|
Report of the Ombudsperson for Children in
Mauritius
to the Committee on the Rights of the
Child for the Presessional meeting due in October
- September 2005
Click here to download the report
(word format
485 kb)
Introduction
The
Government of Mauritius has submitted its second Report to
cover the period 1995-2000. Since it has not yet submitted an
updated version, the present Report attempts to comment on
that Report. But it also brings in as much information which
is available for the period 2000-2005 specially in the area of
protection.
The
Ombudsperson for Children (OC) wants to draw the attention of
the Committee to the fact that the Government informed her
that it had consulted several NGOs but presumably this took
place in the 90s. The time between the final drafting of the
report and its final release for communication to the CRC
Committee is far too long (1995-2004). It shows that there is
a lack of communication between the different departments of
Government and that the mechanism for reporting must be
reviewed. The OC has raised this matter with the new Ministry
of Women’s Rights, Child Development, Family Welfare and
Consumer Protection and the Attorney-General. She will report
verbally to the Committee on any decision taken to improve the
system of reporting. This should improve as the Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has organised a
training of National Human Rights Institutions and NGOs on
"Strengthening National Human Rights Protection Mechanism".
Government officers will also be following the third part of
this training on 21-23 October 2005.
Three
points must be noted at the very outset.
1.
An Ombudsperson for Children's Office (OCO) was created in
2003. The Ombudsperson was appointed on 10th December 2003 and
took the oath before the President of the Republic on 11th
December 2003. The office was manned by very few officers in
2004. Since February 2004 personnel from other Government
departments were seconded to the new OCO and only two
officers, acting as investigators were trained in issues of
child abuse. It has not yet been possible to get an officer to
concentrate on compliance with the Convention on the Rights of
the Child (CRC). But the OC has tried to cope on two fronts:
Investigation of cases and proposals to the Ministry of
Women’s Rights, Child Development and Family Welfare and other
Government departments on reform of policies, strategies and
law, always bearing in mind compliance with the CRC. It is
important to see what the exact mandate of the OC is and how
far she can impact on decisions. The Ombudsperson for Children
Act and comments on the powers and functions of the OC are at
annex I. The OC is invited as an observer to the European
Network of Ombudspersons for Children (ENOC) each year. The
OCO is the only independent office in
Africa dealing exclusively with Child Rights.
2.
It must also be noted that since 4th July 2005 a new
Government has been sworn in after general elections, which
makes it difficult to make precise comments on policies, which
may change. A children's policy had already been prepared by
the Ministry with the help of UNICEF. It was published in May
2003. An Action Plan, which was unfortunately not time bound,
was prepared and it was published in 2004. The Ministry had
set up a Monitoring Committee which met a few times but very
little progress was made. Indeed the new Ministry of Women’s
Rights, Child Development, Family Welfare and Consumer
Protection, at it is now called, has already announced that it
will consult all stakeholders and prepare a new Children's
Policy and Plan of Action. However, in the meantime, as the
State is permanent, the OC bases this report on policies that
are already being implemented. However, whenever reference is
made to a Ministry, the exact title as it was before is used.
The same principle applies if reference is made to the present
title of the Ministry. The title reflects also the focus of
the Ministries in question. In the case of the Ministry of
Women’s Rights, Child Development and Family Welfare, it now
also deals with Consumer Protection.
3.
UNICEF unfortunately left Mauritius in December 2003 on the
grounds that it had reached a level of development which was
sufficient and could do without the expertise of the
organisation. This, of course, is a matter of appreciation for
anyone as all is relative. UNICEF probably has more "needy"
countries to help. But its absence is being felt as the
"independent expertise" is no longer there. The hopes are now
placed on the new Ombudsperson for Children's Office and the
Observatoire des droits de l'enfant de la région Océan
indien. Neither of the institutions can be a substitute
for UNICEF but they can fill certain gaps. Exceptionally, the
UNICEF office based in Madagascar can help specially for
initiatives that can bring together countries of the Region.
The
approach of this report is to comment on the Government report
only in as far as the OC does not agree or has something to
add.
Silence on
any part of the Government Report means that on this
particular issue the Report does not call for a comment.
No comment
can be made at this stage on any data, the more so as they are
sometimes over five years old and the situation has changed a
lot during the past five years.
The OC has
concentrated on the observations, suggestions and
recommendations of the CRC Committee. The format has been
respected as far as possible.
The
Preamble
Areas of Concern of the CRC Committee
10. "The
Committee is concerned that the Convention is not an integral
part of the national legislation and that the national laws
and regulations are not fully consistent with the principles
and provisions of the Convention."
The
amendments brought in 1998 are an improvement but they do not
cover all the obligations of the Convention on the Rights of
the Child (CRC) which has not been domesticated as such. The
obligations are scattered in various pieces of legislation.
Sometimes, this is inevitable. However, the Ombudsperson for
Children (OC) has proposed that a "Child Act" be adopted to
cover all the obligations of the CRC which are not already
guaranteed. It has in fact been proposed to repeal the Child
Protection Act 1994 and replace it with a more comprehensive
legislation that would incorporate all the basic obligations
as well as specific protective measures. The principle was
accepted by the outgoing Government. The Ministry of Women’s
Rights, Child Development and Family Welfare, as it was known
then, was unable to translate its policies into a Draft Bill
and had only been able to make a very summary analysis of a
Task Force Report which went through all the legislative
measures that were needed to comply with CRC.
The new
Government having decided to prepare a new Policy and Plan of
Action, our hopes are that, soon after, the Child Act will be
prepared by a group of expert lawyers from Mauritius and/or
abroad or the Attorney-General's Office, if it can plan to
include this law as a priority.
The OC has
made several proposals which are described later on. She is
prepared to monitor a pool of experts to ensure compliance but
at this stage the OCO has no budget of its own to start this
in any reasonable fashion. The OCA 2003 does however clearly
say that the OC shall “promote compliance with the Convention”
(Section 5c).
11. "The
Committee is concerned at the insufficient attention paid, at
both national and local levels, to the need for an efficient
monitoring mechanism, that could provide a systematic and
comprehensive compilation of data and indicators on all areas
covered by the Convention and in relation to all groups of
children especially those who are victims of child abuse,
ill-treatment or child labour or the administration of
juvenile justice, as well as the girl child, children of
single-parent families and those born out of wedlock,
abandoned, institutionalised and disabled children, and
children who, in order to survive, are living and/or working
in the streets ."
The
Ministry of Women’s Rights, Child Development, Family Welfare
and Consumer Protection is unfortunately entangled in
providing service and does not have the resources to ensure an
efficient monitoring mechanism of all the services provided.
(See Annex II regarding an assessment of the Chain of Services
provided by MWRCDFW).
As for data
collection, the Government has supported the setting up of the
Observatoire des droits de l'enfant de la région océan
indien by the Commission de l’océan indien (COI)
and UNICEF. This Observatoire, recently launched, will
fill the gap in data collection and compilation of indicators
as well as analysis for the five countries of the Indian
Ocean, i.e. Madagascar, Comoros, Seychelles, Réunion and
Mauritius. A first training workshop on "Devinfo" for the
Observatory was organised from 22-26 November 2004. All
stakeholders including personnel of the OCO attended but it is
too early yet to see any results.
The
National Children's Council (NCC) which was originally set up
in 1990 has been reinforced in 2004. It is meant amongst other
things to "commission and undertake research and collect data
on child-related issues and work from an evidence-based
perspective". But it has not been given the means to carry out
this mandate fully. In 2001 the NCC commissioned a study on
"Abused children who are in placement in shelters and other
children who have left." The study was carried out by the
Mauritius Research Council. The latter has also carried out
several other studies which are either directly or indirectly
linked to child issues.
12. "As
regards the implementation of article 4 of the Convention, the
Committee notes with concern the inadequacy of measures taken
to ensure the implementation of children's economic, social
and cultural rights to the maximum extent of available
resources. The Committee is particularly concerned at the
insufficient measures and programmes for the protection of the
rights of the most vulnerable children, especially children
who are victims of abuse, children of single parents, children
born out of wedlock, abandoned children, disabled children,
children living in poverty and children who, in order to
survive, are living and/or working in the streets. The
Committee is also concerned at the lack of disaggregated data
in relation to budgetary allocations for children."
The OC has
taken note of the General Comment No. 2 of the CRC Committee
made at its 31st session in 2002 on "The role of independent
national human rights institutions in the promotion and
protection of the rights of the child. (See Annex I on the OCA
and comments on the powers and functions of the OC).
See Annex
II on "Chain of Services" regarding victims of abuse,
abandoned children, disabled children and children living in
poverty.
Children
born out of wedlock
As regards
children born out of wedlock their fate may depend on whether
they were born to a poor or a rich family and whether someone
declared them. Normally, adulterine children, for several
generations, were purely and simply declared by the husband of
their biological mother if she was civilly married. If the
mother was single, she would declare him/her as a natural
child. In the first case, the child would be a legitimate
child and the family secret could in fact never be known to
anyone but the mother and occasionally also the "father". With
some luck the child would be treated properly and at par with
the other children of the family. The law has even been
amended in 1990 to allow both biological parents of an
adulterine child to declare him/her. We see two aspects to
this issue: the material aspects which relate (i) to the
child's right to food, shelter, education, etc..... i.e. to a
proper maintenance by both his parents therefore to issues of
payment of alimony by the "absent" parent; and (ii) to his
right of inheritance. However, there is also the psychological
aspect as regards his right to know who is in fact his father.
The law provides for the right of the child to enter a case in
court for "recherche de paternité" or "maternité"
as soon as he/she is of age, i.e. he can establish his
filiation. His mother is entitled to bring the action on his
behalf while he is still a minor if the biological father
refuses to acknowledge him. As the DNA test is now possible,
such actions may be more common now. Further, provision is
made in the Civil Status Act for late acknowledgment of
fathers.
