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United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child - States Parties Reports |
UNITED
NATIONS |
|
CRC
|
|
Convention on the Rights of the Child |
Distr. GENERAL CRC/C/83/Add.1 30 October 2001 ENGLISH Original: FRENCH |
COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
CONSIDERATION
OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER ARTICLE 44 OF THE
CONVENTION
Periodic reports of States parties due in 1999
[16 March 1999]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
Introduction 1 - 12 5
I. GENERAL IMPLEMENTATION
MEASURES 13 - 129 6
A. Measures adopted to bring national legislation
and policy into
line with the provisions of the Convention (art. 4) 13 -
52 6
B. Mechanisms adopted or planned for coordinating policies
and
ensuring the assessment and follow-up of decisions taken in
implementing the Convention (art. 4) 53 - 101 14
________________
* For the initial report submitted by the
Government of Tunisia see CRC/C/11/Add.2; for consideration of the report by the
Committee,
see CRC/C/SR.225-227. For the concluding observations adopted by the
Committee, see CRC/C/15/Add.39.
GE.01-45650 (EXT)
TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
C. Measures adopted to make the principles and provisions of
the Convention widely known, by appropriate and active means
(art.
42) 102-126 27
D. Measures adopted to ensure a wide circulation of
this report
(art. 44, paragraph 6) 127-129 34
II. DEFINITION OF
THE CHILD (art. 1) 130-162 34
A. Minimum legal age for a child to seek
advice from a lawyer 130-131 34
B. Minimum legal age for medical
treatment or surgery without
parental
consent 132-134 35
C. Minimum legal age for
marriage 135 35
D. Minimum legal age for sexual
consent 136-141 35
E. Minimum legal age for a child to be considered
criminally
responsible and liable to
imprisonment 142 36
F. Minimum legal age for a child to give testimony
in civil or
criminal courts 143-144 36
G. Minimum legal age for
a child to lodge a complaint and seek
redress before a court or other
authority without parental consent 145-148 36
H. Minimum legal age for
children to participate in administrative
and judicial proceedings
affecting them 149 37
I. Minimum legal age for giving consent to
change of identity,
including change of name, modification of family
relations,
adoption, guardianship 150 37
J. Minimum legal age
for having access to information concerning
the biological
family 151 37
K. Minimum legal age for the capacity to inherit,
conduct property
transactions and to create or join
associations 152-153 37
L. Minimum legal age to choose a religion, or
attend religious school
teaching 154-155 38
M. Minimum legal age
for consumption of alcohol 156 38
N. Minimum age for entry into the
labour force 157-159 38
TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
O. The relationship between the minimum age for entry into the
labour force and the age of completion of compulsory
schooling 160 39
P. Entry age for basic
education 161 39
Q. Age from which the child is no longer obliged
legally
to attend school 162 39
III. GENERAL PRINCIPLES 163 -
217 39
A. Non-discrimination (art. 2) 163 - 189 39
B. Best
interests of the child (art. 3) 190 - 204 44
C. The right of the child
to life, survival and to development
(art. 6) 205 -
207 48
D. Respect for the views of the child (art. 12) 208 -
217 49
IV. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS 218 –
267 51
A. Name and nationality (art. 7) 218 –
226 51
B. Preservation of identity (art. 8) 227 52
C. Freedom
of expression (art. 13) 228 – 232 53
D. Freedom of thought,
conscience and religion (art. 14) 233 – 238 53
E. Freedom of
association and peaceful assembly (art. 15) 239 54
F. Protection of
privacy (art. 16) 240 – 243 54
G. Access to appropriate
information (art. 17) 244 – 264 55
H. Right not to be subjected
to cruel, inhuman or degrading
punishment or treatment (art. 37 (a)) 265
– 267 59
V. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE 268 –
342 60
A. Parental guidance (art. 5) 268 –
278 60
B. Parental Guidance (art. 18, paras.1 and 2) 279 –
289 64
C. Separation from Parents (art. 9) 290 – 298 66
TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
D. Family reunification (art. 10) 299 67
E. Illicit
transfer and non-return (art. 11) 300 – 305 67
F. Recovery of
maintenance for the child (art. 22, para.4) 306 –
308 68
G. Children deprived of their family environment (art. 20) 309
– 311 69
H. Adoption (art. 21) 312 –
317 69
I. Periodic review of placement (art. 25) 318 –
325 71
J. Abuse or neglect (art. 19), including physical and
psychological recovery and social reintegration (art. 39) 326 –
342 72
VI. BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE 343 –
492 79
A. Disabled children (art. 23) 343 –
366 79
B. Health and health services (art. 24) 367 –
456 83
C. Social security and child-care services and facilities
(art. 26 and 18, para.3) 457 – 471 101
D. Standard of
living (art. 27) 472 – 493 103
VII. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES 494 – 547 105
A. Education, including
vocational training and guidance (art. 28) 494 – 513 105
B. Aims
of education (art. 29) 514 – 517 109
C. Leisure, recreation and
cultural activities (art. 31) 518 – 547 109
VIII. SPECIAL
PROTECTION MEASURES 548 – 608 117
A. Children in situations of
emergency (art. 22, 38 and 39) 548 – 549 117
B. Children in
conflict with the law (art. 37 b, c, and d,
39 and 40) 550 –
584 117
C. Children in situations of exploitation (art. 32-36) 585
– 607 124
D. Children belonging to a minority or an indigenous
group
(art. 30) 608 127
Introduction
2. This report gives an account of the progress
recorded, of difficulties encountered and the challenges which Tunisia has
sought
to overcome in order to ensure the well-being of children and the
effective enjoyment of their rights. It also includes relevant
replies to the
concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child at the end
of consideration of the initial report
of Tunisia during meetings held on 1 and
2 June 1995.
3. The promotion of the rights of the child is given great
attention at the highest level. This attention proceeds from the firm
conviction that it is investment on behalf of future generations provides the
best guarantee of progress, stability and harmonious
development for Tunisian
society.
4. Thus emphasis is laid upon development and circulation on a
broad scale of the culture of the rights of the child. In this respect
the
rights of the child laid out in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and
the Child Protection Code are introduced into curricula
at all levels.
Programmes for dissemination of these rights to the general public are drawn up
both at national level as well as
at regional and local level with the active
participation of civil society.
report, was adopted through Act No. 95-92 of 9 November
1995 and entered into force on 11 January 1996. The Child Protection Code
is
based on a certain number of principles amongst which it is appropriate to
highlight:
(a) The principle of the child remaining in its family
environment;
(b) Making citizens responsible in terms of the protection
of a child in physical or moral danger by making it a duty to report
incidents;
(c) The creation of a body of child protection
representatives able to intervene on behalf of children in difficult
situations;
(d) The reorganization of juvenile courts by having
specifically-qualified magistrates (minors’ judges) responsible for cases
relating to children, as well as including mediation as a reconciliation
mechanism.
particularly those living in remote areas and
in peri-urban areas.
I. GENERAL IMPLEMENTATION MEASURES
A. Measures adopted to bring national legislation and policy into line
with the
provisions of the Convention
(article 4)
1. The Child Protection Code
(Act No. 95-92 of 9 November 1995)
(a) The best interests of the child which must be
the prime consideration in all interventions and decisions taken, in accordance
with the provisions of the Code (article 4 of the Child Protection
Code);
(b) The crucial responsibility of the parents and their active
involvement (articles 7 – 9);
(c) Respect for the views of the
child and his or her compulsory participation in all social or judicial measures
taken on his or
her behalf (articles 9 and 10);
(d) The right of every
child alleged as, or accused of having committed a crime under the Criminal Code
to a treatment which is adapted
to his or her situation, which safeguards the
child’s sense of dignity and worth and which favours preventive and
educational
measures (article 12).
These are the principles contained
within Tunisian legislation. Some of them are even more far-reaching than the
safeguards provided
for by the Convention on the Rights of the
Child.
19. The first heading of the Child Protection Code relates to the
protection of a child in danger, defining in particular the following
difficult
situations:
(a) Loss of the child’s parents, so that he or she
remains without family support;
(b) Exposure of a child to negligence
and to vagrancy;
(c) Continuous and well-established lack of education
and protection;
(d) Habitual ill-treatment of the
child;
(e) Sexual exploitation of the girl or boy
child;
(f) Exploitation of the child in organized
crime;
(g) Exposure of the child to begging and economic exploitation of
the child;
(h) Inability of the parents or of those with custody over
the child to ensure protection and his or her education (article 20 of
the Child
Protection Code).
20. New mechanisms have been introduced by the Code in
order to ensure greater efficiency where protection of the rights of the child
is concerned and to achieve the complementarity required between the objectives
of social prevention and those relating to legal
protection.
(a) Establishment of a body of child protection
representatives responsible for intervening in families or alongside any other
person
responsible for the child, in order to prevent all forms of attack or
abuse threatening the security and the development of the child
(articles 28
et seq.).
(b) Institution of a “duty to report”
incumbent on all persons and which consists of informing the representative of
difficult situations that anyone becomes aware of (articles 31 et
seq.)
(c) Definition of specific prerogatives allowing the representative to
make the necessary enquiries and assessments and to take
relevant measures in
the form of agreements made with the parents and the child concerned; if
necessary by taking appropriate temporary
emergency measures, with a requirement
to inform the family judge in situations not regulated through joint agreements
where these
seriously affect the security and development of the child (articles
35 et seq.).
21. Heading II of the Child Protection Code deals
with protection of the delinquent child. It integrates within it, and improves
upon, all the legal provisions contained before in the Code of Criminal
Procedure. The fundamental concept is that a child accused,
suspected, or
convicted of a crime under criminal law has the right to treatment which
promotes the dignity and worth of the person
and which takes into account the
age of the child while also recognizing the need to facilitate reintegration
into society and to
allow the child the means to have a constructive role in
society.
22. Different mechanisms and appropriate measures have been
introduced or repeated in the Code, in response to the major concerns
contained
in international norms for protection. It is appropriate specifically to cite
the following:
(a) Recognition of the irrebuttable presumption of
innocence according to which a minor under 13 years of age (and thus below the
age of discrimination cf. article 156 of the Personal Status Code),
cannot have broken criminal law;
(b) A prohibition on bringing civil
lawsuits before juvenile courts (article 70);
(c) The option of imposing
a penalty for all crimes except those causing death;
(d) The affirmation
of the principle of concurrency of sentences involving deprivation of liberty in
the true event of an offence
(article 80 of the Child Protection
Code);
(e) Prohibition of the remedy of preventive detention for
children under 15 years old accused of having committed a contravention
or a
misdemeanour since preventive detention should be used as an exceptional measure
but one which is rendered absolutely necessary
in the other cases (article
4);
(f) the institution of mediation which is a scheme with the
objective of arriving at a reconciliation agreement between the child
author of
the crime, or his or her representative, and the victim or his or her
representative, bringing about the close to legal
proceedings, to sentencing or
to the carrying out of sentences, and this with regard to all offences except
crimes (articles 113-117);
(g) Periodic leave of limited duration
granted to the child during the implementation of the preventive measure or the
penalty, in
order to return to the family environment with a view to
facilitating his or her social reintegration. This leave is granted taking
into
account the best interests of the child (article 16).
17 June 1996)
23. This Decree laid down the areas of
intervention of the representative for the protection of the child (DPE) and the
representative’s
modus operandi with the services and social bodies
concerned. The DPE is responsible for carrying out preventive missions
in all cases where it appears a child is in emotional or physical danger. To
this end the representative is qualified to enter into all places and buildings.
The representative may collaborate with all other
related services in ministries
and in facilities, institutions and cultural, legal, educational, health and
social bodies which deal
with children.
26. It is to be recalled, furthermore, that
children under 13 years of age do not incur any criminal responsibility legally
(article
38 of the Criminal Code).
27. The increased severity for various
penalties incurred in cases of violence and exploitation perpetrated on children
concerns offences
as diverse as using a child under 18 years of age in a
criminal conspiracy with a view to preparing or committing attacks against
persons or property, (article 132 [new]); the use of a child under 18 years of
age for begging (article 171 [new], paragraph 3);
exposing, neglecting or
allowing neglect with the intention of abandoning a child or a person unable to
protect him or herself (article
212 [new] and article 213 [new] ); indecent
assault of children under 18 years (article 228 [new] and article 228 bis
[new]); abduction or corruption or transfer of a child under 18 years of age
(article 237 [new] and article 238 [new]). This issue
is dealt with in more
detail in chapter VIII, section C “Children in situations of
exploitation.”
4. Protection of the child against the use of narcotic drugs (Act No. 95-94 of 9 November 1995 amending and supplementing Act No. 92-52 of 18 May 1992 relating to narcotic drugs)
28. An article 19 bis (new) has been
added to the above-mentioned Act of 18 May 1992, under which terms: “The
Court may, in the case of consumption
or detention for consumption, cause a
child to undergo medical detoxification treatment; psycho-medical treatment with
a view to
preventing recidivism; medico-social treatment or take any other
measure laid out under article 59 of the Child Protection
Code.
29. This procedure has been widened to include
sentenced drug addicts through Act No. 98-101 of 30 November 1998 which
supplements Act
No. 92-52 of 18 May 1992 with regard to narcotic drugs, and
which stipulates that “the drug addict may, in all cases, be subjected
to
detoxification treatment... In the case of a refusal by the interested party to
receive the treatment indicated above, notice
is sent to the Public
Prosecutor’s Office which requires the President of the court of first
instance to issue an order constraining
the sentenced drug addict to undergo the
treatment specified...the order is granted after examination of the
addict.”
30. The initial report presented different measures by which Tunisian law, in
harmony with the principles and the rules of the Convention
on the Rights of the
Child was intending gradually to substitute the concept of authority over the
child for the concept of common
responsibility on the part of the parents for
everything relating to protection of the child and ensuring that adequate care
was
provided for the child’s development. Amongst these measures the
first was Act No. 93-74 of 12 July 1993, amending certain
articles of the
Personal Status Code, where the main concept enshrines the reinforcement of the
family in general and the rights
of the child in particular: affirmation of the
principle of joint responsibility on the part of the spouses; extending the
right
of the child to maintenance up to the age of majority (set at 20 years
old), and even beyond that to the age of 25 years in order
to encourage
continuation of studies; modification of the procedure for divorce where
families have one or more children so as to
strengthen the reconciliation phase;
the establishment of the Maintenance and Alimony Guarantee Fund and in
particular, in the case
of divorce, by increasing measures destined to safeguard
the interests of the child by allowing the mother, where custody of the
child is
granted to her, the right to enjoy the prerogatives of tutorship with respect
to the child’s travel and studies and
the management of his or her
financial accounts.
31. The judge is granted the right through this same
Act to entrust the powers of tutorship to the mother having custody of the child
“if the tutor is incapable of exercising them, evidences abusive behaviour
in his mission, neglects to carry out properly the
obligations arising from his
trust, leaves his residence and becomes without fixed abode, or for any cause
prejudicial to the best
interests of the child” (article 67 [new] of the
Personal Status Code).
32. Proceeding from the same concept of joint
responsibility of the parents, Act No. 95-95 of 9 November 1995 was
promulgated amending
and supplementing some articles of the Obligations and
Contracts Code. Under article 93 bis it is stipulated:
“The father and mother are jointly responsible for an act of prejudice
caused by the child, if the child resides with them.
This responsibility is
invoked unless one of the parents proves:
- “that he or she has
provided the necessary surveillance,”
- “that the injury has
arisen through the fault of the victim.”
“In cases where the responsibilities of guardianship are divided, the
provisions of this article only apply to the person who
has
custody...”
33. This article, adopted on the same day as the Child
Protection Code, serves to reinforce the concept of solidarity and joint
responsibility
on the part of the parents by allowing the necessary harmony and
coherence between the rules governing family relationships and those
governing
civil liability. The reasoning behind it is both simple and coherent: the person
who has authority has responsibility,
so that the mother, involved in exercising
guardianship over her child, now assumes, within the limits of the powers
conferred on
her by law, responsibility for harmful acts caused by her
child.
34. In addition to the Child Protection Code
which defines economic exploitation of a child as one of the difficult
situations which
would justify the intervention of the DPE and other
mechanisms for protection laid out in the Code, two important measures have been
adopted since the submission of the initial
report of
Tunisia.
(a) Ratification through Act No. 95-62 of 10 July 1995 of ILO
Convention No. 138 concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment,
thus
responding to the recommendations expressed by the Committee on the Rights of
the Child at the end of consideration of the initial
report of
Tunisia.
(b) Harmonization of the provisions of the Labour Code
relating to work by children and those of ILO Convention No. 138 through
Act
No. 96-62 of 15 July 1996 specifically by setting the minimum age for admission
to employment at 16 years of age, which corresponds
to the end of compulsory
schooling (articles 53 et seq. of the Labour
Code.
7. Protection of children born outside
wedlock
35. The initial report (paragraphs 84 et seq.,
paragraphs 124 et seq. and paragraphs 129 et seq.) has extensively
presented the measures already taken with a view to protecting the rights of
children of unknown parentage or abandoned
children in particular by ensuring
them the right to alternative care.
36. Proceeding from the same desire
to remove obstacles concerning this category of child and any discrimination,
Act No. 98-75 of
28 October 1998 relating to granting a patronymic family name
to children of unknown parentage or abandoned children, grants children
born
outside marriage the right to a complete identity; to seek their paternity and
the right to maintenance. Indeed this law goes
further. It facilitates the
search for paternity through genetic imprinting tests and confers on the child
whose paternity is thus
established the right to maintenance (see later in
chapter IV, section A: Name and Nationality and chapter V, section F: Recovery
of Maintenance”
8. Measures adopted in order to ensure recovery
of maintenance
37. Since the establishment of the Maintenance and
Alimony Guarantee Fund in 1993, the following measures of a regulatory and
administrative
nature have been taken during the period
1994-1998.
(a) In order to give better support to beneficiaries of the
Maintenance and Alimony Guarantee Fund, a circular of 24 September 1997
from the
Minister of Social Affairs provides for the appointment of officers at the
central and regional level of the departments
of the Ministry of Social Affairs
and of the National Social Security Fund (CNSS), to be responsible for managing
the Fund so as
to ensure greater coordination amongst departments of the Fund
and the competent courts in cases where families have been deserted.
A
coordinator at the level of the regional directorates for social affairs,
charged with assisting beneficiaries in filling in their
paperwork and receiving
the papers which indicate use of the Fund has come to an end (for reasons such
as the decease of the ex-husband,
etc.) has also been
selected;
(b) Decree No. 671 of 6 March 1998, relating to the amendment
of Decree No. 1655 of 9 August 1993 regarding procedures for the use
of the
Maintenance and Alimony Guarantee Fund stipulate that the CNSS should continue
to ensure the payment of maintenance and alimony
if the creditor defaults on
payments. It also sets out reasons for the Fund to cease providing payments.
Furthermore it
states that the Fund’s services must be provided without any age
conditions to handicapped children who are unable to work and
to unmarried girls
without income, this measure affords alignment with the provisions of article 46
of the Personal Status Code as
amended by the Act of 12 July 1993;
(c) A
circular sent jointly by the Ministers of Justice and of Social Affairs of 24
November 1997 stipulated the administrative procedures
allowing divorced women
and their children to benefit from the afore-mentioned Fund. To this effect,
forms relating to the different
procedures have been placed at the disposal of
those concerned. Should the need arise, divorced women and their children are
given
priority when it comes to legal aid.
38. Children abandoned by their
mother due to pregnancy outside marriage, who are thus permanently deprived of
their family environment,
are entrusted to the National Institute for the
Protection of Children (INPE) which seeks to have them adopted; to place them in
foster families according to the regulations in effect; or to ensure the child
is looked after by the Institute itself.
39. On instructions received
from the President of the Republic, the Reception and Social Guidance Centre
was created, required to take into its care, inter alia, children
aged 6 years and over who are temporarily deprived of their family environment
or who, in their own interests, cannot be
left in that environment. (Children
under six years old in that situation are placed with the INPE.)
10. The establishment of the obligation to
vaccinate children against viral hepatitis B
41. Through a decree
from the Minister of Public Health, dated 10 February 1998, this vaccination is
compulsory and free for all children
throughout the Republic of
Tunisia.
11. Measures adopted in order to guarantee and strengthen the
right of the child to social security
42. During the period
1994-1998, the right of the child to social security was developed thanks to the
following measures:
(a) Act No. 28 of 21 February 1994 relating to
compensation for accidents at work and occupational disease in the private
sector
allowed for the granting of an income for orphans in the case of the
decease of the victim after an accident at work;
(b) Act No. 56 of 28
June 1995 with regard to a system for compensation for work accidents and
occupational disease in the public
sector allowed for the granting of an income
for orphans under the same conditions and at the same rates as in the private
sector.
(c) Act No. 59 of 28 July 1997 amended Act No. 12 of 5 March 1985
relating to the scheme for civilian and military retirement pensions
and for
survivors’ pensions in the public sector;
(d) Act No. 60 of 28
July 1997 amended Act No. 2 of 15 February 1972 with regard to reforms of the
social contingency scheme for
civil servants;
(e) Act No. 61 of 28 July 1997 amended Act No. 6 of 12 February 1981
relating to the organization of social security schemes in the
agricultural
sector;
(f) Decree No. 1927 of 29 September 1997 modified Decree No. 499
of 27 April 1974 relating to the old age, invalidity and survivors’
scheme
in the non-agricultural sector.
43. Measures have been adopted
with a view to ensuring the right of children of working parents to benefit from
establishments and
services for their care. Thus State nurseries receive
children from the age of two months to three years and watch over their safety,
their health and their well-being. Nurseries also provide a service of care
alongside their educational function.
44. Act No. 94-88 of 26 July 1994,
with regard to the contribution of social funds to the costs of looking after
children in nurseries
and implementation Decree No. 95-114 of 16 January 1995,
which sets the social fund contribution at 15 dinars per month per child
for
working mothers whose income is not higher than two and a half times the
guaranteed minimum wage.
13. Measures adopted or planned for coordinating policies and for ensuring assessment and follow-up of decisions taken to implement the Convention (art. 4)
45. Legislation in effect with regard to
repeating a school year has been amended with a view to introducing more
flexibility into
it, specifically by allowing four repeats during compulsory
schooling. This right to repeat a year is no longer restricted in any
way.
46. Teaching equipment imported for private educational establishments
is now exonerated from customs’ duty (Investments
Code).
47. Conditions for access to private education have been relaxed
since the school year 1998/1999.
48. The vocational training and
employment sector has been organized according to a new legal framework, which
principally is based
on the Act concerning guidance for vocational training
promulgated on 17 June 1993. This Act was due to promote the implementation
of
a system of vocational training which provides a diploma, ensures advancement
and increases self-worth, linked to the productivity
system through partnerships
and to the education system through relationships of
complementarity.
49. Qualifications guaranteeing vocational training: the
Certificate of Vocational Aptitude (CAP), the Diploma of Vocational Technician
(BTP), the Diploma of Advanced Technician (BTS) have been certified according to
the National Employment Classification.
50. Primary and secondary curricula have been
revised in order to introduce within them more explicitly the values and
principles
relating to human rights and the rights of the child.
51. Vocational training curricula have been improved by introducing
general education subjects, such as English, computing, social
legislation and
physical education.
15. Measures adopted with a view to improving the functioning of the administration system of schools and of other educational establishments
52. Training courses with regard to the rights
of the child and human rights have been organized for different personnel within
school
administration. Ministerial circular No. 101 of 16 December 1997 recalls
the principles which should regulate teacher-pupil relationships,
by strictly
forbidding any use of corporal punishment and banning any attitude or practice
likely to affect the dignity of the pupil.
B. Mechanisms adopted or planned for coordinating policies and
ensuring the assessment
and follow-up of decisions taken in implementing the
Convention
(article 4)
1. The
annual report on the situation of the child
53. Since 1995, after the
submission of the initial report on the implementation of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, Tunisia
has prepared an annual report on the situation of
the child involving all regions, which it uses as a means to assess the
situation
of the child. This annual report is submitted in January to the
Council of Ministers, presided over by the President of the
Republic.
54. This document thus represents an important means for
collecting data, indicators, statistics and other information relating to
the
implementation of Acts and programmes for children and involves all ministries.
Since 1995 three reports have been drawn up.
2. Integration of the
objectives of the National Action Plan in the National Development
Plan
55. The objectives of the National Action Plan for the Survival,
Protection and Development of the child were taken into consideration
when
drawing up the IXth National Development Plan (1997-2001), within which annual
assessment constitutes an important measuring
device allowing regular follow-up
of the goals targeted in the area of children.
3. Child protection
representatives
57. A training programme was organized by Tunisian and
Belgian experts for these representatives, in collaboration with UNICEF. Nine
training sessions were offered in the context of this programme, as can be seen
in the table hereinafter.
Date
|
Content
|
---|---|
13 to 15 November 1996
|
Visits to different specialized institutions in the area of child
protection
|
18 to 22 November 1996
|
Rights and needs of the child
|
25 to 29 November 1996
|
Situation and powers of child protection representatives
|
2 to 6 December 1996
|
Practical measures relating to the brief of the representative for the
protection of the child
|
22 to 24 September 1997
|
Mediation techniques and provisions of the Convention
|
25 to 27 September 1997
|
Workshop to produce guidelines for intervention
|
21 to 24 October 1997
|
Child Protection Code and the role of the representative
|
17 to 21 November 1997
|
Intervention and assistance techniques for the child and the family
|
1998
|
- Drawing up of a guide for representatives
- Drawing up of a convention between the different partners concerned
(within education, justice, social affairs and health)
- Standardization and computerization of forms
|
Moreover, four seminars relating to assessment of the field work carried
out by each child protection representative were organized
during the year 1997
with a view to better resolving the difficulties encountered.
(a) Measures adopted to ensure the systematic gathering of data,
indicators, statistics and other information relevant to the implementation
of
laws and programmes intended for children, both from a quantitative and a
qualitative perspective
59. Specific data
and indicators are also drawn up on the basis of periodic studies and enquiries
carried out by the ministerial departments
concerned: whether it be health,
social affairs, education, youth and infancy, justice or other. Annual reports
on the situation
of children at regional and national level are based on these
data and indicators.
(b) Steps taken in order to ensure a periodic assessment of progress
achieved in the implementation of the provisions of the
Convention
60. The establishment since 1995 of an annual report is
also an opportunity for checking on the progress achieved in the implementation
of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
61. The adoption of a
National Action Plan (PNA) for the implementation of the World Declaration on
the Survival, Protection and Development
of Children in 1992 and its integration
in the VIIIth Plan for Economic Development (1992-1996) and the IXth plan
(1997-2001) show
the willingness of Tunisia to respect its commitments towards
children.
62. As announced in the initial report and by Decree No. 90-519
of 22 March 1990, a Higher Council for Children was established within
the
Ministry of Youth and Infancy. This was substituted by the National Council for
Children, established through Decree No. 95-407
of 6 March 1995. Its powers,
its
composition and the ways in which it should function were also set out in
this decree. Its aim is to assist the Minister for Youth
and Infancy in drawing
up general policy for the Government in the area of children. Since 1990,
fifteen sessions have been organized
on the following
themes:
(i) Pre-school education;
(ii) The Convention on the
Rights of the Child;
(iii) Measures and programmes arising out of the
World Summit for Children;
(iv) National Plan of Action for the
Survival, Protection and Development of Children;
(v) The initial report of Tunisia on the implementation of the Convention on
the Rights of the Child;
(vi) Bill relating to contributions from social
funds towards child-care in nurseries;
(vii) Draft decree regarding the
creation of the post of child protection representatives.
63. The
assessment made in May 1996 concerning the achievement of the intermediate
objectives of 1995 of the National Plan of Action
laid out in the
declaration and the plan of action adopted by heads of State and government on
30 September 1990 allowed a review
of all the progress achieved.
c) Mechanisms for coordination, assessment and follow-up established by
the Ministry of Public Health.
64. The new strategies set up in terms
of combating disease through vaccinations are the following
(i) National
Action Plan for the eradication of poliomyelitis;
(ii) Inclusion of the vaccination against Hepatitis B on the compulsory list
of vaccinations for children;
(iii) National strategy for the elimination of measles (being drawn up at
present)
65. In terms of school medical care, the Ministry of Public
Health has also begun to revise the timetable for school medical programmes
in
order to add more of a social dimension and to increase the number of health
check-ups by introducing a systematic medical examination
for those repeating
classes in all years and by expanding medical coverage to establishments beyond
those which fall under the Ministry
of Youth and Infancy and the Ministry of
Education and the Ministry of Higher Education.
66. Various programmes
have been set up in the context of school health. The following have been
established:
(i) Regular quarterly meetings with regional officers responsible for school
health;
(ii) Annual seminars with regional officers responsible for school health
and partners in all departments supervising the establishments
covered;
(iii) Better structured national and regional monitoring thanks to establishing monitoring tools for all regional teams.
67. A national programme for developing health districts was launched in
1994. Its objective is to improve the quality of care at
primary health level,
through an organization of care into “health districts” based on
work in teams. These districts
must also coordinate, assess and supervise the
various health programmes by granting priority to the most vulnerable population
groups:
the elderly, children and women in particular. This programme also
encourages teams to develop a dialogue with the population concerned
and to
involve them in health promotion.
(i) Officialization of the
nomenclature of all the means for collecting data;
(ii) Organization of the filing of documents and files by directorate and by
Ministry;
(iii) Issuing procedure manuals to all departments at local, regional and
central level (the Department for School and University
Medicine established its
manual in 1998);
(iv) Widespread circulation of information boards and guidance on how to use
them at local, district, regional and central level.
69. The National
Office for the Family and the Population has had a system for collecting data
since 1966. This system has been improved
and strengthened since 1994 in order
to integrate all the parameters of maternal and child health with the option of
having this
computerized at local and regional level and thus making it possible
to have various items of information in real time on reproductive
health.
70. Measures have been taken to ensure to ensure periodic
assessment of the progress achieved at the various local, regional and national
levels in the implementation of the provisions of the Convention with regard to
health. In particular, systematic collection of
data is carried out regularly
by the establishment of surveys. In this respect it is opportune to
highlight:
(i) The national survey on maternal mortality, which has set itself the
objective of determining the national rate of maternal mortality
as well as the
causes of death and the identification of risk factors in maternal mortality.
