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Netherlands (Aruba) - Initial reports of States parties due in 2002: Addendum [2003] UNCRCSPR 13; CRC/C/117/Add.2 (17 June 2003)
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/117/Add.2 17 June 2003
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 2002
THE NETHERLANDS (ARUBA)
[29
January 2003]
GE.03-42428 (E) 090903
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
Introduction 1 - 4 5
I. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION 5 - 19 5
A. Measures taken to harmonize Aruban law and policy with
the
provisions of the Convention 5 - 7 5
B. Existing or planned mechanisms at the national or local
level for
coordinating policies relating to children and
for monitoring
implementation of the Convention 8 - 14 6
C. Measures taken or envisaged to make the principles and
provisions
of the Convention widely known to adults
and children alike (art. 42)
15 - 18 7
D. Measures taken or envisaged to make the report widely
available to
the public at large 19 8
II. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD 20 - 35 9
III. GENERAL PRINCIPLES 36 - 57 11
A. Non-discrimination 36 - 41 11
B. Best interests of the child 42 - 44 12
C. The right to life, survival and development 45 - 46 12
D. Respect for the views of the child 47 - 57 13
IV. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS 58 - 113 15
A. Name and nationality 58 - 81 15
B. Preservation of identity 82 - 85 19
C. Freedom of expression 86 - 90 19
D. Access to information 91 - 95 20
E. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion 96 - 100 21
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
F. Freedom of association and peaceful assembly 101 22
G. Protection of privacy 102 - 103 22
H. The right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel,
inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment 104 - 113 22
V. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE 114 - 173 24
A. Parental guidance 118 - 119 25
B. Parental responsibility 120 - 128 25
C. Separation from parents 129 - 132 26
D. Family reunification 133 -137 27
E. Recovery of maintenance 138 - 142 28
F. Children deprived of a family environment 143 - 151 28
G. Adoption 152 - 157 30
H. Illicit transfer and non-return 158 31
I. Abuse and neglect, including physical and psychological
recovery
and social reintegration 159 - 170 31
J. Periodic review of placement 171 - 173 33
VI. BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE 174 - 219 34
A. Survival and development 174 34
B. Disabled children 175 34
C. Health and health services 176 - 204 34
D. Social security 205 - 208 39
E. Childcare services 209 - 214 40
F. Standard of living 215 - 219 41
VII. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES 220 - 290 42
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
VIII. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES 291 - 367 54
A. Children in emergency situations 291 - 295 54
B. Children in conflict with the law 296 - 331 55
C. Children in situations of exploitation, including physical
and
psychological recovery and social reintegration 332 - 353 61
D. Children belonging to a minority or an indigenous group 354 -
367 65
Introduction
- Aruba’s
initial report is submitted in pursuance of article 44, paragraph 1 (a), of
the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
which entered into force for the
Kingdom of the Netherlands in respect of Aruba on 17 January 2001. The report
has been drawn up,
as far as possible, in accordance with the general guidelines
governing the form and content of initial reports approved by the Committee
in
October 1991 (CRC/C/5). It was prepared by a commission representing both
governmental and non-governmental organizations, established
by Prime
Minister’s Decree of 12 April 2001.
- The
report describes the present situation in Aruba and the country’s
organizations and agencies committed to protecting children’s
rights. It
is as complete as possible in all respects, but makes no claim to being
exhaustive. Not all relevant information is
available.
- The
Government invited a number of non-governmental organizations to contribute to
the report because their cooperation is essential
in the fields covered by the
Convention. However, its efforts to promote an ongoing dialogue with civil
society and concerted action
to improve the position of children means there are
differences of opinion on how to improve services and facilities and how best
to
promote and protect children’s rights.
- As
far as possible, the present report aims to describe the situation in Aruba from
both the Government and NGO points of view, while
acknowledging that the
Government is ultimately responsible for taking all appropriate measures to
implement the Convention and for
reporting to the Committee.
I. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION
A. Measures taken to harmonize Aruban law and policy
with
the provisions of the Convention (art. 4)
- As
early as the mid-1990s, the Government and States (Parliament) of Aruba and
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) active in the
field of youth care and
protection in Aruba felt an urgent desire to make Aruba a party to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child.
However, it was decided to take the
necessary legislative action to guarantee implementation before acceding to the
Convention.
While many of the rights that the Convention is intended to confer
on children are also contained in other human rights instruments
already in
force in Aruba, some are not.
- A
particular gap in existing national legislation was the lack of statutory
provisions for compulsory school attendance. This was
despite the demand for
such provisions in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, which was already in
force for Aruba. For many years the need to
introduce compulsory education went unrecognized because the vast majority of
children
(98 per cent) attended school anyway. Due to a series of factors
(including large-scale immigration from elsewhere in the region),
this situation
has changed over the past decade.
- Following
consultation with the Advisory Council, a draft National Ordinance on Compulsory
Education was eventually presented to Parliament
in April 2001. In view of the
progress being made in this direction, it was decided at the end of 2000 to
proceed with Aruba’s
accession to the Convention on the Rights of the
Child and on 17 January 2001 the Convention entered into force for Aruba. Work
will continue on harmonizing national law and policy with the provisions of the
Convention. It is essential, for example, that changes
be made in the near
future to the detention and vice laws. Moreover, there is so far no coherent
youth policy. A number of departments,
agencies, committees and organizations
develop, coordinate and implement policies on specific sectors, but a
coordinated approach
is thought to be desirable, and indeed necessary if the
provisions of the Convention are to be effectively implemented.
B. Existing or planned mechanisms at the national or local
level for coordinating policies relating to children and
for monitoring
the implementation of the Convention
- In
order to ensure coordinated and efficient implementation of the Convention, the
Government decided at the end of March 2001 to
appoint a committee made up of
representatives of a number of government departments and NGOs. Its membership
was deliberately chosen
to increase familiarity with the Convention in both the
public and the private sector, to trigger information transfer between the
two
and to promote public awareness. The committee has two co-chairs, one from the
public sector and the other from NGOs.
- The
committee has the following three tasks:
- − To
advise the Government on the implementation of the Convention;
- − To
fulfil the international reporting obligations under the Convention;
- − To
promote public awareness of the rights of the child.
- When
the new Government took office in mid-2001, it proclaimed 2002 as the Youth
Development Year. Youth policy is to focus on providing
the necessary
facilities and resources to enable every young person to develop his or her
capacities and talents to the full.
- The
Government’s youth policy programme for 2001-2005 features the following
priorities:
- − To
promote the participation of young people in decision-making on matters
affecting them. The first step in this direction
will be to establish a
National Youth Council;
- − To
modernize education and make it more attractive to young people. Action will be
taken to promote the use of computers
in schools and to improve access to the
Internet. Young people will be given the opportunity to influence educational
reforms, for
example via student councils. In addition, special programmes will
be designed to reduce early
school-leaving;
- − To
promote healthy recreational pursuits among young people. Youth organizations
will be encouraged to organize sports, cultural
and social activities in the
various districts, and to train youth leaders to run them. Stricter controls
will be imposed on admission
to discos and nightclubs and on the sale of
alcoholic beverages to minors. Action will be taken to promote educational
programmes
encouraging young people to engage in healthy forms of recreation and
in voluntary work, and combating risk factors like crime, drug
use and teenage
pregnancy. Specific attention will be paid to the social rehabilitation of
young people who have been in contact
with crime or have become involved in
criminal networks.
- Since
parents bear the primary responsibility for their children and have an important
role in their upbringing, an important aim
of government policy is to make it as
easy as possible for parents to combine family care with paid employment. To
this end, the
Government will explore the potential for legislation on flexible
working hours.
- A
priority in the 2002-2005 policy plan of the Minister for Social Affairs will be
to amend and update relevant legislation in order
to protect the rights of the
weaker members of society, including children and young people. Action will
also be taken to improve
services providing help and support for this segment of
the population, in order to promote their full and equal participation in
society. The Minister for Social Affairs has established a plan of action,
starting in January 2002, to work with the relevant public
and private sector
institutions to identify the needs of particular categories of people, including
children and young people, and
existing impediments and deficiencies in the
services provided for them.
International cooperation
- International
cooperation also has a role to play in achieving the aims of the Convention.
Ever since 1986, CEDE-Aruba - the Centro Desaroyo Aruba (Centre for
Development Aruba) - has acted as an autonomous intermediary between Dutch
government development assistance (and some
private sector funds) and Aruban
NGOs concerned with social development and education. The aim of CEDE-Aruba is
directly or indirectly
to increase the self-sufficiency and improve the position
of disadvantaged segments of Aruban society. Since 1990 the Centre has
received
around Af. 13 million (US$ 7.2 million). Of this, 38.6 per cent has been
invested in projects benefiting young people.
The strategic plan for 2000-2005
gives priority to projects benefiting children (aged 0-4) and young people (aged
12-18).
C. Measures taken or envisaged to make the principles and
provisions of
the Convention widely known to adults and children alike (art.
42)
- Long
before the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a number
of welfare organizations, schools and government
agencies made a regular point
of calling attention to the Declaration and Convention on the Rights of the
Child. A range of governmental
and nongovernmental bodies have organized
activities over the years. In 1994, the Government responded to an initiative
by the non-governmental
organization Fundashon Pa Nos Muchanan by
designating 20 November as National Children’s Day. The establishment of
a National Day
- is
intended to draw greater public attention to the rights of the child in Aruba.
Every year since then, action has been taken on
and around 20 November to focus
attention on children’s rights. Various organizations (community centres,
youth groups and
childcare centres) organize activities for children, the media
and NGOs produce special programmes and publications, and the Ministry
of
Health, Social Affairs, Culture and Sport organizes occasional governmentbacked
public celebrations for children and young people.
- On
9 and 10 October 2002, as part of the Year of the Child and prompted by the
participation of Aruba in the United Nations Children’s
Summit, the youth
affairs section of the Social Affairs Department organized a youth forum
entitled “My Rights”. The
event was attended by around 115 young
people aged between 13 and 18. The purpose of the forum was:
- − To give
young people information and make them aware of their rights;
- − To give
them a chance to express their views and discuss the practical significance of
these rights with people of their own
age.
- The
forum centred on youth participation and the right of young people to express an
opinion on all matters directly affecting them.
During the forum, young people
considered the Government’s plans to establish a Youth Parliament and had
an opportunity to
present proposals on observance of the rights of the child in
the national Parliament.
Promotional task of the Committee on the Rights of the
Child
- One
of the tasks of the Committee is to promote general public awareness of the
rights of the child in Aruba. The Committee intends
to fulfil this task
primarily by supporting and encouraging existing initiatives by NGOs and
government agencies. A number of bodies
are active in this area. They are well
known to the general public and have established channels of communication with
various target
groups. The Committee will support these existing organizations
by ensuring that adequate supplies of up-to-date promotional materials
are
available and by facilitating the provision of training and the establishment of
contacts at both the local and the international
level. The Convention will be
translated into explanatory materials of varying levels of difficulty in the
local language, Papiamento,
Dutch, English and Spanish. All these activities
will, of course, depend on the availability of adequate resources.
D. Measures taken or envisaged to make the report widely
available to the public at large (art. 44, para. 6)
- In
addition to making periodic reports to the United Nations treaty bodies, the
Committee is expected to ensure that its reports are
circulated and widely
publicized within Aruba. Summaries of this initial report will be produced in
Papiamento, Dutch, English and
Spanish for dissemination via the press. The
report itself will be made available to all public and private sector bodies and
individuals,
for example via libraries. More generally, the Committee will
maintain ongoing contacts with the media concerning the dissemination
of
information on the rights of the child and related developments.
II. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD
- Since
the introduction of the new Civil Code (Official Bulletin 2001, No. 89 -
NBWA) on 1 January 2002, the definition of the child reads as follows:
“Minors are individuals who have not reached the
age of 18, who are not or
have not been married and who have not been declared to be of full age through
the application of article
253ha.” (Under the old provisions, the age
limit was 21.)
- A
minor woman who exercises parental responsibility over her child and who wishes
to bring up and care for that child may apply to
the court of first instance to
declare her of full age pursuant to article 253ha NBWA, provided she has reached
the age of 16.
- Such
an application may be made before the birth of the child by or on behalf of the
minor mother, even if she will only attain the
age of 16 around the time of
delivery. In such cases, the court will not decide on the application until the
birth has taken place,
or, if the woman has not reached the age of 16 at that
time, until she has done so. The court will only grant the application if
it
considers it desirable and in the interests of the mother and her child. If
another person has responsibility, it will be transferred
to the mother. The
minor woman is competent to act in law and to appeal against
judgements.
Age of civil majority
- Provided
he/she is acting with the permission of his/her legal representative, a minor is
competent to perform legal transactions,
unless the law determines otherwise.
The legal representative may give such permission only if he is competent to
perform such acts
on behalf of the minor. Permission must be given in writing
and for specific legal transactions or purposes. Permission shall be
deemed to
have been given if the act in question is one that it is customary for minors of
that age to perform (art. 234, Book 1).
Legal minimum age for the exercise of certain rights and
obligations
Compulsory education
- The
draft National Ordinance on Compulsory Education, now before the Aruban
Parliament (Staten), states that compulsory education
ends when a pupil reaches
the age of 17 or before if he/she has completed general secondary or secondary
vocational education.
Enlistment/draft into the armed forces
- The
National Ordinance on Military Service (Official Bulletin 1994, No. GT 9)
sets the minimum age for such service at 18 years. The draft was suspended
several years ago; enlistment into the armed forces
is now purely
voluntary.
Minimum age for employment
- Employment
legislation distinguishes between people of 18 and over, young people between 14
and 17, and children younger than 14.
Article 15 of the National Ordinance on
Employment (Official Bulletin 1990, No. GT 57) prohibits the employment
of children. With regard to young people aged between 14 and 17, article 17 of
the Ordinance in principle
bans working at night and work which is classified as
hazardous by a subsequent national decree.
Criminal liability
- Article
477 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Official Bulletin 1996, No. 75)
reads as follows: “No one may be prosecuted for an offence committed
before the age of 12 years.”
- A
limited number of coercive measures may be applied in the case of a minor under
the age of 12 who is suspected of having committed
a criminal offence. These
include arrest, entry into premises for the purposes of arrest, a body search,
search of clothing, detention
in custody for the purposes of questioning and
confiscation of objects in his/her possession.
- Children
over the age of 12 are criminally liable, though special criminal provisions
apply to those aged between 12 and 18. These
provisions differ from those of
the criminal law applicable to adults in that the courts may take the
defendant’s age into
account as well as the importance of training and
education (see arts. 40 to 41 (m) of the Aruban Criminal Code).
- With
a view to the most effective and least damaging form of punishment for young
people and in view of the importance of education
and training, the Government
has decided that it is desirable to make sentencing more flexible and better
tailored to the individual
in question. It has therefore begun preparations for
a general review of juvenile criminal law; a draft national ordinance is
expected
to be sent to the Advisory Council and the Staten at the end of 2002 or
early 2003.
Consent to marriage
- NBWA
sets the age-limit for entering into marriage for both men and women at 18
years. Exceptions may be made if the couple wishing
to marry have both reached
the age of 16 and the woman submits a doctor’s certificate attesting to
the fact that she is pregnant
or has already borne a child.
Sexual consent
- Under
Aruban law, minors do not need their parents’ consent in order to become
sexually active. However, sexual intercourse
with girls under 12 carries a
maximum prison sentence of 12 years (art. 250 of the Criminal Code). In
addition, article 251 imposes
a term of imprisonment not exceeding 8 years on
anyone having sexual intercourse outside marriage with a girl aged over 12 but
under
15 years.
Use of alcohol and drugs
- The
sale of alcohol to a child under the age of 16 carries a custodial sentence of
up to three weeks or a fine of up to Af. 300 (art.
475 of the Criminal Code).
Aruban anti-drug legislation (National Ordinance on Narcotics) criminalizes the
possession, transport
and sale of illicit drugs.
Legal or medical counselling
- If
children aged between 12 and 16 have to undergo medical treatment, it is
necessary to have both their consent and the consent of
their parents or
guardians. However, according to the new Civil Code (effective as from 1
January 2002), the consent of the parents
or guardian will not be required if
the treatment is clearly necessary in order to avert a serious risk to a minor
aged 12-16, or
if the minor wishes to receive the treatment despite his/her
parents’ refusal to give their consent.
Voluntary testimony in court
- Under
the new Civil Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure a child under the age
of 15 may not take an oath but is allowed to testify.
Children may be
heard as witnesses or victims in criminal proceedings. In civil cases they
cannot be independent parties to the
proceedings, but may be heard by the court.
It is nevertheless not customary to hear children under the age of 12. Because
children
may not be a party to proceedings, they are not entitled to make an
independent application for access to their parents. They may
however be heard
during access proceedings and may always send a letter to the court.
III. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
A. Non-discrimination (art. 2)
- The
recognition of equality and the fundamental right of equal treatment is laid
down in article 1, paragraph 1, of chapter I of the
Constitution of Aruba
which states that “all people in Aruba are equal. Discrimination on the
grounds of religion, belief, political opinion,
race, sex, colour, language,
nationality, social origin, wealth, birth, or membership of a national minority
or on any other grounds
whatsoever is prohibited.”
- Article
1.22 of the Constitution stipulates that statutory regulations will not be
applied if application would be incompatible with the provisions of chapter I of
the Constitution. Based on this article the courts have jurisdiction to judge
whether statutory provisions, including the provisions in National
Ordinances,
comply with the basic human rights provisions set out in chapter I of the
Constitution.
- Through
the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Aruba is also a party to various international
instruments, such as the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(ICESCR), the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR).
- The
prohibition of discrimination, which is also enshrined in ICCPR and ICESCR, has
led to the removal of the distinction that used
to be made between legitimate
and illegitimate children. This was eliminated from the Aruban legal system by
the introduction of
the New Civil Code on 1 January 2002.
- Despite
the present formal equality of all children before the law, it must be
acknowledged that certain children are vulnerable because
of their particular
exceptional circumstances, such as children who are victims of violence, abuse
or neglect and those in need of
social or psychological
support.
- The
policy of the Minister for Social Affairs is to improve the special protection
available for the rights of the weaker members
of society, including children
and young people under the age of 18. Action will focus on identifying the
problems of such vulnerable
groups, in order to ensure their full and equal
participation in society by amending and updating existing legislation and
improving
the help and support services.
B. Best interests of the child (art. 3)
- Although
parents must assume the primary responsibility for their children, there are
also judicial institutions, administrative authorities
or legislative bodies and
other public or private social welfare agencies which have a duty to give
priority to the interests of
the child. If there is a conflict of interests,
the interests of the child will generally take precedence. This is particularly
important in the case of decisions by these agencies.
- In
criminal cases, the Aruban Foundation for Child Welfare and Rehabilitation looks
after the best interests of juvenile offenders
by taking or encouraging both
preventive and repressive measures to protect their moral and/or physical
well-being. It also deals
with cases of minors with behavioural problems
reported by parents or the Prosecutor General’s Office.
- In
civil cases the Guardianship Board looks after the best interests of the child.
