow-up to
the
World Summit in Stockholm;
(d) “Juvenile courts” (4
February 1994), organized by the Ministry of Justice and Public Freedoms for the
benefit of
magistrates;
(e) “Child employment” (February
1997), organized by the Monitoring Unit for Employment, Trades and
Training.
2. Conferences and forums
49. The following
conferences have been held:
(a) “Knowledge of the international
instruments and provisions for monitoring the Convention on the Rights of the
Child”
(Abidjan, 10 March 1997);
(b) “The situation of
street children” (Attinguié, 5 February
1997);
(c) “The advancement of women and children’s
rights” (AbidjanPlateau, 9 March 1997);
(d) “Legal
protection for children” (Katiola, 31 May
1997);
(e) “Parents and children: let’s listen to each
other” (forum organized by the International Catholic Child Bureau
(ICCB))
in 1997.
3. Information meetings with various sectors of
society
50. The Ministry for Family Affairs and the Advancement of
Women has held several meetings with various partners in order to seek
their
active involvement in the strategy for combating the problem of street children
(leaders of NGOs and religious organizations,
mayors of the 10 communes of
the city of Abidjan, resident representatives of international organizations,
etc.). Other meetings
are planned in various parts of the
country.
4. Contacts with various ministerial
departments
51. These are the ministries involved in the programme to
combat the problem of street children (see Decree No. 97-613 of 16 October
1997 on the creation, organization and operation of the national
multidisciplinary committee to combat the problem of street
children).
5. The "family caravan"
52. This a
close-quarters awareness creation activity which sets out to inform, educate and
warn young people about the perils that
lurk in our society. In 1997,
13,553 young people in 14 high schools and four training and
education institutes for girls (IFEF)
were reached in this way.
6. Day
of the African Child
53. The celebration of this Day gave the
Ministry for Family Affairs and the Advancement of Women an opportunity to
promote “the
registration of births immediately after birth”, a
topic suggested by article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child.
54. The above activities should continue and above all should form
part of a national programme for publicizing the Convention on
the Rights of the
Child.
B. The targets
55. The targets of awareness creation activities are the governmental
authorities, social workers, nongovernmental organizations,
media professionals,
parents and children.
C. The channels
56. Apart from occasional brief events covered by the media (seminars,
workshops, etc.), the Convention on the Rights of the Child
is not the subject
of a genuine campaign aimed at making everyone aware of the need to pay more
attention to the situation of children.
Besides the mass media (television,
radio, press), prominence has been given to person-to-person communication. The
various national
bodies responsible for information, education and communication
(IEC) need to make greater efforts to promote the Convention.
D. Towards an appropriate communication policy
57. It must be recognized that the publicizing of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child among the public is liable to encounter
resistance linked to
certain sensitivities and mentalities. Despite the important place granted to
the child in Africa, the question
of the rights of the child does not receive
the spontaneous support of adults, who perceive it as an imported idea. The
wisest course
would therefore be to deliberately exploit the deep affection for
the child that is found in our cultures, whatever the sociolinguistic
setting.
58. In his book L’enfant dans les traditions
africaines (The child in African traditions) Abdou Touré
writes:
“Throughout Africa and particularly in Côte d’Ivoire the child is regarded as a gift from God, a blessing, indeed a source of happiness, because he enables life on earth to be perpetuated, because he is the incarnation of some ancestor who has returned to be with his own, because he prevents death from gaining a final victory over the human species ... The child is the greatest of blessings.
“A materially rich and politically powerful African will feel
handicapped or frankly unhappy if he has no offspring. The childless
woman is
even more unhappy; she may be repudiated for sterility, a condition that is
invariably attributed to the woman, never to
the man. If the woman, the bearer
of life, remains infertile, then the whole lineage is threatened, to such a
point that some ethnic
groups regard the woman as the greatest of blessings
because she gives birth to the blessing of the human race. In reality, the
child is and remains the supreme blessing, who confers upon the woman (the
mother) all her worth and makes her an object of veneration
throughout black
Africa. A woman without a child is therefore not a woman”.
This is
another form of injustice, an infringement of the rights and dignity of women
which demonstrates the importance on the Convention
of the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women.
59. In drawing up a genuine
communication plan, specific objectives need to be determined at the outset.
First of all, prominence
should be given to the concept of the duties of the
child. This stage could be the subject of an extensive nationwide campaign
lasting
at least six months on such topical and sensitive subjects as respect
for family values, the importance of school, prostitution,
drugs, alcoholism,
dangers in the streets, etc. This first stage, essentially directed at the
younger population, should be evaluated
before moving on to the second stage
which deals with the concept of the rights of the child.
60. Since the
main target of this stage consists of adults, the campaign topics should
highlight the dangers threatening the child,
while at the same time stressing
the duties of parents: education, health care, moral and physical integrity of
the child, etc.
This second activity should also be evaluated after six months.
Awareness creation campaigns should be permanent, and not occasional
as is
currently the case, since the modification of attitudes and behaviours requires
the implementation of bold longterm strategies.
Here the dissemination channels
have a very decisive role to play.
61. Besides the customary media
(radio, television, posters, press), it is essential to make use of other
resources, including school
materials such as textbooks and notebooks, which
have the advantage of ensuring greater exposure of the child target to the
message.
Networks of person-to-person communication are also highly effective;
examples are drama, scouting activities which are very widespread,
panel
discussions and religious education.
62. There is no doubt that a
concerted awareness creation policy on the part of the staff at the Ministry of
Communication and the
Ministry for Family Affairs and the Advancement of Women
who are responsible for promoting Convention would produce a definite impact.
At the same time, the mass media, nongovernmental organizations, local
councillors and local communities should make a firm commitment
to publicize the
Convention, making use of all possible resources: posters in schools and
universities, billboards, mobile awareness
creation units visiting towns and
villages. The national languages and French should be the languages of
communication.
63. Translation into national languages might be
considered in order to facilitate the publicizing of the Convention on the
Rights
of the Child. This would make it possible to reach the maximum number of
people and conduct a positive evaluation.
64. It is essential that the
populations themselves should make the concept of rights of the child thier own,
so that the issue of
origin no longer arises and the communities become
genuinely involved in what they see as their own initiative.
65. The messages
themselves should take into account the social setting and the vocabulary and
comprehension skills of the people
on whom they are directed. The source of the
message is just as important as the channel. People are generally highly
receptive
to statements by people with whom they identify, those who seem close
to them. Depending on the targets, therefore, the principal
message-bearers
should be opinion leaders, prescribers, advisers (politicians, intellectuals,
village chiefs, religious leaders)
or people whose status and role bring them
close to children such as teachers, educators and NGO training staff. The
children themselves
should take part in the various awareness creation
campaigns.
66. Finally, to make the messages more credible it would be
helpful to draw the attention of the various target groups to the existence
of
the national and international texts concerning the rights and duties of the
child.
E. Government bodies responsible for drafting the report
67. For its initial report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child,
Côte d’Ivoire set up a national committee to coordinate
and monitor
the plan of action for drafting the report of Côte d’Ivoire by
Decree No. 96/197 of 7 March 1997. In order
to implement the Convention, the
Committee has the task of coordinating the drafting of the initial report of
Côte d’Ivoire
to the Committee on the Rights of the Child,
together with the periodic reports referred to in article 44 of the Convention.
It
is chaired by the Minister for Family Affairs and the Advancement of Women.
Its secretariat is provided by the Ministries of Foreign
Affairs, Justice and
Public Freedoms, Public Health, Employment, Civil Service and Social Welfare,
and National Education and Basic
Training. In accordance with article 4 of the
Decree of 7 March 1996, the drafting committee comprises all the ministries
concerned
by child issues, parliamentarians, representatives of international
organizations, and associations and non-governmental organizations
concerned
with the survival, development and protection of the child. In addition to the
statutory members, a number of resource
persons took an active part in drafting
this report.