The rate of maternal mortality is 68.9
per 100,000 showing, however, a
variation between regions. Regions in the west of the country register the
highest rates. Direct
causes are the commonest for maternal mortality. The
specific causes are haemorrhage (31.4%), complications due to high blood
pressure
(19.3%), cardiovascular illness (11.4%) and infections (11.4%). Risk
factors which are most often linked to maternal mortality are
age (over 35 years
of age) isolated homes, illiteracy and rural origins;
(ii) The study of the prevalence of deficiencies linked to perinatal asphyxia amongst infants of 36 to 60 months. Integrated within a national study on disability this survey has shown a prevalence of physical disability of 1.9 per 1,000. These physical disabilities represent 42.5% of all deficiencies. The main risk factors are the place of delivery, lack of antenatal examinations, the quality of antenatal care, conditions for delivery and the lack of notion of neonatal distress. The highest predictors of physical disability are newborn distress and poor conditions for delivery;
(iii) The integrated maternal and child health/family planning study
(SMI/PF) [PAPCHILD survey] which studied births which occurred
during the five
years before the survey (1990-1994). It enabled the following indicators to be
obtained:
. 79% of pregnancies were monitored with variations ranging from 88%
in urban areas to 69% in rural areas. Approximately 50% of these
examinations
were carried out by midwives;
. The rate of assisted delivery is 80.3%, with variations ranging
from 65% in rural areas to 93% in urban areas;
. Only 25% of
babies delivered received postnatal care;
. The rate of contraceptive use is 59.7% for married women of a
reproductive age
. Vaccination cover is 96.9% for DT Polio 3;
. 93.6%
of women have breastfed their child;
(iv) A survey on knowledge, attitudes and practice on perinatal cover was
carried out in the field in 1997. This survey showed that:
. The rate of cover for at least one antenatal consultation is
84.5%
. The proportion of women who had had four examinations during their
pregnancy is 43.8%
. The rate of cover for a postnatal
examination is 53.2%.
The survey also studied the level of satisfaction
amongst women in terms of perinatal follow up and their view of these
services.
71. Furthermore, large national surveys have been carried out
in order constantly to enrich the data bank relating to maternal and
child
health. Amongst these surveys the following should be noted: the Tunisian
Survey on the Health of the Mother and Child (ETSME)
and other specific surveys
targeting particular population groups (surveys on contraceptive behaviour in
rural areas of the central
western regions and the south of Tunisia, surveys on
young people’s behaviour, epidemiological surveys relating to sexually
transmitted diseases (STDs), as well as other socio-behavioural surveys on
STDs).
72. Periodic assessment takes place regularly thanks
to:
(i) Seminars
(ii) Quarterly meetings for officials responsible for health at national and
regional level
(iii) Transmission of routine activity reports and reports on all events by
all regional and district units
d) Mechanisms for coordination, assessment and follow-up established by
the Ministry of Education
73. Programmes set up in order to improve
results in the education system are the following:
(i) A national plan spread over three years has been drawn up in order to
curb the phenomenon of school drop- out particularly during
compulsory
schooling. It aims to:
. Identify areas for priority intervention, where educational
failure is particularly acute;
. Take appropriate teaching and administrative measures to combat
the factors responsible for failure in school, specifically by reducing
numbers
in overcrowded classes, by recommending solutions for absenteeism amongst
teachers and by strengthening the school medical programme for some
pupils;
. Diversify the teaching content in order to take into account the
profiles and aptitudes of pupils;
(ii) A national programme, called “the Basic Skills Programme”
has been implemented gradually, aiming to better achieve
teaching-training and
assessment-assistance balance by defining a certain number of basic skills which
are required for all later
learning. Thus, the assessment acquires a diagnostic
value leading to the provision of appropriate assistance, which is likely to
assist the majority of students to achieve the goals laid down by teaching
programmes.
74. In order to ensure systematic collection of data,
indicators, statistics and other relevant information on the functioning of
the
education programmes, both quantitatively and at the various local, regional and
national levels the Ministry of Education has
been computerized, notably through
the establishment of an intranet linking all schools to the regional management
structures and
these structures to the various central facilities of the
Ministry. This network will allow, inter alia, communication of
statistical information and data in real time.
e) Mechanisms for coordination, assessment and follow-up established by
the Ministry of Justice
75. The unit for human rights in the Ministry
of Justice attached to the cabinet of the Minister of Justice as well as the
unit “citizens’
relations” are the principal structures
responsible for, inter alia, the portfolio relating to the rights of the
child. For this reason they are active partners in scientific activities and
the training
courses undertaken in this area in collaboration with the Centre
for Legal and Judicial Studies and the Higher Institute of the Magistracy
as well as the courts of appeal which take the initiative to organize seminars
and debates
on justice for children, with the participation of family judges and
minor’s judges.
76. In this regard, many meetings for training and
sensitizing judges regarding the rights of the child have been organized,
particularly
since the promulgation of the Child Protection Code through the Act
of 9 November 1995, both on a regional as well as on a national
level. Legal
specialization in this area is continuously monitored and increased.
quantitative and qualitative point of view and in the context of the various
courts. Thus the statistical unit under the General
Inspectorate at the
Ministry of Justice is responsible for collecting data from courts in order to
monitor their activities. Legislation
applicable to the child is one of the
priorities of the Ministry of Justice in this area. Statistical data obtained
permit systematic
assessment of the implementation of the Child Protection Code
by the services concerned.
(f) Mechanisms for coordination, assessment and follow-up established by
the Ministry of Social Affairs
78. The social
activities’ programme for schools (PASS) has, since its implementation
during school year 1991/1992, demonstrated
a remarkable evolution, notably
through:
(i) Adopting a joint management procedure for the programme between the
three principal departments directly concerned (the Ministry
of Education, the
Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Public Health) at regional and
central level;
(ii) The creation within the General Directorate for Social Advancement at
the Ministry of Social Affairs, of a department for social
activities for
schools to ensure the follow-up of the programme and its expansion;
(iii) Streamlining of forms of technical and administrative management of
the programme at all the local, regional and central levels;
(iv) Extension of the programme during the school year 1997/1998 to 909
basic education establishments and grammar schools (as against
338
establishments in 1991/1992);
(v) A more sophisticated targeting of students likely to fail or to be
expelled by schools;
(vi) Design of a practical manual for the use of all the social
activities’ units in schools;
(vii) The training of regional teams of trainers responsible for ensuring
continuous training and regular technical and administrative
supervision for the
members of the units.
79. In the context of programmes implemented for
improving aid for children deprived of a family environment, many measures have
been
adopted. The most important are:
(i) The recruitment of specialists in the areas of nutrition, hygiene,
paediatrics and paediopsychiatry responsible for monitoring
the improvement in
living conditions of children entrusted to the INPE;
(ii) The acquisition of new equipment;
(iii) Increases in financial compensation for families fostering children
placed with them;
(iv) More regular and intensive supervision for foster families by qualified
professionals (social workers, psychologists, etc.);
(v) An increase in the capacities of the INPE for hosting children under six years old, who, in their own interest have been temporarily removed from their family environment,
(vi) Promotion of cooperation of the INPE with associations specialized in
care-taking, amongst “family groupings” made
up of a certain number
of children permanently or temporarily deprived of their family
environment.
80. Since submission of the initial report, social defence
and integration programmes have been developed considerably by the adoption
of
many measures such as:
(i) The creation of an interdepartmental committee requested to study cases
of delinquent minors released from rehabilitation centres
and to assist them in
reintegrating socially and vocationally, principally through financing their
return to school; the completion
of a vocational apprenticeship or the creation
of a source of revenue;
(ii) Three new Social Defence and Integration Centres (CDIS) have been
created in Kairouan, Sfax and Gafsa. to supplement those
in Ettadhamen City
(Governorate of Ariana) and Mellassine (Governorate of Tunis). Building has
been completed in two other centres
in Nabeul and Kasserine and they will be
operational shortly.
(iii) The creation since December 1996 of a Reception and Social Guidance
Centre to take charge of, inter alia children over six years old for
short periods of time where these children have been temporarily deprived of
their family environment.
The centre examines the situation of each child and
provides for reintegration, either within the original family or in social
institutions
able to receive the child;
(iv) Sending a team of 26 qualified social workers to family courts and
juvenile courts to strengthen collaboration with these bodies
by investigating
social aspects of cases and potential rehabilitation measures;
(v) The participation of social workers in different information,
awareness-raising or training events organized by direct partners
(for example,
the Ministry of Youth and Infancy, the Ministry of Justice);
(vi) The programme for training holders of the Diploma of Advanced
Technician (BTP) in the social services managed by the National
Institute for
Employment and Social Studies (INTES) as well as the proposed continuous
training programme destined for social assistants
currently using their skills
which includes a module on the area of children as being a rewarding area of
practice in social services.
(g) Mechanisms for coordination, assessment and follow-up established by
the Ministry of Vocational Training and Employment
81. A new
programme has been implemented in order to improve the results of the national
system for training and vocational guidance.
It is a programme for updating
vocational training (MANFORME) with a goal of raising the number of people who
can be trained vocationally
by this programme to 60,000 posts for training per
year by the year 2002, as against 18,000 at present. This new programme offers
standardized training, given on receipt of a request for qualification made by
enterprises.
82. Since the restructuring of the sector for vocational
training in 1993, with regard to mechanisms for the coordination and follow-up
of programmes the Ministry of Vocational Training and Employment possesses
national facilities: the Tunisian Agency for Vocational
Training and the
National Centre for Trainers and for Course Design. Since 1993, as well as the
employment agencies which have just
been
bolstered in human and material terms to allow them to provide better service
to the young people requesting training, apprenticeships
or employment, the
Ministry also has Regional Directorates in all the Governorates of the
country.
83. The National Observatory for Training and Employment set up
by the Ministry of Vocational Training and Employment which is currently
in its
initial start-up phase, is the main tool for the systematic collection of data,
indicators and statistics on the functioning
of the vocational training
instrument. It is also a tool for the analysis, planning and regulation of the
interventions of the instrument
of vocational training with the objective of
being able to adapt them to the needs of the employment market in terms of
skills and
qualifications.
(h) Mechanisms for coordination assessment and follow-up established by
the Ministry of the Environment
(i) Tunisia’s faith in human rights, and specifically in the right of
current and future generations to a life which is socially
and ecologically
healthy;
(ii) The personal commitment of the President of the Republic to improving
living conditions for Tunisian citizens and his participation
in all activities
linked to sustainable development;
(iii) Accession by Tunisia, post ratification, to the provisions of most of
the global and regional conventions and agreements relating
to the
environment;
(iv) A return to the historic, cultural and religious heritage to capture
the deepest sense of the noble objectives of protection
of the
environment
86. The objectives of the National Programme are the
following:
(i) To anchor the idea of environmental education firmly in the minds of the
younger generations in order to guide the behaviour
of children and young people
towards the preservation of ecological wealth and of national heritage, today
and in the future;
(ii) To instil rules of cleanliness and to refine tastes and behaviour amongst young people, so that they will behave wisely and prudently where the progress of their country is concerned;
(iii) To give Tunisian citizens an environmental culture which would allow
them to contribute positively to national efforts regarding
the environment and
sustainable development and to keep them informed about all that has been
achieved internationally, regionally
and nationally.
87. To achieve these
objectives many means and channels are employed:
(i) The means: various documents (flyers, posters, brochures, films,
advertisements, etc.), field visits, awareness-raising campaigns
and events,
competitions, etc.;
(ii) The channels: educational institutions (schools, grammar schools, youth
and cultural clubs, children's clubs, etc), national
and regional
organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), radio and
television.
These means and channels use the environment mascot known in
Tunisia as “Labib” as an example, a model and an advisor
for
children
88. The systematic collection of data, indicators and all
relevant information regarding the policy to be adopted in the area of the
environment in general and environmental education in particular is carried out
in the following ways:
(i) The annual writing-up of an exhaustive report relating to the state of
the environment in the country. Between 1993 to 1997
five annual reports were
drawn up;
(ii) The implementation in 1996 of the Tunisian Observatory for the
Environment and Sustainable Development (OTED) which is an information
tool and decision aid. OTED provides better comprehension of the relationship
between the environment and
sustainable development, as well as objective
numeric information in order to appropriately guide activities in this
sphere;
(iii) The implementation within the Ministry of the Environment and
Development of the Country of a sustainable development network
connected to the
internet, with a view to carrying out a systematic analysis of environmental
issues using a database.
All these activities are founded on the need to
consider the country’s priorities and the requirements for both preserving
natural
resources and for protecting the environment.
89. With regard to
measures adopted to ensure periodic assessment of the progress achieved in the
implementation of those measures
laid out in the Convention which fall under the
competence of the Ministry of the Environment, the annual assessment of
environmental
activities during the preparation of the exhaustive report on the
state of the environment should be noted. Each project is followed
immediately
by scientific assessment. We might mention the following as examples:
(i) Scientific assessment was carried out in June 1994 to raise awareness
amongst children of the problem of managing household waste;
(ii) Another assessment was carried out in September 1997 for environmental
education in the formal and informal education system.
National and
international experts have participated in these two assessments.
a) In the area of health
90. Beyond the
development of the network of associations (7,000 NGOs) a partnership has been
set up between the governmental departments
and the NGOs in order to have civil
society participate in national programmes according to priorities. This
partnership with the
NGOs is regulated in the context of conventions which
provide the terms of reference of the different parties. The population groups
which have most benefited from these partnerships are those in poorer areas as
well as young people.
91. With regard to School and University Medicine,
promotion of cooperation between the NGOs and the other departments has been
made
concrete through various measures:
(i) Medical coverage of establishments other than those depending on the
Ministry of Youth and Infancy, the Ministry of Education
and the Ministry of
Higher Education;
(ii) A project with the National Statistical Office in cooperation with
different NGOs with regard to combating STDs (financed by
UNFPA);
(iii) A campaign against drug addiction with the NGO “School
Youth” (financed by UNESCO);
(iv) Systematic inclusion of NGOs and scholarly groups on national
committees for the preparation of four annual events on health
education in
school and university settings.
Three NGOs are constant partners: the
Tunisian Scouts, School Youth and Jeunes médecins sans
frontières
(b) Education
92. Many measures have
been taken to develop pilot functions for monitoring and assessing the education
system. The following should
be particularly noted:
(i) The creation, within the Ministry of Education, of a Standing Assessment
Committee, presided over by the Minister and composed
of members representing
the ministries concerned, the organizations and the associations operating in
the educational sector. This
Committee is responsible for undertaking regular
assessment of the different components of the education system. It includes
three
Sub-Committees:
- The Sub-Committee for the assessment of programmes and school
handbooks;
- The Sub-Committee for the assessment of teachers;
- The Sub-Committee for the assessment of life at school.
The goals of this facility are the identification of dysfunction, discrepancies and obstacles and the proposal of solutions liable to improve the productivity of the education system as well as the development of teaching innovations.
(ii) Restructuring of the National Institute of Educational Sciences in
order to give it the human and material means necessary to
make it both an
observatory of and a laboratory for the education system.
(c) In
the area of vocational training and employment
93. The Higher Council
for Vocational Training and Employment has been improved, through the
strengthening of its composition and the increase in its powers and by including
representatives of administrations concerned,
political parties, social
partners, vocational and national organizations and
associations.
6. The proportion of the budget which is allocated to
programmes for children
(a) Budget allocated to the area of
children at the Ministry of Youth and Infancy
Year
|
Million dinars
|
1992
|
1.2
|
1993
|
2.0
|
1994
|
1.4
|
1995
|
1.2
|
1996
|
2.5
|
Total
|
8.3
|
95. During the IXth Plan (1997-2001) the budget allocated for programmes
for children was estimated at 23.325 million dinars, broken
down as
follows:
Year
|
Million dinars
|
1997
|
3.140
|
1998
|
4.865
|
This sum is intended for the construction and fitting out of centres for
children as well as for the equipment as shown in the following
table.
Centres
|
Million dinars
|
Child protection
|
8.080
|
Computing for children
|
5.100
|
Play centres and clubs for children
|
6.645
|
Educational material and furniture for all centres and children’s
clubs
|
3.500
|
(b) The amount of the budget allocated for health and medical
services
96. In this context it is to be noted that the Ministry of
Public Health does not have at present statistical data concerning the
number of
consultations and hospital days relating to those aged between 0 and 15 years
old. This being the case it is not possible
to assess the amount of the budget
allocated to health and medical services offered to children and its
distribution at the various
local, regional and central
levels.
(c) Amount of the budget allocated to
education
97. The following table presents the evolution of the
budget of the Ministry of Education (In million dinars)
Year
|
Educational Budget
|
Proportion of the budget for education/State
budget
In percentages |
||||
|
Heading I
|
Heading II
|
Total
|
Heading I
|
Heading II
|
Total
|
1993
|
611.9
|
74.9
|
686.8
|
20.0
|
4.0
|
13.9
|
1994
|
693.8
|
76.9
|
770.7
|
20.6
|
3.6
|
14.0
|
1995
|
772.2
|
86.6
|
858.8
|
20.6
|
3.3
|
13.5
|
1996
|
836.4
|
100.4
|
936.8
|
21.0
|
3.4
|
13.5
|
1997
|
945.6
|
102.7
|
1 048.3
|
21.7
|
3.1
|
13.6
|
1998
|
1 022.0
|
81.0
|
1 103.0
|
22.0
|
2.0
|
12.6
|
d) Proportion of the budget allocated to vocational
training
98. The budget reserved for vocational training has been
assessed as follows:
Year
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
Budget
|
34.098
|
39.749
|
43.697
|
52.006
|
53.710
|
104.971
|
Rate of increase
|
-
|
16.1 %
|
11.6 %
|
24.3 %
|
5 %
|
95.4 %
|
7. Position regarding bilateral, regional and international
cooperation
(a) In the area of Youth and Infancy
99. The measures adopted by Tunisia in the area
of child protection which are translated into reality through the promulgation
of
the Child Protection Code and represent an important event on a world scale.
These efforts carried out on behalf of child protection
highlight to young
generations the valued position granted to the Code of the Protection of the
Child. Certain countries in the
region request the support of Tunisia and
invite Tunisian experts to collaborate with them to design their national
strategies and
to assist them in promotion of the rights of the child, as well
as in the implementation of a system of national reports.
(b) In the
health domain
(c) In the educational
domain
101. Even if most of the efforts deployed on behalf of
children are in the hands of the State, some international and bilateral
programmes
are regularly begun with United Nations bodies (UNESCO, UNICEF,
UNFPA), as well as with some countries. It is important to note
amongst these
the “Basic Skills Programme” with UNICEF, considering its importance
and breadth.
C. Measures adopted to make the principles and provisions
of the Convention
widely known, by appropriate and active means
(article
42)
1. Ministry of Justice
(a) Measures and programmes set up, since the submission of the initial report, in order to ensure wide dissemination of the principles and rights proclaimed by the Convention to magistrates, prosecutors, lawyers and other representatives of the law working with and for children
102. Article 1 of the Child Protection Code lays
down the need to “disseminate the culture of the rights of the child and
to
make known characteristics intrinsic to it in order to ensure harmony and
balance between the child’s personality on the one
hand and to anchor the
idea of responsibility with regard to children amongst parents, family and all
of society on the other hand”. Amongst the efforts made to this
end we might cite the following:
(i) The basic training programme intended for first year justice auditors at the Higher Magistrates’ Institute includes lectures and courses in the area of human rights. The rights and principles proclaimed by the Convention for the Rights of the Child are an important aspect of this;
(ii) Practical work sessions are provided regarding juvenile criminal
courts;
(iii) Many dissertations prepared by justice auditors at the end of their studies have related to the Convention, the Child Protection Code and the rights of the child in general;
(iv) Furthermore and on the same subject, study sessions, international,
national and regional symposia are organized by the Institute,
with the
collaboration of the courts of appeal and under the supervision of the Ministry
of Justice, in the context of gaining experience
and of continuous training for
titular magistrates.
(b) Didactic tools and means designed for a broad dissemination of the
rights of the child and measures adopted to this effect
103. As well
as the means for dissemination presented above the Ministry of Justice has,
since promulgation of the Child Protection
Code, designed means for making the
rights of the child widely known. These are brochures or books aimed at law
practitioners and
other sections of society, particularly children. It is in
this context that the Centre for Legal and Judicial Studies has published
a book
on “simplified justice for children” and another providing “a
commentary on the Child Protection Code”.
2. Ministry of Youth
and Infancy
104. To ensure wide dissemination of the principles and
rights proclaimed by the Convention to parents, civil servants and officers
working with and for children under the Ministry of Youth and Infancy the
following information and training activities have been
undertaken:
(a) Seminars
N°
|
Subject
|
Date
|
Content
|
Participants
|
1
|
Child Protection Code
|
15 and 16 March 1996
|
– General principles
– Protection mechanisms – Duty to report – Role of the representative for the protection of the child – Médiation |
58 child inspectors
|
2
|
Education regarding the rights of the child
|
23, 24 and 25 December 1996
|
– Rights of the child
– The Child Protection Code – Rights of the child and educational programmes |
– 50 child inspectors
– 150 education inspectors |
3
|
Making the rights of the child commonly known
|
17, 18 and 19 November 1997
|
– The political, cultural and socio-
economic rights of the child – Programmes and means for making the rights of the child commonly known |
– 89 child managers
– 10 representatives for the protection of children |
(b) Audio-visual programmes to aid education of the young
child
105. This programme is targeted at designing an education
system based on audio-visual means and takes into account the knowledge
and
attitudes of the Tunisian family with regard to the background and level of
education of each. This is done through producing
didactic tools and methods,
specifically four
video cassettes of 30 minutes’ duration and four manuals for parents
and leaders. The cassettes and written material contain
all the basic
information on the normal development of a child and strategies to enable the
creation of an effective learning environment.
The age ranges targeted
are:
(i) From pregnancy to one year old;
(ii) From one year to
three years old;
(iii) From three years to five years
old;
(iv) From five years to seven years.
(i) A community strategy which consists of showing the videos in regional
and local institutions during activity sessions run by
leaders trained to do so
and made aware of the content of each video;
(ii) A media strategy which consists of creating radio and televisual
advertisements from the content of the four cassettes and disseminating
them
widely through these broad-reaching media;
The video and written
documents relating to the first age section which is from pregnancy to one year
have already been produced and
disseminated in experimental fashion in some
regions by leaders trained for this purpose throughout 1998. The monitoring and
assessment
of this activity were undertaken from the beginning of November 1998.
The following table concerns this project:
Regions |
Number of sessions
|
Parents benefiting
|
Total benefiting |
|
Masculine
|
Feminine
|
|||
Kasserine
|
8
|
62
|
30
|
92
|
Ben Arous
|
11
|
44
|
112
|
156
|
Kébili
|
16
|
3
|
290
|
293
|
Gafsa
|
7
|
11
|
81
|
92
|
(c) A travelling presentation on the rights of the
child
107. A travelling presentation gathering together a group of
photos on the rights of the child and used as an activity aid for children
and
adults has been organized throughout different regions, as indicated
below:
N°
|
Regions
|
Time periods
|
---|---|---|
1
|
Tunis
|
From 22 to 30 May 1995
|
2
|
Sfax
|
From 1 to 14 June 1995
|
3
|
Le Kef
|
From 18 to 29 June 1995
|
4
|
Gafsa
|
From 15 to 29 October 1995
|
5
|
Ariana
|
From 1 to 14 November 1995
|
6
|
Ben Arous
|
From 16 to 24 November 1995
|
7
|
Mahdia
|
From 15 to 28 April 1996
|
8
|
Sousse
|
From 18 to 31 May 1996
|
9
|
Bizerte
|
From 1 to 15 November 1996
|
10
|
Tozeur
|
From 28 April to 10 May 1997
|
11
|
Kébili
|
From 12 to 25 May 1997
|
12
|
Sidi Bouzid
|
From 1 to 15 November 1997
|
(d) Production of documents and televisual and radio
advertisements
108. Many posters, flyers, brochures and manuals
aiming at making the rights of the child commonly known and raising awareness
amongst
children, young people and adults regarding the rights of the child have
been produced and disseminated. Advertisements relating
to the rights of the
child are regularly broadcast to the public via radio and
television.
(e) Opinion surveys
109. In the context of
implementation of the Convention the Ministry of Youth and Infancy has set up,
in cooperation with UNICEF an
information policy to promote the principles of
the Convention through media and schools at regional and national levels. This
promotional
strategy seeks to bring about positive changes in behaviour in
society in general and amongst parents in particular. It requires
better
knowledge of the aspirations of children with regard to their own rights, their
expectations and their needs.
110. The Ministry of Youth and Infancy, the
Ministry of Economic Development, represented by the National Statistical
Institute and UNICEF, have agreed to carry out an enquiry survey amongst
a representative sample of children aged from nine to 14 years, all
at school,
to know these aspirations in order to develop a communication and social
mobilization strategy for the rights of the child.
The survey was made amongst
1,500 children, chosen using a quota method and taking into account four
variables (gender, urban versus
rural background, the socio-professional
category of the parents and the geographical region. The questionnaire, made up
of 80 questions,
is divided into five parts in the following manner:
(i) The first part concerns the identity of the child and the socio-economic
level of its family (independent variables);
(ii) The second part seeks to learn the child’s knowledge in terms of
rights of the child (first part of the dependent variables);
(iii) The third part is intended to learn the views, expectations and the
concept which children have with regard to the ability
of their families to
protect their rights;
(iv) The fourth part is intended to learn the views, expectations and the
concept which children have with regard to the ability
of their school to
protect their rights;
(v) The fifth part is aimed at knowing the views the child has of the ability of the social environment to protect their rights.
The use to be made of the results of the survey as well as the strategy
to be adopted from these results is still in the process of
being drawn up.
111. It is appropriate to point out here that a new association (the
Tunisian Association for the Rights of the Child) has just been
created
(September 1998) and is to play an important role in terms of dissemination and
making the culture of the rights of the child
widely
known.
(f) President of the Republic’s prize for the rights of
the child
112. The institution in 1995 through Decree No. 95-21 of 25
January 1995 of the prize of the President of the Republic for the rights
of the
child fosters the aim of making these rights widely available to the public at
large. The prize is awarded annually, and
on the occasion of the celebration
of National Rights of the Child Day to “personalities, organizations,
institutions and bodies
that have distinguished themselves either globally,
regionally or nationally through outstanding service provided in the domain of
the rights of the child, child protection and assisting the child to
flourish” Since January 1995 the prize has been awarded
to Tunisian
organizations as well as to periodicals published by children’s
organizations which have carried out activities
and programmes aimed at
protecting children and disseminating the rights of the child to a wide public
as well as to children themselves.
3. Ministry of Public
Health
(a) Measures adopted in order to ensure wide dissemination of the rights
of the child to health professionals working with and for children
(b) Didactic means and tools used
114. As dissemination of
principles and rights proclaimed by the Convention have been integrated in the
activities of for maternal
and child health programmes, the didactic tools and
means (televised advertisements, brochures, posters) have been drawn up in the
context of those programmes.
4. Ministry of Education
(a) Measures and programmes set up, since the submission of the initial
report with a view to ensuring wide circulation of the principles
and rights
proclaimed by the Convention to students, teachers and other education
professionals
115. Curricula for civic education have been modified
to introduce explicitly into them, and on various levels, a reference to the
Convention and to the Child Protection Code.
117. Training
courses relating to the Convention and the Child Protection Code have been
organized for teachers and education professionals.
118. Reference works
containing namely the main national and international texts relating to human
rights and to the rights of the
child including the Convention and the Child
Protection Code have been published.
(b) Progress achieved in the area of integration of the Convention within
the syllabus of various courses of study
120. Integration of the
Convention into school curricula is made in different ways which are either
direct or indirect. The Convention
is explicitly present in programmes relating
to civic education (in the fifth year of basic education and in the sixth year
of secondary
education). Indirectly, the Convention is present in programmes of
this same discipline (in the third, fifth and ninth years of
basic education),
which devote some sessions to examination of passages of the Child Protection
Code. Furthermore, explicit education
regarding the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and concerning United Nations bodies such as UNICEF and UNESCO is
foreseen.
(c) Programmes designed for teachers and other education professionals,
including training courses, seminars and discussions with a view
to associating
these into the active dissemination of the provisions and principles of the
Convention to students and their parents
121. Further to the initial
training of teachers which includes the modules devoted to human rights,
continuous training provided
to working teachers allows for awareness-raising
activities, training and deepening of knowledge in terms of the culture of human
rights and the rights of the child, based on national and international texts.
Seminars and workshops organized regularly to this
effect have a national,
regional or local flavour and are initiated in collaboration with specialized
agencies. The celebration
of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights has been an opportunity to undertake activities
likely to
ensure wide circulation of the principles and values of human rights
(a national exhibition, international seminars, national symposia,
radio
programmes, television advertising, etc). A ministerial circular has been sent
to all educational establishments encouraging
them to organize awareness-raising
courses aimed at students of all levels.
122. Two national competitions
for creative writing and art based on the rights of the child (for children in
primary schools), women’s
rights (for pupils in secondary schools) and
human rights (for grammar school children), have been organized on the occasion
of the
celebration of the fiftieth anniversary.
5. Ministry of
Vocational Training and Employment
123. The principles and rights
proclaimed by the Convention are inculcated to young people trained during
seminars which are organized
regularly in the context of the “Living in a
group” project which is a constant feature in all vocational training
centres.
As far as trainers are concerned, the dissemination of
these principles and rights is carried out through retraining courses
organized for them by the National Training Centre for Trainers
and for Course
Design.
6. Ministry of the Environment
(a) Measures and programmes set up since submission of the initial report
with a view to ensuring wide circulation of the rights of the
child proclaimed
by the Convention
124. Taking into account the right of the citizen
to live in a healthy environment and in order to achieve sustainable development
for current and future generations young people have benefited from the
following programmes:
(i) Programmes for managing waste, particularly household waste, with pilot
projects in which children themselves have participated;
(ii) Campaigns against all forms of pollution and desertification;
(iii) Programmes for developing towns and tree-planting projects carried out
on a local, regional and national level;
(iv) Publication in Tunisia and in two languages (Arabic and French) of a
brochure entitled: “Rescue Mission: Planet Earth – Agenda
21 with young people.” This document, drawn up with
UNDP and the African NGO, “Mission Earth, Africa”, shows the active
participation of young
people in various environmental settings. It has allowed
children throughout the world to express themselves through writing or
pictures
and to present the problems their countries are facing.
(b) Didactic tools and means designed and measures adopted to ensure wide
circulation of the rights of the child
(i) Educational manuals for teachers and club leaders. Between 1995 to 1998
three manuals were produced for schools and pre-schools;
(ii) Scientific documents: ten documents each dealing with an environmental
problem, such as improvement of urban life, bio-diversity
and rare species, the
safeguarding of water resources, of soil resources, protection of cultural
heritage, global, environmental,
industrial pollution, the protection of marine
coasts, cleanliness of beaches, atmospheric pollution, refurbishing of public
institutions,
management of dangerous and noxious waste, purification,
etc.;
(iii) Items such as posters, flyers, stickers, badges, calendars, greeting cards, tee shirts, relating to environmental issues: televised advertisements and documentaries relating essentially to saving water, protection of the coast line, management of household waste, methods of maritime fishing affecting the environment, depollution methods, land and sea natural reserves as well as about national parks.
126. Dissemination of these tools is primarily carried out in the
following manner:
(i) During visits carried out by the Minister of the Environment and of
Development of the Country to school and pre-school establishments
(500 visits
made since 1993);
(ii) Visits to travelling and permanent presentations by coach and
train
(iii) Events organized during Environment Days
(iv) Cultural activities carried out with national organizations and
NGOs.