The main tasks of the Guardianship Board are:
(a) To care for
minors entrusted to it by the courts or the Public Prosecutor by virtue of their
statutory powers;
(b) To advise the courts in cases of adoption, parental custody and
restoration of or change in guardianship or parental authority;
(c) To investigate the interests of minors and, if necessary, to enforce
statutory child protection measures, such as placement under
supervision,
divestment of parental authority, adoption and the supervision of children
placed in foster families.
In doing this, the Guardianship Board works closely with the police, the
Public Prosecutor and other government agencies active in
the social field, such
as the Department of Social Affairs and the Department of Education.
C. The right to life, survival and development (art.
6)
- Articles
308 to 311 of the Criminal Code make abortion a criminal offence. Prenatal
support and assistance are provided for mother
and child (see also sects. VI and
VII of the present report).
- Under
the provisions of the Civil Code a child acquires legal personality (i.e. a
legal existence) on the day he or she is born, provided
he or she is born alive
and is viable. Article 2 of the Civil Code contains the nasciturus
rule under which a child may inherit and receive gifts subject to the
suspensive condition that he or she is born alive and is viable.
D. Respect for the views of the child (art. 12)
- In
Aruba, there is no tradition of involving children in decision-making on matters
affecting them. This is reflected in relations
within the family. Since
parents are responsible for the upbringing, protection and well-being of their
children, they expect to
take the decisions. Children are traditionally
expected to be quiet and obedient. In general, therefore, they are not
encouraged
to express their views or argue their case.
- In
recent years, this traditional approach to parenting has come under increasing
pressure. The presence of modern information and
communication technology means
that families are constantly exposed to a wide range of often conflicting
influences. There is an
observable tendency for children to be more vocal and
for problems of communication to arise between parents and children. Parents
generally lack the necessary knowledge and skills to cope with these
developments. They are less sure of their role than they used
to be and find it
more difficult to bring up their children properly, especially as regards the
provision of support and guidance
during the transition to adulthood and
independence. The socioeconomic trends of recent years have also resulted in
more women entering
employment and therefore being unavailable to supervise
children in the home.
- Today’s
parents have to compete with a greater number of parallel and sometimes negative
influences on their children’s
social attitudes, for example from the
media. Via modern information technology, children are also exposed to
different points of
view and are becoming ever more eager to express their
own.
- In
recent years there has been increasing recognition of the need to provide
parenting support. Social services, public information
programmes and parenting
courses now pay greater attention to encouraging good communication between
parents and their growing children.
Another positive development is that more
young people are joining voluntary service clubs and other organizations where
they have
the opportunity to develop their talents and express their
opinions.
- To
promote participation by young people in society, there are government plans to
institute a youth council which will elect representatives
to a youth
parliament. The committee set up to advise on the establishment of the latter
has recommended that members of the youth
parliament should be allowed to
participate in the deliberations of the National Assembly (Staten) and to
offer it advice on issues
relevant to young people, both on request and on their
own initiative. To ensure continuity, the powers of the youth parliament
will
have to be enshrined in legislation.
Right of the child to be heard within the education
system
- Within
the education system, a number of instruments are in place to ensure that the
rights of children are respected and that children
have a voice in matters
affecting their interests.
- School
boards have a duty to draw up regulations for the schools they govern. The
competent minister can issue instructions regarding
the contents of such
regulations. They include rules for the avenues open to pupils (or, in the case
of minors, their parents or
guardians)
to appeal against temporary or permanent exclusion from the school. There
are also rules concerning the choice of examination subjects.
Once again, in
the case of minors, the school head will discuss this with the parents. In
addition, the various examination decrees
provide that candidates must be
notified of all matters concerning them and that they are entitled to discuss
and peruse their examination
papers. The examination decrees also provide
avenues by which students may appeal against decisions by school heads
preventing them
from participating in examinations or excluding them from
examination halls.
- In
general, however, it has to be admitted that education legislation makes
virtually no mention of the rights of pupils below the
age of majority; in this
respect, statutory provision is behind the times and in urgent need of
modernization.
- The
implementation of various educational reform projects is likely to result in the
necessary legislative provision. At any rate,
the new system of general
secondary education due to come into operation in August 2003 regards pupils as
active, independent and
discerning individuals with the kind of broad knowledge
and skills base required by today’s society. There is no place in
it for
the rigidly hierarchical structure of the past, but it assumes that the school
community and all those connected with it have
a strong commitment to education
within a framework of shared responsibility. For that reason, there is now a
need for new legislation
on consultation and participation in decision-making
within the education system.
Right of the child to be heard in civil proceedings
- Aruban
law allows the parties concerned to take part in proceedings and to present
their case. Under family procedural law, the parents
and guardians of minors
and other interested parties such as the Guardianship Board, as well as minors
aged 12 and over, all have
a right to be heard in cases relating to parental
responsibility, guardianship or legal capacity for minors. The same applies to
adoption and access cases.
Right of the child to be heard in criminal
proceedings
- It
is a general principle of criminal law in Aruba that children have a right to be
heard in criminal proceedings affecting them;
children up to the age of 12 are
immune from criminal prosecution; minors over this age are - like adults -
always heard and examined
in criminal cases where they are on trial. The
general statutory basis for the conduct of criminal cases against young people
in
this age group is article 479 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Aruba
(AB 1996 No. 76) which provides that the normal provisions
of the Code
apply to juveniles unless the Code determines otherwise. Consequently, any
minor accused of a crime will be heard when
taken into police custody, again
when remanded and a third time during the trial. During criminal proceedings, a
minor will be subject
to examination as the accused and, as such, will also be
entitled to have the last word. As a further guarantee that young minors
suspected of a crime can defend their own interests, the same rights to be
heard also accrue to their lawyers.
IV. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
A. Name and nationality (art. 7)
- The
human rights instruments concluded over the past 50 years, especially ECHR and
ICCPR, led to the radical modernization of the
law of persons and family law.
As regards the interpretation of ECHR, the rulings of the European Court of
Human Rights, based in
Strasbourg, are binding on Aruba. But social
developments too made it necessary to revise legislation that dated from
1869.
- The
old law of persons and family law were replaced in Aruba as of
1 January 2002 through the introduction of Book 1 of the new Aruban
Civil Code (NBWA). The provisions of NBWA form the basis for the present
report. It should be noted, however, that practice, as
described in the present
report, is still largely based on the old Civil Code. Where relevant a
comparison will be made with the
rules under the old system. Book 1 of NBWA
consists largely of peremptory law. Although on occasion account is taken of
exceptional
local circumstances and prevailing opinion, NBWA in principle
follows Book 1 of the new Dutch Civil Code.
Right to a name
- Every
child is registered immediately after birth, and has the right from birth to a
name and nationality. The arrangement governing
the right to a name and
nationality is such that all children have a name and a nationality.
- Births
taking place in Aruba must be registered within five days with the civil
registrar (art. 19 (e), para. 6, of NBWA). Births
reported after this period
are referred to the Public Prosecution Service, which may institute criminal
proceedings (art. 19 (d),
para. 6). Article 19 (e), paragraph 1,
states that the mother is competent to register the child, while the father is
obliged to
do so (art. 19 (e), para. 2). If the father is absent or unable to
register the child, the following persons have a duty to register
the
birth:
- − Anyone
who was present at the birth;
- − The
occupant of the house where the birth took place, or, if the child was born in a
nursing home, a prison or similar institution,
the head of the institution or a
subordinate specifically designated by him by means of a non-notarial
instrument.
- The
obligation rests on those present at the birth only if the father is absent or
unable to register the birth. Failing to discharge
this statutory duty is a
criminal offence (art. 467 of the Aruban Criminal Code).
- Article
19 (a) of NBWA contains provisions concerning births taking place on board a
vessel or aircraft registered in Aruba during
an international voyage or
flight.
- In
general, nursing staff encourage the mother or parents to register a newly born
child with the authorities. A registry official
visits the hospital on a daily
basis. In the event that the mother is for medical reasons unable to register
the child and there
were no family relatives present at the birth, the nursing
staff that were present will register the child.
- A
comparison of the annual number of registered births taking place
in hospital (1,508 in 2000) and the annual number of
children
registered with the civil registrar (1,294 in 2000) shows
that a considerable number of births are not registered. This possibly
has to
do with parents’ anxiety about registering the child if they are not in
possession of valid residence papers.
- Under
article 19 (e), paragraph 7, of NBWA, the registrar has to establish the
identity of the person registering the birth. To combat
fraud, he may require
an attestation from a doctor or midwife that the child was indeed born of the
woman registered as its mother
(art. 19 (e), para. 8).
- The
birth certificate constitutes proof that a child of a particular sex was born of
a particular mother on the date and at the place
specified in the certificate.
It also constitutes compelling evidence of the child’s surname (art. 6 of
NBWA). Children take
the surname of their father, or that of their mother.
Children who have a family-law relationship with their father, that is to
say,
they were born of the marriage between their father and mother or were
acknowledged or adopted by their father, bear his name.
If the mother is
unknown, the registrar will enter a provisional given name and surname in the
birth certificate, pending the adoption
of a national decree establishing the
given name and surname of the child (art. 5, paras. 1 and 2).
- It
should be noted that the existing legislation on names has been found
discriminatory on grounds of gender (Supreme Court 23 September
1988, NJ
(Nederlandse Jurisprudentie) 1989, 740). According to the Supreme Court,
parents must be offered a choice between the surname of the father and that of
the
mother. However, the law on names will not as yet be amended in the new
Civil Code. Experience shows that changes to the system
of names arouses fierce
debate. Nor is there any evidence that people have difficulty with the current
system, under which children
bear their father’s surname. It has
therefore been decided to separate this issue from the new Civil Code project.
In any
event, it is quite possible that a court in Aruba, in accordance with the
wishes of a mother and the man who acknowledges her child,
or of the mother
alone, might accept an acknowledgement of paternity without attaching any
consequences with regard to the child’s
name. In such circumstances the
child would then continue to bear the mother’s name.
Right to nationality
- The
recognition of nationality in the Kingdom, and therefore in Aruba, is laid down
in the Netherlands Nationality Act. The primary
rule contained in the Act
derives from the ius sanguinis principle, i.e. a child
automatically acquires Dutch nationality if the father or mother is a Dutch
national. This also applies
if the father dies before the child is born. A
foundling will be deemed to be a Dutch national if it is found in the territory
of
the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles or Aruba, or on board a maritime
vessel or aircraft registered in the Netherlands, the
Netherlands Antilles
or Aruba, unless it emerges within five years of the date on which the child is
found that it has another nationality
by birth. The child of a father or mother
who was living in the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles or Aruba at the time
of its
birth, and who were themselves born to a mother who was residing in one
of those countries is also regarded as a Dutch national (sect.
3 of the
Netherlands Nationality Act).
- A
minor alien may acquire Dutch nationality through acknowledgement or
legitimation by a Dutch national. A child born to a person
who acquired Dutch
nationality in this way is also a Dutch national (sect. 4 of the Netherlands
Nationality Act). Children adopted
by court order in the Netherlands, the
Netherlands Antilles or Aruba acquire Dutch nationality if the adoptive father
or mother had
Dutch nationality on the date when the adoption order became final
and if the children in question were minors on the date when the
order was made
at first instance. Any child born of a person who acquired Dutch nationality in
this way is also a Dutch national
(sect. 5 of the Netherlands Nationality
Act).
- Article 14,
paragraph 2, of the Act states that no one may be deprived of Dutch nationality
if as a result they would become stateless.
Right of the child to know its parents and to be cared for
by them
- The
right of a child to know its parents is fulfilled automatically if the child
grows up with its parents. This is the most common
situation. The mother of
the child is the person who has given birth to it or who has adopted the child
(art. 198 of NBWA). The
identity of the father is discussed above in connection
with the right to a name. The biological father is thus not necessarily
the
legal father. For example, a sperm donor - i.e. a man not married to the woman
who gives birth to the child, but who has supplied
sperm - is not in principle
the legal father. The question is whether the child is entitled to know the
name of the donor. The
Supreme Court gave a ruling on this matter in 1994
(Supreme Court 15 April 1994, NJ 1994, 608), stating that
“the general right
of personality underlying such fundamental rights as
the right to respect for privacy, the right to freedom of opinion, conscience
and religion and the right to freedom of expression also includes the right to
know the identity of the parents from whom one is
descended”. Referring
to article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Supreme Court
pointed out that “the
right to know the identity of the parents from whom
one is descended is not absolute. This right must yield to the rights and
freedoms
of others if they weigh more heavily in a given case.” This
means for example that the interests of the mother and those of
the donor must
also be taken into account.
- As
a result of events such as divorce or death of the parents, it may be impossible
for the right of a child to be cared for by its
parents to be fulfilled within
the family. Sometimes it may be in the child’s interests to be removed
from the family for
a while. This may be the case where the interests or the
health of the child are seriously endangered. In such circumstances the
assistance provided to the child and the parents should be aimed at reuniting
the child with its family. It may also be in some
children’s interests to
be adopted, in which case they do not return to their original parents. Since
adoption is a very farreaching
measure, the applicable rules are very strict. A
child’s prospects with its own parents have to be compared with the
prospects
following adoption. If the latter are better, adoption is possible.
It is standard practice in adoption cases for the child to
be informed about its
natural parents. The adoption court ensures that this has been done.
- Title
14, Book I, of NBWA regulates responsibility for minor children. The term
“parental responsibility” has replaced
the old term of
“parental authority”. The general term “responsibility”
includes both parental responsibility
and guardianship. A guardian is always
- someone
other than a parent. Responsibility covers the care and upbringing of a child,
the administration of its property and representation
in civil matters, both at
law and otherwise (art. 245).
- The
nature and limits of parental authority are now interpreted in a more
contemporary way, while article 249 lays down the obligations
resting on
children. What is important is mutual respect between family members in general
and between parents and children in particular.
Parental responsibility
comprises the obligation and the right of parents to care for and raise their
minor children. Caring for
and raising children includes care and
responsibility for their physical and mental well-being and helping them to
develop their
full potential (art. 247). Children have to take into
account the powers conferred on parents and guardians in exercising their
responsibilities and the interests of other members of their family.
- If
there is a conflict of interest between the parent or guardian exercising
responsibility and the child, the court may appoint a
special guardian (art.
250). The matter at issue may relate either to the care and raising of the
child or to the administration
of its property. The court has to assess whether
it is necessary to appoint a special guardian in the light of the interests at
stake. The explanatory memorandum accompanying NBWA sets out the
Government’s view that the conflict must be reasonably serious
and - in
matters of property - the amounts involved substantial. The age of the child
may naturally play a role.
- Although
the age of majority has been reduced to 18 years, parents are obliged to support
their children up to the age of 21. While
the child is still a minor the law
refers to “the costs of care and upbringing” and when he/she becomes
a “young
adult” (i.e. from 18 to 21) to “living and study
costs” (art. 395 (a), para. 1).
- If
a parent or step-parent fails adequately to meet his obligations with regard to
the costs of care and upbringing, the Guardianship
Board or the other parent or
step-parent may apply to the court of first instance to determine the amount the
parent or step-parent
in question must pay (art. 406, para. 1). The minimum
amount to be paid in child maintenance is Af. 250 per month.
- If
a child’s home life is seriously threatening its physical or moral
well-being, the court of first instance may place the
child under a supervision
order. It may do this at the request of one of the parents, another person who
is caring for and raising
the child as part of his/her family, a relation by
blood or marriage (up to four removes), the Guardianship Board or on the
application
of the Public Prosecution Service (art. 254).
- If
a supervision order is made, the court of first instance appoints a family
supervisor to supervise the child in accordance with
guidelines drawn up by the
court. In doing so, the court bears in mind the religious or other convictions
of the child and the family
to which it belongs (art. 255). The family
supervisor tries to have as much personal contact with the child and its family
as possible.
The role of the family supervisor is to promote the general
wellbeing of the child, both by advising the parents on how best to
raise and
care for their child, and by encouraging them to do all that is necessary to
achieve this end (art. 260).
- If
a parent is unsuitable or unable to discharge his/her duty to care for and raise
a child, he/she may be divested of parental responsibility
at the request of the
Guardianship Board or on the application of the Public Prosecution Service,
provided this is in the child’s
best interests (art. 266 of NBWA). A
parent who neglects his/her children may also be divested of parental
responsibility without
his/her consent (art. 269 of NBWA). In both cases the
family-law relationship between parent and child continues to exist, but the
parent’s rights are affected.
B. Preservation of identity (art. 8)
- A
child’s given name and surname confirm its identity. They are both
entered in the register of births (art. 19 of NBWA).
Alterations may only be
made on the instructions of the court of first instance (art. 24 of NBWA). No
one may infringe a person’s
right to the use of his/her given name;
article 8 of NBWA states that anyone using someone else’s name without his
permission
is committing an unlawful act in respect of that person if he thereby
creates the impression that he is that person or is a member
of his family.
- A
given name may be changed only at the request of the child’s legal
representative, on the order of the court of first instance
(art. 4, para. 4, of
NBWA). A child’s surname may only be changed by national decree, again at
the request of the child’s
legal representative
(art. 7, para. 1, of NBWA), i.e. as a joint decision of the
Minister of Justice and the Governor of Aruba.
The surnames of children
acquiring Dutch nationality through naturalization may be changed (art. 12 of
the Netherlands Nationality
Act).
- A
child has a family-law relationship with its parents and blood relatives
(art. 197 of NBWA). Articles 198 and 199 of NBWA regulate
who
the legal parents of a child are. The mother is the woman who
gave birth to the child or adopted it; the father is the man who
fathered,
acknowledged or adopted the child, or who has been granted a declaration of
paternity. When a child is adopted, existing
family-law relationships cease
(art. 229, para. 2, of NBWA) and a new family-law
relationship is established with the adoptive parents
(art. 229, para. 1, of
NBWA). Adoption is only permitted if it is clearly in the child’s
interests and a number of statutory
requirements have been met (arts. 227 and
228 of NBWA). The child must be a minor, must have consented to adoption
if it is older
than 12, and must not be a grandchild of the adoptive parent; the
adoptive parent(s) must be at least 18 years older than the child;
the natural
parents must not have contested the adoption (but not if the parents have been
divested of parental responsibility, either
with or without their consent); and
the natural parents must no longer exercise parental responsibility for the
child. An adoption
order may be revoked by the court of first
instance at the request of the adopted person (art. 231, para. 1,
of NBWA). No grounds
need be put forward for such a request.
- The
Aruban Criminal Code contains a number of provisions relating to the protection
of family-law relationships, some of which are
relevant to children. The
offences defined include casting doubt on a person’s parentage (art. 241),
relinquishing or abandoning
a child under 12 to another person (art. 264),
abandoning an infant (arts. 268 and 271) and removing a minor from the authority
of
his legal parents or guardian (arts. 292 and 293).
C. Freedom of expression (art. 13)
- The
fundamental rights and freedoms laid down in the Constitution of Aruba apply to
everyone, children and adults alike. Each individual is therefore entitled to
freedom of expression in relation
to Government and society.