Part Two
Implementation of the Convention
I. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION
68. A large number of obligations arise for the country out of the
ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In
particular they
include:
(a) The obligation to ensure conformity of domestic
legislation with the provisions of the Convention by drafting laws and
regulations
to protect the rights of the child;
(b) The obligation to
conduct activities in all areas concerning the child in order to promote the
survival, protection and development
of the child;
(c) the obligation to
provide the Committee on the Rights of the Child with an initial report and with
periodic reports every five
years.
69. Côte d’Ivoire has
adopted a number of provisions concerning the first two points.
A. Measures taken
70. Côte d’Ivoire took little time to ratify the Convention
since its domestic law on childhood was in harmony with the
majority of the
provisions of the Convention. The relevant domestic instruments
include:
(a) the Constitution of 3 November 1960;
(b) the civil
Acts of 7 October 1964 governing the rights of persons and the family, amended
in 1983, and the Act of 3 August 1970
on minority;
(c) the Penal Code of
31 July 1981, the Code of Criminal Procedure;
(d) the Code of Social
Welfare, Act No. 68-595 of 20 December 1968 as amended by Acts No. 71-332 of 12
July 1971, No. 88-1115 of
29 November 1988 and No. 94-436 of 16 August
1994;
(e) the Act of 1 August 1964 establishing the code of drinking
establishments, particularly its provisions protecting the minor against
alcohol
abuse;
(f) Act No. 88-686 of 22 July 1988 concerning the suppression of
traffic in and illicit use of narcotics and psychotropic
substances;
(g) Decree No. 72-747 of 24 November 1972 concerning the
regulation and control of films and sound recordings.
Although these
provisions, which predated the Convention, were relatively satisfactory they
were inadequately applied and did not
take all aspects of child protection into
account.
71. Since the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of
the Child some new legislation has been drafted and other international
instruments have been ratified, reflecting the will of the Ivorian authorities
to have legislation that is still more in conformity
with the provisions of the
Convention. The principal texts concerned are:
(a) Act No. 90-0437 of
29 May 1990 on the entry and residence of foreigners in Côte
d’Ivoire and the implementing decree
of 20 October 1991;
(b) Act
No. 91-883 of 27 October 1991 authorizing Côte d’Ivoire to accede to
the international covenants on human rights
of 16 December 1966 and Decrees No.
91-884 and No. 91885 of 27 September 1991 concerning the accession of Côte
d’Ivoire
to those covenants;
(c) Act No. 91-886 of 27 September
1991 authorizing Côte d’Ivoire to accede to the African Charter on
Human and Peoples’
Rights and the accession decree of 27 September
1991;
(d) Act No. 91-1033 of 31 December 1991 on the regulation of the
press;
(e) Act No. 92-464 of 30 July 1992 on the suppression of certain
forms of violence. Article 2 makes it severely punishable for the
organizers of
demonstrations to incite persons under 13 years of age to commit acts of
violence, or assault on persons or destruction
and damaging of
property;
(f) Act No. 95-15 of 12 January 1995 on the Labour
Code.
Some of these laws are applied, but others are not because the
majority of the population are unaware of them.
72. The structures and
institutions for implementing the legislative measures adopted
are
inadequate. For example, the only reception centres for the provision of
educational assistance measures as part of the treatment
and prevention of
juvenile delinquency are those in Abidjan, Dabou and
Bouaké.
73. The existing institutions are not properly operational
because they lack adequate material and human resources. Compliance with
the
provisions of the domestic laws and the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the
Child requires the reform of domestic legislation,
the construction of certain
items of infrastructure and, above all, public information and heightening of
public awareness.
B. Conformity of domestic laws with the Convention
74. An unpublished study by Professor Kouadio Yao entitled
“Comparative study of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and
the
legislation in force in Côte d’Ivoire” concludes that
legislation to protect the child is plentiful but inadequately
applied and
presents proposals concerning the effective application of the
Convention.
75. While the majority of Ivorian legislation concerning
children is in conformity with the provisions of the Convention, it has to
be
acknowledged that it differs from them in certain areas. For
example:
(a) the possibility under Ivorian criminal law of condemning a
minor to death unless the fact of minority is accepted as a ground
for
mitigation;
(b) with regard to the right to education, Ivorian Act
No. 95685 of 7 September 1995 on education does not make
schooling compulsory;
(c) Act No. 64375 of 7 October 1964
on marriage sets different ages of marriage for boys and girls, contrary to the
principle of
nondiscrimination set forth in the Convention;
(d) Ivorian
law recognizes the right to social security only for the children of
wage-earners and civil servants, contrary to article
26 of the Convention
on the Rights of the Child.
This list is not exhaustive.
76. It is of
paramount importance to publicize the Convention and the domestic legislation
among the population, since information
is one of the essential guarantees of
the application of the provisions of the Convention. Such action should
continue and should
above all form part of a national programme to publicize the
Convention on the Rights of the Child and the domestic legislative
texts.
II. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD
77. Article 1 of the Convention defines a child as every human being
below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to
the
child, majority is attained earlier.
A. Civil and criminal minority
78. Ivorian legislation recognizes two types of minority: minority in
civil matters and minority in criminal matters. For the purposes
of criminal
law, article 14 of the Ivorian Penal Code (Act No. 81640 of
31 July 1981) defines the minor as any person below the age
of
18 years at the time the offence is committed. Civil majority is attained
later, at the age of 21 years, according to article
1 of Act
No. 70483 of 3 August 1970 on minority. In order to bring these
domestic provisions into conformity with article 1 of the
Convention, it is
desirable to establish both civil and criminal majority at
18 years.
79. From the analysis of the legislation in force it is
not possible to determine a fixed minimum legal age for consulting a lawyer
or
a doctor without parental consent. Physicians customarily accept schoolchildren
or students under 21 years of age for health
care without the
parents’ consent when the procedures performed are not serious. However,
in the case of surgical or specialist
care, parental consent is required.
Similarly, the child may consult a lawyer when under the age of 21 without the
consent of his
or her legal representatives. However, since the child does not
enjoy legal capacity, he or she cannot appear in court unless assisted
by a
legal representative. There is also an economic obstacle to the free
consultation of a lawyer or physician, since the child
generally lacks the
personal resources to meet the costs of medical care or legal action.
80. Article 81 of the Minority Act of 3 August 1970
stipulates that only the parent, even if a minor, is qualified to represent his
or her children before the courts. In criminal cases the parent may make use of
the legal assistance provided for by law. Indeed,
article 769 of the Code
of Criminal Procedure obliges the juvenile magistrate to appoint counsel for a
delinquent minor if the child’s
parents have not elected to do so. In any
case, emphasis must be laid on the existence of the emancipation procedure which
gives
the minor full capacity to perform the acts of civil life on the same
footing as an adult.
81. Although the Ivorian Government has long made
education for all a priority, it has not established a fixed age for the end of
compulsory schooling. As a result, many children find themselves on the streets
without having completed primary education. In
order to comply with
articles 28, 29 and 32 of the Convention, which set forth the right of the
child to education and occupational
training, Act No. 95685 of
7 September 1995 on education should be amended to make education
compulsory and free for all up to the
age of 16 years.
82. The
implementation of a policy of occupational training in crafts and trades for
children who complete primary education and the
first part of secondary
education, but who have neither the wish nor the necessary intellectual ability
to undertake higher education,
would reduce the number of street
children.
83. Provision of an adequate number of schools, together with
assistance for underprivileged parents and regions, would make it possible
to
ensure access to education for all, not to mention literacy education for those
who have not attended school. At the present
time, the reduction in
registration fees in public educational establishments, the construction of new
teaching establishments by
local communities and by the Government, with support
from the African Development Bank and UNICEF, and the supply of school textbooks
by national and international NGOs, reflect the wish of the Government to
provide education for all.