Children
living in poverty
A Trust
Fund for the Social Integration of Vulnerable Groups was set
up on 10th March 1999. It has concentrated mainly on building
of core houses for the very low income group.
The Fund
also started catering for children of the same group to ensure
that they can attend school and they were given shoes, bags
and school material. Sometimes the Fund would even provide
desks, etc.... to ensure that the child has a tiny space of
his/her own in his home to be able to concentrate on his
studies.
The OC has
been advocating a new approach to the whole issue.
Unfortunately, the problem is "structural". There are many
services and many institutions but the overall result is not
adequate because all institutions are either not properly
staffed and funded, or they are not performing according to
their full capacity. The best example of this is the National
Children's Council (NCC) which has wide functions but no
proper staff and a small budget only.
13. "The
State party has not yet taken fully into account in its
legislation and policies the general principles of the
Convention: non-discrimination (art. 2), the best interests of
the child (art. 3) and respect for the views of the child"
(art. 12).
The OC
would like to see the three major principles of the CRC
enshrined in law, if possible in the Constitution. Generally,
succeeding Governments have proclaimed that these principles
are very important. This can be in various policies whether
concerning education, health, social security and housing.
Some specific changes have been brought to reduce disparities,
to get more children in the mainstream of education, to give
them better access to health services. For example, one can
hope that the promise of the new Government to democratise the
economy to widen the participation of more citizens in many
economic activities, up to now controlled by a few rich
families or groups, will really impact positively on the lives
of children. But that will be in the medium term. The plan, to
raise the threshold for income tax purposes so that even those
earning a medium income will be unburdened, will of course
benefit the whole family.
Many
measures have been taken in favour of handicapped children.
The concept
of the best interests of the Child exists in the Civil Code
but nowhere else. It must be "guaranteed" even though
generally speaking if it is invoked it will be respected.
The
Participation Rights of the Child is more and more being
"taught" by NGOs and the OC. In fact, the OCA 2003 provides
that the OC shall "advise the Minister on the establishment of
mechanisms to afford children the ability to express
themselves freely, according to their age and maturity,
especially on all matters concerning their individual or
collective rights". The OC has advised that the decision to
set up a National Children's Committee at the National
Children's Council (NCC) be implemented forthwith. These
matters are further developed in the body of the present
Report.
14. "The
Committee is concerned about the insufficient measures taken
to make the principles and provisions of the Convention widely
known to adults and children alike, in conformity with article
42."
In this
regard, a lot of progress has indeed been made by Government,
the NCC, NGOs and, since its creation, by the Ombudsperson for
Children's Office (OCO).
The most
important popular event initiated by the OCO is the 16 Days 16
Rights Campaign launched on the 1st June 2004 to last until
the 16th June (the Day of the African Child). The concept is
simple: Children are invited to translate in art form a list
of 16 Rights from the Convention. These are normally discussed
at school (both mainstream and non formal) and in shelters,
reform and other institutions, clubs, etc.... Parents,
teachers, educators, etc.... help and the children produce an
artwork which is then exhibited to the general public. It was
decided that this would be an annual event. This year, several
exhibitions are taking place right now all over the island and
benefit from a very wide coverage from both the written and
the electronic press. (see some Press Cuttings at Annex III)
The
Ministry of Women’s Rights, Child Development, Family Welfare
and Consumer Protection, Ministry of Education and Human
Resources, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Social
Security,
National Solidarity & Senior Citizen Welfare & Reform
Institutions
as well as the National Children's Council and NGOs all join
in as partners. The OCO has also prepared a booklet in French
with some of the paintings and children's images from last
year's Campaign. This is being distributed to all children
aged 8-9 through primary schools and NGOs.
As regards
awareness, the OCO has also launched a National Campaign on
Prevention of Violence against Children which is described in
Annex IV. The objective is to join in the awareness efforts of
the UN Study on Violence against Children. The OC is a member
of the Executive Editorial Board of the UN Committee, presided
by Professor Pinheiro, sitting in
Geneva.
The OCO has
been very active at sub-regional and regional level to
mobilise all stakeholders to discuss all issues related to
violence. The Declaration of Antananarivo is herewith annexed
as Annex V.
A 3D
character called BUDI (BUDDY) has also been launched by the
OCO to explain their Rights to young children aged 4 to 12. It
is a 20 seconds spot shown on National television just before
cartoon-time.
The
national radio has reserved 1½ hour awareness programmes on
rights every Wednesday. The Ministry, the NCC and the OCO use
this programme once a month each. NGOs have access on these
Wednesdays. Children are more and more invited too.
Since March
2001 there are now three private radios. They are all happy to
invite all stakeholders to speak on Children's Rights.
The
Ministry, the NCC and several NGOs also have different
awareness programmes. Several publications have been produced
for distribution to different categories of children.
Talks take
place in schools, in institutions and in the most vulnerable
regions of the country. These are usually in Creole or French
depending on the audience.
It is felt
that the public is now quite aware of the rights contained in
the Convention. Generally, there is a request to teach
children their responsibilities and emphasis this year was
laid on each right and its corresponding responsibility,
always telling adults that they still have the greater
responsibility towards children.
15. "The
committee is concerned that the Education system might not be
consistent with the provisions of the Convention regarding the
right to education. In this regard, the Committee is
deeply concerned at the high, school dropout rates, especially
at the end of the primary education level, and at the high
rate of illiteracy. It is also worried about the absence of
supervision of private schools. The Committee is concerned, in
addition, at the difficulties encountered by disabled children
in gaining access to regular primary schools. "
The
Ministry of Education and Scientific Research, as it was then
known, has put a lot of emphasis on strengthening the
preprimary sector. Compulsory training are run by the
Mauritius Institute of Education for all preprimary school
teachers. Furthermore, Government gives a grant of Rs. 200.
monthly per pupil aged 4 years to 5 years to make preprimary
schooling more affordable and encourage parents to send their
children to these schools. Unfortunately not catering for the
first year of preprimary (3-4) does have an impact on poor
families who may find it difficult to send their children to a
good preprimary school in its region. As this first year is
considered to be fundamental for a good start in life, this
kind of discrimination that persists will definitely impact on
the overall development of the child.
The
Government also started a reform of the education sector in
2001. The main changes brought in were:-
1.
The replacement of the ranking by the grading system at the
Certificate of Primary Education Exams, thus eliminating the
rat race competition among children aged 10/11 years to be
admitted in the 'best' secondary schools. The admission to
secondary schools are now made on the basis of geographical
considerations. The Government built 34 new State Secondary
Schools to enable this shift in criterion for admission in
'star schools' and discourage the formation of an elite as
from the age of 10 years.
2.
The building of these additional Secondary Schools also led to
the closing of some private secondary schools which were not
complying with the norms set by the Ministry.
3.
Education is now compulsory up to the age of 16 years. Pupils
who drop out from the mainstream have now the opportunity to
pursue their studies in prevocational units which are located
in the same compound as the mainstream classes.
With the
change of Government in July of this year, it is difficult to
say at this stage, how much of the reform will be maintained
by the new Minister who, however, promised not to revert back
to ranking. The new Ministry is now termed Ministry of
Education and Human Resources which shows clearly the new
emphasis.
The new
Government is reviewing the admission system specially the
decision to create Form VI schools (for the Cambridge Higher
School Certificate examination). It is going back within one
year to the Form I to VI schools.
In the last
budget presented in April 2005, special consideration has been
given to disabled children. Their grant per capita which was
inferior to other school children has been levelled.
Furthermore, all the newly built secondary schools are easily
accessible to disabled children as provision has been
specifically made in that respect.
The
Government also launched an inclusive education project which
would gradually favour the integration of children with
special needs in normal schools. However, as regards to the
education of disabled children, there is a lack of trained
teachers and of appropriate equipment. There is also a need
for professionals like psychologists, speech therapists and
audiologists.
Despite all
these positive measures, our education is still too academic.
There is limited room for creativity, development of talents
and character building. Our children are still spending the
major part of their free time outside school hours in private
tuition. We believe that on this issue, Government should
intervene and set up the appropriate mechanism to ensure that
there is no abuse of private tuition.
The new
Minister's greatest challenges are to look at the question of
"equal opportunity" and non-discrimination as well as quality
education. He must ensure that children are really being
prepared to become full-fledged citizens with rights and
duties but also ensure that they receive the fundamentals of
learning in a variety of subjects for their overall
development before they start "specialising".
The new
Minister has just announced that -
1.
there will be a national debate on the curriculum framework;
2.
he will engage a reform which will lay emphasis on pedagogy
evaluation;
3.
he is seeking a consensus for a better admission procedure to
enter secondary schools based on the effort of each child as
well as considering the residence criteria;
4.
he will always bear in mind the best interests of the child;
and
5.
he will also put more emphasis on teachers' training.
16. The
Committee is concerned that the provisions of the Penal Code
relating to protection against sexual abuse, which provide no
safeguard for the protection of boy victims, are inconsistent
with the principles and provisions of the Convention.
The
Criminal Code has indeed been amended. Few cases of boy
victims are reported. More awareness programmes are needed to
address this issue. In a reported case, the OC realised that
when a mother learnt about a case of sodomy on her son, she
blamed him and even hit him before she understood that she had
to report and help the child. A case of a 4-year old boy
sexually abused by his mother has recently been reported to
the OCO.
17.
Although the employment of children is governed by the 1975
Labour Act which prohibits the employment of children under
15, the Committee notes with deep concern that the 1990 census
confirms the existence of working children, in particular on
the island of Rodrigues where child labour is common.
Child
labour will hopefully disappear for the
Island of
Mauritius
now that secondary education is compulsory until age 16. In
fact, the OC has asked for a harmonisation of the labour law
with this decision to make the minimum age for work 16.
The Island
of Rodrigues now has acquired the status of an autonomous
region. The OC can and does investigate cases in Rodrigues.