- The
right to hold opinions and the right, inextricably linked with it, to express
them is guaranteed by article 1.12 of the Constitution of Aruba. No one
requires prior permission to publish thoughts or opinions through the press,
without prejudice to the responsibility
of every person under the law.
Nevertheless, the law lays down rules concerning public order or the rights of
other persons. For
example, a licence is required for the operation of a TV
station; the licence is granted for 10 years and subject to certain conditions.
One provision is that broadcasts may not be detrimental to the sound development
of the population. The National Decree on Alcohol
Advertising (Official
Bulletin 1993, No. GT 46), for example, prohibits the targeting of minors
and limits the broadcasting of such advertisements to the period between 2200
and
0100. In practice, however, advertisements for beer sometimes appear on TV
and radio outside this period.
- Another
provision is that if the security of the State, public order or morals, the
protection of the reputation of others, the disclosure
of confidential
information, or safeguarding the authority or impartiality of the judiciary make
broadcasting a particular programme
partially or wholly undesirable, the
broadcasting of this programme or part thereof may be prohibited by order of the
Minister of
Justice. An appeal against such a decision is possible.
- There
is no prior supervision of the content of radio and television broadcasts. No
one is required to submit thoughts or opinions
for prior approval in order to
disseminate them by means other than the press, radio or TV, without prejudice
to the responsibility
of every person under the law. Performances open to
persons under the age of 16 may be regulated by law in order to protect morals.
- The
National Cinemas Ordinance (Official Bulletin 1990, No. GT 12) makes a
licence necessary for showing films in public. The Minister of Transport and
Communications appoints a committee for film
classification (art. 13 of the
Cinemas Ordinance). In practice, however, there is no supervision of cinema
attendance to ensure
that children do not see films that are not intended for
their age group.
D. Access to information (art. 17)
- In
Aruban law, freedom of expression presupposes the freedom to collect
information. Article 1.12, paragraph 5, of the Aruban Constitution
guarantees the right to collect and receive information without prior
supervision. This right may only be limited by or pursuant
to national
ordinance. Children initially acquire information from their parents and
through their education. They also have access
to information through the media
(newspapers, radio and television) and through the Internet.
- Because
Dutch remains the language of instruction in most forms of education in Aruba,
school materials mostly originate from the
Netherlands. Since 1990, however,
the Aruban Teacher Training College has devoted specific attention to
training teachers in multicultural
education. Aspects of multicultural
education are an integral part of all curriculum components.
- Aruba
has a National Library that over the past 20 years has developed from being
merely an institution for lending books into a multifunctional
centre providing
books in different languages and audio-visual materials, and a place where one
can study, attend lectures, visit
exhibitions, read local and international
newspapers and magazines, view films, access the Internet and take courses. The
importance
of the library is illustrated by the frequent use that is made of its
services. Children make the most use of the library. Subscription
fees are
kept low in order to make the library accessible to all.
- In
general, the habit of reading is not deeply ingrained in Aruba. Together the
National Library and the media try to encourage the
population to engage in
cultural activities. The written word receives specific attention and efforts
to promote reading in the
form of book presentations, exhibitions, literary
events, readings of literary works and film evenings are high on the National
Library’s
agenda. Its area of operation and aims also mean that it has
varied and structured contact with national and international educational
institutions. For example, it organizes, together with the Foundation for
Cultural Events in the Netherlands Antilles, the Netherlands
and Aruba (NANA),
the annual children’s book festival in Aruba. This features a different
theme and special guest every year,
and lots of schools participate in the
activities held during the festival.
- The
Library’s School Mediatheque Service lends books to various schools in
Aruba. Its Media Service produces audio-visual materials
in the fields of
education, culture and information about Aruba. In 2000, 26 films on related
subjects were made in collaboration
with organizations, including the Social
Affairs Department, the Education Department and the children’s helpline.
E. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (art.
14)
- Freedom
of religion is regulated by the Constitution and applies to everyone, children
and adults alike. Although the majority of Arubans are Roman Catholic,
religious minorities are
given every opportunity to practise their faith.
- Pursuant
to article 1.15 of the Constitution, everyone has the right to practise his
religion or belief, either individually or in community with others. In certain
cases, limitations
may be imposed by law. The grounds set out in article 18,
paragraph 3, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR)
are also incorporated in the Aruban Constitution. Such limitations, however,
have never been imposed in practice.
- Furthermore,
article 1.20 of the Constitution stipulates that “education shall be of
constant concern to the Government” and that State education shall be
regulated
by national ordinance, respecting everyone’s religion or belief.
This article distinguishes between State and private education.
Parents are
completely free to decide which school they send their children to. The great
majority of schools are private. This
is closely related to the fact that the
Roman Catholic Church played a major role in organizing education in Aruba.
Most schools
are denominational (i.e. Catholic or Protestant), and are fully
subsidized by the Government. The conditions attached to grants
from public
funds are laid down by national ordinance.
- State
schools are administered by the Government. Education in State schools is
available to everyone, and respects all religions
and
beliefs.
- The
Government of Aruba considers that as long as a child cannot yet be deemed
capable of forming its own opinions, parents or guardians
may decide as they see
fit on the religious education of their children. This is also the gist of
article 14 of the Constitution. As soon as children may be deemed so capable,
however, parents or guardians must respect their opinions even if they are not
in
keeping with their own. The Government of Aruba believes that article 14 of
the Convention should receive a broad interpretation.
The article deals not
only with freedom of thought, conscience and religion, but also with the freedom
to adopt a religion or belief.
This is in accordance with the provisions of
article 18 of ICCPR.
F. Freedom of association and peaceful assembly (art.
15)
- The
Government of Aruba regards the right to freedom of association and peaceful
assembly and demonstration as essential to the functioning
of democracy in
Aruba. The right to peaceful assembly is regulated in article 1.13 of the
Constitution. The right to freedom of association is recognized on the basis of
article 1.11 of the Constitution. The National Ordinance on
Unlawful Assembly (Official Bulletin 1988, No. GT 5) and the
National Ordinance on Assembly and Meetings (Official Bulletin 1999, No.
GT 2) regulate these rights further. These rights apply to everyone,
children and adults alike. As with other fundamental rights, no
additional
restrictions are imposed on children other than those generally imposed by
ICCPR.
G. Protection of privacy (art. 16)
- The
right to privacy is a fundamental right enshrined in article 1.16 of the
Constitution (Official Bulletin 1987, No. GT 1). The area of
personal privacy includes a child’s home and family. Article 1.16
guarantees everyone the right to respect
for his/her privacy, subject only to
restrictions laid down by or pursuant to national ordinance. It also states
that rules shall
be laid down by national ordinance regarding protection from
the unrestricted recording and provision of personal data and the right
of
access to personal data and the use made thereof, as well as the right to demand
correction of such data. For further details
of the content and significance of
article 1.16 and the restrictions that are or may be imposed by law, see the
report submitted
by Aruba under article 17 of ICCPR (the fifth report dates from
January 2000).
- The
right to correspond freely is codified as a separate fundamental right in
article 1.18, paragraph 1, of the Constitution. This article states that the
confidentiality of correspondence is inviolable, except in cases specified by
national ordinance in
which letters may be opened by court order. Article 1.18,
paragraph 2, protects the confidentiality of telephone and telegraph
communications,
making confidentiality in this area inviolable, except in cases
specified by national ordinance where persons designated by that
ordinance may
intercept communications.
H. The right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel,
inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment (art. 37, para. (a))
- This
article relates to children who have been deprived of their liberty. In
principle, Aruban legislation and practice comply with
the norm enshrined in the
article. Article 1.3 of the Constitution confers the right to inviolability of
the body, subject to restrictions laid down by national ordinance. Article 1.4
of the Constitution prohibits the death penalty (and the Criminal Code no
longer contains any such sanction).
- As
part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Aruba is a party to the Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
and has implemented that Convention in part through introducing specific
penalties for the crime of torture
(National Ordinance implementing the
Torture Convention, Official Bulletin 1999, No. 8). This Ordinance
states that the acts described as such in article 1 of the Convention shall be
punishable in Aruba as forms of
torture. Since the entry into force of the
Ordinance, no prosecutions or convictions for torture have taken place.
- Aruba
is also a party to the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Consequently, Aruba is under an
obligation to allow the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment
or Punishment to visit and inspect places where people are
held in detention. This Committee may visit locations other than prisons
(such
as the psychiatric wing of the hospital) where people are kept against their
will by the authorities.
- Aruban
juvenile criminal law is laid down in articles 40 ff of the Criminal Code, but
the provisions are fairly outdated. The major
penalties that at present may be
imposed on juveniles consist of fines, reprimands and indefinite detention
orders (essential to
which is the issue of upbringing). The array of penalties
does not offer sufficient scope for differentiation, and consequently,
insufficient account can be taken of the specific sentencing requirements in
each individual case. A comprehensive revision of juvenile
criminal law is now
in preparation. A draft national ordinance is expected to be submitted to the
Advisory Council for advice and
thereafter to Parliament in 2003.
- Life
sentences may not be imposed on juveniles (unless there are grounds for applying
the ordinary criminal law to the juvenile in
question). In such cases, the
sentence may be reduced at any time by means of a pardon.
- Legislation
on prisons is at present contained in the Framework Prison Ordinance
(Official Bulletin 2000, No. GT 1) and the National Prison Decree
(Official Bulletin 2000, No. GT 2). Article 11 of the Framework
Prison Ordinance stipulates that child prisoners must be held separately from
adult prisoners. In
addition, in allocating prisoners as much account as
possible is taken of their age and degree of development (art. 13). Article
42
of the National Prison Decree States that the prison director shall ensure that
young prisoners who have spent considerable time
in the institution have a more
gradual transition to freedom through being allowed greater liberties as the
date of their release
approaches. The Aruban Correctional Institution has a
Supervisory Committee which regularly checks the treatment of prisoners.
- In
view of the outdated legislation referred to above, a new draft national
ordinance on the enforcement of custodial sentences has
been put before
Parliament. This states that separate institutions are required for male
prisoners under the age of 21, but not
for women under 21 (art. 7 of the
draft ordinance), and sets up a new Supervisory Committee to oversee the
treatment of prisoners
(art. 3 of the draft ordinance). Prisoners will also be
able to file complaints with the Committee regarding alleged violations
of their
rights or their legal status within the institution. And finally, the draft
ordinance contains exhaustive rules on the
use of force against prisoners.
- The
plans for a new building to house the Aruban Correctional Institution envisage a
new wing for juveniles. The new premises have
high priority but are not yet
under construction. The plans have been submitted to the Aruban Development
Foundation with an application
for funding.
Young psychiatric patients
- At
present Aruba has only one child psychiatrist. The psychiatric wing of the
hospital has no separate child psychiatrist.
- Supervision
of institutions where psychiatric patients are cared for - that is to say, the
way in which they are treated - is the
responsibility of the Director of Public
Health and of the Procurator General (see art. 6 of the National Ordinance on
Mental Health
and Official Bulletin 1992, No. GT 15). There is as yet no
separate right of complaint for people receiving nursing care. The Government
has recently set up a committee
entrusted with the task of preparing amendments
to the outdated National Ordinance on Mental Health. The amendments will devote
specific attention to the legal protection of people in mental health
institutions. The legislative process is expected to be set
in motion early in
2003, once preparations are completed.
V. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE
Family policy
- Families
exist in various forms: two parents with children, one parent with children,
one parent with children and a partner who
is not their biological parent, a
parent with children and one or more relatives such as an aunt or grandparent.
Aruba’s Civil
Code proceeds from the assumption that children are raised
by their biological parents. But it also regulates the status, rights
and
obligations of foster parents, adoptive parents, guardians and other persons
responsible for bringing up children. The average
Aruban family has one to two
children.
- The
number of one-parent families has increased significantly over the past 30
years. More than one sixth of the population (17.25
per cent) live in
one-parent families (census 2000). Many are headed by a divorced parent or a
parent who has separated from their
partner, and many by an unmarried
mother. The growing divorce rate (over 50 per 100 marriages
between 1997 and 2000) has also contributed
to this trend.
- Government
policy is based on the principle that families bear the primary responsibility
for the well-being of their members. In
this context, article 251, paragraph 1,
of the Civil Code gives parents joint responsibility for their children for as
long as they
are married. They administer their children’s property and
represent them in civil matters. The State intervenes only if
the family fails
to discharge its duties in a satisfactory manner. The courts can divest parents
of or discharge them from parental
responsibility, but they can do so only in
circumstances defined by law and only in the interests of the child. They may
resort
to such measures, for instance, if a parent is unsuitable or unable to
prevent abuse or neglect (see
part IV above).
- The
National Ordinance on Social Services (Landsverordening Maatschappelijk
Zorg; Official Bulletin 1989, No. GT 27) provides a statutory
basis for assistance to people or families in need and for intervention to
prevent crisis situations. In view
of the increase in family and behavioural
problems in recent years, the State needs to provide more targeted and
structured assistance.
The Minister of Social Affairs will devote special
attention to families in need in the 2002-2005 policy memorandum. One of the
aims is to improve cooperation between Government and private organizations in
order to provide better services for those families.
A. Parental guidance (art. 5)
- The
duty of parents to care for and raise their children is anchored in law. The
law also States that this obligation applies to
both parents. They share
parental responsibility as long as they are married. The law allows one parent
to exercise responsibility
only if the other is not in a position to do so.
Parental responsibility entails the right to perform any action deemed necessary
or appropriate to further the interests of children. It also allows parents to
administer their children’s property, but obliges
them to exercise this
right with due care and consideration.
- The
courts may appoint a guardian to supervise children who are not under parental
responsibility. Guardianship entails the same
rights and obligations as
parental responsibility.
B. Parental responsibility (art. 18, paras. 1 and 2)
- Parents
share legal responsibility for their children as long as they are married (art.
251 of the new Aruban Civil Code). Divorced
parents may continue to exercise
joint parental responsibility if both wish to do so. Alternatively, the courts
assign parental
responsibility to one of the parents.
- If
only the identity of the child’s mother is known, or if the parents are
not married, the mother exercises sole parental responsibility
unless she was
not competent to do so at the time of the child’s birth. This might be
the case, for instance, if she herself
was a minor. Legislation introduced in
January 2002 allows the courts to declare an under-age mother to be of age.
- A
woman who is not legally competent to exercise parental responsibility at the
time of her child’s birth acquires that responsibility
automatically as
soon as she is competent, unless responsibility has already been awarded to a
third party. In that event, the mother
may apply to the court of first instance
to be awarded parental responsibility. If a guardian has legal responsibility
for the child,
the court may only refuse the mother’s application if it
has reason to believe that the child’s interests would otherwise
be
compromised.
- On
the death of a person exercising joint parental responsibility, the surviving
parent acquires sole responsibility. On the death
of a person with sole
parental responsibility, the court of first instance awards responsibility to
the surviving parent or a third
party, on its own initiative or on application
by the Guardianship Board or the surviving parent. The court will only refuse
an
application for parental responsibility from the surviving parent if it has
reason to believe that the child’s interests would
otherwise be
compromised. This applies even if the deceased parent has nominated another
guardian in his or her will. The nomination
is taken into account, but the law
gives priority to guardianship by a parent.
- Although
the Aruban Civil Code does not state explicitly that the principal concern of
parents must be the interests of their child,
this can be inferred from article
247, which states “parental responsibility encompasses the obligation and
right of parents
to care for and raise their children. They are therefore
responsible for their children’s psychological and physical wellbeing
and
for nurturing their development.” This applies equally to guardians or
other persons entrusted with responsibility for
a child.
- The
State subsidizes private organizations to help families raise their children.
People with family problems or problems raising
their children can seek
counselling from the Social Affairs Department (DSZ), which, if necessary,
refers them to more specialized
agencies for special education counselling,
marriage guidance counselling, or individual therapy. Parents are informed
about their
child’s development and progress, its potential and aptitudes.
They are also advised whether the child needs special care or
counselling to
prevent or remedy development disorders.
- To
assist the growing number of families with problems, the department has been
organizing an annual series of information evenings
for parents and children
since 1998. They deal with drugs, crime, teenage pregnancy and other problems
facing young people today.
Special attention is paid to communication between
parents and children. (For information about financial assistance, see sect.
VI
below.)
- Non-governmental
agencies also offer assistance to parents. Most prominent in this field is the
Fundación Pa Nos Muchanan, founded in 1991, which embraces the
principles of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child. The agency
was instrumental
in Aruba’s ratification of the Convention on the Rights
of the Child. Its aim is to ensure that children under the age of
12 receive
the best possible upbringing, and it does so by supporting parents in the home
and carers in the out-of-school care centres.
It provides information and
advice and organizes courses and workshops for parents and carers. It also
gives support and advice
to childcare centres on quality standards for day-care
centres and encourages them to improve the quality of care and education to
children aged 0-12 years. (For more information on day-care centres, see sect.
VI below.)
- It
is generally acknowledged that the services and facilities available at present
fall short of what is needed. The support provided
by the Social Affairs
Department, the Guardianship Board and private agencies is merely a drop in the
ocean. Far more is required
in the way of preventive and remedial counselling
for parents.
C. Separation from parents (art. 9)
- Article
9, paragraph 3, of the Convention on the Rights of the Child provides that
children of divorced parents are entitled to maintain
contact with the parent
who has not been granted parental responsibility. The courts may deprive a
parent of the right to access
only if:
- − Access
would seriously compromise the child’s psychological or physical
well-being;
- − The
parent is deemed manifestly unsuitable or unable to cope with access;
- − A child
aged 12 or over has indicated during its hearing by the court that it does not
wish to have contact with that parent;
- − Access
would be contrary in any way to the child’s interests.
- Children
aged 12 and over - or younger children who are capable of assessing their own
best interests - may request the courts to
be allowed contact with the parent
who has not been granted parental responsibility. They may also ask the courts
to order that
the parent in question be kept informed about their progress, or
be given a say in important decisions concerning their upbringing.
Residence rights
- Under
Aruba’s admissions policy, a child and/or one of its parents may lose
their right to remain in Aruba if they cease to
satisfy the conditions for
residence. Following a divorce, for instance, one of the parents may lose their
right to remain in Aruba.
In that event, it must be decided whether their
children may remain in the country. The same situation arises when a child is
born
out of wedlock and the parents subsequently cease to cohabit. Such cases
are assessed on their own merits and with due regard to
Aruba’s
international obligations, under article 8 of the European Convention on Human
Rights, for example, when deciding whether
termination of one or both
parents’ residence rights should result in termination of their
children’s residence rights.
- The
general policy is that if a family does not qualify, or ceases to qualify, for
residence in Aruba, all members of the family are
expelled together.
D. Family reunification (art. 10)
- The
island’s booming economy has attracted numerous foreigners over the past
decade. The majority come from Colombia, Venezuela
and the Caribbean islands
around Aruba, and are mostly employed in the tourist industry. This huge influx
of people was putting
such a strain on the system that controls had to be
introduced. The rules for family reunification were tightened up. As a rule,
children aged 6 years and over are refused admission, as it transpired that they
were having difficulty adjusting to the Dutch school
system. A child and/or its
parents may lose their rights to remain in Aruba if they cease to meet the
conditions for admission.
