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Seychelles - Initial reports of States parties due in 1995: Addendum [2002] UNCRCSPR 6; CRC/C/3/Add.64 (3 May 2002)
UNITED NATIONS
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CRC
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Convention on the Rights of the Child
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Distr. GENERAL
CRC/C/3/Add.64 3 May
2002
Original: ENGLISH
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COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER
ARTICLE 44 OF THE CONVENTION
Initial reports of States parties due in 1995
Seychelles
[7 February
2001]
GE.02-41541
(E) 170502
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
Executive summary
6
I. BACKGROUND TO THIS INITIAL REPORT 1 - 8 7
II. GENERAL
MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION 9 - 24 8
A. Measures taken to implement
the provisions of
the Convention 9 - 19 8
B. Measures to
promote public awareness of the
Convention 20 -
22 10
C. Concluding remarks and recommendations 23 -
24 12
III. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD 25 - 29 12
A. Definition
of the child under Seychelles law 25 12
B. The age of majority
26 12
C. Other legal minimum ages 27 12
D. Concluding
remarks and recommendations 28 - 29 14
IV. GENERAL PRINCIPLES 30 -
46 14
A. Non-discrimination (art. 2) 30 - 36 14
B. Best
interest of the child (art. 3) 37 - 41 15
C. The right to life,
survival and development (art. 6) 42 - 43 16
D. Respect for the views
of the child (art. 12) 44 - 45 17
E. Concluding remarks and
recommendations 46 - 48 17
V. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS 49 -
80 18
A. Right to a name, nationality and identity (art. 7) 49 -
52 18
B. Preservation of the child’s identity (art. 8) 53 -
57 18
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
C. Freedom of expression
(art. 13) 58 - 60 19
D. Freedom of thought, conscience and
religion
(art. 14) 61 - 62 20
E. Freedom of association and of
peaceful assembly
(art. 15) 63 - 65 21
F. Protection of privacy
(art. 16) 66 - 69 21
G. The right not to be subjected to torture or
cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
(art. 37 (a))
70 22
H. Access to appropriate information (art. 17) 71 -
73 22
I. Concluding remarks and recommendations 74 -
80 23
VI. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE 81 -
209 24
A. Parental guidance (art. 5) 81 - 83 24
B. The right
to family life 84 - 123 24
C. Separation from parents (art. 9) 124
- 128 32
D. Family reunification (art. 10)
129 33
E. Recovery of maintenance for the child (art. 27) 130 -
132 33
F. Children unable to live with their families (art. 20) 133 -
156 34
G. Adoption (art. 21) 157 - 167 39
H. Illicit
transfer and non-return (art. 11) 168 41
I. Abuse and neglect (art.
19) including physical and
psychological recovery and social integration
(art. 39) 169 - 195 41
J. Concluding remarks and recommendations
196 - 209 46
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
VII. HEALTH AND WELFARE
(art. 24) 210 - 358 52
A. Health and health services 211 -
240 52
B. Health education and preventive health-care
services
(art. 24.2 (f)) 241 - 262 58
C. Other health-related
provisions in the Convention 263 - 268 63
D. An adequate standard of
living (art. 27) 269 - 301 65
E. The environment 302 -
330 72
F. Concluding remarks and recommendations 331 -
358 77
VIII. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL
ACTIVITIES 359 -
522 83
A. Education, including vocational training and
guidance
(art. 28) 359 - 371 83
B. Aims of education 372 -
375 85
C. Compliance with the Convention (art. 28) 376 -
404 86
D. Leisure, recreational and cultural activities (art. 31) 405
- 435 92
E. Concluding remarks and recommendations 436 -
454 98
IX. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES 455 -
522 103
A. Children in conflict with the law (arts. 37, 39, 40) 455 -
481 103
B. Children in situations of exploitation 482 -
509 108
C. Children of minority or indigenous populations
(art.
30) 510 113
D. Concluding remarks and recommendations 511 -
524 113
CONTENTS (continued)
Page
List of references 117
Tables
1. Estimated population of Seychelles, disaggregated by age and
gender,
mid-1996 118
2. Population projections
118
3. Population size and key health indicators, 1990-1995
118
4. Immunization coverage in 1995 119
5. Requests for
termination of pregnancy, 1990-1995 119
6. Termination of pregnancy
applications by 10- to 19-year-olds, 1990-1995 120
7. Benefit payments,
1991-1995 120
8. Number of children attending selected educational
establishments managed
by the Ministry of Education, 1993-1997
120
9. Number of schools, teachers and students managed by the Ministry
of
Education in 1996 121
10. Seychelles government expenditure,
1991-1995 121
11. Births by age of mother and birth order, 1996
122
Executive summary
This report presents the findings of a review
of the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the
Republic
of Seychelles from its ratification in 1990 up to 1995. As the result
of broad consultation on a national level, this initial country
report is a
comprehensive and honest analysis of the state of our children. It highlights
achievements and progress in many areas,
yet it is not complacent - gaps and
inconsistencies in laws, policies and practice have also been highlighted, and
recommendations
made as to their resolution.
Although ratification of
the Convention did not require any immediate amendment to Seychelles
legislation, the Children’s Act
has been under review and the Government
has proposed a number of changes which reflect the principles of the Convention.
Seychelles’
Children’s Act in its original and revised forms
reflects the principles and standards of the Convention in many ways. However,
it does so only for a small number of defined children, for particular services
in childcare protection, and for particular offences
to children. It has no
influence on other services and aspects of children’s lives.
The
Convention is not only about social and economic rights. It also guarantees
children and young people civil and political rights,
and legislation, policy
and practice need to understand and address these issues. Attitudes both within
and outside the family continue
to exclude children from participation in
decisions that affect their lives. Action is therefore needed both by the
State, within
civil society and at family level.
This report discusses
general measures and principles of implementation, including definitions of a
child, and presents a review
of implementation in five main areas,
namely:
(a) Civil rights and freedoms;
(b) Family environment
and alternative care;
(c) Health and welfare;
(d) Education,
leisure and cultural activities; and
(e) Special protection
measures.
It is emphasized that there is a continuing need to take
active measures to ensure that the aims of legislation are translated into
everyday policy and practice throughout the country. A monitoring and
evaluation mechanism is required to assess how far the rights
contained in the
Convention are being implemented and respected on a continuing
basis.
The main factor preventing fulfilment of enjoyment of the rights
under the Convention is identified as a lack of resources, both
material and
human. The steady rise in the young population must be accompanied by a
corresponding increase in resources for its
development. In the spirit of
article 4 of the Convention, we call on cooperation with multilateral
development agencies, especially
those focused on children, to assist us in
mobilizing the necessary resources for implementation of the Convention.
The
Seychelles Programme of Action for Children and the Convention on the Rights of
the Child provide a valuable framework for building
on past achievements. The
goals for children and development in the 1990s, adopted as part of our
Programme of Action for Children,
reflect the country’s commitment to
improving further on its achievements in child survival, development and
protection.
I. BACKGROUND TO THIS INITIAL REPORT
- Unanimously
adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations
on 20 November 1989, the Seychelles was one of the first
countries
to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990.
States parties were required to submit an initial report two years
after
entry into force of the Convention for the State party concerned, and thereafter
every five years. This initial report on
implementation of the Convention in
Seychelles discusses implementation over a five-year period, from 1990 to
1995.
- The
writing of this initial report was delayed pending clarification of which
ministry had responsibility for its coordination and
the availability of
research findings. There are many agencies involved with children in
Seychelles, with both statutory and non-statutory
obligations under the
Convention. Both the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ministry of Education and
Culture (MOEC) have responsibility
for the survival and development of the
child, while the Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs (MESA) has portfolio
responsibility
for children’s welfare. As such, the Ministry for
Employment and Social Affairs was designated as responsible for coordinating
Seychelles’ response to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of
the Child on implementation of the Convention.
- The
report aims to provide a systematic analysis of the extent to which law, policy
and practice in Seychelles comply with the principles
and standards contained in
the Convention on the Rights of the Child (art. 44). It not only analyses
traditional indicators of compliance
to the obligations under the Convention,
but also highlights gaps and inconsistencies and proposes action needed for
compliance.
Context and methodology
- The
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Seychelles
from 1990 to 1995 should be considered in the context
of concurrent legal
and policy changes. The Seychelles Programme of Action for Children was adopted
in June 1995, serving to focus
attention on prioritizing children. The
Children’s Act of 1982 was also undergoing a fairly radical review during
this time,
with the Convention providing a guiding framework for this
process.
- The
Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs appointed a project officer, namely
the Director for Social Affairs, and commissioned
a consultant to assist in the
drafting of the report. Key ministries and organizations were invited to
appoint a focal person to
ease consultation and assist in preparing a
contribution to the report.
- Initial
research involved meetings and site visits with all key stakeholders, where
consultations were held with management, parents
and also children and young
people themselves. Children and youth provided limited input in terms of the
Convention itself, as most
knew little on the rights contained in the
Convention. A series of workshops using Visualization in Participatory
Programmes (VIPP)
methodology have since been conducted in 1999 to sensitize
young people on the Convention, funded by UNICEF.
- Copies
of the Convention were circulated, and an extensive literature review conducted.
Each agency was invited to prepare contributions,
which were collated into a
draft report. This draft was then widely circulated, and feedback and comments
incorporated. The report
also draws on the findings of relevant meetings and
seminars, notably conferences on the International Year of the Family (1989)
and
the National Programme of Action for Children (1995).
- The
final draft was discussed at a multi-agency consultative workshop, held on 2
and 3 February 1999, then forwarded to the National
Commission for
Child Protection (NCCP) for further review. The final report was discussed and
then adopted by the Council of Ministers.
II. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION
A. Measures taken to implement the provisions of the
Convention
1. Measures to harmonize national law and policy
with
the provisions of the Convention
- Since
independence, the Seychelles Government has consistently made children a high
priority. In 1990 the Government put forward
its policy statement on children
outlining goals in health, education and improvements in standards of living.
The President of
Seychelles, Mr. F.A. Rene, attended the historic
World Summit for Children in September 1990 in person. Seychelles adopted the
World
Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children and
the accompanying Plan of Action, in addition to the Convention
on the Rights of
the Child. Seychelles’ plans for improving the situation of children were
further elaborated in the National
Programme of Action for the Children of
Seychelles, prepared by an Interministerial Committee with intersectoral
participation, and
published in June 1995.
- Ratification
of the Convention did not require any immediate amendment to Seychelles
legislation. The new Constitution, as the supreme law of Seychelles enforceable
by an independent judiciary, came into force on 23 June 1993 and provided scope
to
include a large number of the principles contained in the Convention in the
form of Constitutional guarantees. Article 5 of the
Seychelles Constitution
(hereafter the Constitution) states that “this Constitution is the supreme
law of Seychelles and any other law found to be inconsistent with it is, to the
extent of the inconsistency, void”
giving effect to the obligations
undertaken as a State party to the Convention. The Constitution also provides
for an independent ombudsman, who is empowered to investigate complaints
regarding the violation of constitutional
rights and freedoms and to take
appropriate remedial action.
- The
Children’s Act of 1982 was amended in 1991, with the central purpose of
protecting children. This includes the provision
of alternatives for the
punishment and rehabilitation of child offenders, as well as mechanisms for
protecting children from neglect,
exploitation and harmful environments. The
statute also regulates adoption. The existing Children’s Act is currently
being
revised in order to be more in line with the Convention on the Rights of
the Child. The final draft is already with the Attorney-General’s
Office.
- The
Children’s Act maintains the guiding principle that the best interest of
the child should be the first consideration. It
also recognizes that where
appropriate children are best brought up by their parents in their own home. It
places a duty on the
State to provide services for children in need and to help
parents bring up their children. The intervention of courts and social
services
are required to have the child’s welfare as their first
consideration.
2. National mechanisms for coordinating policies and for
monitoring the Convention
- The
Government recognizes the particular needs of children, and will continue
through legislation, policy and practice to strive to
promote the interests of
children in accordance with the articles of the Convention. The process of
translating the rights contained
in the Convention into actions to ensure
effective change in children’s lives will be a long one. A critical part
of that
process is the need for monitoring and evaluation of how the rights are
being respected. This process needs the widest collaboration
and consultation
with nongovernmental organizations, the community and families.
- There
is a history of partnership between the non-governmental sector and Government,
which can be strengthened. The National Council
for Children (NCC), a
semi-autonomous organization, and other non-governmental agencies are assisting
Government in its efforts to
improve the lot of children.
- Responsibility
for policy on matters concerning children does not rest exclusively with one
government department, and there is an
increasing awareness for the need and
value of coordinating policies. The State works in partnership with the
voluntary and private
sector to provide a range of services in the area. The
Department of Social Services is putting together a Manual on Child Protection
Procedures, which are firmly based on inter-agency cooperation and
collaboration. To improve coordination between departments several
interdepartmental groups have been set up including the Child Protection
Committee and the ad hoc committee which vets, approves
and reviews procedures
for child protection and for inter-agency collaboration. This committee is
chaired by the Minister for Employment
and Social Affairs and has high-level
membership comprising ministers and principal secretaries from the Ministries of
Employment
and Social Affairs, Education and Health, the Chief Justice, the
Commissioner of Police, the Attorney-General and the Chairman and
Vice-Chairman
of the National Council for Children. When consideration is being given to
introducing new legislation, or amending
existing legislation, or establishing
new policy initiatives concerning children regular consultation takes place to
ensure that
all the implications and consequences of the changes are fully
considered both at an early stage and throughout the process.
- A
national seminar was held in June 1993 to launch the National Programme of
Action for Children. It was recommended that the Ministry
of Employment and
Social Affairs strengthen its role as the focal point for children’s
affairs, improve its information and
documentation, and develop its capacity for
policy-oriented research on matters dealing with family and children. These are
currently
being considered within the broader national context, including the
National Social Development Strategy and other plans of action.
- One
major finding of this report is that there are serious gaps in knowledge of the
conditions of children and their families, making
it impossible to assess fully
whether government and other agencies are meeting all the standards and
obligations under the Convention.
Available information and data may not be
shared with other organizations. The systematic gathering of statistical
and other information
on the conditions of children and families are considered
to be essential for successful family policies, and should also include
the
views of children.
- An
appropriate monitoring and evaluation mechanism for the Programme of Action is
also required, but there has been little follow-up
action. A proposal for a
monitored mechanism for the Convention is currently being considered by
Government. Seychelles is still
in the process of establishing and developing
enforcement mechanisms for the Convention. Child protection procedures are
being finalized
and training of all key personnel, social workers and police,
counsellors in child protection procedures has been held and continues
to be
organized.
- Seychelles
has also received extensive assistance from donor agencies and international
organizations in the area of children’s
rights and programmes. The
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has been particularly active
on issues relating to the
implementation of the Convention. UNICEF has played a
fundamental role in improving the situation of children in Seychelles, providing
technical and financial support for a number of programmes, including Primary
Health Care, the Family Life Education Programme and
the Immunization Programme.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has been very active and
supportive in the area of adolescent
reproductive health and family planning
services.
B. Measures to promote public awareness of the
Convention
1. Measures to promote the principles
and provisions
of the Convention
- Following
ratification of the Convention there was no immediate attempt to publicize it.
Neither government ministries nor the voluntary
sector were informed that
Seychelles had ratified the Convention, or that their policies and practice
should comply with the provisions
of the Convention. The Ministry of Education
has since started to sensitize schools, and the Ministry of Employment and
Social Affairs
has commissioned the publication of adapted versions of the
Convention for distribution through schools. There is also a small but
growing
community of nongovernmental organizations which are concerned with the problems
of
children and young people. In addition to supporting the Government’s
programmes the existence of these organizations also
help to decentralize
delivery of services:
Task Force on Drug and Alcohol Abuse - focuses on education and support for
the issue of drug and alcohol use;
The National Council for Children - a semi-autonomous organization working as
advocate for children;
Les Li Viv - a pro-life voluntary organization offering counselling and
support to teenage mothers;
Church groups - involved in social and community activities, including
childcare services;
Alcoholic Anonymous - has a programme for young people with alcohol
problems;
The Committee for Awareness, Resilience and Education (CARE) - helps train
parents, youth and community leaders on prevention of alcohol
and drug
abuse;
The Scouts and other children’s groups - several have been revived or
established in the 1990s, providing leisure and other
services for young
people.
- There
is regular and continuous coverage of children’s issues in the media,
especially radio programmes and public education
and awareness programmes. The
National Council for Children, CARE and other NGOs continuously use the media to
promote the development
and participation of children and Children’s Day
activities are organized each year. The NCC is collaborating closely with
Government, national and international organizations like the British
Association for the Prevention and Study of Childhood Abuse
and Neglect
(BAPSCAN), UNICEF and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Children (NSPCC) to promote children’s
rights. Through the direct
intervention of UNICEF additional efforts to promote dissemination of copies of
the Convention are planned.
2. Measures to circulate the report among the public (art.
44.6)
- This
report was widely circulated for comments before submission to the Council of
Ministers for adoption. It is anticipated that
the report will provide a means
by which the Government, NGOs and the private sector can systematically and
strategically address
those issues and matters highlighted as needing further
attention if Seychelles is to fully comply with the obligations under the
Convention. It is agreed that wide public circulation of this report in
simplified summary and in popular language will be undertaken
to facilitate
public awareness on these issues and to promote united collaboration from
Government, NGOs and the private sector.
C. Concluding remarks and recommendations
- The
Constitution and laws of Seychelles generally ensure a fair degree of compliance
with the articles of the Convention. The Government has already
started the
process of reviewing the Children’s Act with the aim of bringing it more
into line with the articles of the Convention.
- Compliance
with article 44 requires that:
(a) An effective system to
monitor and evaluate implementation be established. A national database
should be set up, in consultation
with the Management Information Systems
Division, to develop mechanisms to monitor the conditions of children, and
report on the
enjoyment of their rights in accordance with the
Convention;
(b) This report must be widely circulated and areas for
further action highlighted to promote public consultation. Individual
ministries
need to ensure that they monitor and disseminate their own efforts to
comply with the Convention.
III. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD
A. Definition of the child under Seychelles law
- The
Children’s Act, which covers all aspects of maintenance, compulsory care,
voluntary and foster care and adoption, children’s
homes and detention
centres, defines a “child” (sect. 2) as “a person under
18 years of age and includes a young person”. See appendices III and IV
for details of the child
population in Seychelles.
B. Age of majority
- The
legal age of majority in Seychelles, for both men and women, is 18 years. At
this age a person acquires full legal capacity.
A similar provision appears in
section 2 of the Children’s Act.
C. Other legal minimum ages
- There
are a number of other ages for which specific legal rights, powers and
protection apply, viz.:
All citizens who have reached the age of 18 have the right to vote and can be
elected to public office;
The Seychelles Employment Act 1990 makes it illegal to employ a child under
the age of 15 for any purpose and gives varying protection
for children
between the ages of 15 and 18;
A young person 18 years of age can give independent consent for medical
treatment. No such provision is available for medical counselling.
A child
under 15 years of age can be counselled on family planning but cannot be
prescribed contraception without parental consent;
There is no conscription in Seychelles, and the minimum age for voluntary
military service in the Defence Forces is 18 years of age.
Exceptions require
the written consent of parent or guardian;
Protection against sexual abuse of children is comprehensively covered in the
Penal Code of Seychelles (vol. IX, chap. 158). A recent
amendment now provides
protection against sexual abuse of children up to the age of 18 although under
the penal laws the age of consent
is 15 years;
Under the Penal Code a child aged 7 is incapable of committing a crime, and a
child between the ages of 7 and 12 will only be criminally
liable if he/she
understands that what he/she is doing is wrong;
In the Children’s Act (sect. 94), no child under the age of 14 may be
sent to prison and no child between the ages of 14 and
18 may be imprisoned if
there are alternative ways of dealing with him/her under the Children’s
Act;
“Juvenile offenders” are generally considered to be persons under
the age of 18 and there are special provisions regarding
procedures for hearings
and punishment of persons under this age (Children’s Act 1982, Part
VIII);
There is no specified age at which a minor becomes a competent voluntary
witness in court proceedings. The evidence of children is
allowed if they are,
in the opinion of the court, able to distinguish truth from falsehood and to
understand the implications of
giving false testimony;
The law protects the privacy of children under the age of 18 who have been
involved in legal proceedings of any nature. Court hearings
in relation to
children are held in closed court or in chambers. Likewise, the Juvenile Court
is not open to the public. However,
as recently as 1995 young persons involved
in sexual abuse cases appeared in open court to give testimony but that was
through failure
to invoke the available procedures;
A child under the age of 18 requires parental consent in order to marry. In
addition, no boy under the age of 18 years and no girl
under the age of 15 may
contract a civil marriage without the permission of a designated government
official, currently the Minister
(Civil Status Act, sect. 40). Furthermore,
marriage of a girl between the age of 15 and 18 requires the consent
of the parents.
This appears to contradict the constitutional provision against
discrimination on the basis of gender, and has not yet been challenged;
The sale of alcohol, drugs and tobacco to children under the age of 18 is
illegal. The provision of alcohol to children under 18
is illegal only if it is
in quantities detrimental to the child’s health. Likewise, the employment
of children under the age
of 18 on premises with a licence to serve alcohol is
an offence as well as the admission to such premises of children under the age
of 18;
A child over the age of 14 must consent to his/her own adoption;
The end of compulsory education is 15 years. This is specified in the
Constitution by requiring the child to follow 10 years of schooling.
D. Concluding remarks and recommendations
- The
Constitution and laws of Seychelles comply with article 1. There are a number
of cases which define legal minimum ages as less than 18 years
of age, and such
exceptions are in general not problematic as the age at which a child acquires
particular legal rights and powers
is determined by the capacity of children at
that age to exercise the rights and powers in question, meaningfully and
responsibly.
- Compliance
with article 1, the definition of a child, requires
that:
(a) Provisions relating to alcohol consumption be amended
to tally with that of tobacco;
(b) Laws are reviewed in order to improve
standardization of age levels, especially for the sake of gender equity in legal
provisions.
IV. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
A. Non-discrimination (art. 2)
- Seychelles’
Constitution promotes non-discrimination in accordance with article 2 of the
Convention of the Rights of the Child. Article 27 of the Constitution gives
“every person equal protection of the law, including the enjoyment of the
rights and freedoms contained in the Charter,
without discrimination on any
grounds, except as is necessary in a democratic society”. This guarantee
is applicable to every
person within its jurisdiction.
- Protection
against discrimination or punishment for activities, opinions and benefits is
further provided by constitutional guarantees
of freedom of speech and
expression, freedom of thought, conscience and belief, freedom to practise any
religion and to manifest
such practice, and freedom of association.
- Chapter
III of the Constitution contains provisions relating to fundamental rights which
are considered “universal” and include children. But rights
which
by their very nature cannot be exercised by a child, either by himself or with
the assistance of a guardian, must be deemed
inapplicable to such a child.
Thus, whilst adult citizens have a right to form and join a trade
union and to engage in any lawful occupation, professions, trade, business or
enterprise, a child may be deprived of such a right
since it could negate
existing legislation aimed at protecting the child from exploitation.
- In
Seychelles, the Constitution guarantees that all children are of equal status in
the application of the laws of Seychelles, regardless of the marital status of
the child’s parents, whether at conception, birth, or any other time.
Only 21 per cent of births in 1996 were within wedlock,
and
28 per cent were not acknowledged by the father. A child’s
citizenship depends on that of its parents. Newborn infants
are deemed to have
the status of citizens. Seychellois citizenship, where applicable, would
therefore bring the child within those
rights in the Constitution accorded to
citizens.
- Parents
are usually the legal guardians of a child. The duty to maintain a child born
out of wedlock is shared between the parents
according to the earnings of each.
In Seychelles single mothers and their children are accepted for the most part
without discrimination.
However, the biggest disadvantage for these children is
not legal or social, but economic. A World Bank study, “Poverty in
Paradise”, concluded that female-headed households form a large portion of
those considered poor. Although single mothers
are entitled to maintenance for
their children, it is becoming more and more difficult to collect money from
errant fathers. The
proposed amendments to the Children’s Act include
provisions to resolve that situation. Children born to single mothers face
few
legal disadvantages stemming from their mother’s marital status. In terms
of civil law the child takes the mother’s
name unless the father
acknowledges paternity, in which cases the child is obliged to take the
father’s name.
- There
is no protective legislation rendering it unlawful to discriminate against
people, including children, on grounds of sexual
orientation. Article 2 of the
Convention states that all rights must be respected “irrespective of the
child’s race,
colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion,
national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other
status”. “Other status” is being increasingly understood in
international forums to include sexual orientation.
- It
is illegal for homosexuality to take place (be practiced) in Seychelles. There
is at present no age of consent for homosexuality
in Seychelles. This is
discriminatory and also out of step with other countries, almost all of which
have a common age of consent
or plans to introduce one. This discrimination
within the law, together with the lack of legal protection against
discriminatory
acts towards homosexual young people, allows a level of hostility
and prejudice within society to go unchallenged. It causes many
young people to
deny their sexuality for fear of attack, isolation, abuse or rejection. Not
only is the lack of age of consent
and lack of legal protection against
discrimination in breach of article 2, but it also represents a failure to
comply with article
13, the right to freedom of expression without
discrimination.
B. Best interest of the child (art. 3)
1. Legislative provision for the best interests of the
child
- The
Children’s Act recognizes the best interest of the child as the primary
guiding principle in family matters by providing
that children have the right to
know and be cared for by their parents. The guiding principle in cases of
compulsory care and/or
custody is the best interest of the child. Persons and
institutions which provide alternative care are required under the Act to
be
guided by this principle.
- Under
the Children’s Act the court has the responsibility to decide all matters
which come before it in the best interests of
the child. The adequacy of the
laws is, however, not necessarily a guarantee of the adequacy of their judicial
or administrative
application. In practice the views and decisions of
adults/parents in cases of divorce and custody tend to have precedence over
the
views and feelings of the child. This article is covered under other sections
of this report and recommendations made as appropriate.
- It
is noted that at present parents are able to ask for the approval of the
Children’s Board to send a child under the age of
18 who they cannot
control to an institution. The ability of parents to offload their
responsibilities on the State when dealing
with “difficult” children
should be reviewed; firstly to ensure that such action is primarily in the best
interests of
the child, and secondly to safeguard this provision from abuse by
providing for such parental action to be accompanied by an order
for the parent
to support financially the child’s upkeep during this period. In
instances of divorce, etc. involving the courts
making decisions in the
“best interest of the child”, it is recommended that all parties
make greater efforts to ensure
compliance by taking care to involve the child as
much as possible.
2. Standards of facilities for the care and protection of
children
- Primary
responsibility for ensuring the standards of children’s institutions and
facilities is vested in the Ministry of Employment
and Social Affairs through
the Children’s Act. The Director of Social Services administers the
provisions of that Act including
the registration and regulation of all such
premises defined as children’s homes and similar
institutions.
- Responsibility
for setting standards with regard to health and safety of accommodation is
shared between ministries. Setting standards
for daycare facilities is the
responsibility of the Ministry of Education. The Children’s Act provides
for the Minister responsible
for Social Affairs to set standards for
institutions like children’s homes, and other institutions for compulsory
care of children.
The Licensing Authority and the Ministry of Health also carry
out inspections to ensure compliance. There is, however, no stipulated
minimum
standards set for any of the children’s homes and institutions visited at
the time of preparing this report. This
of course makes it difficult to monitor
implementation and to enforce compliance. The institutions are currently
operating to their
maximum capacity and staff competence needs to be
strengthened.
C. The right to life, survival and development (art.
6)
- The
right to life is a fundamental right provided for in the Constitution (chap.
III, Part 1, sect. 15 (1)). There is no death penalty in Seychelles.
This right to life is further protected by the provisions of the Penal Code
which
makes unlawful, inter alia:
The murder of any
person;
Infanticide, where a woman wilfully causes the death of a child
under 12 months;
Abortion, except in certain
circumstances;
Abandonment of a child in a manner which may expose it to
grievous harm;
The intentional and unlawful causing of harm to a child
during its birth.
- Government
policies have repeatedly emphasized the urgency of measures to promote child
survival and development, focusing on three
sectors as crucial to this
goal - education, health and housing. All agencies drew up a plan of
action in 1995 and are expected
to submit progress reports in due
course.
D. Respect for the views of the child (art. 12)
- The
Constitution guarantees freedom of expression in article 22 (1). The
Children’s Act requires the courts and authorities to ascertain the
wishes
and feelings of the child when decisions in respect of him/her are being made,
and provides for the opinion of the child to
be sought in regard to alternatives
to the family environment. Thus provisions relating to adoption require that a
child 14 years
or over must consent to his or her own adoption.
(Children’s Act, sect. 34 (4)). There is, however, no comparable
requirement in respect of decisions made within the family.
- There
is need to recognize children’s right to growing self-determination,
consistent both with article 12 and article 5 which
stress that parents and
others with responsibility for children must provide appropriate direction and
guidance to children “in
a manner consistent with the evolving capacities
of the child”. Clarification of the law pertaining to children’s
right
to selfdetermination is needed with respect to the principle of individual
competence. (See also other chapters of this report which
address article 12
within the context of the relevant policy area.)
E. Concluding remarks and recommendations
- The
main provisions guaranteeing and respecting basic rights are contained in
chapter III of the Seychelles Constitution. The Constitution and laws of
Seychelles are also deemed to afford adequate compliance with articles 3 and 6.
The need remains to ensure effective
implementation of the provisions of the
appropriate laws, for example to ensure the necessary standards of safety and
care of children’s
services and institutions, and to ensure that the best
interests of the child are taken into account.
- Compliance
with article 2 requires that a legislative review be undertaken which will make
it unlawful to discriminate on grounds
of sexual orientation, and will introduce
an age of consent for all children regardless of their sexual
orientation.
- Compliance
with article 3 requires that:
(a) A review and evaluation of
childcare and protection facilities be undertaken;
(b) A set of
standards for these institutions be established and
enforced;
(c) Employees be screened to ensure they are suitable persons
to care for children;
(d) Appropriate training be offered to establish
and maintain the standard of facilities.
V. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
A. Right to a name, nationality and identity (art. 7)
- The
Civil Status Act requires that all births must be officially registered within
30 days of the birth of a child. Deaths (including
stillborn children)
must also be recorded. The same Act also requires that every child born must be
registered with a name and a
surname of either the father, where the child is
legitimate or paternity has been accepted, or that of the mother in every other
instance.
- The
right to acquire a nationality is also protected by the Constitution under the
provisions for citizenship. Every child born of Seychellois parents regardless
of the place of birth has a constitutionally
guaranteed right to Seychelles
nationality. All children born to a Seychellois father or mother are
Seychellois citizens by descent.
The Constitution treats both men and women
equally with regard to matters of citizenship. Thus a child born to a
Seychellois mother has the same
right to citizenship as a child born to a
Seychellois father. Article 13 (2) of the Constitution provides for dual
citizenship for a child with only one Seychellois parent.
- With
respect to article 7 the right of an adopted child to a name and to knowledge of
parents should be considered. There may be
a need to consider the introduction
of a legislative duty on adoptive parents to inform a child that he/she is
adopted as soon as
the child is capable of understanding, and on the adoption
agency involved to provide details of the biological parents as soon as
the
child requests the information.
- Compliance
with article 7 together with article 12, the right of the child to express a
view and have it taken seriously, requires
that children should be given the
opportunity to express their views about any proposal to change their name and
to have that opinion
taken into account in any judicial or administrative
proceedings, subject to their age and understanding.
B. Preservation of the child’s identity (art. 8)
- The
guarantees and undertakings set down in the Constitution (chap. III) and the
Civil Status Act are irrevocable with respect to the child’s identity.
Children who are adopted do not
currently have a right in law to know the
identity of their biological parents until they are 18 years old. A
child born out of
wedlock does not have a right to know the identity of his or
her natural father and the mother is under no obligation to reveal the
identity of the father to the child. The Civil Status Act
does however cover
instances where both the mother and the person acknowledging himself to be the
father request and both agree to
his name being registered as father.
- It
is extremely difficult to introduce a requirement on all mothers to provide the
name of the father to children. However, a requirement
that, wherever known,
the father’s name should be entered on the birth certificate would be
consistent with the child’s
right to know “as far as possible”
who his/her parents are. This requirement is to be included in the Civil Status
Act
and Children’s Act. The child should have the right to all available
information.
