You are here:
WorldLII >>
Databases >>
United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child - States Parties Reports >>
2009 >>
[2009] UNCRCSPR 30
Database Search
| Name Search
| Recent Documents
| Noteup
| LawCite
| Download
| Help
Grenada - Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under Article 44 of the Convention: Second periodic reports of States parties due in 1997 [2009] UNCRCSPR 30; CRC/C/GRD/2 (7 August 2009)
UNITED NATIONS
|
|
CRC
|
|
Convention on the
Rights of the Child
|
Distr.
GENERAL
CRC/C/GRD/2
7 August 2009
Original: ENGLISH
|
COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
CONSIDERATION OF
REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER ARTICLE 44 OF THE
CONVENTION
Second periodic reports of States parties due in 1997
GRENADA[*]
[26 May 2008]
Contents
Paragraphs Page
Summary
- OBJECTIVES
AND SCOPE 1 - 3
- GRENADA
OVERVIEW 4 - 15
- IMPLEMENTATION
PROGRESS 16 - 207
- Measures
taken to harmonize national law and policy
with the provisions of
the Convention 18 - 24
B. Data collection scheme 30 - 35
C. Independent monitoring mechanism 36 - 38
D. Allocation of budgetary resources 39 - 42
E. Dissemination of the Convention 43 - 46
F. Criminal responsibility 47 - 49
G. Non-discrimination 50 - 56
H. Respect for the views of the child 57 - 71
I. Birth registration 72 - 76
J. Parental responsibility 77 - 83
K. Protection of children deprived of a family environment 84 - 92
L. Domestic and intercountry adoption 93 - 99
M. Abuse/neglect/maltreatment/violence 100 - 114
N. Corporal punishment 115 - 121
O. Right to health and access to health facilities 122 - 132
P. Children with disabilities 133 - 147
Q. Environmental health 148 - 155
R. Rights and aims of education 156 - 177
S. Economic exploitation (child labour) 178 - 182
T. Drug abuse 183 - 196
U. Administration of juvenile justice 197 - 204
V. Dissemination of the report 205 - 207
Bibliography
Listing of persons consulted
Participants at Review Workshop
Summary
Grenada’s second periodic report to the United Nations Committee on the
Rights of the Child addresses the State party’s
initiatives and
achievements in promoting and protecting the rights of children in the period
2000 – 2007. The report reviewed
these efforts in the context of the
concluding observations made by the Committee on the Rights of the Child during
consideration
of Grenada’s initial report.
This second periodic report shows that a concerted attempt to implement the
recommendations from the Committee on the Rights of the
Child was initiated in
2000, but was not sustained. Notwithstanding this, there were a number of
significant developments during
the period under review. These included:
- Legislative
reform – Grenada has participated actively in a subregional legal
reform process initiated by the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean
States (OECS).
That reform process, which focused on laws relating to the family and domestic
violence, addressed child care and
adoption, the status of children born out of
wedlock, juvenile justice and domestic violence and in the process addressed a
number
of the legislative matters raised by the Committee. Draft bills for each
of these areas have been developed and are expected to be
approved by the
Government before the end of 2007.
- Child
abuse – A Child Abuse Protocol was developed and approved by Cabinet.
Some aspects are in force but the mandatory reporting component
has not yet been
fully implemented, as the Ministry and related agencies do not yet have the
capacity to place large numbers of children
who are identified as being at risk,
especially boys.
- Standards at
Children’s Homes – A Code of Standards for the operation of
Children’s Homes, including provisions for the licensing of these Homes,
was
developed with support from the Grenada Bureau of Standards and has been
implemented by the Child Welfare Authority.
- HIV/AIDS
– Significant advances have been made in programming in response to
HIV/AIDS. A national HIV/AIDS directorate has been established
and a National
Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS was adopted in 2003. A National Policy on HIV/AIDS
was adopted on 2 April 2007. One of
the objectives of the National Policy on
HIV/AIDS is to improve the access of children and youth to accurate HIV
information and
confidential sexual and reproductive health services, including
counselling and testing measures.
- Administrative
coordination – The administration of matters related to children,
women and families was merged in 2003 under a newly formed Ministry of
Social
Development and this enabled a more organized and coordinated approach to
treating with these matters.
Further progress was impeded by a
number of challenges, including:
- The impacts of
hurricanes Ivan (2004) and Emily (2005) which disrupted all aspects of life in
Grenada.
- Insufficient
trained personnel especially in the areas of programmes and research skills.
- Coordination
challenges between the Ministry of Social Development and other agencies working
with families and children.
- Lack of
financial resources.
- The need for
further legislative reform to supplement the OECS legal reform
initiative.
- OBJECTIVES
AND SCOPE
- This
is Grenada’s second periodic report on the implementation of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child. It addresses the
measures adopted by the
State party since the review of the initial report by the United Nations
Committee on the Rights of the Child
in January 2000 and covers the period
January 2000 to 30 June 2007.
- The
report details the consideration given by the State party to the concluding
observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights
of the Child in relation to
the initial report and highlights the shortcomings and challenges, the factors
and difficulties that
affected the degree of fulfilment of the obligations under
the Convention.
- It
also updates the measures adopted by the State party to give effect to the
rights set forth in the Convention on the Rights of
the Child and the progress
made in the enjoyment of those rights.
II. GRENADA
OVERVIEW
Figure 1 – Grenada map
4.
Location. Grenada is the most southerly of the Windward Islands
and is located at 12.07 N, 61.40 W, 135 km (83.8 miles) north of Trinidad
and
Tobago. It is a tri-island State consisting of the islands of Grenada, Carricaou
and Petit Martinique. The islands are volcanic
in origin and have a total land
mass of 345 km2 (133 miles2) (figure 1).
5. Political status. Grenada is a
former British colony, having changed hands between the British and French many
times during the
sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It gained its
political independence from Britain on 7 February 1974 and operates
a
Westminster-style parliamentary system. It is a member of the
Commonwealth.
6. Population. Grenada’s population is 107,000 (2007
estimate).[1]
- GDP.
The GDP is EC$ 1,541 million (2007
estimate[2]).
- GDP
per capita. The GDP per capita is EC$ 14,385 (2007
estimate[3]).
9. Recent GDP growth. Real GDP growth in the period since 2000
was mixed and reflected the impact of external shocks on the economy
(figure 2
and table 1).
Figure 2
Recent GDP
trends[4]
Table 1
Real GDP performance 2000 –
2005[5]
- The
negative growth in 2001 reflected the impact of the 11 September terrorist
activity in the United States on the tourism sector,
while the negative growth
in 2004 reflected the impact of hurricane Ivan which hit Grenada on 7 September
2004. That hurricane destroyed
or damaged approximately 90 per cent of all
buildings on the island and the overall damage was in excess of 200 per cent of
GDP.[6]
- Main
economic sectors/economic driving forces. Agriculture has traditionally been
the mainstay of the Grenadian economy. However, since the latter part of the
1990s, tourism and
other services have been replacing agriculture as the
dominant economic sectors. All sectors were badly hit by hurricane Ivan and
the
growth in the immediate post-Ivan period came primarily from the construction
sector (table 1). Unemployment, which registered
13 per cent in the pre-Ivan
period, increased sharply immediately after hurricane Ivan, as many persons lost
their jobs. The efforts
to rebuild homes and revitalize the agricultural
sector helped many displaced persons find temporary employment. The tourism
sector
has now rebuilt the facilities that were destroyed by hurricane Ivan and
is now on the way to full recovery.
- Inflation.
The inflation rate has slowly increased since 2002, reflecting in part the
impact of increasing international oil prices on economic
activities (figure
3).
Figure 3
Recent inflation
trends[7]
- Debt
sustainability. Total central Government debt in 2005 was 128.2 per cent of
GDP.[8] Debt servicing
obligations peaked in 2004, with interest payments alone being 25 per cent of
recurrent revenues.[9] Debt
servicing obligations have been reduced during 2005 and 2006 as the result of a
successful debt restructuring exercise with
its commercial creditors and the
Paris Club.[10] The
Government has committed to working towards achieving the standard benchmark of
a total debt-to-GDP ratio of 60 per cent by year
2015.[11]
14. HDI ranking. The Human Development Index ranking was No.
93 in 2003 and 2004 (medium human development).
15. Poverty rate. The
percentage of the population living in poverty was 32.1 per cent in
1999.
III.
IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS
- At
the start of the period under review, the responsibility for leading programming
related to implementation of the Convention was
shared between the Department of
Social Services in the Ministry of Housing, Social Services, Culture and
Cooperatives, and the Department
of Gender and Family Affairs in the Ministry of
Tourism, Civil Aviation, Women’s Affairs and Social Security. That
responsibility,
along with all responsibility for social services, gender and
family affairs, was reassigned to the Ministry of Social Development
when that
ministry was established in 2003.
- The
following sections outline the progress to date in the implementation of the
Committee’s recommendations and utilizes the
specific subject headings
used by the Committee in the elaboration of its
recommendations.[12]
- Measures
taken to harmonize national law and policy with the provisions of the
Convention
Committee concerns and recommendations
- The
Committee expressed concerned with the fact that legislation in Grenada was yet
to fully reflect the principles and provisions
of the Convention. The Family
Court Act had been rescinded and sufficient efforts had not been made to
introduce adequate alternatives
to protect and strengthen family relations.
- Therefore,
it was recommended that Grenada undertake legislative review, inter alia, to
facilitate the adoption of a comprehensive
children’s rights code. In such
a context, all necessary measures to re-enact the Family Court Act or introduce
adequate alternative
legal measures to protect and strengthen family relations
should be taken. Legislation to ensure that boys are provided equal and
adequate
protection against sexual abuse and exploitation should also be
amended.