- The
present regulations are based on the National Ordinance on Entry and Deportation
(LTU), (Official Bulletin 1966, 17), which has been amended on several
occasions. More detailed provisions are laid down in the National Decree of 17
January 1963
containing general measures (Official Bulletin 1985,
57).
- Parents
and children who are not living in the same country (i.e. Aruba) may apply for
family reunification under articles 6 to 14
of LTU. These provisions govern
entry for a temporary stay and residence permits issued by or on behalf of the
Minister of Justice.
- Entry
permits are issued subject to certain conditions concerning place of residence,
occupation or business, employment with a specific
employer, or relating to
public policy, public order, public safety, public morals or the public
interest. Terminating the admission
of someone who enjoys the right of entry by
operation of law or through a permit also implies the termination of those
rights in
respect of their spouse and minor children.
- The
Minister of Justice tightened up policy on the admission of foreign nationals as
from 1 September 2002. Foreigners are no longer
admitted accompanied by
their families.
E. Recovery of maintenance (art. 27, para. 4)
- In
view of the recent lowering of the age of majority from 21 to 18, the Aruban
Civil Code now obliges parents to support their children
and pay for their
studies up to the age of 21. Stepparents are obliged to support stepchildren
who form part of their family only
for the duration of their marriage.
- Parents
are obliged to support their minor children financially, insofar as they are
able to do so. The same obligation applies to
a step-parent in respect of the
minor children of his or her partner, and to a father who has no family-law
relationship with his
biological children. A father in this position is
obliged, if there are grounds for doing so, to provide assurances that he will
fulfil that obligation, or else make over the full amount payable.
Maintenance is fixed by the courts (art. 394).
- An
application for the costs of care for and upbringing of a minor lapses five
years after the date of the child’s birth unless
payments are made within
that time (art. 403).
- If
there is no family-law relationship between a minor child (under 18) and its
father, then the father is only obliged to pay maintenance
until the child
reaches the age of majority, except in the case of children who are unable to
provide for themselves due to a psychological
or physical handicap (art.
394).
- If
a parent or step-parent fails to provide or to provide sufficiently for the
maintenance of their minor children, the Guardianship
Board or the person with
responsibility for the child may ask the court of first instance to set an
amount that the parent or step-parent
should pay (art. 395 (b)).
However, it is impossible to recover maintenance if that person’s
whereabouts are unknown.
F. Children deprived of a family environment (art. 20)
- Under
Aruban civil law, guardianship of minors may be entrusted to charitable
associations, organizations or institutions which have
the status of a legal
entity, are registered in Aruba, and are tasked by their constitutions with the
long-term care for minor children
(art. 302). The majority of minor children in
such cases are placed in residential facilities or with foster families. When
entrusting
guardianship of a minor child to a legal entity, the courts take
account, as far as possible, of the religious convictions of the
child and its
family (Residential facilities are nondenominational). If a child is placed in
a residential facility or with a foster
family, the legal entity concerned is
obliged to keep the Guardianship Board informed in writing as to where the child
is living.
Unless the law states otherwise, legal entities entrusted with
guardianship have the same powers and obligations as any other guardian.
A
minor entrusted to a legal entity may not be taken into or out of Aruba without
permission from the court of first instance.
Such permission is only granted if
the court considers the move to be in the interests of the child.
Residential facilities
- Parents
who are unable to manage children with social, emotional or behavioural problems
may send them to a residential facility and
ask the Social Affairs Department
(DSZ) to pay fees. To be eligible they must be Dutch nationals and registered
as residents in
Aruba. They must also be either Aruban by birth, or have lived
in Aruba for at least three years. Anyone who has applied for naturalization
is
also eligible. The Minister of Social Affairs may consider other applications
in exceptional and urgent cases. The courts can
also order a child to be placed
in a residential facility.
- Three
residential facilities provide temporary care for minors:
- − Casa
Cuna Progreso admits boys and girls up to the age of 6. It can accommodate
36 children;
- − Kinderhuis
Imeldahof provides temporary care and supervision for boys from 6 to 14 and
girls from 6 to 18, whose well-being
is threatened at home. Children are
admitted up to the age of 12. Imeldahof has 42 places. It tries to return
children to their
own homes as soon as the problems have been solved, or to
place them with foster families;
- − Casa pa
Hubentud takes up to 20 boys and girls aged 13 and over. It provides
accommodation and supervision for children who
are unable to live with their
parents, relatives or guardian.
- These
residential facilities are funded partly by the State and partly from donations.
They also receive a daily allowance per resident:
Casa Cuna receives Af.
12 per child and Imeldahof and Casa pa Hubentud Af. 11. All three institutions
liaise to coordinate policy, care arrangements and
quality.
- The
Social Affairs Department provides family counselling so that children in care
can be returned to their homes. It also offers
families and children
specialized help, including counselling for children with special educational
needs. Although staff shortages
have prevented this service from being
available to all in need, efforts are being made to improve the situation.
Foster care
- Foster
families take children into care for relatively long periods of time, but they
are not awarded guardianship. Either the parents
or a third party are the
guardians of the child. Children are placed with foster families until
circumstances enable them to return
to their own family or
- until
they are in a position to support themselves independently. In recent years, it
has been the trend in Aruba, as in the rest
of the world, to place children with
a foster family rather than in residential care, selecting a social environment
as similar as
possible to their own. The demand for foster families has
accordingly increased sharply.
- At
present, there is a shortage of foster families of all kinds: for long-term as
well as short-term care and for emergencies. One
reason is that the allowance
granted by the State (Af. 120 per child, per month) falls short
of the real cost of maintaining a child, so that many families cannot afford to
foster. People
are also deterred by the lack of sufficient assistance/guidance
given to foster families.
- Fundación
Guia Mi is a family supervision and child protection agency. It arranges
supervision for minors and looks after their interests in general.
Supervision
as such is provided by the Fundación Guia Mi, the Guardianship
Board and the Social Affairs Department, but they are inadequately staffed.
- A
flaw in the system is that residential facilities close at weekends, so that
children need alternative accommodation. As very few
foster families are
available, some children are sent back to their own homes, which is generally
not in their interests. Solutions
to all these problems are being sought at
present. The Government is considering the possibility of increasing the
financial allowance
offered to carers, and perhaps setting up a central office
to recruit, train and supervise foster families.
G. Adoption (art. 21)
- Adoption
is subject to legal guarantees of the rights and obligations of both the adopted
children and the adoptive parents (arts.
227-228 of the Civil Code). Aruban
civil law designates the competent authority in relation to an adoption. The
law also spells
out the conditions governing adoption and the family-law
implications for both the child and the adoptive parents. The Civil Code
allows
adoption only if it is in the general interests of the child (art. 227, para.
3). Adoptions take place by judgement of the
court of first instance in
response to an application from the prospective adoptive parents. An adoption
is effective as of the
date of the court judgement.
- Article
228 of the Civil Code provides that the child to be adopted must be a minor on
the date of the application, and may not be
the legal or biological child of
either of the applicants.
- Adoption
severs the family-law relationships between a child and its relations by blood
and marriage, and makes the child the legitimate
child of its adoptive parents
and family. The new Civil Code allows adoption by single persons (art. 227,
para. 1) and step-parents
(art. 228 chapeau, para. 1 (b)) as well as by married
couples. A new condition is that the parents may not have responsibility for
the child at the time of the adoption (art. 228 chapeau, para. 1 (f)). Also
amended is the former requirement that the adoptive
parents must be of age.
Under the new legislation, an adoptive mother must be at least 16 (art. 228
chapeau, para. 1 (e)). There
is no minimumage restriction for the father.
- Article
228, paragraph 2, of the new legislation curtails the right of the biological
parents to oppose an adoption. The courts are
no longer obliged to consider the
parents’ objection in the following circumstances:
- − If the
child has never lived with its family or has lived with them for only a
short time;
- − If the
parents have seriously neglected the child or misused their parental
responsibility;
- − If
either of the parents has been convicted of an offence against the
child.
- A
parent with access to a child who is to be adopted may ask the courts to allow
his or her right of access to continue (art. 229,
para. 4).
- The
Civil Code also allows adoptions to be revoked at the request of the adopted
child when he or she comes of age. The court will
only grant such applications
if they are in the interests of the child. Revocation means that the child
loses its status as the
legitimate child of the adoptive parents, and that the
familylaw relationships between the child and its original relations by blood
and marriage are restored.
H. Illicit transfer and non-return (art. 11)
- Article
11, paragraph 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child allows States
Parties to take measures to combat the illicit
transfer of children abroad and
failure to return them to the country. They are required to promote the
conclusion of bilateral
or multilateral agreements and accession to existing
agreements. An implementing bill is being drafted which will make Aruba party
to the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, signed
in The Hague on 25 October 1980.
I. Abuse and neglect (art. 19), including physical and
psychological
recovery and social reintegration (art. 39)
Statutory framework
- Under
Aruban law, cases of child abuse or neglect by parents are brought before the
courts or a public prosecutor. This may result
in criminal proceedings or a
child protection order, for example divestment of parental responsibility or
custody (with consent)
under article 360 of the Civil Code, or divestment
of parental responsibility or custody (without consent) (art. 362 of the new
Civil
Code).
- The
court of first instance may also issue a supervision order to protect children
who are suffering from serious neglect or abuse,
and who are being physically or
psychologically harmed as a result. Such children may be placed under a
supervision order at the
request of one of its parents, a relation by blood or
marriage up to the fourth degree of consanguinity, the Guardianship Board or
the
Public Prosecution Service.
- In
such cases, the court appoints a family supervisor to supervise the child in
accordance with guidelines drawn up by the court.
The family supervisor is
responsible for promoting the child’s general well-being, both by
counselling the parents on its
care and upbringing, and by encouraging them to
do all that is necessary to achieve this end. For their part, the parents are
obliged
to follow the supervisor’s instructions. The maximum term of a
supervision order is one year, but it can be extended by further
periods of one
year or cancelled at any time. It ends automatically when a child reaches the
age of majority.
- Children
whose physical or psychological well-being are seriously threatened at home may
be placed under a care order. The court
of first instance may decide to place
the child in a residential facility or foster home. Care orders are likewise
issued for a
maximum of one year. They can also be extended for one year at a
time or cancelled at any time.
- Children
may only be separated from their parents if the courts consider such action
necessary in the child’s interests. This
applies, for instance, to
children who are abused or neglected or whose moral, physical or psychological
well-being are threatened
at home.
- The
court of first instance may divest a parent of responsibility for one or more
children if circumstances warrant such action.
Grounds for doing so
include:
- − Misuse
of parental responsibility or serious neglect of the care or upbringing of
one or more children;
- − An
objectionable lifestyle;
- − A
conviction by final and conclusive judgement for certain offences;
- − Failure
to comply with the instructions of the family supervisor or any attempt to
obstruct the child’s placement in
an observation unit or an institution
designated by the court;
- − A
well-founded fear that the child’s interests will be neglected because the
parent is removing, or demanding the removal
of, a child whose care and
upbringing have been entrusted to a third party.
The situation in practice
- The
absence of a framework for policy on youth services has prevented the Government
from dealing systematically with the problems
of neglect, abuse and sexual
abuse. A total of 946 cases are on record for 1999 and 2000, but the
true figures are believed to be
much higher.
- In
May 2000, the Minister of General Affairs appointed an advisory committee to
inventory existing services and facilities. The committee
was also asked to
submit proposals on coordination, personnel and measures to improve expertise,
and to estimate the cost of implementing
its recommendations. The committee was
appointed in response to the findings of a report submitted to the Government in
1999 by
the Social Affairs Department’s Committee on Sexual Abuse.
- According
to the advisory committee’s report of August 2001, Aruba’s present
infrastructure is adequate. However, it
is not used optimally due to
unsatisfactory registration, poor coordination and fragmented services. The
report recommended that
a monitoring group be appointed to develop a policy
framework and monitor the standard of services. It also stressed that the
problems
should be examined systematically in order to find ways of preventing
and dealing with the underlying causes of child abuse and neglect.
Finally, it
concluded that independent, structural funds should be reserved for this
purpose.
- The
authorities are also planning to set up a child abuse counselling centre, whose
tasks will include maintaining a centralized register.
The idea was put forward
by the Ministries of Health and Social Affairs and Guardianship Board. It was
approved by the Government
at the end of 1993. A committee was appointed in May
1997 to advise the authorities as to how the centre should work in practice
and
how much the service would cost.
- Children
have easy access to a child helpline and may remain anonymous if they wish,
while several organizations offer assistance
and organize public information and
prevention campaigns.
- The
Fundación Respeta Mi was founded in 1991 to heighten public
awareness of the fact that society as a whole must take responsibility for
combating child
abuse. The foundation has championed the cause of
psychologically, physically and sexually abused children for more than a decade
by organizing publicity campaigns, lectures, workshops, a telephone helpline and
a library, and publishing leaflets and books in
Papiamento. It is run by unpaid
professionals and relies on financial donations. The foundation has now applied
for State subsidization.
J. Periodic review of placement (art. 25)
- Article
25 concerns the rights of children whom the competent authorities have placed in
an institution for the purpose of care, protection
or treatment of their
physical or mental health, periodic reviews of their treatment, and all other
circumstances relevant to their
placement. Aruba’s youth services pay
close attention to these rights.
- As
regards voluntary placements, efforts have been made in recent years to keep
care placements as short as possible. The duration
depends on the nature and
seriousness of the problem. Regular meetings are held between the institution
concerned, the Social Affairs
Department and the parents to monitor the
child’s progress. Each case is reviewed when the placement order expires.
It is
then decided whether the placement should be extended or whether the child
can return home.
- The
Fundación Guia Mi (see paragraph 150 above) monitors the treatment
of children whom the courts have placed in care or foster families. Their
progress
is evaluated at regular intervals and discussed with their families and
foster families. On the basis of these evaluations the courts
decide whether a
placement should be extended.
VI. BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
A. Survival and development (art. 6, para. 2)
- See
under III.C (The right to life, survival and development) and VIII.B (Children
in conflict with the Law), which refer to the provisions
in the Criminal Code
concerning the protection of the unborn child, and to provisions in the Civil
Code concerning the rights and
obligations of parents in relation to their
children.
B. Disabled children (art. 23)
- It
is inevitable that a relatively small country like Aruba with a population of
approximately 100,000 will generally have a limited
potential to cater for
people with special needs. The percentages of adults/children with special
disabilities and needs are comparable
to those in other countries, but this
means that the absolute numbers are small. Health issues are generally well
covered by the
existing medical facilities. Table 1 below gives some indication
of the number of disabled children. It should be remembered, however,
that
these figures are based on self-reporting (in other words, respondents may not
have reported children’s status entirely
objectively).
Table 1
Handicapped persons, by age and sex, 1991 and
2000
|
|
2000
|
Male
|
Female
|
Total
|
Male
|
Female
|
Total
|
Child (0-14)
|
191
|
160
|
352
|
389
|
252
|
641
|
Youth (15-24)
|
172
|
132
|
304
|
188
|
173
|
361
|
Total
|
363
|
292
|
656
|
577
|
425
|
1 002
|
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, Aruba, Census 2002.
C. Health and health services (art. 24)
- Aruba
has a well-organized health-care system including general practitioners and a
wide variety of medical specialists. For highly
specialized treatment, it is
usually possible to go abroad, for example to the United States of America or
the Netherlands. Aruba
has a 247-bed hospital (the Horacio Oduber Hospital)
with fairly up-to-date medical equipment, and a medical centre that deals with
some urgent cases. There is also a government medical laboratory and a number
of such facilities that are privately run. A wide
range of pharmaceutical drugs
are in good supply. No patients’ organizations have yet been set up,
although some work was
done in this direction a few years
ago.
- According
to the Central Bureau of Statistics, the number of births in 2000 was 1,294 (657
boys and 637 girls). The infant mortality
rate in 1999 was 6.5 per 1,000 and
cases of perinatal mortality in that year numbered 8 (equivalent to 14.9 per
1,000). In 2000,
the mortality figure for children in the first year of life
was 7, including two cases where the reason recorded was “slow
foetal
growth, foetal malnutrition and immaturity”.
General Health Insurance
- General
Health Insurance (AZV) was introduced on 1 January 2001 and everyone registered
as resident in Aruba is now compulsorily insured.
Once registered for the
scheme they qualify for a basic insurance package. The statutory basis of AZV
is a national ordinance passed
in 1992. Contributions are means-tested.
- Under
AZV, children can consult a general practitioner free of charge. An appointment
with a medical specialist requires referral
by a general practitioner, except in
the case of children under the age of 4, who can go direct to a paediatrician.
Treatment abroad
requires prior consent from AZV. Prescribed medication is
obtainable from dispensing chemists free of charge, provided the drugs
concerned
are on the list of approved medicines.
- Dentistry
(including orthodontic treatment) for children under the age of 13 is virtually
free of charge, provided they have a record
of regular treatment. There is a
small charge for fillings and for orthodontic treatment. For 13- to
18-year-olds, a more limited
range of treatment is available free of
charge.
- Children
who are not registered as resident in Aruba are not insured via AZV. Every kind
of medical treatment available in Aruba
is available to them, but their parents
have to pay for it. There is no official figure for the number of children in
this position.
Obstetric care
- AZV
covers the cost of the obstetric care provided by general practitioners,
midwives and four gynaecologists. The country has three
midwives, who also
provide antenatal care and carry out health checks for pregnant women. The
majority of births take place in the
hospital. In 2001 there were 1,444
hospital deliveries, including 573 caesarean sections and 871 vaginal
deliveries. This compares
with 24 home deliveries in the same period.
- The
Central Bureau of Statistics records 1,266 births in Aruba in 2001. This shows
that there is a disparity between the number of
registered deliveries and the
official birth statistics, probably because some births are not reported to the
civil register.
- Premature
births are relatively rare. This may be a consequence of the small size of the
population. Since the hospital in Aruba
has no neonatology department, pregnant
women are taken to Curaçao or Venezuela if there is any expectation of
premature delivery.
Premature babies in need of special care are likewise
transferred to Curaçao immediately after
birth.
- The
White Yellow Cross (Stichting voor Volkshygiëne Wit Gele Kruis)
community nursing service organizes regular antenatal classes. Attendance is
voluntary and subject to a small fee. The classes
cover not only various
aspects of pregnancy and birth, but also infant care and nutrition. The White
Yellow Cross also provides
post-natal care. In addition, there is a privately
run interdisciplinary antenatal and maternity clinic (Centrum voor
Interdisciplinaire Zwangerschapsbegeleiding en Kraamzorg, CIZKA) which
provides post-natal care on a commercial basis.
Health-care services for children and young people
- Health-care
services for children and young people in Aruba are provided partly by the
not-for-profit White Yellow Cross community
nursing service and partly by the
Government-run Youth Health Care Service.