- Seychelles
provides constitutional guarantees to safeguard the child’s identity, both
culturally and by ensuring that the child’s
parents and other relatives
have primary parenting obligations. The Constitution also ensures that
Seychellois children in an adoption situation remain in Seychelles, in a bid to
preserve the child’s familial
and Seychellois identity. To this end
Seychelles restricts adoptions by foreigners residing overseas, and the few that
are permitted
require presidential approval. The adoption laws, whilst
safeguarding absolute confidentiality for the sake of the parties concerned
do
not expressly provide the adopted child with the legal right to establish links
with his/her biological parents.
- The
right of a child to preserve his or her identity under article 8 of the
Convention clearly includes the right to retain a name.
If a child is adopted,
the adoptive parents can change the child’s name whereupon the new names
are entered in the adopted
children’s register. When the courts are
making an adoption order, there is an obligation to consider the wishes of the
child
but the child has no right to retain his or her name. The child therefore
can lose his or her name and identity through adoption.
This, however, is being
considered for inclusion in the Children’s Act. Whilst for many children
there is a wish to take
on the name of the adoptive parents, this may not always
be so and compliance with this article requires that the child who understands
the implications of the adoption order should be able to exercise a
choice.
- Parents
can change the name of a child following a separation or divorce and under the
Children’s Act 1982 courts in Seychelles
would be required to take into
consideration the wishes of the child. In such proceedings, the child is not
normally represented
and may not be given any effective opportunity to make
his/her views known to the court, even though in all such cases, the child
is
legally represented by the Attorney-General’s Office.
C. Freedom of expression (art. 13)
- This
issue has been covered under section IV.D. It is provided for in the Seychelles
Constitution which guarantees the right of all persons to freedom of expression,
including freedom of the press; freedom to hold opinions and
to seek, receive
and impart ideas and information without interference (art. 22). Nevertheless
reasonable restrictions may be imposed
by law on the exercise of this freedom
only insofar as such restrictions are necessary in a democratic
society.
1. In the home
- This
article has major implications for the relationship between parents and their
children and the degree of freedom children are
allowed. The traditional
approach to parenting in the Seychelles is not one which is consistent with a
recognition that children
have a right to express views independently of their
parents. Rather, there is a presumption that parents have rights of control
over their children’s activities, access to the media, dress and so on.
Where children do express a view or opinion which
may differ from those of their
parents, it is often interpreted, by society as a failure on the part of the
children’s parents
to exercise their responsibilities sufficiently. There
is a need to balance parents’ duty to offer guidance to their children
against a need to control their children. Compliance with the right of the
child to freedom of expression will require a change
in attitudes towards
children to afford them greater respect. There is certainly a widespread
perception amongst many children that
their views and opinions are not
adequately respected or acknowledged.
2. In school
- Schools
have an important role to play in promoting children’s freedom of
expression and developing their skills and opportunities
for freedom of
expression. However, the school system throughout the Seychelles tends to
operate in a formal and perhaps authoritarian
way, which does not necessarily
encourage children to explore and contribute their ideas for the provision and
development of education.
D. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (art.
14)
- This
right is assured by the Seychelles Constitution (art. 21 (1)), which protects
the right of all persons to freedom of thought, conscience and belief, either
alone or in a community.
Reasonable restriction may be imposed by law on the
exercise of these rights as may be necessary in a democratic society in the
interest of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public
health and for the purpose of protecting the rights or
freedoms of other
persons. For persons under the age of 18 years this right is, however,
conditional upon the consent of the child’s
parent or guardian with
respect to religious instruction or observance in any school or institution that
the child may be attending
or detained in.
1. Children in residential care
- In
line with the Children’s Act, a child, if cared for under a compulsory
order, cannot be brought up in any religious persuasion
other than that in which
he would have been brought up if the order had not been made. Whilst it is
important that a child’s
personal history, culture and religion are
respected when placements are being arranged, this provision must not impede the
right
of a child under article 14 either to withdraw from the religion of her or
his parents or to choose an alternative religion. The
requirement under the
Children’s Act to “ascertain the wishes and feelings of the
child” when decisions are being
made should therefore apply when decisions
are made about the child’s religion.
E. Freedom of association and of peaceful assembly (art.
15)
- Article
23 (1) of the Seychelles Constitution protects the right of all persons to
assemble freely and guarantees freedom of association. Reasonable restrictions
may be imposed
by law on the exercise of these rights, but only such
restrictions as are necessary in a democratic society and required in the
interests
of defence, public safety, public order, public morality, in respect
of the registration of associations and political parties, and
for the
protection of the rights and freedom of other persons.
- It
is important to examine the implications of article 15 in the context of the
rights of young people to associate in public areas.
There is need to address
the implications of this article not only in relation to the adequacy of
legislation to explicitly recognize
and protect these rights, but also in
relation to the construction of an environment which creates and facilitates
opportunities
for young people to express their right to freedom of association
and assembly. Adequate youth service provision, availability of
transport, and
availability of places where young people can meet without harassment or
interference are as necessary to the promotion
of this civil right as the
existence of protective legislation. When interviewed, children and young
people complain that there
are few safe places where they can sit peacefully
without being harassed by police or an adult.
- An
active commitment to the promotion of article 15, the right to freedom of
association, requires the development of a child-centred
approach to
environmental planning. Government should be required to consider the
implications of any proposed development on children
living in the area in
respect of public transport, social facilities, road safety and meeting places,
all of which have considerable
impact on their opportunities for association and
assembly.
F. Protection of privacy (art. 16)
- The
Seychelles Constitution contains a specific provision on privacy, which applies
to all persons in Seychelles. No one is subject to interference within the
privacy of their homes, their correspondence or their communications, except in
accordance with law and as is necessary in a democratic
society in the interests
of defence, public safety, public order, public morality, public health, the
administration of Government,
town and country planning, nature conservation,
the economic well-being of the country, or the protection of the rights or
freedoms
of others (art. 20 (2)). Protection for the privacy of the
family is buttressed by another provision of the Constitution, which states that
the family is the natural and fundamental element of society and is entitled to
protection by the State (art.
32.1). The Constitution (art. 13 (2)) also
requires that prior judicial authorization be obtained for searches of the
person or the home. Searches without
warrants are covered by statutory
safeguards, to prevent abuses of the procedure.
- Despite
the guarantees under the Constitution (art. 20.1 (b)) there are still
significant gaps in the protection available. The right to private
correspondence is not adequately
guaranteed in all institutions for children and
young people. Children and young people interviewed complained that their
private
correspondence is opened. If correspondence needs to be opened on the
ground of safety or security, such as on suspicion of forbidden
articles, it
should be possible for this to be done in the presence of the
child.
- Article
16 also needs to be considered in the context of a child’s right to have
confidences respected. This is of particular
significance in the situation of a
child wishing to discuss sexual or physical abuse with an adult. The growing
recognition of the
extent of sexual abuse within our society and the level of
concern amongst practitioners and policy makers has led to a range of
measures
designed to protect children from abuse. Law requires social workers and the
police, and many others are required contractually,
to notify the relevant
authorities once a child has disclosed that he or she is being abused. The need
to protect the child is seen
as taking precedence over the child’s right
to confidentiality or privacy. The danger is that the outcome of disclosure
with
all its profound consequences for children in relation to their own and
their family’s lives can be experienced as another
form of abuse. Failure
to respect the confidence of the child is a betrayal of trust just as the
original abuse is.
- There
has been considerable progress in recent years in both recognizing and
responding to child abuse. There is a danger that in
the understandable efforts
to protect the child experiencing abuse other rights are being forfeited. There
is now a greater willingness
to listen to the child disclosing abuse. It is
equally important to consider concerns about how disclosure is handled. Child
protection
procedures need to reflect the principle of respect for
children’s privacy and confidentiality and the implications of overriding
a child’s wishes must be weighed against the cost to the child of a breach
of confidentiality.
G. The right not to be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman
or
degrading treatment or punishment (art. 37 (a))
- The
Seychelles Constitution guarantees respect for human dignity even during the
enforcement of a penalty imposed by the State, and provides that no person shall
be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment (art. 16). As stated in chapter 4.3, the Constitution prohibits
the imposition of the death sentence for any crime (art. 15.1) Reference
should also be made to chapter 6.9, especially
with respect to corporal
punishment, and to chapter 9, with respect to other measures to protect the
child from different forms of
maltreatment.
H. Access to appropriate information (art. 17)
- There
is no specific legislation in Seychelles charging the mass media to cater to
children. There are provisions which make it a
crime for any person to exhibit
indecent material in public or to trade in, distribute or exhibit indecent
material, including films.
- The
Government has already taken a number of steps to encourage the dissemination of
information through the mass media. The print
and the broadcast media have
specific programmes for children and other programmes focusing on issues that
are of relevance to children
and young people. All three national languages are
used in print and by radio and television programmes. Media coverage is given
to children-specific events and annual activities such as Children’s
Day.
- The
National Library has a very well used children’s section, and there are
mobile libraries that service most districts. School
libraries, though less
well equipped, are also available. Government has invested considerable
resources to providing a number of
textbooks in Kreol as part of school
curriculum reform.
I. Concluding remarks and recommendations
- The
civil rights and freedoms of children are provided for in the Seychelles
Constitution, albeit conditional upon parental consent. Some parties are
concerned that recognition of children’s rights may lead to the
undermining of the role of parents, or conflict with deeply held beliefs within
a family. Yet full implementation of the child’s
rights in many areas of
civil rights will only arise through a change in attitudes towards children, and
a shift in the prevailing
belief that parents “own” their children
and have the right to control their spiritual as well as their physical
activities.
Consideration should also be given to the means by which the media
may develop improved awareness of the needs of children. A particular
area of
concern with respect to article 17 is to the need to examine the unrestricted
access which children may have to inappropriate
materials via the Internet and
soon through cable television.
- Compliance
with article 7 requires that civil law be reviewed to permit a father to
acknowledge a child at birth without this obliging
the child to bear the
fathers’ name. Any dispute arising from the choice of name could then be
settled by the courts, in the
child’s best interest.
- Compliance
with article 8 and article 12 requires that children be given the opportunity to
express their views about any proposal
to change their name, for example in
cases of adoption or divorce, and to have that opinion taken into account in any
judicial or
administrative proceedings subject to their age and
understanding.
- Compliance
with article 13 requires that those with parental responsibility should
ascertain the wishes and feelings of children when
reaching any major decision
relating to the child, in accordance with the evolving capacities of the
child.
- Compliance
with article 14 and article 5 requires that as a child becomes capable of
articulating a view in relation to religious
practice the parent, carers and/or
authorities should respect it.
- Compliance
with article 15 requires that provision be made for more meeting places for
young people to promote their right to freedom
of association and
assembly.
- Compliance
with article 16 requires that rights to privacy under the Constitution are
safeguarded through regulations and guidelines applying to all institutional
settings. Children should be informed when there
is a need for their
information to be disclosed, particularly in child abuse procedures following
disclosure. This should be monitored
closely through consultation with
children.
VI. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE
A. Parental guidance (art. 5 )
- The
family structure in Seychelles has changed in recent years, in part due to the
impact of socio-economic changes and the influence
of foreign culture and values
which have altered
the functioning of the family as an institution.
There is growing concern that the family is disintegrating as a unit and primary
provider of care and protection, and more and more individuals and families find
that they cannot cope without outside support.
- The
problems and issues involving families are complex and multifaceted, and to
address them successfully will require a flexible
approach. The Government is
taking steps to adopt a more integrated approach that will involve communities,
NGOs, Churches, etc.,
and will address the problem at the source rather than at
the symptomatic level. The Government, under the Programme of Action for
Children, has identified various areas and programmes designed to strengthen
families as the basic unit of society. Studies on the
causes of family violence
and other key problems affecting families, training of social workers and job
opportunities for women are
all programme areas that have been identified and
are being developed as part of the National Programme of
Action.
- All
children have basic needs for day-to-day care. The preamble to the Convention
states that children “for the full and harmonious
development of [their]
personality, should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of
happiness, love and understanding”.
A number of the articles proceed to
establish the right of every child to have those needs met. The primary
responsibility for
the provision of care clearly rests with a child’s
parents but the Convention explicitly states that childcare is not and should
not be an isolated task. There is an important function for the State in both
supporting parents in their parenting role and in
providing care for children
where, for whatever reason, parents are not able to fulfil that role. The
Children’s Act 1982
is the main legislation addressing the need to
promote and safeguard the welfare of children within the family and to provide
alternative
care when the family is unable to meet the needs of a
child.
B. The right to family life
- The
preamble to the Convention stresses that “the family, as the fundamental
group in society and the natural environment for
the growth and well-being of
all its members and particularly children, should be afforded the necessary
protection and assistance
so that it can assume fully its responsibilities
within the community”, offering a model of partnership between parents and
the State.
1. Parental responsibilities
- Parents’
relationship to their children is clearly defined in terms of responsibilities
and not in terms of parental rights.
Such rights as exist for parents only
exist insofar as they are necessary in order to promote their children’s
welfare.
- The
Children’s Act 1982 introduces the concept of parental rights. However,
it fails to provide any detailed definition of
parental responsibility other
than to describe it as “all the rights and duties, power, responsibilities
and authority ...
which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child
and his property”.
- Revision
of the Act proposes the introduction in legislation of a general statement
setting out the statutory obligations of parenthood.
The amendments proposed
are (a) to counteract the view that parenthood confers rights but no
responsibilities; and (b) to clarify
exactly what those responsibilities
are. There is also the need to enable the law to make it clear that parental
rights were conferred
in order to enable parents to meet their responsibilities
towards children in a manner “consistent with the evolving capacities
of
the child”.
2. Views of the child within families (art. 12)
- Whilst
the Children’s Act 1982 does require social services and courts to have
regard to the wishes and feelings of the child
when decisions in respect of that
child are being made, no comparable requirement exists with regard to decisions
made within the
family. There is no provision within the Children’s Act
in Seychelles for a child to apply to the court for an order relating
to
residence, contact or any other matter relating to parental responsibility.
Parents, by contrast, have an absolute right to apply
for such orders. Without
such provision children cannot challenge decisions made by adults about where
they should live. However,
whilst having the right to apply to the courts for
an order would represent an important step forward for children, it is
clearly
a right which should only be exercised when discussion and negotiation
have failed. It should be a measure of last resort.
- There
is therefore a need to introduce an obligation to listen to children’s
views at an earlier stage if the principle embodied
in article 12 is to have any
real significance in children’s lives. There is also a need to introduce
into law a requirement
that all parents should listen to the views of children
and give them due consideration when taking significant decisions that affect
the child. Such a requirement gives legal recognition to the principle that
children have a right to participate in matters that
affect them, and it is
important that this right be exercised at the earliest possible stage in order
to avoid, where possible, the
need for adversarial proceedings. This is an
issue about which many young people feel very strongly.
- There
should be in law a requirement which states that before a person reaches a major
decision which involves fulfilling parental
responsibility or exercising a
parental right, the person shall, so far as is practicable, ascertain the views
of the child concerned
regarding the decision and shall give due consideration
to those views, taking account of the child’s age and maturity. There
should also be limits on parents’ rights to physically punish their
children, going some way to meet the requirement in article
19 that children in
the care of parents and others should be protected from “all forms of
physical or mental violence”.
(The right of the child to physical and
personal integrity is covered under a separate chapter.)
3. Government assistance in the case of children (art.
18)
- The
responsibility of the State in fully assisting parents with their child-rearing
responsibilities is primarily vested in the Social
Affairs Division of the
Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs. Through the Social Affairs
Division, the Ministry provides counselling,
emergency financial support and
associated assistance on a case-by-case basis. The Ministry is also
responsible for the development
and maintenance of institutions, facilities and
services for the care of children. Attention should be given to the development
of improved services/facilities. The area requiring serious attention is the
placement of children in institutions of care or in
foster homes. The subject
is covered in greater detail under section VI of this report. The
St. Elizabeth Orphanage, the Foyer
de Nazareth and homes run by the Sisters
of Charity are run by nuns. Government provides assistance to these
institutions in the
form of financial support. An allowance
of SR 300 per month is given for each child placed in care
by the State. Standards in such
facilities vary significantly, indicating a
need for Government (MESA) to give effect to the establishment of standards of
care.
- Other
ministries also have services and programmes for children and young people, and
NGOs like CARE and Les Li Viv are playing a
significant and valuable role in
assisting Government to carry out its role as per the Convention. Counselling
services are offered
by various ministries and nongovernmental agencies. The
Ministry of Education and Culture has a pool of school counsellors to provide
counselling and other advisory services to children who are facing any problem.
At district level the Ministry of Local Government,
Youth and Sport has district
youth officers who develop, organize and conduct programmes and services for
young people.
- Social
services tend to focus their services on those families where children are seen
as being at risk of abuse. Thus, the major
share of limited resources available
go to child protection services. It can, however, be argued that putting more
resources into
family support services may well reduce the number of children at
risk. It is worth considering interventions that would promote
parents’
capacities to protect their children themselves rather than the current practice
where social services are more prepared
to protect children from their families
instead. A broader definition of need should be adopted, looking at causes as
well as symptoms
of need and thus recognizing that the problems of many families
are rooted in long-term situations of poverty rather than individual
pathology.
4. Levels of family support
(a) Standards of day-care provision (art. 3, para.
3)
- Day-care
provision for children is central in the range of support services that parents
require in bringing up their children. The
Seychelles Government recognizes the
benefits to children of nursery education. Nursery/crèche education is
part of the formal
education structure. It caters for children of three and a
half to five and a half years old. Enrolment is almost 100 per cent
of that age group. Responsibility for these facilities and services is
primarily that of the Ministry of Education.
- For
many children less than 3 years whose parents are working, the two main forms of
childcare available are child minders and day
nurseries. Child minding, whilst
in many ways a desirable option for very young children, is limited outside the
family in Seychelles.
Day care for children from 3 months to 3 years is
provided primarily by the private sector. Government assists by providing
facilities,
i.e. buildings. It is a fee-paying service, with fees ranging from
SR 300 to SR 600 a month per child. This is considered expensive
for many
low-income families, single parents, and for those families with more than one
child of that age. Data on the number of
children currently in day care are not
available; however, it is recognized that there is a shortage of affordable
facilities. The
Ministry of Local Government, Youth and Sports plans
to build six more day-care centres under the National Plan of Action for
Children.
- The
Ministry of Education and Culture is responsible for setting minimum standards
for day care and monitoring the same. This is
consistent with the requirement
in article 3.3. The Ministry provides clear guidelines as to the standards
required for licensing.
Yet consultative visits of these day-care centres
suggest that monitoring is ad hoc, and in some cases the standards, especially
of safety and competent supervision, are being jeopardized. There is a general
fear that too rigid a definition of standards might
lead to a reduction in the
availability of provision. Thus, from licensing to social services and the
Ministry of Education there
is a flexible approach to registration. Stress is
put on the physical facilities available with less emphasis placed on competence
and other standards. Moreover, day-care provision is seen as a means of gainful
employment for women, and there may be instances
when unemployed women are
encouraged and assisted to open a day-care centre. It is not appropriate to
rely on a reduction of standards
as a means for providing employment to women or
as means for achieving growth in provision. There is traditionally little
commitment
by social services or the Ministry of Education to consulting parents
and children about the type of services needed, and the most
effective ways of
providing them. See also section IV.B.2.
(b) Maternity rights and parental leave
- In
Seychelles statutory employment rights for working parents to enable them to
fulfil responsibilities towards their children are
limited.
- Maternity
leave entitlement is 12 weeks. Given that this leave can commence 2 weeks
before the baby is due, this means that many
mothers will be liable to return to
work when the baby is only 2 months old. There are no childcare or
breastfeeding facilities
at workplaces and therefore the consequences of such a
short leave and early return to work is in most cases detrimental to the best
interests of the child. It inhibits the possibility of the mother continuing to
breastfeed in contravention of article 24.2 (e).
- Since
it is also virtually impossible to find child minding and childcare for a baby
aged 3 months or less, the mother is faced with
the choice of losing
her job or, if she can arrange child minding, separating from her newborn baby
very early. For most women,
especially single mothers, the latter is the only
option available as they are dependent on their earnings.
- To
date there is no recognition in employment law of the responsibilities of
fathers towards their children. There is provision for
mothers to take time off
for antenatal and postnatal appointments, but there is no provision for parents
to choose who will take
time off to care for a baby. This denies fathers the
capacity to exercise their responsibilities in respect of their children in
line
with article 18.1. There is an ongoing debate on paternity leave, though
this would need to take into consideration the cultural
issues relating to the
subject.
(c) Support for families with disabled children
- All
children in Seychelles, whether with a disability or not, are protected and
cared for above all considerations of race or creed.
This brings the
responsibility for providing services to disabled children within the mainstream
of childcare legislation, requiring
social services to minimize the effect of
their disabilities and to give such children the opportunity to lead lives which
are as
normal as possible. This principle recognizes that disabled children are
children first and foremost, and is consistent with the
obligation in article
23.
- Compliance
with article 23 on the rights of disabled children requires that disability be
defined to encompass children with diverse
special needs rather than limiting
consideration to those with the traditionally recognized handicaps. Authorities
in Seychelles
are obliged under the Children’s Act to keep a register of
children with disabilities. This is currently undertaken jointly
and somewhat
haphazardly between social services, the Ministry of Education and
health departments. The National Council for the
Disabled together with
representatives from the Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs, the Ministry
of Health and the Ministry
of Administration and Manpower is organizing a
disability census/household survey. The data collected will be used to
maintain an
accurate register of disabled persons and
periodically updated.
- There
is concern about the very considerable shortfalls between the standards
established for disabled children in article 23, and
actual practice and service
provision on a day-to-day level. Disabled children experience both direct and
indirect discrimination
and continue to be marginalized from much mainstream
activity not by virtue of their disability, but by the failure to create the
necessary opportunities for them to participate.
- Many
ministries provide services for disabled children. The Ministry of Education
provides basic education through the School for
the Exceptional Child for those
children who are not able to join mainstream schools, while the Ministry of
Employment and Social
Affairs provides through the Rehabilitation Centre,
therapeutic treatment, vocational training and manufactures as well as
supplies/aid(s).
- The
Rehabilitation Centre ensures proper assessment of all disabled persons to
determine their medical, social, educational and vocational
abilities in order
to organize and provide appropriate rehabilitation services and ensure their
full integration in the community.
The right to special care
- Authorities
in the fields of education, health and social services in Seychelles should have
a duty under the Children’s Act
to identify children in their area who are
in need, to include children with disabilities, and to provide or make available
services
which might benefit them.
- Appropriate
levels of integrated services can mean that families are better able to care for
their disabled children with reduced
likelihood of breakdown, and that the
quality of life for those children is improved with greater opportunities to
participate in
everyday activities. Thus, the principles of non-discrimination
(art. 2), of non-separation from families (art. 9) and of special
care and help
towards social integration (art. 23) can all be promoted by imaginative and
well-resourced services.
- There
should also be appropriate arrangements for liaison between social services, the
Ministry of Education and the health authorities
in line with recognition of the
advantages of an integrated approach. The general impression is that continuous
assessment is poorly
coordinated and service provision is determined by the
level or resources, not needs. The National Council for the Disabled has
also
stressed the need for much better coordination in the delivery of services to
avoid the fragmented, inefficient and inconsistent
arrangements which currently
characterize much of the assistance which is available.
- There
is a need to introduce legislation requiring social services to assess the
social care needs of children affected by disability
and to publish information
about services for disabled children. Such an approach would clearly enhance
the opportunity for disabled
children to receive special care and assistance
appropriate to the child’s condition and to the circumstances of the
parent
or others caring for the child, as required by article
23.2.
Respite care
- Attendant
care is provided by the State for those families that include a child with
severe disabilities. No respite care is available,
nor is there counselling for
parents or families which include a child with a disability. Respite care is a
vital resource for families
caring for children with disabilities, providing
opportunities for rest and emotional and psychological renewal. It should
reflect
the views of the child as well as those of the caring members of the
family if it is to comply not only with article 23 but also
with article 12 and
the child’s right to participate in decisions that affect them. Social
services, if they are to meet these
obligations, must have the resources and
commitment to develop a range of facilities for respite care including provision
with the
child’s own home, within families, and specialized residential
homes. The type of accommodation provided, its location, and
the opportunity to
return to the same placement and develop relationships with the carers are all
relevant to ensure that the child’s
interests are considered. The
continued problem of lack of provision for suitable respite care is in breach of
the government objectives
under Act 23 of the Convention.
- An
important first step towards changing this situation would be the implementation
of regular comprehensive reviews of care plans.
Without this it is not possible
to ensure compliance with article 3 and the best interests of the child, nor can
proper consideration
be given to article 20.3 and the suitability and continuity
of care necessary for the child.
Social integration
- The
Rehabilitation Centre runs a social rehabilitation programme aimed at preparing
the disabled person, through the development and
restoration of social skills,
for social integration in the family and community. However, serious concerns
exist with regard to
the provision of day care and out-of-school care for
disabled children and those with special needs. There is inadequate
availability
of integrated publicly funded daycare provision for disabled
children. At present, the lack of adequate provision means that disabled
children often have even less access to day care than other children do. In
consequence, not only does the lack of provision mean
that we are not complying
with article 23, but also disabled children are being discriminated against in
contravention of article
2 in the opportunities available to
them.
- Further
difficulties are experienced by parents wish disabled children. Many general
services for children, including leisure, play
and recreational facilities, do
not cater for disabled children, thus both discriminating against those children
in breach of article
2 and placing considerably increased burdens on their
parents. The lack of access for wheelchair users to many public buildings,
public transport systems, shops and restaurants further isolates some children
and parents. The National Council for the Disabled
has written to the Planning
Authority in the Ministry of Community Development for an occupational therapist
to sit on its Planning
Committee and to the Division of Land and Transport
asking them to look into the possibility of putting a sound system on the
traffic
lights to assist blind persons.
- There
is a need for social services to develop strategies to address these issues if
they are to begin to achieve compliance with
the requirements of article 23. At
present, there is often a lack of coordination between different departments,
which means that
no coherent approach exists to ensure that the services needed
by disabled children and their families are developed. There is a
danger that
unless services are properly coordinated, disabled children will continue to
receive an increasingly fragmented service.
- Families
with disabled children, as well as the children themselves, should be consulted
on the types of services they require and
on how best to ensure opportunities
for participation in everyday life. Failure to do so renders it unlikely that
the requirements
of article 23 can be attained. Without a commitment to listen
to them, disabled children are more likely than ablebodied children
to encounter
social isolation, discrimination, and the risk of family breakdown through
stress.
- Research
on causes, types and frequency of disabilities, the availability and efficacy of
existing programmes, and the need for development
and evaluation of services and
support measures has not yet been done. This information is essential if the
Council is to provide
a comprehensive service to the disabled.
- While
the legislative framework does exist for compliance with the relevant rights in
the Convention, it will be necessary to monitor
very closely the implementation
of that legislation. Considerable resources are required to develop and
maintain services such as
respite care, home care, home help, transport and
specialist advice services, without which the principles in the Convention will
remain little more than mere aspirations.
(d) The child’s views in divorce and separation (art.
12)
- Separation
and divorce are common in Seychelles, with potentially adverse effects on
children. There is growing concern over the
number of cases of parents fighting
over custody of their children and where the views of the child and the
“best interest”
principle are not given due
consideration.
- Under
the Children’s Act a court cannot make an order in respect of a child in
divorce proceedings unless it is satisfied that
the order will positively
contribute to the child’s welfare. It was intended to restrict the
making of orders to situations
where it was demonstrably necessary in the
expectation that this would reduce conflict and promote parental agreement and
cooperation.
- In
situations where the parents agree on where the child should live and the level
of contact with the absent parent, a form is submitted
to the court setting out
the details of the proposed arrangements for the children. In the majority of
cases this is accepted and
no further investigation undertaken. In such
uncontested cases there is no opportunity for children to express a view on what
they
wish to happen as is required by article 12, and no opportunity for
children to challenge a decision with which they are unhappy.
- Only
if the parents fail to agree, or if the judge is dissatisfied with the
proposals, will there by any further scrutiny of the case
and the possibility of
a court case to determine what would be in the best interests of the child. The
child in these circumstances
is not normally party to the proceedings and will
not be legally represented. Compliance with article 12 and the right to be
heard
in all relevant proceedings would require that children be made automatic
parties. Children in public law proceedings have this
right, so such a change
would also be consistent with the requirement in article 2 that all the rights
in the Convention must apply
equally to all children.
- There
is a legal provision for a child to apply to court to make an order relating to
his/her welfare. In one particular case the
court approved a child’s
request to grant social services custody over him. But while some parents will
obviously consult
their children and take their wishes into account when
deciding on residence and contact, they are under no duty to do so. It is
therefore probable that children will have decisions imposed on them in which
they have taken no part and with which they are unhappy.
The extent of the
problem is, by its very nature, hidden. It will be necessary to undertake
research to ascertain whether the current
procedures in divorce and separation
cases do adequately protect children’s rights.
- Concern
has been expressed that children’s wishes and feelings are not adequately
catered for in Seychelles private law as required
by article 12. Agencies
dealing with childcare have recognized that this needs to be taken seriously and
revision of the Children’s
Act 1985 provides that parental
responsibilities will include a duty for parents to maintain personal relations
and direct contact
with the child on a regular basis. Thus, it is moving away
from viewing contact as an adult right to a focus on the right of the
child to
contact. Without ultimate access to legal redress the child has no means of
exercising the right to contact or participation
in
the decision-making process. It seems therefore that there is a need for
greater awareness on the part of lawyers of the possibilities
of section 3 and
clearer legal aid rules which make it explicit that children may instruct the
court in order to raise actions on
their own behalf. It is proposed that
children’s right to apply to court should be spelt out in legislation.
Parents should
also be educated on the effects of using children against the
other parent in divorce/separation cases.
C. Separation from parents (art. 9)
1. Provisions for separation
- There
are many provisions under Seychelles law to separate a child from his or her
parents, in circumstances where the child is considered
to be at risk. The
court may separate a child from its parent as a consequence of a sentence for
unlawful behaviour by the child.
A parent/guardian can be divested of
authority over a child under 18 years of age if the parent/guardian is found
guilty of any
offence against that child. The Supreme Court also has power to
make orders of custody on the application of either parent in relation
to a
child who has not yet attained 18 years of age.
2. Information on location of relatives separated from the
child by the State
- There
are no provisions in Seychelles law requiring the State to provide family
members with information concerning the whereabouts
of a person separated from
his/her family due to government intervention. In most cases the information is
given informally and
there are cases where parents have complained when such
information has not been given.
3. Children with parents in prison (art. 9)
- Once
a parent is imprisoned in Seychelles there are substantial difficulties for her
children in maintaining regular or meaningful
contact. Convicted prisoners are
only allowed one visit per month of between half an hour and an hour, which is
totally inadequate
for renewing and sustaining contact with a child. Because of
the location and distance of the prison from the mainland, special
arrangements
have to be made for children to visit. These visits are not possible in the
evenings. Where the child is at school
or the accompanying adult is working,
this means that visits are only possible on the weekends.
- The
physical environment in which visits to parents take place is constraining and
unfriendly, further adding to the stress and discomfort
experienced by children
in such situations. The current prison arrangements fail to take account of the
children’s best interests
(art. 3), of the children’s right to
maintain contact with both parents (art. 9) and of their right not to be
discriminated
against because of the status of a parent (art. 2). In a recent
case, when a prison sentence was unavoidable in respect of a mother,
the
National Council for Children called on the Probation Services to consider the
“best interests” of the children and
to recommend a suspended
sentence with a probation order instead.
- The
court should recognize that young children do experience profound emotional and
psychological effects when separated from, in
particular, their mother, often
with long-term harmful consequences. In most cases, separation from either
parent is traumatic.
Therefore children’s best interests should be
considered when sentencing parents, examining both the practice of imposing
prison sentences on women and reviewing the quality, frequency and resourcing of
prison visits when parents are imprisoned.
D. Family reunification (art. 10)
- The
Constitution guarantees every person freedom of movement. This right is
governed by the Immigration Division and applies to children who need
to be
reunited with a parent living overseas.
E. Recovery of maintenance for the child (art. 27)
1. Legislative provisions
- The
liability of parents for the maintenance of their children has been considered
under section VI.B of this report. Their duty
is to ensure an adequate standard
of living for the child. To this end there are general laws relating to
economic support for a
child under 18 years of age. The Supreme Court in
matters of divorce is empowered to amend maintenance payment to a former wife
or
husband for and on behalf of the children. The Children’s Act 1982 makes
it an offence for a parent to refuse or neglect
to pay maintenance for his or
her children. It also entitles a child to a maximum of 15 per cent of the
parent’s earnings.