Furthermore the use of other means is planned, such as educational
kits, models and illuminated pictures.
D. Measures adopted to ensure wide circulation of this
report
(article 44, paragraph 6)
127. The preparation of this report was an opportunity to reflect deeply
on consideration of questions relating to the rights of the
child in Tunisia, as
was the case in the preparation of the initial report.
128. The document
drawn up by the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/58 of
20 November 1996) has enabled us to identify a
methodology for the
realization of the current report. In fact, from this document a questionnaire
for interventions was drawn up
for each sector involved and given to high level
officials and experts in different ministries. This methodology has facilitated
the task for the different partners having participated in the updating of this
report. A drafting committee, composed of high level
civil servants from the
Ministry of Youth and Infancy, from the Ministry of Justice, from the Ministry
of the Interior, and from
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was made responsible
for drawing up the draft report, which was submitted to different ministries
for
comments and observations allowing the committee to finalize it.
129. It
is planned to circulate widely the report to NGOs, graduates and the public
during events to which parents and child professionals
will be invited as well
as children.
II. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD
(article 1)
A. Minimum legal age for a child to seek advice from a lawyer
130. A child of 13 years of age is considered as being lacking entirely
in discrimination and all his or her acts are null and void
(Personal Status
Code, article 156, paragraph 1). In contrast, a child between 13 and 20 years
of age does have restricted powers
to act and may consult a lawyer. His or her
acts will not be null and void provided they only procure advantages (article
156 of
the Personal Status Code and article 9 of the Obligations and Contracts
Code).
131. With regard to protection of the delinquent child,
article 77 of the Child Protection Code obliges the State Prosecutor “to
provide a lawyer to assist the child, if the latter has not designated
one,” in cases where “the charges levelled against
the child are of
major gravity”. The same article adds “In all cases, a child aged
under 15 years cannot be examined
by the judicial police except in the
presence of his guarantor, parents, legal guardian, or close adult
relative. ”
B. Minimum legal age for medical treatment or surgery without parental consent
132. Under Tunisian law, a child cannot undergo surgical treatment
without the agreement of his or her father and mother or his or
her legal or
public guardian, exercising the prerogatives of guardianship over his or her
person (article 123 of the Code of Personal
Status) and thus responsible for any
harm to his or her physical integrity.
134. It is also clearly stated under article
3 of Act No. 91-92, of 25 March 1991 regarding organ transplants and grafting of
human
organs that “removing organs from the corpse of a minor or an
incapable person may not be carried out for transplants until
after consent has
been received from the legal tutor.” Breaches of the provisions of this
article “are punished by imprisonment
from one to five years and a fine of
one thousand to two thousand dinars” (article 16 of the above-cited
Act).
C. Minimum legal age for marriage
135. Article 5 of the Personal Status Code stipulates:...”men under
20 years of age and women under 17 years of age cannot enter
into a marriage
contract. Below this age marriage cannot be contracted unless there is special
authorization granted by the judge
who will only do so for serious reasons and
in the clear best interests of the two future spouses”.
D. Minimum legal age for sexual consent
136. The Tunisian Criminal Code, which ensures the child effective
protection against sexual exploitation, does not authorize children
to have
sexual relations. Even marriage is subject to the authorization of the judge
for boys and girls under 17 years and to the
approval of the mother and father
for a female child of over 17 years of age (article 5 of the Personal Status
Code).
137. All sexual relations with a child, outside a marriage
contracted in legally valid fashion, render the partner liable to penal
sanctions. The age of the child and the legal description of the type of sexual
act are parameters which are used to set the penalties
incurred by the
perpetrator of the crime.
138. Thus in the following circumstances
“...for the crime of rape committed on a person aged under 10 years even
where there
is no use made of the afore-said means (violence, use, or threat of
use, of a weapon)” the penalty is capital punishment.
“The crime of
rape committed outside these circumstances is punished by life imprisonment.
Consent is considered to be non-existent
where the victim is under 13 years
of age (article 227 of the Criminal Code amended by Act. No. 85-9 of 7 March
1985 and amended
by Act No. 89-23 of 27 February
1989).
139. Furthermore: “the penalty of six years’
imprisonment is applied for causing a female child of under 15 years of age
to
submit to sexual relations without violence. The penalty is of five
years’ imprisonment where the child is between 15 and
20 years of age.
The attempt to commit such a crime is punishable. Marriage contracted between
the guilty party and the victim
halts proceedings or the execution of a sentence
in both cases covered under this article...” (article 227
bis of the Criminal Code,
added to, supplemented and amended respectively by Act No. 58-15 of 4 March
1985, Act No. 69-21 of 27 March 1969 and Act No. 89-23
of 27 February
1989).
140. In the same way “an indecent assault committed without
violence on the person of a child of either sex aged under 18 years
of age is
punished by five years’ imprisonment” (article 228 bis of the
Criminal Code amended by Act No. 58-15 of 4 March 1958 and Act No. 95-93 of 9
November 1995).
141. It is important to note that where the
perpetrators of these crimes are parents of the victim, have moral authority
over the child,
or if the assault is committed by several persons such
circumstances are viewed to be aggravating: “the penalty is doubled
if
the perpetrators of the crimes concerned under articles 227 bis, 228 and
228 bis are parents of the victim, if they have in any way at all
authority over them, if they are the teachers, servants, doctors, dentists
of
the child or if the crime is committed by several people” (article 229
amended by Act No. 89-23 of 27 February 1989).
E. Minimum legal age for a child to be considered criminally
responsible
and liable to imprisonment
142. Article 68 of
the Child Protection Code states that a child under 13 years of age is
considered irrebuttably to be unable to
have infringed the Criminal Code, this
presumption becomes rebuttable for children aged from 13 to 15 years old.
However, a criminal
sentence can be applied to the child if this sentencing
appears necessary for the child’s rehabilitation. Article 99 of the
Child
Protection Code states that in this case “rehabilitation is undergone in a
specialized establishment and if this should
prove to be impossible, in a
special block of the prison reserved for children”.
F. Minimum legal age for a child to give testimony in civil or criminal courts
143. The minimum age for a child to give testimony cannot be below 13
years of age, the age of discrimination. It falls to the judge
to use
discretion in determining the usefulness of taking a statement from the child,
or to decide on the contrary that it is likely
to cause emotional and
psychological trauma.
144. In all juvenile courts, the State Prosecutor
has an alternate specialized in terms of child protection. This is a magistrate
who has been trained in the mechanisms for the protection of the child. As far
as officers of the judicial police are concerned
“they cannot proceed to
an examination of the child suspect, nor undergo any procedure with regard to
the child until they
have advised the competent State Prosecutor...”
(article 77 of the Child Protection Code).
G. Minimum legal age for a child to lodge a complaint and seek
redress before
a court or relevant authority without parental consent
145. In terms of
criminal matters, there is no minimum legal age for lodging a complaint, because
the Public Prosecutors’ Office
and the judicial police are legally bound
to receive all grievances and complaints.
146. In terms of civil
matters, civil capacity is required to undertake court procedures in accordance
with article 19, paragraph
1 of the Code for Civil and Commercial Procedure
which provides that “the right to bring a case belongs to all persons with
the status and capacity to have their rights examined in court. In the case of
procedure in matters of special urgency and in the
case of danger at home a case
may validly be brought by a minor over the age of
discrimination.”
147. Tunisian legislature considers a minor to be
endowed with discrimination from the age of 13 years old, in accordance
with new
article 5 of the Obligations and Contracts Code. Below the age
``of 13 years the minor is considered to be incapable and has to be
assisted by an adult to make legal representations.
148. In the case
where parents refuse to request damages for harm caused to the child, the
latter, if over 13 years of age can, without
the assistance of parents, legal
guardians or care-taker carry out all acts able to “enrich him or
her” or “liberate
him or her from an obligation, without incurring
the slightest charge”. In fact, on the basis of article 9 of the
Obligations
and Contracts Code, a child over 13 years old can bring an
independent action for damages.
H. Minimum legal age for children to participate in
administrative
and judicial proceedings which concern them
149. A child complainant can in reality usually only do this through the
official tutor (article 154 of the Personal Status Code).
It is the same for
administrative procedures. However, the child can participate in all procedures
concerning him or her by being
listened to and expressing views.
Article 10 of the Child Protection Code stipulates, in fact, that
“the child is guaranteed
the right freely to express his or her views
which should be taken into consideration in accordance with his or her age and
degree
of maturity. To this end the child will be given a special opportunity
to express his or her views and to be heard in all legal
procedures and with
regard to all social and educational measures concerning his or her
situation”.
I. Minimum legal age for giving consent to change of
identity, including change of name,
modification of family
relationships, adoption, guardianship
150. The child enjoys to the full the right to be informed of measures
taken in his or her regard and the right to freely express
views (article 9 of
the Child Protection Code). However, a child may not give legally valid consent
to change identity or family
relationships given the crucial importance of these
measures for the future and the best interests of the child.
J. Minimum legal age for having access to information concerning the biological family
151. Access of the child to information concerning the biological family
cannot take place officially until after the age of discrimination
has been
attained, namely 13 years of age. The Act of 28 October 1998, regarding the
granting of a patronymic family name to children
of unknown parentage or
abandoned children confers on the child the right to carry out actions to seek
knowledge of paternity. If
the child is a minor the action can be carried out
by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the mother or the biological
father of the child. When the child has reached majority, the search can
be
carried out independently (article 4 of the above-cited Act).
K. Minimum legal age for the capacity to inherit, conduct
property transactions
and to create or join associations
152. Under the provisions of the Personal Status Code the child may, from
conception, have the status of heir. However, the legal
capacity of being able
to dispose of the fruit of this succession cannot be enjoyed until attaining
majority (20 years old) except
through the intermediary of parents or legal
tutors and by authorization of the judge supervising a guardianship if the tutor
or
legal representative is not the father or mother exercising the prerogative
of tutelage (article 154 of the Personal Status Code).
However, “a child
who is over 13 years of age is considered to be able to discriminate. His or
her acts shall be valid in
as much as they procure only advantages and null and
void if they result only in disadvantages. Apart from these two cases, their
validity shall be subordinated to the agreement of the tutor” (article
156).
153. With regard to creating associations, the Act of 7 November 1959, as
amended by the Act of 2 August 1988, does not expressly
require civil
majority be obtained for the constitution or running of associations. However,
in application of the general principles
of law and given the fact that the
association is considered from a legal point of view as being a contract,
associations can only
be constituted by persons who have attained majority and
enjoy their full legal capacity to enter into contracts, as required by
articles
2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the Obligations and Contracts Code. Children under the age
of discrimination can be members of associations,
but they are not able to run
them because such functions are liable to engage their civil and criminal
liability.
L. Minimum legal age to choose a religion or attend religious school teaching
155. Pupils of non-Muslim denomination
attend either schools reserved for different religious beliefs, or public state
schools. In
this case, pupils are exempted from all education of a religious
nature and are of course dispensed from examinations related to
this education.
During religious holidays these pupils are authorized to be absent. In the case
where national examination periods
coincide with religious holidays, particular
provisions are made to allow these pupils to celebrate these holidays without
any difficulty.
M. Minimum legal age for consumption of alcohol
156. In Tunisia it is against the law for all children under 16 years of
age to consume alcoholic drinks. Act No. 59-147 of 7 November
1959, regarding
establishments selling alcoholic drinks and similar establishments forbids,
under article 35 (as amended by Decree-Law
No. 74-23 of 2 November 1974),
“minors from being allowed access under 16 years where not accompanied by
their parents or guardians”.
N. Minimum age for entry into the labour force
157. The minimum age for entry into the labour
force in all sectors of activity regulated by the Labour Code (industrial,
commercial,
agricultural, etc.) is set at 16 years old as a general rule. This
rule applies as much to full-time work as it does to part-time
work. The age
for entry into employment which by its nature or by the conditions in which it
is carried out “is dangerous
for the life, health or the morality of the
persons engaged therein” is set at 18 years old (article 58 [new] of the
Labour
Code).
158. The age of admission for vocational training is 17
years. It is set at 15 years for apprenticeships.
159. The age of
admission to Centres for the Rural Young Woman is between 16 and 25 years of
age.
O. The relationship between the minimum age for entry into
the labour force
and the age of completion of compulsory
schooling
160. The minimum age for entry into the labour force (16 years old) is
the exact age at which compulsory schooling ends in accordance
with the
provisions of Act No. 91-65 of 29 July 1991 regarding the education system.
Through this total synchrony Tunisian law seeks
to protect the child from
economic exploitation by safeguarding the right of the child to complete his or
her studies.
P. Entry age for basic education
161. As mentioned in the initial report, Act No. 91-65 of 29 July 1991
regarding the education system set entry to basic education
at six years old.
Q. Age from which the child is no longer obliged legally to attend school
162. The afore-mentioned Act of 1991 has shown the compulsory nature of
education from the age of six onwards for every pupil able
to pursue regularly
his or her studies, up to the age of 16 years. Any absenteeism, or withdrawal
of the child before the age of
16 renders the parents liable to criminal
procedures against them.
III. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
A. Non-discrimination (art. 2)
(a) Positive measures for children born out of
wedlock
164. As has been discussed at length in the initial report
(see paragraphs 124 to 127 et seq.), very soon after independence the
Tunisian legislature turned its attention to the situation of children born out
of wedlock.
Thus less than two years after promulgation of the Personal Status
Code, Act No. 58-27 of 4 March 1958 was adopted “concerning
public
guardianship, unofficial tutorship and adoption”. In 1967 the
legislature passed Act No. 67-47 of 21 November 1967
“concerning family
placement”.
165. Decree No. 1005 of 26 June 1991 related for its part to the
reorganization of the INPE with a view to orienting the activities
of the
Institute towards increasing prevention and assistance programmes for unmarried
mothers and their children. (For more details
on all these measures please see
the initial report, paragraphs 60 to 63 and 127 to 138.)
166. These
measures have been increased and bolstered constantly in order to respond in the
best way to the needs of the children
concerned. They consist specifically
of:
(i) Keeping as far as possible the child born out of wedlock with his or her
biological parent(s) by providing them with the necessary
social and
psychological support;
(ii) Providing as much as possible for children permanently deprived of a
family environment (children born out of wedlock and then
abandoned by their
parents) with a substitute family for the rest of their life through adoption or
kafalah or, if necessary with a foster family through placement within a
family.
(iii) Providing a child which has been deprived temporarily or permanently
of its family environment and placed in an institution
(INPE association) with
shelter, food, education and all necessary care.
(b) Measures adopted
to eliminate discrimination against girls permanently
167. Coherent
and complementary strategies have been taken in Tunisia to allow the most
vulnerable and poorest groups to acquire those
tools which are indispensable for
their social and economic integration. In this regard, the areas of health,
education, the campaign
against illiteracy and poverty and the promotion of the
rights of handicapped persons are considered to be priorities by the State
and
receive particular attention and care on a continuous
basis.
168. However, it is in the area of the promotion of women’s
rights and rights of girls and the gradual abolition of all forms
of
discrimination in their regard that the most progress can be recognized by all
in Tunisia.
169. Promulgation of the Personal Status Code in 1956
constitutes still today a legislative marker for what an Arab-Muslim state can
do to improve the lot of women. The recent legislative measures of 1993,
relating particularly to revising certain provisions of
the Personal Status Code
are another qualitative turning point in the promotion of women's rights.
Recent Tunisian history can certainly
be read and appreciated through this long
and constant evolution of women in terms of sustainable progress which bears
witness to
a political will renewed at the highest levels of
State.
170. Ratification of a considerable number of international
instruments for protection in this area has without a doubt contributed
to
lifting obstacles to the complete integration of women and girls in the various
aspects of economic and social life. In this
respect we may recall in
particular that Tunisia has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all
Forms of Discrimination against
women adopted on 18 December 1979 by the
General Assembly of the United Nations, which represents the normative
international instrument
of general scope in the matter. Before this, Tunisia
had also ratified other international instruments of a more restricted scope
including particularly ILO Convention No. 100 concerning Equal
Remuneration for Men and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value and ILO
Convention No. 111 concerning Discrimination in Respect of
Employment and Occupation.
171. The report presented at the fourth World Conference on Women
(Beijing 1995) expresses in detail the evolution of the situation
of women and
girls in strategic areas reflecting particularly education, health, development
programmes and assistance for employment,
vocational training,
etc.
172. What is particularly notable is the number of female staff and
their breakthrough into the field of education, in terms of entry
to the
education system and also their results. The disparities between girls and boys
are disappearing more and more and a balance
is being achieved. One can even
note that girls are doing better than boys through examination of their rates of
success and of
advancement in primary education and in many subjects in
secondary education as well as through the reduction in the rate of school
drop-out (see further in chapter VII, section A).
173. The same trends
towards improvement in the condition of women are highlighted in the areas of
health, and in the campaign against
poverty and for employment.
(c) Positive measures adopted and programmes set up in order to ensure
effective equality of all children in terms of the right to health,
particularly
those children belonging to the most disadvantaged groups
(i) The medical check-up in the first year is carried out early on in order
to detect and provide care as soon as possible for any
congenital or acquired
infection which might hinder schooling;
(ii) School medical teams contribute to the scholastic integration in basic
education of children taken care of by the regional rehabilitation
units;
(iii) School health programmes provides for regular monitoring of children
at risk (severe pathology or handicap).
178. The social activities’
programme for schools (PASS), a programme piloted by the Ministry of Social
Affairs, the Ministry
of Education and the Ministry of Public Health, seeks to
combat school drop-out through an interdisciplinary approach.
179. Units
for social activities in the school milieu (CASS) have been created in
school establishments in order to take care of pupils in difficulty who are at
risk of being expelled. These
units are managed by the head of the school, the
doctor and the school paramedical staff as well as by the social officer. At a
regional
level, the school coordinating doctor ensures the support and
monitoring of the CASS with other partners in social affairs and education.
At
the central level, a monitoring committee ensures supervision of the CASS and
follow-up of the programme in the different Governorates,
as well as the
programming of some activities for the benefit of the coordinators with the
agreement of the piloting committee.
(d) Measures adopted with a view to ensuring maximum equality in health
programmes and in distribution of human and material resources
at the different
local, regional and central levels, as well as between towns and
villages
180. A project for developing primary health care –
Population Project/Family Health – financed largely by a loan from
the World Bank and with the goal of improving demographic indicators was
carried out between 1992-1999. In more precise terms, this project targeted
the following areas:
(i) Reduction of regional disparity, namely by according the greatest
priority to the poorest regions
(ii) An increase in the efficiency of health and population services by
integrating activities relating to maternal and child health
and family planning
into the basic health facilities.
(iii) A readjustment of resources amongst the varied health
levels.
181. In terms of reproductive health services, health activities
in the poorest zones are included in the framework of programmes
for integrated
socio-economic development specifically concerning these villages.
(e) Positive measures adopted in order to ensure equality in terms of
social rights and services
182. The initial report mentioned numerous
measures adopted by the Government in order to ensure effective equality in
social rights
and services which children with specific needs may benefit from,
that is, handicapped children, socially underprivileged children,
etc. These
measures are constantly being stepped up in order to respond in the best way to
the needs of the targeted population.
They consist of:
(i) Developing the integration of handicapped children within the normal
school system.
(ii) Expanding the network of facilities responsible for assisting the
vocational, psychosocial, intellectual and physical rehabilitation of
handicapped children;
(iii) Ensuring that seriously handicapped children who are cared for at home
receive rehabilitation services and domestic aid;
(iv) Providing illiterate children with literacy, social education and vocational initiation programmes in relatively decentralized fashion in order to reach the most isolated pockets of illiteracy;
(v) Ensuring the poorest children of pre-school age receive health education
programmes and physical and intellectual development
programmes;
(vi) Providing students needing basic and secondary education with the
material and financial support to allow them to pursue in
a normal manner their
studies;
(vii) Extending the network for school social activities’ units and
refining intervention methods in the campaign against failure
and school
drop-out;
(viii) Developing services for the prevention of juvenile delinquency, for
social and vocational reintegration of potential delinquents
and of minors
released from rehabilitation centres.
(f) Positive measures adopted with a view to ensuring that all children
of an age to benefit, specifically the most underprivileged groups
of children,
receive maximum equality in terms of the right to education
184. In Tunisia, equality of all children of an
age to benefit from the right to education is effective thanks to free and
compulsory
schooling established from six to 16 years. Thus, in 1998, school
enrolment figures for children aged six reached the level of 99.1%.
The
above-mentioned Act defines sanctions to be taken against a tutor who abstains
from enrolling the child in one of the basic
education establishments or who
withdraws the child before the age of 16 years.
185. Article 4 of this
same Act extends this right to education specifically to handicapped children or
those who are behind in their
studies. Children with a slight handicap continue
their studies in ordinary educational establishments, which contributes to their
social integration. As far as seriously handicapped children are concerned,
they are taken care of in specialized educational
establishments.
186. Children born out of wedlock and foreign children
residing in Tunisia do not suffer any discrimination with regard to the right
to
education.
(g) Measures adopted in order to ensure maximum equality within education
programmes and in the distribution of human and material resources,
across the
different local, regional and central levels as well as between towns and
villages
187. Distribution of human and material resources across the
various local, regional and central levels as well as between towns and
villages
responds to the requirements of fairness and equity because these resources are
distributed with regard to criteria such
as number of pupils, the distances
involved and the specific needs of the regions. The same ratios are applied to
budgetary allowances
and the assignment of different staff.
(h) Measures adopted to ensure effective equality in vocational training
programmes and to eliminate all forms of discrimination in this
sphere
188. Article 11 of the Act concerning guidance for vocational
training promulgated on 17 February 1993 provides that “vocational
guidance is aimed at assisting young people of both sexes...to choose....a
profession in accordance with their aspirations, their
aptitudes and their
interests....” Article 14 of the same Act provides special provisions for
the training of handicapped persons.
B. Best interests of the child
(article 3)
190. As has been expounded
upon at length in the initial report, Tunisian legislature is in alignment with
the provisions of article
3 of the Convention and enshrines the principle of the
best interests of the child. This is referred to explicitly, namely under
article 67 of the Personal Status Code, relating to custody of the child, as
amended by Act No. 93-74 of 12 July 1993, and articles
7 (unofficial tutorship),
8 and 16 (adoption) of Act No. 58-27 of 4 March 1958 cited above,
“concerning public guardianship,
unofficial tutorship and adoption”.
191. With the ratification of the Convention, the State has undertaken a
series of measures directed at safeguarding and strengthening
the rights of the
child and the best interests of the child.
192. From a legal point of
view the various substantial reforms made, for example, in the area of the
family, of criminal legislation
for minors, of education, of vocational training
all reflect the same concern to ensure that greater account is taken of the best
interests of the child (see the initial report, chapter 1, section
A).
193. With regard to mechanisms, the same concern for safeguarding the
best interests of the child is a priority for the different
authorities and
intervention structures which have been established, particularly the Higher
Council for Children, the Social Defence
and Integration Centres (CDSI), the
Pilot Centres for Observation of Minors (CPOM), etc. (see initial report,
chapter 1, section B).
194. This trend has been increased since the
submission of the initial report and throughout the reference period covered by
the current
report, in order to promulgate the Child Protection Code. Article 4
of this Code makes express reference to the principle of the
best interests of
the child as being the general principle which should govern all decisions and
actions undertaken by the various
persons concerned working with and for
children:
“The best interests of the child must be the prime consideration in
all measures taken with regard to the child by courts,
administrative
authorities or public and private institutions for social
protection...”
195. Mechanisms put in place by the Child Protection
Code - a body of child protection representatives, the duty to report, enlarging
the powers of the family judge, juvenile courts, mediation, etc. – all
reflect this concern to protect the best interests of
the child.
196. The principle of
the best interests of the child is an integral part of the basic training
programme for justice auditors at the Higher Magistrates’ Institute as
well as for
representatives of the law involved. This is a major theme in basic
training programmes and in continuous training of child protection
representatives, whose main activity for the benefit of children at risk and
delinquent children must be based on the concept of
the best interests of the
child as prime consideration (article 4 of the Child Protection Code).
197. Programmes relating to the health of the child
have been improved, by placing more emphasis on the qualitative aspect and by
making sure that all children can have access to health services through the
targeting of population groups where there is low coverage.
198. It is to
be noted that, since 1999, within the context of upgrading the Ministry of
Public Health, activities with a view to
designing procedure handbooks for
different professionals in the health sector have been carried out since 1997.
This effort will
be continued and will concern the various types of
establishment which relate to the health domain.
199. Furthermore, all
categories of health personnel have benefited from training courses on the
subject of care- taking and of management
of maternal and child health
programmes.
(i) A lightening of all educational programmes in all subjects and at all
levels to take away from them all content judged to be
superfluous, redundant or
relevant to specialization or liable to develop in children a trend towards
memorization and reconstruction
of knowledge. This lightening of the load has
enabled concentration on essential skills (knowledge and know-how) to be focused
upon,
as these are requirements for all apprenticeship thereafter.
(ii) A reduction in the number of schoolbooks and their content, particularly during the first cycle of basic education. This is justified by the fact that the student is not always able to use the textbooks wisely. Experience has shown that homework from textbooks gives the child at the very most a bookish culture and jeopardizes the child’s right to engage in play. Furthermore, ministerial circular of October 1995 forbids teachers to give pupils in the lowest classes homework;
(iii) The improvement of the class timetable for the first cycle of basic
education, by putting in a recreational break of ten minutes
during a two and a
half hour session. This break is necessary to air the rooms, allow children to
rest and to “recoup”
before they go back to work. All these
measures are dictated out of a respect for the right of the child to “have
a childhood”.
201. The
development of the supply of training and apprenticeships is aimed at allowing
the maximum number of children to have access
to a vocational qualification
likely to promote their integration in the work sphere. The Programme for
Updating Vocational Training,
underway at present, bears witness to the desire
on the part of the public authorities to increase the opportunities for quality
training which is for the benefit of this population group.
202. Training
and retraining courses for trainers enriched by general knowledge subjects,
recognize the best interests of the child.
Training programmes are drawn up at
present by the “skills’ approach”. This methodology has the
advantage of
allowing the child to acquire all vocational skills demanded by the
chosen profession in a realistic setting so as to promote balance
and to
encourage the child to blossom once employed.
(a) Measures adopted during the reference years to make the best interests of the child the prime consideration with regard to all activities which concern children and which relate to environmental programmes and policies
203. Measures taken in Tunisia to make the best
interests of the child the most important consideration within policies and
programmes
concerning the environment have consisted, largely of:
(i) Directing the national programme for awareness, education and
environmental culture towards the realization of a major goal:
that of embedding
environmental education in the minds of rising generations in order to influence
the behaviour of children towards
preservation of natural wealth and the
safeguard of the national heritage, in the present as in the future;
(ii) Organizing every year since 1993 a large event on the occasion of World
Environment Day. Children from kindergartens, primary
and secondary schools
participate in this event, via various activities relating to the particular
environmental theme chosen each
year: whether it be through songs, acting, group
movements, cartoons, educational games, etc.;
(iii) Encouraging children to draw pictures and write about various
environmental issues through specific competitions;
(iv) Strengthening environment clubs in school and after-school settings by
providing them with methodological and audio-visual documents.
(v) Including young people in tree-planting projects carried out in various
regions of the country.
(b) Measures adopted to incorporate the principle of the best interests
of the child in the training of professionals working with and
for
children
204. The training of professionals in terms of environmental
education has been provided in the following stages:
(i) Diagnosis of the situation of environmental education in the formal and
casual sectors which was finalized at the end of 1993.
This diagnosis
concerned:
- Environmental themes taught;
- Quantitative lacks
in the area;
- The work to be done in order to respond to the needs of future
generations in this domain;
(ii) A framework-programme was therefore established in January 1995 in the
light of this diagnosis. This framework-programme allowed
the definition of an
action plan to be carried out in terms of environmental education and to
identify:
- The guidelines of the action plan;
- Its
objectives;
- The content of the programmes to be carried out in the context of an
action plan, that is: environmental issues; knowledge, behaviour
and
know-how.
(iii) Implementation of the action plan has enabled the organization of
seminars for training trainers: 16 training seminars have
been carried out in
the different regions of the country. Trainers, 200 in number, are called upon
to train other trainers so as
to quickly multiply the number available for
training other teachers and club leaders in the regions. They are divided as
follows:
- 56% teachers at primary and secondary level
- 16%
managers and leaders of childrens’ clubs
- 16% managers and
leaders of youth and cultural clubs
- 8% administrators
- 4%
inspectors
The distribution by sector is the following: 61% of trainers belong to the
Ministry of Education, 35% to the Ministry of Youth
and Infancy and 4% belong
to NGOs. The Action Plan has also allowed the design and production of
educational and scientific documents
indicating activities which can be carried
out in class.
C. The right of the child to life, survival and
development
(article 6)
205. As was mentioned in the
initial report, various legal provisions of Tunisian law guarantee the inherent
right of the child to
life, and to survival and development. It is appropriate
to mention the following:
(i) The provisions of article 214 of the Criminal Code as amended by Act No.
73-57 of 19 November 1973, which make it a criminal
offence deliberately to
interrupt pregnancy in circumstances contrary to the legal provisions and
prescriptions;
(ii) The provisions of the Criminal Code which criminalize acts of
negligence, of brutality, and sexual abuse perpetrated on children,
which have
increased the different penalties incurred in this area through Act No. 95-93 of
9 November 1995 above-quoted. This increase
relates to crimes as diverse as the
use of a child of under 18 years for begging (article 171 ter [new]), the
fact of exposing, neglecting or allowing neglect with the intention of
abandoning a child or a person who is unable to
protect him or herself (article
212 [new] and article 213 [new]) and indecent assault of children under 18 years
old (article 228
[new] and article 228 bis [new]), the abduction,
corruption or transfer of a child under 18 years (article 237 [new] and article
238 [new]). [See further
on in chapter VIII, section C.]
206. From 1
January 1999 the Ministry of Public Health was required to introduce the
international standard death certificate. All
preparatory steps including
informing all doctors were carried out to this effect.
207. As far as
preventing death among children and prevention of the risks of adolescence are
concerned, many activities have been
undertaken through the following
means:
(i) Recurrent themes in the Education for Health programme are included in
pre-school;
(ii) Risks concerning domestic accidents and road traffic accidents as well
as risks relating to adolescence such as sexually-transmitted
diseases and
addictive behaviour (smoking, alcoholism, etc.) are issues which are regularly
handled;
(iii) An adolescents’ clinic has been created at the National Centre
for School and University Health (CNMSU) made up essentially
of three
branches:
- gynaecology (to monitor puberty and any gynaecological problems)
- psychology;
- psychiatry;
(iv) The national programme for mental health in schools has been based on
counselling units; there are two medical units always
open where doctors are
ready to counsel students. Furthermore, health clubs enable adolescents to
speak about health issues which
interest them;
(v) Advice and information units on reproductive health have been set
up.