B. Employment
84. Côte d’Ivoire regulates the admission of young
people to employment. The minimum age fixed by the Labour Code of
1995 (Act
No. 9515 of 12 January 1995) for admission of young people to
employment or apprenticeship is 14 years
(art. 238).
85. Article 31 of the 1970 Minority Act requires the
involvement of the child’s parents or legal representative in the
concluding
of an employment contract, either by signing it on the child’s
behalf up to the age of 16 years or by attending as a witness
between the ages
of 16 and 18 years, after which age the child is completely free to conclude an
employment contract alone.
86. In reality the lack of training, the
failure to match training to jobs and the persistent economic crisis lead to
high unemployment
among young people. Some of them resort to the informal
sector. Moreover, the abdication of parental responsibility and inadequate
action by the public authorities lead to the exploitation of children in the
labour sector. Some children under the age of 14 years
go to work with or
without the parents’ consent. Similarly, article 23-9 of the Labour Code
protecting the health and development
of the child is being infringed since many
children perform arduous and hazardous tasks.
87. The exploitation of
child labour on account of poverty is on the increase in the cities and some
rural areas. Children are involved
in the production of both goods and
services: carpentry, catering, crafts, street trading, domestic work,
engineering, mining, etc.
A study by a nongovernmental organization, Defence
for Children International, entitled “Child labour in the mines of
Côte
d’Ivoire, illustrated by the Tortiya and Issia mines” (in
French) shows that 1,150 children are working in the Issia
gold mine and Tortiya
diamond mine.
88. This child labour is particularly arduous since it
involves long hours and night work in violation of both the Convention and
domestic legislation, in particular the Labour Code which restricts the
child’s working hours to eight hours a day and expressly
prohibits night
work (art. 22-2). The situation is still worse in the case of girls, who
are exploited sexually as well as economically.
The parents need to be informed
of the labour legislation and made aware of the risks incurred by child
workers.
89. The Inspectorate of Labour and Social Laws needs to be
provided with the material and human resources to enable it to carry out
effective monitoring of child labour and employment agencies; offenders should
be reported and punished. The legislature should
introduce more severe
penalties to strengthen the suppression of the economic exploitation of
children. The part-time employment
of children below the age of 16 years in a
job that does not involve much risk may be tolerated. However, the regulations
concerning
fulltime employment must be better respected and employment in
hazardous jobs strictly prohibited.
C. Consent
1. General considerations
90. Generally speaking, the
consent of the child is required for any act affecting his or her status and
person (art. 29 of the 1970
Minority Act). Personal consent is required for
marriage, even from minors (art. 3 of Act No. 64-375 of 7 October 1964 on
marriage,
as amended by Act No. 83-800 of 2 August 1983). Article 5 of this Act
requires the consent of the father and mother or legal representative
for a
spouse below 21 years of age. Similarly, as regards adoption, a minor over 16
years of age must personally consent to his
or her adoption (art. 6 of the
Adoption Act of 7 October 1964). The minor does not therefore enjoy complete
freedom because his
or her consent alone is not sufficient. The personal
consent of spouses, even if minors, puts an end to forced marriages. However,
this phenomenon still persists in violation of the law, with tragic
consequences.
2. Consent to sexual relations
91. Consent is
required for sexual relations, from children just as from adults. However,
because of their youth children enjoy special
protection from the law. The
actions of paedophiles, sometimes compounded with incest, are regarded as
particularly serious offences
against morality and the child’s health and
are severely punished by the Penal Code under various heads. In order to bring
the national legislation into conformity with articles 34 and 35 of the
Convention, all acts of sexual violence committed against
children should be
made into offences in their own right.
3. Voluntary enlistment in the
armed forces and call-up for military service
92. Article 82 of Act
No. 95-965 of 7 September 1995 concerning the Armed Forces Code establishes the
age of national service for
young men and young women as 18 years. A
postponement or exemption may be granted (art. 88) for school or university
reasons. The
age of voluntary enlistment is fixed at 18 years.
D. Justice
93. A minor becomes responsible for criminal acts on reaching 10 years of
age (art. 116 of the Penal Code). In civil matters, offences
and acts of
negligence render the minor financially liable. A minor below the age of 16
years who is called upon to give evidence
in court does not take the oath. In
all cases a child appearing before the criminal courts enjoys protection. He or
she must always
be assisted by counsel or a legal representative (art. 767 of
the Code of Criminal Procedure). A child who commits an offence is
tried by
specific juvenile courts separate from those for adults.
94. The measures
applied to the child should be predominantly educational, penalties being
exceptional and justified by the child’s
personality and the seriousness
of the offences (art. 757 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). Any child who
has to be deprived
of liberty receives special treatment (articles 33 to 36 of
Decree No. 69-189 of 14 May 1969 governing penal establishments and laying
down
the conditions for the enforcement of penalties). This special treatment gives
prominence to education. Children who are deprived
of liberty must be kept
separate from adults and should receive a healthy diet suited to their
condition.
95. In the present state of the law, whereby the courts have
the possibility of rejecting the mitigating factor of minority after
the age of
16 years, a minor who has reached this age may be sentenced to death. In
practice, however, minority has always been
accepted as a ground for mitigation
and the death penalty has never been applied against children. Nevertheless, in
order to bring
about complete harmony with the Convention on this subject the
death penalty should be removed from the judicial penalties applicable
to
children.
96. With regard to children in extremely difficult
circumstances or in danger (physical or moral) articles 10 et.seq. of the 1970
Minority Act provide for educational assistance measures in cases where the
child’s health, education, morality or safety are
seriously jeopardized,
whether through the child’s own fault or on account of the immorality or
incapacity of the parents or
guardians. The child should then be placed with
the parent who did not have custody, with a trustworthy third party or in a
reception
centre. This desirable situation exists only in theory. In practice
the lack of material and human resources makes it difficult
to implement such
measures. There are only two observation centres in Côte d’Ivoire,
one in Bouaké and one in
Abidjan; they are located within local prisons.
There is a public socio-educational centre at Dabou, and a private centre at
Bassam.
97. It is not always possible to separate minors from adults.
The supervision of minors, which ought to be carried out by specialist
educators, is attended to by prison warders assisted by a few social workers
(social assistants) and NGO volunteers. Although imprisonment
should be the
exception, it is becoming the rule since there are not enough reception centres
and personnel to supervise of minors
in an open setting. Because of this the
judicial authorities have become involved in partnership activities with the
NGOs working
with children.
E. Consumption of alcohol and other regulated substances
98. It is forbidden to serve alcoholic drinks to minors according to the
provisions concerning the protection of minors against alcohol
abuse of the
Public Sale of Beverages Code of 1 August 1964. The rules are not
obeyed, however, and alcoholic drinks are offered
for sale even in the vicinity
of schools. Minors also work in bars, popular restaurants known as
“maquis” and nightclubs, where they consume alcoholic
beverages. The owners of such establishments may be prosecuted under the Penal
Code and the Public Sale of Beverages Code.
99. Article 2 of Act No.
88-686 of 22 July 1988 banning all illegal traffic in narcotics and other
psychotropic substances imposes
very severe penalties on anyone facilitating the
use of drugs by minors or using children for the drugs traffic. Where alcohol
and
tobacco are concerned, the sponsoring of sporting and cultural activities by
cigarette and drinks manufacturers makes it difficult
to outlaw advertising of
these substances. Once again, the law is powerless in the face of the passivity
of parents, ignorance of
the law and the absence of controls.