The parent has the right to take a maintenance
application to the Family Tribunal or court. In such instances the court or
tribunal
may award a ratio of maintenance substantially more than that
previously awarded.
2. Enforcement of maintenance orders
- Provisions
for the enforcement of maintenance orders are contained in the Children’s
Act. This includes the enforcement of
maintenance orders made overseas, and the
enforcement abroad of maintenance orders made in Seychelles. Such provisions
can be extended
to any Commonwealth country having reciprocal arrangements with
Seychelles.
- An
order for attachment of earnings is only made after default for two consecutive
months. At present a large number of parents do
not take their responsibility
for maintenance seriously, and in practice the laws are not enforced properly.
Contempt of court is
not invoked when a parent fails to turn up to court, and
imprisonment for failure to comply with court orders for payment is rare.
Forty-five per cent of the population live in households headed by women, and
they form the largest proportion of the beneficiaries
of welfare assistance.
Moreover, the procedure for compelling a parent to pay maintenance is often long
and humiliating, and consequently
many women do not pursue this option. It is
therefore recognized that there is a need to review and strengthen existing
provisions
regarding maintenance of children to bring them more into line with
the provisions in the Convention.
F. Children unable to live with their families (art.
20)
- Responsibility
for the care of children who have been removed, separated from or otherwise
deprived of a family environment is vested
in the Division of Social Affairs of
the Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs. Through the Children’s Act
1982, the Ministry
is empowered to make provision for temporary or permanent
care and protection of children, coordinate foster care, assess adoption
applications and administer or supervise care. At present there are a
total of 10 children with 10 foster families, 140 children
in institutions
and 22 children placed in the Youth Regional Treatment Centre
(YRTC).
- In
terms of the Children’s Act (sect. 25 (1)) a child can be declared by the
Children’s Board to be a child in need of care if the child has neither
guardian or parent,
is abandoned, lost, or if he/she is not getting proper care,
accommodation, maintenance and upbringing. In such situations the child
can be
removed from the custody of his or her parent or guardian and placed with foster
parents or in a children’s home. If
the child is not removed from the
custody of the parent or guardian, the situation maybe placed under the
supervision of a probation
officer or a social worker. If necessary, a child
can be removed from the family environment to a temporary place of safety while
the Children’s Board makes an inquiry into the circumstances of the case
(sect. 80 (1)).
- At
present the President’s Village is the only State-run children’s
home in Seychelles. It is a home for children and
young people who are either
orphaned or neglected by their families. This home was opened in 1987. The
original concept for the
President’s Village was based on providing a
family environment for those children. Upon admission each child is assigned
to
a “mother” who provides love, support, protection and security. In
addition. there are three private institutions
which are registered as
children’s homes under the Children’s Act and provide homes for
orphans as well as children in
need of care for other reasons. There is no
provision for residential care on Praslin or La Digue or other islands. The
YRTC caters
for children with social and behavioural problems.
- In
1995 statistics from Social Affairs show that 199 children were found to be
children in need of care in terms of the Children’s
Act. Most of these
cases involved alcohol or drug abuse by the parents, leading to physical and
moral neglect of the children, either
as a direct effect of the substance abuse,
or as an indirect result of other consequences of substances abuse, such as
unemployment.
A few of these children were removed from the family environment
because of sexual abuse.
1. Placements (art. 2)
- In
Seychelles, children and young people who may require compulsory measures of
care are referred to the Children’s Hearings
system. Section 79 of the
Children’s Act sets out very clearly the criteria for decisions. The
Children’s Act 1982 provides under sections 28-32 for foster care, and
foster care is now being seen as the preferred alternative for the placement of
children in need of care. However,
there are few foster families registered
under the Children’s Act Foster Care Regulations (1995). There are
currently a total
of 11 children placed with foster families. The
Children’s Board follows a policy of trying to keep siblings together, and
it is often difficult to find foster parents who are willing to take large
groups of children or to foster those children who have
been abused and thus
need specialized care. When a child is removed from the home environment, a
social worker is assigned to both
the child and the family. However, the
counselling and support role provided by the social worker is limited at present
because
of a severe shortage of social workers.
(a) Suitability
- Whilst
for many children foster care is the most appropriate form of care, this is
certainly not the case for all children. Article
3 requires that choice be
available. It cannot be possible to ensure the best interests of the child
if there are limited options
available for placement. Article 12 insists
that children be able to express a view on all decisions affecting them.
However, unless
there are options available, opportunities for participation are
meaningless. Children and young people have no impact on the decisions
that are
made regarding their placement. It can be argued that a voice for the child is
useless or even dangerous when it is not
accompanied by high standards of
substitute care and a range of options, which enable choices to be
made.
- Residential
care is used as a service of last resort, but it may be better than foster homes
in meeting the needs of some children.
There is a need to review its role in an
integrated system of care for children. The residential homes visited in the
preparation
of this report were concerned with regard to the support that they
were receiving from the authorities. Management and staff felt
isolated and
under scrutiny from the authorities. There is need for improvements in
supervision, procedures for admission, management
of homes and staff training
and to review the role of residential care in an integrated system of care for
children.
(b) Contact with family
- Continued
contact with a child’s family, including parents, siblings, grandparents
and others, is a vital key to the welfare
of children looked after by social
services. There are obviously some children who cannot or would not want to
sustain contact with
their families, but for many it is their own family to whom
they return once they leave accommodation or care and with whom they
maintain
contact throughout their adult lives. Young people in the consultation process
commented on their concerns about lack of
contact with family
members.
- There
is a considerable body of research evidence demonstrating the value of continued
contact with families for children in accommodation
or care. Continued contact
with families has shown to be associated with fewer fostering breakdowns.
However, there is also an
argument for the need to sever contact with a
child’s birth parents in order to achieve security and permanence with
foster
carers. The Children’s Act endorses the need for contact. It is
therefore necessary now to ensure that practice is consistent
with
this.
- There
is no research evidence in Seychelles on placement outcome. It is recommended
that social services improve national childcare
research, which can provide
details on what happens to children in care, and make it possible to begin to
build up pictures of “care
carers” rather than just snapshots
provided by numbers. It is important that there be consistency in monitoring in
order to
allow comparisons to be drawn.
2. Disabled children (art. 23)
- The
principles outlined in article 23 must form the framework within which all
services for disabled children are evaluated and developed.
The recognition in
the Children’s Act that services for disabled children should be
integrated and subject to the same principles
as those for all other children
represents a significant move forward. However, practice has not yet fully
matched the principle.
There are no reliable figures on the number of disabled
children in residential care. Visits to children’s homes revealed
some
mentally disabled children in care. Institutions having children in care do not
seem to have the necessary skills and expertise
to comply with article 20.3 and
article 3.3 which require suitable staff and institutions for the appropriate
care of all children.
Management also needs to take into account the special
factors relating to disability.
3. Reviews (art. 25)
(a) Reviewing duties
- In
Seychelles regulations issued under the Children’s Act impose reviewing
duties on social services for all children whom they
look after. These duties
also apply to children in secure accommodation provided in the YRTC. There are,
however, no obligations
to review cases of children who have been placed in
voluntary children’s homes. Article 2, implies that such unevenness of
provision is unacceptable and that comparable requirements should be introduced
for all children.
(b) Participation in reviews
- The
Children’s Act requires that social services must obtain and take account
of the feelings of a child before making any decisions
in respect of a child
whom they look after. This requirement is consistent with article 12. However,
the reality for many young
people is far from satisfactory in this respect and,
in order for a child to be able to participate effectively in reviews. It is
necessary to undertake a great deal more than merely inviting them to be
present. Young people in care who were interviewed felt
that they were not
necessarily listened to at reviews.
4. Leaving accommodation or care (arts. 20 and 21)
- Most
families retain a strong sense of continuing responsibility and involvement with
their children, not just in childhood but throughout
their lives. A decision to
remove a child from its family must take on board the implications of severing
that child’s contact
with family, possibly forever.
- Both
the preamble and article 9 of the Convention acknowledge the importance of the
security and stability that family life can provide.
Where this is not possible
within the child’s own family, the child is entitled to special care and
protection provided by
the State (art. 20.1). The nature of that protection
must take account of the principle in article 2 that all children have
the right, without discrimination, to all the rights in the Convention. So
social services must ensure that the rights of young people
leaving care - to an
adequate standard of living, to material assistance with housing (art. 27) and
to protection from drug abuse
(art. 33) and sexual exploitation (art. 34) - are
as well safeguarded as they would be for children living within their own
family.
Unless policies are developed and backed up with the necessary
resources, these obligations under the Convention will not be met.
- There
are no readily available statistics on how many children leave the care system
in Seychelles. In practice most continue to
stay even after they are 18 years
of age, the argument being that considerable numbers of these young people would
end up homeless,
on the streets or trapped in a cycle of admissions to
psychiatric hospitals or prison. The President’s Village for abandoned
children or orphans has three children who have reached adulthood and were still
living there because no provision had been made
for when they came of
age.
- Both
policy and practice fall far short of meeting the standards necessary to ensure
that children in public accommodation or care
are provided with adequate support
for when they leave. The President’s Village is already overcrowded, and
unless the question
of what happens to those who have reached adulthood is
addressed the situation will get worse.
- There
is a need to develop after-care policies, and for social services and housing
departments to explore and develop coordinated
policies and criteria for
assessment of housing needs. An essential prerequisite is to ensure that young
people are prepared for
leaving accommodation or care - where housing is
obtainable, loneliness and inability to cope can cause problems for the
youths.
5. Consultation and the evolving capacity of the child (art.
12)
- The
Children’s Act in Seychelles requires that children’s wishes and
feelings be considered where decisions about them
are being made. However,
practice still lags a long way behind the principle. Interviews with management
and children in residential
homes suggest that there is still consistent failure
to involve young people in decisions as broad-ranging as policies within
children’s
homes, placements, contact with families, participation in case
conferences, and development of childcare plans. Many young people
experience a
lack of control over their lives, being placed without consultation and
sometimes without warning, waiting months for
meetings to determine their
future, or attending case conferences hoping to express their views only to find
that decisions have
already been made.
- Detailed
research is required, but informal consultations with young people in care
reveal that they feel marginalized from decisions
that affect their lives. In
fact, some refused to say anything on the matter when interviewed. Serious
application of the principle
requires that social services and voluntary
organizations looking after children:
(a) Ensure that children
have adequate information appropriate to their age with which to form
opinions;
(b) Provide them with genuine opportunities to express their
views and explore options open to them;
(c) Listen to those views and
consider them with respect and sincerity;
(d) Tell children how their
views will be considered;
(e) Let them know the outcome of any decision
and, if that decision is contrary to the child’s wishes, ensure that the
reasons
are fully explained;
(f) Provide children with effective and
accessible avenues of complaint, backed up by access to independent
advocacy.
- It
will be necessary for social services and voluntary organizations to ensure that
policies are introduced which establish the basis
for good practice, and provide
detailed guidelines for practitioners. The process of change should involve
young people directly
- they will necessarily have experience and views about
how agencies fail to involve them and what might be done to put things right.
Effective involvement of young people also calls for a major shift in the
training of social workers, counsellors and other professionals
working with
children, and in the culture of social services towards recognition of the
civil rights of young people being looked
after.
6. Complaints procedures (art. 12)
- Complaint
procedures are considered central to a commitment to respecting children’s
and young people’s right to have
their views heard. Rights are
meaningless if there is no means of redress where they are not properly
respected. The Children’s
Act requires social services in Seychelles to
establish complaint procedures in respect of children defined as being in need.
Children
and adults with an interest in the child must have access to these
procedures. When asked about their complaint procedure, the management
of the
institutions visited admitted to a lack of any formal complaints procedure.
Most children felt that there was no one to whom
they could seriously talk when
things went wrong.
- The
National Council for Children is recognized as the only agency providing an
independent advocacy service, offering advice and
support for children and
others acting on their behalf. Yet NCC’s advocacy role is problematic.
Its collaboration with other
authorities dealing with children is a struggle,
since the general culture in social services is one that sees advocacy as
interference,
rather than as a means of improving services.
- It
is also important that the difficulties faced by disabled children using
complaints procedures are addressed. Disabled children
may be significantly
more vulnerable within the care system to abuse, neglect or inadequate
consultation. If a child has complex
needs or communication difficulties, every
effort should be made to ascertain his or her views. There is also a need to
recognize
that parents have a continuing responsibility for children in care and
will often play a key role in supporting a child wishing to
make a
complaint. The complaint procedure therefore must be accessible to parents and
recognize the concern and commitment that
most parents will sustain for their
child while they are looked after.
G. Adoption (art. 21)
- The
Division of Social Affairs has administrative responsibility for adoption
matters. In Seychelles adoption is governed by the
Children’s Act
(Part V, sects. 33-69). There are four categories of persons who are
eligible to adopt children: (i) a husband
and wife
jointly; (ii) single person (unmarried, divorced, widow or widower);
(iii) a married person acting individually, where the
spouse by ill-health,
physical or mental, is considered incapable of making an application; or (iv) a
married person acting individually,
where the spouses are separated and where
the separation is likely to be permanent. Where a child is orphaned and
has no guardian
or has been abandoned by his parents, the President of
Seychelles on behalf of the Republic may adopt the child (sect. 39). Details
of
adoption are maintained at the Supreme Court.
- There
are a number of rules concerning the age of adoptive parents and the age of the
adoptive child. The basic rule (sect. 36) is
that the adoptive parents must be
over the age of 21, but there is a degree of flexibility where the child to be
adopted is related
to someone in the adoptive family. The child’s parents
or guardian must give consent to adoption. In the case of a child
born to a single mother, only the mother’s consent is required. The
consent of one parent is also sufficient where the other
parent is dead,
mentally incompetent or incarcerated as an habitual criminal, or where one
parent has deserted, neglected or ill-treated
the child (sect. 40 (1) (b)).
Parental consent may be dispensed with altogether where such circumstances apply
to both of the child’s
parents (sect. 39 (1)). Where the child to be
adopted is over the age of 14, the consent of the child must be
obtained.
- All
applications for adoption are considered by the Supreme Court, which may
consider evidence on any matter that it considers relevant
to the adoption. The
court’s primary consideration is whether the proposed adoption will serve
the interests of the child.
The court must satisfy itself that the adoptive
parent or parents are fit and proper persons to be entrusted with the child. An
adoption order shall not be made unless the child is resident in Seychelles. No
order shall be made in relation to a child who is
or has been married (sec. 34
(1)-(7)). An application for an adoption order of a parent or guardian of the
child who is aggrieved
by the refusal to make an adoption order may appeal to
the Court of Appeal. Upon adoption, the child normally receives the
surname
of the adoptive parent and is treated as the natural child (sect. 66 (2)
(v)). The adoptive child does not have the right to inherit
from any relative
of the adoptive parent in the absence of a will to that effect, but retains the
right to inherit from the natural
parents or his/her relatives in the absence of
a will.
- Intercountry
adoption is discouraged in Seychelles. In the case of any child born to a
Seychelles citizen, the applicant (or at least
one of the applicants) for
adoption must be a Seychelles citizen resident in Seychelles. The only
exceptions are where at least
one of the adoptive parents is a Seychellois
citizen and a relative of the child but resides outside the country, or where at
least
one of the adoptive parents is a permanent resident who qualifies for
naturalization as a Seychelles citizen and has in fact already
applied for
naturalization. Ministerial approval is also required in such
cases.
- Having
ratified the Convention, the Government has used the opportunity to propose
amendments to the current adoption legislation
to include greater safeguards for
adopted children, and to ensure that they retain contact with their natural
family. In particular,
it makes explicit article 21 of the Convention, which
sets out very clear standards that should operate with regard to adoption both
within this country and in the context of intercountry adoption. The proposed
amendment of the adoption laws recognizes the right
of the adopted child to
retain family links, and to know his/her true parents. In the Seychelles
context it is considered important
to promote family unity, and it is therefore
proposed that the court be allowed discretion to allow access to natural parents
as
seen fit. This amendment is in compliance with the right to preserve
identify (art. 8) and the right, when separated from family,
to maintain contact
(art. 9).
- It
is acknowledged that there are a number of fostering practices in Seychelles
that are in fact informal adoptions, which occur without
the authority’s
knowledge. In most cases it is the grandmother or another relative who may
“foster” when the mother
of the child is going to work on an
outlying island or overseas or is for other reasons deemed unable to care for
her own child.
For the families involved this would rarely be viewed as an
adoption, but it raises considerable concerns about the child’s
status and
may become very complicated when the natural mother wants her child
back.
- It
is also proposed that the Convention and Children’s Act be used as
guidelines when deciding on these adoption issues. In
order to safeguard the
interests of a newborn baby abandoned at birth it is proposed to compel Ministry
of Health staff or any person
handling unwanted babies at birth to notify the
Director of Social Services immediately.
- It
is noted that 14.5 per cent of births in 1996 were to teenage mothers, a
substantial proportion of whom are aged below 18. In
instances where the
infants are offered for adoption, the law would require the consent of the
mother’s parent. The court
has to take into account the views and best
interest of the child and has the directive to take into account the views of
the teenage
mother. Some attention needs to be given to the latter’s
rights once she attains the age of being able to grant informed consent
herself,
especially in instances where the adoption may be made against her
wishes.
- There
are a number of other rights contained in the Convention which need to be
considered in developing procedures which are genuinely
child-centred. Article
12, article 8, article 9 and article 30 all need to be considered in evaluating
both current and proposed
adoption law.
1. Same-race placements (art. 30)
- There
has been considerable worldwide debate over the past few years relating to the
placement of children for adoption in families
of the same race. The
Children’s Act acknowledges the importance to children of having the
opportunity to be brought up by
a family who can sustain the child’s links
with his/her language, culture and religion. Social services are required, when
making decisions in respect of children, to take account of their religious
persuasion, racial origin and cultural origin. It is certainly the view,
though not written policy, in social services that same-race
policies are
central to good practice. Seychelles is indeed a multicultural society but his
should not mean that we dismiss the
centrality of race and culture to a
child’s identity, especially in the context of intercountry adoption.
Clearly, issues
of race and culture should not override all other considerations
and, in particular, they should not override the views and feelings
of the
child. But it would be helpful if the principle of respect for the
child’s race, culture and language was embedded
in policy as an issue to
be given serious consideration whenever placing children.
2. Information about adoption (art. 8)
- Any
legislation and policy on adoption should recognize the fundamental importance
of informing a child about the adoption and should
recommend that adoption
agencies have a responsibility to advise adoptive parents of the necessity of
explaining this to the child.
It is further recommended that adoptive parents
should be provided with a package of information about the child’s
background,
to be given to the child when he or she is of an age to understand
it. These proposals are entirely consistent with article 8.
Inclusion in
adoption law would assert the principle as a fundamental right of all children,
and would highlight the importance attached
to ensuring that adoptive parents
respect it.
H. Illicit transfer and non-return (art. 11)
- No
instance of illicit transfer has been reported in Seychelles. Although
Seychelles is not a party to any specific international
agreements on the issue
of kidnapping, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Planning and Environment is
abreast of international developments
in this area. Seychelles has not yet
ratified the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in
Respect of Intercountry
Adoption.
I. Abuse and neglect (art. 19) including physical and
psychological
recovery and social integration (art. 39)
- There
is no statutory definition of child abuse in Seychelles to date. The
Children’s Act, section 70, in defining offences
against children, refers
to “assault or ill-treatment of a child; neglecting, abandoning or
exposing a child in a manner likely
to cause him unnecessary suffering, moral
danger or injury”. The Ad Hoc Committee on Child Protection has adopted a
definition
including types of abuse (physical, psychological, sexual). It has
also identified signs of each type of abuse, and a manual of
procedures on child
protection has been prepared. Plans are under way to run training workshops,
and to follow up with public education
programmes aiming to mobilize
communities, families and professionals in an effective child protection system.
There is, however,
concern that current interpretations of this definition and
of the authority’s duties to investigate are not providing adequate
protection from physical violence and neglect.
- The
Seychelles’ Constitution guarantees that certain offences against a child
are punishable by imprisonment under the Penal Code. In addition there are
offences
against a person, which includes the child, for which the perpetrator
may be prosecuted e.g. murder,
incest, assault, other forms of neglect, mistreatment and abuse are covered
by a variety of criminal offences. The Children’s
Act makes it an offence
for any person having custody of a child to assault, ill-treat, neglect or
abandon that child in such a way
that unnecessary suffering, moral danger or
injury to the child’s health is likely to result. It is also an offence
for any
person who is legally liable to maintain a child to fail to provide that
child with adequate food, clothing, lodging and medical
aid (sect. 70).
- Public
and professional concern over child abuse has escalated in the last few years.
The Government and the National Council are
doing much to raise public awareness
of sexual abuse issues. A national workshop was organized in 1995 by the
Ministry of Employment
and Social Affairs to raise public awareness, and
workshops have since been organized, with the help of organizations like the
NSPCC,
to train professionals to identify and rehabilitate sexually abused
children.
- There
have also been significant legal reforms, notably the Child Evidence Act 1995,
in which the Government took important steps to ease the burden of criminal
proceedings for children who are the victims of or witnesses
in cases of
violence and sexual abuse. The Act implements recommendations from the
Committee on Video-Recorded Evidence. The main
change is the use of
pre-recorded video evidence in cases of violent and sexual abuse involving child
witnesses. Admitting video-recorded
interviews in evidence reduces the need for
the child to recount his or her evidence direct to the court. In order to
preserve the
rights of the accused, the child’s account may need to be
tested by cross-examination but the reforms allow that to take place
away from
the courtroom by means of a live television link. It also sweeps away the legal
presumption that children are not competent
witnesses unless proven otherwise.
Now evidence from a child witness is treated in the same way as evidence from an
adult witness.
However law reforms have not provided comprehensive safeguards,
and fall short of implementing the Convention’s principles
and
standards.
- There
is as yet no reliable statistical information on the prevalence of child abuse,
therefore there is no measure of its true extent.
There are, however, an
increasing number of cases being reported - in 1994 there were 63 reported
cases, while 400 cases were reported
in 1995. Of the cases reported in
1994, 32 per cent were of sexual abuse, 8 per cent of rape, 11 per
cent defilement, and 5 per
cent incest. Boys are victims of sexual violence to
a lesser extent, and there are reports of girls as young as 21 months being
victims of sexual abuse. Although somewhat unreliable, these figures suggest
that child abuse and neglect are increasing. A 24-hour
helpline was introduced
in 1995 to receive calls regarding ill-treatment or abuse.
- The
right to physical and personal integrity and to protection from all forms of
interpersonal violence is regarded as a fundamental
human right. However,
legislation, policy, practice and prevailing social attitudes still condone a
high level of violence towards
children. There is no law against physical
punishment of children and courts are currently left to determine what
constitutes “reasonable
chastisement”. In the case of adults,
assaults without consent, however trivial, are technically offences. Thus,
current
legislation, far from providing “special care and
protection” for children, affords them less protection form violence
than
adults.
- There
has been virtually no attempt to measure the extent of forms of violence
experienced by children, in either the home or in institutions
in the
Seychelles. Enforcement in the area of child abuse is also difficult, as there
is a public hesitancy to intrude into “family
matters”. Outside the
home, for example in schools, there has been some progress in limiting physical
punishment and other
humiliating practices, but there is an ongoing debate on
whether to reinstate corporal punishment in schools.
- It
is therefore recommended that Government commission a large-scale “Family
Life Study” with the aim of obtaining information
on: punitive and
non-punitive discipline strategies used by parents; the nature of parental
authority over children; variables associated
with high levels of physical
punishment of children; children’s concepts of parental control
strategies; and in particular
of physical punishment.
- The
first and most urgent task must be to ensure that legislation throughout
Seychelles no longer tolerates physical or mental violence
against children.
Any law reform to ensure that children’s physical integrity is fully
protected should be coupled with information
campaigns encouraging positive
discipline, and should aim to transform attitudes and
practices.
1. Children witnessing violence in the home
- In
recognition of a growing body of evidence demonstrating the effects on children
of witnessing violence in the home, the Government
is putting considerable
effort into raising public awareness on the issue and plans to carry out a study
into the causes of family
violence. Programmes based on legal, health and
community support are also envisaged.
2. Protection of children outside the home
- There
is little reliable evidence on physical and mental violence outside the
home/family and no reports or investigations conducted
on physical and mental
violence in residential institutions. Anecdotal evidence and interviews with
young people, especially young
offenders, suggests that violent and/or
humiliating sanctions or treatment are used in residential institutions, for
example in the
YRTC. These include cell detention, restrictions on
contact/communication with parents and other form of
humiliation.
(a) Protection from physical punishment and bullying in
schools
- There
is a policy of the Ministry of Education and Culture to limit physical
punishment in schools, yet there is now a strong move
to bring back corporal
punishment with a view to reinstating discipline in schools. The Student
Welfare Unit at the MoEC recently
advocated for the effective abolition of
corporal punishment, but has met with strong objections from head teachers and
others from
within and outside the Ministry.
- In
accordance with the Convention, proper legislative safeguards against
inappropriate sanctions are required in all residential and
non-residential
institutions that include children throughout the Seychelles.
- Bullying
is a form of violence that we now know affects many children in schools and
other institutional settings. Recently there
has been growing international
public debate and concern at the levels of bullying in schools, but little
discussion within Seychelles.
Research has shown that children define a wide
range of behaviours to be bullying, from teasing to serious physical harm.
Bullying
behaviours range from teasing to physical assaults, thefts of money or
possessions, or extortion. Children interviewed in residential
institutions in
Seychelles, namely YRTC, reported cases of bullying including physical
assaults involving knives and other dangerous
objects.
(b) Protection from potential abusers
- Much
abuse of children is perpetrated by parents, relatives or adults employed to
care for or treat children. There are particular
concerns over arrangements to
protect disabled children. There is currently no arrangement designed to
prevent potential abusers
gaining access to children through employment or
voluntary work. It is recommended that these should be developed, and should
include
arrangements for checking on possible criminal backgrounds of those who
apply to work with children, as well as proper recruitment
procedures. These
arrangements should apply to all childcare institutions, including child minders
and day nurseries, private or
voluntary playgroups, day nurseries, out of school
clubs and foster carers.
(c) Inspections
- Arrangements
for inspection of institutions where children and young people spend significant
periods of their lives vary widely between
different services (health,
education, and social services). Compliance with article 19 requires that
arrangements for inspection
of all institutions and quasi-institutional settings
(e.g. foster-care and day-care settings) for children should be rationalized.
This will ensure that there are clear and consistent powers and duties on
Government to arrange appropriate inspections at regular
prescribed intervals.
The primary purpose must be to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
Children must have an opportunity
to speak in private to inspectors (also art.
3.2). Article 3.2 of the Convention cannot be fully implemented unless there
are consistent
arrangements for inspection of all the settings where children
may spend significant periods. Current arrangements for inspection
vary in
frequency, and in most cases are not specified at all. It should be made clear
whether reports are publicly available; whether
they specify what aspects of the
institution and of the children should be inspected; and whether inspectors are
required to see
and talk to children.
(d) Reviewing care and treatment
- The
Children’s Act (sect. 899) makes provision for reviews of supervision
requirements, but current practice arrangements for
regular reviews of
children’s care and treatment are in many instances almost non-existent,
and when they do occur are extraordinarily
inconsistent between different
services and institutions.
3. Children involved in prosecution of abusers
- While
there have been significant recent changes, in particular the Child Evidence
Act 1995, to improve the position of child victims and child witnesses
giving evidence, there remain concerns that children’s evidence
is still
given insufficient weight, and that the court experience is unnecessarily
threatening to the child. There are also unacceptable
delays in hearing cases
and a lack of counselling and support in the period before the hearing. All
this conflicts with the obligation
to make the child’s best interests a
primary consideration. There have been cases where hearings have been delayed
for two
years. The Convention emphasizes that the best interests of the child
must be a primary consideration in all matters concerning
them, and that
affected children’s views must be heard and taken seriously. This should
apply to all decisionmaking relating
to prosecution of abusers. Until the
second half of 1995 cases of children involved in prosecution of abusers were
heard in public
and the victims were often intimidated by the lawyers for the
defendant and by the whole process. The Ad Hoc Committee on Child
Protection
discussed the issue at length, and various significant decisions have been taken
to ensure that the best interest of a
child is given primary consideration in
these cases. Hearings are now in chambers and child victims are treated in a
sensitive manner.
Delays in hearings have also been greatly reduced, and the
Chief Justice has himself undertaken to ensure that cases are heard as
soon as
is possible.
4. Educational measures to protect children
- Current
social attitudes condone quite high levels of physical and mental violence
against children in child rearing and childcare.
Legislative changes as
outlined above are essential to implement the Convention’s principles and
standards, and to provide
a clear basis for child protection, prevention of all
forms of violence and for information and public education programmes on
positive
child rearing and caring without violence or
humiliation.
- Such
programmes should provide advice for parents, discouraging physical punishment
and humiliation of children. They should also
issue positive guidance to other
carers, including those working in children’s homes, foster care and day
care with positive
advice on control of often volatile young
people.
5. Child protection procedures and services
- There
is as yet no statutory basis for the maintenance of child protection registers.
There is an ongoing debate on which ministry
should have responsibility for it
and where it should be housed. It has now been agreed that the Ministry of
Employment and Social
Affairs (MESA) should be the Ministry responsible, and
work is under way to agree on the criteria for placing children on the
register.
- Since
the latter part of 1995, MESA and the NCC have been pressing for improved
multiagency collaboration and have organized training
for social workers on
child protection. Child protection procedures are also high on the agenda of
the Ad Hoc Committee on Child
Protection. Chaired by the Minister, it consists
of representation at ministerial and Permanent Secretary level from the
Ministries
of Education and Health; Employment; Social Affairs; the Chief
Justice, the Attorney General, Commissioner of Police and the Chairperson
of the
National Council for Children. A manual of procedures is being finalized. The
involvement of key agencies such as social
services and NCC in interviews
concerning cases of abuse is highly recommended, and representatives from all
agencies should be present
at case conferences and meetings before decisions are
taken.
- It
is strongly recommended that the procedures respect the principles and standards
in the Convention, and essential that the intervention
does not abuse children
further. In particular, monitoring is required to ensure that there is no
discrimination in the administration
of the procedures, that children’s
views are ascertained and taken seriously at all stages, and that their right to
be heard
in any administrative and judicial proceedings is respected. In
addition, it is important that there should be monitoring to determine
children’s views of the appropriateness and effectiveness of interventions
following allegations of child abuse.
6. Physical and psychological recovery and social
reintegration (art. 39)
- Much
violence suffered by children remains currently lawful, and there is therefore
no provision for rehabilitation or support. Where
child abuse is acknowledged
and action taken to remove and/or prosecute abusers, child victims often receive
little appropriate support.
In particular, where there is a prosecution,
therapy and support may be withheld until after the court case - often months or
years
after the event - so as not to contaminate evidence. Ministries and
agencies need to review their capacity to offer physical and
psychological
recovery and rehabilitation of victims, and to develop their services
accordingly.
- The
NCC’s role is to provide this specialist service. Its services include
play therapy and psychotherapy. A family therapist
is being trained with a view
to working with families to avoid breakdown and parental abuse. However, there
are few referrals from
other agencies for NCC services.
- The
Ministries of Education, Health, and Social Services also offer counselling
services, but the level of their competence is of
concern. In recognition of
this, the Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs is negotiating with national
and international organizations
to identify training needs in this area and to
prepare training plans accordingly.
- Compliance
with article 39, the duty to provide rehabilitative care for victims of
maltreatment, requires that all victims of abuse
should be offered appropriate
assessment to determine what measures are needed to promote psychological
recovery and social integration.
Monitoring should ensure that therapy and
other forms of support proposed by assessments are made available to
victims.
J. Concluding remarks and recommendations
- It
is recommended that social services develop a more positive approach to the
promotion of the welfare of children, adopting a broader
emphasis that would
allow support of children within their family and community. This approach
would be more consistent with the
concept of State responsibility for the
provision of services for families.
- Compliance
with the best interests principle in article 3 and with article 9, the right of
children to maintain contact with their
parents, requires
that:
(a) There be a review of sentencing policy of parents,
especially mothers, with consideration of non-custodial
sentences;
(b) Visiting arrangements for children with parents in
custody be reviewed to maintain a high level of contact.
- Compliance
with articles 8 and 9, the right of the child to an identity and to preserve
family relationships, requires that in considering
applications for adoption
orders, social services should determine whether the child’s best
interests would not be more appropriately
met under an alternative order, for
example an inter vivos order.