D. Respect for the views of the child
(article
12)
208. Article 10 of the Child Protection
Code “guarantees the child the right freely to express his or her views
which should
be taken into consideration in accordance with his or her age and
degree of maturity.” To this end “the child will be
given a special
opportunity to express his or her views and to be heard in all legal procedures
and with regard to all social and
educational measures concerning his or her
situation”.
209. Respect for the views of the child is one of the
fundamental values underlying the reform of the education system, which was
begun in 1989. Act No. 91-65 of 29 July 1991 enshrines this principle (article
1, paragraphs 5 and 7). Amongst the measures allowing
students to actively
participate in school life and in the functioning of the educational
establishments we may cite the following:
(i) The election every year of students to be class representatives,
presenting their classmates’ interests and the point of
view of students
to the school administration and to the teaching body;
(ii) The designation of one teacher per class, with the role of listening to
pupils with particular difficulties, circulating certain
information to students
and gathering their views on different issues which have a bearing on the
functioning of the establishment
and the teaching provided.
210. A body of advisors possessing a
post-masters’ training (representing six years’ study beyond the
Baccalauréat)
has been created to provide information and careers’
guidance for school and university. Their role consists of providing
the
necessary information to allow students in grammar schools to choose
appropriately the subjects which correspond to their
abilities.
211. Furthermore, meetings with the different professions
representing the workplace and the employment market have been organized.
212. The Ministry of Education has drawn up a specific
programme including the organization of training courses during the school
year
and during summer holidays for different teaching, management and educational
support staff regarding the ethical and educational
foundations of the reform of
the education system and on the principles and mechanisms of protection
developed by the Child Protection
Code.
213. The development of the project: “Living in a
group” should enable better participation for young people in the
functioning
of centres for vocational training. Indeed young people at present
have taken on greater responsibility in the establishing of more
favourable
conditions for the smooth running of their training.
214. Vocational
information and guidance have been established in law. Under the terms of
articles 11, 12 and 13 of the Act on guidance
for vocational training, the
public services responsible for information and vocational guidance are called
upon to assist young
people of both sexes – through information
provided on a group basis or individually and through advice or consultation
provided individually – to choose, in a considered fashion and once
aware of the issues, from amongst the possibilities available for employment and
integration
in the workplace a profession which is in accordance with their
motivations, their aptitudes and their interests.
215. In order
to implement these provisions, information counters have been set up in all
employment agencies. Working as a network,
these agencies are at present in real
time able to provide all the information relating to the possibilities available
nationally
in terms of vocational training resources.
216. The Ministry
of Vocational Training and Employment is currently implementing a communication
strategy with the aim of developing
vocational information for students in basic
and secondary education to assist them to choose, if they wish, from amongst the
vocational
branches of the new system of vocational training.
217. The
trainees participate actively and in a direct manner to the organization of the
training as well as to the improvement of
the living conditions in the centres.
Furthermore the trainees use newspapers published by the centres to let their
proposals and
views be known.
IV. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
A. Name and
nationality
(article 7)
218. Since independence, Tunisian policy concerning birth registration has
rested on a legal framework that provides for compulsory
recording of all
births, as an essential component in the preservation of children's identity and
the recognition of their rights
within the family and society. This legal
framework encompasses the following guiding principles:
(a) An
affirmation of the compulsory nature of birth registration;
(b) The
application of criminal sanctions in cases of failure to comply with the legal
obligations (six months' imprisonment under
article 25 of Act No. 57-3 of 1
August 1957 regulating civil status);
(c) A variety of persons and
authorities responsible for carrying out the legal formalities attached to
registration: the parents,
persons who witnessed the birth or sheltered the
mother during the birth, the administrative authorities and other health
institutions
which facilitated the birth, as well as the public authorities and
establishments in rural areas and remote places (the
umdas);
(d) Intervention by the judicial authorities to ensure
that births are registered in cases of non-compliance.
219. Act No. 57-3
of 1 August 1957 regulating civil status establishes a time limit for birth
announcements, which must be made within
ten days of the birth (art.22).
However, "if a birth is not announced within the legal time limit, registry
officials may only enter
the details following a decision by the president of
the court of first instance in the place where the child was born..." (art.
23).
220. It should also be noted that these legal measures relating to birth
registration are an integral part of a purposeful health
policy, whose
effectiveness is illustrated by the growth in the number of hospitals, maternity
hospitals and mother and child protection
centres. Mention must also be made of
the efforts to establish new municipal offices in towns and built-up areas, for
the specific
purpose of improving registry services.
221. As described in the initial report,
Tunisia's policy on birth registration draws largely on the principle of
equality among all
children. Act No. 59-53 of 26 May 1959, "making compulsory
the acquisition of a surname by every Tunisian", provides, in its article
1,
that "each citizen must have, in addition to his personal name or names, a
surname." Act No. 64-20, of 28 May 1964, "authorizing
certain Tunisians to
change their family names or first names" establishes the right of any person
who acquires Tunisian nationality
to apply for authorization, by decree, to
change his or her surname and first names.
222. The Child Protection Code provides, in its article 5, that " every
child shall have the right to an identity from birth. The
identity shall
comprise name, surname, date of birth and nationality." With a view to removing
any obstacles and discrimination hindering
children in this situation,
Parliament recently adopted Act No. 98-75 of 28 October 1998 "on the granting of
a surname to children
who are abandoned or of unknown descent", and intended to
help them acquire official documents without the difficulties and other
discriminatory factors that the absence of a name entails.
223. This act
also facilitates paternity investigations by allowing genetic fingerprinting to
be used as evidence, and confers on
children whose descent is established by
this method the right to receive maintenance.
224. Article 1 of the
above-mentioned act states:
"A mother who has custody of an under-age child of unknown descent must give
him a name and surname or request authorization for
them in accordance with the
provisions on civil status.
A father, mother or the Public Prosecutor may request the competent court of
first instance to grant a surname to a child when either
admission, evidence or
genetic fingerprinting has shown that person to be the child's parent.
In such a case, the granting of the surname confers entitlement to
maintenance, and the right to supervision such as guardianship
and custody,
until the child has reached the age of majority, or beyond the age of majority
in cases defined by the law..."
225. Article 2 of the same act, referring
more specifically to the situation of children who are abandoned or of unknown
descent,
asks the public guardian to provide "...a name and surname for such
children if, six months after their having been brought to the
competent
authorities' attention, no relative has sought to assert ties of kinship with
them. The same article adds that "the granting
of a surname by the public
guardian shall be done in accordance with the provisions of Act No. 59-53 of 26
May 1959, which requires
every Tunisian to have a surname."
226. In all
such cases and regardless of the procedure followed, "Birth certificates shall
be completed and a surname entered in accordance
with the procedure laid down by
Act No. 57-3 of 1 August 1957 regulating civil status."
B. Preservation of identity
(article 8)
227. As described in the initial report, Tunisian law accords fully with
the provisions of article 8 of the Convention. The right
to preservation of
identity is recognized and guaranteed as a fundamental right of the legal
personality and implies, in particular:
(a) The right to preservation of
nationality. Tunisian nationality is acquired, in all cases, at birth
(Nationality Code, article
11). The cases of loss or forfeiture of nationality
are strictly defined by the code (articles 30-35), in circumstances that are
in
full conformity with the rules recognized by international law;
(b) The
right to preservation of the child's family relationships. The Child Protection
Code stipulates that "preventive action taken
within the family shall be a prime
consideration", (article 7), and guarantees a child "separated from both or one
of his parents
the right to remain in regular contact and to
maintain personal relations with both parents, as well as with the other
members of his family (article 11)."
C. Freedom of expression
(article 13)
1. General measures for ensuring the right of all children to freedom
of expression
228. As mentioned in the initial report, the Tunisian
Constitution (article 8) and the laws in force (particularly the Press Code)
recognize the freedom of expression of both adults and children.
The only
restrictions are those which, for obvious reasons, forbid slander, libel,
unjustified attacks on other people's honor, incitement
to hatred and other
attitudes founded on racial, religious, ethnic, sexual or other
discrimination.
229. The children's town councils organized for a number
of years in Tunisia have given children the opportunity to participate in
the
life of their town. Now established in every municipality, these children's
councils have enabled children to carry out activities
relating mainly to the
environment and health. This experience has also instilled in them a sense of
community, mainly through their
participation in activities designed to heighten
civic awareness, and prepares them for future
responsibilities.
2. Measures taken to ensure pupils' right to freedom
of expression
230. Pupils' right to freedom of expression is at the
heart of the educational reform begun in 1991 and described at length in the
initial report. This right is not subject to any restriction. Teachers are urged
to adopt methods based on dialogue and to encourage
pupils' active participation
in lessons, classroom activities and general school life. Teachers are required
to avoid using any form
of punishment against pupils whose political,
ideological, philosophical and other opinions differ from their own. Pupils'
correspondence
is not subject to any administrative control.
231. The
exercise of this right of expression is free, provided it does not contravene
the objectives of the education system, and
to the extent that it does not
endanger pupils' vital interests and mental and physical
health.
232. Vocational training centres have also been encouraged to
publish information bulletins in order to highlight the contribution
that youth
training makes to occupational training development.
D. Freedom of thought, conscience and
religion
(article 14)
233. Being a republic whose national
language is Arabic and religion Islam (Article 1 of the Constitution), Tunisia
recognizes and guarantees the right to freedom of thought, conscience and
religion; this is underpinned by its age-old
tradition of tolerance and
friendship among peoples of different religions and by the laws the State has
promulgated. In this respect,
article 5 of the Constitution states that " The
Tunisian Republic guarantees the integrity of the individual and his or her
freedom of belief and protects the
free exercise of religious worship, provided
it does not oppose public order."
234. The initial report described the measures taken by the State in
order to establish this freedom. In particular, it will be recalled
that, under
article 3 of the Convention concluded between Tunisia and the Vatican, the
Tunisian Government agrees that the Church
shall be responsible for teaching the
Christian religion to Catholic pupils, subject only to the consent of their
guardians, in secondary
schools, primary schools, kindergartens, nurseries and
clinics belonging to associations or to civil or limited-liability companies
in
which religious institutions have shares.
235. Jewish worship has also
been traditionally protected for the whole Jewish community in Tunisia (Initial
report, chapter IV, section
E, paragraph 100 et seq.).
236. The religious
education (Islamic instruction) provided in primary and lower secondary schools
is intended to give pupils a grounding
in the principles and customs of Islam,
and to educate them in the values of tolerance and openness. In accordance with
pupils' age
and maturity, upper secondary schools teach a discipline called
"Islamic thought", which places emphasis on the debating of
theological-philosophical
issues. This subject becomes optional in the final
year.
237. Young people enjoy freedom of religious belief, and
are free to practise a religion or not. As this is primarily a family matter,
schools have no authority over children's religious beliefs.
238. Pupils
belonging to other denominations are exempted from the religious education
provided in schools at primary and secondary
level. In addition to the regular
school holidays, they are also granted their own religious holidays.
E. Freedom of association and peaceful assembly
(article 15)
239. As mentioned in the initial report, article 8 of the Tunisian
Constitution guarantees freedom of association and assembly within the framework
of the law. Allowing for the general nature of this provision,
such freedom is
guaranteed to both children and adults.
F. Protection of privacy
(article 16)
240. Under article 6 of the Child Protection
Code, "Every child has the right to respect for his or her private life, with
due consideration
for the rights and responsibilities of the parents or those
responsible, in accordance with law."
241. The families' court and the
minors' court, each in its own jurisdiction, act as guarantors of respect for
family integrity and
children's privacy during the process of compiling a
case-file for a minor.
242. With regard to trial publicity, article 120
of the Child Protection Code states the following:
"No one may publish the records of trials or judgments concerning children
which emanate from the various children's courts provided
for in this code, and
which may be likely to impair the honour and dignity of the child and his or her
family.
Anyone who fails to comply with the provisions of this article shall be
liable to imprisonment of 16 days to one year and a fine
of 100 to 1,000
dinars, or one of these penalties."
243. Article 62 of the Child Protection Act
provides that "the families' judge is required to monitor implementation of all
measures
and arrangements he has determined with respect to a minor. In so
doing, he shall be assisted by the competent child protection officer
for the
territory in question." Consequently, a child placed in an institution is
monitored under a process ordained by law. This
makes it possible to measure the
judgement's impact on the child, and also its effectiveness.
G. Access to appropriate information
(article
17)
1. General measures adopted to guarantee the right of access to
appropriate information
244. As mentioned in the initial report,
Tunisia's policy on information has constantly developed the principles and
ideals set forth
in article 17 of the Convention.
245. Tunisia currently
has eight periodicals devoted to children, including one for Tunisian children
living abroad, and twenty foreign
children's periodicals are distributed. In
addition, the mainstream daily and weekly press, whether general or concerned
with comment
and analysis, offer permanent features containing information about
events, performances and festivals of interest to children.
246. The
Tunis 7 and Canal 21 television channels provide a weekly children's output
lasting, respectively, thirteen hours and 15
minutes and one hour and a half,
and programmes are also offered by the coded channel "Canal Horizons" and by
foreign satellite stations,
reception of the latter having been legalized in
Tunisia by Act No. 95-71 of July 1995.
247. The radio programmes for
children broadcast by national radio, the "Jeunesse" station and the five
regional stations together
amount to seventeen and a half hours per
week.
248. The government continues to contribute the money and resources
needed to enable the media to broadcast programmes offering information
and
material of social and cultural value to children.
249. The social, spiritual and moral health of its
young people is a primordial aspect of Tunisia's cultural policy. The Ministry
of Culture promotes the best interests of the child by guaranteeing
unconditional access to cultural opportunities and universal
learning through
its cultural and scientific public information service, which employs the latest
communication methods. In addition
to children's libraries, young people's clubs
and cultural centres, these also include the Ariana multimedia library, a pilot
project
that provides children with access to multimedia equipment. This is a
public service offering documentation, guidance and information.
It also
provides a site for consulting local multimedia sources,
and the opportunity to link up with regional, national and international
networks. The library's information technology equipment
covers fields such as
the arts, culture, science and social science.
250. In another initiative
designed to bring young Tunisians in contact with modern means of communication
and give them access to
universal sources of knowledge, on 7 November 1997 the
President of the Republic approved the gradual introduction of information
technology equipment to all primary and secondary schools, including connections
to the Internet.
251. The Ministry of Culture has also taken various
measures to encourage the production and distribution of children's books. These
include:
(a) Publishing of recommended books;
(b) Compensation
for paper costs;
(c) Literary and artistic prizes;
(d) Copyright
legislation and regulations;
(e) Encouraging book
distribution.
(a) Publishing of recommended books
252. The recommendation of books for publishing is a measure that dates
back to 1988; it is regulated by the Ministerial Decree of
23 February 1994,
which allows the Ministry of Culture to plan children's book production in
accordance with the needs of the Tunisian
Children's Library and the national
situation in publishing. The Ministry of Culture pays the printing costs of
children's books
selected each year on the basis of their social and cultural
interest.
(b) Compensation for paper costs
253. Since
1994, the Ministry of Culture has paid up to 60% of paper costs, provided a book
subsidized in this way is put on sale
at a reduced price. The same measure also
applies to the paper used for printing children's magazines. Thirty-five
editions of four
magazines having a total circulation of 1,170,000 were
subsidized in 1997.
(c) Literary and artistic prizes
254. Every year authors and cultural producers are awarded national
prizes and incentive prizes. These include some for children's
arts and
literature. Presented annually by the President of the Republic, they reward
progress in the above-mentioned areas and encourage
the production of cultural
works for children (Decree No. 87-413 of March 1987). In addition, incentive
prizes for children's literature
are provided for under Decree No. 92-20 of 31
March 1992.
(d) Copyright legislation and
regulations
255. Act No. 94-36 of 24 February 1994 on literary and
artistic ownership, and Decree No. 96-2230 of 11 November 1996 determining
the
administrative and financial organization of the Tunisian copyright protection
organization and its methods of operation, are
the main measures for promoting
the production of children's books and protecting the rights of their
authors.
(e) Encouraging the distribution of books for
children
256. The Ministry of Culture has the primary responsibility
for acquiring children's books and supplying them to public libraries.
In 1997,
it spent 76,996 dinars in supplying 88,400 books. As a secondary task, it
promotes publishing fairs, organized under its
auspices, at which children's
books are made widely available at reduced prices.
257. From the outset, it should be noted that
cooperation agreements and programmes do not cover specific actions for
children. However,
since the approach to cooperation is a global one, children
are affected by various aspects of cultural cooperation at the bi- and
multilateral levels. The Ariana multimedia centre exemplifies the importance of
this kind of international cooperation, having received
databases from the
world's largest libraries, including the National Library of France. Also,
certain children's festivals dedicated
to theatre, cinema, music, the plastic
arts and poetry, benefit from initiatives taken within the framework of
international cooperation.
258. Children's access to information
and material relating to the environment is assured by the following
measures:
(a) The school curriculum reforms, which have led to the
inclusion of new material on the environment since 1991;
(b) Since 1994,
the broadcasting of television campaigns highlighting the protection of natural
resources;
(c) Since 1994, the establishment of a research centre at the
Ministry for the Environment and Land-use Planning, and its further
strengthening;
(d) The establishment of a library and a reading room at
the Ennahli city park.
259. Since 1993, the Ministry for the Environment
and Land-use Planning has also encouraged all kinds of initiatives designed to
raise
environmental awareness among children. In the main, these have taken the
following forms:
(a) Regular competitions for young people intended to
foster the production of works for children either by teachers or by children
themselves. The Ministry for the Environment and Land-use Planning distributes
an average twenty-five such works per year;
(b) The awarding of bonuses
to teachers and prizes to children who succeed in having works published after
judging;
(c) Printing of work done by children (stories, postcards,
calendars).
260. Lastly, with respect to measures taken to encourage
international cooperation in the production, exchange and dissemination of
information of benefit to the child in the field of environmental education, the
following actions are worth noting:
(a) Symposia on environmental
education held jointly with the Centre for the Environment and Development for
the Arab Region and
Europe (CEDARE), in November 1993 in Tunis and March 1996 in
Alexandria (Egypt);
(b) Since 1993, regular half-yearly meetings of the
Arab League's Education Committee to raise awareness of and provide information
on environmental matters;
(c) Participation in the following
international activities:
(i) Three training sessions for instructors held between 1993 and 1995 in
the framework of cooperation with Canada, and attended
by officials and
educators;
(ii) Tunisia's governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental
experience was presented at the international conference of
experts on
"Environment and Society: Education and Public Awareness for Sustainability" at
Saloniki (Greece) in December 1999;
(iii) Preparations for a cruise in the western Mediterranean in 1999 during
the teaching days held at Marseille in April 1998.
261. It is also
important to highlight the main activities carried out by children themselves in
the framework of regional and international
cooperation:
(a) Participation by a Tunisian children's delegation in
various environmental activities at the International Children's Conference
held
in Eastbourne (United Kingdom) in October 1995;
(b) Holding of the first
Mediterranean children's conference ["The Mediterranean in the Hands of its
Children"], at the exhibition
centre in Kram, a suburb of Tunis, from 28 to 30
August, 1997, by the Ministry for the Environment and Land-use Planning.
Children
from twenty countries took part (two boys and two girls from each). The
agenda offered a wide range of activities including exhibitions,
studies,
hands-on work, cultural presentations, workshops the inauguration of
Mediterranean Square in Tunis, and visits to sites
of ecological and historical
importance. The conference gave these children of the Mediterranean the
opportunity to express their
opinions and air concerns on the following
topics:
(i) Biodiversity and the increasing scarcity of certain marine
species;
(ii) Marine and coastal
pollution;
(iii) Desertification;
(iv) The Mediterranean town
in the twenty-first century.
(c) Participation by young Tunisians in an
international programme, co-ordinated by the United States, called "Global
Learning and
Observations to Benefit the Environment" (the GLOBE Programme).
This scientific and practical programme brings together pupils, educators
and
scientists through the medium of the Internet. Tunisia's involvement started in
May 1998 with participation by three secondary
schools. Under the direction of
specially trained teachers, the young people:
(i) Observe and measure the atmosphere, flora, fauna, etc.;
(ii) Post their results on the Internet regularly;
(iii) Receive and make use of data from the other participating schools in
70 countries;
(iv) Study environmentally-related phenomena in their school and within a
15 kilometre surrounding radius.
5. The one-stop information
centre for young people
262. This centre was set up in November 1995,
with the aim of collecting information relating to service provision in several
sectors
of primary concern to children and young people, processing it and
making it available to youngsters in all walks of life (pupils,
students,
employees, civil servants, etc.).
263. A mobile unit fitted with modern
communications equipment and information technology has also been introduced
with the aim of
publicizing the services available to young people and children
in the different regions.
264. Information is given out either directly,
by post or by means of an answering service.
Users of the one-stop information centre, by method of contact
85,100
|
|
Individual by direct contact
|
681,900
|
Mobile unit
|
31,150
|
By post
|
720
|
By local answering service
|
317,130
|
Total
|
1,116,000
|
Percentages of centre users, by field of enquiry
H. Right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or
degrading punishment or treatment
(article 37 (a))
265. Any placing of a child under
physical or psychological duress is a statutory offence under the Penal Code. As
mentioned above
in Chapter I, section A, subsection 3, the penalties have been
aggravated by Act No. 95-93 of 9 November 1995 amending and supplementing
certain provisions of the Penal Code (See chapter VIII, section C below).
266. The Child Protection Code also helps prevent different kinds of
abuse or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment by providing new
mechanisms for
avoiding such situations which create the necessary consistency between the
objectives of social prevention and those
of legal protection (See below,
chapter V, section I).
267. This is a major aspect of Tunisian
policy, especially since ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child. Reduction
of the penalties incurred by children in conflict with the law
and a greater focus on the social reintegration of such children have
been
accompanied by programmes of training and education in children's rights for the
staff of the Internal Security Forces (FSI)
and children's rehabilitation
centres. These officially decreed programmes include actions such as the
following:
(a) Distribution to all FSI officers of extensive extracts
from the Child Protection Code;
(b) The holding of conferences and
meetings attended by experts on children's rights;
(c) The holding of
regional training seminars, in collaboration with the judicial authorities, in
order to raise awareness of the
methods and procedures relating to child
protection;
(d) Inclusion of a course on human rights and children's
rights in the training of criminal investigators, in accordance with Interior
Ministry Circular No. 504 of 11 June 1991;
(e) Interior Ministry
Circular No. 23 of 15 April 1996, which concerns the FSI and the application of
certain provisions of the Child
Protection Code, including:
(i) The assistance to be rendered to family judges and appointed child
protection officers in carrying out their tasks;
(ii) The behaviour to adopt with children aged under eighteen who have
committed offences or crimes or are suspected of having done
so, in accordance
with the provisions of the Child Protection Code.
(f) Distribution of a
manual to the staff of rehabilitation centres for minors, setting out the rights
and obligations of children
placed in such centres, in accordance with Decree
No. 95-2423 of 11 December 1995 concerning the internal regulation of
rehabilitation
centres for juvenile offenders.
V. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE
A. Parental
guidance
(article 5)
268. As described in detail in the initial report,
a series of legal measures was adopted in 1993 with the aim of promoting mutual
respect and partnership as the guiding principles of relations within couples
and
greater recognition of wives' and mothers' contribution to the family,
especially their child management role, fostering a more family-based
climate
geared to greater harmony between parents and the generations, mutual support
and conjugal kindness and, finally, applying
stiffer penalties to violence
towards spouses. These measures have helped greatly to democratize the family
unit, to develop an environment
more favourable to the application of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, and to integrate human rights in
general.
269. Article 23 of the Personal Status Code stipulates that the
two spouses must treat each other with kindness and support each other
in the
management of family affairs and children:
"Each of the two spouses shall treat the other with kindness, live in
harmony with him or her and avoid harming him or her... The
two spouses shall
cooperate in the management of family affairs, the proper education of the
children and in the management of the
latter's affairs, including teaching,
travel and financial transactions. The husband, as head of the family, shall
provide for the
needs of wife and family to the best of his ability... the wife
shall contribute to the family's upkeep if she has the
resources."
270. Article 6 of the Personal Status Code accords the mother
the same right of guardianship as regards granting a minor permission
to marry.
This establishes a joint parental authority that serves the minor's interests
better, his or her marriage being no longer
subject to a unilateral decision:
"The marriage of a minor shall be subordinate to the consent of his or her
guardian and his or
her mother."
271. The measures taken on 5 April 1996
strengthen the family's capacity to fulfill its role and responsibilities with
regard to all
its members. These measures form part of a national plan of action
on the family, and are intended to foster family cohesion based
on
co-responsibility and partnership among spouses, and to prevent the conflicts
arising from ownership, especially in cases of marital
break-up, to which
children so often fall victim. They contribute to family stability in the
following ways:
(a) They help couples to acquire a joint family home by
offering each spouse the possibility to take out a loan on his or her own
account for the purpose of buying or building a shared family
home;
(b) They encourage couples to opt for joint ownership of the
possessions acquired after marriage, by means of a clause inserted in
the terms
of the marriage contract and which is read out at the time the contract is
concluded.
272. The Ministry of Women's and Family Affairs was
established in 1992 to co-ordinate governmental policy on the promotion of women
and the family. In carrying out its mandate, the Ministry is assisted by three
planning organizations, namely an advisory body -
the National Council for Women
and the Family, a scientific body - the Centre for Research, Study,
Documentation and Information
on Women (CREDIF), and a body responsible for
planning, monitoring and evaluating planning in the national context - the
National
Committee on Women and Development.
273. The Ministry of
Women's and Family Affairs has developed a guidance service for families, based
on the following components:
(a) A listening and advice unit which
handles over one thousand requests per year, and which works to publicize
women's and family
rights and to help parents improve their child management
skills;
(b) An answering service divided into two parts. The first dispenses
practical knowledge on the physical and mental health of family
members,
including such matters as vaccination, basic health care and reproductive
health. The second deals with requests relating
to conjugal and family
relations, and offers the services of a psychologist, a lawyer and a
sociologist. Other specialists can be
called in as the situation
demands.
274. Although concern for the family is not new to Tunisia, the
emergence of a specific family policy designed to promote the family
is part of
a wide-ranging social modernization effort which, it is hoped, will deal more
effectively with the changes brought by
the twentieth century and perpetuate the
values of respect for human rights. Thus, the National Action Plan for the
Family formulated
and brought into effect in 1996 calls on several governmental
and non-governmental bodies to contribute resources and effort. The
Plan sets
out a series of initiatives aimed at strengthening the family's educational and
social roles in socializing children and
in promoting the physical and mental
health of family members.
275. The Plan deals with four main
areas:
(a) Conjugal relations (to promote cohesion and harmony within
the couple and to help prepare young people for marriage);
(b) Child
socialization (assuring them of an upbringing that allows them to develop their
abilities);
(c) Physical and mental health of the family (to protect it
against the risk of breakdown);
(d) Family finance, managing the family
budget and developing its resources.
276. In order to achieve these
objectives, three major programmes have been launched:
(a) Development
of an information and communication strategy designed to change the way people
think by establishing the principles
of equality and parity, with the aim of
instilling into family life a culture based on human rights and civic values.
The two main
types of action taken under this strategy rely on the mass media
(radio, TV and the press), and on involvement in family matters
by
intermediaries;
(b) Introduction of a system of technical and financial
support for micro-enterprises run by women and
families;
(c) Introduction of programmes and projects designed to
improve families' socio-economic situation in the framework of a dynamic
partnership with associations. Over twenty projects are being implemented by
NGOs concerned with women's and family issues, with
the objective of improving
families' economic and social skills (sponsorship of children's wards in
hospitals, creation of family
projects, training in micro-enterprise management,
etc.).
277. The President of the Republic's family advancement prize,
established on 22 July 1996, is awarded to an individual or corporate
entity for
a contribution made to "the development of families' capacity to carry out their
economic, social and educational tasks
and the improvement of families' living
standards and environment." Since 1997, the prize has been awarded on the
National Day of
the Family, which has been celebrated on December 11 every year
since 1991.
278. In 1996, the Ministry of Women's and Family
Affairs launched a multimedia awareness campaign encouraging parents and couples
to acknowledge the child's right to self-expression and dialogue. The campaign,
under the slogan "Civil behaviour begins in the home",
includes the following
components:
(a) Two television and radio commercials encouraging
families and couples to try to favour dialogue as the means of settling family
disputes. The first insists on the need to encourage parent-child exchanges and
communication, and to recognize that the child enjoys
the same right of
self-expression as other family members. The second emphasizes the opportunities
for establishing and strengthening
communication within the couple and the
extent of the impact and benefits that such a relationship can bring to conjugal
and family
harmony. Women's associations and organizations have been
particularly effective in passing on these messages by choosing them as
topics
for their discussion circles;
(b) A series of eight inter-regional
training seminars on communication, intended for intermediaries whose work can
bring about improvements
to family living standards. Social workers, family
mediators and NGO volunteers have been the main beneficiaries of these training
meetings, of which four have been devoted to child socialization (dialogue,
task-sharing, etc.) and four to conjugal relations. Each
seminar is divided into
two parts: the first is concerned with the sociological and psychological
dimensions and the second takes
the form of workshops designed to improve the
communication skills and techniques of the intermediaries;
(c) The
publication of leaflets and brochures describing the rights of women and girls.
These are used by the intermediaries to support
their awareness campaigns at
grass-roots level. These publications include:
(i) The measures of 5 April 1996 (In Arabic and French);
(ii) The Maintenance and Alimony Guarantee Fund (In Arabic);
(iii) The amendments of 13 August 1992 (In Arabic, French and
English);
(iv) A guide for women's NGOs (In Arabic, French and English);
(v) The answering service of the Ministry of Women's and Family Affairs
(In Arabic);
(vi) A guide to women's rights with respect to social security (Arabic,
French and English);
(vii) A young person's guide to the Personal Status Code (Arabic and
French);
(viii) The Tunisian Woman in Figures (Arabic, French and English);
(ix) The rights of girls (Arabic and French);
(d) Qualitative
surveys and studies designed to improve knowledge of family attitudes and
behaviour in response to certain problems
resulting from the new roles taken on
by the family. The main topics are:
(i) Child socialization (quantitative and qualitative aspects);
(ii) Managing the family budget;
(iii) The behavioural impact of the programme of information, education and
communication and of the TV and radio adverts;
(e) Participation in
reports and programmes broadcast nationally and regionally by the national radio
and television broadcasting
network (ERTT).
B. Parental Guidance
(article 18, paragraphs 1 and
2)
279. The
1993 amendments accorded women new rights with respect to personal freedom and
the guardianship of children and established
a partnership between spouses based
on respect for their mutual rights. On the one hand, the amendments made women
partners by according
them new rights; on the other, they gave women new
responsibilities towards their families and children with regard to their
upbringing
and development.
280. The amendment to article 60 of the
Personal Status Code recognizes the mother's right, on equal status with the
father or legal
guardian, of supervision over the child's affairs: "The father,
legal guardian and mother of the child shall have the right to supervise
his or
her affairs, provide for his upbringing and send him to school."