Action taken
- Grenada
is a member of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and action on
this recommendation has been approached within
this subregional framework.
- In
2003, the Legal Unit of the OECS Secretariat undertook a comprehensive programme
geared at reforming the laws relating to the family
and domestic violence. To
date, four draft bills[13]
have been developed and submitted to the Governments for
consideration:
(a) The Status of Children Bill removes the legal
disabilities of children born out of
wedlock[14] and provides for
the declaration of
parentage;[15]
(b) The Child Care and Adoption Bill provides for the care and protection of
children[16] with a
particular focus on mandatory reporting, investigation and assessment, record
keeping, emergency removal of children, foster
care placements and offences for
failing to comply with the Act. Moreover, it addresses issues that concern the
adoption of children
as it establishes an adoption committee, outlines the
process before adoption for domestic and intercountry adoption, provides for
a
register for children who have been adopted and for necessary follow-ups after
adoption has taken place;
(c) The Juvenile Justice Bill has been aimed mainly at being in accordance
with articles 37 and 40 of the Convention. The
objectives[17] of the Bill
are to establish a criminal justice process for juveniles accused of committing
offences, while protecting the rights
of juveniles as provided for in
international instruments by providing for the minimum age of criminal capacity,
incorporating diversion
of cases away from formal court procedures, establishing
assessment of juveniles, extending sentencing options available in respect
of
juveniles and entrenching the notion of restorative justice;
(d) The Domestic Violence Bill provides for greater protection for all
victims of domestic violence and also makes provisions for
the granting of
protection orders.[18]
- The
Government of Grenada has committed to implementing the final recommendations.
The draft bills are now being reviewed by the Ministry
of Social Development and
will be submitted to Cabinet by the end of 2007. They are expected to be piloted
during 2008.
- In
addition, the structure of the Ministry of Social Development is being reviewed
with a view to strengthening its capacity to address
social development issues
in general, including the recommendations coming from the OECS Legal Reform
process.
- As
regards the Family Court, the current practice is for Thursdays and Fridays to
be designated family court days in the Magistrate’s
Court and the High
Court. Within those sessions, matters involving children are addressed with some
changes from the setting in a
normal courtroom, primarily that the proceedings
can be in camera without the public being present. This arrangement however does
not provide the full range of supports normally associated with a Family Court
including more child -riendly settings and methods
and the availability of
counselling and social service support and follow-up.
- The
question of the Family Court is being addressed under the OECS Legal Reform
process and it is expected that one of the major changes
that will follow the
completion of this process will be the implementation of a more formal Family
Court process.
- Alternative
sentencing mechanisms have also been introduced into the system with mediation
and conflict management interventions being
used to address appropriate
family-related matters.
- No
action has been taken on the adoption of a comprehensive children’s code
and the Convention does not have the force of law
within the State. It is only
referenced as an influential document.
- The
major challenges in implementing these recommendations, both at the national and
subregional levels, have been the limited availability
of human resources to
draft legislation and physical resources to implement legislation that has been
passed.
- Additional
challenges are anticipated in sourcing the human and financial resources that
will be needed to implement the recommendations
from the OECS Legal Reform
process.
B. Data collection scheme
Committee concerns and recommendations
- The
initial report indicated that Grenada had no data collection mechanism aimed at
the systematic and comprehensive collection of
disaggregated quantitative and
qualitative data for all areas covered by the Convention in relation to all
groups of children.
- It
was recommended that Grenada take the necessary steps to establish a central
registry for data collection and to introduce a comprehensive
system of data
collection incorporating all the areas covered by the Convention and covering
all children to the age of 18 years.
Action taken
- There
is some data related to children that are collected by individual departments
for their own use, but there is no systematic
and comprehensive collection of
data related to all areas covered by the Convention.
- The
data that are collected and available from individual departments are:
- Children
living in poverty – Collected by the Central Statistical Office of the
Ministry of Finance through the Poverty Assessment Survey, the CWIQ
Survey[19] and the census
data
- Children in
conflict with the law – Available from the Criminal Records
Office
- Children of
single-parent families – Available from the Central Statistical Office
through the Poverty Assessment Survey, Multi Indicator Cluster Survey and
census data
- Sexually
abused children – Reported cases are available from the court
records
- Institutionalized
children – Available from the Child Welfare Authority
- Children with
disabilities – The Grenada National Council of the Disabled has
initiated activity in this area with a request for such data to be collected
during the 2001 Census; this was not successful.
- Children
living with HIV/AIDS – Available from the National AIDS
Directorate
- Notwithstanding
the data that are currently being collected, there is at present no one entity
that aggregates and analyses these
data. There is also concern that the agencies
that are collecting the data are focusing on the quantitative aspects of the
situation
without attempting to assess the underlying qualitative factors that
influence the quantitative data.
- The
Ministry of Social Development did initiate the development of a database on
vulnerable children, mainly from vulnerable families,
abused children and
institutionalized children. This database has not been updated since 2004, as
the main computer system was stolen
after the passage of hurricane Ivan and it
has not been replaced due to difficulties in accessing financial resources for
that purpose.
C. Independent monitoring mechanism
Committee concerns and recommendations
- The
Committee recommended that efforts be made to establish the Office of the
Ombudsperson, independent from the affairs of Government,
to deal with
complaints of violations of the rights of children and to provide remedies for
such violations. The Committee also recommended
the introduction of an
awareness-raising campaign to facilitate the effective use by children of such
an Office.
Action taken
- An
Ombudsperson Bill was submitted to the Grenada Cabinet in June 2007. That bill
makes provisions for the Ombudsperson to be an independent
party with power to
investigate the administrative actions taken by or on behalf of the Government
and other authorities.[20] No
officer will be assigned to deal with matters relating to children, including
general actions taken by individuals acting in other
capacities and actions
taken against children. Recommendations have also been made by the Child Welfare
Authority for the appointment
of a “child advocate” that is separate
and apart from the general Ombudsperson. The Government is giving consideration
to a proposal to include a facility for addressing children’s complaints
within the Office of the Ombudsperson.
- It
must be noted however that, while there is no independent monitoring mechanism
in place in Grenada at this time, complaints can
be made through any ministry of
Government, and through non-governmental organizations, with regard to
violations of the rights of
children.
D.
Allocation of budgetary resources
Committee concerns and recommendations
- The
Committee expressed concerned that not enough of Grenada’s annual
budgetary resources are allocated in favour of children
and it recommended that
priority be given in allocating budgetary resources to ensure the implementation
of the economic, social
and cultural rights of children.
Action
taken
- There
is no specific accounting of the costs of services provided for children. The
allocation of resources to children’s activities
can at best be
approximated by the allocations to the main ministries and agencies that are
involved in the provision of specific
services to children, i.e the Ministry of
Education, the Community Health Services of the Ministry of Health and the
Social Services
Division and the Gender and Family Affairs Division of the
Ministry of Social Development.
- The
data in table 2 are the actual provisional recurrent
expenditures[21] for the
relevant ministries and departments for the period under review. It shows that
20-25 per cent of the annual recurrent expenditures
have been spent on these
ministries and departments. However, the actual amounts spent on
children’s services could not be
determined.
Table 2
Annual recurrent expenditures on children’s services
(EC$ million)
|
2000
|
2001
|
2002
|
2003
|
2004
|
2005
|
2006
|
Sector recurrent expenditure
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Education
|
43
|
45
|
56
|
57
|
62
|
65
|
70
|
- Community health services
|
5
|
7
|
9
|
9
|
8
|
8
|
8
|
- Gender and family affairs
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
- Social services
|
5
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
10
|
Total recurrent
|
53
|
59
|
72
|
73
|
77
|
80
|
89
|
Annual changes
|
|
0.10
|
0.23
|
0.01
|
0.05
|
0.04
|
0.11
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
National recurrent expenditure
|
256
|
308
|
325
|
335
|
330
|
342
|
|
Sector expenditure as % national recurrent expenditure
|
21
|
19
|
22
|
22
|
23
|
23
|
26
|
Source: Annual Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure 2000 –
2007.
|
|
|
- Additional
programming involving children is also done by the Maternity Sections of the
three hospitals, the Division of Sports, the
Division of Youth and the
Department of Human Resources. However, the related expenditures are not
reported in a manner that facilitates
separation of these expenditures from the
overall expenditures of these divisions and ministries.
E. Dissemination of the Convention
Committee concerns and recommendations
- The
fact that professional groups, children, parents and the public at large are
generally not sufficiently aware of the Convention
and its rights-based approach
was another of the Committee’s concerns.
- It
was therefore recommended that efforts be made to ensure that the Grenadian
society is aware of the Convention and its provisions.
Action
taken
- Dissemination
of the Convention and the application of its principles have been done primarily
by the Grenada National Coalition on
the Rights of the Child (GNCRC). Their
activities have included use of the mass media, particularly through radio and
television
programmes and weekly newspaper articles. There have also been
presentations to community groups, churches and schools throughout
the island.
With regard to schools, the Health and Family Life curricula also incorporates
information pertaining to the rights of
the child.
- Other
NGOs like NCH and GRENSAVE also conduct awareness-raising activities as part of
their individual agency programming.
F. Criminal
responsibility
Committee concerns and recommendations
- The
Committee expressed concern that the legal age for criminal responsibility was
particularly low – 7 years.
- The
Committee therefore recommended that the legal age for criminal responsibility
be raised to a more internationally acceptable
age.