- Compliance
with article 12 requires that:
(a) The Children’s Act be
amended to introduce a requirement that, in reaching any major decision relating
to the child, parents
are required to ascertain their views and give them due
consideration subject to the age and understanding of the
child;
(b) Children be entitled to automatic party status in cases being
heard by the courts which affect them;
(c) A child should be entitled to
separate legal representation in all proceedings;
(d) A review of
Seychelles court and mediation processes be undertaken, leading to a revised
strategy and new court rules on children
raising actions;
(e) Effective
access to complaints procedures be ensured through consultation with children,
young people and family members;
(f) Access to confidential advocacy
services be ensured for all disabled children and young people in residential
institutions.
- Compliance
with article 12 in respect of children looked after by social services and
voluntary organizations requires that:
(a) Arrangements for
formal reviews of placement and treatment of children, involving the children
themselves, be introduced and
that they be consistent in frequency
and scope;
(b) Guidelines on procedures for consulting with young
people be developed in relation to decisions that affect them as individuals
and
in relation to broader service planning and development;
(c) Staff be
trained to implement and monitor the effectiveness of consultation
procedures;
(d) The Government make clear, through guidance or
preferably legislation, that where children’s views conflict with other
considerations, social services must take into account the principle of the best
interest of the child;
(e) Complaints procedures be established,
promoted and monitored in full consultation with young people. Particular
attention needs
to be given to the access of disabled children to complaints
procedures.
- Compliance
with article 18, the duty of Government to promote the principle of parents
having common responsibility for their children,
requires that the Government
consider:
(a) Increasing the statutory maternity leave period
to promote breastfeeding;
(b) Introducing statutory paternity leave to
promote paternal involvement in the care of children;
(c) Provision of
daycare and/or breastfeeding facilities in the workplace to enable mothers to
continue to breastfeed;
(d) Provision of family assistance to enable
parents to stay home with their children from 0 to 4 years.
- Compliance
with article 19, the right to protection from all forms of physical or mental
violence, requires that:
(a) There be an evaluation of the
extent to which children are currently protected;
(b) The definition of
child abuse used in child protection policy and practice should not suggest that
any form of physical or mental
violence to children is
acceptable;
(c) The concept of “reasonable chastisement” be
replaced by the parental duty to guide and safeguard children according
to the
child’s evolving capacity;
(d) Regulations applying to all
institutions for children include specification of prohibited sanctions,
including physical and mental
violence, in addition to a general prohibition of
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
(e) Primary legislation be
introduced to ensure that any punishment involving physical or mental violence
is unlawful;
(f) Appropriate laws be introduced/amended to ensure
consistent protection of children from physical punishment in all settings.
The
Children’s Act should include regulations prohibiting corporal punishment,
deprivation of food or drink, restriction of
visits or communication with
parents, and others as appropriate;
(g) Child protection service
providers be trained to respond to cases of violence in the home and the effects
of such violence on
children;
(h) Resources be made
available for treatment and rehabilitation for those who have suffered
violence;
(i) Research be undertaken to monitor levels of bullying in
all institutions in Seychelles which include children;
(j) Legislation
oblige responsible authorities in schools and other institutional settings
including children to develop detailed
policies to prevent and respond to
bullying;
(k) All employers of staff whose work involves substantial
unsupervised contact with children be required to follow statutory codes
of
practice on recruitment, induction and supervision of such employees. The codes
would include appropriate mandatory procedures
for police
checks;
(l) All such employers be under a consistent legal duty to
report any conduct suggesting that an employee is not a suitable person
to work
with children;
(m) Statutory arrangements be made for placing and
reviewing children on child protection registers;
(n) Government
departments and other agencies promote and provide information to the public,
parents and those working with children
on respecting children’s right to
physical and personal integrity;
(o) Non-violent conflict resolution be
incorporated in the national curriculum, with a parallel education programme for
parents;
(p) Guidance be offered to institutions and carers on
responding to challenging behaviour, and on the minimum use of force in
restraining
children who are a danger to themselves or others.
- Compliance
with article 20, the requirement to ensure suitable placements for children and
young people, requires that:
(a) Social services commission a
review and integrated survey of current facilities available for compulsory care
of children;
(b) Social services maintain and develop a broad range of
foster and residential provision which promotes the child’s best
interests;
(c) Admission procedures, guidelines and regulations for
State-run and privately run institutions be standardized;
(d) Social
services examine its policy and practice with regard to continuity within the
care system;
(e) Placements be made with due consideration for the
child’s religion, culture, race and language;
(f) Social services
recruit foster carers from all social groups and religious denominations, and
examine the register of foster
parents to this end;
(g) There be an
active commitment to the recruitment of staff and foster carers from all ethnic
and religious groups represented
within the community.
- Compliance
with article 23 and the right of disabled children to appropriate services and
social integration requires that:
(a) Research be carried out
on causes, types and frequency of disabilities and the availability and efficacy
of existing programmes;
(b) Policies address the rights of the disabled
and that procedures be established for evaluating policies and practice to
ensure
that they do not discriminate against disabled children;
(c) The
right of disabled children to special care and assistance be assured through
careful monitoring of coordination between Ministries
of Social Services,
Education and Health and other agencies;
(d) Government collaborate with
NGOs and agencies such as the National Council for the Disabled to develop
strategic plans for the
development of integrated services including day care,
leisure, play and recreation;
(e) Assessments be based on need rather
than on levels of resources available;
(f) Disabled children and their
parents be consulted on the development of facilities and services to ensure
they reflect their needs;
(g) Social services develop a range of care
provisions in order that the wishes and feelings of children in relation to
placements
can be acted on;
(h) A requirement be introduced under the
Children’s Act for childcare plans for all children who are accommodated
in residential
care;
(i) There be a commitment to providing the
resources necessary to ensure that disabled children are not discriminated
against in
their access to services and facilities;
(j) Training be
provided for residential staff and foster carers which develops their skills and
expertise in managing and coping
with disabilities;
(k) All social
services have policies for promoting parental and family contact with children
who are placed in residential care,
including measures of practical support for
travel and childcare.
- Compliance
with article 25 requires that arrangements for formal reviews of placement and
treatment, involving children themselves,
should extend to all children being
accommodated in institutions and quasi-institutional settings throughout the
Seychelles.
- Compliance
with article 12, the provision of genuine opportunities for children to express
their views, and article 25, the right
to periodic review,
requires:
(a) Provision for participation in reviews to be
incorporated into regulations throughout the Seychelles, not simply left to
guidance,
as is currently the case;
(b) Consultation with young people
about how to improve the review structure to make it more
accessible;
(c) Participation in the whole review and not just in the
part where the decision is made;
(d) If a decision is made which runs
counter to the child’s wishes, he or she be made aware of the reasons and
informed about
the complaints procedure and how to use it.
- Compliance
with articles 2 and 20, together with other rights to protection from abuse and
exploitation of young people leaving care,
requires
that:
(a) Social services explore and develop policies to
prepare and assist young people;
(b) Social services provide continuing
help after a young person has left accommodation or care, and be adequately
resourced to achieve
this.
- Compliance
with article 3.1, the duty to ensure that “best interests” of the
child are always a primary consideration,
and article 12, the right of the child
to express a view, requires that:
(a) Authorities involved in
making decisions concerning prosecution for offences of child abuse be bound by
the “best interests”
principle and by the requirement of
article 12 to ensure proper consideration of the child’s
views;
(b) Arrangements for child victims and witnesses to take part in
criminal proceedings be subject to the requirements of these same
articles.
- Compliance
with article 12, the right of the child to express a view, and article 19
require that:
(a) Children’s views on the appropriateness
and effectiveness of interventions following allegations of abuse be
systematically
ascertained;
(b) Systematic monitoring of action taken
following allegations of physical or mental violence against children be
undertaken to
ensure that protection is effective and that the
Convention’s principles are consistently respected.
VII. HEALTH AND WELFARE (art. 24)
- Article
24.1 gives important emphasis to the positive concept of health as “a
state of complete physical, mental and social
well-being and not merely the
absence of disease or infirmity” as defined by the World Health
Organization. Given this widely
accepted definition, it is clear that the state
of health of a country’s children cannot be measured simply by reference
to
mortality and morbidity rates, but must also take into account their general
well-being. Attempts should be made to develop indicators
of positive health,
in particular people’s own perception of their health. This chapter looks
at the rights of children and
young people in relation to some aspects of health
and healthcare services. The Government’s social, economic and
environmental
policies to promote health for all the Seychelles’s children
and young people are also addressed in other sections of this
report.
A. Health and health services
1. Legislative provisions for health and health
services
- There
is a range of legislation governing and providing for health services and
standards in Seychelles: the Public Health Act, the
Pharmacy Act, the Nurses
and Midwives Act, the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Act, and the Mental
Treatment Act. Some of this
legislation is currently under review in line with
the modern challenges facing health service providers, and to better reflect
changes
in policy on and organization of health services in Seychelles. It is
to be noted that the Public Health Act has no provision relating
to infant
nutrition.
2. Key features of health services in Seychelles
- Since
1976 the Seychelles has had a policy of universal health, providing care
services free of charge at the point of use. In 1995,
the Government undertook
a detailed review of national health policies and strategies. At the end of the
process it reaffirmed the
fundamental principle that health is a basic right of
all citizens, and the policy that health-care services should be accessible
to
all Seychellois and provided free of charge at the point of use. Access should
be determined on the basis of need and not the
ability to pay, while services
should be decentralized with emphasis on primary health care. “Health for
All” was reaffirmed
as a national goal and commitment. Intersectoral
action and popular participation were also highlighted as central elements of
the
strategy towards health for all. The Government’s commitment to
health is clearly demonstrated by the fact that, in a period
of economic
stringency and reduction in public spending, the allocation for recurrent
expenditure for the Ministry of Health was
increased by 6.6 per cent
in 1996 over the previous year rising to SR 1,429 (US$ 286) per
capita.
- The
importance of maternal and child health are well recognized and emphasized in
national health policies and strategies. Programmes
aimed at promoting the
health of children and women are well established, and their impact is clearly
evident in the low maternal
and infant mortality rates, virtually universal
immunization coverage and low undernutrition. It is also recognized that
promotion
of maternal and child health requires a multisectoral approach. Close
collaboration exists between the health and education sector;
the school health
programme
being one notable example. Similarly close working relationships exist
between health workers and social workers in the decentralized
community health
services. At central level, a number of inter-ministerial organs exist to
review policy and strategy issues and
facilitate coordination.
- Within
the Ministry of Health child health services are organized at community level
through health centres, small outstations, and
the school-based health
programme. Within the main Victoria Hospital the paediatric unit provides
inpatient and outpatient specialist
care. A small Special Care Baby Unit
attached to the maternity wards offers neonatal care. Maternity services are
provided at the
Victoria Hospital and the small community hospitals at Anse
Royale, Praslin and La Digue. In the community health centres maternal
and
child health services are integrated so that a woman with her child can have
family planning and immunization services during
the same visit. In 1995, a
Youth Health Centre was established within the National Youth
Centre.
- Maternal
and child health services are coordinated and reviewed by the Family Health
Committee, which meets every six weeks. The
DirectorGeneral for Primary Health
Care chairs this committee and its members include health workers in obstetrics,
gynaecology,
family planning and community health services. There are also
representatives from Nutrition and Health Education, the School of
Health
Studies and the Ministry of Education’s Social Education Unit. A
paediatrician is strikingly absent, and there is not
representation from the
public generally or parents specifically.
3. Reducing infant and child mortality (art. 24.2 (a))
- The
reduction in infant mortality over the last two decades has been a major,
wellpublicized achievement of Seychelles (see annex
V). It is recognized that
this has been as much the result of investment and progress in areas such
as women’s education,
housing, sanitation and water supply as in the
health services. The greater reduction in post-neonatal compared to neonatal
mortality
is a reflection of success in controlling environmental factors.
Having attained an infant mortality rate of 13 per 1,000 live births
in 1990,
with 18 out of the 21 infant deaths being in the neonatal period, it
became clear that further reduction in the rate would
require greater
investment in perinatal care. This inevitably involves more intensive, and
expensive, technology and more specialized
personnel. A Special Care Baby Unit
was established next to the maternity wards. While not providing full intensive
neonatal care,
the expertise and facilities available contributed to a further
decline in infant mortality, to reach a low of 8.8 per 1,000 live
births in
1994. The perinatal mortality rate, which takes into account the stillbirths
and early neonatal deaths, stood at 20.0
per 1,000 births in 1995, reaching a
low of 8.8 in 1994. Attention has been focused on the infant mortality
rate, but concerns over
prematurity and issues around delivery and the immediate
aftermath suggest that more attention needs to be paid to perinatal
mortality.
- An
examination of the pattern of mortality is instructive. Approximately one third
of infant deaths occur in the post-neonatal period,
and a large number of the
neonatal deaths are related to septicaemia and prematurity. The unusually large
number of post-neonatal
deaths (9 out of 29 infant deaths) included two
cases relating to neglect at home, one case of alleged infanticide by the father
and one case of dehydration from diarrhoea. No infant has died from dehydration
for well over a decade. It is unclear whether the
infections in the premature
babies were acquired prenatally or post-natally. A rise in the number of
premature births had been observed
over previous years, and early labour may be
related to illegal attempts at abortion. These cases point to the importance of
controlling
illegal abortions, better antenatal care, preventing premature
labour and the strict control of infection in the neonatal unit.
It also
increases the demand for a higher level of neonatal intensive care, which would
be required to save premature babies. Such
a unit is to be established,
although in the immediate future it will not seek to provide resuscitation and
ventilation of the severely
premature.
- The
most common causes of death in children aged between 1 and 5 over the past
five years (1991 to 1995) were infections (septicaemia,
meningitis and
pneumonia) accounting for 11 out of 27 child deaths. Accidental
deaths from drowning (four) and road traffic accidents
(two) were the second
commonest cause. In the same period, among children aged more than five years,
the single most common cause
of death was accidents, including road traffic
accidents and drowning. Among those aged 5-9 years, these causes accounted for
4
out of 11 deaths, and among the 10 to 14-year-olds 9 out of 19 deaths. A
similar picture is seen for those aged 15-19 (8 out of
19 deaths). There were
also three deaths from poisoning among these older adolescents.
- In
1994, there were 49 cases of accidental poisoning in children below the age
of 15 years, and 88 per cent of these occurred in children
below 5
years. The most common substances involved were kerosene, pharmaceutical drugs
and insecticides. This reflects the casual
attitude towards poisonous
substances in the home. Kerosene, for example, is often stored in drink bottles
and kept at floor level
within easy reach of children.
- These
cases of mortality and morbidity point to the need for a more active programme
of prevention of accidents on the road, at home
and in recreational water
activities, involving different sectors and agencies. While it may seem
unsurprising that there are so
many drownings in an island State, it is also
true that a large proportion of children and adults cannot swim. There is no
programme
of swimming and life-saving lessons in the school system, and there is
little consciousness of risks of accidents on the roads.
For example, very few
parents use any form of child seat or restraint in cars. It is also a common
practice, even for outings organized
by the schools, for children to ride in the
back of an open truck.
4. Provision of adequate nutritious food (art. 24.2
(c))
- The
policy of the Ministry of Health is to encourage breastfeeding. To this end,
staff have been sensitized to the issues, and health
education efforts promoting
the benefits and nutritional superiority of breastfeeding have been targeted
towards women before, during
and after pregnancy. Preliminary results from a
recent survey carried out among mothers and staff in the maternity unit show
that,
while breastfeeding is initiated in virtually all cases, 50 per cent of
newborns are also offered a bottle within the immediate post-partum
period and
before discharge from the maternity ward. The promotion of breastfeeding seems
not to be carried out as vigorously as
the policy demands.
- There
are considerable barriers to the acceptance of breastfeeding within the
community. There is a widespread belief that young
mothers do not make good
breastfeeders and that the quality of their milk is inferior. Older women often
give this “advice”
to adolescent mothers, and the negative impact is
not only on the immediate well-being of the baby and mother, but also on the
long-term
attitude and practice of young women. Despite the fact that the
promotion of breast milk substitutes is well regulated under a specific
regulation (modelled closely on the WHOUNICEF code) enacted under the Food Act,
it is a cultural belief that artificial feeds are more nutritious. Moreover,
there is a cultural belief that working women should
not breast feed (the milk
being considered harmful to the infant), and the commonest reason given in the
survey for initiating bottle
feeds early was the preparation of the child for
the mother’s return to work. Maternity leave is currently 12 weeks, but
by
the sixth week after birth, 80 per cent of infants are on bottle feeds. On
the basis of this finding it is argued that an extension
of maternity leave
would not, in itself, assist in promoting breastfeeding. This is, however,
debatable as it is clear that starting
bottle feeds early is related to early
return to work.
- Other
practices also work as disincentives to mothers breastfeeding. For example, one
of the reasons for an unemployed woman receiving
additional financial assistance
under social services is the purchase of infant feeds. There are no nurseries
at places of work
that would enable the continuation of breastfeeding during
working hours, and it is difficult to purchase breast pumps in order to
express
milk. Another reason women do not continue to breastfeed is the negative
attitude often encountered when breastfeeding outside
the home. Mothers often
feel intimidated and victimized when feeding in public places. Lack of support
and appropriate information
both for women who wish to breastfeed and for the
wider public also contribute to a negative attitude towards breastfeeding for a
longer period.
(a) Children’s eating habits
- Overnutrition
is now recognized as a significant problem in Seychelles. Community surveys
have consistently shown that the general
Seychellois diet is rich in protein
(mostly fish), carbohydrates (which includes consumption of carbonated sweetened
drinks) and
fat, and poor in fibre with low consumption of vegetables. Over one
third of adults are considered obese. Cardiovascular diseases
are the leading
cause of death, and account for over 40 per cent of adult mortality. Specific
data on obesity in children are not
available and existing data from the health
centres do not permit such calculations. Since adult cardiovascular diseases
have their
beginnings in childhood and adolescence, both in terms of the
adoption of unhealthy attitudes and practices and in patho-physiological
changes, the promotion of healthy nutritional habits and the prevention of
obesity must start as early as possible.
- The
Unit for the Prevention and Control of Cardiovascular Diseases (UPCCD) has
undertaken a major project with the school system in
which “heart
health” education has been integrated into the primary and secondary
school programme. This project involves
regular sessions run by teachers
focusing on healthy diets, physical exercise and the dangers of cigarette
smoking. The classroom
activities are supplemented by practical activities
carried out by the children at school and at home. The UPCCD provides support
in the form of attractive workbooks (obtained under a collaborative agreement
from the Singapore Ministry of Health) and training
of
teachers.
- As
with other school health programmes, the positive impact is likely to reach a
broader population than the primary target, the child
at school. There is
evidence to show that the children carry home the messages imparted in school
and may have an influence on cooking
practices in the family such as the choice
of cooking oil. To maximize such effects, the UPCCD has sought to run parallel
health
education programmes in the mass media. However, these have been
sporadic rather than sustained.
(b) School meals
- The
standards set by Health are in accordance with the Convention and the Ministry
of Education should not refuse to introduce compulsory
nutritional standards for
school meals.
- All
children in school are entitled to free school meals. Good quality school meals
are not only an important source of nutrition
for children from low-income
families; they are also an important nutritional education tool. Improving the
nutritional quality
of school meals, and making them attractive to children and
young people, will be an education and eventually improve the choice
of food of
good nutritional quality eaten outside the school.
- In
an attempt to reinforce the message within the school system, the Ministry of
Health has invited the education authorities to review
their school meal service
and the school snack shops with the objective of ensuring that the products are
consistent with education
programmes. The response has been positive and a
joint review is currently under way. An important exercise would be the
evaluation
of the impact of these programmes.
5. Provision of clean drinking water and a safe environment
(art. 24.2 (c))
- These
issues are discussed fully in section VII.E.
6. The right to health
(a) The State’s role in promoting health (art.
24.1)
- The
role of the State in promoting article 24.1, is complex because it is not only
the responsibility of the Ministry of Health.
Social, economic and
environmental factors all have a major impact on health and government policy
and planning in these areas has
sometimes failed to acknowledge this. Promoting
health also requires the provision of “preventive” healthcare
services
designed to provide health information and identify potential health
problems as early as possible offering suitable care and advice.
The Ministry
of Health in Seychelles is responsible for ensuring the provision of a range of
services to meet this need, but in
certain areas the standards set by the
Convention for preventive health services are not being met
fully.
(b) Rights for all (art. 2)
- The
Ministry of Health’s mission is that of “Health for All”.
Health services should be accessible to all Seychellois,
and should be based on
need and not ability to pay. Article 24.1 and article 2 calls for research to
analyse whether there are links
between poverty and children’s health.
Studies in other countries have shown that children living in poor families have
higher
rates of infant and child mortality than other children and are more
likely to be diagnosed as suffering from infectious diseases,
slow growth,
dental disease, respiratory problems, accidents and behavioural and emotional
disorders. Poor housing conditions have
also been shown to have an impact on
health. The inadequacy of the physical environment leads to high rates of
illness or accidents
through, for example, faulty electrical wiring, burns,
diseases spread by pests and inadequate sanitation.
(c) Children and young people affected by medical
conditions
- There
are many children and young people whose general state of health is affected by
long-term medical conditions, for whom extra
facilities and services are
required if they are to reach their “highest attainable standard of
health”.
- Facilities
for the treatment of mental illness (art. 24.1). The provision of services
for these children and young people is currently inadequate. The reported
incidence of children’s
mental health problems is increasing, and the
incidence of depression and attempted suicide in children has risen. In the
Seychelles
health system there are no specific services addressing mental health
in children, and no specialized personnel. Children with emotional
or mental
health problems are referred to a clinical psychologist or are cared for by
general paediatricians or psychiatrists. In
general there is a lack of
comprehensive data collection concerning the admission of young people to
residential psychiatric care,
compounded by a lack of appropriate provision for
residential psychiatric care and a lack of medical definitions of behavioural
and
emotional difficulties covering a wide range of conditions. Young people
have found themselves in residential care institutions
owing to a lack of
psychiatric care resources and others have been admitted to adult psychiatric
institutions for lack of an alternative.
- Facilities
and care for disabled children and children with developmental problems
(arts. 24.1 and 23.3). Disabled children and children with
developmental problems should have access to services in “a manner
conducive to the child’s
achieving the fullest possible social integration
and individual development ...” (art. 23.3). The ability of disabled
children
and children with developmental problems to make full use of
health-care services is often restricted by physical and social barriers.
In
recognition of this there are new government guidelines which discuss access for
disabled children. It is also recognized that
a child with disabilities who has
to be admitted to hospital may be more disadvantaged than others and need extra
support and services.
However, there is little monitoring of the implementation
of either of these guidelines and no record of how improvements are being
implemented or whether sufficient resources are available.
- Services
for children with disabilities span health, education and social services and it
is essential that at senior management and
service delivery level services be
planned jointly by the competent agencies in coordination with parents and
disability groups.
But there is often a lack of appropriate services and
coordination to achieve this. For example, there are major problems in
obtaining
specialist services for childhood disability, as resources tend to be
concentrated on overall provision aimed at adults. Specialist
paediatric
services are not available in the community, and the chronic problems of
childhood disability which require high-quality
multidisciplinary services are
not managed through integrated services at the point of delivery. Hampered by
the lack of funding
and training in all disciplines, there is also a lack of
respite care for those caring for disabled children, and sometimes the only
place to go is a hospital, which is not suitable.
- Facilities
for intensive specialist care (art. 6). The Government has a duty to ensure
to the maximum possible the survival and development of the child. Newborn
babies now receive
intensive care primarily because they are born prematurely.
Evidence suggests, that, because of higher levels of expertise and better
resourcing, babies born before 28 weeks’ gestation are most likely to
survive if they are cared for in specialist neonatal
units rather than in units
at general hospitals. This issue is discussed under VII.A.3.
- Facilities
and care for those affected by HIV/AIDS (art. 24.1). HIV and AIDS are an
increasing threat to children and young people in the Seychelles, with to date
one case of a baby who has acquired
HIV from her mother during pregnancy or
childbirth. In addition to those children and young people who are HIV-positive
there are
those who are directly affected by the presence of HIV or AIDS in
close family members, in particular their parents. Ensuring opportunities
for
all these children to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health requires
specialized support and services. At present
there is insufficient support, and
a particular shortage of day-care facilities. There is also an increasing need
for supplementary
care leading to permanent alternative care for children in
families affected by HIV/AIDS, but the structures are not, as yet, in
place to
deal with this.
- The
relatively small numbers of HIV-positive children and the intense academic and
media spotlight on them can lead to conflicts about
confidentiality and informed
consent. Safeguards should be in place to ensure that medical and research
interventions are really
in the best interest of the child concerned, and are
not excessive or intrusive. Children’s rights should also be considered
in the context of private and alternative therapies connected with HIV. There
is little discussion and no guidance on this important
issue. Whilst children
should have access to the full range of health care available, alternative
therapies are usually developed
for adults and with adult needs in
mind.
- Facilities
and care for asthma sufferers (art. 24.1). The incidence of asthma amongst
children and young people has increased rapidly in recent years, and there is
evidence that suggests
that many of those affected do not have access to
appropriate medical treatment for a multitude of reasons. Given the effect of
asthma on holistic child development, their opportunities to achieve the highest
attainable standard of health may be jeopardized.
This situation should be
examined and remedied.
B. Health education and preventive health-care services (art.
24.2 (f))
1. Immunization
- Immunization
programmes in the Seychelles have been successful, but there are still some
children who consistently miss out. The
immunization schedule has been expanded
in the past two years to include vaccines against hepatitis B and yellow fever.
Recent figures
indicate good immunization coverage against key childhood
diseases (see annex VI), and the last evaluation (based on health centre
records
and data) showed very high coverage rates. However, it is also necessary to
define the populations that are not being covered.
A systematic evaluation of
the immunization programme is also necessary in order to confirm the rates
reported, and to identify
means of reaching those few children not being fully
immunized.
2. Health surveillance
- Over
the past five years there has been a perceptible change in the vision of child
development. Where previously childhealth services
were concerned primarily
with immunization and the monitoring of physical growth and development, the
Ministry of Health has now
developed a wider definition of child development to
encompass mental and social development. This change has been stimulated in
part by the Child Development Study, a research project being conducted jointly
by the Ministry of Health and the University of Rochester,
United States of
America. This study, launched in the late 1980s, aims to define norms for
Seychellois children’s development,
and to determine and measure any
possible effects on infant and child development of intrauterine exposure to
naturally occurring
low levels of methyl mercury from the maternal fish diet.
Results so far confirm that Seychellois children develop rapidly physically,
whereas cognitive development, while generally comparable to a standard
population, needs more attention. This confirms the common
belief that, in the
home, physical stimulation is well catered for, but that parents are less aware
of the importance of mental stimulation.
- Through
the study, the nurses running maternal and child health services have been
sensitized to the wider aspects of child development.
A number of nurses and
programme directors have been training in Rochester, and new diagnostic and
assessment scales have been introduced
in the programme. Data from the study
has generated Seychelles-specific growth curves. With further training and
programme development,
it is expected that a more holistic and systematic
approach to child development services will evolve over the next few years. A
child development centre with a multidisciplinary team including paediatrician,
psychologist, child education specialist, nurse,
social worker and
physiotherapist, will be set up for diagnosis, assessment and
intervention.
- At
present, there is a degree of frustration on the part of mother and child health
(MCH) nurses who are trained in detecting children
with late development but
have no agency to which to refer the children for further evaluation and
intervention. There is also inadequate
coordination between the agencies which
should facilitate, even with the limited expertise and services available, a
more organized
service for these children. The proposed centre will enable the
entire environment of the child to be considered, and whatever intervention
is
offered will involve parents, home conditions, education and all aspects of
health.
3. The school health service
- The
school-based health programme is operated from community health centres and
includes periodic evaluation of children in the second
year of crèche.
Primary 4, and Secondary 1 and 4. The programme aims to promote health
through educational activities and
the early detection of abnormalities and
illnesses. It is also aimed at reinforcing health-related components of the
school programme.
- As
children enter school the school health services are involved in preventive
health care. School nurses, where they are appointed,
are involved in health
promotion and screening children for health problems. School nurses can play an
important part in providing
a school
health profile as well as carrying out health-care services with children and
young people. The school dental programme is run parallel
to the school health
programme by a different set of operators, with no coordination. While it is no
doubt true that they cover
different areas, there are important common issues
such as nutrition in which the dental health worker and the nurses should
collaborate
with the teachers to ensure an integrated common programme.
Nevertheless, the dental programme has scored important successes in
changing
attitudes towards dental care and the level of dental caries in children. A
survey has recently been completed on children
and the results will be available
shortly.
- School
nurses can play an important part in supporting disabled children and the
teachers. Evidence suggests that some teachers are
unaware of the role of the
school nurse and - as a results - do not use him/her for information about
children with disabilities.
There is a need to train school health nurses in
order to cater for the special needs of children and young people. These
include
special skills in communication, sexual health and counselling as well
as teambuilding that will promote work with social and welfare
workers,
teachers, parents and community leaders. Thus, in principle, there should be
close collaboration between health workers
and teachers. Unfortunately, the
general perception at operational level is that the school health programme
belongs to the Ministry
of Health and the school merely provides the venue for
the health workers to see children.
- This
lack of horizontal integration is also evident between health programmes. The
control of intestinal parasites programme is an
example of successful
integration. This programme, supported by WHO, aims at reducing the rate and
intensity of intestinal parasites
among schoolchildren, and is run jointly by
health workers and teachers. It involves the systematic treatment with a single
dose
of mebendazole of all schoolchildren, and periodic stool examination in a
sample of school children. Only one person is assigned
specifically to this
programme because it operates through the existing network of health centres and
schools.
- Since
its inception in 1993, the prevalence of ascaris infection has been reduced
from 17.7 per cent to 3.7 per cent; Trichuris from
53.3 per cent to 21.5
per cent; and hookworm from 6.3 per cent to 1.6 per cent. Similarly impressive
reductions in the intensity
of infection have been recorded. There has also
been a decline in E. histolytica and Giardia, although the
chemotherapy is ineffective against protozoa. This suggests that the health
education component of the programme is
having an effect in reducing
transmission. Of interest also is the fact that there is a parallel reduction
in infection in adults.
The programme utilizes the rate of infection in
pregnant women to monitor the situation in a non-target population. In the same
period there has been a 70 per cent reduction in the cumulative prevalence of
intestinal infections among pregnant women. A current
initiative of the
Government to eliminate pit latrines will assist further in the control of
intestinal parasites.
4. Health information and support (art. 24.2 (e))
- There
are various government-funded departments and agencies involved in health
education in Seychelles. Successful health promotion
depends on coordination
and multidisciplinary teamwork but at present this approach is not universally
followed. Close collaboration
and alliances can work on certain projects, but
often depends on the people involved and whether they get along and work well
together.
- Much
health information is directed at encouraging children and young people to adopt
healthy lifestyles, or urging them and their
parents or carers to adopt safety
measures. However, this information is not always appropriate, and there is
often insufficient
support available to parents. Children and young people
should be involved in the design and implementation of health promotion
programmes, which should include issues identified as important by them. Safety
information and advice should be drawn up in conjunction
with the people whom it
is designed to help to ensure that it is useful and relevant to their way of
life and to their social and
economic circumstances.
- Health
promotion targeting parents should start as early as antenatal visits and
continue through postnatal and MCH. There should
be provision for education,
sensitization and motivation of parents for adequate and appropriate utilization
of these services.
5. Family planning education and services (art. 24.2
(f))
- Appropriate,
effective contraceptive and family planning information and sex education is
vital to the health of children and young
people. Effective, family planning
services for parents are vital for the health of their children. But the fact
that an estimated
50 per cent of all women attending the antenatal services did
not plan their pregnancy, coupled with the high level of teenage pregnancies,
suggests that family planning services and advice may be inadequate. At present
young women aged 15 to 17 do not have access to
contraceptives without parental
consent and those under 15 have no access at all.
- At
midyear in 1996, the contraceptive prevalence rate was estimated at 60 per cent,
just short of the target of 64 per cent set for
1996. This figure does not take
into account the clients who may seek their family planning care from private
doctors or who may
obtain condoms in the pharmacies. The recently introduced
maternal and child health team in Victoria Hospital is aimed at ensuring
better
follow-up of women discharged after delivery and abortions. Among other things,
it is hoped that this programme will prevent
subsequent unwanted
pregnancies.
