Committee on The Rights of The Child Welcomes Yemen’s Efforts to Implement the Convention [Archives:1999/06/Reportage]

The Committee on the Rights of the Child, a world body in charge of monitoring implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child – at the end of its 20th session last week – issued concluding observations and recommendations on reports submitted to it by Austria, Belize, Guinea, Sweden and Yemen. 
The five countries, in keeping with their obligations as stated by the Convention, presented to the Committee over the course of a 3-week session, written and oral summaries on their efforts to promote and protect children’s rights. The countries also sent official delegations to answer questions and hear the comments of the Committee’s 10 independent experts. 
The Committee expressed concern that the adoption of structural adjustment program in Yemen might have adverse effects on the implementation of social programs, especially those related to children. The specific issues of concern were: 
– persistent disparities in the situation of children in the northern and southern regions of the country, and in urban and rural areas, and among male and female children; 
– traditional societal attitudes still regarded the widespread use of physical punishment as an acceptable practice by parents; 
– the practice of female genital mutilation and other harmful traditional practices affecting the health of the girl children persisted in some regions. 
The Committee then cited positive developments in Yemen, including the following: 
– the adoption of several initiatives such as the National Population Strategy, the Social Security Network, and the Social Welfare Fund, which aimed at combating poverty; 
– initiative to eliminate school fees for girls as a way to reduce gender disparities in education. 
Among factors and difficulties impeding the implementation of the Convention which the Committee noted were that Yemen was still facing serious political, economic and social challenges, such as transition from a feudal to a modern society, and suffering effects from its recent process of re-unification, both of which affected the situation of children. The panel also noted that certain traditional practices and customs, particularly in rural areas, continued to hamper progress. 
The Committee reiterated its concern that Yemen has not complied with its recommendations that the government ensure that domestic legislation was in full conformity with the principles and provisions of the Convention. It remained concerned that the state did not appear to have fully taken into account the general principles contained in the Convention. 
The Committee recommended the following: 
– that appropriate measures be taken to ensure that Yemeni legislation is in full conformity with the principles and provisions of the convention; 
– that reviewing and updating of data-collection systems be continued to include all the areas covered by the Convention; 
– that further steps be taken to disseminate the Convention among adults, including professional groups, community and religious leaders, as well as children; 
– that the state continue undertaking measures to the maximum extent of its available resources, including international cooperation, to ensure that sufficient budgetary allocations were provided for social services for children; 
– that the Government reinforce measures to raise awareness of the negative effects of corporal punishment and ensure that discipline in schools, families and all institutions was administered in a manner consistent with a child’s dignity. 
– that measures be taken to establish alternative care centers for abandoned girls; 
– that the government allocate appropriate resources, and consider seeking technical assistance when needed, to reinforce its efforts to make basic health care accessible to all children; 
– that all appropriate measures be taken to improve and update school infrastructure and equipment and to accelerate the implementation of a compulsory education system; 
– that the Government take measures to ensure adequate legal protection of refugee children, including physical safety, health and education; that steps be taken for the protection of children affected by armed conflicts; 
– and that the State party review its legislation and practices in order protect children from being economically exploited. 
The General Assembly of the UN had adopted the Convention unanimously on 20 November 1989, 30 years after the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of the Child. The Convention makes statements which hold it legally accountable for their actions towards children. Work on its drafting had begun in 1979 — the International Year of the Child — at the Commission of Human Rights in Geneva. 
The Convention was opened for signatures on 26 January 1990. That day, 61 countries signed it, a record first-day response. It entered into effect just seven months later, on 2 September 1990. All nations, except the United States and Somalia, have ratified the Convention. 
Ratifying the Convention entails reviewing national legislation to make sure it is in line with its provisions. The Convention stipulates, among other things, that: every child has right to life; that states shall ensure to the maximum children’s survival and development; that every child has the right to a name and nationality from birth; and that, when courts, welfare institutions or administrative authorities deal with children, the child’s best interests shall be the primary consideration. The Convention recognizes the right of children to be heard. 
UN report 

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