III. LIBERTIES AND CIVIL RIGHTS
100. The right to liberty and the civil rights of all citizens are
recognized under the Constitution of 3 November 1960 and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified and published under Decree No.
91-885 of
21 December 1991. The Covenant specifically recognizes these rights
for children.
A. Name and preservation of identity.
101. Under Act No. 64-373 of 7 October 1964 on naming, article 1, all
children, regardless of filiation, whether legitimate, natural
or adulterine,
are entitled to a name and to one or more first names. Since names
individualize persons and give them a personal
identity, they may only be
changed under very strict conditions. Under the terms of Act No. 64-374 of 7
October 1964, as amended
by Act No. 83-799 of 2 August 1983 on civil status,
every birth must be registered within 15 days. Any act adversely affecting the
civil status of a child by destruction, fraudulent modification or suppression,
constitutes an offence punishable with up to 10 years'
imprisonment (article 386
of the Penal Code).
102. In practice, however, these rules are regularly
flouted. Births are not declared within the legal time limits and registers
are
badly kept, as a result of which many children are deprived of their right to a
name and identities are assumed by third parties.
If a birth registration is
delayed, parents are reluctant to proceed at all owing to unavoidable,
complicated and costly legal procedures.
103. Civil status would be
better protected if registers were well kept. In this respect, the Ministry of
Public Health should cooperate
with the Ministry of the Interior and National
Integration, which is in charge of local authorities, and should provide the
latter
Ministry with information concerning births and
deaths.
104. Several measures have been taken, such as a public
information campaign on the need to register births at the time of birth,
conducted on the occasion of the Day of the African Child, on
16 June 1997.
B. Nationality
105. The terms under which Ivorian nationality may be acquired or lost
are specified in Act No. 61-415 of 14 December 1961 on the
Nationality
Code, as amended by Act. No. 72-852 of 21 December 1972. Any
legitimate, legitimated or natural child, born either in
Côte
d’Ivoire or abroad of Ivorian parents, is entitled to Ivorian nationality
(articles 6 and 7 of the Nationality Act).
Any foreign child who is adopted by
an Ivorian national becomes Ivorian (new article 11). A foreign woman
who marries an Ivorian
acquires Ivorian nationality, unless she refuses (art.
13) or the marriage is annulled (art. 16).
106. Ivorian nationality may also
be acquired by decision of the public authority, either through naturalization
or through reintegration
(art. 24). The five-year residence condition required
of adults applying for naturalization does not apply to minors. Thus a foreign
child born in Côte d’Ivoire may acquire Ivorian nationality if the
parents have already obtained it or by applying at
the age of 18 (arts. 28, 29
and 30). Reintegration is granted at any age to a person previously holding
Ivorian nationality (art.
34 et seq.).
107. Every child born in
Côte d’Ivoire therefore has a nationality. If at least one of the
parents is an Ivorian national,
any child born in Côte d’Ivoire or
abroad is entitled to Ivorian nationality and related rights (civil and
political).
C. Access to information
108. In this area, official policy has been expressed through the issue
of laws and regulations protecting children against information
and
communication abuse by the press and other media. Thus, under Act
No. 911033 of 31 December 1991 governing the press, particularly
section IX concerning publications for young people, children are protected
against press abuse, which is severely punished. A national
commission for the
supervision of youth publications was also planned under the Act, but never
implemented. In addition, Decree
No. 72747 of 24 November 1992
protects children against immoral and violent
films.
109. Children’s access to sound information is made
difficult, however, by the lack of specialized publications, the lack of
control over audiovisual productions and the proliferation of video clubs. Some
media firms, more concerned with audience ratings
and marketing, tend to
disregard legal rules. While the media do devote a few articles and broadcasts
to children, the output is
insufficient. The State should undertake a real
information and awareness campaign to inform children of their right to sound
information.
D. Freedom of association and peaceful assembly
110. This right is provided under the Constitution of 3
November 1960 and any infringements are punished by the Penal Code
(art. 185). Under the terms of Act No. 60315 of
21 September
1960 concerning associations, any person is free to
create an association, subject to observing the general principles governing
contracts. Many NGOs dealing with childhood have been operating under this Act.
Children without legal capacity, however, cannot
create associations
(article 1 of the Associations Act). This means they can only belong to
associations created by adults, such as the Catholic Scouts Association and
Children’s
Parliament.
111. The Children’s Parliament, which
was set up in 1992 after the World Summit for Children held in
New York on 29 and 30 September
1990, is made up of young
people from 10 communes of the towns of Abidjan, Bouaké,
Jacqueville, Bondoukou and Daloa. This
association, which is run by young
people under 21 years of age and supervised by adults, organizes seminars
and forums and the Day
of the Ivorian Child.
112. Under the authority of
the Ministry of the Interior and National Integration, many associations
actively working for children
help to prepare and implement projects initiated
by the Government. While such associations are set up by adults, they provide
young
people with an opportunity to express themselves freely, to give their
views and to take part in the life of the nation through activities
suitable for
their age.
113. Under the 1989 Convention, children enjoy the right to
freedom of association. Freedom of peaceful assembly is a universal right
that
extends to children provided they do not disturb the peace.
E. Protection of privacy
114. Children and adults alike are entitled to the protection of their
privacy. This right is recognized under the Constitution of 3
November 1960 and any unlawful interference with a child’s home or
correspondence is punishable under the Penal Code.
Attacks on children’s
honour are punishable under the 1991 Press Act. Since children do not have
their own residence apart
from that of their legal representatives or the means
of ensuring respect for their privacy, the protection of this right must be
ensured by their parents and by the State.
F. Right not to be subjected to torture and other cruel,
inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment
115. This right is protected by the Code of Criminal Procedure in its
provisions concerning juvenile delinquency and by the Decree
of
14 May 1969 regulating prisons and establishing conditions for the
enforcement of prison sentences. Under this legislation, minors
are dealt with
by special courts and procedures. Preference is given to educational measures,
avoiding penal sanctions as far as
possible and prescribing detention in
conditions that are favourable to education and
training.
116. Côte d’Ivoire has ratified the Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
The lynching of thieves by the crowd, unlawful police acts and lengthy police
custody are considered to be infringements of this
right. Similarly, in many
prisons, the cohabitation of minors and adults, unhealthy conditions,
nonexistent or insufficient supervision
of minors and idleness remain matters of
concern.
117. Children in conflict with the law should be better
protected with the introduction of children’s police brigades throughout
the country, the observance of a maximum 48hour detention in police custody for
minors and the presence of lawyers at the preliminary
investigation. A bill to
authorize the presence of lawyers at preliminary investigations has been
submitted to the National Assembly
by the Minister of Justice and Public
Liberties.
118. Côte d’Ivoire is also expected to ratify
the African Charter on the Rights of the child.
IV. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND SUBSTITUTE PROTECTION
119. The family, as the basic social unit, provides the ideal setting for
the socialization of children: it ensures that they are
provided with the
resources needed for their overall development and complete fulfilment. If the
family unit is inoperative for
any reason, however, replacement solutions are
provided.
A. Parental guidance
120. Under Ivorian law, the right of parents to guide and counsel their
children is one of the attributes of parental authority recognized
by the
Minority Act. Civil responsibility for children under the age of 21 rests with
the parents. For cultural, economic and educational
reasons, children tend to
stay on in the family home, even after the age of 21. If so, the parents retain
cultural responsibility.
121. With ratification of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, schooling is compulsory for children between the ages of
six
and 15. Full attendance in that age group, however, has not been attained.
This is due to financial constraints, the lack of schools
and cultural factors
(such as opposition to education for girls).
B. Parents’ responsibility
122. According to article 5 of the Minority Act, parental authority
rests with the father and mother. Under certain conditions, parental
authority
may be exercised by the mother according to articles 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the
Minority Act. In traditional Ivorian society,
the education of children is
taken care of both by parents and by the community.