During a visit to Rodrigues, the OC discussed this question
with both the Rodrigues Assembly and the NGOs.
It is felt
that with the recent development of the Region, child labour
which consists of helping families in fields and to look after
animal rearing or acting as street-vendors will in fact
diminish. The OC has met children everywhere in Rodrigues and
spoken to them of their rights as per the CRC. More definitely
needs to done and the OC will advise that there should be
greater dialogue between the authorities of both islands.
However, it
appears that there are no cases of the worst forms of child
labour except Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC)
on both islands and some Rodriguans coming to Mauritius are
facing financial problems and indulging in prostitution. The
new Government has promised to tackle the CSEC with more
vigour.
18. The
Committee is concerned by the reported increase in child
abuse, including infanticide, domestic violence and child
prostitution and the lack of adequate measures for the
psycho-social recovery of child victims of such abuse.
Child abuse
is treated in more detail later in the report.
As regards
infanticide, the OC believes that this is linked to the fact
that abortion is illegal and adoption is not seen as a
solution by all pregnant mothers, the more so as there is a
failure to have a clear policy on this issue. Back street
abortion and fatal deaths of mothers is also a concern.
As regards
child prostitution, there have been two reports on the subject
in 2000 and 2002 respectively. This is explained later.
Regarding
psycho-social recovery, the OC shares the concern of the
Committee. The Ministry has eight officers of a Child
Development Unit (CDU) to cater for a population of 350,000
children in
Mauritius
and 10,000 in Rodrigues. The CDU just revealed that for
January to May 2005, 1505 cases were reported. Almost 300 of
these came from the OCO which has had from December 2003 (as
soon as the OC was nominated) to date 659 cases reported.
(Hopefully, basic data will be available in October).
The Child
Welfare Officers, who used to be more numerous (11), are now
being asked to cater for women's problems as well. 17 more
were interviewed recently. They all had Diplomas in Social
Work (BSC) but since the salary offered is only Rs 8,000 none
of them agreed to take on the job as the hours of work are
long and odd and the job is very demanding. A Clerical Officer
who works from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. earns Rs 7,500. The Ministry
must review the recruitment policy.
There used
to be two Child Protection Units (CPU) in the island where the
CDU officers are assisted by an officer of the police. In 1998
there was training for trainers on Child Protection organized
by the MWRCDFW, Soroptimist and UNICEF for about 25
participants from different ministries, Police department.
The output of the training conducted by Officers from the
Durham Constabulary was to provide officers with skills needed
when interviewing children and encourage these skills to be
used within a multidisciplinary approach to investigation.
The Stepwise Approach offers a structure for planning and
conducting interviews so that the maximum information can be
achieved with the least trauma to the child. This training
was followed by a more intensive training run by an
international consultant in 2000 and the Child Protection Unit
was set up in 2002. The Child Protection Unit enables the
Child Welfare Officer and the Police Officer to work in
cooperation. The Child Welfare Officer determines whether the
child needs protection while the Police officer determines
whether a crime has been committed. But both officers have
the child as their central concern while acting from different
angles in seeking to protect him/her.
The CPU has
been dismantled and been converted into a Family Support
bureau with a completely different focus. No respect for the
best interest of the Child is possible in such a different
approach.
There is
only a coordination at the Head Office of the CDU, which is
lodged at the Ministry of Women’s Rights, Child Development,
Family Welfare and Consumer Protection. But this Unit is
completely understaffed and overwhelmed.
There is no
independent monitoring which in fact means that it is the OCO
which monitors the cases that it refers, but the other cases
are NEVER monitored! Through the efforts to monitor the cases
referred, it is now clear that the protection efforts in fact
only amount to removing and placing children. There is little
time or capacity to follow up to ensure that children are
being taken care of properly and are "healing" and recovering
psychologically. The Ministry does provide psychological
assistance but only three are available for the CDU and they
are of course overbooked and do not just concentrate on
children’s problems but also on women’s problems, whether or
not these affect children. The terms of employment are not
attractive and the best psychologists prefer to work in
private pratice. The OCO refers children to private
psychologists if their family can afford to disburse for a
proper long-term therapy. Children are also seen by a
psychologist of the Probation and Aftercare Service who cannot
however undertake any therapy as such.
The OC is
in favour of a total restructuring of the Protection Services
which should not be part of the Ministry, which should
concentrate on policy-making, facilitating and monitoring.
19.
While noting with appreciation the establishment of the
National Adoption Council, the Committee is concerned about
the insufficient safeguards to protect fully the rights of
children in the process of international adoption.
Mauritius
acceded to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and
Cooperation in respect of Intercountry Adoption on
28th September 1998,
which has neither been domesticated nor implemented fully. The
OC has drawn the attention of Government on this issue and a
Central Authority will be designated soon. The OC is convinced
that the problems lies with the fact that the National
Adoption Council which used to be under the jurisdiction of
the then Ministry of Women’s Rights, Child Development and
Family Welfare has been transferred to the Prime Minister's
Office where this issue may not have been a priority. The
National Adoption Council Act needs to be reviewed to
incorporate the provisions of the Hague Convention and the CRC.
The law on adoption in general needs to be reviewed as at
present there is a vacuum since only foreign adopters are
screened by the NAC. But no institution really deals with
children who could be adopted. They are neither identified as
such, nor are they registered systematically. At the most,
they are placed. The OC has been advocating change for over a
year.
(See Annex
II)
20. The
situation in relation to the administration of juvenile
justice and, in particular, its lack of compatibility with
articles 37, 39 and 40 of the Convention, as well as other
relevant international standards, is a matter of concern to
the Committee.
There is
consensus in the legal profession, amongst human rights
activists and even in the judiciary that the administration of
juvenile justice must be reviewed both for children authors
and victims of crime. The criminal and civil aspects are
sometimes intertwined. The civil aspects should be dealt with
by the projected Family Court.
The report
commissioned by Government was never analysed and seems to
have been shelved.
Magistrates
of District Courts acting as Juvenile Judges have no specific
training and no time to deal with cases with the diligency and
care needed. Although minors are taken separately before them
these minors are not really properly assisted.
The OC
invited two French "juges des enfants" to deliver a
talk on their work. Judges, Magistrates, lawyers, officers of
various Ministries including the Attorney-General's Office,
the Police Force specially from the Brigade de la Protection
des Mineurs and CDU officers attended the talk which had the
merit of showing how these judges' task really starts when
they take a decision, how they follow up the minor's placement
regularly and how they only have recourse to imprisonment as a
last resort. The talk made a lot of impact and was widely
covered by the press. Many other models exist. Mauritius will
have to take a decision soon.
Suggestions and recommendations
Most of the
suggestions and recommendations have been dealt with in the
report later. The OC has noted all the suggestions and
recommendations made by the Committee and will ensure that
progress is made on each one of them.
21. Re withdrawing of reservation
In the spirit of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of
Action, adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights in
June 1993, in which States were urged to withdraw reservations
to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Committee
wishes to encourage the State party to take steps to withdraw
its reservation to article 22 of the Convention.
The
reservation has now been withdrawn -
22. Re Domestication of the Convention and Institutional framework
to promote and protect Human Rights in general and the rights
of the Child in particular
The
Committee recommends that legislative measures be undertaken
to ensure that national legislation conforms with the
provisions of the Convention. The Committee encourages the
State party to pursue its efforts to strengthen the
institutional framework designed to promote and protect human
rights in general and the rights of the child in particular.
The
Commission may wish to note that:
1.
A National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was set up.
2.
A Sex Discrimination Division of the NHRC was set up.
3.
An Independent Ombudsperson for Children Office was set up in
December 2003.
The three
National Human Rights Institutions work in close
collaboration. The CRC has not been domesticated but several
articles have been included in the domestic legislation.
This is
further developed in the present Report later.
23. Re coordination of various government mechanisms
The
Committee recommends that the State party strengthen
coordination between the various governmental mechanisms
involved in children's rights, at both the national and local
levels, with a view to developing a comprehensive policy on
children and ensuring effective evaluation of the
implementation of the Convention in the country.
The
National Policy of May 2003 and the National Plan of Action of
March 2004 were efforts made in this respect. Implementation
has not been very effective however.
24. Re data collection
The
Committee also recommends that the State party give priority
attention to the development of a system of data collection
and to the identification of appropriate disaggregated
indicators with a view to addressing all areas of the
Convention and all groups of children in society. Such
mechanisms can playa vital role in systematically monitoring
the status of children and evaluating progress achieved and
the difficulties hampering the realization of children's
rights for all groups. They can be used as a basis for
designing programmes to improve the situation of children,
particularly those belonging to the most disadvantaged groups,
including disabled children, children born out of wedlock,
children ill-treated and abused within the family, children
who are victims of sexual exploitation, and children who are
forced to live and/or work in the streets in order to survive.
It is further suggested that the State party request
international cooperation in this regard.
See page 4
Supra
25. Establishment of independent mechanism
The Committee encourages the State party to consider the
establishment of an independent mechanism, such as an
Ombudsperson for the rights of the child.
The very
positive decision is, of course, the setting-up of the OCO
itself. The country prides itself at being the first African
country to have set up such an independent office. Before it
can really present it as a model to other countries, the OCO
would need to be reinforced in terms of budget and staff
(including the possibility to take experts on contract).
In terms of
its independence, the OCO has cut off all administrative and
financial ties with the Ministry of Women’s Rights, Child
Development, Family Welfare and Consumer Protection and is
respected by all institutions and associations. It is gaining
in visibility because of the vibrant quality of the press in
Mauritius. It is in fact quite overwhelmed with individual
complaints and requests for talks and training sessions by
NGOs as well as studies on burning issues and recommendations
to appropriate authorities. The OC is also very often
questioned by the press on various issues concerning children.
One of the
objectives of the OCO is to promote compliance of the CRC.