- A
recent review of the procedures for surgical sterilization removed all parity
and age criteria. All cases have to be considered
by a medical board. There
has been a decline in the number of sterilizations performed, and the matter
should be carefully monitored
to ensure that women for whom this is an
appropriate method do have access to the service. Male sterilization remains
rare.
- Access
to termination of pregnancy operates under the Termination of Pregnancy
Act 1994, which allows for termination up to the twelfth
week of gestation
on health grounds as determined by three medical practitioners. All
terminations are carried out in Victoria Hospital.
Over the past two years
gynaecologists have expressed increasing concern over what they see as an
increase in illegal abortions.
Actual statistics from the hospital do not
indicate an increase in septic abortions, although the figures, averaging 40
cases per
year, are alarming enough (see annex VII). Relatively few illegal
induced abortions are recorded since not all will present as septic
cases, while
not all septic abortions are induced.
6. Adolescent reproductive health
- Current
family planning and contraceptive services and facilities do not appear to meet
the needs of young people. The Seychelles
has a very high rate of teenage
pregnancy compared with other countries. In 1995, there were 218 births by
girls aged less than
20 years. This represented 13.8 per cent of all births.
The situation has changed little since 1990, when the figures were 220
and 13.6
per cent. The age-specific fertility rate (58.4 per 1,000 in 1995 and 61 in
1990 for the 15-19 age group) has not been
reduced to the target set for 1996
(<55/1,000). Teenage mothers often have less information and social and
economic support available
to them than other mothers, and there are few
services designed specifically to meet their needs. This may be an important
factor
in the high rate of infant mortality and small-for-date babies born to
these young women. The percentage of adolescent termination
of pregnancy cases
approved by the board has also increased in recent years (see annex
VIII).
- Pregnancy
during adolescence in Seychelles usually entails an interruption, if not a
complete termination, of formal schooling. There
is awareness of the negative
impact such a loss may have on the girl, her child, her family and, ultimately,
to the community. The
education system is currently reviewing its policy on the
continuation of schooling during pregnancy and resumption after delivery,
and in
the recent past has relaxed the practice of outright expulsion. A national
consensus on the support that various sectors
need to provide for the girl and
her child is required. Both policies and practice must also take into account
the responsibilities
and needs of the father.
- The
youth health centre was launched in 1995 and is integrated in a national youth
centre. Even prior to the centre being established,
the programme had been
active in working through the educational establishments with the training and
deployment of peer educators
selected from among the students. The programme
aims to mobilize the efforts of young people, and provide them the support to
make
positive life choices with regard in particular to sexuality and substance
abuse. Young persons play an active role in the design
and implementation of
the programmes. The centre provides a range of services, including counselling
to youths in and out of school,
and hopes to expand the range of services beyond
information, education and basic counselling into areas such as support for
adolescent
mothers, their babies and partners.
- There
is a concern about the legality of providing contraceptive services to a person
below the age of 18 without parental consent,
and to a girl under the age of 15
years since it is illegal to have sex with a girl below that age. With the high
number of teenagers
having babies and abortions, there is clearly a need for
improved contraceptive services as part of a strategy for the prevention
of
pregnancy. There has been a decline in the number of adolescents registered (at
midyear) as regular family planning attendees
(489 in 1994, 453 in 1995 and 433
in 1996). Most of these regular users are older adolescents. The dilemma is
more acute when dealing
with those under the age of 15. Health workers may
circumvent these difficulties by prescribing on medical grounds, using the
argument
that it is in line with clinical responsibility to protect the health
of the girl. The question of whether they should report such
cases to a
competent authority remains, since technically the young adolescent is “at
risk” of sexual abuse. Recently,
a working group has been allocated the
task of analysing these and other issues and making recommendations to
Government on changes
to legislative or administrative measures that will remove
the barriers to appropriate reproductive health care.
- To
be effective sex education must start at a very early age. Experience in other
countries shows that sex and HIV/AIDS education
do not promote earlier or
increased sexual activity in young people, a widely held belief in Seychelles
which has a powerful effect
on government policy towards sex education. In
contrast, evidence shows that sex and AIDS education may lead to an increased
use
of safer sex practices and in some cases to later introduction to sexual
activity. Careful training of teachers is required if there
is to be good
quality sex education about HIV/AIDS. Misunderstanding about the nature and
transmission of HIV and AIDS may result
in those who are HIV-positive being
stigmatized if their condition is known. The open discussion of HIV in the
classroom may confuse
or distress children, and therefore teachers should be
trained and resources made available to ensure that this subject matter is
approached sensitively.
- Opportunities
do not exist for the right of children and young people to express their views
on any matter concerning them, or for
involving children in decisions about
their own health care. At present the involvement of children in health
surveillance is as
passive recipients. Steps should be taken to involve them
more actively. Health professionals should be supplying children with
comprehensive, comprehensible information as well as involving them in decisions
about their own individual health needs.
C. Other healthrelated provisions in the Convention
1. Care and treatment of illness
- Children
and young people have an independent right to facilities for the treatment of
illness and rehabilitation of health. In Seychelles
the aim of the healthcare
services for most children and young people who are ill or need long-term care
and support is for them
to spend as short a time as possible in hospital. This
is in line with article 24.2 (b) and the Convention’s emphasis on primary
health care and prevention and in line with article 9 on minimum separation of
children from their parents. The paediatric ward
has 31 beds and records a bed
occupancy rate of around 75 per cent. The leading causes of admission to the
paediatric unit are gastroenteritis,
acute respiratory infections and bronchial
asthma, the order of importance varying during the year as would be expected.
Surgical
patients are also admitted in the same ward. While in terms of numbers
the ward manages to cope, the case mix does not permit the
optimal organization
of nursing care or quality assurance in areas such as infection
control.
2. The welfare principle in healthcare provision (art.
3.1)
- Efficient,
effective and child-centred services for sick children and young people depend
as much on having a clear and consistent
strategy for providing services as on
having a strategy for delivering them. It is widely accepted that the best
possible health
care for children and young people involves well coordinated
services between hospital, community and general practice. Coordination
is
important because it can help ensure that children and their families understand
the role of the different services involved,
know how to make the best use of
available services, receive consistent information, and experience continuity of
care and services.
Those involved in identifying needs, planning provision and
delivering children’s health services are encouraged to provide
a
comprehensive, coordinated range of health services for children and young
people.
3. The right to be informed and express a view (art.
12)
- Seychelles
law is consistent with article 12 to some extent in relation to children’s
and young people’s independent rights
to consent and refuse consent to
treatment. In chapter IV of the Constitution a child or minor means an
individual who has not attained the age of 18. A similar provision appears in
the Children’s Act.
Implementing article 12 fully means that in assessing
a child’s competence to be involved in decisions about his/her medical
care, the child’s views on competence must be considered. Children learn
to care for themselves when encouraged to make choices
from an early age, but
competence develops unevenly depending on children’s abilities,
experience, confidence, and relationships
with their parents. The
ability of children to make decisions about their own treatment depends not
only on their capacity, but
also on how much they are informed and respected by
the adults involved. It must also include the right of children to comment
on
services and if necessary complain about them.
- There
is little information or guidance on how to include the views of children and
young people in any aspect of health services
relating to them. Research
conducted into “consumer” views of care of children in hospital has
focused exclusively on
parents, with few direct interviews with children
themselves.
4. The right to agreed standards of health care (art.
3.3)
- The
National Health Policy states that quality assurance in health requires the use
of evaluation and research methods to check on
activities and services to see
whether they meet standards that have been set. If standards for health care
are to be set and maintained,
monitoring is crucial. Monitoring of national
healthcare provision has been on the basis of “inputs”; for example,
the
number of people seen, the number of treatments given and hours spent in
consultation. What is now required is monitoring of “outcomes”
including the effects of treatments and interventions. This type of monitoring
is more in line with the spirit of the Convention.
In designing monitoring
systems it is important that there be coordination nationally of both
measurement and technique, so that
realistic comparisons can be made. This will
also allow for careful monitoring of the implementation of the Convention
throughout
the Seychelles. There is no organized play or systematic education
for children on longer-term stays in hospital.
5. The right of children not to be separated from their
parents or carers (art. 9)
- Parents
are encouraged to stay with children, although facilities and space are limited.
For employed parents and carers there is
a statutory right to time off to be
with a sick child. The Employment Act provides for leave of absence for 14 days
in any 12-month
period for the purpose of fulfilling any civic duties as may be
approved by the Minister. This covers time off to be with a sick
child, if
supported by a medical certificate.
D. An adequate standard of living (art. 27)
- The
wording of article 27 makes clear that poverty can no longer be considered as an
absolute concept, measured through minimum standards
based on biological needs
for food, water and shelter. It must take account of the needs of the child
relative to standards which
are considered to be acceptable within that
society.
- An
evaluation of compliance with article 27 requires an analysis of the experience
of children which takes as its starting point the
interaction between family
income, family needs and the fulfilment of all the social rights in the
Convention. It must also be considered
in the context of article
4.
- A
series of indicators may be used, against which “a standard of living
adequate for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual,
moral and social
development” can be tested in the context of that poverty. Each of the
indicators represents standards that
are embodied in the Convention, and are
significant factors in contributing to a child’s overall well-being and
development.
Failure to meet one or all of these standards provides an
indication that the child’s proper development is likely to be adversely
affected. Indicators that are used are as follows:
(a) The
ability to afford basic necessities including a diet necessary for healthy
development, the cost of fuel and water supply
(art. 27.1 and 2, art.
26);
(b) Access to adequate housing (art. 27.3);
(c) Access to
health care and to an environment which is not detrimental to health (art.
24);
(d) Access to family life (art. 9);
(e) Freedom from
discriminatory factors inhibiting access to an adequate standard of living (art.
2);
(f) An environment in which safe play and recreational opportunities
exist (art. 31);
(g) Opportunities to participate in social activities
accepted as part of childhood - opportunities for citizenship (art.
27.1).
1. Social security benefits and assistance (art. 26)
- The
social security system in Seychelles is designed to ensure that every member of
society is protected against both losses of income
and extra needs whether
through old age, disability, illness, unemployment or single parenthood. There
are a complex range of interrelated
benefits, some of which exist to compensate
for loss of earnings, some in partial recognition of particular costs such as
those associated
with disability or children, and others designed to prevent
parents and children falling below a minimum prescribed income level
whether in or out of work. Children are specifically targeted through
means-tested allowances. In theory the structures exist to
provide every child,
whether or not the parents are working with an adequate standard of living to
ensure their proper development.
Annex IX provides an overview of payments
under social security from 1991 to 1995.
- In
a report on poverty prepared by the World Bank in 1994 it was suggested that in
1992 an estimated 19 per cent of households were
below the basic poverty line of
SR 900 per month (1992 prices), with an estimated 7 per cent of households below
SR 500 a month.
Using the definition of poverty used by the World Bank report
one finds that 26 per cent of households were living in poverty.
However the
validity of these figures has since been questioned, and there is an ongoing
attempt to find an agreed definition of
poverty in Seychelles, and a proposal
for a study to establish whether poverty exists in Seychelles and if so, to what
extent.
- Poverty
is not evenly distributed within Seychelles, and there is no estimate as to the
numbers of children living in poverty. The
suggested growth in the number of
households considered to be poor may be attributed to three underlying factors.
The most important
is the increase in the numbers of unemployed, and
particularly in the number of people who are longterm unemployed (defined as out
of work for over one year), as it is generally recognized that child poverty is
closely linked with both the extent and duration
of unemployment. Secondly,
there has been an increase in the number of single-parent families, with a
correlation between child
poverty and single parenthood. Single parents may
face considerable difficulties in moving into the labour market because of a
combination
of low skills resulting in low pay and lack of affordable childcare.
They are therefore trapped into continued dependency on benefits,
often for many
years, with no routes open to them to lift themselves out of poverty. And
thirdly, the existence of State benefits
and other welfare provision has in
general failed to protect many children and their parents from the worst effects
of rapid economic
and social changes.
2. Ability to afford basic necessities (arts. 27.1 and
26)
(a) Social security benefit levels
- It
is necessary for the Government to take appropriate measures to assist parents
and others responsible for the child to implement
this right and in case of need
provide material assistance and support programmes, particularly with regard to
nutrition and clothing
(art. 27.3). The social security system in Seychelles is
clearly intended to achieve this, but evidence demonstrates that for many
children living on benefits the reality is a level of deprivation which denies
them the opportunity for proper development which
should be their right under
article 27.
- The
Government of Seychelles recognizes that the role of social security benefits in
protecting family income should not be addressed
in isolation from policies
which give parents more opportunities to earn adequate incomes through paid
employment. The Unemployment
Relief Scheme (URS) provides employment for some
women. Compliance with article 27 in the context of the obligations imposed by
article 4 requires a fundamental examination of the principles which underpin
the social security system, and a review of its operation
in the context of
changing patterns of employment and family life.
(b) Children with disabilities
- Provision
of benefits to disabled children and their families need to be considered in the
light of the obligations of articles 2
and 23. In Seychelles the State provides
carers for persons with severe disabilities and persons with disabilities
receive assistance
and equipment/aids free of charge.
- Parents
with disabled children play an important role in maintaining their home life and
sending their children to school; this should
be encouraged. Through efforts
made by the National Council for the Disabled and Parents of the Disabled
Association of Seychelles,
parents with disabled children have come to increase
their role in providing daily living skills to their children at home. This
should also be encouraged. If the Government is to continue providing equipment
and mobility aids free of charge to disabled children,
this could be handled by
the National Council for the Disabled, in collaboration with the Rehabilitation
Centre through the Division
of Social Affairs in the Ministry.
(c) Social security and invalidity benefits
- The
State provides an invalidity benefit to those referred by the Medical Board, and
provides income support to persons who, owing
to disability or disabilityrelated
factors, have been put, temporarily or permanently, out of work. The State
ensures the provision
of income support to individuals (carers) who undertake
the care of a person with a disability. But it should be noted that a mother
does not receive any social benefits while her disabled child is under the age
of 15. The cost of special meals, diapers, creams,
etc. is borne by the parent
if they can afford it.
- The
quality of life of disabled children is obviously heavily influenced by their
family’s level of income, but also of critical
importance is the range of
support services available to them and their families. Assistance with
transport and its associated costs,
the availability of integrated play and
social activities, physical access to buildings, respite care and help with aids
and adaptations
to the home are all essential components of the support
necessary to ensure that disabled children are not denied the same opportunities
as other children to achieve a standard of living necessary for their
development.
- The
ability to assess compliance with articles 23 and 27 in respect of disabled
children requires research into the experience of
disabled children and their
families of the quality and availability of help and support offered. Without
this research, it is not
possible to evaluate whether the provision that is now
available is adequate to ensure compliance with the rights of disabled children
to an adequate standard of living that ensures their active participation in the
community.
(d) 16- and 17-year-olds and income support
- Every
young person who is not at school or able to find employment is absorbed by a
youth training scheme and given a training allowance
(see section IX.B). Many
young people, for example those with special needs, young pregnant women and
those with emotional and behavioural
difficulties, are not able to take
advantage of schemes that are available because the schemes are not tailored to
their particular
circumstances. These young people are left without an income
of any kind, in clear breach of article 26. Many of them are unsupported
by
their families, and do not have an adequate standard of living.
- In
Seychelles young people remain at home until such time as they set up their own
home. For many young people their parents cannot
afford to keep them at home if
they have no income with which to support themselves. There is no provision for
young people to leave
home and be independent unless they are moving to live
with somebody. Young single persons have no priority for a house or flat
unless
they have a child. Anecdotal evidence from organizations working with young
people indicates that many young people who need
help are not getting it.
Problems range from a lack of information, misleading advice from officials, the
complexity of the system,
societal attitudes, and the lack of advocacy
available. This situation raises fundamental questions as to whether the
Government
can be said to be achieving the right embodied in article
26.
- Current
government policy for 16- and 17-year-olds fails to achieve a standard of living
adequate for property development. It is
commonly presented that the young
unemployed are those who are too “choosy”, who would not take a job
considered to be
below their expectation. Notwithstanding, it can be argued
that many young people are without income at all. Those that have some
income
may find that it is so low that they cannot afford to leave home, falling maybe
into debt, petty crime, or commercial sexual
exploitation.
(e) Maintenance of children
- The
Children’s Act 1982 gives power to social services to be responsible for
the collection and pursuit of maintenance. The
principle of encouraging
parental responsibility for children is clearly consistent with article 27, and
there is concern at the
numbers of absent parents who are not paying maintenance
despite legislation.
- At
present a large number of putative fathers do not take their responsibilities
for maintaining their children seriously. This is
illustrated by the high
percentage of female-headed households receiving welfare assistance. The
procedure to compel a father to
maintain a child is currently long and often
humiliating to the mother. This discourages many women from pursuing the issue
of maintenance.
It is also worth noting that the courts do not enforce the laws
vigorously, and contempt of court is not invoked even when the putative
father
repeatedly fails to turn up to court.
3. Access to adequate housing (art. 27.1 and 3)
- Access
to adequate housing is a prerequisite for the healthy development of a child.
Without it, a child’s right of access
to education, health and health care
and social development are at risk of being seriously undermined.
Seychelles’ Constitution guarantees “the right of every citizen to
adequate and decent shelter conducive to health and well-being and undertakes
either
directly through or with the cooperation of public and private
organizations to facilitate the effective realization of this right”
(art.
34). In the last decade there has been a clear government policy on housing
which recognizes the need to address housing within
a wider social context than
merely the provision of physical shelter. It recognizes, among other things,
the need to provide a suitable
environment for the physical, emotional and
social development of children, the empowering of women and the needs of
equitable access
to acceptable housing conditions directed towards increasing
home ownership coupled with improvement in the provision of lowcost
accommodation.
- Government
has assisted housing development as part of the strategy. But although
considerable achievements have been recorded in
the housing sector, Government
cannot meet the demand on its own. Consequently, the new approach is to
assist with favourable loans,
to build houses, and to provide land and
infrastructure. Over the past four years a total of 1,410 housing
units have been built
by or with funding from the Seychelles Housing Development
Corporation. The plan is to build 5,000 units over the next five years.
Government has also introduced incentives to the private sector resulting in
increased activity in construction of houses by that
sector. This was made
possible by incentives introduced by Government.
- There
is also a move to encourage house financing through private savings rather than
public funds. In line with this the Seychelles
Housing Development Corporation
increased its lending rates from 1 per cent, 3 per cent and 6 per cent in 1994
(depending on income)
to 3 per cent, 5 per cent and 9 per cent in
1995. It is reported that the problem of arrears on loan repayments has grown
significantly
during the 1990’s. The unemployed receive income support to
help with housing loan repayments and rent, but many low-income
working families
faced with increased interest repayments have found great difficulties in coping
with an already stretched budget.
- Housing
standards (art. 27.3). The quality of houses in Seychelles is considered to
be high, providing the necessary facilities that enhance good family life.
Most
are adequate for current family sizes, allow for the necessary privacy for
family members including growing children and adolescents,
and have adequate
land for a small home garden. Access to housing is based on needs as determined
by the Ministry of Community Development
in consultation with local government.
The number of children in the family is one of the criteria used in the
selection process.
- Substandard
housing estates have been demolished and occupants re-housed. There are no
accurate figures available in Seychelles to
indicate how many children are
living in homes which are in poor condition, but it is evident that there are
significant numbers
living in poorly maintained, overcrowded accommodation. The
problem of overcrowding is of concern in Seychelles as it has significant
implications for children. Children living in these circumstances are not being
provided with the “conditions of living necessary
for their
development” as required in article 27.2, nor are their best interests
being considered (art. 3).
4. Diet
- Nutritional
surveillance among children below the age of 5 years has been routinely carried
out for the past two decades. Undernutrition,
defined as below 80 per cent of
standard weight for age attainment, declined markedly from 26.4 per cent of
under-5 children to 7.8
per cent between 1974 and 1984. Since
then, the decline has been much smaller. In 1994, 6.4 per cent of
children attending the
health centres were malnourished by this
definition, but it is likely that the measure is an overestimate. A more
thorough investigation and analysis would permit a better
definition of the real
rates and types of malnutrition, as well as identifying the groups
involved.
5. Access to a clean water supply
- The
ability to afford to pay for a water supply and the right of access to that
supply are a prerequisite for the achievement of a
standard of living adequate
for a child’s healthy development. Article 24.2 (c) imposes on
Governments the obligation to combat
disease and malnutrition through the
provision of adequate nutritious foods and drinking water. Access to a clean
water supply has
been largely taken for granted in Seychelles. In 1994, 83 per
cent of the population had access to treated water as compared to
69 per cent in
1987. The diseases associated with lack of sanitation and contaminated water
have been virtually eliminated. An
increase in water charges was accompanied by
a more rigorous policy of debt recovery on the part of the water company PUC,
but the
water tariffs are considered to be affordable.
6. Access to family life (art. 7 and 9)
- International
research has shown a demonstrable link between material deprivation and the
likelihood of a child not being cared for
at home but taken into public care.
The extent to which poverty and social problems influence the likelihood of a
child ending in
public care in Seychelles requires further investigation.
However examination of the reasons why children come into public care
suggests
that material deprivation, housing and other social problems play a significant
role. This situation raises the question
of whether current government policies
are adequately promoting children’s rights to family life. Clearly public
care in itself
is a necessary resource for children unable to live with their
families. However, for many children it implies the loss of many
rights
embodied in the Convention. Residential and foster care should
therefore be seen as a last resort for those vulnerable children
who are
not adequately looked after by their families. Approximately 109 children are
currently in care, and it is likely that a
significant proportion could have
remained at home had the necessary material and social support been
available.
- It
is not only poverty but also lack of social support that increases the
likelihood of children needing to be looked after away from
home. The
Seychelles Government recognizes the need for support for families, and child
welfare services have been developed to
meet a variety of family-related
problems. The Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs has portfolio
responsibility for child
welfare services, which provide support to families so
that the children can enjoy a suitable and stable environment for their
physical,
emotional and social development.
- There
is also growing concern that the family itself is disintegrating as a unit and
primary provider of care and protection. Many
families now find that they
cannot cope with their responsibilities without outside support. Yet it is
recognized that the levels
of funding to provide effective parental support are
inadequate and that as a result, social services are approaching the definition
of “in need” in a minimalist way, restricting access to services to
those children at risk of harm. There are plans
for a Family Centre to
strengthen and empower families so that they can better care and protect their
members.
7. Opportunities to play in a safe environment (art.
31)
- It
is widely acknowledged that recreational activity plays an important part in
children’s development. However, for some children,
the combined effects
of low income, poor housing and a neglected environment mean that opportunities
for safe play are heavily restricted.
Their standard of living is insufficient
to provide the necessary opportunities for social development that play offers.
Many families
living in poverty are also living in environments that lack play
facilities, or even safe play areas. Parents are faced with the
choice of
restricting children to the home - itself often overcrowded - or letting them
play unsupervised in the locality with all
the associated risks. Thus, the same
children who lack the resources to pay for any social activity are also often
deprived of opportunities
for safe play in their immediate
environment.
- Children
from poor families are far more likely to suffer from accidents. Overcrowding
increases the risks of children being within
reach of fires, knives and
dangerous substances such as bleach. Poor parents are less likely to be able to
afford stair gates or
playpens. Accidental poisoning in children is also a
common cause of death, with 88 per cent of the 49 cases recorded in 1994
occurring
in children below 5 years. There are limited areas offering
opportunities for safe play, and children play on the streets where
they are at
risk from traffic. Children are also sometimes left on their own in the house
whilst family members go to work. Figures
from the Ministry of Health show that
accidental deaths from drowning and road accidents are the second commonest
cause of death
amongst children aged 1-5 years. These issues are discussed
further in sections VII. E and VIII. E below.
8. The opportunity to participate in society
- As
central to children’s well-being as the material provision of housing,
clothing and an adequate diet is the right to participate
in social activities,
which contribute to the right of citizenship. The Convention as a whole
recognizes children’s rights
to social and civil citizenship. Yet one of
the most powerful messages that emerges from the poverty issue is the experience
of
exclusion, and the lack of choice and isolation which it imposes. The
Convention, both in the preamble and in articles 18.2 and
27.3, makes explicit
that, whilst the primary responsibility for childbearing rests with parents, the
State has a duty to support
parents in that role. The Seychelles Government has
invested considerably in legislative policies and programmes in fulfilling its
obligation. There is an implicit view, at government level and among the
general public, that the poor are to be blamed for their
poverty.
- This
view seeks to construct a close link in the public mind between claiming
benefits and abuse, representing an attempt, whether
deliberate or otherwise, to
link poverty and dependency on State benefits with laziness, dishonesty and an
unwillingness to accept
one’s responsibilities. One-parent families have
been particularly singled out for criticism in this area. Another popular
view
is that the poor are poor, not because of lack of jobs or opportunities, but
because of their unwillingness to work or train,
their irresponsibility and
disassociation from the mainstream culture and values of our
society.
- The
physical exclusion from participation forced on poor children by their poverty
is compounded by social exclusion created by social
attitudes of condemnation
and blame. Such exclusion is inimical to the promotion of the child’s
development necessary for
compliance with article 27, runs counter to the
anti-discrimination requirement in article 2, and indeed breaches the spirit of
the
Convention as a whole. Children have a right to participate as members of
society and government policy needs to be rooted in a
fundamental commitment to
the active promotion of that right.
E. The environment
- Physical
surroundings have a major impact on the health and development of children who
are significantly affected by housing policy,
access to public facilities and
services, physical planning, transport policies and environmental pollution.
“Environment”
is used here to describe a wide range of features in
the physical surroundings of children, including their home environment, the
built environment and the wider, open environment.
- The
Seychelles Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to a clean, healthy
and ecologically balanced environment (art. 38). While primary responsibility
for policy relating to the physical environment in which children and young
people live lies with the Division of the Environment
(DOE), the Ministry of
Community Development, the Ministry of Local Government, Youth and Sport and the
Department of Transport also
have a crucial role.
- The
main elements of Government’s policy and strategy on environment in
relation to children are: the responsibility and commitment
to ensure a safe
and healthy environment in which children will live, grow and prosper; the
responsibility to ensure that the environment
is protected, maintained and
enhanced for the children of today and tomorrow; and the responsibility to
ensure that children acquire
and develop the attitudes, knowledge and skills
that will enhance their role as protectors of the
environment.
- Considerable
effort has been made by Government to implement these policies, including the
enactment of the Environment Protection
Act in 1994, the setting up of a special
agency (Solid Waste and Cleaning Agency, “SWAC”) for the management
of wastes
and general cleaning, and the establishment of the Marine Parks
Authority for the development of marine parks. The Division of Environment
carries out public education on conservation and environmental issues, and
Government continues to make provision and policies to
motivate the youth in the
continued protection and enhancement of our environment.
- Seychelles
participated in the Earth Summit in Brazil, and Government made a commitment to
implement Agenda 21 by adopting “national
sustainability
strategies”, increasing the participation of children and young people in
matters of environmental policy, and
producing periodic national implementation
reports.
1. Consultation and participation (art. 12)
- Agenda
21 stresses the importance of involving children and young people in discussing
environmental policy. Governments should take
measures to establish procedures
allowing for consultation and possible participation of youth of both genders,
by 1993, in decision-making
processes with regard to the environment, involving
youth at local, national and regional levels, in line with article
12.
- In
Seychelles, apart from classroom activities, children are encouraged to take an
active part in extracurricular environmental activities
organized through
environment clubs and in campaigns at district and national level. These are
organized around specific events,
such as World Environment Day and Clean-Up the
World campaigns. Activities include treeplanting, nature studies, clean-up
campaigns,
and art and science competitions. There are a number of regular
publications on environment issues, including a newsletter published
by the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Planning and Environment. Two children and a
teacher attended the International Children’s
Conference in England in
October 1995.
- Interest
in the environment among schoolchildren is reflected in the fact that in 1995,
there were 20 schools with active environment
clubs. Despite the considerable
interest shown in Seychelles by children and young people in environmental
issues, there are few
opportunities for them to be actively involved in planning
and policy formulation. Article 12 is about ownership of ideas and plans.
If
participation is authentic and opinions are genuinely listened to, then children
and young people are more likely to respect
and use services and
resources.
- There
is widespread evidence of the lack of environmental awareness among children and
adults, for example, with regard to the disposal
of litter. It would appear
that activities are mobilizing groups of children who are already interested,
while leaving large groups
uninvolved. It is only through a sustained and
consistent programme that wider interests and commitment among children will
develop.
Unfortunately there seems to be a lack of coordination and
communication/information within and between ministries, NGOs and other
affiliated agencies, resulting in the overlapping of responsibilities. Improved
consultation and coordination are required.
2. Education (art. 29.1 (e))
- The
school system has a very ambitious programme of environmental education. Its
objective is to sensitize children about local environment
issues and promote
the development of knowledge, attitudes, values and skills which will enable
them to improve their quality of
life as well as the quality of their
environment. The Ministry of Environment also hopes to promote sustainable
development and
the conservation of the environment through such a sensitization
process.
- There
are as yet no specific lessons dedicated to environment in the classroom.
Environmental education is integrated into various
subjects, and a number of
teaching guides and materials have been developed by the Ministry of
Education. Unfortunately, despite
the clear interest at policy-making level,
the quality and quantity of classroom and extracurricular activities depend on
the enthusiasm
and good will of individual teachers. A recent announcement by
the Minister of Education on the strengthening of a dedicated environmental
education unit within the Ministry will, it is hoped, give new vigour to the
programme. Efforts are also made by other organizations,
including the
Ministries of Local Government, Environment and Social Affairs, and the District
Administrations and SWAC to sensitize
the general public and mobilize them for
participation.
- It
is a disturbing fact that environmental issues are generally seen as
Government’s concern. Apart from a few informal conservation
groups and
limited mass participation in occasional national clean-up campaigns, there is
little evidence of the general population
becoming more environment conscious.
The notion of maintaining a healthy environment beyond the confines of the home
is not widespread.
The concept that the current generations are the custodians
of the environment for future generations is, in the main, an alien
idea.
Moreover, the “education” a child receives at home is most likely to
conflict with what he/she receives at school.
3. The accessibility of public places
- Despite
clear recognition of the need to create environments around houses that are
conducive to health and safety and the development
of a community spirit, the
growth in housing as described above has not been matched by adequate attention
to such issues as access
to community facilities and proper disposal of solid
wastes. In many housing estates there are inadequate facilities for
recreational
activities and safe places for children to play. There is a danger
of housing estates, despite having adequate physical structures,
deteriorating
into areas of social conflict and neglect if attention is not paid urgently
to these issues.
- In
the Seychelles the Building and Physical Planning Regulations do not ensure
access to and provision of certain facilities for children and people with
disabilities. There is no provision of
access for pushchairs or wheelchairs and
there are numerous examples of public buildings which are not designed to meet
the needs
of children and their carers. Planning regulations make no specific
reference to children’s needs. For example there are
no legal
requirements to provide playgrounds, safe play areas or out-of-school care
facilities.
- For
many children, their local environment is increasingly inaccessible to them as
an area with opportunities for safe play. Children
under 10 usually play within
a few hundred yards of their homes. Even if children live in houses with their
own gardens, they often
choose to play in more public areas and in some
communities this means the streets. The close proximity of housing estates to
busy
main roads, without the timely erection of safety barriers and traffic
control, led to the death of a child from a road accident
in1996.
- All
these restrictions on the activities of children and young people can inhibit
their growing independence as well as their physical
activities. If articles
3.2 and 31 are to be fully implemented and children are to benefit from their
rights to protection, health,
development and leisure, the Government must
devise strategies to enable children and young people to enjoy and play in the
surroundings
in which they live, with minimum fear of danger. Suitable
facilities are often particularly limited for children with disabilities.
Building regulations should require new public buildings to have some provision
for access and sanitary facilities for people with
mobility, sight or hearing
difficulties.
4. Safety of public places (arts. 3.2 and 24.2 (e))
- Most
accidents to children and young people outside the home happen during play and
leisure activities. Accidents are the largest
single cause of death for
children aged 1-14, and after road accidents and poisoning, drowning is the
third most common cause of
accidental death in children in Seychelles.
Accidents in play areas may still happen due to poorly designed equipment, poor
siting
and layout, inadequate maintenance, incorrect installation, lack of
ageappropriate facilities and inappropriate use of equipment.