- The
White Yellow Cross was set up to provide preventive health care for children
aged 0 to 6 and is divided into a babycare service
(0-15 months) and a
service for toddlers and young children (under the age of 7). Both types of
care are provided via appointments
or consultations with doctors or nurses,
which the children attend together with their parents, grandparents or
guardians. The main
focus of attention is the physical growth and general
development of the child.
- Nutrition,
including breastfeeding, is discussed with parents. They are also given the
opportunity to seek specialist advice on and
short-term treatment for
developmental or behavioural difficulties. Since the aim is one of prevention,
children in need of medical
attention are referred to a general medical
practitioner or paediatrician. Users of White Yellow Cross services pay a
family contribution
to the organization.
- The
Youth Health-Care Service is a statutory government agency which exists to
monitor, maintain and promote the social and medical
well-being of children from
birth to the end of secondary education. This is achieved via periodic health
checks and the more specific
examination of children referred by doctors and
nurses. General health checks are carried out in virtually all schools every
school
year. The service is free of charge. Children can be referred to
special education experts or, if necessary, to a general practitioner
or
paediatrician.
- A
1996/1997 Health Department survey of primary school children revealed
that 15 per cent (one in seven) of them were overweight.
This
result is similar to findings in other countries. A 1999 survey of
adolescents aged 13-15 showed that 28 per cent had the
same problem. Habits
of physical exercise among primary and secondary school children are
generally poor, with 27 per cent taking
little or no exercise outside
school hours. The White Yellow Cross and the Youth Health Care Service employ
dieticians to give individual
consultations, hold information evenings for
parents (and children) and develop materials encouraging healthy eating.
- The
Youth Health Care Service has worked with the Education Department on a number
of joint projects designed to promote healthy eating
habits and physical
exercise among children and adolescents.
Vaccinations
- Vaccination
programmes in Aruba began in the 1960s and have been regularly expanded since
then. Vaccination is not compulsory but
the number of parents refusing them is
negligible. The Government bears the cost of procuring the necessary vaccines
and vaccination
equipment. The programme is conducted in the schools by the
White Yellow Cross and the Youth Health Care Service and takes place
in
accordance with World Health Organization standards. Since June 2002, the
programme has been as follows:
2 months D(P)TPolio + ActHIB
3.5 months D(P)TPolio + ActHIB
5 months D(P)TPolio + ActHIB
11-12 months D(P)TPolio + ActHIB
14-15 months MMR
5-6 years DTP
10 years DTP + MMR
- The
vaccination record is checked when the child enters the first year of primary
education (at age 6-7) and, provided the parents
agree, any missed vaccinations
are given at that point.
- The
number of children known to the White Yellow Cross exceeds the number of
registered births. The discrepancy is thought to mean
that even children who
are not officially registered (i.e. children without legal residence status) are
known to the White Yellow
Cross and receive the necessary vaccinations. These
are normally given free of charge. The introduction of Hepatitis B vaccine
is
now under discussion.
Other bodies
- The
Family Planning Foundation (Famia Planea) was set up in 1970 and provides
information on family planning with a view to encouraging responsible
parenthood. Access to the
organization’s services is easy and acceptors
are given information and contraceptives in exchange for an annual membership
fee. The Foundation also gives talks to children in the upper grades of primary
school and in secondary schools.
- In
2001 a not-for-profit organization called Fundación pro Lechi Mama
Aruba (Mother’s Milk Aruba) was set up to deal with various aspects of
breastfeeding.
Children with HIV/AIDS
- To
date nine children (born since 1994) have been registered with the contagious
diseases section of the Health Department as having
HIV/AIDS. One has died. In
addition, two children were registered as HIV-positive at birth but have since
tested negative.
- The
contagious diseases section provides a registration and support service for
people with HIV/AIDS. In the case of children, support
and counselling are
given to both parent and child. In consultation with the paediatrician, babies
born to mothers with HIV/AIDS
are given Retrovir syrup during the first six
weeks of life and regular blood tests are carried out thereafter.
- A
paediatrician is currently preparing a draft protocol on “Mother-to-Child
Transmission”. This will involve the provision
of support and medication
to infected mothers throughout pregnancy and birth. The protocol will also
cover the treatment and medication
of the infant.
Circumcision for religious reasons
- So
far as is known, children in Aruba are never circumcised for religious reasons.
Where male circumcision is undertaken for medical
or other reasons, it is
performed in the hospital by a medical specialist.
Teenage pregnancies
- According
to figures from the White Yellow Cross organization, the number of teenage
pregnancies has remained virtually stable and
has not increased in recent years.
In 2001, a total of 69 births were registered to teenage mothers (under the age
of 18), 85 per
cent of these were first-time deliveries. The 2000 census
recorded 63 mothers under the age of 18, while the number of births to
18- and
19-year-olds in that year was 168. The rate of pregnancy among 15 to
19-year-old women in Aruba is 5.1 per hundred. By
international standards, this
is a fairly average rate, on a par with that in the United States of America,
but very much higher
than the Dutch figure of 0.4 per hundred.
- Pregnancy
among teenage schoolgirls can cause particular problems because some secondary
schools exclude pupils in these circumstances.
Few return to school after the
birth. Antenatal checks on pregnant teenagers are conducted by a general
practitioner, a midwife
or a gynaecologist. Following the birth, a major
proportion of the care of the new baby is the responsibility of the grandmother
if she is not employed outside the home. Arrangements for the guardianship of
the child are made by the Guardianship Board. There
are no specific services
for teenage parents and/or their children. Presumably they use the generic
family support services. The
Association of Youth Welfare Work in Aruba (ATHA)
is currently setting up a project to address the various needs of pregnant
teenagers.
So far as prevention of teenage pregnancy is concerned, the
Fundación Pa Nos Muchanan provides parents with information on sex
education via the media and other channels and has given parenting courses on
the subject
for the past four years.
- The
provision of institutional services to teenage mothers is hampered by adherence
to an ad hoc, short-term approach motivated by
lack of funding, manpower and
support. Ability to respond to their needs is seriously undermined by
disagreements on the appropriate
approach to be adopted and an absence of
coordination both between the various service providers and between them and
governmental
organizations. Preventive action needs to be based on a clear
vision of its nature, purpose and approach.
International cooperation
- There
are many contacts with organizations like World Health Organization/ PanAmerican
Health Organization (WHO-PAHO) and World Health
Organization/Caribbean
Epidemiology Centre (WHO-CAREC). Workshops and conferences are regularly
organized and attended by Aruban
representatives. A UNAIDS Theme Group
established in 1999 cooperates with other bodies in addressing the need for a
strategy for
the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS in Aruba.
D. Social security (art. 26)
- The
Aruban social security system is governed by a number of statutory arrangements
largely based on the Dutch system. The aim is
to provide an assured minimum
income for all who are wholly or partly unable to support themselves as a result
of illness, disability,
old age, unemployment, etc. The social security system
consists of a range of benefits funded out of the public purse and insurance
schemes financed through individual contributions. The insurance schemes can be
subdivided into social insurances and employee insurances.
- The
social insurances in Aruba are the General Old-Age Pension (AOV), General Widows
and Orphans Insurance (AWW) and General Health
Insurance (AZV). In principle,
everyone resident in Aruba is insured, as is every Aruban taxpayer, whether or
not resident in the
country. In the case of AZV, all residents are compulsorily
insured. Employee insurance schemes include medical insurance, accident
insurance and severance pay. Every employee is also compulsorily insured.
- Benefits
include social assistance, designed for individuals and families who have no
income or whose income is below subsistence
level. To qualify, claimants must
have Dutch nationality, be domiciled in Aruba and either have been born in Aruba
or have lived
in the country for three years. Claimants who have applied for
Dutch nationality but not yet been granted it may be given transitional
assistance. Others can apply for one-off crisis payments.
- Unless
they are already in employment, minors do not normally have an autonomous right
to social security based on social insurance
contributions. Any right to social
security is normally derived from their parents and/or guardians. The basic
principle is that
parents and guardians are responsible for the care and
financial support of their children. Exceptions are made to this rule in
the
following cases:
- − Under
AWW, orphans have an independent right to assistance;
- − Under
the National Decree on Social Assistance, handicapped children aged 16 and over
who are still living with their parents
can claim disability
benefits;
- − Under
ministerial guidelines, an independent right to benefit is also granted to
children and foster children of people on
benefits if they are still living with
their parents/foster parents and have become pregnant;
- − Finally,
as residents of Aruba, children have an independent right to health insurance
under AZV and are registered as insured persons in their own right.
E. Childcare services (art. 18, para. 3)
- The
main response to the growing demand for organized childcare since the 1980s has
come from the private sector. Initially, facilities
were designed mainly for
children aged 0-4. The number of centres catering for this age group has
increased and a number of them
are now also providing care for children of
school age. In addition, there are a number of centres providing only
after-school care.
- The
number of private sector childcare centres registered with the
Fundación Pa Nos Muchanan is now (in 2002) around 106. It is
impossible to say exactly how many exist because the centres are not
obliged to register with
any official body. Nor can precise figures
be given for the number of children using these facilities. Census returns
in 2000 showed
that 3,377 children under the age of 4 were receiving
organized childcare at that time. This figure is likely to be less than the
total since some of the centres also cater for children of school age and the
Census returns provide no information on the number
of children in this age
group who are in organized after-school care.
- In
order to control the proliferation of organized childcare facilities, the policy
of the Government is to impose quality criteria
via a new statutory licensing
system. Official-level preparations for a draft National Ordinance on Childcare
are now at an advanced
stage. To enable the childcare centres to meet the
criteria it will impose for the training of staff, a second Emergency Childcare
Training Course (a junior vocational level course for existing staff of
childcare centres) was launched in January 2001. There are
also plans to
organize combined theory and practice courses at a more advanced level for
childcare centre supervisors. Since 1996,
the Government has also subsidized
the staffing and running costs of the Fundación Pa Nos Muchanan, a
not-for-profit organization set up to, among other things, help childcare
centres improve the quality of their services.
- In
1996, in view of the serious shortage of places for after-school care, a
governmentfunded project was launched under the name of
“Traimerdia”. This has its own project organization responsible for
curriculum development and the provision of advice
and inservice training for
the centres. After-school activities are designed to support and enrich the
educational curriculum.
They are provided in existing school buildings and
there is close cooperation with teachers, who actually run some parts of the
programme.
The ultimate aim is to make after-school care an integral part of
children’s schooling, based on a shared view of their developmental
needs.
More than 900 children in nursery, primary and special education are currently
receiving after-school care in 6 schools spread
throughout Aruba.
- With
the exception of the “Traimerdia” project, childcare is financed
mainly by parents’ contributions. The costs
are not tax-deductible either
for the parents or for the organizations running the centres, and the vast
majority of the centres
fail to qualify for government subsidies because they
are privately run. Contributions from employers are also virtually
non-existent.
So far as is known, only one company in Aruba currently provides
childcare facilities for its workers. Two other organizations
- a bank and a
public sector body - pay part of the cost of the care provided to their
employees. Since there is as yet no legislation
entitling parents to work
flexible hours or part time, parents have little or no chance of accommodating
their children’s care
needs in that way.
- The
present Government is eager to give high priority to the provision of childcare,
especially where both parents are working. Accordingly,
the government
programme for 20012005 includes plans to expand facilities, where necessary, and
to encourage provision closer to
parents’ homes or workplaces. The
Government also intends to explore the potential for introducing flexible
working hours
(see also art. 18, paras. 1 and 2).
F. Standard of living (art. 27, para. 1-3)
- Aruban
law makes parents primarily responsible for the care and upbringing of their
children until they reach the age of majority.
They have a duty to provide
their children with a standard of living appropriate to the family income. This
obligation extends
not only to the cost of food, clothing and accommodation, but
also to that of children’s general upbringing. The law also
provides the
means to compel parents who do not have parental responsibility for their
children to provide for their maintenance
(see arts. 5, 18, paras. 1 and 2 and
27, para. 4).
- Parents
who lack the resources to provide for themselves or their children can apply for
financial assistance under the National Decree
on Social Assistance (LBBV). The
standard monthly benefit is Af. 285 for the head of the household plus
Af. 120 for each additional
member of the family (provided he or she has
Dutch nationality). These are gross figures, since any other income is
deducted. The
maximum total amount of social assistance that a family can
receive is linked to the minimum monthly wage (Af. 1,200 on 1 July 2002).
People with little or no income can also apply for housing benefit, provided
they occupy social housing. In crises, a one-off extra
payment can also be
granted under article 10 of LBBV and the costs of bed-and-breakfast
accommodation or rent of an apartment can
be temporarily met by the State.
- To
help low-income parents with the cost of education, the school bus fares are
reimbursed. Secondary school children also qualify
for an allowance of up to
Af. 400 to help meet the cost of textbooks. In addition, families on social
assistance receive an extra
annual payment for each family member in full-time
education. This is intended to help meet the cost of clothing, shoes and school
equipment (see also art. 28).
- Private
charities, like Church-based organizations and voluntary service clubs, also
provide help for needy individuals and families.
This usually takes the form of
help in kind, including food, second-hand clothes and furniture. For their
funding, the organizations
rely mainly on gifts and donations from private
individuals and business organizations. Since August 2001, the
not-for-profit “Ban
Uni Man pa Cria nos Muchanan” organization has
provided children of low-income families with daily breakfasts at their
kindergartens
or primary schools after it was found that increasing numbers of
children were going to school without breakfast. The children are
referred by
the schools and 230 children are currently being served at 2 kindergartens
and 10 primary schools. The children are
sponsored to receive the meals by
private individuals, service clubs and businesses.
- No
recent figures are available for the poverty line in Aruba or the percentage of
the population living below it. In order to improve
the position of
socio-economically disadvantaged members of society, the policy of the Minister
for Social Affairs and Infrastructure
who came into office in 2001 is directed
at improving existing social support
- networks
and help from civil society organizations, ensuring that the professional
services cater more accurately to the real needs
of the less privileged and
weaker segments of society, and encouraging their participation in society.
Action is to focus particularly
on the construction of affordable housing for
sale and rent. In the light of a balanced economic and social development,
government
policy is also directed at achieving a more equal distribution of
income. Measures to be taken include a further increase in minimum
wages,
encouragement for people on social support to enter the labour market,
intensification of retraining programmes and refresher
courses, and better
control of the cost of living.
VII. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
Education
Compulsory school attendance
- In
late 1999, following a lengthy period of preparation, the draft National
Ordinance on Compulsory Education was presented to the
cabinet. A number of
bodies (including NGOs) were invited to comment on the draft. Although the
principle of compulsory school
attendance was generally welcomed, it became
clear that certain conditions were necessary to ensure its success. These
include:
- − Sufficient
funding;
- − Adequate
educational infrastructure (buildings and materials);
- − Sufficient
staff with proper training;
- − Sufficient
schools (including provision for the disabled);
- − Pupil
support and guidance;
- − Policies
for the education of juvenile detainees;
- − A plan
for the introduction of multilingual education;
- − Training
to help staff deal with the linguistic difficulties of immigrants.
- Opinion
was divided on the question of whether school attendance should be made
compulsory for the children of illegal immigrants.
The issue is complicated by
the lack of hard information about the number of illegal immigrants in Aruba.
The draft National Ordinance
on Compulsory Education includes provision for
children without a residence permit to be given a right to education.
- The
administrative courts in Aruba have recently ruled that children who have no
legal right of abode in Aruba can still derive the
right to education from the
Convention on the Rights of the Child. According to the court, the Convention
has direct effect in this
respect.
- The
draft National Ordinance is now before Parliament. In order to maximize school
attendance, it imposes two duties on parents.
Firstly, they must ensure that
the child is enrolled at a school by 1 May in the school year in which it
reaches the age of 4.
Secondly, they must ensure that the child continues to
attend school during regular school hours at least until it has completed
a
course of general secondary or secondary vocational education, or has reached
the age of 17, whichever occurs first.
Free access to education/real cost of education to families
- Education
in Aruba is free, with the partial exception of the Colegio Arubano (which
provides pre-university and senior general secondary
education), the Aruba Hotel
School, the Teacher Training College (IPA) and the University of Aruba, where
students pay annual fees.
- In
the case of the Colegio Arubano, needy students can apply to the Government for
a grant to defray the cost of books and to the
Colegio Arubano Social Fund for
help with other costs. Students of the University of Aruba can apply for a
student loan from the
Government or the Dutch scholarship programme WSF.
Students of IPA can also apply for a student loan from the Government.
- Some
school boards and schools levy a special charge for particular forms of
provision and for extracurricular activities. Needy
students can apply to the
Government for special help to defray certain educational expenses: free school
transport and, for community
college (EPI) students, a student loan of
Af. 100 per month.
Educational finance
- Spending
on education has declined from 6.10 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in
1981 to 4.75 per cent in 2000 (staff salaries
accounting for 90 per cent of
school running costs). Generally speaking, the financing of education has not
kept pace with changing
demand. Schools suffer serious problems due to
sub-standard physical conditions. In order to complete current projects for
reform
at all levels of education, the organizations in Aruba involved in such
reforms have recommended to the Government that educational
funding should be
equivalent to at least 6 per cent of gross national product (GNP). In addition,
these organizations have recommended
that the procedures for the funding of
education should be made more transparent, flexible and efficient.
- In
other countries in the Caribbean region, public expenditure on education
averages nearly 15 per cent of total public expenditure.
In Aruba it
is approximately 17 per cent.
- Although
in principle education in Aruba is free, most students in publicly and privately
run government-subsidized schools do pay
certain contributions and, of course,
students in privately run non-subsidized schools pay the full cost of tuition.
According to
the Income and Expenditure Survey of 1998, the average annual
household expenditure on formal education amounted in that year to
Af. 664.40
(Af. 499.60 for low-income households and Af. 1,046.50 for high-income
households). As there were approximately 29,500
households in Aruba
in 1998, the total expenditure on formal education fees is estimated to
amount to Af. 19,599,800, or 0.63 per
cent of GDP.
- Total
public (including development aid) and private expenditure on education is
estimated to be Af. 172,548,105, or 5.57 per cent
of GDP. Salaries account
for 84.7 per cent of current expenditure and 62.5 per cent of total expenditure.
Educational innovation
programmes account for 6.4 per cent of capital
expenditure and 1.7 per cent of total expenditure. Infrastructure (including
new
facilities in the context of educational reform) accounts
for 70 per cent of capital expenditure and 18.3 per cent of total
expenditure.
Nearly all capital expenditure takes place through the Ministry
(98.2 per cent, including student loans). Another source of finance
is
development aid. Traditionally, education has been one of the major
beneficiaries of Dutch development aid, with a 17 per cent
share of all
development aid funds
in the period 19861999. In 1998 the social
sector in Aruba received Af. 13,543,182 in
Dutch development aid, of which
Af. 10,985,512 was for education (equal to 0.35 per cent of GDP).
Financial assistance for those in need
- Ever
since 1993, Government help with the cost of schooling has been available to
families who are living on social assistance and
have resident children or
foster children in fulltime education. This extra assistance takes the form of
an annual payment and is
intended to meet all or part of the cost of necessary
clothing, footwear and school equipment. The amount paid for each child is
Af.
120, up to a maximum of Af. 500 for each family.