Action taken
- Section
50 (2) of the Criminal Code of the Revised Laws of Grenada 1958 places the age
of criminal responsibility at 7 years. However,
in order for anyone between 7
years and 12 years to be committed to prison, a judge must be of the opinion
that the individual is
of sufficient maturity for such to be done. The draft
Juvenile Justice Bill under the OECS Legal Reform Project moves the age of
criminal responsibility to 10 years, with children between 10 years and 12 years
only to be held criminally responsible for acts
if he or she had the capacity to
know that he or she ought not to have done the act or made the
omission.[23] There are no
instances where children at the age of 7 have been held criminally responsible
for any criminal acts.
G.
Non-discrimination
Committee concerns and recommendations
- The
Committee expressed concern over the situation of boys, particularly as regards
their generally “low self-esteem”
and academic underachievement in
comparison to that of girls, and the fact that the Criminal Code does not
provide boys the same
legal protection against sexual abuse and exploitation as
girls.
- The
Committee recommended that the State party undertake a study on child-rearing
practices and how they affect boys and girls. The
Committee further recommended
that the State party implement programmes to address the self-esteem of boys and
address discrimination
arising from the socialization of boys and girls into
rigid gender roles and the resulting determination of family and social
attitudes
concerning children based on gender. The Committee also recommended
that the State party amend its legislation to ensure that boys
are provided
equal and adequate protection against sexual abuse and
exploitation.
Action taken
- The
Ministry of Education through its guidance and counselling programmes is the
main medium through which discrimination is discouraged,
via the schools.
Guidance and counselling sessions in schools are conducted in groups and include
both male students and female students.
The activities are aimed at involving
all students as they do not exclude a particular group and, more importantly,
cover a wide
area of topics, and assist in the socializing of females and males
all at the same time.
- Non-discrimination
issues are also addressed in the Health and Family Life Education programming
done by the Ministry of Education,
the NEWLO programme and the “Together
We Can” programme run by the Grenada Red Cross. The Father Malligan Home
for Boys,
located in St. Mark’s, also focuses on personal development of
boys and has part of its programme addressing the low self-esteem
of boys.
- Work
has started in 2007 on the development of a National Gender Policy which will
address and incorporate mechanisms by which rigid
gender roles are to be
eliminated.
- There
have been no amendments to the Criminal Code to offer boys protection against
sexual offenders.
- No
study has been done on child -earing practices.
H. Respect for the views of the child
Committee concerns and recommendations
- The
fact that the full implementation of article 12 of the Convention continues to
be limited by traditional practices, culture and
attitudes that promote the
philosophy that “children should be seen and not heard” and that
“children are the property
of their parents” is a Committee concern.
- It
recommended that Grenada should seek to reinforce the necessary infrastructure
and develop a systematic approach to increasing
public awareness of the
participatory rights of children, and encourage respect for the views of the
child within the family, communities,
schools, and care, administrative and
judicial systems.
Action taken
- The
provisions of the Grenadian
Constitution[24] adequately
provide for the rights of children to participate in decision-making via the
Bill of Rights.
- The
National Youth Policy,[25]
which has been approved by Cabinet, provides for “the full participation
of both young men and young women in the political,
economic, social and
cultural life of the nation”. This is one of the specific goals in
the Policy and a number of strategies have been advocated for achieving that
goal.
- The
Youth Arm of the Grenada National Coalition on the Rights of the Child was
formed with the objective of encouraging more direct
representation by children
in the work of the GNCRC and the nation by incorporating their issues and
perspectives. They have become
an integral part of GNCRC activities and
participate in many of their advocacy events. A highlight of their involvement
in decision-making
was their participation in the GNCRC submission to the
National Constitutional Review Committee where the final presentation to the
Constitutional Review Committee on 16 October 2003 was done by three of their
members.
- The
Ministry of Youth also organizes an Annual Youth Parliament, where young persons
are provided with an opportunity to debate issues
of national, regional and
international importance, and formulate recommendations for addressing these
issues.
- Young
persons are also active in the Student Councils which have been resuscitated in
all secondary schools and a National Student
Council Executive was elected in
March 2007.
- As
regards participation before the court, the current legal provisions are
inadequate to guarantee children’s rights in this
regard. A Rights of the
Child Legislative Review[26]
conducted in 2002, concluded that “the law has traditionally viewed
children as unreliable witnesses, based on perceptions
that they are prone to
fantasy, that they are suggestible and that their evidence is otherwise
inaccurate. Despite some advances
structural, procedural and attitudinal
deficiencies in the legal system still prevent children from performing
effectively as
witnesses”.[27]
- The
Evidence Act CAP 92 of the 1990 Laws of Grenada states that people of
“tender years” cannot give evidence. Grenada follows the common
law
position as established in the case of R v. Christise, making anyone
below the age of 14 subject to what is called a voir dire (a case within a
case), to be conducted by the judge, to
determine whether or not the child is
competent enough to give evidence. Thus, that means that children below the age
of 14 must
be found to be competent by a judge before evidence can be given by
them. Failure to conduct a voir dire before children under 14
give evidence is
sufficient ground on which an appeal can be made, and a case dismissed, because
only competent individuals are allowed
to give evidence.
- There
is a general lack of legal representation for juveniles at both the
Magistrate’s Court and High Court levels. As a result,
the responsibility
for representation of children before the courts rests with the Division of
Social Services within the Ministry
of Social Development.
- There
is a Probation Unit under the Ministry of Social Development that was
established in 2007, which has one probation officer for
all of the mainland and
sister islands. The probation officer investigates cases assigned to it by the
judiciary, that is, the Magistrate’s
Court and the High Court, and is
expected to do a pre-sentence report, making recommendations as to the type of
sentencing that should
be given, and a post-sentence report after observing the
convicted person while serving his or her sentence. Those reports are submitted
to all parties, that is, the prosecution, defence and judge. If need be, the
probation officer can be asked to establish the reasons
for having made certain
recommendations.
- Most
of the sentencing for juvenile offenders is community service (if the offence is
non-violent), which cannot exceed 240 hours
and cannot be less than 40 hours.
The probation officer is expected to visit their homes, schools and community
sites where the sentence
is being executed; likewise, the officer is expected to
have progress reports of any counselling the juvenile takes part in. Counselling
is normally provided for sexual victims. Moreover, when dealing with anger
management a group approach is normally taken.
- In
addition, the officer is to ensure that the juvenile adheres to the probation
order, and upon any violation must immediately submit
a report, whereupon,
depending on the crime, the convicted person is resentenced.
- The
Probation Unit is to be notified immediately when any person under 18 years has
been arrested. The Police Force does not always
comply with that rule.
- Notwithstanding
these formal efforts, there has been very little done on increasing general
public awareness of the participatory
rights of
children.
I. Birth registration
Committee concerns and recommendations
- The
fact that some children are still not registered at birth and or given a name
until baptism represented a serious concern.
- It
was recommended that measures be taken to ensure that all children are
registered and given a name at birth.
Action taken
- The
expressed concern that some children are given at name at baptism, which may
occur as much as three or four months after birth,
is a cultural tradition that
still persists.
- There
were no reliable data available to indicate the number of children who were not
registered at birth. The general practice, however,
is for births to be
registered by medical personnel at hospitals and by midwives, in the rare cases
that the latter perform the delivery.
However, there are still instances where
some births are only first registered on children’s entry into pre- or
primary school.
- There
have been no initiatives to address this latter issue.
J. Parental responsibility
Committee concerns and recommendations
- The
fact that some of the challenges that children face were as a result of changes
in their social and family structures, which led
to high numbers of
single-parent households and reduced support from extended families, was another
issue cited by the Committee.
It was also concerned over the apparent lack of
legal protection with respect to the rights, including maintenance and
inheritance
rights, of children born out of wedlock in “visiting” or
“common law” relationships and the financial and
psychological
impact of these types of relationships on children, and the lack of sufficient
support and counselling in the areas
of parental guidance and responsibilities.
- The
Committee recommended increased efforts to develop family education and
awareness by, inter alia, providing support and training
for parents, especially
those in “visiting” and “common law” relationships, in
parental guidance and joint
parental responsibilities. It also recommended that
an impact study (both financial and psychological) of “visiting
relationships”
on children should be undertaken and that Grenada must
ensure that the rights of children born of “visiting” and
“common
law” relationships are protected legally and otherwise.
Action taken
- The
draft Status of Children Bill under the OECS Legal Reform Project makes
provisions for maintenance of children of common law and
visiting families and
the presumption of paternity, granting both parents joint custody of the child.
- Family
education and awareness programmes are run by a number of organizations,
including Government ministries, non-governmental
organizations and faith-based
organizations, but these are done on an ad hoc basis and tend to focus on single
issues.
- GNCRC
has in place the Programme for Adolescent Mothers which is managed by GRENSAVE,
an NGO member of the Coalition. This programme
provides training for teenage
mothers, including teaching them parenting skills and child-rearing practices.
The Ministry of Youth
Affairs also has in place a similar programme for young
parents that is being implemented at the community level.
- The
Ministry of Social Development has developed a proposal to commence work on a
national parenting programme.
- There
has been no study undertaken to assess the impact of visiting relationships on
children.
K. Protection of children deprived of a
family environment
Committee concerns and recommendations
- The
fact that the Government had not established and implemented a code of standards
for alternative care institutions for children
was also an issue, together with
the absence of an independent complaint mechanism for children in alternative
care institutions.