- Government
needs to focus on educating the public to adopt safer behaviour, to introduce
legislation and policy to remove the causes
of accidents, or to ensure that
parents and carers have sufficient resources to make their homes and
neighbourhoods safer. In failing
to develop specific policies aimed at reducing
accidents amongst high-risk groups of children and young people, the Government
is
failing in its duties under articles 3.2, 6.2, 24.2 (a) and
2.
5. Transport and transport policies
(a) Independence and mobility (arts. 3.1 and
6.2)
- The
opportunity to gain independence during childhood is an important aspect of the
maturation of children, and becoming independently
mobile is an important
element in this. If the Government’s responsibility under article 6.2 is
to be implemented fully, planning
and transport policy should endeavour to
continually improve the independent mobility needs of children and young
people.
- For
most families transport and mobility are crucial parts of their daily lives, and
important for the development of their children.
For well-off families, a car
ensures this freedom. In order to ensure that all families have access to
transport, public transport
systems must be accessible and flexible enough to
better provide for the transportation needs of those families least likely to
have
their own cars. However, using public transport in the Seychelles is often
inconvenient and stressful for adults transporting small
children as the buses
do not cater for adults travelling with young children.
- Mobility
is fundamental to the pursuit of most activities and for those with disabilities
it is a major factor in their ability to
acquire any level of independence.
Public transport is largely inaccessible to disabled children. At present buses
do not accommodate
their needs adequately, and there is no legal obligation on
the providers of services to address this issue. If article 23 is to
be fully
implemented provision of adequate, appropriate transportation is
essential.
(b) Safety on the roads (arts. 3.2 and 6)
- Road
accidents are one of the main causes of accidental death to school-age children
in the Seychelles. Whilst the Government cannot
be expected to take
responsibility for eliminating this threat to children and young people, it does
have a duty to fulfil. Policies
adopted by the Government to help reduce road
accidents to children and young people should include enforcement of existing
legislation,
and the introduction of child car seat and seat belt
legislation.
6. Pollution and health (art. 24.2 (c))
- Extra
vigilance is required if articles 3.2 and 24.1 are to be fully implemented in
the Seychelles. While 83 per cent of the population
receive piped treated
water, there is wide variation according to district. Baie Lazare in South Mahe
has only 44 per cent coverage
whereas St. Louis in central Mahe has a coverage
rate of 95 per cent. South Mahe is also more severely affected by water
shortage
in the drier months and the population may resort to collecting water
from streams during those periods. The persistently higher
prevalence of
waterborne intestinal infections (E. histolytica and Giardia),
especially among children, confirms the poorer water quality in the
area.
- The
uncontrolled keeping of domestic pets, mainly dogs and cats, some of which
become strays, presents an increasingly common problem.
Stray dogs present not
only a nuisance but also a risk to public sanitation and safety. The rearing of
pigs close to houses, a
long-established tradition, is slowly changing but is
still a source of environmental pollution in certain areas. Infestation with
rats is a consistent problem in the domestic environment, with the attendant
risk of leptospirosis. This rat-borne infection has
a significant mortality
rate, and appears to be increasing in incidence in the adult population.
Interestingly, there are very few
reported cases of children with the disease.
Mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue and epidemic encephalitis are also a
major threat,
in view of the widespread presence of mosquitoes in all
residential areas, and the vulnerability of Seychelles to the importation
of
these infections from neighbouring countries. Legislation has been introduced
to minimize the effect of the above hazards; however,
their enforcement leaves a
lot to be desired.
- The
most common domestic fuel is kerosene, with wood and charcoal now seldom used.
This trend, combined with generally well-ventilated
houses, has reduced indoor
pollution. However a number of hazards are well recognized in many homes. The
widespread use of kerosene
and the common habit of storing it in bottles in
easily accessible places lead to accidental poisoning of young children.
Household
and garden chemicals, as well as prescribed drugs, are also often
stored carelessly with similar results.
- Until
the recent enactment of the Pesticides Act, 1996, there was little control over
the importation, storage and use of pesticides.
Cases of occupational exposure
and a number of incidents of spillage, small in scale but with a highly visible
and publicized impact
on fresh water fish, drew attention to the problems.
While the Act is aimed primarily at industrial pesticide use the wide publicity
and training in the proper management of pesticides will hopefully also have a
positive impact on safety in the home.
- Environmental
pollution with toxic materials is rare as there are few manufacturing industries
in Seychelles. However, the disposal
of waste materials, including vehicle
frames, used tyres and lead batteries, as well as domestic wastes such as glass
and plastic
containers, pose particular challenges to a small island country.
In addition, the fast pace of construction, both in the domestic
housing and
commercial sectors, places pressure on the land and increases the need for
building materials such as rocks and sand.
The threat of degradation of the
environment has to be carefully managed.
- Protecting
children and young people from the dangers of environmental pollution, as
required by articles 3.2 and 24.2 (c), is only
possible if current monitoring of
levels and effects on children and young people are improved. Monitoring
networks could include
facilities at
schools that enable the school community, especially children, to be
involved. The main problems include the lack of adequate information
to
determine “safe” levels of intake/exposure for children and young
people and methods of determining actual levels
of intake/exposure.
- A
study in conjunction with Rochester University (United States of America) has
examined the level of mercury in fish and has concluded
that the level of
mercury present in fish, and therefore children’s diets, is indeed safe
(see sect. VII.B.2). Besides this
study there has as yet been no other action
by the Government to clarify risks to children of environmental pollutants, for
example
of lead and pesticides residues.
F. Concluding remarks and recommendations
- The
achievements of Seychelles in the area of health care and promotion are
generally accepted, and the priority given to children
is evident in the
Maternal and Child Health Service and other programmes. The following
recommendations refer to particular action
required if Seychelles is to improve
its compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Health
- Compliance
with article 3.1 requires that:
(a) In meeting the needs of
chronically ill children and young people, a key worker be appointed for each
child, responsible for
ensuring coordination of services;
(b) When plans to reorganize services are being drawn up, a primary
consideration must always be the best interests of the affected
child and the
potential effects on his/her health rights.
- Compliance
with article 3.2 requires that:
(a) Research be undertaken into
the reasons why pregnant women, parents, children and young people continue to
smoke, and used as
a basis for anti-smoking campaigns, with input from children
and young people;
(b) Public education on prevention of substance abuse
be intensified;
(c) There be stricter enforcement of laws relating to
the sale of cigarettes to children and young people;
(d) There be a
complete ban on advertising of all tobacco products.
- Compliance
with article 3.3 requires that:
(a) Providers of health
services be obliged to provide care, services and facilities which meet agreed,
basis standards;
(b) All staff involved in the care and treatment of
children and young people know what agreements and standards for best practice
exist;
(c) A quality-assurance body be set up to monitor and evaluate
the care and quality of life of children and young people, to ensure
that the
best possible treatment is being offered and that children and their parents are
able to make informed choices as to the
type of treatment they require.
- Compliance
with article 9 requires that a broad range of adequately resourced family
support services be offered by social services
and other agencies and that the
resource implications this entails be acknowledged by the Government in its
allocation of funding
to social services.
- Compliance
with article 12 requires that:
(a) The principle that children
have a right to state their views and have them taken seriously, and to be heard
in any judicial
or administrative proceedings concerning them be built into
health legislation;
(b) A review of complaints procedures be undertaken
to look specifically at the avenues for complaints open to children and young
people and new guidelines drawn up as appropriate;
(c) Children be
encouraged to express their views and participate fully in their own health
care, in partnership with parents/teachers,
etc.
- Compliance
with article 24 requires that Government:
(a) Monitor current
changes in the structure of the health service to ensure that access to services
for all children and young people
is guaranteed;
(b) Commission
necessary research to determine causes of perinatal mortality and premature
births;
(c) Introduce a more intensive programme for prevention of
accidents on the road, at home and in recreational
activities;
(d) Immediately enforce the law on the wearing of seat
belts;
(e) Introduce swimming and life-saving lessons for children and
teachers;
(f) Establish a specialized baby care unit as soon as
possible;
(g) Investigate any suspected cases of abuse and/or
neglect;
(h) Investigate each case of poisoning of a child.
- Compliance
with article 24 requires that:
(a) The quality of school meals
be evaluated and monitored by nutritionists from the Ministry of
Health;
(b) Research on the needs of different economic cultural and
religious groups be conducted to guide health service delivery;
(c) A
Child Development Centre be set up as soon as possible;
(d) Services for
adolescents be expanded and decentralized to include more action at operational
level.
- Compliance
with articles 24.2 (c) and 27.3 requires that:
(a) Government
activity promote breastfeeding and provide active support for mothers who
breastfeed;
(b) Planning requirements ensure that all new public
buildings provide suitable facilities for breastfeeding mothers; guidelines
should be issued by the Department of the Environment to encourage those
managing existing public buildings to make suitable provision;
(c) A
national working group be set up to implement action to increase the proportion
of infants who are breastfed at birth and at
six weeks;
(d) Surveillance
and research be conducted to identify forms of malnourishment in children, and
guide appropriate interventions;
(e) Legislation be amended to ensure
that school meals of agreed nutritional standards are available in all schools
for children
and young people who want them.
- Compliance
with article 24.1 requires that:
(a) The practice of placing
young people in adult or non-psychiatric institutional care because of
insufficient psychiatric resources
be addressed;
(b) Residential care
and treatment for children and young people with mental health problems be
provided;
(c) Nurses working in paediatric wards be trained in basic
mental health issues;
(d) A playroom, with toys and books, be provided
in paediatric wards;
(e) An educational support programme for parents
with mentally ill children be established, promoting peer
support;
(f) An information system relating to mental health and young
people be established.
- Compliance
with articles 23 and 24.1 requires that:
(a) The principle of
integrated services for disabled children be built into health legislation and
reflected in training and service
provision;
(b) Information about
services be made available in a way that is relevant and useful to disabled
children and young people;
(c) Facilities be extended to meet the needs
identified.
- Compliance
with articles 6 and 24.1 requires that babies needing specialized treatment have
access to appropriately staffed and equipped
intensive care
units.
- Compliance
with article 24.2 (f) requires that:
(a) The important role of
the school health service in providing a range of preventive healthcare services
be recognized and supported
by the Government;
(b) Training of all
professionals involved in child health ensure that they enforce the principle of
involving children in their
own health and health care from an early
age;
(c) Health education be provided for parents on parenting skills
and child development;
(d) An effective surveillance programme be set up
to monitor and evaluate child health care in all its aspects.
- Compliance
with article 24.1 with respect to children and young people affected by HIV/AIDS
or who are HIV positive, requires that:
(a) Consultation with
children and young people from all sectors of the community take place
throughout service planning and development;
(b) Integrated family
services such as family clinics be developed to support these children and
greater resources must be devoted
to meeting the increasing need for
supplementary care leading to permanent alternative care for children in the
affected families.
- Compliance
with article 24.2 (f) requires that:
(a) Sex education in
schools be available to all children and young people and, taught at an
appropriate age, and in a manner sensitive
to their needs;
(b) HIV/AIDS
and other sexually transmitted diseases be included as a key component of sexual
health education;
(c) Confidential consultations be available through
contraceptive services for young people;
(d) The views of young people be a
major factor in the design of services;
(e) Research be carried out into
why young people continue to practise unsafe sex in spite of the known health
risks.
Welfare
- Compliance
with article 9 requires that a safe house be established for women and children
who are in distress.
- Compliance
with article 26 requires that a definition of poverty be established for the
Seychelles, with appropriate indicators, and
that the benefits system is
adjusted accordingly.
- Compliance
with articles 26 and 27 requires that procedures adopted by the Social Security
Fund be upgraded to provide disabled children
who are bedridden with automatic
invalidity benefits, and that the Medical Board Provision should exist for
disabled children who
are under 15 years of age.
- Compliance
with article 27 requires that the various schemes encouraging employment for 16-
and 17-year-olds should be reviewed and
enlarged and young people encouraged to
join them where relevant.
- Compliance
with article 27.3 requires that:
(a) Housing standards be
reviewed;
(b) Parents with disabled children be provided with
ground-floor flats or houses;
(c) A survey be compiled to identify
families living in overcrowded houses.
- Compliance
with article 27 requires that:
(a) The right to an income which
enables young people to have access to accommodation be
ensured;
(b) Advice and practical help from housing authorities or other
agencies about different housing options and sustaining independent
living be
provided;
(c) Investment in the development of a range of affordable
accommodation which offers opportunities for both supported and independent
living be maintained;
(d) Housing legislation and standards which
reflect the needs of children and young people be
established;
(e) Authorities responsible for housing continue to build
new family housing;
(f) Housing regulations ensure wide-ranging safety
design features for lowcost social housing.
- Compliance
with articles 3.2, 6 and 24.2 (e) requires that:
(a) Home
safety become a statutory function of the Seychelles Housing Corporation (SHDC),
funded by central Government, to actively
promote home safety issues, including
those relating specifically to children;
(b) National child safety
guidelines for accommodation be established to set enforceable
standards;
(c) Families with low incomes be able to obtain financial
assistance to ensure safety equipment is installed in their homes and that
dangerous equipment be replaced.
- Compliance
with article 18.2 requires that:
(a) Planning regulations be
amended to ensure that new buildings include safety features and access and
facilities for children in
prams and pushchairs as well as for children with
disabilities;
(b) Where possible, these features should also be
incorporated into existing buildings through rolling programmes, in consultation
with children through their representative organizations.
- Compliance
with article 26 requires that a study be undertaken to assess whether young
people are achieving a standard of living adequate
for their proper development.
A study is already envisaged.
Environment
- Compliance
with articles 3.2 and 6 requires that:
(a) Safety on the roads
be enhanced by the widespread introduction of traffic abatement
measures;
(b) Road safety education be introduced in the schools, since
it is accepted that children themselves have been the cause of accidents
owing
to the way they conduct themselves on the road;
(c) Education campaigns
about the risks of speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol be
intensified and greater penalties
for drivers breaking speed restrictions
introduced.
(d) Consideration be given to legislation which places a
legal liability on drivers to prove they were not negligent when pedestrians
or
cyclists are knocked down by motor vehicles in residential areas of “home
zones”.
- Compliance
with articles 3.2, 24.1 and 24.2 requires that:
(a) The foods
most frequently eaten by children and infants be identified and quantified to
ensure that precise information is available
about potential intakes of toxic
substances;
(b) Comprehensive samples establish the levels of toxic
chemicals in these foods.
- Compliance
with article 3.2 requires that:
(a) Targets be set for accident
reduction in Seychelles;
(b) Accident prevention programmes ensure that
they meet the needs and circumstances of different groups, including effective,
legally
enforceable rules.
- Compliance
with articles 6.2 and 23 require that the Transport Division, in conjunction
with the Ministry of Community Development,
develop a coordinated transport
policy which takes account of the needs of children and young people as well as
adults.
VIII. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
A. Education, including vocational training and guidance (art.
28)
1. Characteristics of the education system
- Education
and the operation of schools in Seychelles is governed by the Education Act.
Under this Act education is free to all students and is compulsory for all
children up to the age of 16. A stable population with
a minimal growth
rate (about 1.1 per cent) during the period 1985 to 2000 required limited
expansion of the 50 schools, catering
for about 21,000 pupils
(crèchepolytechnic). There are generally low pupil-to-teacher ratios
(crèche 18:1; primary
17:1; secondary 15:1; polytechnic 10:1) and an
average class size of 28 in the primary and secondary schools. Only about 12
per
cent of teachers are untrained and a similar number of expatriates teach
mainly in the upper secondary and polytechnic. A unique
non-compulsory year is
provided in a residential school, the National Youth Service (NYS), providing
academic, vocational, social
and community training. Disabled children who
cannot attend regular schools are catered for by a specialist institution, the
School
for the Exceptional Child (see tables 8 and 9 for further
details).
- The
core curriculum during the compulsory cycle includes languages (English, French
and Kreol), mathematics, science, humanities,
art, craft, religion, physical
education, family life and social education. Students are channelled into
academic and applied studies
in the fourth year of secondary school, following
earlier pre-vocational awareness and counselling, leading to specialized applied
vocational skills training at the upper secondary level and polytechnic. There
is automatic promotion for 10 years of compulsory
education, but with up
to 10 per cent dropping out from schooling in the later
years.
- Day
care is non-compulsory education for the very young, aged from three months to
three years and four months. It is a licensed,
fee-paying and privately
operated enterprise catering for the needs of working families. It facilitates
women’s socio-economic
integration into society and enables women to
assume their rightful place in society in the dual role of motherhood and the
pursuance
of a personal socio-economic career. Daycare centres fall under the
portfolio responsibility of the Ministry of Education, which
provides guidance
and supervision in order to maintain minimum standards and opportunities for
improvement.
- Crèche
education although optional, is considered part of the formal education system
operated by Government. It caters for
pre-school children aged three years and
four months to five years and four months. It is non fee-paying and available
to all residents.
Attendance is practically 100 per cent of the age
group. A special two-year curriculum has been devised for the crèche and
teachers specializing in early childhood education are trained for this level of
schooling. Administratively the crèche falls
under the Schools Section
of the Ministry of Education and is attached to a primary school.
- Primary
education comprises six years of non fee-paying, compulsory education (P1-P6).
It caters for children aged 5/6 years to 11/12
years. The lower primary (P1-P3)
has a broadbased curriculum taught by generalist teachers while the middle
primary (P4-P6) is taught
by semispecialists.
- Secondary
education comprises four years of non fee-paying compulsory education (S1S4).
It caters for children aged 11/12 years to
15/16 years. The National Youth
Service is a centrally run, non fee-paying optional residential institution
which groups together
pupils from all secondary schools for the final year of
the secondary cycle. Pupils follow academic and prevocational studies in
addition to taking part in social and cultural activities.
- The
public school system is supplemented by registered independent fee-paying
schools. These are composed of three registered independent
fee-charging
schools (International School, French School, Independent School) and two
affiliated government institutions (Conservatoire
of Music and Dance, and
Seychelles Institute of Management).
- The
Seychelles Polytechnic comprises a number of schools specializing in various
fields including academic studies (pre-university),
business, tourism and
technical and vocational studies. Entry into the Polytechnic is selective and
dependent on good performance
in relevant subjects at national examinations.
The Polytechnic has a School of Continuing Education which promotes adult
education
in a variety of disciplines and which has played a major role in
reducing illiteracy.
- There
is no university in Seychelles and suitable candidates are sent overseas to
pursue undergraduate or advanced technical studies.
There are a few training
institutes such as the Seychelles Institute of Management, the Police Academy,
Seychelles Hotel and Tourism
Centre and the Defence Academy, that provides
specialist training.
2. Vocational training and guidance
(a) Training opportunities for children aged 15 years and
above (art. 28.1 (b))
- The
duty imposed by article 28.1 (b) needs to be examined in the context of the
range and quality of vocational provision for 15 to
17-year-olds in the
Seychelles today.
- The
Centre for Skills Development is an initiative which started in 1995, running
three training schemes for vocational training:
the Youth Training Scheme, the
Apprentice Scheme, and the Project and Small Business Scheme. The Government
introduced a guarantee
of a suitable youth training place for every young person
not in full-time education or employment. In 1995 the Youth Training Scheme
had
an enrolment of 1,645 young people. The Project and Small Business Sector had a
total of 78 females working on the programmes.
(b) Quality of youth training (art. 28.1 (b))
- Compliance
with article 28.1 (b) also requires that greater investment be made in
highquality training leading to recognized and relevant
qualifications for young
people. The lack of income support and the attempt to guarantee training to
every young person needing
a place may have led to widespread incidence of
hastily constructed and sometimes ill-thought-out and poorly prepared training,
which
serves little purpose other than that of achieving a numerical target.
- Enrolment
in the training schemes is voluntary. However, in reality many young people are
forced into schemes as the only available
means of getting enough money to live
on. The courses they take are often not appropriate for their needs, and the
drop out rate
is high, especially for girls. The limited choice of training
opportunities for young people with already low self-esteem is likely
to damage
whatever motivation they have and further limit their selfconfidence. If the
Government is to make a serious commitment
to promoting the rights of all young
people to appropriate training, in line with its obligations under articles 2
and 28 of the
Convention, there needs to be greater investment in quality
training leading to recognized and relevant qualifications for young
people.
Comprehensive monitoring of the allocation of places within the youth training
schemes, the types of placement offered,
drop out rates and employment outcomes
is also required.
B. Aims of education
- Government
policy on education is based on three main principles: (a) Education for All:
all Seychellois have equal opportunity
and access to education and an equal
chance for achieving within the education system their full potential,
consistent with their
differing abilities and interests and with the needs of
society; (b) Education for Life: education is seen as a lifelong process
that
does not end with schooling and one that is oriented to the requirements of
everyday life, including the world of work; and
(c) Education for Personal and
National Development: education facilitates personal development, which in turn
contributes to the
collective development of society and the
nation.
- Major
education policies aim at enhancing the quality of education and training,
provision of free education at all levels, equitably
resourced schools
throughout the national, open access for all nine years of compulsory schooling
(P1-S4), relevance of structure
and curricula content to local conditions and
needs and efficiency and cost-consciousness. Emphasis has been primarily on
improvements
in infrastructure, ensuring equal opportunity of access and
provision of free, universal education. Strategies developed to implement
these
policies have focused on:
(a) Building and equipping sufficient
schools in each of the ten regions to provide schooling for the
children;
(b) Investing in quality improvements, especially in teacher
training and provision of textbooks and materials;
(c) Providing
socializing environments and influences to assist the total development of the
child and adolescent;
(d) Promoting the establishment of daycare centres
to provide for the social needs of the nation’s citizens and to provide
for their educational needs;
(e) Establishing pre-school (crèche)
education for all its citizens in recognition of the importance of the
pre-school period
for the cognitive, emotional and social development of the
child;
(f) Broadening curricula during the secondary level to create
awareness of the adult work environment and to encourage training in
applied
vocational skills;
(g) Utilizing the specialized abilities of
expatriates while moving towards localization of teaching staff.
- Having
achieved equal access and full enrolment during the compulsory schooling years
the goals now encompass being able to afford
a quality education with due regard
to environmental enhancement, gender equality, replicability and sustainability
of impact.
1. Early years of education
- The
Seychelles Government recognizes that investment in early education is one of
the most effective means of providing all children
with a firm foundation for
future attainment. Preschool education in the Seychelles is provided by the
State and is available to
all children aged three and a half to five and a half.
It is non-fee paying and although it is optional it has nearly 100 per cent
enrolment.
C. Compliance with the Convention (art. 28)
- The
above points suggest that current legislation in Seychelles more than satisfies
the minimum standards. However, it is necessary
to address not only the
statutory provision of education and the basic rights of the child to that
educational service, but also
the equality of access to it, the rights of
children to be heard in the education system, the quality of the experience of
school
for all children and respect within the school system of children’s
civil rights. If children’s rights in relation to
education are to be
fully addressed in Seychelles, it is necessary to look beyond the traditional
indicators of literacy levels and
attendance rates, important though these are,
and develop sophisticated measures to evaluate the extent to which educational
provision
complies with all the principles embodied in the
Convention.
1. Access to education (art. 28)
- The
Seychelles Constitution makes it unlawful to discriminate against someone,
either directly or indirectly, in the field of education, as does the Education
Act. The Ministry of Education ensures that school activities which are
undertaken during the school day are provided free of charge
and that resources
are made available to subsidize those children who cannot afford to undertake
out-of-school activities, for example
music and dance.
(a) Drop-outs/expulsions
- The
Constitution gives all children between the ages of 5 and 19 the right to an
education. No child will b excluded from school simply because no
place is
available. The Ministry of Education has an ambitious programme of construction
of schools and other facilities. In 19901995
education absorbed SR 382
million of public sector investment, most of which was spent on building schools
and other infrastructure.
Another SR 100 million will be absorbed by the
sector in 1996-1998 for construction, renovation and extension of schools to
accommodate
children of school age. There is nevertheless concern over the
growing number of children excluded from school and therefore failing
to receive
an adequate education. Figures from the School Welfare Unit of the Ministry of
Education indicate that there is on average
15 cases of children dropping out
per year, mostly cases of children with learning difficulties or behaviour which
the school feels
they cannot control.
- According
to current policy and practice, schools are allowed to exclude pupils where it
is considered that the pupil’s parents
are failing to comply or allowing
the children to fail to comply with school rules, or the school considers that
the pupil’s
continued presence would be detrimental to discipline or the
educational well-being of other pupils. This is the basis of the practice
of
excluding girls under 17 who become pregnant. It is reported that schools do
not have the facilities or the capacity to cope
with children who have learning
difficulties. These are often the same children who play truant and eventually
drop out. In order
to comply with article 28.1 (e) of the Convention,
Government should introduce measures that would put pressure on schools to
tackle
unacceptable truancy rates. In addition, Government should advocate for
schemes in which members of the public take responsibility
for identifying
children out of school.
- Effective
strategies for tackling truancy must start by listening to children as well as
parents and teachers: using their perceptions
of the causes of truancy as the
basis for developing policies to increase attendance rates, and undertaking
research to assess the
real cause(s) of truancy in schools. None of the current
strategies address the real nature of the problem of
truancy, since the figures that are normally produced on truancy levels are
misleading and inaccurate. Schools are required to report
authorized and
unauthorized absences. As schools may apply widely differing definitions to
these terms, the figures can become meaningless.
(b) Children with special needs
- There
are concerns, however, that the level of support for children with special needs
in mainstream schools is currently inadequate.
The State provides equal primary
and secondary education to children with physical mobility disabilities in an
integrated setting
in general schools, and there are a number of children with
disabilities in schools all over the islands. At present, education
in
mainstream schools does not have the equipment nor the appropriate support
services to meet the needs of a child with special
needs, such as a deaf or
blind child, and therefore these children have to go to the School for the
Exceptional Child.
- As
yet neither Parents’ Associations nor the Disabled Persons’
Association have been invited to, or involved in the education
process. There
are still no day care or crèche facilities for very young children with
disabilities, or provision for special
teacher training, ongoing teacher
training and support teachers for those in either general school or the School
for the Exceptional
Child.
- Clearly,
if the principles of the Convention are to be met disabled children need to be
given the opportunity to enter mainstream
education. Segregating them
effectively marginalizes them, defining them through their disability and not as
children first.
(c) Rights of appeal against expulsions
- Parents,
but not children under 18, do have a right of appeal but only where an expulsion
is permanent. Compliance with article 12.2
would necessitate that this right
should be extended to children. Children can be excluded without having any
opportunity whatever
to defend themselves or to challenge the decision. It is
also important to recognize formally that the child’s perspective
will not
necessarily coincide with the parents’ views or wishes. It is of the
greatest importance that children should be
given a right to be heard when a
decision of such significance is being made. They should also have access to
independent advocacy.
2. Curriculum (art. 29)
(a) Human rights and democracy
- The
Education Act (sect. 4 (1)) states that it is the policy of Government “to
encourage in Seychellois an awareness of national identity and respect
for the
individual”. The Ministry of Education is introducing a personal and
social education programme which aims to focus
on family life and health
education, moral education and education for citizenship. Without policy to
that effect the incorporation
of human rights in the curriculum, supported by a
school environment which is respectful of children, will continue to take place
on an ad hoc basis. Schools need to develop an approach to the subject which
incorporates the issues throughout both the curriculum
and the day-to-day
practice of the school.
(b) Language policy (diversity)
- The
right of a child to use his or her own language is of critical importance in
Seychelles as Kreol is the indigenous and national
language of the country. The
Government does recognize the importance of language and recognizes Kreol as the
national language.
A number of special books are published by the Ministry in
Kreol for young children. However, English remains the main language
of
instruction in later years and French is also taught throughout the
system.
3. Protection and safety for children in schools (arts. 19 and
37)
- There
are no reliable data on the occurrence of bullying in schools. Anecdotal
evidence however seems to suggest that it does exist
and is on the increase.
Article 19 clearly applies to abuse perpetrated by other children as well as
adults and is therefore of
relevance to children in school, in the care of
teachers, who experience bullying by other children. There is a clear
obligation
on the Ministry of Education, within the terms of this article, to
take appropriate measures to tackle bullying in schools.
- With
respect to administration of school discipline, progress has been made with the
abolition of corporal punishment in all school
educational institutions. This
is, however, only a Ministry of Education policy and is not law. Many children
complain of teachers
pulling their hair, hitting them, etc. The continued use
of violence against children in this way represents a fundamental lack
of
respect for their physical integrity. There is an ongoing debate on the
reintroduction of corporal punishment in schools. The
Ministry, through the
School Welfare Unit, is organizing various activities to sensitize head
teachers, teachers and members of the
public on the issue of corporal punishment
in schools.
- In
line with the requirements of article 3.3 there are explicit obligations and
liabilities on the Ministry of Education and individual
schools to maintain the
standards of school buildings and protect the health and safety of their pupils.
However, despite the formal
protection afforded by the legislation, there is
considerable evidence to show that in practice many schools provide a far from
adequate
standard of health and safety for children. Again, there is no hard
evidence available but there is concern about safety and the
physical
environment in many schools. The Ministry is aware of this and with the help of
the voluntary agency CARE is undertaking
various projects to provide fencing and
better security to improve safety at schools.
4. Freedom of expression (arts. 12 and 13)
- In
Seychelles the right of the child to form and express views freely in matters
affecting the child, and to the views being given
due weight, is respected to an
extent. Efforts are made to encourage the child to express himself or herself
in a multitude of ways
as part of the school curriculum. Additionally, a number
of activities such as debates, public speaking competitions, drama competitions,
art competitions and many other such activities contribute to encouraging
children to express themselves.
- The
activities of school personnel including administrators, teachers, counsellors
and school nurses also provide opportunities for
children to seek, receive and
impart information. Training includes the concept of rights and duties. The
respect of others rights
and those of society are seen as going hand in hand
with the respect of the child’s own rights.
- At
present children have no formal right to participate in matters of school policy
or administration. There is no requirement to
involve children in decisions on,
for example, school uniforms, curricula, arrangements for school meals,
supervision in the playground
or discipline. There are no school councils to
provide an institutionalized structure within which to consult children and to
hear
their views and ensure that they are taken account of in developing
policy.
- The
importance of opportunities for children to express themselves with regard to
personal problems has been greatly emphasized.
Hot lines, professional
counselling, peer counselling, etc. have been developed to provide protection to
the child against child
abuse and drug and alcohol abuse, whether at home, at
school or elsewhere. New legislation has been enacted to enable the child
to
provide legal evidence in confidence.
5. Mass media and information (art. 17)
- Article
17 stresses the rights of children and young people in relation to the mass
media and its importance in promoting social,
spiritual and moral well-being and
physical and mental health. In ratifying the Convention the Seychelles
Government has accepted
its duty to ensure that the child has access to
information and material from a diversity of national and international sources
and
to encourage the mass media to disseminate information and material of
social and cultural benefit to the child. It is also required
to ensure to all
children and young people the right to freedom of expression (art. 13). This
right includes freedom to seek, receive
and impart information and ideas of all
kinds through any media of the child’s choice.
- The
mass media’s role in education is recognized. Schools have access to
age-related reading materials in school libraries
and the National Library,
which supports school activities. The wideranging school curriculum also makes
available a wealth of information
on subjects ranging from language studies and
literature to science and social sciences. The Ministry of Education also
publishes
a number of specialist books in the Kreol language for young children.
An interesting variety of printed materials relevant to children’s
social,
spiritual and moral wellbeing and their physical and mental health are also
available at the National Youth Centre, Community
Resource Rooms and District
Youth Clubs. Documentary films feature regularly on District Youth Club
programmes and important issues
such as the environment, sports, substance
abuse, sex education etc. are covered.
- Articles
17 and 13 of the Convention have implications for the policies of broadcasting
companies, newspapers and magazines, and publishers
towards dissemination of
information aimed specifically at young people. In particular, article 17
requires that we examine the
provision of material for the many children with
visual or hearing impairments who may be unable to use written materials or
enjoy
television or radio programmes. Radio is an important source of
entertainment and information for those with visual impairments.
The use and
enjoyment that children and young people who have impaired hearing get from
television is
often limited because there are no signing translators to
“dub” programmes. A major improvement could be achieved for
these
children if “signing” were to be a required procedure for
information and education programmes, particularly those
which are locally
produced.
- Full
implementation of article 17, together with article 2, necessitates that
measures be introduced to ensure access to the mass
media for all children
regardless of disability or race, language, culture or religion. It also
requires that the mass media be
representative of all children in their coverage
of mainstream news, current affairs and in the general output. Full
implementation
of article 13 also has implications for the mass media. Public
service broadcasting should offer regular opportunities for children
and young
people to be involved.