123. In order to
ensure proper care, Côte d’Ivoire has introduced a system of family
allowances paid to employed parents.
The amount of these family allowances is
trifling, however, in relation to the present cost of living (2,500 CFA francs
per child
per month for the private sector and 700 CFA francs per child per
month for the public sector).
C. Separation from the parents
124. Children occupy a central place in the family and hence in Ivorian
society. However, they may be separated from their parents
for a variety of
reasons:
(a) Natural children: Separation may occur when the parents no
longer live together. If so, one parent is given custody of the
child while the
other enjoys visiting rights.
(b) Legitimate children: Separation may
occur in the event of divorce or physical separation.
If so, one of the
parents is given custody of the child while the other enjoys visiting rights. In
both cases, alimony may be payable
to the parent who has custody unless he or
she has sufficient means.
125. Children may also be separated from their
parents in the case where authority is delegated, either voluntarily or by
order.
If so, all rights pertaining to parent authority, or part of those
rights, shall be devolved on the receiving parents or third parties.
Separation
may occur in the event of the death of one or both parents, whereupon a guardian
may be appointed under articles 48 et
seq. of the Minority Act.
Abandoned children also enjoy social protection; they are placed in nurseries or
in the care of the person
who has taken them in. If the parents claim the
children subsequently, the guardianship magistrate may order the child to be
handed
over (article 18 of the Minority Act). In wartime, children may
also be separated from their parents; they may then be placed in
orphanages or
nurseries. Young offenders are separated from their parents when in detention.
Separation may also occur in the event
of the imprisonment of one or both
parents. In that case, the child may be taken in by a third party or placed in
an establishment
dealing with children.
126. In any event, whether the
child is placed in the care of a third party or that of an establishment, the
parents may be ordered
to contribute to the upkeep and education of their
children, unless they have no means at all (article 12 of the Minority
Act).
Parents failing to fulfil this obligation are liable to be sentenced for
abandonment of the family (article 387 of the Penal Code).
Any parent not
paying the alimony as ordered by the court may be prosecuted for abandonment of
the family.
127. An adoption procedure may be considered in the case of
children who are orphans, abandoned or in difficult circumstances, in
addition
to the educational assistance procedure (Act No. 64378 amended by Act
No. 83802 of 2 August 1983). In the event of separation,
however, children under the age of seven are placed in the care of the mother
unless she has been disqualified. In all cases the
decision is taken by the
court in the light of the child’s best interest.
128. In a
traditional environment, in the event of separation of the parents, very young
children are usually cared for by the mother.
If the father dies, the mother
and her child may be rejected for a number of reasons. In an urban environment,
unstable free partnerships
lead to more frequent separation between parents and
children, which is harmful for the children’s harmonious development.
D. Family reunification
129. Act No. 90437 of 29 May 1990 on the entry and
residence of foreigners in Côte d’Ivoire and its Implementation
Decree
of 2 October 1991 contained many provisions favouring family
reunification in the interest of the child in accordance with article
10 of
the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Documents and entry visas are not
required of children under 21 coming to join
their parents authorized to reside
in Côte d’Ivoire. Foreign children under the age of 16 do not need
a residence permit.
130. Residence permits are issued by
right:
(a) To foreigners, who are father or mother to a child residing
in Côte d’Ivoire, over whom they exercise parent
authority;
(b) To children of foreigners who have been naturalized
Ivorian, provided they have reached the age of 16 and are in the care of
those
parents;
(c) To children aged under 21 of a foreigner holding a
residence permit and authorized to reside in Côte d’Ivoire, on
the
grounds of family reunification.
According to article 17, minors under the age of 21 cannot
be expelled from the country.
131. The posting of one
of the spouses to another region of the country for professional reasons may be
considered a de facto separation.
In such cases, in the best interests of the
child, family reunification should be encouraged.
E. Recovery of children’s maintenance allowance
132. The Marriage Act, in articles 52 and 53, and the Divorce act, in
Articles 27 and 36, make provision for maintenance allowance.
This is payable
to whichever spouse obtains the divorce. In practice, the allowance is paid
according to the size of the family,
the age of the children and the means of
the payer; to the spouse who has custody of the children. In the event of
failure to pay,
the spouse may be ordered to do so by the court.
133. On
account of widespread ignorance of the law and certain cultural factors,
however, many women do not use that procedure. Moreover,
courts should be
stricter regarding the recovery of allowances from solvent parents who do not
pay up.
F. Children deprived of their family environment
134. Children deprived of their family environment may be divided into
orphans, abandoned children and other children in difficult
circumstances. Very
young children who have lost both parents are assisted by the family and the
community. If there is no assistance
from the family unit, the children are
placed in other families or institutions. Abandoned children are initially
placed in nurseries
while searches are being made. If the family is found, the
child may be returned to the family home, but the parents are penalized.
If
not, then family placement or adoption proceedings are
initiated.
135. Children deprived of their family environment may be
taken on by the following care facilities:
(a) Six nurseries, four of
which are public, with a capacity for 350 children, situated in Yopougon, Dabou,
Adjamé and Bouaké;
the private facilities are situated in
Adiaké and Man;
(b) Two orphanages: one for boys, situated in
Bingerville, with a capacity for 250 boarders (which had 195 boarders in 1996);
and
one for girls, situated in Bassam, with a capacity for 165 boarders (housing
119 in 1996);
(c) Two S.O.S. Children’s Villages situated in
Abidjan and Aboisso.
G. Adoption
136. There are clearly not enough specialized homes for children in view
of the number of children in need of care. The present policy
is therefore to
encourage family placement in most cases. This policy is based on the
desirability of providing children with a
family environment favourable to their
development and on the limited budgetary means allocated in recent years to the
necessary
facilities. For example, the daily food allowance per child is 100
CFA francs, whereas the recognized international standard is
1200 CFA
francs.
137. Adoption, under the terms of Act No. 64-378 amended by Act
No. 83-802 of 2 August 1983, is a measure intended to protect the
child. The law distinguishes between full and irrevocable adoption and simple
adoption. In view of the large number of applications,
however, and the
different ways in which children are exploited, strict procedures need to be
introduced where international adoption
is concerned.
H. Abduction and unlawful failure to return
138. These cases are provided for in the Act on minority and affiliation.
Child kidnapping is an offence and the failure to return
children after the
exercise of visiting rights is punishable under the Penal Code. Officially,
there is no case of child trafficking
to report.
I. Brutality and negligence, physical and psychological
rehabilitation,
social resettlement
139. Every form of violence or assault against a minor is punishable
under article 362 of the Penal Code. The penalty in such cases
can run to
life imprisonment in the event of the minor’s death. According to the
statistics of the Ministry of Justice and
Public Liberties, at
1 October 1997, there were 84 persons on remand and 179 convicted for
offences against minors in the country’s
prisons.
140. In the
event of any harm to the health, safety, morals or physical integrity of a
minor, parents may be completely deprived of
their parent rights and
guardianship proceedings may be initiated in accordance with article 43, (III),
of the Minority Act. The
educational assistance procedure may also be used, in
which case the minor will be placed with another parent, a third party or in
an
institution in accordance with articles 10 et seq. of the Minority Act. If
necessary, the child will be placed with a replacement
family or free schooling
may be provided.
141. With regard to physical and especially
psychological rehabilitation, a State care facility, the Child Guidance Centre,
tries
to identify children’s disabilities and guide them if necessary to
suitable specialized assistance.
142. Côte d’Ivoire's policy
for the social rehabilitation of children in difficulty is implemented through
the public
sector, at national and local level, through NGOs, sometimes with the
support of international organizations.