(See Annex I on the law and an analysis of the powers and
function of the OC)
26. Re adequate distribution of resources:
The
Committee encourages the Government of
Mauritius to pay particular attention to the full implementation of article 4 of
the Convention and to ensure adequate distribution of
resources at both central and local levels. Budget allocations
for the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights
should lie ensured to the maximum extent of available
resources and in the light of the best interests of the child.
Resources
for the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights
are unfortunately never adequate anywhere. But when the
economy is buoyant, the disparities are less obvious and the
feeling of marginalization not so strong. Unfortunately for
Mauritius, after a period of rapid development in the 80s and
facing the inevitable difficulties of globalization which has
negative effects on its sugar and textile sectors, the
prospects are not so bright. The impact on the lower classes
is very harsh and women and children are the first to suffer.
This is further developed later.
27. Re permanent information campaign on the CRC
The
Committee recommends that the State party launch a permanent
information campaign, for both children and adults, on the
Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Government should
consider incorporating the Convention in school curricula and
take appropriate measures to facilitate access by children to
information produced for them. The Committee suggests that the
State party develop a comprehensive training programme for
professional groups such as teachers, social workers, doctors,
law enforcement personnel and immigration officers. Police
officers must be specially trained to deal with child abuse
and neglect.
Information campaign on the CRC, the questions relating to
awareness campaigns, rights, educations and training of
professional are dealt with in detail later.
28. Re impact of malnutrition on child development and
school drop-out
The Committee encourages the State party to undertake a
comprehensive study on the impact of malnutrition on child
development in connection with school drop-out and child
labour, and to take all appropriate measures to address this
problem. International cooperation could be requested to
achieve this task and consideration should be given to the
strengthening of cooperation with the International Labour
Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
It is also recommended that the State party encourage and
support the establishment of day-care centres at workplaces,
to enable children of working mothers to benefit from a
healthy development.
No such
comprehensive study has taken place but the Government has
introduced a food programme in special primary schools that
were introduced in several deprived areas called "Zone
d'éducation prioritaire" (ZEP).
The
Ministry of Women’s Rights, Child Development and Family
Welfare and the National Children's Council have launched a
Campaign on obesity last year and there are several awareness
programmes on nutrition on radio and television. The question
of daycare centres at workplaces has been on the agenda of
Trade Unions and Human Rights activists for several decades,
in vain.
29. Re global study on the quality of education
The Committee recommends that a global study on the quality
of the education system be made. In the light of article 2 of
the Convention, the Committee also recommends that the State
party take all necessary measures to fight school drop-out and
to prevent child labour. Measures should be taken to prevent a
rise in discriminatory attitudes or prejudice towards girl
children and children belonging to minority groups. It is also
suggested that sexual education be included in school
curricula. It recommends that comprehensive studies be
initiated on these important issues to provide better
understanding of these phenomena and facilitate the
elaboration of policies and programmes to combat them
effectively.
On the
education reform - see supra page 7 (Comments on conclusion
15). Regarding discrimination at school, it is obvious that
such discrimination is more common against children on a class
basis rather than on gender or ethnic considerations. Girls
from the bourgeoisie from whichever ethnic backgrounds are in
fact doing better than boys from the same backgrounds or from
girls and boys born in poor families.
Of course,
it is common knowledge that poverty does affect some “ethnic
groups” more than others and possibly this is due to
historical and sociological reasons that are difficult for us
to explain at this stage. An excellent study of the MRC on the
Social Fabric which was made public in 1999 addresses this
issue frankly and quite comprehensively. “Mauritius
has reached aggregates of income that places it in a middle
high income category of countries”. However “the
socio-economic vulnerability of people subsisting at the lower
end of the income spectrum is not yet reduced……. The social
fabric is at stake when poverty that is localized and area
specific also happens to be “community” specific – the feeling
of marginalization amongst the poor takes ethnic
connotations”.
The
Convention has been ratified - see infra page 9 (Comments on
conclusion 19)
The issue
of discrimination is dealt with more extensively in the report
later.
Re. sexual
education at school, unfortunately there has been no decision
to introduce sexual education.
30. Re
ratification of Hague Convention on intercountry adoption
The
Committee also recommends that, in order fully to protect the
rights of the child in adoption procedures, the State party
consider ratifying the Hague Convention on Protection of
Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption
(1993).
Mauritius
acceded to the Convention on 28th September 1998 but has not domesticated the Convention yet.
31. Re
struggle against child abuse, corporal punishment, child
labour, etc…
In the
light of articles 19, 34 and 35 of the Convention, the
Committee encourages the State party to take all appropriate
measures to prevent and combat ill-treatment of children,
including child abuse within the family, corporal punishment,
child labour and the sexual exploitation of children,
including victims of sexual tourism. The Committee also
recommends that the Penal Code be amended in the light of the
Convention. Further measures should be taken with a view to
ensuring the physical and psychological recovery and
rehabilitation of the victims of abuse, neglect,
ill-treatment, violence or exploitation, in accordance with
article 39 of the Convention.
A law on
Child trafficking is being prepared by the Attorney-General’s
Office. The Criminal Code is going to be reviewed extensively
and this will be a proper time to take on board the various
parts of the CRC which require to be specifically integrated.
The OC is already discussing with NGOs, experts, lawyers and
Magistrates to make a comprehensive recommendation to the
Attorney-General. Some proposals had already been made by the
Task Force set up by the previous Government. Other issues are
treated in detail in the Report later.
32. Re
reform of Juvenile Offenders Act
The
Committee recommends that the State party envisage undertaking
a comprehensive reform of the Juvenile Offender Act in the
spirit of the Convention, in particular articles 37, 39 and
40, and of other United Nations standards in this field, such
as the "Beijing Rules", the "Riyadh Guidelines" and the United
Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of
their Liberty. Particular attention should be paid to
considering deprivation of liberty only as a measure of last
resort and for the shortest possible period, to protecting the
rights of children deprived of their liberty, to due process
of law and to the full independence and impartiality of the
judiciary. Training programmes on the relevant international
standards should be organized for all professionals involved
with the juvenile justice system. The Committee also
recommends that the penal law be amended so that adults having
sexual intercourse with boys under 16 be considered as a
criminal act. The Committee further suggests that the State
party consider seeking technical assistance for this purpose
from the High Commissioner for Human Rights/Centre for Human
Rights and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division
of the United Nations.
Although
Government has not sought technical assistance from the United
Nations organizations and specialised centres, it has
commissioned two reports from experts from overseas and has
taken some measures in response to the proposals made.
Training is definitely needed and the OC will seek the help of
the UN experts to organise this training for all those
concerned. A Conference by two French “juges des enfants”
was organized by the OC last year on the subject “La
justice et les mineurs en
France”.
It targeted professionals and policy makers.
33. Re
wide distribution of Report and other related information to
CRC Committee
Finally,
in the, light of article 44, paragraph 6, of the Convention,
the Committee recommends that the initial report and written
replies presented by Mauritius 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 thereon by the Committee. Such
a document should be widely distributed in order to generate
debate and awareness of the Convention, its implementation and
monitoring within the Government, the Parliament and the
general public, including concerned non-governmental
organizations.
Unfortunately, there has been little publicity. Although the
report can be accessed by those who really want to read it, it
is clear that the spirit of article 44 is to make it known
“widely”. Now that there is an OCO, the exercise might be
facilitated and Government could be convinced to adopt a more
positive attitude, looking forward rather than feel attacked.
The OC
proposes to start discussions with Government on how best to
publicise the report. The easiest way is to make it available
on the website. Of course, as it is very specialized, one
cannot expect ordinary citizens, or even journalists who have
no specific training, to understand all the implications. The
OC will therefore take the responsibility, as an independent
institution, to present all this information in a
reader-friendly way and issue by issue. Some of this can also
find its way in a book on the Prevention of Violence which is
in preparation at the OCO.
Part II
SECTION
I
GENERAL
MEASURES FOR IMPLEMENTATION
(Articles
4, 42, 44(6))
A. Measures taken to harmonize national legislation and policy
with the provisions of the Convention
Article 4
States Parties shall undertake all appropriate legislative,
administrative, and other measures for the implementation of
the Rights recognized in the present Convention. With regard
to economic, social and cultural rights, States Parties shall
undertake such measures to the maximum extent of their
available resources and, where needed, within the framework of
international co-operation.
The protection of the Child (Miscellaneous Protection) Act
1998 did go a long way to harmonising the Legislation with the
CRC.
Regarding the amendments to the Criminal Code, the OC
explains later in the report the difficulties of law
enforcement as there seems to be resistance with the fact that
such civil matters have been criminalised. The OC is in favour
of a Child Act to ensure that all the rights are guaranteed.
This is explained in greater detail in different parts of the
present Report.
Mauritius
is no longer considered as a country that needs traditional
foreign aid. The kind of aid available and which concerns
children is only on some small projects. NGOs continue to
benefit from aid. At this stage, the OCO is not equipped to
make a real assessment of the situation but two very important
sectors which concern children directly are benefiting from a
huge budget: education and health.
B. The Status of the Convention in Domestic Law
The Civil Code does NOT state that if there is a conflict
between National Legislation and the Convention, the best
interest of the child must be respected. In
Mauritius
treaties that have not been domesticated do not apply as
such. Judges may bear general principles in mind and they do
refer to this overriding principle all the time when there is
a litigation involving a child. This, to our mind, is not
sufficient as it leaves the door open to different
interpretations by different judges on various issues.
Article 41
Nothing in the present Convention shall affect any
provisions which are more conducive to the realization of the
rights of the child and which may be contained in:
(a) The law of a State party; or
(b) International law in force for that State.
Remedies available in case of violation of the Convention
No legal remedy is available. However since the setting up
of the OCO, the law provides for the OC to "initiate an
investigation whenever the OC considers that there has been or
is likely to be, a violation of the rights of a child."