- It
was recommended that a code of standards should be established to ensure the
adequate care and protection of children deprived
of a family environment; that
additional training, including in children’s rights, should be initiated
for social and welfare
workers; that there should be a periodic review of
placements in care institutions; and that an independent complaints mechanism
for children in alternative care institutions be
established.
Action taken
- A
Code of Standards for the operations of childcare homes has been developed with
support from the Grenada Bureau of Standards and
its implementation is one of
the functions of the Child Welfare Authority (CWA).
- All
childcare homes within Grenada are licensed, and as such, it is easier to keep
track of children who have been institutionalized.
A quarterly review of
children in these institutions is done by CWA, the respective home and, at
times, parents. When complaints
are made by a resident in a childcare home, the
Ministry of Social Services appoints an investigative committee to look into the
complaints and take the necessary actions to resolve the problem.
- There
are instances where some of the children in childcare homes are adopted and/or
reunited with their families, but, in general,
the limited availability of
childcare homes places a strain on the number of children that can be provided
for by the system. Even
when the age of maturity is reached, there are many
instances where it is not possible for those individuals to be relocated and
they are forced to remain as residents, which stifles the turning-over process.
These difficulties are due to the lack of funding
generally available to improve
social services on the island.
- Foster
care services are also available through NCH, an independent NGO. This programme
was initiated in an effort at bringing order
to an informal foster care system
that already existed in Grenada. Over the years, this programme has developed
more structure and
has begun to take a more proactive role in the
identification, preparation and placement of foster children.
- The
basic approach taken by NCH is that the foster care placement is a temporary
intervention that has as a longer-term objective
the reunification of the child
with the biological parents. Work is therefore done with both the biological
parents and the foster
parents, throughout the service intervention.
- Training
programmes for social and welfare workers are now being offered by T.A.
Marryshow Community College and St. George’s
University.
- The
recommendation for an independent complaints mechanism for children in
alternative care institutions has not been implemented,
but the Ministry of
Social Development investigates complaints from residents in childcare homes on
a case-by-case basis.
L. Domestic and intercountry
adoption
Committee concerns and recommendations
- The
Committee also expressed concerned over the lack of monitoring with respect to
both domestic and intercountry adoptions; the high
number of intercountry
adoptions and the apparent gender bias in favour of girls in the adoption
process.
- It
recommended that the Government should introduce proper monitoring procedures
with respect to both domestic and inter-country adoptions,
and undertake a study
to assess the situation and determine the impact of intercountry adoptions and
why girls are favoured over
boys in the adoption process. The possibility of
acceding to the 1993 Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and
Cooperation
in Respect of Intercountry Adoption should also be
considered.
Action taken
- There
have been no amendments to the Adoption Act of the Revised Laws of Grenada 1990
since the country’s last report was submitted.
These laws restrict
intercountry adoption by non-Grenadians to relatives or Grenadian residents.
However, the draft Child Care and
Adoption Bill under the OECS Legal Reform
Project has made provisions that will allow for adoption by persons who are
non-Grenadians.
It also provides for the establishment of an Adoption
Committee[28] to be
responsible for the general adoption process. At present, the Ministry of Social
Development is responsible for the adoption
process.
- Domestic
adoptions are followed up by the Ministry of Development although there is no
clear system in place. Overseas monitoring
is particularly weak.
- It
must be noted however that the majority of overseas adoptions are to family
members, with the predominant reason being economic:
the adopting family members
are in a position to provide better opportunities for further education and to
remove children who are
perceived to be at risk due to weak parental support and
supervision.
- No
study has been conducted to determine why girls are preferred over boys
generally in the adoption process.
- Grenada
has not signed the Hague Convention, but it must be noted here that the draft
Child Care and Adoption Bill under the OECS
Legal Reform Project is based on the
principles of the Hague Convention and assumes the ratification of the
Convention. The Adoption
Board also uses the provisions of the Hague Convention
as the basis for its operations.
M. Abuse/neglect/maltreatment/violence
Committee concerns and recommendations
- The
Committee noted a lack of awareness and information on domestic violence,
ill-treatment and abuse of children, including sexual
abuse. in Grenada. They
also cited the insufficiency of financial and human resources allocated, as well
as the inadequacy of the
programmes established, to prevent and combat these
abuses and concluded that the efforts being made to protect the right to privacy
of child victims of abuse were insufficient.
- It
was therefore recommended that studies be conducted on domestic violence,
ill-treatment and sexual abuse of children. All necessary
measures should be
taken to ensure the proper investigation of cases of violence and abuse of
children within a child-friendly judicial
procedure. The country must seek to
ensure the application of sanctions to perpetrators. They must further ensure
the physical and
psychological recovery and social reintegration of victims and
the prevention of criminalization and stigmatization of victims.
Action taken
- The
Child Protection Act No. 17 of 1998 permits a child who is being harmed or at
significant risk of harm to be apprehended and placed
in a place of safety. It
allows the court to grant different types of orders, including supervision
and/or wardship orders, for a
period not exceeding 12 months. It also provides
for childcare homes and foster homes as alternative placements for children who
cannot remain in the family or community. The provisions of the Child Protection
Act are deemed the national policy on child protection
issues.
- The
Domestic Violence Act No. 15 of 2001 gives jurisdiction to the
Magistrate’s Court to grant protection orders and occupation
orders for
the benefit of abuse victims, including children. The protection order, amongst
other things, prohibits the respondent
from harassing or molesting the applicant
in any way, whereas the occupation order gives the applicant the right to occupy
any household
residence to the exclusion of the abuser. The court is also able
to direct appropriate counselling and take other “special
measures”
to protect vulnerable witnesses.
- GNCRC
has taken the lead in programming against child abuse and one of the highlights
of the period under review has been the development
and ratification by Cabinet
of a Child Abuse Protocol. This Protocol, which has been adopted by all
stakeholders, specifies the respective
responsibilities of each stakeholder in
responding to child abuse and provides guidelines for handling child abuse
cases. Some aspects
of the Protocol have been implemented, but the aspects
providing for mandatory reporting have not been enforced as the Ministry and
related agencies do not yet have the capacity to place large numbers of children
who are identified as being at risk, especially
boys.
- GNCRC
has also designated the month of April of each year “Child Abuse Awareness
and Prevention Month.” During that month,
high-profile activities are held
throughout the State aimed at highlighting the problem of child abuse and
advocating for efforts
to combat it. These efforts have been very successful and
are considered to be partly responsible for the increase in the number
of
reported cases of child abuse. However, reports from the field indicate that
there is still significant under-reporting of child
abuse cases.
- Additional
advocacy efforts to support child protection include:
- (a) The
publication and dissemination of a Child Abuse Handbook in 1999 and a
revision of the Handbook in 2003. The Handbook provides general information on
child abuse as well as guidelines for
handling cases that one may come in
contact with;
(b) Educational sessions at school and community level on child
abuse;
(c) Media programmes and discussions on child abuse in newspapers, radio and
television; and
(d) Airing of radio jingles on “prevention of child abuse” on 4
radio stations.
- The
Department of Social Development has strengthened its programming in the fight
against child abuse, including:
- (a) Operating
the “Child Abuse Hotline” 24 hours per day by officers from the
Division of Social Services and the Child
Welfare Authority;
(b) Implementation of a Child Abuse Register.
- The
Ministry however does not have sufficient social workers to respond to the
demand being placed on it and the review of its operations
referred to in
section A above is intended to strengthen its capacity to address such
issues.
- Child
protection matters are addressed at the Magistrate’s Court on the
court’s assigned family days. Social Inquiry Reports
submitted by the
social workers in the Ministry of Social Development are now used to inform
judicial decisions and alternative sentencing
options are utilized. One such
example is the handing down of a suspended sentence in lieu of participation in
a special programme
for perpetrators run by the Legal Aid and Counselling
Clinic. The Ministry of Social Development also does counselling for victims
and
perpetrators of child abuse and battered women. It must be noted however that
the personnel available to the Ministry for performing
this role is inadequate
for the demands that are placed on it.
- The
disclosing of the identity of the victims of child abuse via the media or other
inappropriate mechanisms has been addressed through
training for media personnel
and there have not been any serious breaches in this regard.
- The
Child Protection Act No. 17 of 1998 established the Child Welfare Authority. A
review of the functions of the Authority highlighted
the fact that it does not
provide for the general responsibility for the care and protection of children
who are being abused or
at risk of being abused. Moreover, the Child Protection
Act does not contain:
- (a) Provisions
for interim care and custody of children pending receipt of a protection order,
and for long-term care;
- (b) A
requirement that agencies work collaboratively with the Child Welfare Authority;
- (c) Legal
obligation on the part of principals, teachers, doctors, counsellors, Church
ministers, social workers and any other persons
to report cases of child abuse
or suspected child abuse that come to their attention; and
- (d) Provisions
for ensuring that the child’s views and preferences are duly considered at
all stages of the child protection
proceedings.
- There
are no separate national child protection policy pronouncements and one is left
to interpret national policy on the basis of
the provisions of available
legislation.
- The
draft Child Care and Adoption Bill of the OECS Legal Reform Project attempts to
address the shortcomings of the Child Protection
Act.[29]
- There
have not been any studies done on domestic violence, ill-treatment and sexual
abuse in order to inform policy measures and contribute
to changing
attitudes.
N. Corporal punishment
Committee concerns and recommendations
- The
fact that corporal punishment is not prohibited within the laws of Grenada and
is still widely practised was another concern of
the Committee. It recommended
that all appropriate measures, including of a legislative nature, must be taken
to prohibit corporal
punishment. It also recommended that awareness-raising
campaigns be conducted to ensure that alternative forms of discipline are
administered in a manner consistent with the child’s human dignity and in
conformity with the Convention.