281. Act
No. 95-95 of 9 November 1995 amending and supplementing certain provisions of
the Obligations and Contracts Code establishes
parents' co-responsibility for
harmful acts by their child, thus making the mother jointly responsible with the
father for any offence
by the child. This amendment is consistent with the duty
of joint management of children's and family affairs and the principle of
partnership that now underpin the family institution.
282. The measures
of 5 April 1996 on family allowance, which protect the family against the risk
of impoverishment and help it discharge
its responsibilities towards the
children, are as follows:
(a) Automatic granting of a family allowance
to a mother who has children in her care, in the public and private sectors,
thus helping
protect the mother and children against the risks of a decline in
living standards;
(b) The right to receive family allowance and
temporary orphan's allowance at the same time, thus helping preserve the
family's way
of life;
(c) Unification of the criteria for granting
family allowance used in the private and public sectors, with the result that
this benefit
is now payable up to the age of 21 for children who continue their
studies.
283. The
combined effects of compulsory schooling, the national literacy campaign and
other measures taken in disadvantaged regions,
such as the wide-scale
installation of school canteens, the introduction of a single session in certain
rural schools, the distribution
of school stationery to needy children and the
upgrading of teaching equipment in rural schools, have helped greatly to reduce
the
dropout rate and increase girls' attendance rate. In this regard, it is
worth noting that attendance by girls has risen at all levels
of secondary and
higher education, and that girls now take courses previously considered to be an
exclusively male preserve.
284. School attendance by girls is now
virtually universal, having risen from 86.6% in 1986-87 to 99% in 1996-97. Over
the same period,
their attendance rate in the 6-12 age group rose from 79.6% to
90.8%. Parity between girls and boys has almost been achieved in secondary
and
higher education, where girls accounted for, respectively, 49.4% and 45% of
overall numbers in 1996-97. During the decade from
1986-87 to 1996-97, the
dropout rate for girls fell sharply from 9.6% to 4.1%. Increasing numbers of
girls now study scientific and
technical subjects. This is the result of a
national campaign, begun in 1992, involving several governmental and
non-governmental
partners and including CREDIF, which held meetings and
discussion circles, and also an art competition centred around the slogan
"It's
scientific, it's technical, it's for WOMEN."
285. The Ministry for
Women's and Family Affairs has employed information-education-communication
(IEC) activities, training and research
to develop parents' knowledge and skills
and their abilities to socialize their children, with emphasis on respect for
freedom of
expression, for differences, for dialogue, and for equal opportunity
between the sexes.
(a) IEC activities
286. The media
campaign described above comprises four commercials aimed at promoting
intra-familial dialogue and involving all family
members on a more equal basis -
including the children - in the accomplishment of household tasks, thus enabling
both sexes to have
equal access to spare time and recreational
activities.
287. These objectives are also taken up in radio and
television programmes, and in the training courses for the intermediaries who
maintain active links with families.
288. A quantitative survey coupled
with qualitative research conducted by the Ministry of Women's and Family
Affairs at the end of
the media campaign revealed a heightened awareness among
parents of the need to listen to, communicate with and enter into dialogue
with
their children, as well as a willingness to improve their own knowledge and
communication skills. The more couples were convinced
that dialogue within the
family establishes and strengthens relations and reaffirms ties, the more they
reiterated their concern
to master the techniques of communication, dialogue and
problem-solving.
(b) Research activities
289. Other
surveys being conducted aim to obtain a better idea of families' needs through a
more accurate breakdown of target populations.
Examples of such surveys are
those on child socialization, managing the family budget, and the impact of
divorce on children.
C. Separation from Parents
(article 9)
290. As already mentioned in the
present report, a principle which emerges from the Child Protection Code is that
of maintaining the
child in his or her family environment. However, in certain
cases, the families' judge or child protection officer, using the powers
conferred on them by law, may, in the best interests of the child, decide on his
or her separation from one or both of the parents.
The families' judge, aided by
the competent child protection officer for the territory, must monitor the
implementation of his decision.
Nevertheless, "The families' judge, out of
consideration for the child's best interests, may revise the measures and
arrangements
he has made. A request for review may be submitted by the legal
guardian or the person responsible for the child, or by a child who
has attained
the age of discretion".
291. In accordance with article 10
of the Child Protection Code, the child must "be heard in all legal proceedings
and social and
school measures concerning his situation".
292. In
addition, the listening and guidance mechanisms, the public information offices
run by ministries, and the listening and guidance
units run by associations,
particularly those of the Tunisian National Women's Union (UNFT) and the
Alliance of Women Legal Professionals,
offer advice, follow-up and financial
help. These organizations offer legal and social assistance to families
confronted with separation
and anxious to find out how best to manage the
situation in order to protect their respective rights.
293. The mass
media play an important role in this context. The daily and weekly press, and
the more specialized publications, regularly
devote space to public information
and legal matters, including child protection.
294. The one national and
four regional radio stations, and many others broadcasting to young people,
devote time in news and other
interactive programmes for the dissemination of
laws, offering parents, children and families advice on how to protect their
rights.
295. Programmes concerned with advice, information and
awareness-raising are also offered by the television stations, particularly
Canal 7.
296. Article 11 of the Child Protection Code
"guarantees a child who is separated from one or both parents the right to
remain in
regular contact, and maintain personal relations, with both parents
and with other family members, except if the competent court
decides otherwise
on the basis of the child's best interests".
297. The visiting rights of
a child separated from one or both parents are determined by the families'
judge, whose decision shall
be based on the child's best interests.
298. For its part, the extended family can act as both facilitator and
mediator during periods of crisis or in negotiations between
couples. Senior
citizens, in particular, enjoy the privileged status of advisor and of the
guardian of traditional values that place
emphasis on family solidarity and
cohesion, and they are thus able to intervene in disputes between couples so as
to maintain relations
between children and parents, whatever the latter's
marital situation.
D. Family reunification
(Article 10)
299. The Tunisian courts allow a parent without right of custody
considerable visiting rights, either in the territory where the child
normally
lives, or by means of a trans-boundary visit that allows the child to travel
with the parent in question for a fixed period
during vacations.
E. Illicit transfer and non-return
(Article 11)
300. Other than the
agreement signed in 1982 with France concerning judicial cooperation in respect
of child custody, visiting rights
and maintenance obligation, Tunisia has
concluded three agreements with Belgium, Norway and Sweden establishing joint
advisory committees
on civil matters. These meet regularly to examine individual
cases and to find amicable solutions to parental disputes concerning
custody and
visits for children who have been transferred illicitly. The application of
these agreements has led to permanent settlement
in a number of cases. The
difficulties encountered often centre around the refusal of a child, who is used
to his or her new life,
to move back to the country of the parent from whom he
or she has been separated.
2. Progress achieved and difficulties met
with in applying this article
301. The joint advisory committees have
helped resolve several cases involving illicitly transferred children. However,
in some cases
the difficulties have prevented any progress being
made.
(a) Progress achieved in the application of article
11
302. Approximately one third of the cases submitted to the
committees have been resolved amicably after intervention by the Tunisian
authorities. This has been done either by a court decision to return the child
to the parent having custody, or by the exequator of a foreign
judge.
303. Other cases lapse, either because the Tunisian courts reject
a claim for return or an exequator application (for reasons of
public order, the child's interests, etc.) or because the child in question,
having reached the age of
discretion, refuses to rejoin his or her
mother.
(b) Problems encountered in the application of article
11
304. The Tunisian authorities are devoting particular attention to
a number of pending cases involving a claim for return or an
exequator application. In some of these, the prosecutor dealing
with the case is trying to find a solution by concluding an amicable settlement
between the parties. However, experience
has shown that taking the case to court often leads to a hardening of
positions and failure to achieve agreement.
305. The Tunisian authorities
have tried honourably to find a just and equitable solution to the cases
transmitted to them. They look
to the other States concerned to reciprocate in
certain cases involving Tunisians. The following table gives details of settled
and
pending cases.
No. of cases
|
Nationalities
|
Sex/Age
|
Family situation
|
Person transferring
|
49 pending
|
Tunisian-French
|
33 male (4-11)
31 female (2-7) |
Married parents
|
Father
|
11 resolved
|
Tunisian-French
|
13 male (3-8)
14 female (2-7) |
Married parents
|
Father
|
18 pending
|
Tunisian-Belgian
|
14 male (2-7)
11 female (2-7) |
Married parents
|
Father
|
F. Recovery of maintenance for the child
(article
27, para. 4)
306. Aware of the urgent nature of the maintenance
requirement and in order to mitigate the consequences of non-payment, the
Tunisian
Government has established the "Maintenance and Alimony Guarantee
Fund". Article 53 (bis) of the Personal Status Code states that
"...the
Guarantee Fund is surrogate to the beneficiaries of the judgement for the
recovery of the sums it has paid".
307. The Guarantee Fund recovers amounts owed to
it by means of constraints established by the National Social Security Fund
(CNSS)
and enforced by the Ministry for Social Affairs. An amount of maintenance
owed following a judgement, and which has not been paid,
is subject to penalties
for late payment. The CNSS can recover the maintenance through legal cooperation
if the unwilling debtor
is abroad. The Guarantee Fund can intervene to pay the
maintenance if the father refuses.
308. Paragraph 2, article 3 (new) of
Decree No. 98-671 of 16 March 1998, amending Decree No. 93-1655 of 9 August 1993
concerning the
intervention procedure of the Maintenance and Alimony Guarantee
Fund, provides that the CNSS shall continue to pay all the maintenance
if a
recalcitrant debtor re-offends.
G. Children deprived of their family
environment
(article 20)
309. The provisions of the Child Protection Code offer
special assistance to the child who is temporarily or permanently deprived
of
his or her family environment, through the various placement measures provided
for in article 59, namely:
"1. Maintaining the child in his or her
family.
2. Maintaining the child in his or her family and appointing a child
protection officer responsible to perform follow-up with the
child and provide
assistance and advice to the family.
3. Subjecting the child to physical and psychological monitoring.
4. lacing the child under supervision or entrusting him or her to a host
family or a specialised social or educational institution.
5. Placing
the child in a training centre or school."
310. The families' judge must,
in all cases, ensure that placement is in the child's best interests, having
heard all the interested
parties, including the child, in accordance with the
law.
311. In addition to using four types of
placement, the National Childhood Protection Institute offers children with no
possibility
of being taken in by host families a further measure of protection,
namely the children's villages operated by SOS Kinderdorf International.
H. Adoption
(article 21)
312. Act No. 58-27 of 4 March 1958 concerning
public guardianship, special guardianship and adoption guarantees, in all its
provisions,
the best interests of the child. Article 9 (as amended by Act
No. 59-69 of 19 June 1959) stipulates:
"The adopting party must be a male or female person of full age, married and
of full civil capacity.
He or she must be of good character, sound in mind and body and able to
provide for the adopted child's needs.
The judge may, if the child's interests so demand, exempt a widowed or
divorced person from the marriage requirement.
In such a case, he may gather all the information needed to appreciate the
causes and conditions of adoption, bearing in mind the
child's best
interests."
313. Article 13 of the above-mentioned act
states:
"The act of adoption shall be determined by decision of the cantonal judge
sitting in chambers in the presence of the adopting party,
his or her spouse,
and, if necessary, the mother and father of the adopted party, or a
representative of the administrative authority
responsible for public
guardianship of the child, or the special guardian."
314. In accordance
with article 15 of the above-mentioned act, "the adopted child has the same
rights and obligations as the legitimate
child". He receives the adopting
party's name (article 14) and everything enjoyed by the legitimate
child.
315. The situation of the adopted
child confers on him or her the same civil rights as a legitimate child. The law
makes no distinction
in this regard. The adopted child receives the adopting
party's name, and does not lose his or her nationality after
adoption.
316. The question whether the adopted child has the right to
know his or her biological parents has yet to be resolved. As matters
stand, it
does not seem possible to lift the secrecy surrounding the process by which a
mother, in full knowledge of the facts, abandons
her child for placement in
public institutions.
317. Aware of the difficulties involved in
intercountry adoption, which often fails to serve the child's best interests,
the Tunisian
Government has tended to favour national adoption. The competent
courts consequently reject the application for international adoptions
which
they receive. This attitude is motivated by a desire to safeguard the child's
best interests.
I. Periodic review of placement
(article 25)
318. The definition of
cases involving children in difficulty, the subject of article 20 of the Child
Protection Code, concerns children
whose health or physical or moral integrity
is threatened by:
(a) Loss of parents, leaving the child without family
support;
(b) Exposure of the child to neglect or vagrancy;
(c) Serious and continuous absence of care and
protection;
(d) Regular maltreatment of the child;
(e) Sexual
exploitation of the child, whether male or female;
(f) Exploitation of the child for the purposes of organized crime;
(g) Exposure of the child to begging and his or her economic
exploitation;
(h) Inability of parents or those responsible for the child to provide for
his or her protection and upbringing.
319. A periodic review of the treatment and care
provided to the child is carried out, in accordance with the laws in force, by
the
judicial authorities and by the appropriate administrative organizations.
This periodic review applies to the child in difficulty
as well as to the child
in conflict with the law.
320. With regard to the child in difficulty,
article 63 of the Child Protection Code states:
"The families' judge, out of consideration for the child's best interests,
may review the measures and provisions he has made. A
request for review may be
submitted by the legal guardian, the person responsible for the child or his or
her care, or by a child
who has reached the age of discretion."
321. With
regard to the child in conflict with the law, article 109 of the Child
Protection Code states:
"The minors' judge shall be responsible for supervising the measures and penalties he decides, and also those decided by the minors' court. He must monitor the judgements he pronounces concerning the child, with the assistance of the departments concerned, by means of visits to observe the child's condition and level of acceptance of the measure decided, and, if necessary, he must order a medical or psychological examination or a social enquiry."
322. According to article 110 of the Child Protection Code, the minors'
judge must
"revisit the child's case on at least a six-monthly basis for the purpose of
reviewing the decreed measure, either as a mater of
course, or as requested by
the child, the child's parents, the child's legal guardian, the person
responsible for the child, the
child's lawyer or the director of the
establishment where the child has been placed. However, he may not replace a
preventive measure
by a custodial sentence. The reverse is permissible."
323. The minors' judge may, at any time, and at the request of the
child, the child's parents, the child's legal guardian or the person
responsible
for the child, change the preventive or penal measures which have been handed
down, if they were handed down in absentia or have become permanent
owing to expiry of the period for entering notice of appeal."
324. Since
11 January 1996, the date of entry into force of the Child Protection Code, the
legal services specialising in children
(minors' judge, families' judge) have
applied the above-mentioned provisions in connection with the periodic review of
the child's
treatment. The Centre for Legal and Judicial Research (CEJJ) and the
Higher Institute for the Judiciary (ISM) provide an information
service to
assist the judges who deal with these matters.
325. The pilot observation
centres established for juvenile offenders (Act of 26 October 1997, Decree of 11
December 1995) have proved
useful in implementing reviews. The measures taken in
respect of every child placed in the centres can be revised in line with his
or
her behaviour and best interests.
J. Abuse or neglect (article 19), including
physical and psychological recovery
and social reintegration
(article 39)
326. The initial report gave details of the Tunisian
legislation concerning the protection of the child against all forms of neglect
abuse or neglect, maltreatment or exploitation. Since then, new provisions have
been introduced to the Child Protection Code with
the main aim of preventing the
various situations of abuse and achieving the required consistency between the
objectives of social
prevention objectives and those of legal
protection.
327. The Child Protection Code, in particular, has
established warning procedures which enable the child protection officer to
intervene
in different kinds of abusive situations and maltreatment that
threaten the child's physical and moral health.
(a) Notification
system
328. Notifications of children in difficulty, as defined by
article 20 of the Child Protection Code, concern children whose health
or
physical or moral integrity are threatened by:
(i) Loss of parents,
leaving the child without family support;
(ii) Exposure of the child to
neglect or vagrancy;
(iii) Serious and continuous lack of care and
protection;
(iv) Regular maltreatment of the child;
(v) Sexual exploitation of
the child, whether male or female;
(vi) Exploitation of the child for
the purposes of organized crime;
(vii) Exposure of the child to begging
and his or her economic exploitation;
(viii) Inability of parents or those responsible for the child to provide
for his or her protection and upbringing.
329. Until October 1997, the
number of notified cases of children in difficulty amounted to 929, divided up
as follows:
Governorate
|
Mahdia
|
Sfax
|
Béja
|
Kasserine
|
Sousse
|
Ariana
|
Bizerte
|
Gafsa
|
Total
|
No. of notifications
|
109
|
32
|
82
|
85
|
132
|
117
|
182
|
190
|
929
|
330. Child protection officers intervened in 595 cases, using the
following measures:
(i) Conventional measures (264
cases);
(ii) Emergency measures (70 cases);
(iii) Protective
measures determined by the families' judge (108 cases).
(b) Use of conventional measures
331. Under article 43 of
the Child Protection Code, the child protection officer may propose one of the
following conventional measures:
"(a) Maintaining the child in the family and committing the parents to
taking the steps needed to eliminate the threat surrounding
him or her, within a
set time limit and subject to periodic inspection by the child protection
officer.
(b) Maintaining the child in his or her family while using appropriate
social intervention methods and acting in collaboration with
the organization
responsible for providing child and family with social assistance and
services.
(c) Maintaining the child in the family while taking the necessary
precautions to prevent all contact with persons likely to constitute
a threat to
the child's physical or moral integrity.
(d) Temporary placement of the child with a family or a public or private
social or educational organization or institution, and,
if necessary, in
hospital, in accordance with the prevailing legislation."
Interventions involving conventional measures
Mahdia
|
Sfax
|
Béja
|
Kasserine
|
Sousse
|
Ariana |
Bizerte
|
Gafsa
|
Total
|
|
Parental loss (no family support)
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
1
|
5
|
1
|
8
|
5
|
21
|
Neglect and vagrancy
|
10
|
-
|
8
|
4
|
21
|
6
|
6
|
8
|
63
|
Serious lack of care and protection
|
5
|
-
|
9
|
9
|
7
|
-
|
14
|
5
|
49
|
Regular maltreatment of the child
|
4
|
-
|
3
|
4
|
6
|
3
|
14
|
8
|
42
|
Sexual exploitation
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
3
|
Exploitation for organized crime
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
Exposure to begging and economic exploitation
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
3
|
-
|
-
|
2
|
6
|
Inability to provide care and protection
|
2
|
10
|
10
|
3
|
5
|
39
|
6
|
4
|
79
|
Total
|
22
|
10
|
33
|
21
|
48
|
49
|
49
|
32
|
264
|
(c) Use of emergency measures
332. Under article 45 of
the Child Protection Code, the child protection officer may, in cases of
vagrancy and neglect, take provisional
emergency measures in order to place a
child in a rehabilitation centre, reception centre, hospital, family or
appropriate social
or educational organization or establishment, in accordance
with the prevailing legislation. The child protection officer may take
such
measures following the granting of urgent legal authorization in accordance with
the provisions of article 35 of the Child Protection
Code.
Interventions involving emergency measures
Mahdia
|
Sfax
|
Béja
|
Kasserine
|
Sousse
|
Ariana |
Bizerte
|
Gafsa
|
Total
|
|
Parental loss (no family support)
|
1
|
-
|
1
|
5
|
1
|
-
|
3
|
-
|
11
|
Neglect and vagrancy
|
2
|
-
|
-
|
4
|
1
|
5
|
4
|
-
|
16
|
Serious lack of care and protection
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
4
|
-
|
-
|
2
|
-
|
6
|
Regular maltreatment of the child
|
2
|
3
|
2
|
9
|
1
|
-
|
4
|
-
|
21
|
Sexual exploitation
|
1
|
3
|
-
|
3
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
9
|
Exploitation for organized crime
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
Exposure to begging and economic exploitation
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
1
|
Inability to provide care and protection
|
2
|
-
|
-
|
3
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
5
|
Total
|
8
|
6
|
3
|
28
|
5
|
5
|
14
|
1
|
70
|
(d) Use of protective measures
333. Under article 59
of the Child Protection Code, the families' judge may decide on one of the
following measures:
"1. Maintaining the child in the family.
2. Maintaining the child in the family and appointing a child protection
officer to monitor the child and provide the family with
help and
guidance.
3. Submitting the child to medical or psychological examination.
4. Making the child subject to supervision arrangements or entrusting him or
her to a host family or a specialized social or educational
institution.
5. Placing the child in a training centre or school."
Interventions involving legal protection
Mahdia
|
Sfax
|
Béja
|
Kasserine
|
Sousse
|
Ariana |
Bizerte
|
Gafsa
|
Total
|
|
Parental loss (no family support)
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
3
|
2
|
6
|
-
|
-
|
12
|
Neglect and vagrancy
|
2
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
6
|
15
|
1
|
4
|
29
|
Serious lack of care and protection
|
1
|
6
|
-
|
-
|
5
|
6
|
-
|
-
|
18
|
Regular maltreatment of the child
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
-
|
2
|
10
|
-
|
18
|
Sexual exploitation
|
2
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1
|
-
|
7
|
-
|
10
|
Exploitation for organized crime
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Exposure to begging and economic exploitation
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Inability to provide care and protection
|
1
|
3
|
6
|
-
|
3
|
6
|
2
|
-
|
21
|
Total
|
7
|
10
|
9
|
6
|
17
|
35
|
20
|
4
|
108
|
334. The provisions of the Criminal Code and of the
Child Protection Code forbid all forms of violence against the child (this topic
is described at greater length above).
335. The duty of notification introduced under the
Child Protection Code concerns any adult who becomes aware of "a difficult
situation
which threatens the child...". Information must be passed on to the
child protection officer (article 32), who will take the necessary
measures to
protect the child and find a solution. However, "if no agreement is reached
within twenty days of the case being received
by the child protection officer,
the case shall be referred to the families' judge..." (Article
42).
336. It is forbidden to divulge the identity of the person
responsible for the notification, except when he or she gives permission,
or in
the cases defined by law (article 34). The child protection officer is required
to maintain professional secrecy (article 29).
338. Two mechanisms have been established for the
purpose of containing all forms of violence, injury, abuse, neglect,
maltreatment
or exploitation against the child:
(a) Integrated
centres;
(b) The natural surroundings
programme.
(a) Integrated centres for young people and
children
Social situation of the children accepted by these centres
Sex
|
|||
Male
|
Female
|
Total
|
|
Orphaned from two parents
|
68
|
52
|
120
|
Orphaned from father
|
738
|
575
|
1,313
|
Orphaned from mother
|
109
|
63
|
172
|
Difficult situation
|
783
|
548
|
1,331
|
Total
|
1 698
|
1 238
|
2,936
|
Distribution of children by type of care
Boys
|
Girls
|
Total
|
|
Boarder
|
509
|
275
|
784
|
Part-boarder
|
441
|
377
|
818
|
In family
|
748
|
586
|
1,334
|
Total
|
1,698
|
1,238
|
2,936
|
(b) Natural surroundings
340. This programme is intended to
help children and families in need or in difficulty on the material, educational
and social levels,
by allowing them to remain in their families, using the
following methods:
(i) Raising family awareness to the point where it can assume its
responsibilities towards the child;
(ii) A material contribution (household and hygienic products, food,
clothing, school equipment, etc.).
This programme has helped a total of
2,621 children.
Children helped by this programme, by situation
Sex
|
Total |
||
Male
|
Female
|
||
Orphaned from two parents
|
30
|
34
|
64
|
Orphaned from father
|
739
|
654
|
1,393
|
Orphaned from mother
|
34
|
39
|
73
|
Difficult situation
|
575
|
516
|
1,091
|
Total
|
1,378
|
1,243
|
2,621
|
Social integration of children cared for by the integrated centers
Year
|
Into a family
|
By work
|
By marriage
|
Total
|
|||
Boys
|
Girls
|
Boys
|
Girls
|
Boys
|
Girls
|
||
1995
|
96
|
70
|
114
|
37
|
–
|
1
|
318
|
166
|
151
|
1
|
|||||
1996
|
90
|
71
|
130
|
49
|
–
|
3
|
343
|
161
|
179
|
3
|
|||||
1997
|
140
|
99
|
148
|
70
|
–
|
11
|
468
|
239
|
218
|
11
|
(c) Future prospects
341. In order to make these
integrated centres more effective and provide for the child's best interests, a
draft decree is being
prepared which will result in their becoming better
organized and more flexible.
6. Programmes developed by the Ministry for Social
Affairs
342. An service offering advice on prevention and guidance
has been set up for adolescent girls, with a view to helping them avoid
illegitimate births and delinquency, and for single mothers, with a view to
encouraging them to keep their children. A socio-economic
programme is being
planned which will provide a safeguard against child abandonment and the
marginalisation of single mothers by
society.
VI. BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
A. Disabled
children
(article 23)
343. The initial report described in detail the national policy for the
protection and advancement of disabled persons, especially
children. In this
regard, it will be recalled that, according to article 2 of Act No. 89-52 of 14
March 1989 concerning the advancement
and protection of disabled persons, "The
advancement of disabled persons and the identification of disabilities, and the
care, education,
vocational training, employment and socio-economic integration
of disabled persons constitute a national responsibility." This clearly
expresses Tunisia's commitment to pursue the major objectives defined by the
World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons,
adopted by the General
Assembly of the United Nations at its thirty-seventh session (resolution 37/52
of 3 December 1982).
1. Prevention and
rehabilitation
(a) Measures taken to ensure early detection of
disability
344. In order to reduce the extent of disability and
facilitate the social integration of disabled people, a programme to establish
regional rehabilitation units (URR) has been implemented jointly by the Ministry
of Public Health and the Ministry for Social Affairs
since 1990.
345. The
task of these units is to assist in the early detection of disability, provide
multidisciplinary care for the children identified,
provide guidance for the
children who can be integrated into normal schools, facilitate occupational
integration in suitable cases,
and supply follow-up for the children provided
with schooling. They also concentrate on promoting prevention, through an
educational
programme which provides the parents of disabled children with
guidance on care.
346. There are currently 17 such units located in
governorate capitals, the most recent being the units at Béja (1997) and
Sidi Bouzid (under construction).
347. The work of detection and care is
undertaken by multidisciplinary teams comprising a co-ordinating physician, a
psychologist,
a physiotherapist, a speech therapist, an all-round educator and a
social worker.
348. So as to ensure wide coverage for this scattered
population group, each URR unit has a vehicle which members of the team can
use
to visit patients, most of whom suffer from multiple disabilities, in order to
administer their specialized skills.
349. Since 1995, the Ministry of Health has planned and launched a
strategy for promoting advice at the premarital stage. The strategy
has two main
parts:
(i) A health campaign aimed at educating the general public, supported by
posters and a television commercial;
(ii) A training programme, intended primarily for first-line physicians and
then for the other levels of care, describing the structure
and content of a
premarital consultation. This training has been given to 190 doctors working for
first-line public health organizations.
350. In order to prevent and
tackle problems caused by iodine deficiency, the Ministry of Public Health,
acting in the framework of
a multi-sectoral committee, has decided to introduce
salt iodination throughout the country (Decree No. 95/1633 of 8 April 1996).
This measure was accompanied by the introduction of a quality control system for
salt and its iodine content. Checks are carried
out monthly by specially trained
public health officials throughout the distribution chain, from manufacturer to
consumer.
(b) Measures taken to promote early detection in
schools
351. The main measures employed for early detection of
disability in schools are:
(i) The introduction of initial medical examinations one year before the
start of school; these are conducted in the presence of
the parents, who bring
the child's health record with them. Care can thus be provided earlier, avoiding
subsequent absences from
school;
(ii) For several years, basic and further training in matters of school
health have been geared to the following kinds of topic:
- Second national course on school medicine held in 1991: screening for
failure to adapt to school;
- Third national course on school and university medicine in 1992: the
psychology and psychopathology of adolescence;
- Eighth national course on school and university medicine held in
1997:
. Screening for hearing defects in the school
environment;
. Instrumental problems;
. Screening for sight deficiencies in the school
environment;
(iii) Health education has also tackled the problem of prevention, in the
following ways:
- In 1995, special "health club days" on hereditary diseases;
- In
1996, "pre-school health days" on domestic accidents.
(iv) Medical cover
for disabled persons' organizations;
(v) Since 1990, the integration of disabled children into schools with the
help of the URR units.
(c) Actions undertaken with regard to the training of those responsible
for the care of disabled children
352. The actions taken in this
field are the responsibility of the Institute for Disabled Persons
(IPH):
(i) Basic training (university)
353. First
training cycle for multi-subject instructors:
- Number of graduates (from 1992 to 1997): 251, including 16 from
sub-Saharan Africa;
- 70 students currently undergoing training.
354. The IPH plans to
initiate a second cycle in 1999.
(ii) Further
training
355. This training is intended for staff working in the
care organizations run by the public sector and the associations. There are
two
kinds of activity:
- In-service courses: these provide theoretical and practical
knowledge for staff in post, leading to a qualification.
Numbers of graduates
Multi-subject instructors
19
Specialised teaching assistants 215
Medico-educational
assistants 172
Teachers for socially maladjusted children
68
Directors of socio-educational establishments 19
- Retraining and more advanced training: The IPH has always held
retraining seminars for the teaching and reorientation staff of its specialized
centres and URR units. Since
1994-95, 314 managerial staff have attended
retraining courses. In 1998, a full retraining programme was introduced in the
form of
a list of activities commencing at the start of the year. Thus, since
January 1998, eleven seminars have already been held at the
IPH, attracting 213
participants.
(iii) Post-university training
356. A
one-year postgraduate diploma in disability and rehabilitation was initiated at
the start of 1998 in collaboration with the
university faculty of medicine in
Tunis; 31 managerial staff attended.
(iv) Databank
357. The IPH is currently engaged in a
project to set up a databank on disability. Its content would be accessible via
the Internet.
2. Full participation and equalization of
chances
(a) Education and rehabilitation
358. Article
10 of the Act of 14 March 1989 guarantees the disabled child the right to
"education and rehabilitation which will be
carried out as far as possible in
ordinary educational establishments or, where this is not possible, in
specialized establishments".
359. According to article 4 of the Act No.
91-65 of 29 July 1991 "on the education system", "the State offers all pupils
the maximum
equality of chances to benefit from this right, and will endeavour,
as far as possible, to establish favourable conditions which
will enable
disabled children to enjoy the right to education."
360. The IPH has
devised a programme to integrate disabled children into the education system.
This programme started in 1991-92,
with a view to offering disabled children
educational services that met their specialized requirements. There are at
present 161
centres specializing in the education and training of disabled
children, attended by 10,000 children. In addition, disabled children
benefit
from certain special measures, such as timetable adjustments, specially equipped
premises, and additional time for sitting
exams.
(b) Vocational
training and employment
361. Article 11 of the Act of 14 March 1989
stipulates that training must:
(i) Make it possible for disabled people to exercise an economic
activity;
(ii) Be received under the same conditions as, and together with,
able-bodied workers.