Section 5 of the OCA 2003 sets out the objects as follows:-
"(a) ensure that the rights, needs and interests of
children are given full consideration by public bodies,
private authorities, individuals and association of
individuals;
(b) promote the rights and best interests of children;
(c) promote compliance with the Convention".
The Definition of Convention is the CRC.
The OC in fact investigates all violations of the Rights of
the Child according to the CRC. She cannot find legal
solutions but she can propose amendments or laws. In fact it
is her duty to do so to ensure compliance with the CRC.
Comprehensive National Strategy
The greatest challenge is that any such strategy must be
sustainable even if there is a change of Government. The OC
has said publicly several times that she would like the
question of Children's Rights NOT to be politicised.
Institutional mechanisms
It is the OC's personal opinion that the MWRCDFWCP should
be restructured and should remain a facilitator and
coordinator and not a service provider. It would then be more
able to concentrate on policy making and strategy development.
Indeed if there were a Women's Bureau, a Children's Rights
Bureau, etc... these institutional mechanisms would be more
permanent and carry on building and reinforcing over years,
decades etc.... The people who would mann the Bureaux would
accumulate knowledge and experience and be the "memory" even
though changes take place at the Ministry itself. Further one
would ensure that they receive the proper training and become
professionals as is the case in the Health Sector of the
Education Sector for example.
As it is the Ministry is doing its best to coordinate.
Unfortunately there are major weaknesses with the system
itself. Further, the interests of all the different units are
not the same and, resources being shared, thee are many
obstacles everyday. Children’s issues are not always a
priority.
For example the CPU is no longer concentrating on children
and does NOT put in practice what the officers had originally
learnt. New untrained persons are being recruited. Further
there are no audits or evaluation and the Ministry is forever
expanding.
True it is that the demand on the Ministry is exorbitant
and that the budget and staff never seem to suffice.
The National Children’s Council
The NCC has
a board which administers the Council. The functions of the
board are to:
(a) advise
the Minister on policy development and legislation concerning
child welfare;
(b)
determine the areas in which children's rights and welfare may
be improved and propose appropriate remedial measures;
(c)
identify, develop and promote good practice in matters
pertaining to child survival, development and protection from
across all disciplines;
(d)
commission and undertake research and collect data on
child-related issues and work from an evidence-based
perspective;
(e) set up
a knowledge and documentation centre on child-related issues
and disseminate information on children's issues to
professionals, policy makers, parents, children and society at
large;
(f) ensure
that the rights of children are taken into account by public
bodies and other organisations dealing with children;
(g) assist
children who are charged with a criminal offence so that they
may benefit from a fair trial and, if convicted, are dealt
with in accordance with the provisions of the Convention on
the Rights of the Child;
(h)
establish links with organisations working for children in
Mauritius and abroad; and
(i)
perform such other functions as are conducive to the objects
of the Council.
In
furtherance of one of the major objectives of the NCC to
“promote activities for the welfare of Children in line with
the CRC”, the NCC has created 24 kids and teens clubs
islandwide directly managed by the Council and 15 such clubs
managed by Community based organizations and NGOs affiliated
with the NCC. Activities are organized regularly.
Unfortunately, however the plan to set up a National
Children’s Committee to participate fully at national
decision-making level is still not set up two years after the
law provided for such a Committee. From 2001-2003, the NCC was
managing the child info database, but the MWRCD transferred it
back to the Ministry. Nothing much is known on this database.
The
research project commissioned in 2001 by the Council on
“Abused Children in placement in shelters and other children
who have left” has been communicated to the Ministry but to no
avail whatsoever.
Since 2001, a knowledge and documentation centre has been
set up at the seat of the NCC but very little publicity is
made on such a presumably interesting collection of documents
received specially when UNICEF left
Mauritius
in 2003.
All the areas for improvement have indeed been identified
for the NCC and it still has no autonomy and is not bringing
much added value to the field of Child Protection.
Civil participation
More can be done in this area. The NCC should be more
dynamic in its relation with NGOs, some of which are so expert
and professional that they cannot be treated as those who need
help and support but more as consultants.
The OC continuously proposes a greater synergy between
State and non state actors and a greater involvement of
ordinary citizens for example through the mentoring (see Annex
II).
Article 1 Section II
- DEFINITION OF THE CHILD
Article 1
For the purposes of the present Convention, a child means
every human being below the age of eighteen years unless under
the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.
Unfortunately, the definition of the term "child" is still the
same as that of minor and the concept of the child being an
"unmarried” person under the age of 18 has not been changed.
The only
law which refers to the child as being "a person under the age
of 18" is the Ombudsperson for Children Act 2003 (OCA). The OC
had to insist on that definition at the stage of preparation
of the law, as she was consulted. She explained that if a
child (usually) a girl is married it may be done against her
real consent and that child can also be abandoned by her
husband before attaining her majority and may need
protection.
Legal
counselling without parental consent
The OCA
2003 provides that "The OC shall not investigate any case
which is pending before any court but may refer any child
involved in such a case to the Ministry for advice, assistance
or counselling". Even if parents do not agree, and specially
if they are perpetrators, the legal advisers of the Ministry
would give a child advice.
Lodging
complaints and seeking redress
The OCA
2003 provides that the OC shall "investigate complaints made
by a child, or any other person, in relation to the rights of
any child". (see law annexed at Annex I).
The age of
marriage
The OC also
regrets that though the age of marriage is still 18, it is
possible with parental consent to marry at 16. Of course, more
often this applies to girls and parental consent in fact means
parental pressure.
The OC has
had to deal with the case of a Muslim girl aged 17 who fugued
from her home so that she would not have to marry against her
will. She kept in contact by telephone with the OC and the
Brigade des Mineurs until she was 18 years and then she
returned safely.
Age of
consent for sexual intercourse
The age of
consent is indeed 16 which is also in fact the age of marriage
with parental consent.
However,
the age of consent for any other form of sexual activity is
12. The OC is in favour of reviewing the Criminal Code as far
as sexual offences are concerned and more particularly to
redefine the term "consent", "sexual intercourse" and "rape".
Discussions have taken place on this issue both with
Government and NGOs but there has been no implementation yet.
The new Government has announced that the Criminal Code (CC)
will be reviewed. The Ministry should ensure that all
provisions regarding children will be amended so that the CC
will comply with the Convention.
It must be
noted that the 1998 Amendment imposed minimum penalties for
cases concerning minors, but did not touch maximum penalties.
It also removed from Magistrates the discretion regarding
probation or conditional discharge. This was meant to show
that the legislator considered the offence more severely if
the abuse was against a minor.
Education
The
Minister of Education and Scientific Research announced
formally last year that education will be compulsory until the
age of 16 as from January 2006. This will only apply to
children already at school for a period of transition.
Work
The minimum
legal age for employment is 15 years. The Central Statistics
Office just published its Housing and Population Census in
June 2005 revealing that 760 children aged 12-14 years
reported having a job at the 2000 Census.
Criminal
responsibility
The
Criminal Code (Section 44) provides that an accused under 14
who acted without discernment will be acquitted but shall
"according to the circumstances. of his case, be handed over
to his relations or be placed for a number of years and up to
18 years maximum. If he acted with discernment he shall be
condemned to imprisonment in a reformatory for a specific
time.
The
Juvenile Offenders
The law
makes a difference between several terms and the treatment
afforded to different categories of offenders and offences
committed.
The age of
criminal responsibility is 14. A juvenile is a person under
18 (also definition of child and minor).
A young
person is a child between 14 and 18. (See supra, the comment
on conclusion 20).
Deprivation
of liberty
The OC has
drawn the attention of Government on the need to review the
whole issue of rehabilitation of children who are so-called
"uncontrollable" children by their parents and who end up in
the Rehabilitation Youth Centre (RYC). Often these children
return there and finally they are released after the age of
18. The Probation Officers follow them for a while but no
figures are available on any success rate, etc...
There are
only two Half Way Homes which cater for accommodation of 16-18
year olds and sometimes over to ensure that they do not fall
into prostitution or crime. One has been set up by the local
branch of an African Network for the Protection and Prevention
of Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN) which caters for girls
who come from the RYC, the Probation Home for Girls, Shelters
and other places of safety where children can only stay up to
18. This home bridges the gap between life inside an
institution and life in society. Inmates are taught life
skills and how to be socially competent and sometimes they are
employed at least in small jobs. The SOS Village also has a
half-way home scheme whereby youth move from their SOS family
home into a youth home at an age appropriate for their
development but not younger than 14 years of age. They are a
maximum of 8-12 youth living together managing their own
budgets and running their household. They are guided and
supported by a youth leader. The SOS Village also has
programmes to support 18-year olds ex inmate of the village
for three years to start in life.
Appearing
in court and participating in administrative and judicial
proceedings
Children
who are involved in Civil matters do not benefit from the
assistance of a legal adviser or defender. The amendment of
the Civil Code has not given results. This request has been
put in time and again. Even judges have specifically made such
proposals in their judgements.
As regards
seeking the views of the child, in cases of adoption too the
judge must consult any child above the age of 15.
The OC
would prefer a harmonisation. Judges should in fact consult
children even when they are below 10, depending on the issues
involved. The result is that in cases of custody and right of
visit and lodging, many children under ten refuse to adhere to
the court's judgement which then creates a lot of tension and
can even lead to violence, between ex-spouses which may even
involve the children directly or indirectly.
The
setting-up of a Family Court should contain provisions for
effective representation of children and consultation during
proceedings.
Creating
and joining associations
Youngsters
below 18 usually seek parental consent to join even
non-registered associations. But there are many children in
all kinds of associations whether to promote sports, leisure,
culture or to do social work.
The OCO has
launched a child network called "Budi's Friends" for children
aged 12-18. The main objective is to train them in Child
Rights so that they may teach others. They also listen to
children in their immediate environment and want to act as a
link with the OCO. These children are being trained to run
their network with a discreet support from the OCO. They come
from schools, other institutions, associations like the Scout
Movement. The project is expanding to children in rural
areas.