Enrolment rates
- Aruba
has never had problems with general access to education, even though there was
no compulsory education. In every age group
except 4-year-olds, the
enrolment rate is over 93 per cent.
- In
recent years, however, the enrolment rate has been declining. Since 1986, the
structural problem of school dropouts has been further
complicated by the influx
of immigrant children of school age. The education system has faced not only
the structural problems of
the year group system (e.g. repeating and early
school-leaving), but also the challenge of dealing with children who speak
different
languages, have different cultural backgrounds and have often had
little previous experience of school. All this has exacerbated
the problems of
the education system.
- To
help meet the country’s obligations under the Convention on the Rights of
the Child and to prepare for the introduction of
compulsory school attendance, a
steering group was appointed in May 2000 to try to establish how many children
aged 4 to 18 in Aruba
do not attend school and the reasons for their
non-attendance. Based on the results of this inquiry, consideration would be
given
to the steps that should be taken to get these children into
school.
- There
are three main categories of non-attenders, namely:
- − Local
children who have never attended
school;
- − Immigrant
children who attended in their own countries but have never done so in Aruba.
Economic policies in Aruba have triggered
a major influx of foreign workers over
recent years. This has had direct implications for the education system, but
the educational
infrastructure was unprepared for the increased demand for
school places, especially for immigrant children. As a result, a number
of them
do not attend;
- − Local
and immigrant children who have left school early (dropouts).
- The
first of these categories can be quantified to some extent by comparing the
figures in the population register with those for
children enrolled in school.
The second is less easy to quantify, because the children concerned are
generally illegal immigrants;
they are neither recorded in the population
register nor enrolled at a school. In the case of the third group, the numbers
of dropouts
are recorded by the schools but their motives for leaving are not
generally known. Because of the difficulty of obtaining exact
information, it
was decided to keep a national register in which parents or guardians of
non-attenders could register their children.
This has revealed that the
majority of the children registered are not attending school because their
residence papers are not (yet)
in order and they are therefore not included in
the population register.
- The
Committee for the Inclusion of Non-Schoolgoing Children has proposed ways in
which the primary school system could cater for such
non-attenders. Its
proposals are divided into solutions for the short, medium and long term and are
intended to create the right
educational, financial and logistical conditions to
allow all children in the relevant age group to be given places in primary
education.
The Cabinet has now approved its proposals and a person has been
appointed to coordinate implementation.
- Since
national registration identified few dropouts, a more detailed survey of this
group is to be carried out. Before the results
become known, however, there are
plans for private sector initiatives directed at non-attenders.
- In
September 2000, for example, the not-for-profit IDEA “Initiativa Desaroyo
Educacion Aruba” (Education Development Initiative
Aruba) organization
launched a project called “Nos Hogar” (Our Home) directed at
13- to 19-year-olds who have either
dropped out of education prematurely or
never been to school at all in Aruba (mainly because they are immigrants).
Eighty-eight
teenagers are currently being helped by the project and there is a
long waiting list. The educational programme is intended to be
community-based
and intercultural, and to stress personal development (with a strong emphasis on
building a positive self-image).
IDEA is at present still operating without
government support, but does receive support from CEDE-Aruba. It has now applied
for
government subsidies.
Children with disabilities
- Special
education in Aruba is provided by two schools for children with learning
disabilities (Emma School and Caiquetio School) and
one school for children with
severe learning disabilities (“Scol Dun’un Man”). In
addition, “School Scucha
Nos” offers education for children with
hearing impairments. Visually impaired children attend mainstream primary
schools
where they can receive help from special peripatetic teachers employed
by the Foundation for the Visually Impaired (FAVI).
- Children
with physical disabilities may find it difficult to attend school because school
buildings are not designed to cater for
them. So far, the education system has
not given sufficient attention to this group of children. The legislation on
mainstream
kindergarten, primary and secondary education provides that all types
of schools are to receive the same amount of funding for all
pupils, although it
does give the competent Minister power to vary the amount in exceptional
cases.
- The
special education curriculum is based on the primary school curriculum, but
takes account of the nature and degree of disability.
Since the 1970s, the
language of instruction in special education has been Papiamento. To improve
the quality of special education,
the Department of Education and the Teacher
Training College have over the years organized several in-service training
courses for
special schoolteachers. Even so, and despite heavy per capita
spending (1998: Af. 13,625) special education remains a rather marginalized
sector of the education system. The Aruban school system offers facilities for
a fairly restricted range of disabilities and parents
often have to emigrate in
order to obtain the necessary professional help for their children. Where this
is not possible, children
are deprived of such help. To address this situation
and other problems, the reform of special education has been entrusted to
PRIEPEB
(“Project for the restructuring of kindergarten, primary and
special education”).
- Formal
secondary education for children with disabilities is still a problem. This
type of education has recently been introduced
as a special stream within lower
vocational education (“Educacion Profesional Basico”,
EPB).
Children with learning disabilities
- Teachers
within mainstream primary education are expected to be able to cater for
children with mild learning disabilities. However,
schools lack the necessary
professional expertise, coordination, internal organization and institutional
culture to provide effective
help for these children.
- Children
who are thought to need special education are referred by teachers in mainstream
primary schools to the Advisory Service
of the Department of Education. If
necessary, the children are tested and the results are discussed with their
parents. The final
decision to apply for a place in a special school is in
their hands. Whether the child can be placed depends on whether there is
a
vacancy. There are two schools with a total of 235 pupils spread over 21
classes (average class size: 11). So far, capacity
has always been just
sufficient, sometimes with a small waiting list, and applicants have always been
able to obtain a place in the
course of the school year. However, problems are
expected to arise if the number of applications remains at the current level or
even increases year on year. For that reason, the Government has been asked to
expand the capacity of special schools (extra classes/staff).
- Aruba
also has a school for children with severe learning difficulties (the
“Scol Dun’un man”). It has five classes
with an average of
seven to eight pupils in each.
- Children
diagnosed as having behavioural difficulties can be referred to the Department
of Education by their teachers or parents.
The children are tested and, where
possible, a plan of therapeutic action is drawn up for the use of the teacher.
There is no direct
support or guidance for the children themselves.
- For
children with severe psychological problems, there is no special educational
provision. They often end up in the SVG facilities
for children with severe
learning difficulties (see para. 251 below).
Private sector initiatives
- In
the past, the facilities described above often failed to cater satisfactorily
for children with more exceptional special needs.
To fill these gaps in
provision, a number of facilities were established during the 1960s and 1970s as
a result of private sector
initiatives. At the moment, the private sector
provides special education or educational support for children with mental,
visual
and hearing impairments.
- In
general, the support and education available for children at these schools can
be said to be satisfactory, given the small size
of the community in Aruba.
Nevertheless, efforts are being made to increase expertise. The teachers and
special facilitators are
all qualified, but there is currently no scope for
specialization.
Foundation for the Mentally Disabled
- The
Foundation for the Mentally Disabled (SVG) was established in 1964 and caters
for people with severe learning difficulties (IQ
of less than 60). SVG runs a
day-care centre for children of nursery-school age (“Pasadia Bibito
Pin”) and a school
for older children (“Skol Dun’un
man”). Together they cater for 70 to 80 children, which is sufficient to
meet
current demand.
- The
Department of Education pays SVG the usual per capita grant for the
children’s education and there is an additional subsidy
from the
Department of Social Affairs. However, the children’s particular special
needs give rise to many extra costs (e.g.
for building adaptations and social
work, psychological, educational, physiological and speech therapy services) and
donations are
necessary to cover the organization’s operating
deficits.
- Although
the aim of special education is to produce independent individuals who are well
integrated into society, it must be acknowledged
that Aruba offers disabled
people very limited opportunities. There are few special facilities for them in
terms of housing, public
buildings, public transport, etc. and adults find it
difficult to gain employment.
- For
children with multiple disabilities, there is neither the necessary diagnostic
provision nor adequate care facilities. It follows
that they are unlikely to
achieve their full potential. Although SVG exists to serve only people with
mental disabilities, it also
does its best to accommodate children with multiple
disabilities. This is only possible if adequate physical care can be provided
and if transport can be arranged. If this is not the case, the children remain
at home or, if possible, their families take them
abroad.
Foundation for the Visually Impaired (FAVI)
- This
not-for-profit organization was set up in 1974 to help visually impaired people
of all ages. Because its small staff has to
cater for such a wide range of
clients, there is little staff
- specialization.
The support provided for children with visual impairments is designed to promote
their social integration and acceptance.
It can be given as soon as a visual
handicap is diagnosed, even if the child is still a baby or toddler.
- FAVI
staff provide any necessary classroom support for children in primary, secondary
and special education. They work closely with
teachers and can advise on
possible modifications to classrooms and instructional materials.
- FAVI
services are provided free of charge, but clients have to pay for any necessary
aids or equipment. Because they are often unable
to do so, FAVI lends out such
apparatus - especially to children - and campaigns for it to be provided under
General Health Insurance
(AZV) and/or other insurance schemes.
Foundation for the Hearing Impaired (FEPO)
- The
Foundation for the Hearing Impaired provides support for people of all ages.
Following a rubella epidemic in 1970, which left
many children with serious
hearing disabilities, a special school for deaf and hearing-impaired children
(“Scucha Nos”)
was set up. Although the rate of deafness and
hearing impairment in the school population has now returned to normal, the
school
still exists and is run by FEPO. It currently caters for around 12
pupils aged between 3 and 13. Since no special secondary education
is
available, they then have to transfer to mainstream secondary schools (usually
lower vocational education). However, this is
about to change. Beginning in
October 2002, hearing-impaired pupils who are not admitted to some other form of
secondary education
will be able to receive special secondary education at
“Scol Scucha Nos”.
- In
order to diagnose hearing impairment as early as possible, infants attending the
White Yellow Cross clinics are given a hearing
test (the Ewing test) at around
10 months. Where a severe hearing impairment is diagnosed, FEPO staff can
provide immediate support
for the affected child and its family. In the case of
less severe impairments, support is provided later at school. Children with
very severe disabilities attend the “Scucha Nos” school.
- Teaching
at the school concentrates on the development of speech and sign language. In
order to promote integration into mainstream
education, all pupils attend a
mainstream school once a week. There too they receive support from FEPO.
- The
cost of hearing tests and the purchase of hearing aids is met by General Health
Insurance (AZV), but maintenance and repairs are
a problem. Most children treat
their hearing aids rather carelessly and are apt to come to school without
them.
- All
the organizations providing care and support for children with disabilities feel
the need for a multidisciplinary team responsible
for early detection of
development disorders and structuring of coordinated multidisciplinary
provision.
Children unable to attend school for health
reasons
- Figures
from the Central Bureau of Statistics show that in Aruba 93 per cent of children
in the relevant age group actually attend
school. It is difficult to say
whether the remaining nonattendance is due to chronic or temporary ill health;
no figures are available
on this.
Strategies in favour of equal educational opportunities for
girls
- Statistical
data show that in Aruba girls do not have fewer educational opportunities than
boys. Girls do better in school, are less
likely to repeat a year and are less
often transferred to special education than boys. Female students who continue
their studies
in the Netherlands tend to achieve better results than male
students and more often return to Aruba.
- Aruba
has no problems with respect to access and equity issues, although girls
continue to choose to study in specific fields and
are less inclined to
technical studies. In content and orientation, the curriculum at all levels of
education still reflects a highly
traditional, submissive and dependent female
role in all spheres of life.
- Although
women have enjoyed a relatively high level of schooling in Aruba for many years,
this is not always reflected in management
and leadership positions on the
island. Curriculum reforms in both primary and secondary schools aim at
developing life skills and
interpersonal relations based on respect (one effect
of the introduction of the basic general cycle for 12- to 14-year-olds in lower
vocational education (EPB) has been to involve both boys and girls in domestic
as well as technical subjects). It is hoped that
this will further the
emancipation of female students. It is crucial, however, that more specific
attention be paid to emancipatory
education for girls in Aruba.
Programmes of international cooperation
UNESCO
- Aruba
is an associate member of UNESCO and has had its own National Committee since
1999. UNESCO runs a Participation Programme under
which all member States can
apply for subsidies for projects approved and prioritized by the National
Committees. The programme
is set to run for two years and each member State is
entitled to submit up to 11 projects. A distinction is drawn between local
and
regional projects. Following extensive media publicity, the National Committee
in Aruba has received 15 applications from various
public and private sector
organizations and individuals. As a result, it has approved and prioritized 11
projects. At the time of writing, however, these still have to be
approved by UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The projects are worth US$ 277,384.04
and relate to matters such as:
- − Training
of Educational Leaders for Educational Reform in Aruba (implementation of
training courses at various levels);
- − Remedial
Teaching of Instruction Language for Colegio EPI (helping students to
overcome the language barrier);
- − Informative
Reference Books for Children (production, distribution and sale of a series
of educational books for children aged 9 to 12);
- − Tell
me a story (short children’s TV series in
Papiamento).
Right of the child to rest and leisure
- The
National Ordinances on nursery, primary and secondary education give the
Minister of Education the authority to set the dates
of the start and end of the
school year, public holidays and the total annual number of holidays for all
Government-subsidized schools,
whether publicly or privately run. The school
year begins on 1 August and ends on 31 July. There are 60 days’ holiday a
year
(including public holidays). Children in nursery and primary education
attend school for between 22 and 24 hours a week. The maximum
in secondary
education is 30 hours a week.
- Since
the 1980s, there has been a steady increase in the rate of female employment.
The programme for children in organized after-school
care includes sufficient
rest and leisure. Current after-school care facilities however are not
sufficient to meet the demand.
No concrete figures are available on the number
of children who are at home without adult supervision and perhaps responsible
for
the care of younger children after school hours. Another threat to the
necessary rest and leisure is the part-time work (e.g. packing,
shopping and
taking it to customers’ cars) done by pupils after school, sometimes to
supplement the family income.
- Changes
in the second half of the twentieth century have affected even the way children
play. Since the arrival of industrially produced
toys, children play outdoors
less. This is partly due to rapid urbanization, which has left little or no
open space or provision
for play in residential areas, and to increasing road
traffic. More recently, access to cable television and the Internet have also
had a major influence on the way children spend their leisure time.
Recreational activities
- The
majority of the recreational activities available are organized by the private
sector. A few neighbourhoods have public, non-commercial
playgrounds open to
all and the island also has the Arikok National Park, a children’s farm
and a small number of museums.
Many families go to the beach regularly at
weekends and a visit to the cinema is a favourite outing for many teenagers.
- There
are currently nine community centres and five youth clubs, most of which provide
social, cultural and sporting activities for
children over the age of 6 and for
teenagers. At the end of 2000, a project was launched on the initiative of the
umbrella organization
for youth welfare organizations (“Asociacion Trabao
di Hubentud na Aruba”, ATHA) to construct open-air parks/playgrounds
at
community centres and youth clubs. CEDE-Aruba has begun building eight such
facilities, funded by the Netherlands.
- In
addition, the scouting movement provides a wide range of activities designed to
promote the spiritual, intellectual and physical
development of young people
aged 5 to 18. Most of the groups are in Oranjestad and the surrounding area.
Activities in the San
Nicolaas area are very limited. There is considerable
enthusiasm among teenagers, but it is mainly boys who join. Special mention
should be made of the scouting group for “special children” which
has recently been launched with great support from
the Sonrisa Association for
parents of the mentally disabled.
- Disabled
children currently have little opportunity to join in with leisure and sporting
activities. There are many barriers to access.
Various initiatives are,
however, under way to create improved opportunities for them.
Foundation for the Visually Impaired (FAVI)
- For
children with visual impairments, FAVI provides out-of-school group activities
such as swimming, keyboard skills, computer and
guitar lessons. FAVI also has a
small toy library.
Sonrisa Association
- This
association of parents of mentally disabled children/adults has its own centre
where activities are provided after school, at
weekends and during school
holidays. There are good facilities enabling children and supervisors to stay
at the centre for periods
of several days at a time. The different activities
serve a varying group of around 50 mentally disabled children/adults. All the
activities are provided free of charge, except in the case of camping holidays,
where a small financial contribution is requested.
Otherwise, the activities
are funded entirely through donations. They are run by volunteers (for example,
student teachers).
Scouting in Aruba
- In
May 2001 the Aruban Scouting Association started two mixed-sex scout groups for
mentally disabled children, one for the 8- to15-year-olds
and the other for the
over-16s. They take part in activities on public occasions (such as the
Queen’s Birthday marches).
Special Olympics
- A
Special and Para Olympics Organization was established in 1999. So far, its
activities have been directed only at mentally disabled
people, but they could
be extended to include people with other types of disability. The body is a
member of the International Special
Olympics Organization, and Aruban
sportspeople took part in the last Special Olympics in 1995. A national Special
Olympics has been
held once in Aruba itself. Training sessions take place once
a week and are attended by around 10 participants. Transport to and
from
training sessions is inevitably a problem. The necessary resources come from
donations and activities are organized entirely
by volunteers.
Fundashon Arubano pa Remavalidashon-FARVA
- The
aim of this not-for-profit body is to promote the social integration of disabled
people via recreational rowing. The people involved
have a wide range of
disabilities and there are no age-limits. The group of around 12 participants
includes several teenagers.
The foundation has been in existence for five
years, relies entirely on volunteer labour and is funded by donations. Its
activities
take place at one of the beaches in Oranjestad.
Sporting activities
- Various
federations are active in the sporting field (football, tennis, basketball,
swimming, etc.). Most of them have a special
youth wing and concentrate
primarily on competitive sport. There is virtually no supervision of training
sessions. The trainers
are frequently drawn from among the players and receive
no special training. By contrast, sporting activities at community centres
and
youth clubs focus on recreational sport. There is also a government agency,
IDEFRE, which organizes various types of sports
competitions for primary and
secondary school pupils. Pupils are nominated by their schools and only the
best are selected to take
part. Participants are predominantly male (70 per
cent boys and 30 per cent girls). IDEFRE also provides lessons in various
branches
of sport for primary school children, irrespective of ability. These
are organized in almost all districts. Due to lack of financial
resources,
participation is limited to the fourth to the sixth year of primary school. The
children are recruited via the schools
and, once again, fewer girls than boys
take part. To cover the costs, IDEFRE has for the past few years received
financial support
from the Foundation for the Development of Community
Education. The children are charged only Af. 10.
- Children
also have physical education lessons at school. Children’s physical
development is a high priority of nursery education,
and physical education is a
separate subject on the curriculum of mainstream primary and secondary schools.
Schools without their
own gymnasiums teach physical education outdoors but there
are some schools which are unable to provide such teaching at all because
their
sports halls have been declared unfit by the Occupational Health Service.
Commercial entertainment
- Discos
and clubs attract many young people. Studies of young people’s nightlife
conducted by the Department of Social Affairs
in 1997 and 1998 reveal that these
places are frequented by children as young as 12. There is little control on
admission or on
the sale of alcohol to minors. The present Government intends
to introduce stricter law enforcement to protect minors in this respect.
- Annual
festivities include many organized activities for children and young people.