Action taken
- The
Education Act of 2002[30]
section 53 (2) discourages the use of corporal punishment in schools and states
that it must only be administered by the principal
or deputy principal or a
teacher specifically designated by the principal for the purpose. It is to be
administered using an instrument
prescribed by regulations either in the
principal’s office or other private room in the school and it must be in
conformity
with any written guidelines issued by the Chief Education Officer.
Once corporal punishment has been administered it must be entered
in a
punishment book which is to be kept in each school for the purpose of indicating
the nature and extent of the punishment and
the reasons for administering it.
Failure to abide by the rules of the Education Act means that the person in
question has committed an offence and can be subject to a maximum penalty fine
of $2,000.
- The
Act also provides for the parent or guardian of a pupil at a school to indicate,
in writing to the principal of the school, that
he or she objects to corporal
punishment being administered to that pupil by the school. A person who
thereafter knowingly administers
corporal punishment contrary to such a written
objection commits an offence and can be fined a maximum of
$2,000.[31]
- The
alternative forms of punishment recommended include suspension for minor
offences for a maximum of two
days[32] and suspension for
serious offences for a maximum of 10
days[33] for breach of
student responsibilities as stated in section 17 of the Education Act.
- The
Standards for Childcare Homes also prohibit the use of corporal punishment in
these homes.
- Corporal
punishment however remains an option for sentencing in the judicial system as
per the provisions of the Criminal Code, which
still allows for imprisonment
with strokes.
- There
is also the challenge of changing the perception of the nation with regard to
eradicating corporal punishment, since it is in
many ways part of
Grenada’s cultural traditions. In this regard, no significant action has
been taken regarding the use of
corporal punishment within the family.
O. Right to health and access to health
facilities
Committee concerns and recommendations
- The
Committee was concerned over the limited availability of programmes and
services, and the lack of adequate data in the area of
adolescent health, the
high incidence of teenage pregnancy and the situation of teenage mothers. This
was a strong concern since
most of the reported cases of infant and maternal
mortality were related to teenaged mothers.
- It
was therefore recommended that efforts in promoting adolescent health policies
and counselling services, as well as strengthening
reproductive health
education, including the promotion of male acceptance of the use of
contraceptives, be implemented. The Government
was also encouraged to develop
comprehensive policies and programmes to reduce the incidence of infant and
maternal mortality, and
to promote proper breastfeeding and weaning practices
among teenaged mothers
Action taken
- There
is no clear policy regarding children’s use of public health facilities
without parental consent. The current policy is
that a public health facility
will not attend to a child under the age of 16 without parental consent, but
many teenagers are able
to access private medical services.
- The
major initiatives that are being undertaken in the field of adolescent health
are related to programming in response to HIV/AIDS.
A national HIV/AIDS
directorate has been established and a National Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS was
adopted in 2003. The programming
being done includes promotion of male
acceptance of the use of contraceptives.
- A
National Policy on HIV/AIDS was adopted on 2 April 2007. It states that
information, education and communication (IEC) programmes
remain a major weapon
against HIV/AIDS. The broad themes of the programme are centred on the promotion
of positive and responsible
sexual behaviour, the promotion of human rights and
the reduction of stigma and discrimination. Also, emphasis was placed on the
reduction of HIV/AIDS through mother-to-child transmission and intravenous drug
use. Moreover, the policy attempts to enforce the
law as it relates to under-age
sexual activity, that is, that it is illegal to engage in sexual intercourse
with a minor below the
age of 16 years.
- One
of the objectives of the National Policy on HIV/AIDS is to improve the access of
children and youth to accurate HIV information
and confidential sexual and
reproductive health services, including counselling and testing measures.
Moreover, it is stated that
“level-appropriate HIV/AIDS education must be
a component in the curricula of all schools”.
- Furthermore,
there shall be gender mainstreaming to address the differential impact of
HIV/AIDS on boys and girls, to ensure that
gender inequalities are addressed in
the design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programmes.
- HIV/AIDS
prevention and care services are going to be a major component of the national
reproductive health services, and it is to
be incorporated into primary health
care programmes.
- The
recommended study to understand the scope of adolescent health problems,
including the special situation of children infected
with and vulnerable to
HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), has not been done.
- There
have not been any initiatives to develop youth-friendly care, counselling and
rehabilitation facilities for adolescents.
- The
Ministry of Health has a Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Programme that works
with mothers in the pre- and post-natal stages to
facilitate safe and healthy
delivery of babies and promote proper weaning practices among all mothers,
including teen-age mothers.
P. Children with
disabilities
Committee concerns and recommendations
- The
absence of legal protection and the lack of adequate facilities and services for
children with disabilities was a major concern.
Added to this was the fact that
insufficient efforts had been made to facilitate the inclusion of children with
disabilities in the
education system and generally within society. In addition,
the effectiveness of the Early Intervention Programme for Children with
Disabilities has been also impeded by a lack of human and financial resources.
- The
Committee recommended the development of early identification programmes to
prevent disabilities; increased efforts to implement
alternatives to the
institutionalization of children with disabilities; and the establishment of
special education programmes to
further encourage their inclusion in
society.
Action taken
- Formal
early identification programming to identify disabilities and developmental
delays has not been initiated in Grenada. Post-natal
check-ups are the main
occasions on which formal efforts are made with regard to the early
identification of persons with disabilities.
- In
general, identification is still done on an ad hoc basis, with individuals
calling in and reporting cases as these arise. Moreover,
there is no primary
screening for the identification of persons with any form of disability. The net
result is that most disabilities
are identified only when they develop into
serious problems, even though most impairments develop along a continuum from
“mild”
to “severe”. A related factor is that many
affected parents keep their children at home or enter into a state of denial
once a serious impairment or disability is identified. Identification at an
early stage will reduce the motivation for such behaviour,
as the impairment
will not have developed to the stage where such drastic action is
contemplated
- There
are two schools for special education in Grenada, one in St. George’s and
the other in Grenville. These schools cater
for children with a wide range of
disabilities, with a focus on children with learning difficulties. A significant
proportion of
their students come from children in primary school who develop at
a slower rate than their peers. Additional targeted interventions
include:
- The School for
the Deaf which targets children with hearing and speech impairments and provides
a basic education which includes basic
academic and vocational training.
- An Itinerant
Teacher programme targeting visually impaired children. This programme functions
in 4 secondary and 10 primary schools
in the eastern and southern parts of
Grenada.
- Another
Itinerant Teacher programme operated by the Ministry of Education was started in
September 2001 and targets slow students
or students with learning disabilities
at the primary school level in grades 3 and 4. It is presently offered in four
schools and
works with 74 students in these schools. It should be noted here
that this Itinerant Teachers programme only targets two grades in
eight schools,
in a context where it is believed that there are children in need in all of the
grades of the majority of the 58 public
primary schools in Grenada. The number
being provided for is far lower than the needs identified in these grades when
the initial
screening was done: approximately 25 per cent of the students in the
grades screened.
- The NCH SPICE
Project which caters for children with physical disabilities and mental
retardation. The curriculum provides for basic academic skills, adaptive
life skills and crafts.
- In
addition, the Dorothy Hopkin Centre for the Disabled provides accommodation for
children with all types of disabilities
- The
Ministry of Education has instituted a Task Force on Special Education, which
was appointed by the Cabinet in November 2002. To
date it has developed a
reading screening programme, designed forms for data collection and referrals,
and organized workshops for
teachers on the identification of children with
special needs. It has also trained 30 primary school teachers from 15 primary
schools
in skills for working with slow learners.
- Other
initiatives targeting children which are run by the Grenada National Council for
the Disabled (GNCD) include:
- A school books
programme which involves the distributing of school books for children with
disabilities at different levels of schooling.
This has led to a greater number
of children with disabilities passing the entrance exam for secondary
schools.
- Training in
relevant skills for blind children.
- The
month of May every year has been dedicated as the Month of Awareness for persons
with disabilities. During this month awareness-raising
campaigns are conducted
via the mass media – radio, television and newspapers – along with
parades and marches.
- Additional
support for children with disabilities is available through the Children’s
Health Organisation for Relief and Educational
Services (CHORES). This
organization assists with medical difficulties, including mainly physical
impairment diagnosis (hearing,
speech, cerebral palsy, Down’s syndrome,
spina bifida, autism), rehabilitative treatment and provisions of adaptive
devices.
Children in extreme cases have been taken out of Grenada for medical
attention.
- Advocacy
for the rights of persons with disabilities is an ongoing effort and is
spearheaded by GNCD. Ongoing attempts are being made
to ensure that physical
infrastructure (buildings, roadways, etc.) is accessible to persons with
disabilities. There is also presently
an initiative to formulate and advocate
for a National Policy for Persons with Disabilities. This is being done through
the Coalition
for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
- There
are concerts and sensitixation programmes held occasionally, aimed at including
children with disabilities in society.
- There
is no specific legislation addressing the rights of persons with disabilities in
Grenada with respect to non-discrimination,
equal opportunity and respect for
human dignity. However, all persons, including persons with disabilities, are
protected against
discrimination under section 13 of the Grenada Constitution
Order 1973. The absence of specific legislation that is applicable to persons
with disabilities has left many aspects of law open
to interpretation in their
application to persons with disabilities. This has not always worked in the best
interest of these persons.