143. State-run facilities
include:
(a) The programme of assistance to deprived urban communities
(IMUP/ECED 19972001), which aims to reach at least 150,000 persons
in poor
neighbourhoods of Abidjan;
(b) The programme for the settlement and
resettlement of street children, whose purpose is to provide vocational training
for street
children in establishments in the provinces;
(c) The
educational assistance services of the Ministry of Justice and Public
Liberties.
144. Institutions run by local authorities and NGOs
include:
(a) The Advice and Social Resettlement Centre run by local
authorities, such as the city of Abidjan, and NGOs, along the lines of
the
International Catholic Child Bureau (ICCB);
(b) Training centres such as
the Abel Centre and the ANAED-Korhogo Lomania Centre;
(c) The
Port-Bouët Pilot Centre for young people;
(d) The Amiguiens
Community;
(e) The youth centre in
Grand-Bassam;
(f) Médecins du Monde.
V. HEALTH AND WELLFARE
145. In accordance with article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, in 1992 Côte d’Ivoire initiated a national
plan of
action for the survival, protection and development of Ivorian children for the
year 2000, outlining action in the fields
of health and education. Following
the same policy, the National Plan for health development was adopted in
November 1996.
A. Survival and development
146. The general objective of the National Plan for health development
was to improve the state of health and wellfare of the population
by offering
health services to meet the basic needs of the population. Specific objectives
for mothers and children are to reduce
the infant mortality rate by a third from
92 per 1,000 to 50 per 1,000 by 2008, to reduce the under-5 mortality rate by
half from
150 per 1,000 to 75 per 1,000 by 2008, and to halve the maternal
mortality rate from 400 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1988 to
200 per
100,000 births by 2008.
147. The strategy is to consolidate the gains
achieved with the Human Resources Enhancement Programme and to introduce changes
in
the health sector, with a view to arriving at a more comprehensive approach
to problems. Under this policy, several programmes have
been initiated by the
Ministry of Public Health:
(a) The Child Health Programme, aimed at
combating acute respiratory infections and diarrhoeal diseases, and at promoting
breastfeeding;
(b) The Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), which
aims to extend immunization coverage to at least 80 per cent and to eradicate
poliomyelitis by the year 2000;
(c) The promotion of traditional or
natural medicine.
B. Disabled children
148. Several programmes have been undertaken to assist disabled children
by providing institutional and community care. Where institutional
care is
concerned, special facilities are provided according to the type of
disability.
1. Sensory disabilities
149. Visual
disabilities are treated at the Ivorian National Institute for the Promotion of
the Blind (INIPA) in Abidjan, which offers
150 places. Hearing disabilities are
treated at the Ivorian School for the Deaf (ECIS) in Abidjan, with a capacity of
120 places.
2. Mental disabilities
150. There are three
private institutes: (a) the Institut médico-pédagogique
(IMP) of Vridi, in Abidjan, with 50 places;
la Page blanche, a centre situated
in Treichville (Abidjan) with 45 places, and the Arche de Bouaké
with 50 places.
3. Special programmes
151. In addition to
institutional care facilities, a communitybased rehabilitation programme has
been set up in two towns, Abidjan
and Man. In 1996, the programme assisted 240
disabled persons in their families, including 144 children below the age of 15,
regardless
of their disability. In other words, 60 per cent of those cared for
are children. This programme cooperates with the integrated
schooling project,
aimed at admitting disabled children to normal educational establishments.
There are other associations for persons
with various disabilities supported by
the State and several NGOs.
152. A bill is currently under study to
improve the protection of disabled persons, especially children.
C. Health and medical services
153. The statistics given below are taken from the report on the health
situation in Côte d’Ivoire presented at the inauguration
of the
National Committee on Health (February 1997). Côte d’Ivoire
currently has 1,200 public establishments, including
eight regional hospitals,
four university hospitals, two training institutes (the National Institute for
the Training of Medical
Staff (INFAS) and the National Institute of Public
Health (INSP)), 29 health districts and seven specialized establishments. The
private sector includes 25 hospitals and clinics, 212 authorized
infirmaries, 97 medical surgeries, 11 dental surgeries and 82 company
health
services.
154. On 31 December 1995, there were 16,536 medical staff,
including 1,236 doctors. There was one doctor for every 13,000 inhabitants,
one
nurse for every 4,000 inhabitants and one midwife for every 9,000 inhabitants
nationwide. By deploying all trained doctors,
Côte d’Ivoire
could approach the WHO ratio of one doctor for every 2,000 inhabitants. The
country is far from having
met all its requirements and the current shortages
can only be explained by the difficulties encountered by newly trained staff.
The solution would be to improve the admission of new doctors to the health
services by setting up surgeries and providing them
with the necessary
assistance.
155. Following the World Summit for Children, which was held
in New York in 1990, and the International Conference on Assistance to
African
Children, which was held from 25 to 27 November 1992, the African countries
identified ten intermediate objectives to be
reached by 1995. Among the
strategic objectives for the year 2000, nine are related to
health[2]
156. Objectives
one, two, three and four are related to the Expanded Programme on Immunization.
The aim is to extend immunization
coverage to at least 80 per cent, to
reduce measles cases by 90 per cent and measles mortality by 95 per
cent, to eradicate poliomyelitis
and to eliminate neonatal tetanus. Objective
five consists in providing 80 per cent coverage of oral rehydration therapy as a
means
of combating diarrhoeal diseases. Objectives six and seven aim to combat
micronutrient deficiencies (vitamin A, iodine). The idea
is to eliminate
practically all disorders due to iodine and vitamin A deficiency and to iodize
the salt supply.
157. Under Decree No. 94-303 of 1 June 1994 concerning
the manufacture and sale of nutritional salts, the Ministry of Public Health
was
authorized to make it compulsory to iodize salt for human consumption, children
being the main victims of iodine deficiency in
some regions of the country.
Inter-Ministerial Order No. 03 of 18 April 1996 made it compulsory for all salt
for sale and consumption
in Côte d’Ivoire to be iodized. In July
1996, a tripartite agreement was signed by UNICEF, the Ministries of Public
Health and Trade and the four largest salt producers (the salt iodization
operation was financed by UNICEF).
158. Objective 8 is aimed at
encouraging breastfeeding and adapting existing facilities in line with the
system of “baby-friendly
hospitals”. As far as intermediate
objectives are concerned, 82 hospitals out of 86, 45 maternal and child health
centres
out of 59 and 25 social centres out of 56 have been recognized as
attaining the standard of “baby-friendly”.
159. According to
the results achieved so far with the breastfeeding programme, Côte
d’Ivoire is ahead of other countries
in the region. A bill is soon to be
enacted to regulate natural milk substitutes. The objective is to encourage the
exclusive breastfeeding
of babies up to the age of four months. A
worthwhile endeavour in this respect, which deserves support, is the
“Baby-Friendly
Hospitals” project aimed at encouraging
breastfeeding.
160. Objective 9 aims to eradicate dracunculiasis or
Guinea worm disease. The number of cases fell from over 8,000 in more than 500
villages in 1993 to 3,006 cases in 225 endemic villages by September 1995. The
objective set in 1996 was to reduce the number of
endemic villages to 150,
aiming for total eradication by 1997.
161. In order to reduce infant
mortality, the Ministry of Public Health has focused on its primary health care
programme in accordance
with the Bamako Initiative, which is a major strategy
for introducing a new health policy as part of the drive towards Health for
All
by the Year 2000. The reintroduction of expenditure refunds and the
availability of generic medicines in public and private
pharmacies have helped
to make health accessible to all.
162. Efforts to deal with the main
childhood health problems (malnutrition, iron and vitamin deficiencies, acute
respiratory infections,
AIDS, diarrhoeal diseases and malaria) include the
Expanded Programme on Immunization, control of diarrhoeal diseases and acute
respiratory
infections, malaria control, the development of school health
activities in pre-school and primary-school establishments and the
promotion of
natural medicine.