Choosing a
religion and attending school teaching
The OC
received one complaint from a father that his child was being
forced by his mother to accompany her to a "Sect". The father
had already lost his case of custody before the Supreme Court
and was not able to exercise his right of visit as the child
refused to see him. The OC asked for a psychological report.
It was very difficult to tackle this problem from a legal
point of view or even by using the Criminal Code which
provides for penalties for refusal of one parent to respect a
court order regarding such issues. The damage already done to
the child made it impossible to intervene any further. This
was also the opinion of the father.
Most minors
in fact adhere to their parents' religion and problems only
crop up if both parents are not of the same faith, which is
more and more common in Mauritius.
Consumption
of alcohol and other controlled substances
The CPA
1995 makes it illegal for any person to “sell any liquor, rum
or compounded spirits to a child” or to have access to
“licensed premises except a restaurant or hotel”.
The OC made
several recommendations in this respect: the formal
interdiction to sell alcoholic drinks together with other
drinks and foodstuffs but rather place them in controlled
areas of supermarkets or in specialised shops which would
permit greater control on sale as it is obvious that despite
the law interdicting sale of alcohol to minors, there is no
systematic check. Also a lot of awareness campaigns is needed
through school, clubs, community-based organisations or
through the press.
Re drugs:
Mauritius is unfortunately not drug-free and because it is an
open country it is an easy victim of drug traffickers. Control
at the airport and port is done with some results. Penalties,
even when they are high, do not seem to act as a deterrent.
This is further developed later.
General Principles
(articles 2,3,6,12)
A.
Non discrimination
Article 2
1. States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set
forth in the present Convention to each child within their
jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind, irrespective
of the child's or his or her parent's or legal guardian's
race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property,
disability, birth or other status.
2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to
ensure that the child is protected against all forms of
discrimination or punishment on the basis Of the status,
activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child's
parents, legal guardians, or family members.
It is
important here to take note that
(i)
Section 16(3) of the Constitution was amended to include the
term sex which was not in the list in this definition section
which covered "race, caste, place of origin, political
opinions, colour and creed". But the term "age" does not
appear in that list which is not open to other differences
like disability for example.
(ii)Section
16(4) of the Constitution still provides that protection from
discrimination does not apply with respect to "adoption,
marriage, divorce, burial, devolution of property on death or
other like matters that is the personal law applicable to
persons of that description".
As personal
laws do not apply in Mauritius the subsection is purely
academic at this stage. There have been several attempts by
various lobbies to have the subsection repealed, in vain but
also for obtaining the reintroduction of Muslim personal law.
Succeeding Governments have up to now not been able to remove
this "guarantee" from the Constitution on the premise that
this was a condition sine qua non which was discussed
and agreed to during Constitutional talks preceding the
Independence of the country in 1968. But the Human Rights
Committee having commented on this subsection, Section 16(4)
is therefore dormant. It is a highly sensitive political
issue.
In the
education sector a lot has been done to introduce inclusive
education. Government recently multiplied by ten its budget
for handicapped children.
The new
Government just introduced a free transport policy for
students to ensure that poverty is not a handicap for children
who need to attend school. This concerns one fourth of the
population.
A series of
measures have been introduced and more are forthcoming in
respect of poverty alleviation and the democratization of the
economy.
The Equal
Opportunities Act has always been on the Government agenda but
nothing has yet been done. The new Government has again
announced its intention to have same voted soon.
B.
Measures to reduce disparities
Health:
The new
Minister of Health and Quality of Life has introduced 17
measures to improve the welfare of the people in general. In
particular, he has introduced the following new measures in
favour of children:
•
In pediatric wards mothers accompanying children will be
accommodated and nourished free of charge.
•
Medical services are also now going to be provided in some
schools. The school screening programme will be extended to
preprimary schools and the first two years of secondary
schools. At present, it covers only primary schools. Special
school clinics in Area Health Centres are now open on
Saturdays for follow-up of children.
However,
the OC regrets that there has been no improvement concerning
services of psychologists in Primary/Secondary State schools
and private schools that receive subsidies from Government and
are registered under the Private Secondary Schools Authority.
Only one psychologist is available for one Zone comprising of
50 schools for both primary and secondary schools. There are
eight posts of psychologists that have been created. There are
still four vacancies because of very low salary and poor
conditions.
However,
schools that fall under the Bureau d'éducation catholique
have a better service. And private schools which are only
partially subsidised by the Government, or not subsidised at
all, have one psychologist available all the time or at least
once a week both at primary and secondary level. These schools
of course cater for richer families.
The OC has
already met the new Minister of Education and Human Resources
to impress upon him the need to offer such services more
adequately. The OC also suggested that schools be made
available to NGOs for Saturday-care classes, or activities for
vulnerable children.
Socio-economic
Unfortunately, Mauritius is going through a period of economic
crisis due mainly to the effects of globalization. The prices
for sugar being no longer guaranteed, the dismantling of the
multi-fibre agreement and the opening of markets have a
considerable negative impact on the country. This has come
rapidly and negotiations to counteract the damage are not
giving desired results. The immediate impact for the country
is unemployment with the closing of the several textile
factories in the Free Zone which permitted the economy to
reach a period of boom in the 80s. When planning ahead the
Government started to centralise the sugar industry and gave
workers the possibility to enter a voluntary retirement scheme
whereby they could also acquire land.
Housing
The problem
of housing is still very acute and there are still some slums
in some very poor areas. During the days preceding General
Elections in July 2005, some 257 persons squatted houses of
the National Housing Development Company (NHDC) that were not
completely ready for delivery to those persons who were on a
priority list. This gave rise to a big political, social and
economic crisis. The new Government is now faced with this
emergency and has promised to house most of the squatters
after a full enquiry on their situation before the squatting.
But, of
course, there are poor families who have been saving money
under a special scheme to accede to this type of social
housing. And there are many more waiting to get a decent
accommodation.
Disabled
children
Over and
above what has already been said, it is important to note that
great progress has recently been made for the deaf. A
Mauritian sign language has been codified. A dictionary of
this language has just been launched for use by every citizen
who would care to learn to communicate with the deaf. Some
primary school teachers will also be taught the language for a
gradual inclusion of deaf children in normal schools. This may
take several years to materialise if we are honest with
ourselves.
Illegitimate children
The only
children who could be considered as "excluded" are those born
of an incest. According to the Civil Code it is the mother who
declares the child. Sometimes someone else declares the child
and he/she enjoys the same rights as any other child of that
family. This is not legal and is so discreet that it is
impossible to detect since there is nothing to stop delivery
of a child at home. The Civil Status Office does not require a
certificate of delivery for the declaration of the child. This
needs to be revised because other problems may crop up.
The problem
that persists however relates to "abandoned" children who are
declared by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Women’s
Rights, Child Development, Family Welfare and Consumer
Protection. These children are unfortunately the victims of
the situation of their biological parents. (see Annex II on
"Chain of Services")
Non-nationals
The OCA
2003 refers specifically to non-nationals. The OC can start an
investigation concerning a foreign child who is in
Mauritius
if he/she is the subject of a violation of his/her rights.
There have been a few cases. The OC also collaborates with her
counterparts or other authorities to keep them informed of
such cases or for follow-up if the child is removed from
Mauritius.
It is also
important to note that since 1995, children who were born of
Mauritian mothers abroad now enjoy Mauritian nationality, even
if their father is not a citizen. Their protection is
therefore possible since the OC in fact also defends the
rights of Mauritian children even if they are abroad, which is
often the case specially of bi-nationals.
Street
Children
The
Ministry of Social Security through the Street Workers Project
has been training a group of street educators. They had to
detect and manage street children in Mauritius.
The
Ministry of Social Security with the financial and logistic
help from the Ministry of Women’s Rights, Child Development,
Family Welfare and Consumer Protection, the Trust Fund for the
Social Integration of Vulnerable Groups and UNICEF has been
able to train 15 street educators. The educators got alternate
training as from 2002 and after 1½ year of training by an NGO
from Réunion Island, they had to detect and manage street
children in Mauritius, who have been identified and can be
classified in four categories -
(1) Those who have no contact at all with their
relatives and live in the streets.
(2)
Those who roam around during the day but return to their
places at night.
(3)
Those who live in the streets and seldom return to their
places.
(4)
And those who are left alone with no proper adult supervision
at home.
Up to now,
the group of street educators have already met 1200 street
children. They are in permanent contact with 135 of them. 146
street children are closely monitored and are being taken care
of by the street educators. These street educators are
responsible for the rehabilitation and social integration of
these street children. They are being taught the social and
moral values.
First,
street educators try to gain their trust and only then can the
social integration process start. More than a hundred of
these children have been able to resume their schooling or
have started to work as mechanic, carpenter or painter.
The
Ombudsperson for Children’s Office works in close
collaboration with the street educators and refers cases to
them regularly. Street children are invited to participate in
projects like the 16 Days – 16 Rights Campaign.
The Girl
Child
One aspect
which the OC has been working on is the "teen-dating violence"
which affects teenage girls who get involved in sexual
relationships too early and most of the time out of ignorance
but also through the psychological pressure of their
boyfriends. It is in fact a "pattern of controlling behaviour"
that boys use to get power, as in Domestic Violence.
This form
of violence was almost unrecognised in
Mauritius.
Now girls are being made aware of this problem, of their right
to say no and how to deal with the problem. Boys are also
included in discussions on this issue as well as the danger of
teenage pregnancy both for the young mothers and their
children. The child network Budi's Friends is working on this
issue amongst other issues on Violence against Children. The
Mauritius Family Planning Association (MFPA) is doing a great
job in this field.
Since the
Constitution does not refer specifically to children's
personal liberties and fundamental freedoms, families continue
to discriminate against girls on a private basis. A Sex
Discrimination Act has been voted.