- There
is a general lack of available and permanent professional staff. Moreover, the
ability to secure funding to further improve
efforts made to meet the needs of
children with disabilities is limited. The Government is not able to distribute
generously to provide
for children with disabilities, due to the State’s
economic position in the aftermath of two hurricanes.
- Insufficient
efforts have been made to sensitize the society to the needs of children with
disabilities and getting them involved
with incorporating disabled children into
society.
Q. Environmental health
Committee concerns and recommendations
- The
Committee noted the continued widespread use of pit latrines, increasing sea
pollution, and the inadequate solid waste disposal
programme, despite the
expansion of the collection areas to approximately 95 per cent of the
country.
- The
Committee remained concerned at the poor environmental health conditions and
recommended that a greater effort be made to address
environmental health
concerns, particularly in relation to solid waste management.
Action taken
- Solid
waste collection and disposal is the responsibility of the Grenada Solid Waste
Management Authority which was established under
the Grenada Solid Waste
Management Authority Act (1995). Another act, the Waste Management Act, was
passed in 2001 to provide additional
guidance to the Authority’s waste
management activities. However, no regulations have been developed to provide
for enforcement
of the Act
- The
Authority collects solid waste from 98 per cent of all households in Grenada and
all waste collected is compacted and covered
at the landfill site. The waste is
separated with the metals collected separately and crushed by a metal baler;
batteries are collected
separately and sold to one individual for $1 for
shipment to a recycling agency abroad; wood is chipped in a wood chipper; and
tyres
are collected separately, but a shredder is not yet in operation. Tyres
are currently stockpiled at the landfill.
- The
wood chipper, tyre shredder and metal baler were acquired in 2005 and have been
effective in enhancing waste disposal operations.
- The
Authority is also engaged in continuous public awareness via the media and in
2006 also held education programmes in schools with
students and at
parent-teacher meetings with parents.
- The
practice of using pit latrines has continued with a survey conducted in
2005[34] finding that 36 per
cent of households were using pit latrines.
- There
has also been no change in the pollution of the sea, with all liquid waste being
disposed of in the sea, in an untreated state.
R.
Rights and aims of education
Committee concerns and recommendations
- The
situation of boys, particularly as regards their generally “low
self-esteem” and academic underachievement in comparison
to that of girls,
and the high incidence of truancy (in particular for boys) were matters of
concern to the Committee. Concern was
also expressed over the limited access to
secondary education, the lack of relevant learning materials within a school
system comprised
of insufficient numbers of trained and qualified teachers, and
the tendency to use teaching methods that are almost exclusively examination
oriented. The issue of the increasing incidence of violence among students and
the fact that insufficient resources have been allocated
to ensure the
sustainability of the school nutrition programme, along with the lack of health
and counselling services in schools,
were also major concerns.
- The
Committee therefore recommended that the State party ensure that students are
taught an adequate mix of academic subjects and
life skills; that all
appropriate measures should be taken to increase access to secondary education;
that more emphasis be placed
on implementing the necessary measures to ensure
that adequate resources are allocated to school nutrition programmes; and that
adequate
health and counselling services are available in schools. The State
party was also encouraged to ensure that the Convention was
fully integrated
into the curricula at all levels of the education system.
Action
taken
- The
Education Act of 1976 Chapter 84 Laws of Grenada was repealed in 2002 and
replaced with the Education Act of 2002, Act No. 21 of 2002 of the Laws of
Grenada. The latter is an act which makes new provisions for the delivery of
education
services in Grenada, by both public and the private sectors and for
related matters.
- The
Act makes detailed provisions for early childhood
education,[35] home
education[36] and special
education[37] and it
indicates the duties and conduct expected of principals, teachers and children
within the education system.
- Section
159 of the Act provides for a national curriculum aimed at promoting the
spiritual, moral, cultural, intellectual and physical
development of students
and preparing students for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences
of adult life.
- Furthermore,
section 175 of the Act provides for the authorizing of Education Officers to
inspect any educational institutions, and
to give assistance and guidance to the
teachers employed at the institution in order to promote the good administration
and effectiveness
of the institution and to advise the principal of the
institution on matters relating to the welfare and development of students.
- It
is an offence for persons to obstruct an authorized person during a visit or
inspection or to make false representations or give
false information to an
authorized person. The penalty for the latter offence is a $1,000 fine.
Moreover, division 2 of the Act provides
for the reviewing of the education
system every five years or as soon as practicable to report on the education
system of Grenada.[38]
- In
2005, the Ministry revised its Strategic Plan for Educational Enhancement and
Development (SPEED 2), using a process that involved
all stakeholders in the
education system. One of the objectives of this process was to ensure that the
revised development plan was
responsive to the needs of all relevant
stakeholders and would produce an educational experience which would be relevant
to the needs
of the Grenadian society.
- Regarding
access to secondary education, full access for all students was implemented in
Carriacou and Petite Martinique in 2000 and
2008 is the target date for the
nationwide implementation of universal secondary education. To facilitate this,
the Ministry is engaged
in the implementation of an OECS Educational Development
Project that is being funded by the World Bank. This project, inter alia,
is
engaged in refurbishing and expanding capacity in targeted secondary schools.
- There
was also one new public secondary school built on the island in 2001, with a
capacity to accommodate 600 students, and one new
private secondary school with
a capacity to accommodate 200 students was started in 2005.
- The
school curriculum has been expanded to include a greater cross-section of
subjects throughout the secondary schools on the island,
including information
and technology, technical drawing, art, clothing and textiles, and Spanish and
French, among others. At the
primary school level, Spanish and French have now
been added to the curriculum at that level. However, a lack of resources limits
the ability to expand the school curriculum into areas not yet embarked upon.
- Guidance
and counselling assistance has been increased. Presently, in every secondary
school, with the exception of the two on Carriacou
and Petite Martinique, a
counsellor is present on the school compound as a member of staff. The number of
counsellors has increased
from 11 to 26. The majority of counsellors are
qualified teachers, with some holding a first degree in a related area, and
others
a Masters degree.
- On
a general basis, guidance and counselling sessions are scheduled in the school
curriculum. Those sessions generally take the form
of group activity, with
exercises focused around building self-esteem, motivation, decisionmaking, study
skills, exam techniques
and others. Moreover, 11 out of Grenada’s 19
secondary schools have guidance and counselling group sessions conducted on a
fortnightly basis. Even if some schools or classes do not have guidance and
counselling sessions in the curriculum, these counsellors
are members of staff
and thus can be easily accessed by the children.
- At
the primary school level, counsellors are available on a district level,
viz:
- (a) St.
George’s has three;
- (b) St.
Andrew’s has two;
- (c) St.
Patrick’s has two;
- (d) St.
David’s one;
- (e) St.
John’s and St. Mark’s share one; and
- (f) Carriacou
and Petite Martinique have one.
- The
main challenge that arises with regard to guidance and counselling is the
inability to have properly trained counsellors due to
a lack of resources.
- A
school feeding programme is available in all Government primary schools. The aim
of the school feeding programme is to provide one
third of the daily food
nutritional intake, and particularly a hot midday meal, to all participating
children.
- All
58 primary schools participate in the school feeding programme. Eleven secondary
schools are also part of the programme, as well
as 15 daycare centres and
preschools.
- The
Government is basically responsible for subsidizing the meals that are made
available for students, with a subsidy of $1.10 per
child per day. The 2007
budgetary allocation for the programme was $2.8 million.
- Children
who can afford to purchase the lunch pay $1.00 per day or 75 cents in some
cases. Additionally, those who cannot afford to
pay are given these meals free
(primary schools). Breakfast is also available at the primary school level for
no additional cost.
- At
the secondary schools, a total of 50 students per school participate in the
programme, with each child having to contribute $2
per day. However, in serious
cases, the meals are free.
- Some
of the general problems identified deal with refurbishment of some
schools’ kitchen facilities, such as insufficient equipment
such as
cookers, refrigerators and freezers, and the management of the programme as
envisioned by the Ministry by some schools. There
is also a problem storing the
food, which in turn creates a sanitation problem. Moreover, there is an
occasional shortage of certain
foods, particularly skim milk and rice, and the
price of fish is too high and needs to be further subsidized.
- The
Ministry of Education plans to merge all six student support service areas under
one unit at the start of the new academic year
in September 2007, viz:
- Guidance and
Counselling
- The School
Attendance Programme
- The School
Feeding Programme
- Special
Education
- Unit
coordinating the student associations in secondary schools
- National
Parent-Teachers Association
S. Economic
exploitation (child labour)
Committee concerns and recommendations
- There
is a lack of information and adequate data on the situation of child labour and
economic exploitation.
- To
address this concern, the Committee recommended that the Government introduce
monitoring mechanisms to ensure the enforcement of
labour laws and protect
children from economic exploitation, particularly in the informal sector, as
well as undertake a comprehensive
study to assess the situation of child labour.
It is also recommended that Grenada ratify ILO Conventions Nos. 138 (Minimum Age
for
Admission to Employment) and 182 (Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child
Labour.
Action taken
- A
Child Labour Study was conducted in 2003. The result of that study has led to
the introduction of School Attendant Officers who
are responsible for ensuring
that children attend school on a regular basis.
- Children
under the age of 15 are only allowed to work once they have received a licence
to do so from the Ministry of Labour.
- There
has been no ratification of ILO Convention No. 138 concerning Minimum Age for
Admission to Employment and ILO Convention No.
182 concerning the Elimination of
the Worst Forms of Child Labour.
T. Drug
abuse
Committee concerns and recommendations
- The
Committee was concerned over the high incidence of alcohol and substance abuse
among youth in Grenada and the limited availability
of psychological, social and
medical programmes and services available with regard to drugs.