D. Social security and care facilities
163. In Côte d’Ivoire, the social security system takes
several forms but still remains inadequate.
(a) The private sector
affiliated to the National Social Insurance Fund (CNPS) offers three types of
benefits (family allowances,
accidents at work and occupational illnesses,
old-age insurance);
(b) For the public sector, the General Mutual
Insurance for Civil Servants and State Workers (MUGEF) refunds pharmaceutical
products,
dental care and prostheses, and spectacle lenses and frames, while
old-age pensions are paid by the General Civil Servants’
Retirement Fund
(CGRAE);
(c) Private insurance companies.
There is no social
security coverage, however, for employees who do not belong to the CNPS or for
the peasant community.
164. The Ministry of Employment, Civil Service and
Social Insurance is currently studying ways of establishing a social security
system
covering other sectors of activities. It has also prepared a sickness
insurance scheme for State employees.
165. Care facilities for small
children include the following:
(a) Thirtyeight centres for the
protection of young children located throughout the country providing health,
nutritional and pre-school
care. Only 1.8 per cent of children before
the age of six have access to public preschool education; most of the existing
facilities
are situated in Abidjan. There are also some private
facilities;
(b) Four care units for small children with special
needs (hospitals and nurseries);
(c) Eight daycare centres in rural
areas;
(d) Fiftyfive welfare centres spread across the country, whose
activities include motherandchild protection, weighing, dietary demonstrations,
vaccinations and social action, etc.;
(e) Seventyeight training and
education establishments for women (IFEF) spread across the country, in
charge of training, educating
and involving women and young girls in all types
of activity.
E. Living standards
166. The devaluation of the CFA franc has led to a fall in the
standard of living of the poorest classes of the population, especially
in
towns. In turn, this has affected the living standards of children and their
development (health, education, leisure, etc.).
In order to offset the
negative effects of the devaluation, several programmes have been
introduced:
(a) Basic education programme with the support of UNICEF and
the African Development Bank (construction and rehabilitation of school
buildings);
(b) Revival of village water
programme;
(c) Promotion of family planning through the reproductive
health programme;
(d) Establishment of social funds for young people
(National Youth Fund), women (Women and Development Fund) and
others;
(e) Local authority programmes (social funds for gradual
resettlement, care and resettlement centres for street children, education,
health, etc.);
(f) Rural electrification programme.
VI. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
A. Education
167. Traditional education may be seen from two complementary
aspects: the family and local communities (villages) and age groups.
For the
purposes of the State, the goal of Ivorian education is to build
Côte d’Ivoire for the third millennium. The
aim is to
encourage sharing of common values of citizenship, culture and democracy and to
promote the social and economic life of
the nation.
168. Ever since
independence, the State has recognized schooling as a priority. As a result,
40 per cent of the national budget is
allocated to education. The
school attendance rate in the country was 73.1 per cent in 1996.
However, net school attendance was
only 50 per cent for the school
year 19931994, which means that 50 per cent of schoolage children
did not have access to basic education,
even though
Côte d’Ivoire, devotes more than 40 per cent of its
budget to education.
169. Access to primary education is still limited,
since only 67.4 per cent of children aged six were admitted to their
first year
of schooling in 19931994, including 60.7 per cent
of boys and 53.7 per cent of girls. The net admission rate was only
24 per cent
in the first grade, which means that very few Ivorian
children have access to school at that age. The gross rate of school attendance
is currently around 72 per cent, compared with 60 per cent
in 19881989, while schooling for girls has improved substantially in recent
years (65.5 per cent in 1996 compared with
60.4 per cent in 1990).
170. This situation is due to the
low internal efficiency of the educational system, with high repetition and
dropout rates. Shortcomings
include an insufficient number of school buildings,
a stagnating school attendance rate, inappropriate curricula, deteriorating
infrastructures,
unfavourable teaching conditions with a high failure rate
(only 25 to 30 per cent of passes each year), and a shortage of
human resources
in education due to the new pay conditions (redundancy measures
under Decree No. 91818 of 11 December 1991).
171. In
order to remedy the inadequacies of the present educational system, a number of
initiatives have been taken in both the public
and private sectors with the
support of bilateral and multilateral cooperation agencies. As far as the
public sector is concerned,
the Government has passed a law on the reform of
education.
172. Act No. 95-696 of 7 September 1995 on education states in
article 1 that “all citizens are guaranteed the right to education,
as a
means of acquiring knowledge, developing their personality, raising their living
standards, training, taking an active part
in social, cultural and professional
life and exercising their citizenship”.
173. As far as bilateral
and multilateral cooperation is concerned, Côte d’Ivoire receives
assistance from international
institutions such as the African Development Bank
(school renovation and construction programme) and UNICEF, with a plan of
operations
for the period 1997-2001 that includes a component on basic
education, with special emphasis on the education of young
girls.
174. The part played by local authorities in school construction
programmes could be strengthened through a transfer of powers. Improvements
are
also made to the educational system thanks to partnership activities with
NGOs.
175. It is worth noting the problem of the Koranic schools, which are
not institutionally recognized by the national education system,
being governed
instead by the Ministry of the Interior and National Integration. They should
be given the status of denominational
school and attached to the Ministry of
Education and Basic Training.
B. Socio-educational, cultural and leisure activities
176. Alongside traditional education, socio-educational, cultural and
leisure activities play an important part in the life of the
nation. A general,
comprehensive, out-of-school education policy takes care not only of
schoolchildren, but also of those without
schooling and those who have left
school, offering training, guidance, social resettlement, leisure, sport,
culture and avoidance
of social problems. The goal is to ensure the balanced,
harmonious development of the target group. It is implemented with the
help of
ministerial departments, local authorities and NGOs, which provide facilities
and programmes.
177. The Ministry for the Advancement of Young People and
Civic Culture develops programmes for specific age groups
through:
(a) One hundred and eleven socio-educational institutions
distributed across the country, with activities in the areas of education,
information, leisure, creativity, etc.;
(b) Youth movements and
associations, such as the Girl Guide Federation of Côte d'Ivoire (FISF)
with 5,000 members, the Scout
Federation of Côte d’Ivoire (FIS with
12,000 members), the Federation of Youth Movements and Associations of
Côte
d’Ivoire (FEMAJECI), etc.;
(c) Holiday centres
(organized camps and outdoor centres) catering for some 2,000 to 3,000 children
a year during the holiday period;
(d) Youth exchanges and
workshops.
All these institutions and associations prepare children and
young people for life in the community and for adult life by meeting
other
children and young people from different geographical, socio-economic and
cultural backgrounds.
178. In the same spirit, the Ministry of Sport
organizes sports activities both in schools through the Ivorian Office for
School and
University Sports (OISSU) and in the neighbourhoods. One of the
three schools belonging to the National Institute for Youth and
Sport (INJS) has
been given the status of National Sports Centre. This new institution, set up
by Decree No. 97-394 of 9 July 1997,
is responsible
for:
(a) Training and improving young athletes (aged 15 to 17) selected
for their exceptional physical and technical qualities;
(b) Resettling
athletes in socio-economic sectors.
Since 5 January 1998, when
activities started, the centre has been training 80 young footballers: 40 aged
15 and 16 and 40 aged
16 and 17. Training lasts three years and the aim is to
enable the youngsters to become professional footballers. Potential employers
include national and foreign clubs, or Côte d’Ivoire’s
national team.
179. The Ministry of Communication and Culture runs the
following programmes:
(a) Audio-visual programmes for children and young
people, such as “Vacances Culture”, “Wozo Vacances”,
“Podium”,
“Variétoscope” and the FESNAC School
and University Theatre Festival;
(b) Several musical groups for children
including Oiseaux du Monde, which have an international
reputation;
(c) Several theatre and dance troupes for
children;
(d) Literary activities such as the Caravane du
Livre;
(e) Library networks for children.