Eliminating
racism, ethnic hatred and xenophobia
Unfortunately the EDEV programme mentioned in the Government
report has not been pursued after the departure of UNICEF. All
the training is however not wasted if the new Government
decides to reintroduce the project.
Mauritius
being a plural society, a lot is done to preserve peace and to
prevent all forms of racism. The Constitution provides for non
discrimination on the basis of race, caste, sex, colour, creed
and place of origin. This only means that no law can contain
any such discriminatory provision and no civil servant can act
in discriminatory fashion. The law criminalises "stirring up
racial hatred", "disturbing religious ceremony", "outrage on
religious worship", "assaulting and outraging minister of
religion", "outrage against public and religious morality".
The OCO has
organised a training on Conflict Management for 50 public
officers and 20 NGOs as well as the staff of the OCO. The
objective was that those trained would influence
decision-making in their respective departments as well as use
the techniques learnt. This concerned all forms of conflict
but also those based on ethnicity.
A recent
judgement of the Supreme Court on the possibility for
candidates to a General Elections not to declare to
which Community he/she belongs, has made a breakthrough in
what was considered by many Mauritians as an institutionalised
form of racism called "Communalism" in Mauritius. This
judgement definitely has an impact on Mauritian society and
young people. The case was entered by a new political party
composed of very young candidates, some of whom are very
involved with NGOs working with children to reintegrate them.
It is difficult to say at this stage whether the "Best loser"
system which is partly based on ethnic representation will
disappear as soon as there is any electoral reform. The impact
of the judgement is more psychological at this stage.
Protecting
the child against all forms of discrimination and punishment
Non
discrimination against children must be specifically enshrined
in the Constitution and/or the new Child Act.
The OC has
proposed to Government to amend both the Criminal Code and the
Education Act to ensure that corporal punishment (Cp) is
criminalised. It is important to include prohibition of Cp in
families, alternative Residential Care and Detention Centres
as well as schools. As it is, only the Education Regulations
of 1957 provide that "No corporal punishment shall be
inflicted on any pupil in any school."
•
It does not define the term, which of course should include
humiliation imposed on slow learners, vulnerable children,
poor and disadvantaged children, etc… Nor does it provide
rules for independent enquiries in cases reported. The OCO has
received many complaints which have been referred to the
Ministry of Education and Scientific Research. But most of the
time, the teachers are either "found" not guilty or they have
not been sanctioned as they ask to be forgiven and find some
sort of arrangement with the parents. The latter are often
torn between removing their child from the school in question
or "forgiving" the teacher in order not to penalise the child.
The matter has been raised with the new Minister.
•
There should be a proper independent mechanism. Even if in
some isolated cases, a mediation may be possible, the rules
must define in which circumstances this is a desirable method.
The OCO invited officers of the Ministry of Education and
Scientific Research to attend the courses offered on Conflict
and Anger Management. New proposals have been made to the
Minister on the subject. During the National Campaign on
Prevention of Violence against Children which was launched on
19th November 2004 and will last a whole year, a lot of
emphasis is being placed on Cp.
C.
Best interest of the child (article 3)
Article 3
1. In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken
by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of
law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the
best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.
2. States Parties undertake to ensure the child such
protection and care as is necessary for his or her well~being,
taking into account the rights and duties of his or her
parents, legal guardians, or other individuals legally
responsible for him or her, and, to this end, shall take all
appropriate legislative and administrative measures.
3. States Parties shall ensure that the institutions,
services and facilities responsible for the care or protection
of children shall conform with the standards established by
competent authorities, particularly in the areas of safety,
health, in the number and suitability of their staff, as well
as competent supervision.
Family life
•
It is only in the case of divorce, separation and adoption
that the law mentions the principle. Nothing is said
specifically regarding the exercise of parental authority
though the articles of the Civil Code pertaining to the causes
for losing such authority clearly shows that parents need to
act in the best interests of their children.
•
Judges usually bear the principle in mind when there is a
litigation.
•
The OC has, on several occasions, drawn the attention of the
Ministry of Women’s Rights, Child Development and Family
Welfare to the fact that there is never any case where
parental authority is withdrawn. Abandoned children are
therefore not recognised as such legally (see Annex II on
Chain of Services).
School life
•
The OC has drawn the attention of both the Ministry of Women’s
Rights, Child Development, and Family Welfare and the Ministry
of Education and Scientific Research that there should be
supervisors in the precincts of the school before and after
children get into the classroom and during breaks. This would
reduce bullying and violence in general. The proposal has been
reiterated to the new Ministers.
•
A proposal to keep children inside, until their school bus
arrives, has also been made as children are often seen running
around in the streets and are at risk of accident. Demands for
some more psychologists and counsellors have again been
reiterated including by the Children's network "Budi's
Friends", during a recent workshop, in the presence of
officers of both Ministries concerned.
•
It is obvious from the investigations held that whenever
there are cases of Cp or ill-treatment at school, the best
interest of the child does NOT prevail. Other considerations
like the feelings of teachers, trade unions and other parents
are predominant.
Budgetary
allocation
•
Some of the programmes directly concerned with Protection are
not receiving a reasonable budget. Last year there were
budgetary cuts because of the economic crisis.
•
The OC has tried to discuss with officials of the Ministry of
Finance to present an analysis of how much of the budget in
fact goes to children. This proposal needs to be renewed.
•
The OCO itself is not financed in such a way that it can fully
discharge its duties. There is no staff for doing research and
writing reports. There are three investigators who help the OC
occasionally with writing reports and organising awareness
campaigns.
•
The Child Development Unit (CDU) of the Ministry of Women’s
Rights, Child Development, Family Welfare and Consumer
Protection is understaffed and even when they do follow-up
cases of children at risk, they have no time to report on
action taken to their own Ministry or to the OCO. Further, no
one can do serious analysis and monitoring.
•
However, a Prime Minister’s Children’s Fund has been set up
and is at present collecting funds, which are detaxed.
Regulations need to be approved to make the Fund work.
Adoption
The
National Adoption Council only deals with cases of
intercountry adoption and only for screening the applications
of foreigners. It has no say in applications made for adoption
by Mauritians whether regarding Mauritian children or foreign
children. However, judges do bear in mind the best interest of
the child when they are dealing with applications made before
the Supreme Court in general. Recently, an appeal judge agreed
to reverse a judgement given by one of his colleagues in
which, because of the inadequacy of the social report, a child
has been removed from the person who had been looking after
him for many years and to whom he was attached. This mobilised
great public attention.
The
proposal to set up an independent agency to give consent after
an adequate social report has been renewed by the OC to the
Minister. (See Annex II)
The placement and care of children in Mauritius
See Annex
II regarding this issue. Unfortunately, the whole system needs
to be reviewed as the principle of best interests of the child
is not always respected.
The
administration of juvenile justice
No progress
made in this field. There have been demands for a proper
juvenile court or at least a Family Court with a Civil and
Criminal Division. (See Annex VI for proposals)
The main
object of these proposals are to ensure that children in
conflict with the law as well as those who are concerned with
Civil proceedings be treated differently from adults.
There have
been proposals for training of police officers, lawyers and
judges and all those concerned with crimes against children or
involving children so that their rights and dignity are
respected. The proposals also include the presence of a
psychologist, of a legal representative of the child as well
as the use of video evidence to prevent unnecessary repetition
of depositions.
The new
Attorney-General has announced change in this field.
At present
the points of concern to the OC are:
1.
When juveniles come to the "Juvenile Court" which is in fact
the Chambers of Magistrates, they cannot be said to be
protected fully from the point of view of publicity. They may
not mix up with other prisoners but their attendance is open
and public until they enter the Chambers of the Magistrate.
2.
The Juvenile Court does not sit "on different days from those
on which sittings of another court", take place though S 6 of
the Juvenile Offenders Act (JOA) does provide for this.
3.
Section 7 provides for restrictions on reports. But in fact
newspapers do publish photographs and names of juveniles
accused as soon as they are suspected. The OC has in fact
written to the Editors in Chief on this issue providing them
with guidelines for reporting on child issues, including the
need for anonymity. Some have immediately reacted positively
but it has become clear that the Juvenile Offenders and Child
Protection Acts will have to be amended to provide better
protection.
4.
As regards the jurisdiction of Juvenile Courts, they are
restricted to certain offences only. But even they can inflict
on any young person imprisonment for up to one year and a fine
of Rs 1000.
5.
Age 14 is the age for criminal responsibility if the minor
acted with discernment according to the (Criminal Code (CC).
The JOA states in S 15(1) "A juvenile under the age of 14
shall not be ordered to be imprisoned or sentenced to penal
servitude for any offence, or be committed to prison in
default of payment of a fine, damages or costs".
6.
The offences for which a juvenile is not tried before a
juvenile court are offences against the State (Sections 50-76
CC) offences against the person relating to manslaughter and
murder (Sections 216-223 CC) as well as assault without
intention to kill but which nevertheless caused death (Section
228-3 CC).
Social
Security
The OC has
made the following proposals to the Minister of Social
Security,
National Solidarity & Senior Citizen Welfare & Reform
Institutions:
•
That social aid given for children should not be withheld if
their divorced or widowed mother has a new partner. The latter
does not always agree or is not always able to meet the needs
of the children. There is no legal obligation on him to do so.
•
That wheelchairs adapted to children be available
•
That hearing aids and other apparatus be made available to
children in a non-discriminate fashion and that the ceiling
for the means test be more reasonable as these are costly.
•
That Government urgently provides for overnight accommodation
and help to some categories of handicapped children who are
either rejected by their parents or need specialised
attention. At present, this seems to be difficult for lack of
funds. But it is the kind of project that could be done
through a public-private partnership. The Private Sector in
Mauritius is already involved in social work. Many companies
have funds which are distributed to NGOs for various social
and cultural projects. An alternative solution would be to
provide special space in hospitals for such cases.