362. Article 13 of the same act states that
disability may not constitute an obstacle to the access of a citizen to
employment, and
article 15 (bis) obliges every public and private enterprise
employing at least one hundred wage-earners to "reserve one per cent
of its
posts for disabled persons."
363. Other measures have been adopted, such
as:
(i) Exemption of enterprises from certain social
charges;
(ii) Lifting of the taxation on goods produced by disabled
persons.
364. The regulations on vocational training include special
arrangements for the disabled. Thus, efforts are made to make training
accessible to this category of the population. For example, the Ariana centre
for training in car mechanics makes adapted car engines
available to disabled
persons wishing to learn to drive.
(c) Recreational activities
365. Act No. 94-104 of 3 August
1994 introduces the special topic "physical and sports education for the
disabled" to the programmes
taught in higher physical and sports education
institutes, as well as the teaching of physical education in specialized centres
of
education and rehabilitation.
366. Disabled persons are guaranteed
free entry to museums, historical monuments and sites of archaeological interest
(decree of the
ministries of culture and finance, 8 April 1996).
B. Health and health services
(article 24)
367. Tunisia has a battery of legal
provisions guaranteeing the right of all citizens to health. Other than the
guarantee offered
by the Constitution, Act No. 91-63 of 29 July 1991 provides,
in its article 1, that "every person shall have the right to health
protection under the
best possible conditions." To strengthen this right,
article 34 of the above-mentioned act states that the public health
organizations
must remain open to all persons whose state of health requires
their services.
368. Free health care and hospitalization is the right of
every poor Tunisian, his or her spouse and the children for whom they are
legally responsible. In particular, article 2 of the Child Protection Code
"guarantees the child the right to benefit from various
preventive measures of a
social, educational or medical nature and from other provisions and procedures
intended to protect the child
against all forms of violence, injury, physical or
mental harm, sexual exploitation, neglect, or negligence which might lead to
maltreatment
or exploitation".
369. To guarantee all children the right
of access to vaccination services, the Ministry of Health organized three
successive mass
vaccination campaigns against poliomyelitis. These achieved 100%
coverage among children aged under five years, thanks mainly to
the
collaboration shown at the intersectoral and inter-departmental levels. These
campaigns helped to eliminate poliomyelitis from
Tunisia (last case in June
1992).
370. Furthermore, since 1997 the Directorate for Basic Health-care
has taken action to identify the areas where health-care is least
effective,
following up with support activities (methods for improving problem solving,
teamwork, rapid assessment techniques, monitoring,
etc.) and also contributing
material support to help the relevant regional and local health teams plan and
implement appropriate
strategies designed to improve their child health
indicators.
2. Evolution of child health
indicators
371. The mechanisms used to monitor the various activities
and indicators of population health are the gathering of data on various
target
organizations and population groups, and the conducting of regular surveys at
grass-roots level.
(a) National vaccination programme
372. With respect to the
national vaccination programme, indicators have been selected to evaluate the
strategies employed, with the
aim of achieving the objectives set in tackling
the major target diseases.
(i) Elimination of neonatal
tetanus
373. This objective was achieved in 1995 (since 1995, WHO
has included Tunisia in the list of countries that have eliminated this
disease). The following indicators are applied:
- Rate of occurrence lower than 1 case per 1,000 live births per year in all
districts of the country;
- Level of protection offered children at birth through maternal vaccination.
(ii) Eradication of poliomyelitis before the year
2000
374. Tunisia has had no cases of poliomyelitis since July
1992, a situation confirmed by the monitoring system introduced since then,
especially since 1995 when it reached the standard required by the relevant
international organizations. The following indicators
are applied:
- Number of cases of non polio-related acute flaccid paralysis (PFA)
identified per 100,000 children aged 15, at the national and
regional
levels;
- Proportion of PFA cases examined correctly (in line with programme
guidelines) at the national level.
(iii) Measures to tackle
measles
375. Following the remedial vaccination campaign for
children born in the period 1976-82, conducted in schools from 1992 to 1996,
the
Ministry of Public Health set itself the objective of eliminating smallpox. It
intends to implement its strategy by the end of
1998. The following indicators
are applied:
- Vaccination cover per district;
- Incidence of disease;
- Surveillance criteria for eruptive fevers.
(iv) Measures to
tackle the Hepatitis B virus
376. Vaccination against hepatitis
B was introduced on a compulsory basis for children on 1 July 1995 (Ministry of
Health decree of
10 February 1998). The applicable indicator is vaccination
cover for children by means of three doses of vaccine administered by
the first
birthday, at local, regional and national level.
(v) Systems introduced for gathering information on vaccination and on
measures to tackle the target diseases
a. Gathering of information on vaccine delivery and evaluation of
coverage statistics
377. On 1 January 1998, the Ministry of Health
introduced a new, computerised health information system that brought together
the
four main programmes relating to children's health (vaccination, growth
checking, anti-diarrhoea measures and anti-acute respiratory
infection (ARI)
measures). The main concerns addressed by the system were relevance of
information, simplicity and rapidity of operation,
and the need for the
information to support actions and evaluation.
b. System of active surveillance for suspected cases of
poliomyelitis (acute flaccid paralysis)
378. This system
permits the detection and rapid investigation of all cases of this
disease.
c. Data collection system for diarrhoea and acute
respiratory infections
379. The following indicators for these
diseases are calculated on the basis of routine data collection in the context
of the campaigns
against acute diarrhoea and acute respiratory
infections:
- For measures against infant
diarrhoea:
. Incidence of diarrhoea;
. Use of
oral rehydration therapy;
. Information from mothers concerning
the three basic rules of care;
. Proportion of patients with
diarrhoea;
. Proportion of patients having diarrhoea with
dehydration;
. Proportion of patients having diarrhoea with
malnutrition;
. Proportion of diarrhoea cases transferred to
hospital.
- For measures against acute respiratory
infections:
. Incidence of ARI;
. Proportion of children receiving adequate treatment form health
agencies;
. Proportion of patients with
ARI;
. Proportion of serious pneumonia
cases;
. Proportion of pneumonia
cases;
. Proportion of patients with angina;
. Proportion of ARI cases transferred to
hospital;
. Proportion of ARI cases treated with
antibiotics.
(b) Family planning
(i) Progression of
main demographic indicators
380. The following demographic
indicators show how the programme has evolved:
- The crude birth rate fell from 45.1% in 1966 to 20.8% in 1995;
- The natural rate of population growth fell from 3.01% in 1966 to 1.5% in
1995;
- The overall fertility rate fell from 7.15 in 1966 to 2.67 in 1995;
- Life expectance at birth rose from 51 years in 1966 to 71.4 years in 1994
(73.3 for women in 1994 compared with 48 in
1956).
(ii) Progression of service
indicators
381. Material and human resources have been allocated
in order to strengthen the health and family planning services throughout the
National Family Planning Programme, as shown by the indicators in
table 1.
Table 1. Access to family planning services
1970s
|
1997
|
|
Health centers
|
480
|
1,841
|
Reproduction and family planning centres (CREPF)
|
20
|
54
|
Mobile units
|
15
|
102
|
District maternity units
|
94
|
109
|
Regional maternity units
|
29
|
25
|
University maternity units
|
5
|
9
|
Midwives/10,000 women of reproductive age
|
1
|
7.8
|
Doctors/1,000 inhabitants
|
1.5
|
5.45
|
Maternity beds/10,000 women of reproductive age
|
10.4
|
11.2
|
Health centers /100,000 inhabitants
|
10.5
|
19.44
|
(iii) Progression of coverage indicators
a. Changes in levels of service requests and in contraceptive take-up,
according to the statistics
382. The constant increases in the number
of visits and in the number of women starting to use contraceptives show the
population's
positive response to the programme (Table 2). Examination of the
statistics reveals the following:
- Positive results for all types of method, with fluctuations reflecting the
family planning sector's sensitivity to the circumstances
affecting it;
- A clear preference for using intra-uterine devices (IDU);
- The pill and secondary methods (gel, condom) are used in the same
proportion (17 to 20%);
- Injected contraceptives, introduced into the programme in 1990, are
becoming increasingly popular. In 1996, they accounted for
9% of demand;
- By contrast, the Norplant subcutaneous implant, introduced at the same
time as the injected varieties, has hardly been taken up
by users;
- Whereas 17 to 20% of users previously opted for tying of the Fallopian tubes, this method now accounts for 10-11% of the total;
- Induced abortions, practised since 1973 and previously used as a
contraceptive method, reached their peak in 1976 and have since
stabilised at
around 20,000 per year, despite an increase in the number of women of
reproductive age. In 86% of cases, an induced
abortion is followed by reversion
to a modern contraceptive method.
Table 2. Changes in numbers of visits and in contraceptive take-up
Year
|
Visits
|
New users of contraceptives*
|
1967
|
41,535
|
13,600
|
1970
|
184,419
|
35,362
|
1973
|
273,156
|
43,840
|
1976
|
429,891
|
75,323
|
1979
|
521,933
|
72,700
|
1982
|
640,356
|
77,308
|
1985
|
801,497
|
96,136
|
1988
|
1,171,258
|
110,047
|
1991
|
1,322,429
|
108,173
|
1994
|
1,709,571
|
121,386
|
* Women using a contraceptive for the first time since
reaching childbearing age
b. Coverage indicators on the basis of
periodic surveys
Changes in contraceptive
use
383. Estimated to be 13% in 1973, the level of contraceptive use
rose to 31.4% in 1978 (Tunisian fertility survey [ETF]), 41.1% in
1983 (Tunisian
survey on contraceptive use [ETPC]) and 49.8% by 1988 (Demographic and health
survey)[EDS]. In 1994, 59.7% of married
women of reproductive age used
contraceptive methods (Tunisian survey on the health of the mother and child)
[ETSME].
384. The differences between urban and rural take-up of
contraception observed in the ETF, ETPC and EDS surveys had been largely reduced
by the time of the ETSME survey in 1994, as Table 3 shows. This demonstrates the
effectiveness of the integrated approach to basic
health-care and family
planning, and also the success of the mobile units operated by the National
Office for Family and the Population
(ONFP) in remote areas.
Table 3. Changes in contraceptive use, by type of environment
ETF, 1978 |
ETPC, 1983
|
EDS, 1988
|
ETSME, 1994
|
|
Urban
|
42.1
|
49.6
|
60.5
|
64.7
|
Rural
|
20.3
|
28.9
|
34.6
|
51.4
|
Total
|
31.4
|
41.1
|
49.8
|
59.7
|
385. Likewise, the regional disparities recorded in the earlier
surveys decreased gradually as a result of the efforts to promote
contraception
in the most disadvantaged areas (Centre-west and South) [See table 4].
Table 4. Changes in levels of contraceptive use, by region
ETF, 1978
|
ETPC, 1983
|
EDS, 1988
|
ETSME, 1994
|
|
Tunis district
|
42.1
|
58.1
|
63.9
|
69.8
|
North-east
|
37.0
|
47.1
|
57.1
|
65.0
|
North-west
|
29.0
|
41.5
|
51.3
|
61.5
|
Centre-east
|
10.9
|
17.7
|
31.5
|
45.6
|
Centre-west
|
37.8
|
47.1
|
48.8
|
60.6
|
South
|
21.1
|
24.1
|
41.4
|
49.7
|
Total
|
31.4
|
41,1
|
49.8
|
59.7
|
Changes in user profiles, by age
386. The average age
on first use of contraception fell from 33 years for the period 1966-72 to
30.3 years for the period 1973-86.
During the period 1987-94, the average
age fell to 29 years. According to the surveys, the proportion of users in the
15-24 age group
increased from 16% in 1978 to 42% in 1994.
Number of
children
387. The average number of children at the time of first
using contraception fell from 5.1 in 1971 to 4.2 in 1986, and then to 3.4
by 1994. The use of contraception before the first child is born is negligible.
The level then rises to 45% after the first birth,
and to 65% after the second
birth (ETSME, 1994).
Educational level of
users
388. Contraception is a part of everyday life. The differences
seen at the start of the programme regarding use by women of reproductive
age
according to educational level have been reduced drastically. In 1994, the
proportion of contraceptive users among illiterate
women was 53.6%, compared
with 67.1% among those with secondary education and higher. These proportions
were, respectively, 27.6%
and 52% in 1978.
(iv) Methods
used
389. Modern methods were used by 83% of those who featured
in the ETSME survey. The most popular was the intra-uterine device (Table
5).
Loyalty to type of contraception was more marked among IDU users than among
users of the pill, according to the 1989 National
Survey on Continued Use of
Contraceptive Methods.
Table 5. Contraceptive methods used
ETF, 1978
|
ETSME, 1994
|
|||
All methods
|
Modern methods
|
All methods
|
Modern methods
|
|
IUD
|
28
|
35
|
42
|
51
|
Pill
|
21
|
27
|
12
|
25
|
Tying of fallopian tubes
|
24
|
30
|
21
|
15
|
Condom
|
4
|
5
|
3
|
3
|
Other modern
|
2
|
3
|
5
|
6
|
Traditional
|
21
|
-
|
17
|
-
|
(v) Contribution of the private sector to the level of
contraceptive use
390. The National Office for the Family and
Population has taken steps to encourage and motivate private health
organizations. These
include training, and the supply of contraceptives to
private pharmacies and doctors at modest prices. Consequently, over 20% of
the
population use the private sector.
391. Private-sector intervention is
particularly significant in the context of the re-supply of pills and condoms to
pharmacists.
Women who say they use the pill go to their pharmacist in 67.5% of
cases, with those using condoms doing so in 53.7% of cases (ETSME,
1994).
According to the same survey, 11.2% of IUD users and 2.4% of those who opted for
surgical sterilisation used the private sector.
392. There is a direct
link between use of the private sector and users' level of education: 45% among
those with higher education,
and 12% among illiterate women.
(c) Schools medicine (schools health list)
393. Indicators
from the school health record:
(i) Ratio of pupils to school
doctors: 1/11,003;
(ii) Ratio of pupils to paramedical staff:
1/3,927;
(iii) Ratio of pupils to dentists:
1/9,240;
(iv) Ratio of schools to school
doctors: 6.5
(v) Ratio of schools to school
paramedics; 4.5.
394. Coverage levels for medical
visits:
(i) 88% in pre-school;
(ii) 93% in primary
school;
(iii) 71% in secondary school;
(iv) Repeaters: primary
47%, secondary 61%;
(v) 63% in the first year after school
.
395. Vaccination rates in schools:
(i) Primary:
99%;
(ii) Secondary: 96%.
396. Morbidity
indicators:
i) Overall, primary schools: 33%;
(ii) Specific, primary schools:
- Dental caries: 24%;
- Eye
refraction problems: 1.97%;
(iii) Overall, secondary schools:
23%;
(iv) Specific, secondary schools:
- Dental caries: 11%;
- Eye refraction
problems:
. Corrected: 4.12%;
. Uncorrected: 3.24%.
397. Indicators used in the Education for Health
programme:
(i) Number of topics;
(ii) Number of
sessions;
(iii) Number of pupils covered.
(d) Mortality
rate
398. The indicators used for mortality have been described
before. With regard to morbidity, the collection and systematic analysis
of the
causes of hospitalisation (diagnosis on leaving) are being planned as part of an
information management exercise involving
hospitalised patients. This process
will begin at teaching hospitals, and the second phase will take place at
regional hospitals.
399. In 1994, the Tunisian Survey on the Health of
the Mother and Child (PAPCHILD) revealed an infant mortality rate of 35%. The
target
set for 2001 is to reduce this rate to 25%. The rate for 1997 is
estimated to be 30%.
400. The level of prenatal coverage was 71% in 1994.
The target of 90% has been set for 2001. The rate for medically assisted births
is 81%. The objective is to achieve a level of 90% by 2001. Maternal mortality
stands at 69 per 100,000 live births. The objective
is to reduce this to 50 per
100,000 by 2001.
401. A data collection system brings together all
information relating to the health of mothers and
children.
3. Measures taken to improve health-care and medical
assistance for children
(a) Measures taken to reduce neonatal
deaths
402. Several measures have been taken to reduce neonatal
deaths:
(i) Strengthening of the neonatal care provision in outlying maternity units
through additional equipment and better staff training
and supervision;
(ii) Launch of a project to develop postgraduate training in neonatal
care;
(iii) Studies aimed at expanding the regional level maternity and
paediatrics services available for neonatal care;
(iv) Launch of a national strategy for reducing maternal mortality in
accordance with the survey findings, which will have an impact
on neonatal
mortality.
403. According to the PAPCHILD survey, the neonatal mortality
rates for the five years from 1990-94 were 22.3 per thousand at national
level,
14.5 per thousand at regional level, and 30.7 per thousand for rural areas. The
respective post-natal mortality rates were
12.9 per thousand, 7.8 per thousand,
and 18.9 per thousand.
(b) Measures taken to provide all children with necessary medical
assistance and health-care
404. With the aim of improving the
population's access to health services, the Ministry of Health has extended the
network of basic
health centres, their numbers having increased on average by 50
centres per year throughout the VIIIth Plan. The total number of
basic health
centres rose from 1,516 in 1992 to 1,886 in December 1997.
405. The
majority of these new centres have been created in rural areas. In addition to
the centres offering integrated services,
a network of a thousand rural meeting
points provides preventive services, vaccinations and family planning for a
widely dispersed
population.
406. Likewise, in recent years child health
programmes have been strengthened through the national campaigns against acute
respiratory
infections and infant diarrhoea, and the national vaccination
campaign. The following methods have been important in this respect:
(i) Targeting of the least successful regions (preparation of regional units
by a central team offering expertise in planning, training,
supervision and
problem solving);
(ii) Strengthening of partnerships and educational initiatives involving
health matters, especially with the media;
(iii) Introduction of an integrated system to improve the collection and use
of data relating to child health.
407. The current ratio of basic health
centres to inhabitants is 1: 4,900. The centres provide a range of preventive
services and
treatment and are supported by the specialized hospitals, which
provide more technical services as necessary.
408. In regions where
health-care services are scarce, such as certain parts of the Centre-west and
the North-west, special efforts
have been made to improve the level of
provision.
409. With regard to vaccination, "North African Vaccination
Days" have been organized in order to attract children who have never
been
vaccinated. Over one million children were vaccinated in each of three
poliomyelitis campaigns held over three successive years,
as part of the
world-wide eradication effort.
410. With regard to the nutritional status
of Tunisian children aged under five years, the PAPCHILD survey showed that 3.9%
suffered
from under-nourishment, of whom 1.2 percent were severe cases and 2.7%
moderates cases. Moreover, 79% of such children were eutrophic
and 17% were
over-fed. There was no significant difference between boys and
girls.
411. The National Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology is
currently conducting a national survey on the nutritional status
of Tunisia's
population.
(c) Measures taken in the field of environmental sanitation and
protection
412. The Ministry of Health has taken the following
measures in environmental sanitation and
protection:
(i) Prevention of water-borne
diseases
Drinking water
413. The entire urban
population now has access to drinking water provided by the National Company for
Water Use and Distribution.
414. This water is monitored daily at various
points in the system, including reservoirs, by means of chlorine residue testing
and
determinations of bacteriological and physico-chemical quality. The
bacteriological quality of the water in urban areas has improved
considerably in
recent years, with only 3% of the drinking water failing to comply with the
existing standards.
415. In addition to quality control of the water
supplied, the Ministry of Public Health regularly inspects the structures used
to
supply drinking water (treatment plants, reservoirs, sewerage systems, etc.)
in order to monitor hygiene levels and identify risk
factors.
416. In
rural areas, the level of access to drinking water increased distinctly to 71%
in 1997, compared with 65.6% in 1992. The access
points (wells, tanks, springs)
are inspected regularly. The Ministry of Public Health operates a continuous
disinfection service
at these points, and bacteriological checks are performed
regularly.
417. In 1997, the Ministry of Public Health inspected the
sanitary condition of the drinking-water access points and sewage systems
in
rural primary schools.
418. Special attention is paid to the drinking
water in the "grey areas" and in frontier regions.
Packaged
water
419. Given its importance to certain vulnerable population
groups, including children, the Ministry of Public Health devotes special
attention to the mineral water industry. This water is subjected to rigorous
production controls, weekly bacteriological testing,
and regular checks on
physico-chemical quality.
Bathing water
420. The
following checks are carried out:
- Seawater: The Ministry of Public Health operates a network of 515
coastal monitoring stations which perform regular checks on seawater quality.
The regular bacteriological and physico-chemical checks are stepped up during
the summer months.
- Swimming pools: The hygiene levels and equipment at swimming pools are monitored regularly, as is the microbiological quality of the water. In addition, the Ministry of Public Health regularly inspects public and hotel pools.
The bacteriological evaluations made of bathing water quality have shown
that most of it is highly
satisfactory.
Sewerage
421. Whereas 100% of the urban
population has adequate and hygienic disposal of domestic waste water, only 29%
of the rural population
has hygienic sanitation. In 1997, 70% of the population
was connected to a sewage system. The number of sewage works, which had been
25
in 1991, was 52 in 1997.
422. There is regular bacteriological testing of
the waste water, before and after treatment, in particular for pathogens such as
vibrio cholerae and salmonella. Particular attention is given to
monitoring the treated waste water reused in agriculture.
423. Finally,
the operation of sewage works is inspected regularly to prevent any discharge
that does not comply with the prevailing
norms.
(ii) Prevention of
food-borne diseases
424. As for food hygiene, supervision of
food establishments, and more particularly of dairy industries and ice-cream
factories, is
stringent and continuous.
425. The Ministry of Public
Health also carries out regular checks on public establishments such as schools
and universities, in order
to prevent food
poisoning.
(iii) Prevention of health risks relating to air
quality
426. In the context of an exercise to assess the health
impact of air quality, the Ministry of Public Health has carried out a national
study of chemical air pollution in Tunisia which helped identify the areas at
risk.
427. The Ministry has also performed an ecological-epidemiological
study in the Gabès region designed to determine the respiratory
effects
in the schools of acidic air pollution, with the aim of devising a strategy to
prevent this type of risk.
(iv) Measures taken since submission of the initial report to
guarantee that all segments of society, in particular parents and children,
receive information on health and hygiene and are supported in their further use
of such information
428. Specific training and educational
initiatives have been taken in collaboration with:
- The Department of Hygiene of the Ministry of Public Health: the management
of hospital waste;
- The Schools Medicine Directorate of the same ministry: cleanliness and hygiene in schools;
- The "Health and Environment" NGO: seminars and exhibitions on various environmental
issues.
(v) Campaigns, programmes, services and strategies implemented to
dispense basic knowledge that will help achieve the objectives outlined
429. Actions to raise awareness of environmental issues are mainly
carried out on the following days every year:
- 14 October: Arab Day of the Environment (different theme every year);
- Second Sunday in November: National Tree day (involves the whole
population);
- 22 March: World Day for Water;
- 22 April: Earth
Day;
- 5 June: World Environment Day;
- 11 June: National Day
for Environmental Cleanliness and Protection;
- 17 June: World Day to
Combat Desertification and Drought;
- 16 September: International Day
for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer;
- 29 December: World Day for
Biological Diversity.
430. According to the theme, various activities are
organized (awareness and information campaigns, special TV and radio programmes,
seminars, meetings, field visits, etc.) for different target groups.
(vi) Results obtained in implementing the environmental promotion
programmes, problems encountered and future objectives
set
431. The main outcomes of these programmes may be summarized
as follows:
- The mascot of the environmental movement, "Labib", has become familiar to
children and has made them aware of environmental matters;
- The shortage of written and audio-visual material produced on the
environment has been made up, improving children's environmental
awareness;
- All the written and audio-visual teaching material produced for schools is
relevant to the parties concerned, judging by the high
levels of satisfaction
they have expressed and the many requests they have made to the Ministry for the
Environment and Land-use
Management;
- Environmental issues are now well represented by schools programmes and
the information media;
- The strengthening of material and financial resources will make it
possible to mount activities in remote locations.
432. The main
difficulties encountered are the following:
- The system for distributing and tracking the documents produced has been
hampered by a relative lack of resources and administrative
constraints;
- The performance of those trained to promote the programmes has, in the opinion of some people, fallen below expectations.
433. Future prospects are geared to the following objectives:
- Closer collaboration between the various organizations involved;
- The distribution of products of direct concern to the schools, educational
establishments and NGOs involved;
- Teaching and scientific material must be accompanied by manuals suited to
specific users;
- More must be done on the following topics in future activities: land-use,
urban and rural rehabilitation, and the management of
waste in the olive oil
industry (the so-called "margines").
(d) Measures taken to promote
health education programmes
434. The main aim of the health education
programme that accompanies all the activities in this field is to help people
acquire the
knowledge to change their attitudes and habits so that their health
improves; this applies especially to the projects to improve
drinking-water
supplies in rural areas. In most regions, the target group is usually
schoolchildren, owing to the fact that the child
is receptive and able to pass
on information to his or her family and immediate
circle.
(i) Community participation
435. Given its
positive impact on public health, any action taken by the community and by
associations with regard to the prevention
of environmentally-related diseases
is encouraged. Action of this kind usually takes the form of district committees
in towns and
community interest associations in rural areas, as well as
associations concerned with environmental protection.
436. The
information-education-communication (IEC) programme is an essential component of
the general health programme, especially
where mothers and children are
concerned. It operates as follows:
- Strengthening the size and qualifications of the staff complement, and
mobilizing the capacity and potential of civil society (forming
of new
associations, especially those based on family interests, and support for NGOs
represented at national, regional and local
level);
- The regular IEC programme is supported by intensive education campaigns
geared to high-priority health projects;
- Developing printed or audio-visual materials to support the educational
programme.
437. Under the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative, since 1993
maternity hospitals have encouraged breastfeeding and a training manual
on the
subject has been distributed to 2,000 health-care professionals.
438. Also since 1993, the support of the Ministry for Women's and Family
Affairs, the National Union for Tunisian Women and the National
Family and
Population Office has been mobilised to produce a programme consisting of the
following activities:
- A ceremony at which certificates are awarded to the directors of maternity
hospitals judged to be "baby-friendly", i.e. those which
have successfully
introduced breastfeeding. This is now the case of 98% of maternity
hospitals;
- A regional and national " healthy child" competition intended to promote
the services concerned with perinatal care and family
planning, breastfeeding,
growth monitoring, vaccination, etc. Children are put forward by each region,
and on the same day three
winners are chosen on the basis of a paediatric and
psychological examination;
- A exhibition to promote the benefits enjoyed by Tunisian women in the
areas of health and family planning.
In addition, the technique of
breastfeeding is discussed in radio and TV programmes broadcast throughout the
year. TV commercials
have also been produced for this purpose.
439. In
1997, for the first time an inspection of a random sample of 22 outlying
maternity hospitals - from a total of 107 certified
facilities - was carried
out. As a result, the El Ksour (Le Kef) hospital received a UNICEF-sponsored
prize awarded by the Ministry
for Public Health, consisting of a combined
television/video recorder which will be used to promote the hospital's education
and
information programmes in its catchment area.
(ii) Health
education mechanisms used in schools
440. The following examples
were activities intended to bring together children and parents on matters
relating to health, in particular
nutrition:
- Fourth "breakfast day"
(1998);
- Fourth "week of healthy balanced diet" (1997);
- Third
"day of bodily hygiene and clean clothing";
- Fifth "hygiene in schools"
week (1998);
- Second "accidents involving pre-school children" day
(1996).
441. The methods used include the following:
- Events such as those listed above, held at national, regional and local
level, with media coverage;
- Open days organized by the heads of schools, to which the parents are
invited;
- Production of supporting material at these events which are passed on to
the parents by their children;
- Instruction by peers, carried out at health clubs whose members act as the contact for their family and immediate circle.
442. The measures taken to ensure these activities are carried out may be
summarized as follows:
- Preparatory meetings for the above-mentioned events, held at national,
regional and local level;
- Gathering of data on the various
events;
- Holding of national and regional competitions to ensure that pupils and
teachers continue to discuss these matters after the activities
have been
held.
443. The extent of people's knowledge about contraceptive methods
is 100%. The level of their contraceptive use is 60% (one of the
highest rates
among the developing countries).
444. Since 1996, special activities have
been devised to prepare young people for a responsible sexual and reproductive
life. These
have been developed in the form of cooperation projects with the
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the European Union. They
target
adolescents and young adults in schools, at work and through
associations.
445. Mention should also be made of the actions taken by
the education system to improve preventive health-care. They include:
- A revised natural sciences programme for year nine of the basic syllabus.
In 1997, the Directorate for Medicine in Schools and
Universities (DMSU) revised
the following
sections:
. Reproduction;
. Contraception;
. Sexually
transmitted diseases;
- In 1994 and 1995, a day held by health clubs,
centred around the topics of young people, family health and hereditary
diseases.
(iii) Role played by vocational training in advancing preventive
health-care, and subjects included in training programmes for this
purpose
446. The efforts of the Ministry for Vocational Training
and Employment, pursuant to article 24 of the Convention, have been concentrated
in the following areas:
- Compulsory integration into training courses of material on health and
safety at work, as well as physical education sessions and
sport (Article 8,
Chapter 3 of Decree No. 95-293 setting out the enrolment conditions, schemes of
study and training approval procedures
for establishments belonging to the
Tunisian Occupational Training Agency);
- The obligation to make the programme on preventive medicine and nutritional health more widely available to those attending occupational training centres and to apprentices, through:
. The formation of health clubs provided with first-aid equipment and extensive accompanying documentation;
. The planning of an annual basic programme of preventive medicine and health-care in collaboration with the regional health services, in order to make trainees and apprentices aware of the importance of health, hygiene and first-aid, with particular reference to nicotine addiction, alcoholism and sexually transmitted diseases;
. A continuous programme designed to make catering staff, trainees
and apprentices aware of the importance of health protection in
relation to food
products;
. The inclusion of training courses on health, child nutrition and
the environment in the training of girls from rural
backgrounds.
(e) Measures taken to combat
HIV/Aids
447. With regard to HIV/Aids, the Ministry of Health has had
a national programme in place since 1987, when Tunisia had only a little
over 50
cases. The Government quickly realised the universal scale of the epidemic and
the importance of involvement by all those
with an interest in tackling it. As a
result, programme planning and implementation are based on a multisectoral and
multidisciplinary
approach.
448. The objectives of the programme are to
prevent HIV transmission and reduce the psychosocial impact of the infection on
the victim
and his or her immediate circle. A four-fold strategy has been
adopted: preventing transmission by sexual means and from mother to
child;
preventing transmission in blood, through exhaustive countrywide monitoring of
donated blood; epidemiological surveillance
of the infection and its behaviour;
psychosocial and medical care for people living with HIV, and measures to tackle
discriminatory
attitudes.
449. Thus, in the context of preventing
transmission by sexual means and from mother to child, IES campaigns and
activities have been
conducted in partnership with various government
departments, including the ministries responsible for education, youth and
childhood,
social affairs and defence, and with NGOs, including those
specializing in Aids, other NGOs and some private bodies.