VII. SPECIAL MEASURES FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN
180. As a result of the socio-economic problems caused by the economic
crisis of the 1980s, Côte d’Ivoire, in cooperation
with a number of
institutions and organizations, has had to develop a policy to deal with what
are referred to as children in exceptionally
difficult circumstances. The
following government bodies have been established to deal with this new
phenomenon: Family Action
Directorate (Ministry for Family Affairs and the
Advancement of Women); Social Protection and Vocational Training Directorate
(Ministry
of Employment, Civil Service and Social Insurance); Directorate for
the Social Environment of Young People (Ministry for the Promotion
of Young
People and Civic Culture); a multidisciplinary national commission to deal with
the phenomenon of street children (set up
by Decree No. 97-613 of 16 October
1997); and lastly an educational programme on the rights of the child (Ministry
of Justice and
Public Liberties), intended for future counsellors and special
education teachers responsible for dealing with children within the
various
departments of the Ministry.
181. The local authorities run a network of
guidance and resettlement centres for young people to combat delinquency.
Partnerships
with NGOs dealing with children (under the umbrella of the street
children project) should be further strengthened. In the light
of its political
commitment, Côte d’Ivoire must now take the necessary legislative
and regulatory measures to ensure
the protection of childhood.
A. Children in extremely difficult circumstances
1. Children in the street and street children
182. Children
in the street remain in contact with their families. They come to the streets
for a number of activities, but do not
sleep there. Street children, on the
other hand, have broken the links with their families. They sleep in the
street, where they
have organized a lifestyle or survival routine on the fringes
of society. The Government has adopted the conclusions of a Council
of
Ministers communication submitted by the Ministry for Family Affairs and the
Advancement of Women, which is in charge of coordinating
the national programme
for the social settlement and resettlement of street children. Measures have
included the establishment of
an interministerial committee and a
multidisciplinary national commission for dealing with the phenomenon of street
children. Three
centres will soon be opened in Dabou, Man and
Boniérédougou to take in and train street
children.
2. Working children
183. Even though Côte
d’Ivoire has not ratified ILO Convention 138 concerning the Minimum Age
for Admission to Employment,
it introduced its Labour Code in 1964 (by Act No.
95-15 of 12 January 1995), which is in conformity with the Convention. The
implementation
of the Code, however, encounters certain difficulties in
practice:
(a) A shortage of labour inspection
facilities;
(b) Conditions of poverty inducing parents to resort to
income earned by their children;
(c) A thriving informal sector, which
is where child labour is mostly used.
Special emphasis should be placed
on the protection of children in domestic employment and street sellers, who are
exposed to sexual
abuse.
3.Children in prison or in conflict with the
law
184. Children in prison are protected under the terms of Decree
No. 69-189 of 14 May 1969 regulating prison establishments and laying
down
conditions for the enforcement of prison sentences (arts. 33, 34, 35 and
36).
185. It should be pointed out that the conditions of detention and
custody in prison as stipulated by the law are not respected.
For example, the
Observation Centre for Minors is still located inside Abidjan Prison. This
leads to promiscuity with adults, a
lack of hygiene and vocational training and
a lack of specialized personnel to deal with the youngsters. As a matter of
priority,
the Observation Centre for Minors must be removed from Abidjan Prison
premises. At the same time proper conditions must be provided
for detained
children, of which there are 150 on remand at the Abidjan Observation Centre.
Altogether 542 children were in detention
in Côte d’Ivoire at 10
November 1997.
4. Children in prostitution
186. With rising
poverty, child prostitution of both sexes has been spreading in towns. There is
occasional prostitution, which tends
to be hidden by ostensible activities (by
street sellers, young guards or domestic servants) in addition to professional
prostitution
run by networks.
187. There are no specific legal provisions
covering the sexual exploitation of children for commercial purposes. Under
articles
334 to 341 of the Penal Code, pornography is punishable (art. 334) by
two years' imprisonment and a fine of between 30,000 and 300,000
CFA
francs. Procuring is punished under articles 335 and 336 of the Penal Code.
The normal penalty is doubled, to between 2 and
10 year's imprisonment, if the
victim is under 21 years of age. Article 337 of the Penal Code punishes immoral
incitement of minors.
These laws, which specifically punish offences committed
against children, form part of a deliberate legislative policy to protect
them.
5. Drug-dependent children
188. While the consumption
of drugs, tobacco and alcohol has been increasing, it has been difficult to
assess it satisfactorily.
It may be noted that in 1988, four per cent of
those charged with drug trafficking were under 18 years of age. Measures have
been
taken, in accordance with the Geneva Convention and international
humanitarian law, to create awareness among the target population,
to train
personnel dealing with the problem and to strengthen
legislation.
189. The new measures have included a police force
specializing in drugs and narcotics, an inter-ministerial anti-drugs committee
supported by NGOs, a United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), an African
Drug Control Programme, a Training Unit for Drug Control
in Africa (UFDA), the
Blue Cross and NGOs such as the Ivorian League for Drug Prevention.
B. Children in emergency situations
190. These are essentially Liberian refugee children. Although
Côte d’Ivoire has not signed the African Charter on the
Rights and
Welfare of the Child, measures are taken to assist refugee children in
accordance with the provision of the Geneva Conventions,
which the country has
ratified. Liberian refugee children are a special case and, according to the
International Catholic Child
Bureau (ICCB), numbered 177,575 in August 1996.
Measures are coordinated by the Ministry of the Interior and National
Integration,
while the health aspects are dealt with by the Ministry of Public
Health, with the support of the Office of the High Commissioner
for Refugees
(HCR) and NGOs such as the ICCB, Caritas, the Red Cross, Médecins sans
Frontières, etc.
Brief bibliography
Survival, Protection and Development of Children. UNICEF 1946-1996, 50 years in the service of children, Côte d’Ivoire.
National Health Plan 1996-2005, vol. II, Programmes and Budget for the period 1996-1998, April 1996, Côte d’Ivoire.
National Health Plan 1996-2005, vol. I, Diagnosis, Policy and Strategies, Côte d’Ivoire.
Population and Health Survey, 1994, Summary Report, Côte d’Ivoire.
Population and Health Survey, 1994, National Institute of Statistics, Côte d’Ivoire, December 1994.
Annual Report on the Health Situation, 1995, Ministry of Public Health.
Funding of Basic Social Sectors: Implementing the 20-20 Initiative in Côte d’Ivoire.
Report by the International Catholic Child Bureau (ICCB), Abidjan Refugee Children's Programme, 1996.
Analysis of the Situation of Women and Children in Côte d’Ivoire, UNICEF, 1996.
Annexes
(Available at the Secretariat)
Decree No. 94-131 of 9 March 1994 on the organization of the Ministry for Family Affairs and the Advancement of Women.
Decree No. 96-187 of 7 March 1996 establishing the National Committee for Coordination and Follow-up of the Action Plan for Drafting the Report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child.
Decree No. 97-613 of 16 October 1997 on the establishment, organization and
operation of the National Multidisciplinary Commission
to Combat the Phenomenon
of Street Children.
_______________
[1] UNICEF-African
Development Bank, “Enquête sur l’impact de la
dévaluation sur les populations vulnérables
d’Abidjan”, Cahiers d’analyse des politiques
économiques du CIRES, CIRES/CAPEC,
1994.
[2] Ministry for
Family Affairs and the Advancement of Women, Follow-up report on the
intermediate objectives of the National Programme of Action for the Survival,
Protection and Development of
Ivorian Children by the Year 2000 (in
French).
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