- The
Government recognizes the importance of libraries and has built a National
Library which offers a wide variety of books and magazines.
The
Children’s Section of the library is very busy and used by many children
and there are plans to extend it. In the districts
the use of mobile libraries
is an important way of supporting local communities. A replacement for the old
mobile van is included
in the list of projects for the 19961998 investment
programme. School libraries also play an important role but their services are
often of poor quality.
- Blind
children have never had access to the same scope of resources as sighted
children because of the expense of producing Braille
books. Funding must be
found to meet the need for talking books and audio-tapes of children’s
books in school and public libraries.
- The
widespread presence of television at school and in the home is also a learning
tool which is very popular. Additionally, computer
education is being
introduced in the schools and it is expected that all students completing the
compulsory cycle will be computer
literate, at least at basic level.
Educational and cultural exchanges with students of other countries have also
had an educational
impact, providing children with first-hand experience of the
way people of other countries live.
- Protection
of the child from materials injurious to his or her well-being is a
preoccupation of the Ministry of Education and of the
social services, as well
as of the management of the local mass media agencies. The Film Censorship
Board has responsibility for
guidelines to protect children from materials which
are injurious to their well-being, and has the task of balancing this against
the child’s right to freedom of expression and the role of parents in the
upbringing of children (arts. 13 and 18). Recent
discussion about the
role of television and videos has led to an emerging view that the increased use
of television, video and computer
games by children and young people is
contributing to increased levels of violence and intolerance in our society.
However, there
is as yet little conclusive evidence about the relationship
between the media and patterns of behaviour. Many children have strong
views on
the issue of censorship, its appropriateness and implications for their lives.
It would be a valuable exercise to consult
widely with young people on their
views of the role that television plays in their lives and its impact or
otherwise on their behaviour.
6. Parents’ responsibility (art. 18)
- The
principle that both parents have common responsibility for the upbringing and
development of the child is recognized. Recognition
of this principle and of
the practical implications for the relatively large number of singleparent
families that exist has had an
effect on the type of educational assistance that
Government provides or encourages. The provision of early childhood education
at daycare centres recognizes both the primary role of the family at this level,
and the practical need to assist working mothers
in singleparent families. The
extent to which crèche education has developed is a recognition of
Government’s determination
to provide education for all even at preschool
age. Additionally, the provision of free education from crèche to NYS
and
to polytechnic is a further indication of Government’s determination
to assist parents in providing education for all.
7. The disabled child (art. 23)
- Government’s
commitment to providing a mentally or physically disabled child with a full and
decent life, in conditions which
ensure dignity, promote selfreliance, and
facilitate the child’s active participation in the community is suggested,
although
there are no reliable data on children with varying forms of
disability. The Ministry of Education has built a special educational
establishment, the School for the Exceptional Child, to provide schooling for
those unable to attend other schools. The partially
disabled child capable of
attending a regular school is enrolled in his/her respective school and assisted
as necessary by the school
authorities. A survey is being planned and a
clearer picture of this group will be available once the results are published.
There
are no reliable figures yet on the number of children with disabilities in
the school population. Cooperation between the various
Government ministries
and other agencies has provided education, health care, preparation for
employment, and recreational opportunities
that have had a very positive result,
with activities such as the Special Olympics proving to be very
popular.
8. Indigenous minorities (art. 30)
- Indigenous
minorities do not exist in the true sense of the term in Seychelles. Minorities
that do exist have equal rights and privileges
under the Constitution, the law,
and in practice.
D. Leisure, recreational and cultural activities
(art. 31)
- Responsibility
for ensuring play opportunities, whether through provision of facilities
and services or through creating safe environments
for free play, are
spread between government departments, with none taking a lead role or
responsibility for policy coordination
and development. Much provision also
comes through the voluntary and private sector - Boy Scouts, private cinemas,
video shops,
etc.
1. The importance of play and leisure activities
- Studies
over many decades have shown that play is of crucial importance to the
development of educational, social, physical and creative
abilities in later
years. Encouraging an interest and participation in different types of
arts brings benefits in terms of children’s
development and learning. The
full implementation of article 31 is therefore fundamental to the
attainment of both article 6.2 and
article 24.1. No clear information
is available to forecast what scale of provision is required for
children’s play and leisure,
and there is a need for considerable research
in these fields.
- In
order for children and young people to be able to express their views much
depends on the attitudes of the adults they are involved
with. Often an adult
will help a child or young person to think through what it is they want and how
they could go about making
their views known to adults. If implementation of
article 31 is to have any meaning, adults need to create appropriate
opportunities
for children and young people to become involved. Only when young
people are exposed to a varied range of choices backedup by improved
facilities
will they be able to decide what they want to do and what they want to say
through the medium of the arts.
2. Structures for play and leisure activities
- The
Division of Culture in the Ministry of Education and Culture has the overall
responsibility for the implementation of the cultural
policy of the Government.
This policy rests on three main underlying principles: the protection and
preservation of Seychelles’
national and cultural heritage; the
development and promotion of the arts; and ensuring easy access to and
availability of cultural
activities to all.
- In
relation to its mission, the Division of Culture promotes cultural activities
and undertakes research on cultural tendencies.
It is responsible for
protecting and preserving cultural heritage, providing access to knowledge and
information, and researching
the development of the Kreol language and culture.
The Department of Culture in the Ministry of Education and Culture has overall
responsibility for the arts, and for museums, libraries, and film. However many
of these responsibilities are delegated to organizations
such as the
Arts Council.
- Through
the National Arts Council many creative activities are organized at school level
for children. Children also have free access
to the archives and museums, the
Natural History Museum being particularly popular with the children. The
children’s section
of the National Library is well used and the Ministry
plans to improve the stock of books and other magazines. The Government is
committed to encouraging children and young people to develop forms of
expression in all areas, and the Conservatoire of Music and
Dance has many
children involved. A junior band has been formed, and young boys and girls are
proud to join and form part of the
National Band, which performs at official
functions and cultural events.
- In
Seychelles responsibility for sports falls within the brief of the Ministry of
Local Government Youth and Sports (MLGYS). The
Ministry has responsibility for
giving direction to and translating into action government policies in order to
maximize community
participation and contribution in local government
administration and development; for coordinating youth activities and for mass
enjoyment of and pursuit of excellence in sports. Local government
administration is decentralized to 22 regional districts responsible
for
the overall infrastructural development of the community, e.g. recreational
facilities, entertainment, improved infrastructure
and
facilities.
- MLGYS
is also responsible for the construction of a number of social and leisure
facilities at both district and national level, such
as children’s
playgrounds, playing fields, multipurpose courts, gymnasia, swimming pools,
youth centres, and community centres.
All these facilities play an important
role in the development of young people and children of Seychelles. There are
currently
9 district playgrounds out of a total of 25 districts on
Mahe, Praslin, La Digue and the Inner Islands. Most districts have
other
facilities, normally for older children or young people, e.g. multipurpose
courts, which tend to be monopolized by the older boys.
As part of its
Programme of Action for Children in Seychelles the Ministry aims to upgrade many
of the facilities available for
children. Among the projects to be implemented
are three for upgrading existing playgrounds, which represents an investment of
SR
475,000. In 1994 the Ministry employed 314 staff with a
recurrent budget of SR 41.4 (sic). There was
a 32 per cent reduction in
the budget in 1995.
- This
Ministry’s District Youth Clubs also organize various leisure and
recreational activities for schoolchildren especially
during weekends and
holiday periods. These activities are based on the affinities, interest, form
and age of the participants, and
they embrace a wide range of activities in the
areas of culture, the arts, sports, outdoor life, camping, social exchange, etc.
Special
sports initiatives and competitions are also organized by the National
Sports Council and various sports federations during the
holidays.
- The
Ministry recently introduced a special award scheme. The President’s
Award, aimed at promoting community integration and
development of life skills
and personal abilities. An encouraging number of children and young people have
shown interest in the
scheme. The Ministry also supports other organizations
that promote children’s development such as the Seychelles Scouts
Association
and the Seychelles Youth Animateur Association.
- Responsibility
for the management of sports has been delegated to the National Sports Council
(NSC). The thrust of policies pertaining
to sports development is to provide
access to and participation in sports activities to as may Seychellois as
possible. Guided by
this principle the Government, through the NSC, has
provided basic sports infrastructure at district level in the form of
multipurpose
courts and playing fields. At present there are 28 sports
actively and regularly practised in the country.
3. Inadequate policy coordination, development and
funding
- One
element in ensuring the full implementation of article 31.2 must be
coordinated policy development at both national and local
levels. However, it
is clear that there is poor coordination.
- The
Arts Council and the Sports Council, the two government bodies concerned with
adult leisure and recreation, are given substantial
resources annually by the
Government for their work, but in neither case do they have any policy which
accepts the premise of article
31.2. Although both state their recognition
of the importance of such work with children and young people, no quantifiable
budgets
for programmes are identified. Within the arts there is no one body
with a real overview of the arts needs of young people. As
a result provision
is piecemeal and ad hoc.
- There
is no specific department responsible for overseeing services for children and
young people. Different needs are addressed
by different departments including
Education, Social Services and Local Government Youth and Sports but the overall
needs of children
and young people are not properly assessed. The same lack of
perception as to the importance of play is found in physical planning
departments. As a result most planning decisions have paid minimal attention to
the specific needs of children and young people.
- Any
policy and strategy must include an understanding of the many elements of play
and leisure. They must also reflect the importance
of access for disabled
children including, for example, physical access, and availability of different
forms of communication and
transport.
- An
arts policy for all, including appropriate and equal opportunities for children
and young people in line with article 31.2 of the
Convention would ensure
that every young person has access to properly funded projects where young
people’s experience and
skills are valued and developed. MLGYS could
appoint teams in districts to oversee the provision of services for children and
young
people. These teams should develop and publish a coordinated,
comprehensive child and youth policy relating to the provision of
play and
leisure activities. The teams should have advisory groups and networks
drawn from the local population of children and
young people.
- Although
it is impossible to estimate the proportion of government expenditure on arts
and leisure activities devoted specifically
to play and leisure activities for
children and young people, it is clearly not related to the proportion of the
population they
represent. The Ministry reports that budgetary constraints
hinder the construction and development of community sociorecreational
facilities.
4. Compliance report
- Most
of the time children and young people spend playing is not in organized
facilities and services, but in and around their homes,
on their own or with
friends and with little or no input by adults. Children, young people and their
families need to feel safe
in their local environment. If full implementation
of article 31 is to be achieved the Government must do what it can to
ensure
this safety. Frequently children’s rights to play and leisure
activities are restricted by dangers inherent in the social
and physical
environment.
- Many
physical factors affect children’s play including inadequate housing and
gardens, overcrowding, risks from traffic and
lack of provision of suitable
space. These problems are exacerbated by insufficient lowcost, quality day
care, lack of provision
before and after school for children whose parents work;
limited play centres; the lack of targeted play schemes; poor access to
safe
outdoor open spaces, quality playgrounds and recreational development schemes;
and lack of sufficient equipped outdoor recreation
spaces for older children.
The central issue for younger children is safety, with dangers from vehicles,
other adults, bullying,
and play areas spoilt by broken glass and rubbish. Many
children may be playing in an atmosphere of fear
and stress.
- Among
those young people interviewed, frustration at the lack of consultation was a
major concern, resulting in provision of services
of little interest to them.
Lack of money and restriction of movement by parents are also issues of concern
as is fear of violence,
particularly from other young people.
- The
Ministry of Community Development, which has overall responsibility for physical
planning, has no direct responsibility for play.
The Ministry should however
provide guidance on space, equipment and safety in housing estates. This
guidance should address the
specific needs of children and young people of
different ages and should be mandatory. The nature of play and its importance
to
children should make it one of the major considerations and fundamental
concerns of the planning process, and should be provided
for in planning
legislation.
- Other
methods of improving the safety at local community level including adopting
“playfriendly” strategies and initiatives
such as traffic abatement
measures, combined with the creation of dedicated play spaces. Major
improvements could be made by such
measures coupled with other initiatives, such
as improvements to school playground environments. Planning authorities should
ensure
that new housing developments provide a play environment as part of the
initial building regulations.
5. Providing “appropriate” services and facilities
(arts. 31.1 and 2)
(a) Consulting with children and young people
- In
order to ensure full participation of children and young people (art. 12)
in discussion about provision for their play and leisure
activities
(art. 31), children and young people should be actively consulted and
involved in deciding the location and nature of
designated play spaces provided
by the Government. All services and facilities providing play and leisure
activities should have
formal evaluation policies which involve consulting with
children and young people who use their services and, where appropriate,
those
who do not use their services but could be expected to.
- Although
they may not be interested in mainstream adult arts, many young people are
involved in a wide variety of pursuits. Much
of their cultural activity is not
organized and controlled by institutions but develops in an organic way from the
lives and influences
of the current generation. Informal activities such as
gocarting and roller blading have emerged. Music is one of the most popular
of
the youth arts. Many young people are involved in this often selftaught,
selfmanaged activity.
- Children
and young people of all ages - preschool, in school or in work training - have
the right to activities appropriate to their
ages, and in each community setting
this should be a part of the infrastructure. In Seychelles continuity and
progression in services
from early childhood through to adulthood is an area of
concern, especially for those young people outside formal education. Compliance
with article 31.1 requires that planners should look at ways of developing
ageappropriate services and continuity between services.
(b) Equal opportunities in play and leisure
provision
- “Equal
opportunities” in the context of article 31.2 means that all children
and young people should have access to a
wide variety of play, recreational,
artistic and cultural activities. There is also little outofschool provision in
Seychelles for
8 to 12yearolds in their district. It is clear that for many
children and young people access to facilities and services can be
limited.
Specific groups of children and young people affected include those with special
needs, limited mobility, limited financial
resources, or excessive family
commitments such as housework or caring for younger siblings.
(c) Disabled children and young people
- At
present the extent to which disabled children can use mainstream play facilities
is very limited and poor funding adds to problems
of unsuitable premises and
amenities, access, unsuitable equipment and the need for additional and trained
help. Families including
children with special needs are often reluctant to
approach mainstream groups as they are not sure how they and their children will
be received. The need for integrated activities for children with disabilities
and learning difficulties is of particular importance
as in many areas there are
few other opportunities for them to play and associate with their peers in
groups and clubs or integrated
schools.
- MLGYS
is involved in and supports the Special Olympics Committee, organizing sports
activities at national level for the disabled.
The Ministry’s sports
policy states that “This Ministry will also endeavour to develop special
socioeducational, cultural
and leisure programmes through its network of
District Youth Clubs so as to promote the social integration of the disabled
children”.
It is not clear how the Ministry plans to translate this
commitment into action. There is also a lack of suitable provision in
schools
for disabled people wanting to be involved in sports
activities.
6. Safety and standards (arts. 3.2 and 3.3)
- The
ministries responsible for children’s playgrounds, daycare centres,
community centres and sports facilities are mandated
to ensure that construction
of such facilities conforms to Planning, and Licensing Authority requirements
which include strict health
and safety measures; these facilities and equipment
are subject to regular general cleaning, inspection and maintenance; and all
activities are carried out with every degree of precaution and under adequate
supervision by competent adults.
- Most
accidents to children and young people outside the home happen during play and
leisure activities. For many children the area
around their home presents many
dangers and there is little or no safe outdoor place to play. The most
widespread form of recreational
provision is constructed unsupervised
playgrounds and play areas which exist throughout Seychelles in villages.
Outdoor play facilities
in the districts are in general badly maintained,
vandalized, in poor condition and in cases dangerous. In general these
playgrounds
do not have any effective maintenance and inspection
teams.
- Government
guidelines on safety exist but are not enforceable in law. A large number of
play areas lack impactabsorbing surfaces.
The standards of equipment and
maintenance fall short of the safety needs of children. There remains a need to
ensure that current
health and safety legislation is strictly enforced.
Playgrounds and other leisure centres keep no accident records, preventing
further
comment on their level of safety. It is to be noted that staff employed
in the children’s playground do not have basic first
aid
training.
E. Concluding remarks and recommendations
Education
- Compliance
with article 3 and 1 requires that the Education Law be amended to
incorporate a principle stating that it will be the
duty of the Minister for
Education and school heads in the exercise of any of their functions that the
welfare of the child will
be a primary consideration.
- Compliance
with article 3.3 requires that additional central government funds should
be made available to invest in the infrastructure
of schools to bring them up to
a standard of repair and decoration necessary both to ensure the health and
safety of all pupils and
to ensure that the physical environment of schools is
not detrimental to their educational opportunities.
- Compliance
with article 12 requires that:
(a) Schools introduce procedures
for ensuring that children are provided with the opportunity to express their
views on matters of
concern to them in the running of schools and that their
views be given due weight in accordance with their age and
maturity;
(b) Both initial and inservice teacher education be founded on
the principles of respect for children and greater democracy within
schools.
- Compliance
with article 12 requires:
(a) Legislation introducing a
duty on the Ministry of Education and schools to establish formal procedures for
both ascertaining
and giving due consideration to the views of individual
children on matters affecting them and enabling them to make complaints when
they are dissatisfied with either the process or outcome of any decision made in
respect of them;
(b) Legislation to ensure the child has a right to be
heard in decisionmaking and appeals concerned with school choice, expulsion
from
school and special needs assessment;
(c) The introduction by schools of
procedures for ensuring that children are provided with the opportunity to
express their views
on matters of concern to them in the running of schools and
that their views are given due weight in accordance with their age and
maturity;
(d) Both initial and inservice teacher education to be founded
on the principles of respect for children and greater democracy within
schools.
- Full
implementation of article 17 requires:
(a) Libraries to
ensure that their policies on opening hours and stock do not adversely affect
children’s rights;
(b) Guidelines for services for children and
young people to be adopted and implemented by all public library services and
schools;
(c) The use of agreed guidelines for monitoring
children’s books and resources to ensure that they help develop awareness
of
a positive identity by all children.
- Compliance
with article 17 (c) requires that the Government and education
authorities in Seychelles continue to promote and facilitate
the provision of
educational books and resources in Kreol.
- Compliance
with article 17 (d) partnerships should be established between
voluntary organizations, schools, children and their families
to ensure and
encourage the provision of these resources.
- Compliance
with article 17 (e) requires that:
(a) Further
research be undertaken into the effects of television, the Internet, video and
computer games on the mental and physical
development of
children;
(b) Guidelines for protecting children and young people from
harm through the media be drawn up, in conjunction with children and
young
people themselves.
- Compliance
with articles 19, 28 and 37 requires that:
(a) The
law applying to all institutional settings for children consistently prohibit
punishment and treatment which may involve
physical or mental violence; in
particular the abolition of corporal punishment should be extended to cover all
pupils;
(b) Guidance to school staff on the appropriate use of physical
restraint be issued, following consultation with all relevant staff
and
children;
(c) Initial teacher education incorporate the principle of
respect for children’s personal and physical integrity;
(d) All
schools adopt a whole school behaviour policy which addresses the physical
environment and the staffing of playgrounds and
classrooms and which is
developed in consultation with the pupils and all other members of the school
community;
(e) Legislation oblige authorities responsible for all
schools to develop detailed policies to prevent and respond to
bullying;
(f) All staff supervising playgrounds receive training on
antibullying strategies.
- Compliance
with article 23 requires that:
(a) The Ministry of
Education and schools have a duty to make provision for the fullest possible
integration of children with special
needs;
(b) Both initial and
advanced inservice teacher education be available for teachers to enhance their
capacity to offer effective
access to education for children with special needs
in an integrated setting.
- Compliance
with article 28, consistent with article 2, requires
that:
(a) Legislative criteria to limit school expulsions be
introduced which place an obligation on schools to take all reasonable steps
to
prevent the expulsion and to satisfy themselves that, unless expelled, the pupil
is likely to be disruptive;
(b) All staff working with children and
young people in care - social workers, foster carers, residential staff -
receive training
on the importance of education in the lives of those young
people;
(c) Both initial and inservice teacher education include
information about the general circumstances of children in care in order
that
teachers can become more sensitive to the implications for those children and be
more aware of their needs in relation to education;
(d) Social services
and education departments review and evaluate their arrangements for liaison and
collaboration over education
provision for children in care; reviews should
always address the education of the child concerned;
(e) Individual case
files have a separate section on education;
(f) Schools develop
strategies reflecting the individual needs of each school for encouraging
attendance, in consultation with pupils.
- Compliance
with article 28 requires that career guidance be introduced at primary
level and that vocational training opportunities
be
strengthened.
- Compliance
with article 29 requires that:
(a) The National Curriculum
fully incorporate perspectives on human rights and democracy as an integral
component;
(b) Both initial and inservice teacher education be
explicitly designed to equip teachers to undertake their duties in a way that
meets the demands of schools in a multiracial society.
Leisure and cultural activities
- Full
implementation of article 31 requires that:
(a) The Ministry of
Local Government Youth and Sports be given responsibility for ensuring the
implementation of article 31 throughout
the Seychelles through collaboration
with relevant departments and organizations;
(b) A research panel be
established to identify the range and distribution of play provision throughout
the Seychelles;
(c) A governmental interdepartmental forum be
established to ensure that all government and voluntary-sector programmes take
account
of the play and leisure needs of children and young
people;
(d) Officers be appointed with designated responsibility for
children’s play and leisure provision;
(e) Partnerships between
the private and NGO sectors be promoted to provide adequate, appropriate and
accessible play and recreation
space for children of all ages in every
district.
- Compliance
with article 31.2 requires that:
(a) Structured play and
leisure opportunities be sufficiently resourced to ensure that there is
age-appropriate provision and equality
of access for children and young people
from rural areas, and those with disabilities and learning
difficulties;
(b) Government direct the Amusement Centre and national
lotteries to promote the quality of life of children through improvements
in
facilities for play and leisure activities in their objectives; funding must
cover those involved in running and maintaining programmes
over a period of
time;
(c) Opportunities and facilities for leisure and cultural
activities in schools be developed where absent, and maintained where
present.
- Compliance
with article 3.2 requires that:
(a) The Government legislate
for the provision of adequate, appropriate and accessible play and recreation
space for children of
all ages in every district;
(b) Health and safety
legislation be rigorously enforced in play areas through regular inspections and
reports.
- Compliance
with article 12 requires that:
(a) Policy for young people
consider ways of encouraging and developing selfselected leisure activities
which tend to be based on
informality, privacy, personal choice, and power over
and access to usable cultural commodities and resources; this means working
closely with young people in a way that gives them some control over the use and
availability of resources;
(b) The Government establish permanent
monitoring machinery to advise and assess need amongst children and young people
for leisure
facilities, and to what extent they have access, on the basis of
appropriate and equal opportunities, to cultural, artistic and recreational
activities, so that an appropriate response to their needs can be formulated
within various areas of government policy;
(c) A children’s forum
be established to provide a means of incorporating the views of young
people.
- Compliance
with article 2 requires that:
(a) Facilities be decentralized
to promote access, for example through regional recreational
centres;
(b) Space for recreational areas be incorporated in all housing
estates;
(c) Leisure and play in schools be given appropriate weighting
in planning buildings, etc.;
(d) Policies be developed whereby
children whose parents are working can stay after school under supervision to
participate in organized
recreational activities.
- Compliance
with article 3.3 requires that:
(a) Service providers ensure
that staff and volunteers working with children have appropriate training,
knowledge and experience
for the duties and responsibilities expected of
them;
(b) Local government ensure that procedures are in place for
registration and inspection that are appropriate for each type of play
service,
and ensure that professionally trained play staff are involved in these
inspection procedures;
(c) Parents and others have a right of access to
information about the ownership, responsibility and safety provisions of
playgrounds.
Health and safety legislation covering the safety of children and
young people using play areas, including school playgrounds, should
be enforced
more rigorously by regular inspections and reports. Adequate funding should be
made available for this.
IX. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES
A. Children in conflict with the law (arts. 37, 39,
40)
1. The administration of juvenile justice (art. 40)
- The
Constitution (chap. III, Part 1, art. 27) guarantees every person a “right
to equal protection of the law including the enjoyment of the rights and
freedoms
without discrimination on any ground except as is necessary in a
democratic society”. The Constitution also affords strong protection for
the right of fair trial for all persons and provides many guarantees which are
in line with article
40 of the Convention. Article 18 of the Constitution
states that any person who is arrested must be promptly informed of the grounds
for the arrest in a language which he or she understands,
and must be brought
before a court within 24 hours (or, if this is not reasonably possible, within
the shortest possible period of
time).
- All
persons charged with an offence are presumed innocent until proven guilty, after
having had the opportunity to call their own
witnesses and to cross-examine
witnesses against them. All persons have the right to adequate time and
facilities for the preparation
and presentation of a defence, and the right to
be represented by a legal practitioner of their choice. A minor has the right
to
communicate with the parent or guardian.
- In
Seychelles the age of criminal responsibility is 12 but in practice there has
not been a case of a 12-year-old appearing before
the court on criminal charges.
The Children Act also has provisions under Part VIII which are pertinent to
article 40 of the Convention:
The criminal law contains several measures that protect the privacy of
juvenile offenders. The Juvenile Court sits in chambers or
on different days
and times from those at which ordinary sittings are held (sect. 93);
Persons under 18 years of age are to be kept away from adult offenders unless
jointly charged with adult offenders (sect. 93 (4));
No child shall be prosecuted for any offence except for murder or on the
instructions of the Attorney-General (sect. 92);
No child under 14 years of age shall be sentenced to imprisonment (sect. 92
(1)); and
No young person shall be sentenced to imprisonment if he can suitably be
dealt with in any other way provided for under the Act, for
example probation,
fine, committal to a place of detention or certified institution, or to the care
of a relative or other person
(sect. 95 (1)).
- Pre-trial
detention is a last resort in the case of juveniles. The usual procedure is to
release them with a warning into the custody
of a parent or guardian until the
trial takes place. However, in cases where this is not possible they are kept
in a police cell
or sent to the YRTC.
The law provides for charges against a child or young person to be heard by
the Juvenile Court unless the child is charged jointly
with an adult. A
Juvenile Court consists of a judge or magistrate, one man and one woman
appointed by the President.
- Primary
responsibility in Seychelles for services to the Juvenile Court rests with the
Probation Department in the Ministry of Employment
and Social Affairs. This is
consistent with the Ministry’s wider responsibilities for the protection
and welfare of children
and young people, and ensures that these general
considerations are not overlooked in the administration of juvenile justice.
Probation
officers are authorized by the Children’s Act (sect. 8) to make
a report to the court in criminal cases involving accused under
the age of 18,
with a view to providing information on the character and environment of the
child and the causes and circumstances
contributing to the
delinquency.
- The
intention of the Act is to try to ensure that custodial sentences are more
appropriately targeted at the serious or violent offender,
with petty offenders
maintained within the community as far as possible, thereby ensuring that
imprisonment for young people would
be used as a last resort. Under existing
arrangements, boys aged 10 may be remanded in custody and are frequently held in
police
cells. If the court decides on bail the parent or guardian has to be
called in to sign the recognisance or security bond.
- This
community-based approach is consistent with the Convention (art. 40 3 (b)), the
need to divert young people from crime (art.
37 (b)), the use of imprisonment as
a last resort (art. 40.4) and the need for minimum but appropriate
intervention. These principles
of good practice may however be threatened by a
shift towards a more punitive and tougher response to teenage crime, which is
reportedly
on the increase. This shift towards a more punitive approach is
translated into proposals for dealing with young offenders primarily
as
offenders and for the establishment of a Juvenile Detention Centre planned for
1998. This centre would cater for chronic offenders
who are currently sent to
YRTC where they mix with other adolescents.
- It
is argued that one factor which limits realistic community-based alternatives to
imprisonment for juveniles is a shortage of probation
officers, who also
function as social workers in most cases. It is recognized that young offenders
need counselling and monitoring,
combined with constructive activities at
community level, organized for the youths. This is not possible at present
because of the
lack of personnel and facilities. There are only 17 probation
prison welfare officers to handle all probation cases, including adult
cases.
In 1996 Probation Services handled 63 juvenile cases alone.
- Statistics
for the years 1990 to 1995 from Probation Services indicate that the level of
juvenile crime has risen substantially:
28 cases in 1995, 2 of which were
Juvenile Court cases, and 26 cases in 1996, 4 of which were from Juvenile
Courts. In 1996 there
were 4 cases in adult court, when a juvenile was charged
with an adult offender.
- There
is as yet no useful information about the crime patterns of juvenile offenders.
Crime statistics are not disaggregated by gender,
but there is sufficient
evidence to show that the majority of juvenile offenders are boys. Statistics
on the impact of gender on
the criminal justice
process are limited, and there is no evidence to show whether there are
significant differences in the way men and women are treated
by the criminal
justice system. It is to be noted that all judges and magistrates are male, and
of the 24 lawyers only 5 are female.
2. Treatment of young people in custody (art. 37 (a))
- The
Seychelles Constitution (art. 16 (2) (b)) provides that no person shall be
subject to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
The Constitution also prohibits the death penalty (art. 6).
- As
has been noted above, the Youth Residential Treatment Centre (YRTC) is the only
institution used for custodial sentences of young
offenders. The main purpose
of custody in a young offender institution is to ensure that the whole of the
sentence, including the
period of supervision after release, rehabilitates the
offender for return to the community. The regime should build on positive
activities designed to promote self-discipline and a sense of responsibility,
allowing the personal development of the offender through
purposeful activity
and positive relationships. When juveniles are denied bail they are remanded at
the YRTC. A case where a juvenile
was remanded for 14 days at the YRTC was
reported.
- The
young offenders interviewed talked about their experiences being detained in
cells. Whilst detained in such a cell the young
offenders have no books,
newspapers, radio or personal belongings of any kind, and there is very limited
contact with staff. Because
of the hot temperature in the cell youths are
advised to take off their clothes and remain in their underwear. There were
also reports
of different forms of bullying including stealing of property,
testing newcomers, sexual harassment, tensions between young people
from
different areas, attacks on those who try to escape and straightforward
fighting.
- The
whole approach used at the Centre is one based primarily on control and
punishment rather than rehabilitation and treatment.
The staff comprises, one
manager, one counsellor, one teacher and support staff at the level of
social worker’s assistant and
below. The regime practised at the YRTC is
unacceptable and in breach of the Convention as it indicates a certain lack of
compassion
in dealing with these, admittedly difficult, young and very
vulnerable children. Several reviews of the Centre by national and
international
consultants have recommended that the Centre be closed
down.
- A
step has already been made to reduce delays in bringing child abuse cases to
trial. There is encouraging evidence of the effectiveness
of these measures and
it is recommended that a similar principle is applied to criminal proceedings
involving children and young
people. Without the necessary commitment to
institute strategies for the reduction of remands, the Government would be
failing in
its obligations under article 37 (b). However, as discussed above,
Seychelles requires more resources, both personnel and physical
facilities, to
make full use of the potential range of alternatives.
(a) The right to maintain contact with family (art. 37
(c))
- Section
101 of the Children’s Act provides for regular visits to the child by the
parents or guardian to preserve family links.
- One
of the consequences of having the YRTC on Praslin, away from the main island, is
restricted opportunities for family contact.
Whilst young offenders at the YRTC
do have the right to maintain contact with their families through correspondence
and visits,
these rights are seriously circumscribed by the lack of easy access
to family, friends and community. In practice, therefore, juveniles
in custody
have restricted rights to contact because of the distance from home. Home
visits are only allowed at half terms and school
holidays.
(b) Alternatives to institutional care (art.
40.4)
- The
Children’s Act, section 94 (1)-(3), is consistent with article 40.4.
However, in practice the commitment stressed under the Act is not reflected in
the availability
of communitybased facilities for young offenders, which is
still poor. There are also concerns that preventive measures intended
to
strengthen social support, and ensure increased employment and leisure
possibilities are not sufficiently widely available for
young
offenders.
(c) Gender
- There
is concern that in the Seychelles there is no young offender centre for females.
Boys and girls at the YRTC are held in separate
wings. This is causing grave
concern and problems for management. The differential levels of involvement in
crime of boys and girls
means that it may be inappropriate for boys and girls to
be together. It also exposes young girls to potential sexual harassment
and
assault in breach of their right to protection from sexual exploitation and
abuse.
- Another
areas that causes considerable concern, and may indicate discriminatory
practice, is in sentencing. Of the female inmates
at the YRTC the majority have
been sent to the Centre as a place of security because of concern about their
welfare or behaviour,
rather than for reasons directly associated with
offending. For many their parents have lost control and thus they are committed
to YRTC.