- The
Committee recommended that all appropriate measures be taken to protect children
from the illicit use of alcohol, narcotic drugs
and psychotropic substances and
to prevent the use of children in the illicit production and trafficking of such
substances. The
Committee also recommended support for rehabilitation programmes
for child victims of alcohol, drug and substance abuse.
Action
taken
- There
are laws governing the trafficking of drugs involving minors. They include the
Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1992
and the Liquor Dealers Licence
Act Chapter 174 of the Revised Laws of Grenada 1990. The latter is presently
under review.
- The
National Drug Avoidance Secretariat leads the national programming against drug
abuse. This programming includes sensitization
programmes targeting students and
young persons and counselling services for child victims of substance abuse.
- There
is presently a National Schools’ Policy on Drugs created in 2002 by the
Ministry of Education. Some of the measures taken
to educate and protect
children against drug abuse are through:
- Formal
education – Drug prevention education is a component of the Health and
Family Life Education programme in all primary schools, since
it is believed
that children should be targeted as early as possible in the fight against drug
abuse. Since 1997, over 200 teachers
have received training in various aspects
of this particular programme.
- Drug Abuse
Resistance Education Programme (DARE) – The objective of this
programme is to provide students with appropriate knowledge and skills to resist
drugs and violence.
The programme is being taught to students in grades 5 and 6
in 30 primary schools.
- Operation
Safe Summer – This was commenced in 1998, conducted annually, and its
objective includes increasing students’ awareness about the
dangers of
drugs, crime and violence, and to encourage students to resist them. It aims to
provide students with information and
strategies to deal effectively with these
harmful situations which they may encounter during the summer vacation.
- Media
programmes – This is the major medium for dissemination of
information. Many of the programmes are produced, printed and broadcast at
reduced, or in some cases no cost to the Government.
- Training
– The Drug Avoidance Secretariat, in collaboration with various Government
institutions and non-governmental organizations,
conducts several training
programmes on various aspects of drug prevention for persons such as teachers,
social workers and health
professionals who work with children and young people.
These programmes are ongoing.
Skills for Living
Project – This programme is aimed at students between 10 and 15 years.
It consists of 14 one-hour participatory sessions, on topics
such as
self-awareness, respect, goal setting, decisionmaking, drug abuse, sexuality and
conflict resolution. The programme is facilitated
by the Grenada Planned
Parenthood Association.
Drug prevention education programmes for primary and secondary schools
2006 (May)
- The
programme arose due to the continued presence of drugs and violence in schools.
The main drugs in question are marijuana and alcohol
used by students at school-
and non-school-based functions and activities. Table 3 provides data on student
arrests for drug possession
in the period
2001–2006.
Table 3
Student arrests for drug possession
Year
|
Number of arrests for possession of drugs within 100
yards of school
|
Number of cases brought to courts for possession of drugs
within 100 yards of school
|
2001
|
0
|
0
|
2002
|
1
|
1
|
2003
|
0
|
0
|
2004
|
2
|
2
|
2005
|
3
|
3
|
2006
|
2
|
4
|
Total
|
8
|
10
|
Source: Drug Avoidance Secretariat, July 2007.
- The
programme consists of three components:
- Drug resistance
skills
- Personal
self-management skills
- General social
skills
- The
target audience in primary schools are grades 6, 7 and 8, and all forms within
secondary schools.
- The
programme is to be conducted in the form of video/DVD and Power Point
presentations, lectures/discussions, and group and individual
activities. It is
conducted over a three-week period with one lesson per week.
- It
is a requirement of the programme that the school selects two teachers,
preferably one male and one female, to be involved in the
programme when it is
conducted, in order to develop the capacity of schools to implement similar
programmes.
- There
is a confidentiality clause, which states that all drug-related matters which
involve students must be dealt with in a confidential
manner. Records of
students’ drug-related offences will be kept securely at the Ministry of
Education, under the supervision
of the Chief Education Officer, who must give
permission to access these records.
- Moreover,
the Ministry of Education expressly forbids the use, sale and distribution of
alcohol and alcoholic beverages, tobacco products,
hemp, controlled drugs or any
mood- altering substances by schools at any school function.
- A
proposal has been submitted to Cabinet for a revision of the Liquor
Dealers’ Licences, Cap 174, section 39, which permits
the selling of
liquor to persons under the age of 16 if supplied in a corked or sealed vessel
for consumption off the premises. The
proposal is for legislative action to be
taken to deal with the following situations:
- Consumption of
intoxicating liquor by juveniles
- Sale, delivery
and supply of intoxicating liquor to juveniles
- Sale, delivery
and supply of intoxicating liquor at schools premises
- Purchases of
intoxicating liquor by juveniles
- Advertisement of
intoxicating liquor
- Deletion of
section 39 of the Liquor Dealer’s Licences, Cap 174
- Basically,
it should be an offence for anyone under the age of 18 to consume alcohol.
Likewise, it should be an offence for anyone
to sell alcohol to persons under
the age of 18 years. Moreover, it should be an offence for persons under the age
of 18 years to
be sent by another to purchase alcohol. Licensed dealers should
post signs in their stores about laws governing the sale, supply
or delivery of
intoxicating liquor to persons under the age of 18 years. Moreover, between 9
a.m. to 7 p.m., there should be no advertising
of intoxicating liquor on radio
and television.
U. Administration of juvenile
justice
Committee concerns and recommendations
- The
Committee was concerned over the lack of efficient and effective administration
of juvenile justice typified by the fact that
minors are held in adult detention
facilities; the lack of adequate facilities for children in conflict with the
law; and the limited
numbers of trained personnel available to work with
children within the juvenile justice system.
- The
Committee recommended that additional steps be taken to implement a juvenile
justice system in conformity with the Convention;
that the deprivation of the
liberty of a child is to be a measure of last resort and for the shortest
possible period of time; that
the rights of children deprived of their liberty
are to be protected, particularly their right to privacy; that the State party
should
ensure that children remain in contact with their families while in the
juvenile justice system; that the State party prohibit and
eradicate the use of
corporal punishment (whipping) in the juvenile justice system; and that training
programmes on relevant international
standards for all professionals involved
with the system of juvenile justice should be introduced.
Action
taken
- The
aims of the draft Juvenile Justice Bill under the OECS Legal Reform Project have
already been stated (see para. 21 (c) above).
The Bill provides for juveniles to
be given the opportunity to respond before any decision is taken which affects
them; to be treated
in a manner that takes into account his or her beliefs; that
all consequences arising from the commission of an offence by a juvenile
shall
be proportionate to the circumstances of the juvenile, the nature of the offence
and the interests of society; and that a child
shall not be treated more
severely than an adult would have been in the same circumstances ,among others
things.[39]
- Part
10 (X) of the Juvenile Justice Bill indicates the purpose and types of
sentencing. The purpose is to encourage juveniles to understand
the implications
of and to be accountable for the harm caused, to promote the reintegration of
the juvenile into the family and community
and to ensure that any necessary
supervision, guidance, treatment or services which form part of the sentence
assist the juvenile
in the process of reintegration. The main types of sentences
are to be community-based[40]
and restorative justice[41]
sentences.
- The
current judicial practice is to refrain from sending children under the age of
16 to prison and to incarcerate children between
the ages of 16 and 18 based on
the circumstances of the crime and the number of repeat offences that the
juvenile has committed.
Corporal punishment is still a part of the formal
Criminal Code, but is not used frequently.
- Statistics
from the Royal Grenada Police Force indicate that during the period January 2001
to February 2006, at least 123 students
between the ages 9 to 20 were arrested
and charged for various offences (see tables 4 and 5).
Table 4
Offences by children (Jan. 2001 – Feb. 2006)
Type of offence
|
Number of students
|
Possession of a controlled drug
|
23
|
Possession of an offensive /dangerous weapon
|
11
|
Defilement of a female
|
8
|
Assault
|
6
|
Unlawful entry
|
5
|
Rape
|
2
|
Arson
|
1
|
Damage to property
|
1
|
Possession of drug paraphernalia
|
1
|
Conspiracy
|
1
|
Total
|
123
|
Source: Drug Avoidance Secretariat July 2007.
(Actual figures for the above are assumed to be higher, since it was stated
that some data were unavailable.)
Table 5
Age range and number of students arrested and
charged
1 January 2001 – 2 July 2007
Age (years)
|
Number of students
|
8
|
1
|
9
|
2
|
10
|
1
|
11
|
5
|
12
|
2
|
13
|
4
|
14
|
20
|
15
|
50
|
16
|
47
|
17
|
36
|
18
|
19
|
Total
|
187
|
Source: Drug Avoidance Secretariat July 2007.
- A
major problem that Grenada still faces is its inability to provide a juvenile
justice centre, apart from that available at Her Majesty’s
Prison. The
Juvenile Justice Centre which was almost complete in 2004 was destroyed during
the passage of Hurricane Ivan. Acquiring
funding to rebuild the centre has
proven to be a difficult task, since priority is being given to other more
pressing areas of national
concern. Funding has now being approved but
construction has not restarted.
- No
formal training has been made available for the personnel who are responsible
for dealing with juvenile justice.
V. Dissemination of the report
Committee concerns and recommendations
- The
Committee recommended that the initial report and written replies submitted by
the State party be made widely available to the
public at large and that the
publication of the report be considered, along with the relevant summary records
and the concluding
observations adopted by the Committee. Such a document should
be widely distributed in order to generate debate and awareness of
the
Convention and its implementation and monitoring within the Government and the
general public, including NGOs.