Especially around Carnival time, they are involved
in a wide range of contests,
song festivals and other activities. The adult equivalents of these events are
also open to children
of all ages and continue very late into the night.
Right of the child to participate in cultural and artistic
life
- To
encourage creativity among the young, various private sector organizations
provide music, ballet, theatre and art lessons. Although
there are activities
for children of all ages from as young as 2 or 3, problems of transport,
location and expense prevent many from
participating. Since the lessons are
mainly given in Oranjestad, they tend to be attended by children from that area.
- A
government agency called the Foundation for the Development of Community
Education was set up in 1997 to increase children’s
participation in
cultural and artistic life. The Foundation is responsible for a national
project designed to promote the social,
cultural and general development of the
population of Aruba in general and of young people in particular. It organizes
courses in
cooperation with public and private sector bodies in the various
districts, including IDEFRE and the “Instituto di Cultura”.
To date, these courses have focused mainly on music, drawing and handicrafts.
- The
National Library of Aruba cooperates with the Netherlands and the
Netherlands Antilles in organizing annual activities in nursery
and primary
schools to mark the Children’s Book Festival. To encourage children to
read, it also distributes books free of
charge to schools and has a mobile
library that tours the schools, lending out books. The library also organizes
out-of-school activities,
including weekly afternoon activities and a special
reading programme during the main school holidays. The activities take place
at
the public libraries in Oranjestad and San Nicolaas and are intended to be both
fun and educational. As well as readings, they
include handicrafts, music and
games. The library is also actively involved in the presentation of local
children’s books,
coupled with special activities for children.
Activities are provided free of charge and are open to all.
- Since
1997, the Museum of Archaeology in Aruba has provided special activities for
primary school classes in years 4 and 5. The activities
are intended to
familiarize the children with the indigenous Indian culture of Aruba and to
support the history teaching package
designed in cooperation with the Curriculum
Development Section of the Department of Education. Classes are not only taken
to view
the museum’s exhibits, but also explore Indian life via games and
assignments. In view of the great interest shown by the
schools, activities are
now being developed for classes in years 1 and 2. Since 1998, the museum has
also cooperated with community
and childcare centres in organizing camps for
children aged 2 to 16 during the main school holidays. In addition, student
teachers
on work experience placements organize excursions for age groups 6-10
and 11-16. On special occasions, presentations are given at
venues like
community centres and it is intended to expand these activities to serve a wider
public.
- A
government agency called the “Instituto di Cultura Aruba” provides
lessons in drama and choreography, mainly for secondary
school students.
Courses are free of charge and end with presentations to the public and in
schools. The institute also works together
with private sector bodies to
encourage the organization of children’s art exhibitions and provides
cultural activities to
complement events organized by the private sector. It is
currently engaged in setting up a sculpture and drawing project for adults
and
teenagers. So far, activities have all been based in Oranjestad, but in future
the institute intends to organize activities
in other parts of the island as
well.
- It
should be noted that private sector activities are not normally subsidized by
the Government and rely mainly on voluntary effort.
The heavy financial burden
and rapid turnover in volunteers complicate the work of these organizations. So
much time has to be
invested in finding funds and new volunteers that evaluation
and reporting are given a very low priority. Consequently, it is difficult
to
tell what results these programmes achieve or how many children they serve.
- Physical
access is a particular problem in relation to all forms of recreation on the
island. Most children have to be brought and
taken home by car. There is
little or no use of public transport, partly because bus services are infrequent
and do not cover all
areas. Given that the majority of adults are at work, many
children are unable to make use of the recreational facilities that exist.
VIII. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES
A. Children in emergency situations (arts. 22, 38 and
39)
1. Refugee children (art. 22)
- In
accordance with article 2 of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands and
the Ordinance on Admission and Expulsion, requests
for asylum in Aruba that are
made in Aruba are dealt with by the Aruban authorities. Requests for asylum in
the Netherlands that
are made in Aruba are dealt with through the office of the
Governor of Aruba. The Protocol to the Convention relating to the Status
of
Refugees entered into force for Aruba on 1 January 1986. The term
“refugee” is confined, in both the 1951 Convention
and the Protocol
thereto, to persons who have a well-founded fear of persecution. Since Aruba
has no statutory procedure for dealing
with asylum-seekers, each request has to
be dealt with on an ad hoc basis. This is because few requests for political
asylum have
been received to date. Although there are no official procedures,
the authorities concerned collaborate as closely as possible in
order to
determine whether there is a well-founded fear of persecution (this fear must be
supported by facts) and, if so, to provide
proper protection for the person
concerned. Consultations are also held with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in
The Hague, the missions
of the Kingdom abroad and the relevant international
organizations.
- If
unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers arrive in Aruba (which has not yet happened),
the help of the Department of the Guardianship
Board will be enlisted; it is
this Department’s statutory task to care for all children entrusted to it.
The Department is
also responsible for supervising the protection of children
against neglect, abuse, or ill-treatment, and may decide to place a child
in a
foster home or residential care as an interim solution.
2. Children in armed conflicts (art. 38), including physical
and
psychological recovery and social reintegration (art. 39)
Article 38
- Aruba’s
only involvement in armed conflict in the twentieth century was in the
Second World War. There is no compulsory military
service.
Article 39
- Fostering
physical and psychological recovery and the social reintegration of child
victims is a matter of ongoing concern to the
Government of Aruba, which
provides constant support in this area. A wide range of non-governmental
organizations (the most important
ones being the Fundación
Respetami and the Fundación Guia’mi) and government
departments (chief among them being the Department of the Guardianship Board and
the Department of Social Affairs)
specifically address the problem of child
victims and child abuse. They also run information campaigns warning the public
of the
dangers and consequences of the ill-treatment of children. Government
policy on combating the various forms of child abuse was explicitly
formulated
last year by a government Commission, whose report, Mi a dal contra e
porta (I bumped into a door), was completed in August 2001.
- The
Guardianship Board and the Department of Social Affairs support victims of child
abuse. They have a wide range of possible measures
at their disposal, ranging
from child and family therapy to the enforcement of legal sanctions to protect
victims of child abuse.
B. Children in conflict with the law
1. Administration of
juvenile justice (art. 40)
Paragraph 1
- Aruba’s
Criminal Code (AB 1991 No. GT 50; “WvSrA”) and Code of Criminal
Procedure (AB 1996 No. 75; “WvSvA”)
contain special rules
prescribing sanctions and criminal procedure for juveniles. The main
points of juvenile law are as follows.
There is no criminal liability
under 12 years of age (art. 477 of WvSvA). A special sanctions regime
applies to minors aged 12
to 18, as set forth in article 40 ff of WvSrA.
The sanctions that may be imposed on minors hence differ from those applicable
under
the regular criminal law; they are inspired by educational principles and
are intended to protect the minor’s upbringing and
development to
maturity. For this reason, it is highly exceptional for minors to be sentenced
to prison, and the maximum fine that
may be imposed is very small.
- The
most important and most drastic youth sanction is an indefinite detention order,
in which the child’s upbringing is continued
in care. Other options
include returning the child to its parents without imposing any sanction, and
issuing a caution.
- The
sanctions regime for juveniles is to be revised in the near future. The aim is
to introduce a more varied array of sanctions,
allowing courts to pursue a
policy of differentiation, tailoring sanctions as much as possible to the
individual needs of the juvenile
offender and the particular case at hand. The
main sanctions will involve restrictions of liberty: alternative sanctions in
the
form of work or study. While detention will be retained as the heaviest
juvenile sentence, it will not have primacy. Another basic
principle of the new
system will be that only one sanction can be imposed on a juvenile at any one
time. The official preparations
for the draft National Ordinance amending the
juvenile criminal law are nearing completion.
- In
1996 a youth educational work programme was set up to embrace social as well as
educational aspects. It is specially designed
for first offenders aged 14 to 18
who are still attending school. A total of 56 young people took part from 1996
to 2000, of whom
39 completed the programme.
- Table
2 below gives the figures for arrests of juveniles over the past few years. The
majority involved cases of theft and vandalism.
Table 2
|
1999: 37
|
1997: 52
|
2000: 53
|
1998: 25
|
2001: 80
|
Source: Rehabilitation and Child Protection Board.
- Both
the existing and the forthcoming law provide for the imposition of adult
sentences on a juvenile aged 16 to 18 if the minor’s
level of maturity
calls for it. Conversely, someone aged 18 to 21 may receive a juvenile
sanction if this is more appropriate to
the level of maturity of the person
concerned.
- Separate
provisions of criminal procedure exist in relation to juvenile offenders
(arts. 479 et seq. of WvSvA), reserving a special
place for the
parents (or legal representatives) and the Department of the Guardianship Board.
In addition, WvSvA excludes a large
number of coercive measures from
application to young offenders (art. 478 of WvSvA).
Paragraph 2 (a)
- Article
1, paragraph 1, of WvSrA lays down the general principle of nulla poena
sine lege, which therefore also applies to juveniles.
Paragraph 2 (b)
(i)
- The
presumption of innocence is a recognized principle of Aruban criminal law. It
is contained in article I.6, paragraph 2, of Aruba’s
Constitution.
(ii)
- Article
I.6, paragraph 3 (a), of Aruba’s Constitution guarantees that everyone
shall be informed promptly, in a language which
he understands and in detail, of
the nature and cause of the charges against him, of his right to remain silent,
and of his right
to legal counsel. The charges are also communicated promptly
to the parents or legal representatives. These principles are specified
separately for persons who have been deprived of their liberty in article I.5,
paragraph 3, of the Constitution.
(iii)
- The
right to be tried within a reasonable time by an independent tribunal is
enshrined in art. I.5, paragraph 2, of the Aruban Constitution. This right
is also safeguarded by article 6 of the European Convention for the
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,
which has direct effect
within the Aruban legal order. The right of parents to attend their
child’s trial is enshrined in
article 489, paragraph 1, of the
WvSvA.
(iv)
- An
accused person can never be compelled to make a statement. Both in the
pre-trial period and during actual legal proceedings he
must be cautioned
explicitly regarding this right (see article 82, paragraph 1 (b) and 2, and
article 315, paragraph 3, of WvSvA).
Article 310, paragraph 3, of WvSvA
further provides that the court must prevent any questions from being asked with
the aim of eliciting
a statement that could then not be said to have been made
voluntarily. Article I.6, paragraph 3 (d), of the Aruban Constitution gives an
accused the right to examine witnesses, and to have defence witnesses summoned
and examined.
(v)
- The
right of appeal is contained in article 434 of WvSvA.
(vi)
- The
right to be assisted by an interpreter is enshrined in article I.5, paragraph 3
(b) and article I.6, paragraph 3 (a), of the Aruban
Constitution, as well
as article 82, paragraph 4, article 231, and article 348, paragraph 1, of
WvSvA.
(vii)
- The
right to privacy is safeguarded in respect of juveniles facing criminal charges
by having trials of persons under 16 conducted
behind closed doors as a matter
of principle. In the case of 16-18-year-olds, the courts may decide to
hold the hearing behind closed
doors if they so wish (art. 488 of
WvSvA).
Paragraph 3
(a)
- There
is no criminal liability under 12 years of age (art. 477 of WvSvA). For the
rest, only a limited number of specified coercive
measures can be applied to
them if they are accused of a criminal offence (art. 478 of
WvSvA).
(b)
- Where
juveniles aged 12 to 16 are concerned, the introduction of a so-called
“halt procedure”, that can prevent a case
going to court, is being
discussed. This procedure will involve an out-of-court settlement of minor
infringements of the law which,
if duly adhered to, will lead to charges being
dropped. The Public Prosecutor can choose to settle out of court in other ways
too,
for instance by agreeing on an alternative sanction such as participation
in one of the youth education programmes run by the Rehabilitation
and Child
Protection Board.
Paragraph 4
- Aruba
does not as yet have any specialized institutional care for juvenile offenders.
Juvenile detainees are currently held in the
young offenders’ wing of
Aruba’s Correctional Institution (Korrektie Instituut Aruba, KIA).
This wing consists of 10 cells, each of which can hold up to three juveniles.
KIA offers little or no scope for education, training,
or supervision. Aruba
therefore needs to acquire a youth detention centre as soon as possible, with
well-defined social and educational
features and expert staff.
- In
this connection it would be appropriate to mention the government report of 1996
entitled Recht Vooruit (Law in progress), which makes clear
recommendations in the sphere of preventive, punitive and curative measures for
juveniles who
have been, or who are at risk of getting, in trouble with the
authorities. The report also highlights the importance of setting
up a remedial
educational centre for maladjusted children with behavioural problems.
2. Children deprived of their liberty, including any form of
detention, imprisonment
or placement in custodial settings (art. 37 (b), (c)
and (d))
General
- The
Kingdom of the Netherlands accepts article 37 (c) of the Convention with
the reservation that the provisions of criminal law that
are in principle
applicable to adults may also apply to minors who have reached the age of
16.
Article 37 (b)
- The
basic principle that detention may never be applied unlawfully or in an
arbitrary fashion is a general legal rule in the Aruban
justice system. It
applies to all persons, not only juveniles, and is contained in article I.5 of
the Aruban Constitution. Under paragraph 1 of this article, no one can be
deprived of his liberty save lawfully, which means in accordance with the
applicable
rules of law contained in formal statutory regulations: first and
foremost Aruba’s Code of Criminal Procedure, which defines
exhaustively
the grounds on which pre-trial detention may be imposed and lists the criteria
to be taken into account by criminal
courts when imposing a term of
imprisonment. Other key provisions deal, for instance, with the general
principles of due process
(see, for example, article 71 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure of Aruba, which applies to all types of pre-trial detention that
may
be imposed pursuant to that Code), and articles 9 et seq.
and 40 et seq. of the Criminal Code of Aruba, which contain rules
on
maximum prison sentences.
- Paragraphs
2 and 3 of article I.5 of the Aruban Constitution guarantee that everyone who
has been deprived of his liberty will be brought promptly before a court, that
he is entitled to be brought
to trial within a reasonable time, and - and this
is the most important safeguard against arbitrariness or any other unlawful form
of detention - that he is entitled to institute proceedings to obtain a prompt
ruling on the lawfulness of his detention, whereby
his release will be ordered
if the detention is unlawful.
- Detention
can be imposed only if no other means are available to achieve the desired goal.
For detention during the pre-trial phase
(i.e. while the investigation of the
charges against the juvenile are still in progress), this follows, for instance,
from the principles
of subsidiarity and proportionality on which the coercive
measures involving deprivation of liberty are based. Thus,
article 71
(c) and (d) of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Aruba
states that the application of coercive measures - including the deprivation
of
liberty - is admissible only if the object pursued cannot be achieved in any
more appropriate and less drastic manner, and only
if the seriousness of the
infringement of rights caused by detention can reasonably be justified by the
seriousness of the criminal
offence. Where sentencing is concerned, on the
other hand, this follows from the generally accepted rule that detention can be
imposed
only as a last resort, i.e. if no other suitable sanctions are
available.
Article 37 (c)
- The
Aruban prison system operates according to the fundamental principle that
inmates are to be treated humanely, with respect for
the inherent dignity of the
individual, although this is not stated explicitly in the extremely outdated
legislation. Article 11
of Aruba’s Framework Prison Ordinance (AB 2000 GT
1) further provides for the separation of juvenile and adult detainees, while
article 13 provides that factors such as age and degree of maturity should
be taken into account as much as possible when assigning
detainees to groups.
Article 42 of the National Prison Decree (AB 2000 GT 2) further provides that in
the case of juveniles serving
long prison sentences, the transitional period
surrounding release must be carefully prepared, in particular by increasing
freedom
gradually. This Decree also regulates the right to conduct
correspondence and receive visits (arts. 46 and 47).
- The
disciplinary sanctions whereby detainees can be cast into irons and given dry
bread (droge kost) every other day, sanctions which are still
included in article 22, paragraph 1, of the Framework Prison Ordinance today,
have long
since ceased to be imposed. They do demonstrate how out-of-date the
prison legislation is, however, and the Government has therefore
prepared
entirely new legislation in the form of a draft national ordinance on the
enforcement of custodial sentences. The Government
submitted this draft
national ordinance to the Advisory Council for the second time in 2000, and is
expected to submit it to the
Aruban Parliament in 2002.
- Explicit
statutory rules are also under preparation for children detained in police
custody. Under article 90, paragraph 1, of the
Code of Criminal Procedure
of Aruba, no restrictions may be imposed on persons in general who have been
detained in police custody
- with the exception of article 90, paragraph 2,
which lists a number of possible measures that may be taken in the interests of
an investigation - other than those that are absolutely essential to the purpose
of their confinement or to the need to maintain
order. On these grounds,
juveniles being held in police custody may, as a matter of principle, be visited
by their parents and receive
correspondence. For the rest, articles 483 and 484
of the Code of Criminal Procedure provide special scope for releasing juveniles
from police custody or pre-trial detention on certain specified conditions.
- As
already noted, Aruba is party to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and
the European Convention for the
Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. It
therefore adopted the
National Ordinance on the Implementation of the
Convention against Torture (AB 1999 No. 8), defining the criminal
offence of torture
- including a precise definition of the offence itself
- as perpetrated by public officials. The criminal offence of torture
carries
a maximum prison sentence of 15 years, or 20 years if the victim dies.
Inciting a public official to torture is also explicitly
defined as a criminal
offence in this National Ordinance.
Article 37 (d)
- Regarding
the right to legal counsel and the assignment of free legal representation to
juveniles who cannot pay, the applicable rules
are contained in the Code of
Criminal Procedure of Aruba and the National Decree on the Assignment of Counsel
in Criminal Cases (AB
1997 No. 50), which is based on it. A minor who
is deprived of his liberty is entitled to the immediate assistance of a lawyer
at
various specified times: before being questioned (art. 48, para.
3, of the Code of Criminal Procedure) and in the event of pre-trial
detention
(art. 481 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure).
- The
right to challenge the lawfulness of the deprivation of liberty before a court
of law and to obtain a prompt decision on the matter
- i.e. the right to bring a
habeas action - is contained in article 1.5, paragraph 3 (a), of the Aruban
Constitution, on the basis of which anyone who has been deprived of his freedom
is entitled to institute proceedings to obtain a prompt ruling
on the lawfulness
of his detention, whereby his release will be ordered if the detention is
unlawful. For criminal cases in particular,
article 89 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure further provides that the accused can ask the examining magistrate to
examine the lawfulness
of the detention as soon as possible, and in any case
within 72 hours after the beginning of the initial period of detention - that
is, detention in police custody. If the detention is found to be unlawful, the
examining magistrate can order the immediate release
of the accused. The other
forms of pre-trial detention - remand in custody, detention in custody, and
extended remand in custody
(bewaring, gevangenneming and
gevangenhouding) - must all be ordered by the court.
3. The sentencing of juveniles, in particular the prohibition
of
capital punishment and life imprisonment (art. 37 (a))
Article 37 (a)
- Aruba
does not have capital punishment, whether for juveniles or for adults. The
death penalty is considered inhumane and was abolished
long ago. Like other
countries in the Kingdom, Aruba will not extradite persons to another country if
there is a reasonable chance
that the person requested will be sentenced to
death in the requesting State.