- There
is a substantial body of research which indicates that ideological assumptions
about how young women should behave tend to govern
their experiences of youth
justice and the childcare system. They are not judged against a yardstick of
“boys will be boys”
but against a complex definition of a
woman’s role within the private sphere of the family and ideals of
respectability, decency
and concepts of the “good girl”. Fears are
often expressed about girls’ promiscuity, prostitution and teenage
pregnancy; this may in fact result in girls being locked up in circumstances
where boys might not be, leading to numbers of girls
and young women being
removed from home or being placed in compulsory care because of adult
disapproval of their sexual activity
and general lifestyle and demeanour. These
practices mean that girls are discriminated against in breach of article 2 in
the exercise
of their right to be provided appropriate alternatives to
custody.
(d) Promoting the best interests of the child (art.
3.1)
- In
Seychelles the Children’s Act 1982, section 3 (1)-(2), requires that any
decision in respect of the child must be taken in
the child’s best
interests. This is in line with the requirement in article 3 of the
Convention. The Act establishes the
juvenile court system, thus reflecting the
special consideration that has to be given to children when they are involved in
the criminal
justice process. This is intended to ensure that young people are
dealt with in a way which has proper regard for their
youthfulness.
- In
fact, the Children’s Act 1982 in Seychelles is based on the fundamental
principle that the child’s welfare is the paramount
consideration and
delays should be avoided. Courts should have regard, amongst other principles,
to the wishes and feelings of the
child and to his or her physical, emotional
and educational needs, age, sex and background. When the court is considering
whether
to make an order, it should only do so if it believes that doing so
would be better for the child than making no order at all.
(e) Maintaining high standards in all institutions (art.
3.3)
- Currently
there is no set of statutory minimum standards for conditions in treatment
centres for young people. There is anecdotal
evidence that standards within
custodial institutions in the Seychelles fall short of conforming with the
standards established by
competent authorities. There is also serious concern
about the conditions in which young people are held in jail/on
remand.
(f) Complaints procedures
- If
children and young people are to be given effective rights to express views on
all matters of concern to them (art. 12), they must
have adequate information
with which to form opinions. This right is affirmed in article 13. However, in
general, information within
custodial institutions is tightly controlled.
Without access to information and knowledge of procedures it is not possible to
challenge
breaches of rights.
3. Physical and psychological recovery and social
reintegration
- Juvenile
offenders in Seychelles are currently committed to the YRTC. YRTC was
established in 1991 by the Ministry of Social Affairs
and Manpower Development
to provide residential training and rehabilitation for delinquent youth. It
aimed to help them show more
socially responsible behaviour, to help seek and
take advantage of resources and opportunities available in the community, and to
help the youth gain social skills enabling them to cope with the community at
large. The original aim was for the Centre to represent
a home situation,
rather than be viewed as a prison. The counselling and behaviour therapy that
the youth were to benefit from was
to help them build self-esteem and gain
positive behaviour, thereby preparing them to cope with their own home
environment on their
release.
- Unfortunately,
in practice the YRTC has turned into an institution where chronic juvenile
offenders and delinquents are detained.
There is no formal rehabilitation
programme for the young offenders and delinquents. Counselling services
are minimal with one
resident counsellor, who is supported by a psychiatrist who
visits from the main island, Mahe, twice a week.
B. Children in situations of exploitation
1. Economic exploitation including child labour (art.
32)
- The
Seychelles Constitution recognizes the right of children and young persons to
special protection in view of their immaturity and vulnerability. Article
31
protects children under the age of 15 years against economic exploitation and
hazardous employment, subject to exceptions for
children who are employed part
time in light work prescribed by law, without harm to their health, morals or
education.
- The
Employment Act goes even further. It is illegal under this statute to employ a
child under the age of 15 years for any purpose
whatsoever. It is illegal to
employ any child between the ages of 15 and 16 for certain categories of
hazardous work. The Constitution also provides for a higher minimum age of
admission to employment with respect to occupations which the State regards as
dangerous,
unhealthy or likely to impair the normal development of a child. In
addition, the Minister of Employment and Social Affairs is empowered
under the
statute to further limit the types of employment that are permissible for
children between the ages of 15 and 16.
- The
Seychelles Government entered no reservation to the Convention relating to
employment of young people; yet, according to the employment
legislation
currently applying in Seychelles, the following persons, on being employed by an
employer, are deemed to be “young
workers”: “Young people
over the minimum school-leaving age (16) are considered as adults in the
labour market and therefore
subject to no restriction or special protection
other than what applies to the adult labour force” (Employment Act
1991).
Despite the generally satisfactory protection offered by the
Constitution and the Employment Act with respect to child labour, there remain
some concerns. With regard to the inadequacies of protection for
15
to 16yearolds and the risks facing 16 to 18-year-olds in the workplace, the
Government appears to take the view that in the case
of the former, the
legislation is adequate whilst for the latter, protection is unnecessary. In
consequence, many children and young
people continue to participate in the
labour market with inadequate registration or enforcement of existing
legislation and at risk
to their health and safety.
- The
type of employment in which children are involved has changed over the years.
Whilst many continue to be employed in shops and
cleaning work, others are
undertaking jobs in construction where they are often placed in dangerous or
compromising situations.
Some of the current work undertaken by children is not
subject to regulation; for example, baby sitting is excluded, as are the
increasing
numbers of young people who are self-employed. Similarly, there is
no record or protection for people employing children in their
family
business.
- Children
below the minimum age for employment are currently only allowed to work for
eight hours per day. As the law currently stands,
with 15 as the minimum
working age, any form of employment which falls outside the exemptions in the
Employment Act 1991 is permissible.
This means that as new types of work evolve
they are not subject to regulation. So there may be many children working who
are not
adequately protected. The full range of protective
legislation needs to be reviewed and rationalized in order to bring it into
line with the realities of
working children in the 1990s and to ensure that
it fully meets the standards embodied in article 32. Lack of data makes it
difficult,
if not impossible, to know the extent of undetected infringement of
the provision of the Employment Act.
- The
Health and Safety Inspectorate, which has responsibility for safe conditions at
work lacks the resources to provide comprehensive
effective monitoring. Tighter
controls on health and safety are needed if we are to comply fully with article
32.1 and ensure that
children are provided with the necessary equipment,
protective clothing, training and supervision to reduce their exposure to risk
of accidents.
(a) Regulation of employment (art. 32.1 and 2 (b) and
(c))
- The
Seychelles Employment Act 1991 was introduced to standardize safeguards in
bylaws and to strengthen the enforcement powers of
the Ministry responsible. In
practice, the level of regulation afforded to children in employment is
inconsistent and often inadequate;
where it exists Government does not have the
resources to implement it. There are two possible alternative methods of
achieving
the necessary protection for children. One is to extend regulation
into those unprotected employment areas. The other is to raise
the minimum age
of work, with specified exemptions for certain types of work. There is a need
for a coherent interdepartmental strategy
to address the risks faced by children
and young people in employment.
(b) Ignorance of the law (arts. 32.1 and 13)
- Studies
in other countries have revealed that the majority of children surveyed had no
knowledge of the law in relation to their employment.
The situation in
Seychelles does not differ significantly in this respect. If they are unaware
of the existence of protective legislation,
it is certainly possible that many
of their parents are equally unaware and this lack of knowledge increases the
likelihood of children
being employed illegally.
- Article
13 stresses the importance of the right to receive appropriate information. It
is also important to recognize that one of
the most effective means of ensuring
that children are protected from economic exploitation and hazardous work is to
equip them with
the information with which to protect themselves. It is
therefore imperative that information about the law relating to employment
and
the duties of those employing children under the minimum schoolleaving age be
made available to children and their parents.
- Compliance
with articles 13 and 32.1 requires that information be made available through
the appropriate media to raise public awareness
of the law. This should be
backed up by the provision of independent advice and advocacy services for young
people.
(c) Terms and conditions of employment (art. 32.1 and 2
(b))
- The
statutory period of paid leave for employees is 21 days. Young employees have
statutory rights to holiday pay and work breaks,
enjoying the same benefits as
other workers. The requirement in article 32.2 (b) implies the need for
regulation in this aspect
of employment. In Seychelles trainees and apprentices
are paid SR 1,000 during their first year on the scheme, and SR 1,200 during
the
second year. Although it is expected that trainees be paid less than adults
with experience, many young people enter training
in areas where they are as
productive as adults, such as catering or agricultural work, but are used by
employers as a source of
cheap labour without necessarily receiving adequate
training. This situation should be addressed.
2. Drug and alcohol abuse (art. 33)
- Both
alcohol and drugs are controlled by statute law in Seychelles. The sale of
alcohol to children under the age of 18 is illegal
and the Children’s Act
(sect. 72) makes it an offence for anyone to give or allow a child liquor in a
quantity that might be
detrimental to the child’s health. The Act also
makes it illegal for a person to give or sell, a child or allow him/her to
use
or take any dangerous drug as defined in the Dangerous Drugs
Act.
- Drug
and alcohol abuse is becoming a serious problem in Seychelles and the Government
has set up a comprehensive range of efforts
to deal with it. The setting up of
a Task Force on Drug and Alcohol Abuse in 1994 was a major step in that
direction. Membership
of the Task Force consists of wide representation at the
highest level from the Ministry for Employment and Social Affairs, the Ministry
for Local Government, Youth and Sports, the Ministry for Education and Culture,
Churches, members of the National Assembly, the Attorney-General,
the
Commissioner of Police, the Ministry of Health and the Seychelles Broadcasting
Corporation (SBC). The First Lady, Mrs. Sarah
Rene, is also a member of the
Task Force.
- The
Task Force was set up to make a detailed study of the drug and alcohol problem
and to make concrete proposals to Government on
these issues. Since its
inception in April 1994, the Task Force has carried out a survey to
establish drug awareness amongst students
and has considered previous studies on
the drug situation in Seychelles conducted by the United Nations Drug Control
Programme (UNDCP).
- The
findings of the Task Force were that Seychelles has a growing problem of drug
abuse, which is mostly the use of cannabis, though
there was evidence that other
“hard and sophisticated substances” were being brought in the
country. The Task Force
recognizes that it is difficult to measure accurately
the extent of alcohol abuse. However, on the basis of its consultations and
studies of indicators it was convinced that the misuse of alcohol is on the
increase and is already one of the major health threats
to children and young
people in the Seychelles. In today’s society alcohol is available from a
variety of sources, and the
use of alcohol is widely considered to be a social
necessity. Consumption is rising and so are the social costs of alcohol misuse.
Alcohol is a major contributor to health problems, family breakdown, and law and
order problems in Seychelles. Young people may
be particularly susceptible to
the detrimental effects of consuming alcohol and to long-term health
risks.
- The
recommendations made by the Task Force on Drug and Alcohol Abuse encompass a
wide range of strategies ranging from stricter enforcement
of the laws relating
to the sale of alcohol to minors, to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and
after-care. Special attention
is recommended for children and young
people.
- There
are different agencies involved in prevention. The Ministry of Education and
Culture, mainly through the Student Welfare Unit,
is targeting children and
youths attending primary and secondary schools. The Unit is putting tremendous
efforts into primary prevention,
focusing on healthy lifestyles, resistance
skills and information dissemination. The social education programme of this
Ministry
is also focusing on personal and social skills. The schools are
involved in early detection and intervention and both the National
Youth Service
and the Polytechnic have their own programmes. The Ministry of Employment and
Social Affairs, through Probation and
Social Services, is targeting youths both
within and outside the education institutions. The Ministry of Employment and
Social Affairs
works closely with the Ministry of Education and Culture and the
Ministry of Health in such cases. The Ministry of Health is the
only agency
offering residential treatment to alcohol abusers.
- The
Committee for public sensitization, which was set up by Task Force, is now also
involved in prevention. It is to be noted that
the “No Drugs
Association” (NDA) is also a member of the Committee. The NDA has its own
plans for prevention. The Ministry
of Local Government, Youth and Sports as
well as other agencies are also actively engaged in prevention. Alcoholics
Anonymous is
the only self-help group in Seychelles. Attempts have been made to
start Al-Anon and Al-Ateen groups, with little success.
(a) Alcohol abuse
- A
study carried out in 1991 by Pinn and Bret relating to cardiomyopathy in the
Seychelles rates Seychelles as fourth in the world
for annual alcohol
consumption. The same study showed that 75 per cent of the male population
were regular alcohol consumers with
19 per cent of these men consuming
more than 100g of alcohol per day. The findings of the study confirmed the high
frequency of
alcohol-related diseases in general and cardiomyopathy in
particular. According to the Ministry of Health, alcohol-related diseases
account for the largest percentage of hospital admissions and underlies the
three major causes of death in Seychelles.
- No
study has been done to assess the extent of alcohol abuse amongst children, but
there is concern about the use of alcohol by children
and young people. The
Task Force on Drug and Alcohol Abuse is convinced that children are exposed to
alcohol consumption by their
parents. Many children are also indirectly
affected by adults, in particular parents who drink excessively. Children of
problem
drinkers may develop social, educational, emotional and relationship
problems. Children and young people experiencing problems because
of a
parent’s or guardian’s use of alcohol or because of their own use
need help and support. While services tend to
focus on adult problem drinkers,
there is a need for services to which children affected by alcohol could refer
themselves or be
referred.
(b) Drug abuse
- Significant
progress has been made in raising public awareness about the problem of drug and
substance abuse and Government, in partnership
with non-governmental
organizations, has mounted an integrated approach aiming primarily at
prevention. Within the Government the
Ministries for Education, Health and
voluntary Agencies are all involved in tackling drug abuse
amongst young people, but there is little evidence of a coordinated strategy
between them. The present prevention activities require
strengthening and
coordination between the different agencies, and well-structured prevention
programmes and facilities are as yet
still lacking.
- The
police are the main law enforcement agency. Other agencies, such as Customs,
which has the key part to play at points of entry,
have important roles to
perform. Efforts are being made by the police to reduce the drug supply by the
destruction of cultivation,
but the general view is that this approach needs to
be intensified. For example, more effort should be made to detect the
cultivators
and traffickers. Detention and seizure of drugs at points of entry
into Seychelles also need to be intensified and the mechanism
for such action
needs to be strengthened by both Customs and the police.
- A
number of different agencies are involved in treatment rehabilitation
activities. Foremost amongst these are the Ministry of Health,
the Ministry of
Employment and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Education and Culture and the
Ministry of Local Government, Youth
and Sports. The No Drug Association is also
engaged in this area. Drug abusers and addicts seeking treatment are treated in
the
psychiatric ward of the Victoria Hospital and sometimes at the
Les Cannelles psychiatric hospital. The hospital is solely lacking
in
facilities to treat such cases and the Les Cannelles hospital is not considered
an appropriate environment.
- Considerable
resources are being devoted to drug prevention and support programmes in the
Seychelles now. These programmes should
adopt a “non-medical”
approach with flexibility and innovation if they are to be effective. It is
reported that in schools
there is a new wave of drug use amongst young people.
There appear to be fears in some schools that highlighting drugs in the health
education curriculum could conflict with attempts to create a “drug
free” image. Schools need coordinated drugs policies
worked out with the
students, the staff, local drug education and support agencies and the local
police.
- Increases
in the numbers of young people using drugs and in the variety of drugs they are
using suggests that the drug services of
the future must be flexible and those
involved should have knowledge about a wider range of drug-related problems.
Boredom, low
self-esteem and lack of positive routine have all been suggested to
contribute to drug taking. The way forward in protecting children
and young
people from the illicit use of solvents, drugs and psychotropic substances is to
adopt a long-term strategy of both prevention
and harm reduction. Services need
to be flexible, responsive and sensitive to the young person’s needs.
Treatment must involve
offering drug users opportunities to overcome their
fears, to gain in confidence, to learn trust and to recognize their full
potential.
Self-help groups, organized and run by users, can help
this process.
3. Sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (art. 34)
- Apart
from the various common law crimes aimed at protection of both adults and
children from sexual assault, there is no statute
aimed specifically at sexual
exploitation. The Children’s Act (sect. 70 (1) (b)) makes it illegal to
expose a child in a manner
likely to cause unnecessary moral damage. Very few
arrests are made with regard to prostitution-related offences and information
on
the age of the persons involved in these arrests is not readily available.
Cases have been reported to the police about particular
individuals
“harbouring” children for purposes of sexual exploitation. There is
a general public concern as to the shortcomings
of the police in handling these
cases and efforts made to redress the situation. See also section VI.
H.
4. Sale, trafficking and abduction (art. 35)
- There
have been no cases of sale or abduction of children in Seychelles. Reports of
trafficking or harbouring of children with a
view to using them for sexual
exploitation, though very few, is an area of concern. There are no known cases
of illegal abduction
of children in Seychelles. The laws relating to abduction
and kidnapping are covered under section VI.
5. Other forms of exploitation (art. 36)
- In
addition to the forms of exploitation discussed above, the Children’s Act
makes it illegal to cause or procure a child or
to allow a child in your custody
to beg, or to win sympathy for a person who is begging (sec. 71). The Act also
makes it illegal
for children to be used in witchcraft or used to take part in
or in connection with any felony, misdemeanour or other act which is
an offence
under any written law (sects. 74, 75). The Constitution also guarantees the
right of the child in this respect.
C. Children of minority or indigenous populations (art.
30)
- There
are no indigenous populations in Seychelles. The richness of the population is
reflected in the mixture of the many ethnic
groups, which over the years have
inter-married and are now living in harmony. The Constitution protects the
right of every person to practise and promote any culture, language, tradition
or religion which does not interfere
with the constitutional rights of others or
the national interest.
D. Concluding remarks and recommendations
Children in conflict with the law
- Compliance
with article 2 requires that:
(a) The Government consider the
provision of a secure unit for girls (aged 12-14);
(b) Research on the
treatment of young offenders with particular reference to gender be carried
out;
(c) The Government ensure consistency of safeguards against all
illtreatment or unnecessary restriction of liberty in all institutions
which
lawfully restrict children’s liberty.
- Compliance
with article 3.1 requires that:
(a) The principle of the
child’s best interests being a primary consideration be extended to all
legislation dealing with young
offenders;
(b) Guidance be developed and
provided for magistrates and judges designed to emphasize the importance of, and
promote good practice
in the best interests of the child in criminal
proceedings.
- Compliance
with article 3.3 requires:
(a) The development of minimum
standards for all forms of secure institutions, youth treatment centres and,
when introduced, the
juvenile detention centre;
(b) That a social
services inspectorate be given full responsibility to monitor
standards;
(c) That training standards and incentives be developed to
retain competent staff.
- Compliance
with article 19 requires that:
(a) Codes of practice and
guidance be issued to all staff working with young offenders and delinquents on
positive methods of encouraging
acceptable behaviour;
(b) Young offender
institutions be required to have a policy on protecting young people from
bullying. These policies should include
strategies for its prevention, support
for those who are bullied, appropriate responses to those who bully and
arrangements for responding
to those forms of bullying that appear to involve
criminal offences.
- Compliance
with article 37 (a) requires that: the Government urgently review current
facilities and regimes in YRTC. In particular,
the review should seek to end
the practice of locking inmates in dormitories or cells for long periods without
meaningful activity,
and should protect vulnerable inmates from bullying and
intimidation by other inmates.
- Compliance
with article 37 (b) requires that:
(a) The principle that
persons under 18 should only be imprisoned or detained as a measure of last
resort and for the shortest appropriate
period of time be included in criminal
justice legislation;
(b) The Government specifically prohibit the
restriction of children’s liberty in all institutions;
(c) The definition of restriction of liberty under section 1 of the
Children’s Act be amended to include restriction of liberty by means other
than through placement in accommodation provided
for that
purpose;
(d) The Government establish an independent working party to
develop a national policy and standards to apply to the many forms of
detention
for minors.
- Compliance
with article 37 (c) and article 9.4 requires that:
(a) All
institutions be prohibited from using as a measure of control, restrictions on
visits and communication by the family of
a child whose liberty is
restricted;
(b) The location of any new secure accommodation for young
offenders take into consideration accessibility issues.
- Compliance
with article 40.2 (b) (iii) requires that the Government encourage interagency
reviews of delays and draw up action plans
in response.
- Compliance
with article 40.3 (a) requires that:
(a) Where children are
suspected of involvement in offending behaviour, an interagency response should
retain the option of taking
no further action, issuing a warning, and offering
assistance and advice (counselling or therapy);
(b) Community-based
facilities be extended through increasing funding;
(c) Broader,
long-term measures to strengthen the capacity of home, school and community to
support vulnerable young people be developed.
- Compliance
with article 40.4 requires that:
(a) Social Services and
Probation Services set out basic minimum arrangements for inter-agency
cooperation in the provision of services
to young
offenders;
(b) Government consider establishing an independent working
party to look into the current position of young people (aged 12 to 18),
and the
role of the youth service and other agencies. It should develop a coordinated
strategy for this age group, which would include
a review of current educational
provision, training and employment provision, welfare benefit entitlements and
the availability of
leisure facilities.
Children in situations of exploitation
- Compliance
with article 3.2 requires that:
(a) Schools be encouraged to
provide alcohol education programmes which emphasize informed decision-making
and life skills and enable
young people to make positive and healthy choices
about their behaviour;
(b) Children and young people be involved in the
design of alcohol education programmes aimed at their peers;
(c) Laws
relating to the sale of alcohol to young people be more strictly
enforced;
(d) Services be provided for children and young people seeking
help or information with regard to their own use of alcohol or because
of
problems experienced as a result of the drinking problems of a close
person.
- Compliance
with article 32.1 requires the construction of a strategy which should involve
the relevant government departments - Ministry
for Education, Ministry of
Employment and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Health - together with the
Health and Safety Inspectorate,
relevant unions and interested organizations
such as the National Council for Children to
identify:
(a) Whether accidents in different types of
employment are occurring and, if so, their rates and their
severity;
(b) What additional information needs to be
collected;
(c) Whether current legislation for protecting children and
young people at work throughout the Seychelles is sufficient to comply
with
article 32;
(d) The level of resources necessary to ensure that any
legislation is properly enforced.
- Compliance
with article 33 requires that:
(a) In order for children and
young people to have confidence in drug services, the rules of confidentiality
be clear from the outset
and the circumstances under which confidentiality may
be broken, if there are any, explained; young people should be able to use
the
services knowing that they are safe from unwarranted intervention into their
lives;
(b) There be more broad-based community programmes aimed at
tackling the root causes of solvent abuse;
(c) Schools provide more
education relating to solvent and drug abuse and should be encouraged to provide
informal, confidential
advice and drop-in centres, staffed by skilled workers
from outside the school.
- Compliance
with article 34 requires that:
(a) The present law on sexual
exploitation be strengthened to protect young people;
(b) The present
law on pornography and pornographic materials be enforced more
effectively.
List of references
Children Act, 1982
Children
(Amendment) Act, 1991
Children (Amendment) Bill - an act to amend the
Children’s Act (Capt. 28) 1997
Hague Conference on Private
International Law, Final Act, The Hague, 29 May 1993
Ministry of
Community Development. Annual Reports 1990-1995
Ministry of Education
and Culture. Annual Reports 1990-1995
Ministry of Employment and Social
Affairs. Annual Reports 1990-1995
Ministry of Health. Annual Reports
1990-1995
Department of Legal Affairs. Annual Reports
1990-1995
Ministry of Local Government, Youth and Sports. Annual
Reports 1990-1995
National Programme of Action for Children, Seychelles
1995
Poverty in Paradise, World Bank 1996
Penal Code (amendment)
Act. 1996
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child,
1990
Statistical Abstract 1996, 1997 edition, MISD, Seychelles
Table 1
Estimated population of Seychelles, disaggregated by age and
gender, mid-1996
|
Male
|
Female
|
Total
|
0-4
|
3 938
|
3 650
|
7 588 (9.9%)
|
5-9
|
3 732
|
3 735
|
7 467 (9.7%)
|
10-14
|
3 717
|
3 625
|
7 342 (9.6%)
|
15-19
|
3 715
|
3 643
|
7 358 (9.6%)
|
20-24
|
3 425
|
3 272
|
6 697 (8.7%)
|
25-29
|
3 328
|
3 493
|
6 821 (8.9%)
|
30-60
|
-
|
-
|
25 378 (33.2%)
|
> 60
|
-
|
-
|
7 766 (10.1%)
|
Total population
|
37 923 (49.6%)
|
38 494 (50.4%)
|
76 417 (100%)
|
Source: Statistical Abstract 1996. 1997 edition, MISD,
Seychelles.
Table 2
Population projections
|
1992
|
1997
|
2002
|
2007
|
2012
|
Total population
|
70 763
|
76 927
|
81 496
|
86 751
|
91 419
|
Number aged 0-14
|
22 642
|
23 827
|
24 515
|
24 389
|
23 509
|
% of total
|
32%
|
31%
|
30%
|
28%
|
26%
|
Females 15-49
|
17 898
|
20 142
|
21 772
|
23 826
|
25 380
|
Number aged 15-64
|
43 093
|
48 044
|
51 665
|
56 732
|
61 884
|
Dependency ratio
|
642
|
603
|
583
|
539
|
492
|
Child-woman ratio
|
463
|
427
|
389
|
342
|
310
|
Median age (years)
|
24.1
|
25.4
|
26.5
|
27.7
|
29.0
|
Source: Statistical Abstract 1996. 1997 edition, MISD,
Seychelles.
Table 3
Population size and key health indicators, 1990-1995
|
Midyear population
|
Birth rate per 1,000
|
Death rate per 1,000
|
Infant mortality rate per 1,000
|
1990
|
69 507
|
23.1
|
7.7
|
13.0
|
1991
|
70 438
|
24.2
|
7.7
|
12.9
|
1992
|
70 763
|
22.6
|
7.4
|
11.9
|
1993
|
72 253
|
23.4
|
8.3
|
13.0
|
1994
|
73 850
|
23.0
|
7.6
|
8.8
|
1995
|
75 304
|
21.0
|
7.0
|
18.3
|
Source: Statistical Abstract 1996. 1997 edition, MISD,
Seychelles.
Table 4
Immunization coverage in 1995
|
Vaccine
|
Coverage (%)
|
Tuberculosis
|
BCG
|
100
|
Diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus
|
DPT
|
93.2
|
Polio
|
-
|
93.2
|
Yellow fever
|
-
|
95
|
Mumps/measles/rubella
|
MMR
|
98
|
Hepatitis B
|
-
|
96.9
|
Source: Statistics Section, Ministry of Health.
Table 5
Requests for termination of pregnancy, 1990-1995
|
Approved
|
Not approved
|
Other*
|
Total
|
1990
|
138
|
158
|
7
|
303
|
|
45.5%
|
52.1%
|
2.3%
|
100.0%
|
1991
|
136
|
103
|
8
|
247
|
|
55.1%
|
41.7%
|
3.2%
|
100.0%
|
1992
|
196
|
117
|
5
|
318
|
|
61.6%
|
36.8%
|
1.6%
|
100.0%
|
1993
|
142
|
94
|
7
|
243
|
|
58.4%
|
38.7%
|
2.9%
|
100.0%
|
1994
|
98
|
52
|
5
|
155
|
|
63.2%
|
33.5%
|
3.2%
|
100.0%
|
1995
|
86
|
46
|
4
|
136
|
|
63.2%
|
33.8%
|
2.9%
|
100.0%
|
Source: Statistics Section, Ministry of Health.
*
Includes applications withdrawn and where TOP were not required.
Table 6
Termination of pregnancy applications by 10- to 19-year-olds,
1990-1995
|
Number of applications
|
Number approved
|
% approved
|
1990
|
85
|
40
|
47%
|
1991
|
65
|
33
|
51%
|
1992
|
96
|
65
|
68%
|
1993
|
85
|
57
|
67%
|
1994
|
52
|
38
|
73%
|
1995
|
35
|
28
|
80%
|
Table 7
Benefit payments, 1991-1995
|
|
1992
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
|
SR ’000
|
SR ’000
|
SR ’000
|
SR ’000
|
SR ’000
|
Retirement pension
|
57 397
|
62 111
|
78 307
|
|
|
Invalidity benefit
|
8 721
|
9 007
|
10 695
|
10 031
|
13 533
|
Supplementary benefit
|
5 071
|
13 068
|
20 205
|
9 981
|
31 738
|
Sickness benefit
|
1 889
|
4 208
|
5 009
|
|
|
Maternity benefit
|
589
|
955
|
1 435
|
|
|
Survivor’s benefit
|
411
|
643
|
354
|
|
|
Orphan’s benefit
|
1 006
|
1 055
|
973
|
|
|
Total
|
75 084
|
95 147
|
116 978
|
|
|
Source: Social Security Fund.
Table 8
Number of children attending selected educational
establishments
managed by the Ministry of Education, 1993-1997
|
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
Crèche
|
3 081
|
3 100
|
3 201
|
3 164
|
3 242
|
Primary school (P1 to P6)
|
9 770
|
9 767
|
9 691
|
9 588
|
9 825
|
Secondary schools (S1 to S4)
|
6 202
|
6 315
|
6 162
|
6 192
|
6 548
|
National Youth Service
|
1 135
|
1 181
|
1 158
|
1 234
|
1 189
|
Polytechnic
|
1 682
|
1 702
|
1 429
|
1 437
|
1 338
|
Total
|
21 870
|
22 065
|
21 641
|
21 615
|
22 142
|
Source: Statistical Abstract 1996. 1997 edition, MISD,
Seychelles.
Table 9
Number of schools, teachers and students managed by
the Ministry of Education in 1996
|
Number of schools
|
Number of teachers*
|
Number of students
|
Crèche
|
33
|
172
|
3 110
|
Primary
|
23
|
587
|
9 404
|
Special education
|
1
|
24
|
78
|
Secondary
|
14
|
418
|
6 329
|
National Youth Service
|
2
|
122
|
1 189
|
Polytechnic
|
10
|
134
|
1 338
|
Total
|
83
|
1 457
|
21 448
|
Source: Statistical Abstract 1996. 1997 edition, MISD,
Seychelles.
* Excluding helpers and auxiliaries.
Table 10
Seychelles government expenditure, 1991-1995 (SR
000,000)
|
1991
|
1992
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
Tourism and Transport
|
51.8
|
66.6
|
78.8
|
80.5
|
68.7
|
Education and Culture
|
128.6
|
140.1
|
147.8
|
167.9
|
135.9
|
Employment and Social Affairs
|
14.6
|
16.5
|
20.3
|
20.9
|
20.5
|
Health
|
76.6
|
96.2
|
98.4
|
106.9
|
102.2
|
President’s Office
|
4.4
|
11.8
|
12.1
|
26.5
|
13.2
|
Administration and Manpower
|
9.7
|
27.8
|
27.5
|
5.3
|
23.1
|
Legal Affairs
|
2.4
|
2.8
|
3.2
|
5.9
|
3.5
|
Judiciary
|
5.4
|
5.9
|
5.9
|
1.7
|
5.5
|
Audit
|
0.7
|
1.0
|
1.4
|
22.9
|
1.6
|
Foreign Affairs, Planning and Environment
|
15.9
|
21.1
|
21.8
|
60.1
|
20.0
|
Defence
|
87.6
|
105.4
|
67.1
|
35.2
|
55.2
|
Industry
|
2.6
|
3.9
|
3.9
|
20.4
|
4.9
|
Finance and Communication
|
19.1
|
26.7
|
26.4
|
7.7
|
23.2
|
Local Government, Youth and Sport
|
32.1
|
38.5
|
51.4
|
2.1
|
32.2
|
Agriculture and Marine Resources
|
17.1
|
19.3
|
21.1
|
0.9
|
16.1
|
Community Development
|
7.4
|
8.7
|
9.0
|
|
6.3
|
Total expenditure by Ministries and Departments
|
476.1
|
592.2
|
636.2
|
644.9
|
571.4
|
Total budget outlays
|
1 107.3
|
1 247.8
|
1 429.6
|
1 319.9
|
1 255.1
|
Source: Statistical Abstract 1996. 1997 edition, MISD,
Seychelles.
Table 11
Births by age of mother and birth order, 1996
|
|
Number
of births in birth order
|
Age group
|
Total births
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 or more
|
Under 15
|
5
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
15-19
|
228
|
206
|
22
|
0
|
0
|
20-24
|
489
|
272
|
168
|
35
|
2
|
25-29
|
425
|
113
|
157
|
113
|
11
|
30-34
|
319
|
32
|
87
|
108
|
33
|
35-39
|
122
|
7
|
27
|
43
|
28
|
40-44
|
24
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
9
|
45+
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Source: Statistical Abstract 1996. 1997 edition, MISD,
Seychelles.
-----
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