Action taken
- Following
the review of the initial report in January 2000, a committee comprising all
affected stakeholders was convened by the Department
of Gender Affairs and
charged with the responsibility, inter alia, of disseminating the report and
coordinating the implementation
of the recommendations.
- This
committee met on a few occasions but ceased functioning after a short time. As a
result, there has not been widespread dissemination
of the written report and
replies by the State party, nor the publication of the report as recommended by
the Committee.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Committee on the Rights of the Child. (2000) Summary record of the
607th meeting (twenty-third session) held on 24 January 2000
(CRC/C/SR.607).
Committee on the Rights of the Child. (2000) Concluding observations of the
Committee on the Rights of the Child on the initial report
of Grenada, adopted
on 24 January 2000 (CRC/C/15/Add.121).
Committee on the Rights of the Child. (1996) General guidelines for periodic
reports: 20/11/96. CRC/C/58. (Basic Reference Document).
Government of Grenada. (2007) Budget Speech 2007.
Government of Grenada. (2007) Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, 2007.
Government of Grenada. (2006) Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, 2006.
Government of Grenada. (2005) Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, 2005.
Government of Grenada. (2004) Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, 2004.
Government of Grenada. (2003 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, 2003.
Government of Grenada. (2002) Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, 2002.
Government of Grenada. (2001) Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, 2001.
Government of Grenada. (2000) Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, 2000.
Government of Grenada. (1998) Child Protection, Act No. 17 of 1998.
Government of Grenada. (1958) Criminal Code of the Revised Laws
of Grenada 1958.
Government of Grenada. (2001) Domestic Violence, Act No. 15 of 2001.
Government of Grenada. (2007) Draft Ombudsman Act 2007.
Government of Grenada. (1992) Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of
1992.
Government of Grenada. (2002) Education Act of 2002.
Government of Grenada. (1973) Grenada Constitution Order 1973 Part 1.
Government of Grenada. (1995) Grenada Solid Waste Management Authority Act
(1995).
Government of Grenada. (1995) Initial report on the implementation of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child in Grenada (CRC/C/15/Add.121).
Government of Grenada. Liquor Dealers License Act Chapter 174 of the Revised
laws of Grenada 1990.
Government of Grenada. (2007) National Policy on HIV/AIDS.
Government of Grenada. (2000) Responses to Questions on the Initial Report on
the Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of
the Child in Grenada.
Government of Grenada. The Evidence Act CAP 92 of the 1990 Laws of
Grenada.
Government of Grenada. (1973) The Grenada Constitution Order, 1973.
Government of Grenada. (2001) Waste Management Act.
Grenada National Coalition on the Rights of the Child. Child Abuse
Protocol.
International Monetary Fund. (2007). IMF World Economic Outlook Database,
April 2007.
Ministry of Education. (2007) Strategic Plan for Educational Enhancement and
Development (SPEED 2).
Ministry of Finance. (April 2006) Update on the Grenadian Economy.
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. (2007) Draft Child Care and
Adoption Bill.
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. (2007) Draft Domestic Violence
Bill.
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. (2007) Domestic Violence Bill
Explanatory Note. OECS Legal Reform Project 2007.
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. (2007) Draft Juvenile Justice
Bill.
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. (2007) Juvenile Justice Bill
Explanatory Note. OECS Legal Reform Project 2007.
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. (2007) OECS Family Law and Domestic
Violence Legal and Judicial Reform Project February
2007.
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (2004). Grenada: Macro-economic
Assessment of the Damages Caused by Hurricane Ivan, 7 September
2004.
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. (2007) Draft Status of Children
Bill.
Holdip, Malcolm. (2000) Rights of the Child Legislative Review.
Child Welfare Authority. Code of Standards for the operations of Child
Care homes.
Sealey – Browne, Pretona. (2007) OECS Family Law and Domestic Violence
Legal and Judicial Reform Project Draft Model. OECS.
2007.
UNICEF, Caribbean Area Office. (2000) Survey on the Rights of the Child.
Systems Caribbean Limited, 2000.
LISTING OF PERSONS CONSULTED
Senator Yolande Bain-Joseph – Minister of Social Development
Arlene Daniel – Chief Welfare Officer, Ministry of Social Development
(MSD)
Avril Trotman-Joseph – Chairperson, Grenada National Coalition on the
Rights of the Child
Angela Peters – Co-ordinator, Gender and Family Affairs Division,
MSD
Cecilia Ann John – NCH
Jenifer James – Probation Officer, MSD
Jeannine Sylvester – Social Worker, MSD
Lincoln Morgan – Ministry of Education
Margaret Williams – Guidance and Counselling Unit, Ministry of
Education
Hilary Gabriel – Grenada National Council of the Disabled
Dave Alexander – National Drug Avoidance Secretariat, Ministry of
Education
Rachel Mathurine – School Feeding Program, Ministry of Education
Clifton Nedd – National Aids Directorate
Linda Straker – Grenada National Coalition on the Rights of the
Child
Lydia Phillip – Health Information Unit, Ministry of Health
- - - -
PARTICIPANTS AT REVIEW WORKSHOP
6 September 2007
Senator Ann David Antoine - Minister of Health
Mrs. Gemma Bain–Thomas - Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Social
Development (MSD)
Ms. Arlene Daniel - Chief Welfare Officer, MSD
Sr. Francis Nelson - Chairperson Child Welfare Authority
Ms Suzanne Simpson - Child Protection Officer, Child Welfare Authority
Mr. Imi Chitterman – Statistics Division, Ministry of Education
Ms Ivy Harris - Early Childhood Division Ministry of Education
Mr. Lincoln Morgan – Ministry of Education
Ms. Angela Peters - Coordinator Gender & Family Division, MSD
Mrs. Jeanine Sylvester–Gill - Social Worker, MSD
Ms. Jenifer James - Probation Officer, MSD
Mr. Francis St Hillaire - Public Relations Officer, MSD
Mr. Chikal Courtney - Social Worker, MSD
Mr. Frank Philbert - Police Officer, Royal Grenada Police Force
Mr. Eroline Garraway - Police Officer, Royal Grenada Police Force
Ms. Kizzy Matthew - Social Worker, MSD
Mrs. Yvonne Da Breo - Social Worker. MSD
Mrs. Kriss Davies – Director, GRENSAVE
Ms. Cecilia Ann-John – NCH
-----
• Annexes can be consulted in the files of the Secretariat.
GE.09-44116 (E)
[1] IMF
World Economic Outlook Database, April
2007.
[2] Ibid, expressed in
current prices.
[3]
Ibid.
[4] Data sourced from
IMF World Economic Outlook Database, April 2007. Estimates used for 2006 and
2007.
[5] Ministry of
Finance.
[6] OECS Assessment
Report.
[7] IMF World Economic
Outlook Database, April
2007.
[8] Ministry of
Finance.
[9] Ministry of
Finance – excluding
grants.
[10] Budget Speech
2007
[11] Budget Speech
2005
[12] Concluding
observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: Grenada. 28 February
2000. CRC/C/15/Add.121.
[13] OECS Family Law and
Domestic Violence Legal and Judicial Reform Project February 2007.
[14] Part III provides
for the disposition of property before and after the commencement of the Bill.
[15] Clause 5 submits the
presumption that a male person is and shall be recognized in law to be the
father of a child.
[16]
Chapter II of the Child Care and Adoption
Bill.
[17] Juvenile
Justice Bill explanatory note: OECS Legal Reform Project
2007.
[18] Domestic
Violence Bill explanatory note: OECS Legal Reform Project
2007.
[19] Core Welfare
Indicators Survey conducted in
2005.
[20] Draft Ombudsman
Act 2007.
[21] Recurrent
expenditures are used as this provides a more accurate indicator of ongoing
commitment to provide funding from Government
resources. Capital expenditures
vary significantly from year to year as they sometimes represent one-off
projects and some of them
are funded from external sources.
[22]
Estimate.
[23] Clause 5
(2) of the Juvenile Justice Bill: OECS Legal Reform Project
2007.
[24] Grenadian
Constitution Order 1973 Part
1.
[25] Applicable to
persons between the ages of 16 and
24.
[26] This review was
commissioned by GNCRC and conducted by Malcolm Holdip, a former Director of
Public Prosecution in Grenada. The Final
Report was submitted in
2002.
[27] The Rights of
the Child Legislative Review, p.
20.
[28] Section 102 (1)
Child Care and Adoption Bill, OECS Legal Reform Project February 2007.
[29] Part II Status of
Children, Status of Children Bill ,OECS Legal Reform Project February
2007.
[30] Education Act
No. 21 of 2001 of the Laws of
Grenada.
[31] Education
Act, section 53 (9).
[32]
Education Act, section
54.
[33] Education Act,
section 55.[34] CWIQ
Survey.
[35] Division 1 of
the
Education Act No. 21 of 2002: Early Childhood
Education.
[36] Division 2
of the
Education Act No. 21 of 2002: Home
Education.
[37] Division 3
of the
Education Act No. 21 of 2002: Special
Education.
[38] Section
178 (1)
Education Act No. 21 of
2002.
[39] Explanatory
Note of the Juvenile Justice Bill: OECS Legal Reform Project February
2007.
[40] Section 61 of
the Juvenile Justice Bill: OECS Legal Reform Project February
2007.
[41] Section 62 of
the Juvenile Justice Bill: OECS Legal Reform Project February 2007.
WorldLII:
Copyright Policy
|
Disclaimers
|
Privacy Policy
|
Feedback
URL: http://www.worldlii.org/int/other/UNCRCSPR/2009/30.html