450. Every
year on World AIDS Day, the Ministry of Health organizes activities designed to
attract public involvement and raise public
awareness; a different theme is
chosen every year. In 1997, the Ministry mobilized partner organizations and the
population around
the theme "Children living in a world scarred by
Aids".
451. In order to define such high-priority measures to combat and
prevent Aids, the national programme relies on epidemiological data.
The sources
for these are compulsory case notifications, epidemiological surveys done by or
with collaboration from the doctors carrying
out treatment, sero-monitoring of
vulnerable and exposed groups, and systematic testing of donated blood. From
December 1985 (date
of notification of the first case in Tunisia) to the end of
1997, the system collected the following data:
- A total of 779 recorded cases of HIV/Aids infection, leading to 269
deaths, with a prevalence of 5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Greater Tunis
accounted for 46% of all cases, but this rate rises to 71% if the coastal areas
are added;
- 60.6% of cases occurred in the 20-39 age group;
- 183 of all cases were female, and 596 male;
- Other-child transmission accounted for 4.5% of all transmission methods
(since 1992, an average of five HIV-positive children per
year have been
recorded).
452. Alongside the programmes of prevention and
epidemiological surveillance, the Ministry of Health has attached priority to
providing
medical and psychosocial treatment for persons infected by HIV/Aids
and their immediate circle, on the basis of universal entitlement
to care and
treatment and respect for the individual without discrimination. All public
agencies provide free care for those with
the infection, and zidovudine is made
available to all HIV-positive pregnant women who come in for free treatment, in
order to reduce
the level of mother-foetus transmission. In addition, a
sociologist and a psychologist are attached to the department in question,
providing help and support to all those who have contracted HIV/Aids.
453. Alongside these governmental measures, social assistance and
psychological help are also provided at the national level by a
support group
comprising representatives of the Tunis Regional Public Health Directorate, the
Ministry of Social Affairs, an NGO
called MST/SIDA (Tunisian Association against
Aids and Sexually Transmitted Diseases), by other non-governmental organizations
such
as Médecins sans Frontières and the Terre des Hommes
International Federation at the international level, and also
by corporate
entities. The support group provides effective material assistance designed to
help HIV-positive people integrate into
family and society; this includes
assistance for setting up micro-projects to generate income, payment of school
fees for children
who have lost one or both parents to Aids, and acting as a
channel of communication in the somewhat rare cases in which an HIV- positive
person is subjected to discrimination by members of his or her immediate circle.
The group's positive experiences in Tunis to date
have led to plans to extend
such activities across the country. In the meantime, the Tunis group is willing
to help people from anywhere
in the country on request.
454. The
following measures adopted to promote information and education in the school
and university sectors on matters relating
to HIV/Aids are included in both the
overall national strategy and the national programme to combat sexually
transmitted diseases
(STD) and Aids (through a national committee headed by the
Ministry of Public Health):
- The observance of World AIDS Day every year in most schools and health clubs;
- The holding of awareness-raising sessions on the subject by a high
proportion of health clubs;
- Peer training of teachers in matters relating to STD/Aids, in
collaboration with NGOs (Tunis section of ATL MST/Aids, ATPF (Tunisian
Family
Planning Association), etc.;
- Participation by the Directorate for Medicine in Schools and
Universities(DMSU) in a project with UNFPA and NGOs, and in a joint
project with
the European Union, to tackle STD and Aids (projects piloted by the National
Family and Population Office);
- Selection of topics for health
clubs:
. 1992: Sexually transmitted diseases and
Aids;
. 1994: Young people and family health;
. 1995:
Hereditary diseases.
(f) Measures taken to abolish traditional practices prejudicial to the
health of children, particularly girls
455. No traditional practice
prejudicial to the health of children has been identified in Tunisia. In
particular, genital mutilation
of girls is not practised in either urban or
rural areas. Circumcision is considered to be a medical act, carried out most
frequently
by doctors, but sometimes by paramedical staff.
(g) Measures taken to promote and encourage international cooperation in
the field of children's health
456. All cooperation programmes with
UNICEF and most of those with WHO seek to promote children's health. However, it
should be mentioned
that the resources which the Government currently reserves
for programmes concerning mother and child health are their main source
of
support, with any collaborative programme merely supporting the Government's
efforts.
C. Social security and child-care services and
facilities
(article 26 and 18, para.3)
1. Right of the child to social security
457. During the
period 1994-98, advances were made with regard to the child's right to social
security. The child may receive social
security (unemployment benefit,
industrial accident pension, orphans' pension) in the following
cases:
(a) If he or she is dependent on the victim of an industrial
accident who pays social security contributions;
(b) Up to the age of 16
without need for justification;
(c) Up to the age of 18, subject to
proof of enrolment on a secondary technical course;
(d) Up to the age of
25, subject to proof of enrolment on a higher technical course, without a
grant;
(e) No age limit applies if the person is disabled or is an
unmarried girl deprived of resources.
458. Children may apply directly
for social security coverage to the head of their place of employment or
institute of learning, if
they are apprentices, trainees on the "Introduction to
working life" course (SIVP I or II), or if they are students.
459. Act No. 93-10 of 17 February 1993,
concerning the outline act on occupational training, recognizes the right of
children pursuing
regular occupational training to receive medical treatment and
family allowance (article 37).
460. These benefits are also paid to young
people undergoing training at public or private occupational training centres,
according
to the existing legislation (article 39).
461. Article 40 of the above-mentioned act obliges public and private
occupational training centres to insure against industrial accidents
and
occupational diseases that might be sustained by trainees, either at the
training establishment or during a work placement
elsewhere.
3. Orphans' pension
462. Act No. 94-28 of 21
February 1994, concerning compensation for industrial accidents and industrial
diseases, provides for payment
of a pension to the orphan in cases where a
parent is the victim of an industrial accident:
(a) Up to the age of 16,
without the need for justification;
(b) Up to the age of 21, subject to
proof of enrolment on a public or private secondary, technical or industrial
course;
(c) Up to the age of 25, subject to proof of enrolment on a
course of higher education;
(d) Without consideration of age in the case
of an unmarried girl with no income, or a child whose disability prevents him or
her
from working.
463. Orphans' pension is equal to 20% of the accident
victim's salary if there is one orphan, 30% if there are two, and 40% if there
are three or more. If the mother and father both die, the orphans' pension
increases to 50% of the victim's salary if there is one
orphan, 60% if there are
two, 70% if there are three, and 80% if there are four or more.
464. Act
No. 95-56 of 28 June 1995, concerning compensation for industrial accidents and
industrial diseases in the civil service,
provides for the granting of an
orphans' pension under the same conditions and at the same rates as those
offered by the scheme covering
industrial accidents and industrial diseases in
the private sector.
465. The orphaned child, in both the private and the
public sector, is entitled to a temporary orphans' pension until the age of 25,
subject to proof of enrolment on a course of higher education, and provided he
or she does not receive a grant.
466. This pension is granted without
consideration of age for orphans who are disabled and unable to work, and for
unmarried girls
with no income.
4. Family
allowances
467. Family allowances are paid in respect of children
dependent on a father or mother who pays social security contributions, up
to a
limit of three children. This principle is enshrined in the improved social
security arrangements for the non-agricultural and
agricultural sectors and, for
the public sector, in Decree No. 1906 of 16 October 1996 setting the levels of
family allowance payments
for the public sector, and by Ministerial Circular No.
42 of 25 October 1996 concerning the administration of family allowances in
the
public sector.
468. A disabled child who is unable to work is entitled to
family allowance, regardless of his or her age.
5. Nurseries
469. As mentioned in the initial report, Tunisia
attaches particular importance to the provision of day-care facilities for the
children
of working parents.
470. In addition to providing the
facilities, described in the initial report, needed by working women to enable
them to fulfil their
responsibilities towards their under-age children, Tunisia
has taken the important step of allowing social security funds to contribute
to
the cost of nursery care, under the provisions of Act No. 94-88 of 26 July
1994.
471. The contribution by social security funds is "made in respect
of the children of persons who pay social security contributions
or who are
affiliated to social security funds, and whose monthly salary including
allowances does not exceed an amount which shall
be determined under this
decree". Decree 95-114 of 16 January 1995 states that this monthly figure shall
not exceed two and a half
times the guaranteed minimum wage (SMIG). The funds
contribute 15 dinars per month per child, for a period of eleven months in every
year. This amount represents on average 50% of the monthly cost of a child's
nursery care.
D. Standard of living
(article 27)
472. In 1998, the number of families receiving permanent material
assistance stood at 118,431, representing a total cost of 42,661,332
dinars per
year. Priority in granting assistance under the National Programme of Assistance
for Needy Families is accorded to families
whose children are in
school.
473. An educational programme exists to promote the interests of
pre-school children aged 3-6 from poorer families in rural and suburban
areas.
In 1998, this programme reached 10,043 children.
474. There is also a
programme of social intervention whose objective is to help the children of
needy families who attend school,
through grants given either in cash or in
kind. These grants are made at the start of the school year, and are funded by
the Government,
assisted by effective and open-ended contributions from national
partners. In 1997-98, the number of pupils and students who received
assistance
was 430,400. The total disbursed under this programme was 10.4 billion
dinars.
475. In the context of the policy to extend the access of poor
and low-income groups to medical care, Act No. 91-63 of 29 July 1991
concerning
the health service, and its implementing regulations, enable those either
receiving or eligible for permanent grants to
receive free medical assistance as
well. The treatment card allocated to a family entitles all its members to
receive free treatment
and hospital care under the public health
service.
476. In addition, low-income families who are not affiliated to
one of the social security schemes and whose situation does not allow
them to do
so may receive treatment and hospital care from public health service
establishments at reduced cost, in accordance with
Decree No. 98-409 of 18
February 1998.
477. The children of a treatment card holder continue to
enjoy the benefits to which it entitles them until they reach the age of
majority, or until they complete their studies, provided they are under
25 years of age.
Actions undertaken by the National Solidarity Fund
478. Established by the Finance Act of 1993, the National Solidarity Fund
(FSN) is based on the idea that overall sustainable development
will only reach
fruition when the most deprived groups attain the attributes essential to their
dignity. This implies tackling all
forms of destitution and marginalisation in a
manner that strengthens the spirit of solidarity among all members of society,
so that
a truly collective ethic emerges.
479. Accordingly, the FSN is
funded mainly by voluntary contributions from members of the public and
enterprises, which are channelled
into programmes that aim to provide the
population of remote areas and regions with the means of obtaining basic public
facilities,
decent housing, health centres, schools, communication routes,
electricity, drinking-water, etc.
480. Significant levels of funding have
been reserved for the most deprived regions, which include a large number of
"grey" areas,
especially in the north-west and centre-west. In response to the
Fund's success, the President of the Republic, on 23 March 1994,
decreed a
strategy designed to eliminate grey areas over a five-year period. The main aims
of this strategy are:
(a) To improve the living standards of the people
living in the "grey" areas;
(b) To provide for the overall development
of these regions and stabilize the population by enabling the inhabitants to
take up productive
activities;
(c) To give the inhabitants a sense of
responsibility and help them appreciate development issues in a more positive
light.
481. The FSN's activities are aimed at families in destitute
areas, but the first beneficiaries are rural women and children, as the
following actions and achievements show:
(a) Access to health
services
482. The FSN provides health cover in deprived areas
for:
(i) The construction of Type 2 basic health centres;
(ii) The use of mobile clinical units in areas of sparse
population;
(iii) Health convoys offering specialised care, organized in collaboration
with the Ministry of Public Health, the National Family
and Population Office
and the associations.
483. From 1993 to 1997, the Fund created 83
health centres, providing curative and preventive care, including child
vaccination, growth
monitoring, family and reproductive health.
484. The
Fund also collaborates with the Ministry of Health to provide health education
meetings as part of a parallel campaign of
information and
awareness-raising.
485. The Fund's achievements in basic areas of
infrastructure, such as track building, electrification, housing construction
and environmental
protection, and in creating sources of income, have helped
improve living standards and have produced a positive impact on health
indicators, especially those concerning children.
(b) Access to a
decent standard of living
486. From 1994 to 1998, the Fund created
40, 000 jobs in agriculture, craft trades and small businesses. These projects
raised the
incomes of the families concerned, and hence also their capacity to
provide for their children (food, hygiene, clothing and
education).
(c) Access to education
487. From 1993 to
1998, the Fund created 78 schools in the most remote areas of the country,
thereby helping to reduce dropout rates,
particularly among girls in rural
areas. Together, the greater proximity to schools and the improvement in living
conditions have
led to better results in the "grey" areas.
488. In
addition, the FSN has worked with the Ministry of Social Affairs and the
Ministry of Education to establish a literacy campaign
intended for those living
in the "grey" areas, particularly children of both sexes who have had little or
no exposure to education.
489. As part of the parallel programme of
activities, every school set up in the "grey" areas has been equipped with a
library.
490. Likewise the FSN, in collaboration with the Ministry of the
Environment and Land-use Management, has carried out a programme
designed to
improve the environment at all schools introduced in "grey"
areas.
(d) Right to recreation and to cultural and artistic
activities
491. The FSN has built 50 sports centres in the "grey"
areas, each comprising a sports field and a children's play area. The
responsibility
for equipping and operating these centres lies with the Ministry
of Youth and Infancy.
492. The Fund has also started building activity
centres in deprived areas, and is bringing cultural and sporting convoys to
young
people in the grey areas.
493. Finally, the Fund and the Ministry
of Youth and Infancy jointly organize cultural, sporting, educational and
voluntary participation
events such as:
(i) Courses of computer training
for primary children;
(ii) Annual residential holiday courses for some 2,000 young people from the
"grey" areas.
VII. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
A. Education, including
vocational training and guidance
(article 28)
1. Measures taken to recognize and promote the right of children to
education
494. The child's right to education is guaranteed by Act
No. 91-65 of 29 July 1991 concerning the educational system. Schooling is
compulsory and free between the ages of 6 and 16. Administrative measures have
been put in place to ensure the exercise of this right.
They provide for various
levels of
penalties which may be used against any parent who attempts to prevent a son
or daughter from attending school. In addition, the State
is required to
guarantee an education to all persons of school age.
495. Virtually all
children of school age go to school. The overall attendance rate for children
age 6 is 99.1%, with a rate of 99%
for girls in that group.
496. As
education is a public service, the State provides the greater part of its
budget. The budget of the Ministry of Education
alone accounts for 12.6% of the
State budget, and 6% of GDP is reserved for education and training. The fact
that schooling is free
means that the family contributes relatively little to
the cost of education.
497. The attendance rate for six year-olds
demonstrates the efforts that Tunisia has made to guarantee all children access
to school.
This right is enjoyed by girls as well as boys. Children with special
needs may attend regular or specialised types of school. They
receive
essentially the same education in either, but the surroundings in which they
learn change according to their needs.
498. Tunisia has no problems with
teacher recruitment. For primary education, teacher availability actually
exceeds requirement. The
skills of primary teachers have been improved by the
introduction of a two-year university course. Lower- and upper-secondary
teachers
undergo selection tests. Since the beginning of the school year
1998-99, an additional postgraduate year of training has been required.
For
serving teachers, the in-service training normally available has been
supplemented by measures that encourage them to take a
diploma course designed
to improve their scientific and professional qualifications.
499. Since
the introduction of compulsory education from age 6 to age 16 under the
educational reform of September 1989, school attendance
rates have continued to
rise. For six year-olds, the rate rose from 95.1% in September 1989 (92.1% for
girls) to 99% in 1997 (boys
and girls). The success rate has increased slightly,
with 70% of each cohort completing primary schooling. The school dropout rate
has fallen appreciably from 7% to 3.3% for the first six years of basic
education.
500. Tunisia's education system has yet to meet the challenge
of performing in a manner commensurate with the efforts made by the
national
community. The percentages of children either repeating a year or dropping out
are still quite high, although the trend
is downward, and this situation makes
education more expensive. The net attendance rate for the 6-12 age group is
92.3% (91.5% for
girls). However, this rate falls to 60.3% (62.1% for girls) for
the 13-19 age group. Several measures have been planned in order
to improve the
performance of the educational system by reducing the repetition and dropout
rates, including:
(a) Raising the level of the qualifications required
of teaching applicants;
(b) Improving evaluation carried out at the
central, regional and local levels of the education system;
(c) Gradual
introduction of new information and communication technologies to teacher
training;
(d) Introduction of a special programme to counter school
failure;
(e) Offering a wider range of school subjects that corresponds
better to pupils' personalities and skills;
(f) Reviewing the way in which schools are managed, with a view to
introducing greater flexibility and allowing more freedom at the
local level to
respond to schools' individual needs.
501. Private schools are being
encouraged to contribute towards achieving these national objectives through
customs exemptions that
help them purchase the necessary teaching equipment.
Also, the enrolment conditions at these schools have been made more flexible.
502. Under the relevant general principles act,
vocational training is open to all children of both sexes aged over 15 in the
case
of apprenticeships, 16 in the case of rural training centres for young
girls and 17 in the case of initial training in industry,
agriculture, fishing,
tourism and the service sector.
(a) Measures taken to ensure respect for the general principles of the
Convention
503. The increased availability of vocational training
demonstrates the authorities' firm intention to apply the principle of equality
of access to employment, vocational qualifications being an essential
prerequisite to working life.
(b) Mechanisms developed to ensure the access of all children, including
girls, children with special needs and children in especially
difficult
circumstances, to quality education adapted to the child's age and maturity
504. Children's access to vocational education adapted to their
needs is guaranteed by the following mechanisms:
(i) Enhancing the availability of training to match the skills requirements
of the productive sector (MANFORME Programme, 1996-2000);
(ii) Quantitative and qualitative development of the apprenticeship system.
It is worth emphasizing that, since promulgation of the
general principles act
on vocational training, apprentices undertake theoretical courses taught by the
training centres;
(iii) Introduction of FIAP (Fund for Vocational Integration and Adjustment),
which helps children with a very low level of schooling
to find training that
will enable them to enter the workplace as skilled workers;
(iv) Organization and development of social training provided by the centres
for young rural women and the centres belonging to the
Tunisian National Women's
Union;
(v) Introduction of training and funding mechanisms designed to promote
independent employment, particularly in regions of low industrial
development.
Examples are the Tunisian Solidarity Fund and the Tunisian Solidarity
Bank.
(c) Measures taken to ensure that there are sufficient teachers in the
school system, to enhance their competence, and to ensure and assess
the quality
of teaching
505. One of the outcomes of the drive to enhance
training availability has been an increase in the number of apprenticeship
instructors
and advisers, from 858 in 1993 to 1677 in 1998.
506. The recruitment of training personnel is being stepped up under the
MANFORME programme. The National Centre for Instructor Training
and Training
Development (CENAFFIF), established in 1993, offers retraining for instructors,
reviews and updates existing training
courses and devises new programmes as new
areas of skills arise.
(d) Statistics on achievements to
date
507. The national complement of vocational training staff
currently stands at 18,799, broken down as follows:
(i) Industry and
service sector:
13,200;
(ii) Agriculture: 2,351;
(iii) Fishing: 437;
(iv) Tourism: 1,890;
(v) Health: 921.
In
1992, the total was 14,641. The vocational training sector currently has 30,000
places available compared with 20,000 in 1992.
508. Recent years have
also seen notable growth in apprenticeships. There are now 42,222 apprentices,
compared with 20,000 in 1993.
(e) Monitoring arrangements and future
prospects
509. The Government has established a national centre for
the observation of training and employment in order to ensure that the national
vocational training complement keeps pace with labour market
requirements.
(f) Administration of training establishments
510. Since the 1993 reform of vocational training came into effect,
enrolment conditions, schemes of study and training authorizations
for
vocational training centres have been regulated under Decree No. 95-293 of
20 February 1995. Each centre has two decision-making
bodies, namely a teaching
board and an advisory board.
3. Measures taken to tackle
illiteracy
511. As a result of the new national literacy strategy
launched at the start of the 1990s for implementation during the three
development
plans from 1992-2006, and of the efforts made by the education
system, the illiteracy rate (still calculated in Tunisia from age
ten upwards)
fell from 46.2% in 1984 (34.6% for men and 58.1% for women) to 31.7% in 1994
(21.2% for men and 42.3% for women). The
new strategy is aimed primarily at the
15-29 age group, women and rural areas.
512. The national literacy
strategy established at the start of the 1990s is the responsibility of the
Ministry of Social Affairs,
and its objective is to eradicate illiteracy by
2006, through the gradual introduction of daily literacy
courses.
513. During the 1997-98 school year, the number of people
attending literacy centres reached 20,000 compared with 4,500 in 1992-93.
Although comparatively few, these centres accommodate children aged under 15 who
have not attended primary school or who left it
early under the existing
legislation.
B. Aims of education
(article 29)
514. The initial report dealt extensively with the aims of education as
defined in article 1 of Decree No. 91-65 of 29 July 1991 concerning
the
education system; these aims are fully in accordance with the objectives set out
in the Convention, especially its article 29.
Article 1 of the Act states, inter
alia, that the education system is designed to:
(a) Consolidate
awareness of the national Tunisian identity, develop civic sense and the feeling
of belonging to the national civilization,
and strengthen openness to modernity
and human civilization;
(b) Bring up the young generations in
faithfulness and loyalty to Tunisia;
(c) Prepare young people for a life
which has no room for any kind of discrimination or segregation based on sex,
social origin,
race or religion;
(d) Offer pupils the right to develop
their own personalities and assist them to accede to maturity in the spirit of
tolerance and
moderation.
515. These principles are confirmed by the
Child Protection Code, in particular article 1, which states: "Prepare the child
for a
free and responsible life, in a supportive civil society based on
awareness of rights and respect for duties as indissociable elements,
and in
which the values of equality, tolerance and moderation
prevail."
516. Throughout 1998, studies were carried out in Tunisia on
"the school of tomorrow", in an effort to define the type of school that
would
be needed in the third millenium - one in which global exchanges and various
kinds of communication and multimedia networks
would figure prominently. In
order to involve as many people as possible in this effort, it is planned to
consult widely with parents,
teachers and associations throughout
1999.
517. In vocational training, enterprises have become associated
with training programmes that embody the "skills-based approach",
the aim of
which is to place the learner in conditions conducive to his advancement and
fulfilment.
C. Leisure, recreation and cultural
activities
(article 31)
518. Public freedoms are guaranteed by article 8 of the Tunisian
Constitution. As a matter of priority, the child has the right to participate
freely in cultural life and the arts, and to engage in recreational
activities
that promote his development. In order to further such participation, Tunisia
attaches primary importance to cultural
and recreational programmes aimed at
children, with a view to helping them develop their creative faculties and
become familiar with
different forms of expression.
1. Nursery care
519. These are socio-educational institutions
that provide recreation and socio-cultural activities for children aged from 3
to 6.
They enrich the children's overall upbringing in combination with the
family environment.
520. A strategy designed to develop the qualitative
and quantitative aspects of this sector has been established (1992-2001) in the
framework of the National Plan of Action for the Survival, Protection and
Development of Children.
(a) Quantitative
aspect
(i) Code on encouragement of
investment
521. This Code, introduced by Act No. 93/120 of 27
December 1993, offers a certain number of incentives to private developers in
the
pre-school sector, namely:
- The lifting of customs tariffs on imported equipment not made in
Tunisia;
- VAT exemptions on educational equipment made in Tunisia;
- The possibility to obtain low-interest credits in order to set up
nurseries.
(ii) Framework agreement with
NGOs
522. A framework agreement between the Ministry of Youth and
Infancy on one side and, on the other, the Tunisian Social Solidarity
Union, the
Tunisian National Women's Union and the Tunisian Organization for Education and
the Family, has been signed with a view
to assisting NGOs in setting up
nurseries, particularly in rural areas and densely populated urban
areas.
523. These measures have helped increase the number of nurseries
run by both the private sector and associations, such that, by 1998,
an overall
coverage rate of 12.6% was reached.
Increase in nurseries since 1995
Number of nurseries
|
Total
|
No. of children
|
Coverage rate
|
||||
Municipality
|
Ministry
|
Organization
|
Private
|
||||
1995
|
223
|
19
|
236
|
564
|
1,042
|
64,490
|
10.75%
|
1996
|
217
|
18
|
242
|
638
|
1,115
|
68,108
|
11.42%
|
1997
|
181
|
20
|
246
|
753
|
1,200
|
72,316
|
12.15%
|
1998
|
144
|
19
|
264
|
856
|
1,283
|
75,048
|
12.61%
|
(b) Quantitative aspect
524. The framework agreement
with the NGOs also allows the State to intervene to improve the infrastructure
and educational equipment,
and thus the quality of service, available at
institutions belonging to NGOs. Ninety-one nurseries have benefited from this
programme
since 1995.
525. The framework agreement also makes provision
for the State to sponsor the training and retraining of these institutions'
managerial
staff. The programme has three parts: theoretical, technical and
practical, and comprises seven sessions each lasting five days.
Instructor training since 1995 (framework agreement with NGOs)
Year
|
No. of participants
|
No. of sessions
|
1995
|
89
|
7
|
1996
|
42
46 |
7
2 |
1997
|
32
|
7
|
1998
|
109
|
3
|
Total
|
318
|
26
|
(c) Official nursery programme
526. An assessment and
review of nursery programmes has resulted in a document entitled "Programme of
teaching and socio-educational
activities for infants". This concerns nursery
staff and professionals engaged in socio-educational activities for infants, in
the
private and public sectors. Its content may be summarized as
follows:
- Principles of socio-educational activities for
infants;
- Child development from the prenatal stage to age
six;
- Planning and teaching in relation to socio-educational
activities;
- Main areas of nursery activity;
- Educational
partnership (parents/institutions).
527. Nine seminars on the content of
this document were held at the national level in 1996-97. They were attended by
266 nursery heads
from the Tunis district and 60 inspectors. They were then
extended to the regional level in the form of study days, which were attended
by
all nursery staff (3007 managerial staff during
1997-98).
(d) Research
528. A research project was
undertaken to train a group of instructors in matters relating to infancy and in
the production of teaching
aids and a short training module on educational
management. This action was carried out by a steering committee and a team of
sixteen
instructors at eight nurseries belonging to either private owners or
NGOs.
529. By the conclusion of this research, nine videocassettes for
training purposes, seven teaching files and a training module had
been
developed. By 2001, these materials will have been used to provide extensive
in-service training for 3,000 nursery staff who
lack the basic training required
to work with young children.
2. Children's clubs and recreational centres
530. These are
socio-educational centres that accommodate children aged between 6 and 14 out of
school hours, offering them the chance
to take up cultural, scientific and
recreational activities. They aim mainly to further the child's all-round
development and social
integration, and to stimulate his or her creative
faculties.
Growth in children's clubs and recreational centres since 1995
No. of clubs
|
No. of staff
|
No. of children
|
|
1995
|
244
|
678
|
31,827
|
1996
|
253
|
688
|
34,048
|
1997
|
258
|
749
|
38,035
|
1998
|
261
|
772
|
42,000
|
3. Children's computer centres
531. Established under
Act No. 73-96 of 29 January 1996, the national and regional children's computer
centres are open to children
of both sexes aged from 3 to 15 years. These
facilities provide training in information technology based on courses that are
specially
tailored to their stage of development. Their objective is
to:
(a) Contribute to the preparation of future generations by providing
children with instruction outside their pre-school and school
education which
will help familiarise them with the world of information and
communication;
(b) Develop and strengthen the child's abilities and
creative skills through familiarisation, and interaction, with the world of
technology and science.
532. These centres use courses adapted to the
child's age and level of schooling. There are currently thirteen in operation.
The ninth
development plan provides for the introduction of a regional centre in
each of the 23 governorates.
Statistics on children's computer centres
Centre
|
Date of opening
|
No. of staff
|
No. of members
|
||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
|||
National
|
Sept 96
|
12
|
538
|
2,252
|
1,726
|
Bizerte
|
Nov 96
|
3
|
-
|
179
|
235
|
Tataouine
|
Nov 96
|
6
|
-
|
795
|
445
|
Kasserine
|
Jan 97
|
5
|
-
|
147
|
345
|
Kairouan
|
April 97
|
4
|
-
|
205
|
499
|
Zaghouan
|
July 97
|
3
|
-
|
280
|
300
|
Gabès
|
Sept 97
|
6
|
-
|
586
|
346
|
Siliana
|
Dec 97
|
5
|
-
|
-
|
347
|
Le Kef
|
Mar 98
|
4
|
-
|
-
|
356
|
Tozeur
|
July 98
|
3
|
-
|
-
|
|
Mahdia
|
Sept 98
|
3
|
-
|
-
|
237
|
Kébili
|
Oct 98
|
3
|
-
|
-
|
Open
|
Gafsa
|
Nov 98
|
3
|
-
|
-
|
Open
|
533. The National Computer Centre for Children also trains
instructors, as follows:
Type of participant
|
No. of participants
|
No. of sessions
|
Duration
|
Staff with diploma
|
80
|
8
|
5 days
|
Computing centre staff
|
49
|
7
|
5 days
|
Nursery staff
|
21
|
1
|
4 days
|
Sponsored children
|
20
|
1
|
6 days
|
Tunisian and German staff
|
14
|
1
|
10 days
|
4. National children's festivals
534. Within the framework
of children's club activities, competitions geared to their socio-educational
programmes are held at the
local and regional levels, culminating in national
festivals. The objective is to help children express themselves and stimulate
their imagination and creative sense. The festivals offer the following special
subjects:
(a) Children's songs;
(b) Dance and rhythmic
expression;
(c) Chess;
(d) Children's
theatre;
(e) Children's
literature;
(f) Environment;
(g) Plastic arts (alternate
years);
(h) Singing for children (El Jem).
5. National, African, Arab and International Children's
Days
535. The various days held every year at the local, regional and
national levels provide children with opportunities for recreational
activities
and encourage their self-expression and creativity. These annual occasions also
offer the opportunity to promote the culture
of children's rights among a wider
public, through activities for children, TV and radio commercials, and
explanatory posters and
leaflets.
Participation by Tunisian children in various international competitions
Organization
|
Topic
|
No. of pictures selected
|
|
---|---|---|---|
1995
|
Arab-Japanese Ass. in Tokyo
|
Environmental protection
|
88
|
1995
|
Greek national exhibition centre
|
Free
|
23
|
1996
|
International Olympic Committee
|
Olympic games
|
89
|
1996
|
South African Foreign Affairs Ministry
|
My country
|
26
|
1996
|
Torun centre for the plastic arts (Warsaw, Poland)
|
- My country
- Woman |
54
|
1996
|
Al Baath Pioneer Organization
|
- The environment
- Customs |
84
|
1997
|
Arab-Japanese Ass. in Tokyo
|
Saving the earth
|
143
|
1997
|
South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs
|
Fauna and flora
|
217
|
1997
|
Children's recreational centre (Hungary)
|
Free
|
128
|
1997
|
Polish Ministry of Culture, Arts and Education
|
The colours of friendship
|
202
|
1998
|
South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs
|
Children are precious
|
127
|
1998
|
Children's recreational centre (Hungary)
|
- My country
- The family - School - Friends |
141
|
1998
|
Polish Ministry of Culture, Arts and Education
|
- My country
- Women in the world |
140
|
1998
|
International exhibition of plastic arts for children (Slovakia)
|
- Customs
- Children's games - Proverbs |
125
|
1998
|
"Adi-Art" gallery, Poland
|
Free
|
November 98
|
6. Summer activities
536. By Decree No. 95/910 of 22 May
1995, the National Council for Summer Activities was established. Its task is to
co-ordinate all
summer camps organized by the ministries and national
organizations concerned with young people and children.