- Furthermore,
juveniles under 16 years of age can never be sentenced to life imprisonment.
Life sentences do exist in Aruba (see art.
9, para. 1 (a) in conjunction with
art. 11, para. 1, of the Criminal Code of Aruba (AB 1991 No. GT 50)), and
mean actual imprisonment
for the rest of the person’s life. However,
these provisions are superseded by the special provisions of articles 40 to 41
(m) inclusive of the Criminal Code, which list the sanctions that may be imposed
on young people. Article 41 (f) further provides
in particular that in cases in
which a minor is made subject to a non-punitive restriction order, having been
found guilty of a criminal
offence carrying a maximum prison sentence of three
years or more, the maximum prison sentence that the court may impose at the same
time is half that for adults. In the event of a criminal offence carrying a
maximum sentence of life imprisonment, the maximum sentence
that can be imposed
on juveniles under 16 years of age is 10 years.
- The
maximum sentences listed in the previous paragraph also apply, in principle, to
juveniles aged 16 to 18. However, in certain
cases it is possible to administer
justice to juveniles in this age range according to the rules applicable to
adults, in which case
they can be sentenced to life imprisonment (see art. 41
(j), para. 5). The main criterion applied here is whether the particular
minor
aged 16 to 18 can be regarded as a juvenile or an adult in terms of maturity.
If life imprisonment is imposed, however, the
person concerned still has the
option of asking for a remission and seeking to get the sentence
reduced.
4. Physical and psychological recovery and social
reintegration (art. 39)
- It
is fair to say that the Aruban community pays greater attention to cases
involving the abuse, ill-treatment and neglect of children
than in the past.
Particularly noteworthy are the reports issued by the Government in 1999 and
2001, Abuso sexual di mucha (Child sex abuse) and Mi a dal contra e
porta (I bumped into a door), which propose a range of policy measures to
prevent child abuse as far as possible and to ensure that the
care and
supervision of young victims of abuse, ill-treatment and neglect are pursued as
effectively and as well as possible.
- Aruba
has a variety of institutional provisions geared partly towards caring for
children who have suffered some form of abuse or
ill-treatment. The main
government bodies are the Department of the Guardianship Board, which can
arrange, where necessary, for
court orders placing minors in care or for the
divestment of parental responsibility (Aruba has three residential institutions
for
children placed for various reasons in the care of the authorities) and the
Department of Social Affairs, which provides the lion’s
share of voluntary
aid in this connection. In addition, several non-governmental organizations are
active in this area. The Government
is constantly seeking ways of expanding and
differentiating the range of aid that is available, and keeps the public
informed about
these options at all times.
- In
1997 the Government took the first steps towards establishing a Child Abuse
Counselling Centre to serve as a central agency for
reporting on cases of child
abuse and illtreatment and caring for victims. A report on the projected Centre
is currently under preparation.
- Under
criminal law, children are protected against abuse primarily by the provisions
of articles 250, 251, 253, and 255 et seq. of
Aruba’s Criminal Code.
In addition, article 260 criminalizes trafficking in women and girls. It
is worth mentioning that
a draft National Ordinance to amend the sex offences in
the Criminal Code has passed the Aruban Parliament. Its aim is to considerably
improve the protection offered to minors and other vulnerable groups. The
possession and distribution of child pornography, for
instance, will be
explicitly defined as a criminal offence.
C. Children in situations of exploitation, including
physical
and psychological recovery and social reintegration
1. Economic
exploitation, including child labour (art. 32)
- It
has come to the attention of the Department of Labour, through unofficial
reports and statistics of the census held in
2000,[1] that there are
children working in the evenings as well as in the daytime, mostly at the
checkouts of various supermarkets. Thus,
under the terms of
ILO conventions on child labour, there is a certain amount of child labour
in Aruba; many of these children are
quite young (generally under 16) and have
therefore not yet completed their schooling.
- Although
no formal study has been conducted on child labour in Aruba, there are no
indications of children being employed anywhere
other than in the wholesale and
retail sectors. Children working at supermarket checkouts are a common sight.
Their work generally
consists of putting groceries in bags, loading them into
shopping carts, taking the cart to the customer’s car and loading
the
groceries into the car. The children generally receive tips from customers. No
child labour has been reported in other sectors,
such as the construction
industry, agriculture, or the hotel and catering trade. Nor have any reports
been received of children
performing hard manual labour.
- It
is a criminal offence for children under 15 to do any work, whether paid or
unpaid. Furthermore, young persons aged 15 to 17 are
protected by law against
night labour; they may not perform any kind of work, paid or unpaid, between
1900 and 0700 hours.
- Article
19 of the Labour Ordinance imposes on parents, guardians and the heads of
families in which minors are being raised the obligation
to ensure that minors
who are under their parental authority, guardianship, or supervision do not
perform any work that is prohibited
by the Labour Ordinance. Sanctions may be
imposed under criminal law for violations of this prohibition.
- Although
the Kingdom of the Netherlands has ratified the ILO Minimum Age Convention and
the ILO Night Work of Young Persons (Industry)
Convention with respect to Aruba,
it is recognized that domestic laws on child labour are not as detailed as these
conventions and
need to be revised.
- The
Department of Labour plans to further investigate the issue of child labour, to
chart its prevalence, the number of hours children
work, and the pay they
receive. In this regard, it is essential to enact legislation on compulsory
schooling, as soon as possible,
to give inspectors a legal basis for compelling
child employees to return to school. Closer cooperation among the
Government’s
various inspection units will make controls on child labour
more efficient. Heavier penalties are also needed to discourage businesses
from
employing children.
2. Drug abuse (art. 33)
- The
Government’s general policy on substance abuse among young people is to
promote freedom from addiction or any kind of substance
abuse. Alcohol is
probably the substance most frequently used on the island, because of its easy
accessibility and availability.
Alcoholic beverages are served and consumed at
most festivities, celebrations and social gatherings. Although the Criminal
Code
prohibits the sale of alcoholic beverages to children under 16, these are
readily available to the public in supermarkets and grocery
stores.
- With
regard to narcotic drugs, the Aruban anti-drugs legislation, the National
Ordinance on Narcotics (Landsverordening verdovende middelen),
criminalizes the possession, transport and sale of illicit drugs. The aim of
the drugs policy is to achieve zero use. There is
a general consensus among
workers in the field, both law enforcement officers as well as others, that
strict adherence to the National
Ordinance on Narcotics is essential. However,
drug addicts and other users have been decriminalized in the Aruban setting.
Addicts
are regarded as sick individuals in need of treatment (this does not
mean, however, that addicts who break the law will not be prosecuted).
- The
Fundación Anti Droga Aruba (FADA) has been conducting drug surveys
in schools for more than 12 years. Its 2001 survey among secondary school
students revealed
that marijuana was the illicit drug most frequently used.
Eight per cent of the sample secondary school population said they had
used it.
Ecstasy was next in line, with 3 per cent of the sample group reporting taking
it. It is feared that since ecstasy is
used as a party drug, it may become more
prevalent over the next few years. Approximately 2 per cent of the students
reported having
used cocaine or its derivatives, and another 1 per cent stated
they had used crack.
- Aruba
has a close network of organizations operating in the field of prevention,
recovery and aftercare. One of the principal organizations
working in the field
of prevention is FADA. The objective of this organization is to prevent the use
and abuse of all drugs, both
legal (i.e. alcohol) and illicit. It tries to
achieve this objective in various ways:
- − By
helping children and young people to acquire the necessary tools, such as
knowledge, experience, and a positive attitude
to make healthy decisions;
- − By
giving parents and carers the necessary support to enable them to guide children
and young people and help them to develop
into healthy adults;
- − By
providing information and raising the awareness of children, young people and
adults of the dangers attached to the abuse
of alcohol and of illicit
drugs.
- FADA
has developed a preventive programme/drugs curriculum for primary schools. In
addition, there are lectures and workshops at
primary and secondary schools to
teach children about the dangers that drugs pose to people’s health,
social life and general
well-being.
- Government
agencies and NGOs cooperate to maximize the results that can be achieved with
the limited resources available. The Anti-Drugs
Coordination Office (CBDB) is
the focal point for coordination and liaison on alcohol and drug abuse issues,
especially in the area
of demand reduction. CBDB provides technical assistance
to NGOs at their request.
- Aware
of the importance of education in this regard, an anti-drugs, pro-self-esteem
and character-building curriculum for all school
pupils will start in August
2003. For young people aged 12 to 14 years, a module to promote personal
development is included in
the secondary school curriculum. The underlying
principle is that, besides being informed about the dangers of drug use,
children
and young people should also be taught certain skills and be given
tools to discourage them from experimenting with drugs.
- The
Government finances all three of Aruba’s drug rehabilitation centres, two
of which are publicly run. The rehabilitation
programme is basically provided
free of charge. However, both these rehabilitation centres and the existing
rehabilitation programmes
are designed
for
- adult
addicts. Nevertheless, two minors are currently receiving treatment at one of
the centres. CBDB is aware of the need for a
treatment centre for young people.
It expects to reach agreement in the near future with a private organization
that has developed
a programme that may be suitable for Aruba.
3. Sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (art. 34) and
sale,
trafficking and abduction (art. 35)
- Children
are protected from forms of sexual exploitation and sex abuse by specific
provisions of the criminal law. Aruba’s
Criminal Code (AB 1991 No. GT 50)
includes a special section on sex crimes (Title XIV of Book II of the Criminal
Code, Crimes against
Public Decency, arts. 244 to 266 inclusive), an important
part of which consists of provisions designed to protect young people.
In
December 2002, the National Ordinance to amend these offences passed Parliament.
It tightens up and widens the existing criminal
law provisions and includes new
provisions criminalizing child pornography and child prostitution.
- One
of the changes in the new ordinance is an increase in the lower age-limits in
relation to sex offences, thus expanding the protection
of young people. In
addition, the criminalization of the abuse of minor boys is far more extensive
than before.
- The
most important of the current provisions of the Criminal Code for the protection
of young people are articles 246, 250, 251, 253,
255, 256, 257, 258, 260, 263
and 264; these articles explicitly criminalize, in brief, the exposure of a
minor to material that constitutes
an offence against decency, child sex abuse
(rape is a criminal offence under a different provision that is not specific to
minors),
the sexual abuse or incitement to the sexual abuse of a minor by an
abuse of power, trafficking in children, child neglect, and plying
minors with
drink. This does not mean that the provisions of criminal law that are not
explicitly geared towards minors can never
be applicable to them; the special
provisions merely indicate aggravating circumstances. In this connection, three
basic age groups
are generally distinguished, which determine the degree of
special protection afforded minors. The sexual abuse of a child under
12 years
of age is in all cases the most serious offence, while the sexual abuse of a
child aged 12 to 15 carries a slightly lower
penalty; where the minor is 15 or
older, the penalty is slightly lower again, or the offence is dealt with under
general provisions
on sex abuse.
- The
current article 260 of the Criminal Code provides that trafficking in children
is in general a criminal offence. At the moment,
there are no other specific
provisions of criminal law targeting the abuse of children for commercial
purposes. The new Ordinance
will fill this gap.
- There
are no absolute figures on the prevalence of child abuse or neglect. In 2001,
when the aforementioned Commission on Sex Abuse
combined information supplied by
various institutions and agencies that were involved in some way in the problem
of child abuse,
the following picture (for the years 1999/2000)
emerged.
Physical and emotional neglect of children: 221 cases
Neglect of children: 291 cases
Sexual abuse of children: 174 cases
- As
already noted, the new Ordinance will substantially expand the scope of
provisions on sex offences. The objective pursued with
this new legislation,
inasmuch as relevant here, is to redefine and considerably expand provisions on
sex offences. For example,
the possession of child pornography is a new
offence. The substance of the new ordinance is to widen the criminalization of
the
abuse and sexual abuse of minors. It widens the scope of criminal
legislation on child sex abuse, sexual intercourse with minors,
and enticing
minors to engage in such activity, and defines the existence of any special
relationship of authority or care between
the offender and the minor concerned
in all cases as an aggravating circumstance.
- The
new ordinance also imposes heavier penalties on certain types of trafficking in
human beings, including trafficking in children,
aggravated criminal offences.
The trafficking in and abduction of children are already defined as criminal
offences in the Criminal
Code of Aruba under the heading of “crimes
against personal liberty” and as sex offences. In everyday practice in
the
Aruban community, abductions do occur after divorce, where the parent not
awarded custody conceals the child or sends it abroad,
thus withholding the
child from the authority of the parent who has been awarded custody. As far as
is known, however, there have
been no cases in Aruba of organized child
abduction.
- Under
the terms of the said Ordinance, incitement to child prostitution will carry a
heavier penalty, as will trafficking in children.
Furthermore, the possession
of child pornography will be defined for the first time as a criminal offence in
the Criminal Code.
D. Children belonging to a minority or an indigenous group
(art. 30)
- In
Aruba, the rights contained in article 30 of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child are implemented in a variety of ways. Aruba
is a country where people of
different nationalities, races and families have long lived side by side. The
latest wave of immigrants
has resulted from the resurgence of economic growth
since 1987. They have come from all corners of the globe, but in especially
large numbers from Latin America. In an open, pluriform society like
Aruba, everyone is free to live his life in accordance with
his own system of
values, provided he does so within the framework of the norms and values imposed
by the law of the land.
- The
various ethnic minorities have every opportunity to celebrate their own cultures
and maintain their own ways of life. Over the
years, a number of clubs have
been formed for this purpose, including the “Alliance
Française”, “Amigos
de Colombia” and Portuguese and
Filipino associations. The various minorities are also free to speak their own
languages and
to profess and practise their own beliefs or religions, despite
the fact that the majority of the population is Roman Catholic.
The
Constitution of Aruba allows constraints to be imposed on freedom of religion in
certain cases, but to date this power has never been used in
practice.
- In
circumstances such as on the issue of a supervision and/or care order,
continuity in upbringing is ensured by taking as much account
as possible of the
religious affiliation and beliefs of the child and its family (art. 255
of the new Civil Code). People admitted to penal institutions are likewise
given the opportunity to practise their religion
and to receive religious
teaching (arts. 20 and 21 of the Prisons Ordinance).
Freedom of education
- Article
1.20, paragraph 4, of the Constitution of Aruba states that education
provided by public authorities is to pay due respect to the children’s
religions or beliefs.
The education laws spell out how this is to be done.
Publicly run schools are open to all children, irrespective of their
background.
- Minorities
have the right to establish their own schools subject to supervision by the
Government. This proviso means that the authorities
can intervene in case of
any breach of morality or public order. The Constitution of Aruba gives
citizens the right to provide education, whether as a teacher or as a provider
or organizer.
- Anyone
wishing to establish a school under the current education laws must satisfy
certain basic requirements specified in the legislation,
even if the education
given at the school is not to be subsidized by the Government. These basic
requirements relate, for example,
to the teaching qualifications of the staff.
There is, however, no obligation for the authorities to recognize and/or
subsidize
schools established in this way.
Language of instruction
- The
main language in Aruba is Papiamento. Dutch is hardly used (except in
Government and the courts), but is nevertheless the prevailing
language within
education. It is the language of instruction in primary, general secondary and
most vocational education.
- The
majority of schoolchildren speak Papiamento in the home (72 per cent);
Spanish (11.6 per cent) and English (7.6 per cent) occupy
second
and third place respectively, followed by Dutch (6.9 per cent) and other
languages (1.7 per cent). This means that the majority
of pupils are being
taught at school in a foreign language. This situation has been a hotly debated
issue for many years and both
the educational reforms of recent years and the
current restructuring operations in kindergarten, primary, special and general
secondary
education have fanned the flames of dispute concerning the language of
instruction.
- The
1999-2008 Strategic Plan for the restructuring of nursery, primary and special
education includes a proposal to restructure language
use in schools to reflect
the real sociolinguistic situation in Aruba but still recognizes the fact that
Dutch is the language of
instruction in secondary education and is likely to
remain so for some time to come. For that reason, it is proposed to introduce
Papiamento as both a language of instruction and a school subject in primary
education while retaining Dutch as the second language
of instruction.
Educational provision for immigrant children and minority
language and culture teaching
- The
management of the Aruban economy over recent years has led to an influx of
foreign workers. This immigration has had a direct
impact on the schools.
Statistics show that the rapid growth in the school population (especially in
primary education) has mainly
been due to the influx of immigrant children. The
educational infrastructure has been ill-prepared to cope with the increased
demand,
let alone cater for the special needs of immigrants. Staff and schools
have lacked the necessary training, preparation, advice and
support to enable
them to meet the educational and other needs of a multicultural and multilingual
group of pupils. Nor have the
schools yet developed ways of dealing in a way
satisfactory to all parties with the problem of the newcomers’ - and many
Aruban
children’s - inadequate command of the language of instruction
(Dutch).
- At
the request of the Government, proposals were put forward in 2001 regarding the
provision of education for children not currently
attending school. Many of
these nonattenders are children of illegal immigrants. Under new government
policies, these children
can now attend Aruban schools. The proposals related
to the educational provision to be made for these children in the short, medium
and long term.
- One
aspect of the proposed provision is minority language and culture teaching. The
Strategic Plan attempts to provide for facilities
to help ensure equal
educational opportunities, including the option of multilingual schools
featuring bilingual instruction. It
is thought that this would give immigrant
children the chance to develop through their own language and culture.
Intercultural education
is regarded as a necessary precondition for the proper
education of all children. Intercultural education will both demand and
increase
a fundamental respect for all the cultures and cultural communities
which are part of today’s society in Aruba.
Children without a legal right of abode
- Many
children of immigrant parents are legally resident in Aruba, but some
have been brought into the country illegally or have been born in Aruba to
parents who have no legal right of abode. The discrepancy
between the number of
hospital deliveries and the number of births officially recorded in the civil
register (see sect. VI above) and the findings of the Steering Group
appointed to investigate non-attendance at school (see sect. VII above)
give only a rough idea of the size of this problem. There is good reason to
fear that it is not always
possible to provide adequate help for this group of
“invisible” children in case of medical emergencies, parental
neglect,
etc.
- As
already mentioned, the administrative courts in Aruba have recently
(September 2002) ruled that a 14-year-old schoolgirl must be
admitted to
school to complete her junior general secondary education, even though she was
unable to prove that she was legally resident
in Aruba. The girl’s father
had brought a case against the State after his daughter was refused admission to
the school because
she was unable to present documentary proof of her legal
status. The court concluded that the case constituted a violation of the
right
to education enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The fact
that the child could not prove that she was
legally resident on the island did
not mean that she had no right to
education.
-----
[1] As at 2000,
Aruba’s labour force consisted of almost 42,000 workers employed by
almost 5,000 businesses. The hotel and restaurant
sector had the largest
percentage of workers at 18.3 per cent, followed by the commercial
sector at 17 per cent. The census held
in 2000 registered 4 employees aged 14,
13 aged 15, 21 aged 16, and 76 aged 17. This makes a total of 114 minors,
or 0.3 per cent
of the labour market. Most of these children were found to be
working in the wholesale and retail trade.
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