537. The
Council's help in adjusting programmes and clarifying objectives has increased
the number of children and young people involved,
especially from deprived
areas. Programmes are funded mainly by the State (subsidies for national
organizations, involvement of welfare
bodies).
Number of participants in summer camps organized by the Council
Through ministries
|
Through NGOs
|
Total
|
|
1995
|
57,332
|
53,376
|
110,708
|
1996
|
64,865
|
81,636
|
149,507
|
1997
|
8,803
|
116,709
|
125,512
|
1998
|
31,643
|
90,868
|
122,511
|
7. Cultural and artistic life
538. Tunisia offers excellent
conditions for the widespread distribution of cultural products through various
institutions (youth
clubs, arts centres, public libraries). Various programmes
are funded by a budget that increases regularly. The children's festivals
held
most often during the school holidays provide opportunities to appreciate works
created by and for children.
539. At the international level, mention
should be made of the International Children's and Young People's Film Festival
held in Sousse.
The Ministry of Culture subsidizes this event to the tune of
50,000 dinars per year. Children and young people, the main target audience,
participate free.
540. Every year, certain other events are held during
the school holidays under a plan of action initiated in 1991. The plan provides
for awareness campaigns designed to encourage children to read and learn, with
events being held in all regions throughout the year.
Some examples
are:
(a) Reading awareness campaigns held annually during national
heritage month (18 April to 18 May);
(b) Mobile libraries open at rural
and urban stations and at airports during the school
holidays;
(c) Libraries offering activity sessions at seaside resorts
every summer.
541. There are currently 260 children's libraries offering
9,865 permanent seats and a total book stock of 1, 181, 682 volumes. In
1997,
the number of children using them was 2, 486, 550.
542. Cultural convoys
are also sent to rural areas in order to involve as many children as possible.
They are staffed by specialised
teams using suitable equipment and
materials.
543. In 1997, children's cultural activities involved all
sectors and regions:
(a) Theatre: over 400 performances, several of them
especially for children. The number of theatre productions was
75;
(b) Reading: 2, 486, 550 children used children's libraries. The
total number of library readings was 4, 486, 337 and the total number
of
borrowings was 868, 028;
(c) Publishing: 216 titles were published for children;
(d) Music:
500 shows attracted 2, 500,000 people, with a significant number of shows
reserved for children only. Currently, 7,000
children are enrolled at music
institutions;
(e) Workshops designed to introduce children to the
plastic arts have mushroomed, and now cover every region of the
country;
(f) Awareness of national heritage: entry to museums and to
sites and monuments of historical and archaeological interest is free
for
children.
544. The cultural socialisation of children is a key concern of
the State. Cultural and recreational activities touch every walk of
life
throughout the country. The important benefits offered by the cultural sector
have been enhances further. Cultural policy relating
to children aims to give
them a grounding in their own culture, open their eyes to the world, and develop
in them a spirit of courtesy,
tolerance and reason.
8. Recreation and
environment
545. The environment sector has taken a number of
measures, including the following:
(a) Establishment of the Ennahli
urban park;
(b) Introduction of street booths offering activities
concerned with the environment.
546. The Ennahli urban park ,
opened in 1997 by the President of the Republic, offers its visitors recreation,
relaxation and environmental education. The educational
and cultural component
comprises:
(a) A team of guides to help visitors;
(b) An
exhibition hall containing displays showing how bees make honey. This choice of
topic is not accidental, since the djebel
Ennahli is a renowned site for honey
production;
(c) Four environmental clubs: paper recycling, leather and
plastic recycling, composting and biotechnology;
(d) A mini-zoo
containing rare mammals and birds;
(e) A hide for observing local
wildlife;
(f) Representations of Tunisian ecosystems: desert, rural,
coastal, oasis, etc.
The recreational component comprises:
(a) A
play area;
(b) Several picnic areas;
(c) Open-air health trails
and footpaths.
547. On Sundays and public holidays, environmental street booths
offer primary and secondary pupils various cultural and recreational activities,
according to a timetable sent in advance to schools
which allows the monthly
environmental theme to be chosen in advance.
VIII. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES
A.
Children in situations of emergency
(articles 22, 38 and 39)
548. As described in the initial report and in its written replies to the
Committee on the Rights of the Child, Tunisia has ratified
the relevant
international and regional instruments, such as the 1951 Convention relating to
the Status of Refugees and the Convention
governing the Specific Aspects of
Refugee Problems in Africa, adopted by the OAU in 1969, and has always met its
obligations within
the limits of the possible, towards vulnerable groups,
particularly children who are the victims of accidents, conflicts, displacement
or natural disasters. Tunisia thus offers help and protection to children and
their parents who find themselves in precarious circumstances.
549. This
firm political commitment is underlined by article 18 of the Child Protection
Code adopted under Act No. 95-92 of 9 November
1995, which stipulates that "the
child shall benefit from all the guarantees of international humanitarian law
cited in the ratified
international agreements...".
B. Children in conflict with the law
(articles 37
b, c, and d, 39 and 40)
550. As stated in the initial report (see paras. 252 et seq.), Tunisian
law enshrines the principles and ideas contained in the international
instruments of protection. The Child Protection Code promulgated on 9 November
1995 deals with the protection of young offenders
and improves on the set of
legal measures contained until that time in the Code of Criminal Procedure
(these aspects will be developed
in the following paragraphs).
551. The
rehabilitation centres for young offenders were reorganized under the provisions
of Decree No. 95-2423 of 11 December 1995.
They were defined as centres
which "receive the young offenders entrusted to them by the competent legal
authorities in order to
assist them, rehabilitate them, improve their behaviour
and prepare them educationally, occupationally, socially and psychologically
for
reintegration into society".
552. These centres employ a graduated system
that takes into account both the type of service provided for each category and
the changes
observed in the juvenile offender's behaviour. The system
comprises:
(a) An intensive scheme;
(b) A semi-open
scheme;
(c) An open scheme.
553. Throughout his or her stay, a
number of measures are taken to equip the juvenile offender with the means to
reintegrate into
society on the best possible terms, and to prevent recidivism.
These include:
(a) Social action intended, inter alia, to assist and educate the minor and
strengthen family ties;
(b) Additional assistance aimed at ensuring the
best conditions for the minor's integration into the social
fabric;
(c) Health assistance;
(d) Psychological
help;
(e) Education and training enabling the minor to benefit from
educational, cultural and training programmes geared to his or her
scholastic
level;
(f) Organized recreational activities designed to entertain and
educate the minor, develop his abilities, and correct inappropriate
behaviour.
These activities can take place in an open setting, in the form of events,
excursions and summer camps. Thus, the main
objective of the system of care for
the young offender is to equip him with the means to reintegrate successfully
into society.
554. In addition to the Interior Ministry, responsibility
for the supervision of young offenders also falls to the pilot centre for
the
observation of minors, at La Manouba. The pilot centre was established under Act
No. 94-92 of 26 October 1992. Its main tasks
are:
(a) To receive young
offenders referred by the minors' courts;
(b) To submit the children to
examination by social scientists, psychologists and educational and medical
specialists, in order to
determine the motives for their behaviour and their
personal characteristics, and to find the best means for their
rehabilitation;
(c) To transmit a report giving the experts' opinions to
the minors' judge before any judgement is made. The report must be delivered
within one month of the child's placement at the Centre. This deadline may be
extended by one month if the judge deems it necessary.
555. During the
period 1994-97, the Centre examined 721 minors - an average of 180 per year. The
Centre employs, among others, 24
supervisory and technical staff from medicine,
special education and the social services.
556. The practice of
observing young offenders in open surroundings is growing, owing to the many
advantages it presents for the young
person and his or her family, as well as in
terms of its relevance and effectiveness.
1. The administration of
juvenile justice (article 40)
(a) Measures taken since the initial report to promote the establishment
of laws, procedures, authorities and institutions specially applicable
to
children, pursuant to article 40 of the Convention
557. In addition
to the international instruments concerned with the minimum guarantees to be
accorded to the child by the State,
with which Tunisia has fully complied, the
Child Protection Code sets forth new measures that recognize the young
offender's right
to special treatment. Thus, two levels of protection are
assured.
558. At the judicial administration level, the following protection
applies:
(i) Specialized judges sitting in the minors' courts (Child Protection Code,
article 81);
(ii) High-level (second rank) magistrates dealing with petty offences and
misdemeanours (articles 82 and 83);
(iii) A social and psychological investigation which must include
"specialist opinions and constructive proposals likely to assist
the relevant
court in its judgements and in taking the appropriate measures required"
(article 87);
(iv) "All crimes, except those involving the death of a person, may be tried
as misdemeanours out of consideration for the nature
of the offence, its
gravity, the interest harmed, or the child's personality and the circumstances
of the case" (article 69). It
is not permitted to claim damages independently in
the minors' courts (article 70);
(v) A minor aged less than 13 years enjoys irrefutable presumption of his
incapacity to infringe criminal law (article 68);
(vi) Senior law enforcement officers may only undertake proceedings against
a minor on the instruction of the public prosecutor (article
77);
(vii) "The minors' judge and all persons whose assistance is requisitioned
by him must ensure as much as possible that, during formulation
of the
case-file, respect for the family's integrity and the child's private life is
maintained" (article 88);
(viii) "A minor aged less than 15 years accused of an offence or a crime may
not be held on remand. In all other cases which do not
oppose the provisions of
this Code, a minor may only be placed in a house of detention if such detention
appears indispensable, or
if it is impossible to make any other arrangement. In
such a case, the minor shall be placed in a specialized institution, or, at
any
rate, in a separate block reserved for minors, separating him or her at night,
without fail, from the other detainees. Non-observance
of this measure shall
place the perpetrator in the position of failing to comply with the law"
(article 94);
(ix) Mediation (except in cases of crime) may be attempted at any time
through the medium of the child protection officer, the objective
being to
prevent the effects of prosecution, judgement and enforcement (articles
113-117).
559. At the level of sentencing against minors , if the facts
are established with respect to the minor, the minors' judge shall decide,
giving his reasons, on one of the following measures:
1. Consignment to his or her parents, to his or her guardian, to the person
with the right to care and custody, or to a reliable
person;
2. Consignment to the families' judge, whose preventive role is
primordial;
3. Placement in an institution or a public or private establishment approved
for education or vocational training;
4. Placement in an approved medical or medico-pedagogic institute;
5. Placement in a rehabilitation centre. A criminal sentence may be
pronounced against a minor should his rehabilitation prove necessary,
with due
consideration for the provisions of this Code. In such a case, the
rehabilitation shall be effected in a specialised establishment
or, at any rate,
in a separate prison block reserved for minors" (article
99).
(b) Prevention and social rehabilitation
programmes
560. The national strategy on social protection and
integration is part of a pioneering social policy designed to consolidate the
mechanisms of prevention, protection and integration employed with respect to
individuals and categories living in relatively difficult
circumstances.
561. It is in this context that, in conjunction with the
various actions undertaken by other departments in the interests of children
and
young people who find themselves in conflict with the law, the Ministry for
Social Affairs intervenes at several levels to prevent
the problems of juvenile
delinquence.
562. There are a number of social programmes which aim to
prevent deviant behaviour and delinquence in children and young people by
eliminating or mitigating the negative effects of certain situations or living
conditions. These include:
(i) Anti-poverty programmes such as the National Programme of Assistance for
Needy Families (PFAFN), which helped 120,000 families
on low incomes in 1998;
the programme of material and financial assistance for poor pupils and students,
which had 427,587 beneficiaries
in 1997; and the programme to create sources of
income for needy families capable of managing small businesses.
(ii) The National Literacy Campaign, which aims to tackle illiteracy among
parents, young people, and also a certain number of children
who have never been
to school or who left primary education in the earliest years. The latter
numbered 635 in 1996-97 (aged under
15), or 3.9% of all programme
beneficiaries.
(iii) Conjugal and family consultations, held by regional and local social
advancement agencies and centres for social protection
and integration, which
assist couples and families in resolving problems in their interpersonal
relations.
563. In addition, in an effort to identify more directly the
problems that arise among young people before and after they offend,
in 1962 the
Ministry of Social Affairs started a series of complementary and co-ordinated
initiatives in the framework of the social
protection and integration programme.
These focused mainly on social action in schools, assistance for individuals and
families at
risk of exclusion or social marginalisation, observation of minor
offenders, and social protection and integration.
564. The programme to
help individuals and families at risk of exclusion or marginalisation arising
from sudden loss of family support
or material resources is the responsibility
of the Centre for Social Training and Guidance (CEOS), set up on the
instructions of
the President of the Republic in 1996. It is under the control
of the Ministry of Social Affairs, and is administered by the Tunisian
Social
Solidarity Union.
565. The CEOS covers the area of Greater Tunis. The
individuals and families received at the Centre (251 persons in 1997) are
immediately
examined by a multidisciplinary team comprising a social worker,
psychologist and doctor, who make a diagnosis and then refer the
case to an
interdepartmental committee responsible for proposing an appropriate
reintegration strategy; the strategy is then implemented
by the
Centre's staff in close collaboration with the persons concerned. Among
those helped by the Centre during the reference period, 41.43%
were children at
physical or moral risk. They were either given careful help to reintegrate into
school or family, or, if that did
not succeed, placed in institutions suited to
their needs.
566. The Schools Social Action Programme (PASS), designed
and implemented as an interdisciplinary initiative, mainly by the Ministries
of
Education, Social Affairs and Public Health, concerns measures to tackle
academic failure and early abandonment of school.
567. PASS was begun at
338 schools in the 1991-92 academic year. By 1997-98, it had been extended to
909 primary and secondary schools
attended by 615,094 pupils. Each establishment
has a social action group whose main members are the head, a schools medical
team
and a social services officer. According to the statistics on these groups'
activities for the 1996-97 school year, they were able
to provide assistance in
51,015 of the 51,521 cases that came to light.
568. In addition to its
work on school failure and drop-out rates, the programme provides a valuable
opportunity for early detection
of cases involving children and young people at
risk of offending, or whose surroundings are likely to generate social
problems.
569. The programme has been improved several times since 1995,
notably by the production of a practical guide designed to help the
social
action groups in the areas of planning, care provision for children in special
difficulty, and multidisciplinary intervention.
570. Prevention and the
reintegration of youngsters who offend, or who are at risk of offending
or being marginalised, is the objective
of the programme of action
specially entrusted to the social protection and integration centres (CDIS).
Their remit was determined
by Act No. 93-109 of 8 November 1993. Their main
tasks are:
(i) Early detection of conditions and situations liable to lead to offending
and social maladjustment;
(ii) To establish mechanisms for observation and data collection and
processing in relation to different kinds of maladjustment,
and to carry out
multidisciplinary studies on this topic;
(iii) To offer persons in difficulty advice and guidance in finding
organizations that will facilitate their integration;
(iv) To contribute to the supervision and education of youngsters who offend
or are at risk of offending, and to provide follow-up
action designed to further
their social adjustment and integration;
(v) To co-ordinate the actions of the various contributors involved with
youngsters who offend or risk doing so.
571. Since 1992, the Ministry of
Social Affairs has gradually introduced seven CDIS centres in the governorates
of Ariana, Tunis,
Sfax, Kairouan, Gafsa, Kasserine and Nabeul. These centres
employ qualified staff (permanent, part-time, contractual) who work as
multidisciplinary teams generally comprising a child psychiatrist, a
psychologist, a social worker, a legal adviser and one or several
educationalists. During the period 1992-97, these centres took up the cases of
5,274 children and young people, of whom 34% received
in-house educational
assistance, 23% benefited from social and
occupational reintegration programmes, 22% were given protection at home, and
7% were helped in starting an occupation.
572. In addition to the CDIS
prevention and reintegration programmes, the social welfare offices in
governorate capitals play an active
role in the social and occupational
reintegration of minors who pass through the rehabilitation centres. During the
period 1992-97,
they assisted a total of 7,670 young people either to find work
or training, or, in an important number of cases (3,077 or 40% of
the total), to
return to education.
2. Treatment reserved for children deprived of
their liberty
a) Measures taken during the reference period to ensure that no child is
deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily and
that the arrest,
detention or imprisonment of a child is in conformity with the law and is used
only as a measure of last resort
and for the shortest appropriate period of
time
573. With regard to the child in conflict with the law, the
Child Protection Code guarantees that every child in this situation will
not be
deprived of his liberty arbitrarily. The following discussion of various
provisions shows that deprivation of liberty, whatever
form it takes, is a
measure of last resort.
574. With regard to arrest, article 87 of the
Code provides that: "The minors' judge may issue effective legal warrants,
observing
the rules of criminal procedure and subject to the provisions of
article 93 of this Code...".
575. Pursuant to the above-mentioned article
93, the investigating minors' judge may entrust the minor temporarily:
"1. To his or her parents, his or her guardian, a person with the right to
care and custody, or to a reliable person.
"2. To an observation
centre.
"3. To an institution or association providing education, occupational
training or care which has been approved for such a purpose
by the
authorities.
"4. Alternatively, if the need arises, to temporary release under
supervision for a specified period, which may be extended and renewed.
"5. To a rehabilitation centre."
576. With regard to detention,
article 93 is clear: "A minor aged under 15 years may not be held in custody in
connection with a summary
or criminal offence...".
577. However, under
article 99 of the Code, "if the facts regarding a minor are established, the
minors' judge or court may decide,
giving reasons, on one of the following
measures:
1. Consignment to his or her parents, to his or her guardian, to a person
with the right to care and custody or to a reliable
person.
2. Consignment to the families' judge.
3. Placement in a public or private establishment approved for education or
vocational training.
4. Placement in an approved medical or medico-educational centre.
5. Placement in a rehabilitation centre. A criminal penalty may be
pronounced against a minor should his or her rehabilitation prove
necessary,
with due consideration for the provisions of this Code. In such a case,
rehabilitation shall be effected in a specialised
establishment or, at any rate,
in a separate block reserved for minors."
(b) Measures providing
alternatives to deprivation of liberty
578. Among the measures
adopted, mention should be made of the mediation mechanism introduced under the
Child Protection Code. Its
objective is to effect a settlement between a young
offender, or his or her legal representative, and the victim or his or her
representative
or beneficiaries. Mediation aims to halt the effects of criminal
proceedings, sentence and enforcement. However, it is not permissible
if the
minor has committed a crime (CPC articles 113-117). In 1997, child protection
officers performed 187 mediations, of which
123 resulted in contracts of
settlement.
Mediations by child protection officers in 1997 involving children at risk
Mahdia
|
Sfax
|
Béja
|
Kasserine
|
Sousse
|
Ariana
|
Bizerte
|
Gafsa
|
Total
|
|
No. of cases
|
4
|
45
|
23
|
28
|
8
|
5
|
18
|
56
|
187
|
No. of settlement contracts
|
4
|
37
|
23
|
-
|
4
|
3
|
8
|
44
|
123
|
(c) Physical and psychological readjustment and social
rehabilitation
579. As stated in the initial report, "practical steps
have been taken", concerning the "establishment of specific programmes of
vocational
training and social rehabilitation through employment" aimed at young
offenders. For the period to which the present report refers,
and particularly
after the adoption of the Child Protection Code (Act No. 95-92 of 9 November
1995), organizational, administrative
and social measures were taken with a view
to achieving the successful social integration of young offenders placed in
rehabilitation
centres.
580. Decree No. 2423 of 11 December 1995,
concerning the internal organization of young offenders' centres, sets out the
conditions
under which such minors must be held in rehabilitation centres. The
main objective of the care provided for these young people is
"rehabilitation
and readjustment enabling them to return to society". Under the multisectoral
approach adopted for the social rehabilitation
of these young offenders, skilled
contributions from all the relevant professions are employed in order to achieve
the best possible
conditions for these children's social integration. A
multisectoral technical committee has been set up to supervise their progress
once they have left the rehabilitation centre.
581. Occupational training
programmes in a large number of fields have been set up with assistance from the
Ministry of Occupational
Training and Employment, whose departments are
responsible for monitoring and assisting young offenders with a view to
achieving
their social rehabilitation through employment. The assistance is
tailored to the individual and thus may be of a complex nature.
(i) Young offenders who continue their studies after leaving a centre may
receive a grant for purchasing school clothes, equipment
and a scholars' season
ticket for transportation;
(ii) Young offenders who pursue vocational training after leaving a centre
may receive a grant (clothing, working clothes, a ticket,
etc.);
(iii) Young offenders able to carry out a work-related project may receive
the support they need to complete the required study and
documentation. They are
given financial support to purchase equipment and start the project. Under this
form of assistance, support
for completing the project is also
guaranteed.
582. This policy on the social rehabilitation of young
offenders was carefully re-examined at the beginning of the 1990s and adopted
by
the Government in 1992. It applies a humanist approach to the treatment of young
offenders, in conformity with the Convention
on the Rights of the Child and the
Child Protection Code.
583. The process of preparing young offenders for
social rehabilitation through employment is buttressed by a programme of
psycho-social
care. The psychologists and social workers employed at the
country's seven rehabilitation centres have the task, together with the
educators, of bringing about the young person's psychological readjustment and
preparing his family for his return and the assumption
of their
responsibilities.
584. In order to further this process, the young
offenders are given permission to go out on public and school holidays, and
their
parents are invited to visit the centres. A diverse programme of cultural
activities is also offered. Theatre, music and various
socio-educational
activities have become a permanent feature of the centres. These cultural
activities involve the children in national
and regional events that develop
their sense of responsibility and feeling for group work, as well as their life
skills.
C. Children in situations of exploitation
(articles
32-36)
1. Economic exploitation of children, including child
labour
(a) Measures taken since the initial report to ensure the right of the
child to be protected from economic exploitation
585. Following
Tunisia's ratification of ILO Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to
Employment (by Act No. 95-62 of 10
July 1995), Act No. 96-62 of 15 July 1996
amending certain provisions of the Labour Code raised the general minimum age
for admission
to employment, in all activities regulated by the Code, to sixteen
instead of fifteen.
586. Tunisian law provides for certain derogations
from the minimum age for admission to employment; these are enshrined in the
international
labour laws, in particular ILO Convention No. 138. Thus, the
age of admission is lowered to 13 years in agriculture and in non-agricultural
and non-industrial activities provided certain strict conditions are met: the
duties must be light and not harmful to the health
and normal development of the
children, and must not affect their school attendance and ability to study or
their participation in
vocational guidance or training approved by the competent
public authorities (Labour Code, articles 55 (new) and
56(new)).
587. Likewise, no child aged under 16 years may perform light
work for more than two hours, on schooldays as well as holidays, or
spend more
than seven hours per day in total at school or performing
light work (Labour Code, article 56 (new)). Under the same article, it is
forbidden to employ children for light work on weekly rest
days and public
holidays.
(b) Special measures taken to protect the child against
hazardous and harmful work
588. It is forbidden to employ children
aged under 18 years for hazardous work (Labour Code, article 58). Under the
same article,
hazardous work is defined as that which is liable, by its nature
or by the circumstances in which it is carried out, to threaten
the child's
health, safety or character. This type of work is determined by decision of the
Minister for Social Affairs, after consultation
with the largest trade
organizations in the employers' and workers' sectors (Labour Code, article 58
(new)).
589. The Labour Code forbids the employment of children aged
under 18 years in underground mines and quarries and at buildings and
sites
where the recovery, transformation or storage of scrap metal is carried out
(Labour Code, article 77 (new) and 78).
590. Children aged under 18 years
may not work overtime in excess of their statutory normal working day (article
63-2 of the Labour
Code as amended by Act No. 96-62 of 15 July 1996).
591. No worker aged under 18 years may be employed where he will be
exposed to ionizing radiation (Decree No. 86-433 of 28 March 1986
concerning
protection against ionizing radiation).
592. The Ministry of Social
Affairs decree of 5 May 1988, which establishes the maximum weight of the loads
to be transported by a
single worker, forbids workers aged under 18 years to
transport loads by hand-truck or trolley.
593. The employment of children
aged under 18 years for heavy duty painting involving the use of white lead is
forbidden (ILO Convention
No. 13 concerning the Use of White Lead in Painting,
ratified by Tunisia in 1956).
594. For work that entails risks to health,
medical certification of fitness for work must be renewed regularly until at
least 21
years of age, as compared with 20 years of age in the old version
(article 63 of the Labour Code as amended by Act No. 96-62 of 15
July
1996).
(c) Mechanisms designed to enforce and monitor the prohibition
on child labour
595. In Tunisia, the problem of child labour does
not arise for several reasons, the main ones being:
(i) The introduction of compulsory basic education until age 16 in 1991;
education is free and parents attach great importance to
their children's
schooling. The overall attendance rate is 99.1%. Anyone who fails to enrol their
child for basic education or withdraws
their child before he or she is 16 is
liable to criminal penalties (article 32, Act No. 91-65 of 29 July 1991). This
measure is designed
to prevent children under the legal minimum age from taking
employment;
(ii) The dropout rate in primary education, which has been low and in
decline since the introduction of compulsory education to age
16;
(iii) The strict regulation of child labour, in keeping with international
labour laws, which deters employers from using children;
(iv) Tunisians' deep-rooted respect for Arab-Muslim culture, human rights
values in general, and children's rights in particular.
Cases of child
abandonment are rare and many programmes exist to prevent abandonment and
delinquency. The social action groups in
schools help pupils at the social
level, and a corps of child protection officers has been set up in order to
intervene in all cases
where it appears that the child's health or physical or
integrity is being threatened or placed at risk because of his environment
or
activities.
596. Lastly, mention should be made of an article entitled
"Child Labour Today: Facts and Figures", published by the ILO in the magazine
"Labour" (Vol. 16, June/July 1996), which states that the proportion of children
aged 10-14 engaged in work in Tunisia in 1995 was
equal to
zero.
(d) Children working in agriculture
597. As in the
other activities regulated by the Labour Code, the age of admission to
employment in agriculture has been raised to
16 instead of 15 (Act No. 96-62 of
15 July 1996).
598. In agriculture, children may not be employed if they
do not possess the physical capacity to carry out their duties (Labour Code,
article 374).
599. In order to strengthen the protection of the health of
children working in agriculture, Act No. 96-62 of 15 July 1996 extended
the
regulations on medical certification of fitness for work to the agricultural
sector.
(e) Children working in private family activities
600. Although ILO Convention No. 138 concerning the age of admission to
employment affords no protection to children working in private
family
activities, inasmuch as they are excluded from its scope, the Labour Code states
that children aged under 16 years working
in establishments which employ only
family members under the authority of mother, father or guardian must be subject
to conditions
of employment, and requires that such employment must have no
negative impact on their health, physical and mental development and
school
attendance (Labour Code, article 54 (new)).
601. Likewise, the
provisions of article 58 of the Labour Code, which forbid the employment of
children aged under 18 years in hazardous
work, also apply to children working
in family enterprises.
(f) Children working as domestic
servants
602. Owing to the special problems presented by work in a
domestic setting, the conditions for hiring this category of workers are
governed by a special law (Act No. 65-25 of 1 July 1965).
2. Use of
narcotic drugs (article 33)
603. As stated in the first part of this
report, the legislature adopted Act No. 95-94 of 9 November 1995, amending and
supplementing
Act No. 92-52 of 18 May 1992 concerning narcotic drugs. An article
19 bis was added to the above-mentioned act of 18 May 1992, which
states:
"A court may, in cases involving use or possession for use, subject a child
to medical treatment which frees him from his poisoned
state, to psycho-medical
treatment which prevents his recidivism, or to medico-social treatment, or take
any measure contained in
article 59 of the Child Protection
Code."
3. Sexual exploitation and violence (article 34)
604. The initial report described in detail (paragraphs 280-287) the
status of the Tunisian legislation that protects against different
forms of
sexual exploitation, violence and abuse. The report emphasised in particular
that, however exemplary the punishments in
this area, which are mainly of a
criminal nature (articles 224 et seq. of the Criminal Code), " they may prove
inadequate to ensure
the well-being of the child if they have not been preceded
by a general preventive action in the various situations which give rise
to
protective measures". In paragraph 287, the initial report states that " The
Tunisian State is perfectly aware of this and a commission
- composed of
university lecturers, magistrates, lawyers and special educators - has just been
set up within the Ministry of Justice
to prepare a code of protection for
children, the purpose of which should, precisely, be to make it possible to
ensure this complementarity
between the objectives of prevention and those of
social and legal protection".
605. This is the basic concept behind the
adoption, on 9 November 1995, of the Child Protection Code. As this report
describes at
length, the Code underpins a generalized warning system which
enables the child protection officer to make a timely intervention
in situations
of abuse or dishonest compromise which are brought to his attention, and, under
the authority and control of the families'
judge, to decide on suitable
preventive and protective measures. Among the situations of difficulty defined
by article 20 of the
Child Protection Code, particular mention must be made of
"habitual maltreatment of the child" and "sexual exploitation of the child,
whether boy or girl" (Child Protection Code, article 20).
606. It should
also be mentioned that, in parallel with the adoption of the Child Protection
Code, the Chamber of Deputies adopted
on the same day a set of laws that improve
the child's legal status in various legislations. Among these improvements are
those made
under Act No. 95-93 of 9 November 1995, amending and supplementing
certain articles of the Criminal Code. These mainly consist in
the aggravation
of the various penalties incurred in cases of violence and exploitation
perpetrated against children. This concerns
offences as diverse as using a child
aged under 18 years in a criminal conspiracy with a view to committing crimes
against persons
or property (article 132 (new)); using a child aged under 18
years for the purposes of begging (article 171 ter (new)); the act of
exposing, neglecting or causing to be neglected, with intent to abandon, a child
or legally incompetent person
incapable of protecting himself (articles 212
(new) and 213 (new); indecent assault committed on children aged under 18
(articles
228 (new) and 228 bis (new); the kidnapping, abduction, or
removal of a child aged under 18 (articles 237 (new) and 238 (new); [for more
details see above,
paragraphs 584 et seq.].
4. Sale, traffic or
abduction of children (article 35)
607. As explained in the initial report, since these practices are unknown in Tunisia they have aroused no particular concern on the part of the authorities. Only the question of child abduction, which sometimes occurs as the result of a marital dispute or the separation of a couple of mixed nationality, has arisen and been made the subject of judicial cooperation agreements concluded between Tunisia and other countries.
D. Children belonging to a minority or an indigenous
group
(article 30)
608. As explained in the initial report, Tunisian society is characterized by
its cultural. linguistic and ethnic homogeneity. Thus,
the situation of children
belonging to a minority or an indigenous group does not arise in
Tunisia.
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