Now that transport is free for all school children, the OC
will find out what are the possibilities for Government to
provide adequate transport for disabled children.
Protection, care and well-being of children
•
The OCO has been advocating a better support to families
through parental education and support through a family/child
mentoring system (see Annex II on Chain of Services)/ She has
also advocated a restructuring of the system to optimise
services, and use resources in a more “productive” manner
which would ensure real protection and rehabilitation.
Appropriate standards for institutions dealing with children
The Minister of Social Security, National Solidarity & Senior
Citizen Welfare & Reform Institutions has voted the
Residential Care Homes Regulations in 2005 which are
unfortunately not adapted to the specificity of children's
rights and needs.
The attention of the Ministry of Women’s Rights, Child
Development and Family Welfare had been drawn to this as it
sits on the Committee that drew up these Regulations. The new
Minister has recently organised a meeting with NGOs involved
with residential alternative care with a view to obtaining
their proposals. The OC has already made proposals regarding a
Government shelter which is supposed to accommodate children
who are at risk and who are the object of an Emergency
Protection Order. These children are supposed to be placed
there temporarily. But in fact they are kept for longer
periods. The said shelter houses girls but also boys up to the
age of ten with all the risks involved. One case of sexual
assault was reported recently. There is no separate
accommodation nor specific provision for handicapped children.
The shelter is catering for more than twice its capacity and
the level of services is very low indeed. Several religious
groups were having free access to that Shelter, to the
detriment of Children who may have been unduly influenced.
The OC confirms what was found in the "Study on Abused
Children in placement in shelters and other children who have
left", specially regarding the Government shelter. The shelter
is run by an NGO but there are still the same kinds of
problems which existed before:
1. Carers are not trained in child psychology and child
development.
2. The living conditions are not to the level required.
3. The children are not properly fed. Despite the explicit
need for a balanced diet, some carers
have seen the OC to say that food is NOT available.
4. The OC also noted that the level of hygiene is very low
and that all children would use the
clothes available rather than use their own clothes.
5. There is lack of proper control, including financial and
managerial.
6. Activities are merely routine and no rehabilitation is
taking place.
7. Children do spend a lot time watching television.
8. Activities and outings are rare.
9. Parental visits are very rarely organised and never at
the Shelter.
10. Children who have diverse behavioural problems as well as
those who are merely victims are all
mixed up.
11. Children with mental problems are sent to the Psychiatric
hospital but are often merely given
anti-depressants.
12. Medication was not properly controlled.
The OC also supports the findings that the problems are not
"tackled in a holistic manner" and that there is an absence of
policy/proper mechanism and a multi-disciplinary team to
devise a proper workplace for children victims of abuse".
The OC has made interim recommendations including the
setting-up of a Monitoring Committee. Such a Monitoring
Committee should include independent experts, which is not the
case, and should also be available to the whole sector of
Alternative Residential Care.
•
Regarding the Rehabilitation Youth Centre (RYC) for boys and
girls, the OC has also opened an investigation following a
case of physical abuse on an adolescent. The Government agreed
to have a full-fledged enquiry but this gave no results as
interviews of inmates were not believed and only some officers
were interviewed and they all obviously protected their
colleagues.
•
The OC has now studied two reports which were commissioned by
Government but have never been made public. These reports
contain several positive recommendations which will be renewed
to the new Government. The RYC has however moved from being
under "Prison" and the Prime Minister's Office to the
jurisdiction of the Ministry of Social Security and a brand
new building is housing inmates in a more adequate residence
and common rooms.
The other proposals are:
1. New alternatives to imprisonment. Now there is Community
Service.
2. Better training of personnel and overseas training of
senior management.
3. Introduction of open visit.
4. Introduction of paralegal surgeries on a voluntary basis
specially for remand prisoners.
5. Review of health care provision.
6. Improve better access for family, etc... and more
friendly.
7. More effort in preparing prisoners for release.
8. More interaction with the community.
Training professionals
The main problem with training of professionals in Mauritius
is that it is not done in a sustainable fashion. It appears
that the 1998 project was excellent but is NOT being
put into practice because of the volume of work and the
scarcity of human resources. New recruits are not trained
before they go on the field because they are specially taken
on board to reduce the pressure. Often, persons who are
trained change jobs. In the case of high cadre of Ministries,
none of them received specialised training in child issues.
They usually acquire knowledge with time but often they are
transferred to other Ministries. The main problem with the
Ministry is that there are no real professionals like at the
Ministries of Education, Housing, Finance, etc…..
The training offered by the OCO (see Annex VI) is of course
insufficient but we intend to touch more and more partners.
However, the practice of inviting other partners whenever a
training is organised by a Ministry or other institution
should be adopted by all. In fact, even NGOs organise
excellent training programmes which are available to many
partners including civil servants (example CEDEM). The
challenge then is to ensure that the training is relevant to
the trainee and that the persons trained are not transferred
to a department where this training would be irrelevant.
There must be a plan for training, for providing service, for
reporting and monitoring.
As part of their preventive campaign on domestic violence,
the MWRCDFW presented a booklet whose primary function was to
encourage children to discuss with the non-abusing parent the
ways in which they have experienced domestic violence and to
facilitate support to the child. Neither the advice of
psychologists nor that of persons involved with children was
sought. The OC drew the attention of the MWRCDFW, MESR on the
harmful effects of the booklet on children. The book was
launched but the project is frozen and no distribution to
schools has been made.
A training for trainers organized by the NCC, MWRCDFW and
UNICEF for 35 persons from different ministries, NGOs,
pre-primary, primary and secondary schools and Police was run
by an international consultant. The aim was to sensitize the
participants about their role as duty bearers with regards to
the CRC and to enable them to sensitise the maximum of
children about the CRC so as to help them protect themselves
against abuse. A training kit was given to participants during
the training.
D. The right to
life, survival and development (article 6)
Article 6
1. States Parties recognise that every child has the
inherent right to life.
2. States Parties shall ensure to the maximum extent
possible the survival and development of the child.
Right to life
Too many children have been victims of accidents and
negligence recently. A few are allegedly victims of
institutions specially health care but most children have just
been left unattended and have died in fire in their own homes,
in car, bus and lorry accidents in their own yards and even in
ponds and canals. Some have been victims of sexual abuse.
Cases are known because they are reported in the press. There
may be more cases of negligence which are not known.
For example, cases of shaken baby syndrome seem not to exist
if one goes by official statistics. In fact, the very concept
was totally ignored. The OCO is making a special effort to
disseminate information on this and the subject has been
raised with the Ministry of Health.
During the Campaign on the Prevention of Violence against
Children a lot of emphasis is laid on Child Neglect.
Registration of child mortality
The OC has suggested that this should be clearly provided for
in the new "Child Act" as the reasons are never quite clear.
E. RESPECT FOR THE VIEWS OF THE CHILD (Article 12)
Article 12
1. States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable
of forming his or her own views the right to express those
views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of
the child being given due weight in accordance with the age
and maturity of the child.
2. For this purpose, the child shall in particular be
provided the opportunity to be heard in any judicial and
administrative proceedings affecting the child, either
directly, or through a representative or an appropriate body,
in a manner consistent with the procedural rules of national
law.
Only the Divorce and Judicial Separation Act provides
specifically for consultation of children under ten by judges.
The National Children's Council Act 2003 provides that a
National Children's Committee shall be set up. However, the
Committee has not been set up yet as the Attorney-General's
Office has not yet prepared regulations. The OCO has set up
its children's network which is very free as children join in
voluntarily and there is no election or representation in
order to avoid getting children involved in power relations.
The "Budi's Friends" have already started expressing their
views among themselves, with other children aged 12 to 18,
even with younger children. They participate in forums,
debates, radio programmes. They are interviewed by the Press
and they give their views on Child Rights and Violence against
Children publicly. They have met children from the RYC and
Probation Homes and want to work with them regularly. They are
now preparing a Carnival on Peace and Non Violence. (See press
cuttings)
Family life
In fact, many parents do not know their role. Despite the
efforts to sensitise them, many parents are really lagging
behind. The Right of participation of the child will depend a
lot on his family background, their level of education, their
cultural background and religious beliefs.
A lot of effort is put by the Government sector and non State
actors to create gender awareness but discrimination still
persists. In some families, children do not express themselves
or are indeed forbidden to express their views at home. This
is also linked to the problem of non-empowerment of many women
and the patriarchal system. The boy child is favoured and may
even bully his sister/s even older than him.
In other families, children who are educated are in fact
teaching their parents the modern aspects of life in this
Century. For example, the fact that Mauritius has gone cyber
and is very open as far as modern technology goes, children
are teaching parents how to use cell phones, computers, etc...
Like in developed countries, this could be to the detriment of
dialogue within the family. Awareness campaigns address these
issues. During the 16 Days 16 Rights Campaign, the public
exhibitions are occasions for parents to learn about the right
of the child to express himself and the limits of such
expression. Parents are reacting by asking questions,
including during phone-in programmes on radio.
School life
There are Students Councils in most secondary schools, but
children interviewed feel that these are not open enough and
they are not really debating issues but are merely
"institutional".
The education system does not favour learning to be critical
but rather puts emphasis on mere accumulation of knowledge and
tight discipline. Debating clubs seem to have disappeared and
children are exam-oriented. But again this varies depending on
the commitment of the headteacher or teachers.
In some schools there are “Amnesty Clubs”. Some do social work
outside school hours. With the network “BUDI’S FRIENDS”, the
OC wants to create cells in as many schools as possible to
reach the children and empower them.
The administration of juvenile justice
The Reform Institutions Act provides that detainees may make a
complaint as to food, clothing, bedding, etc…. Adult detainees
may petition the President but not minors. The law provides
that the minors may be found guilty of a Rehabilitation Youth
Centre default but does not provide for the minor to be able
to express himself in such cases. The minors may make a
complaint to the OC when the OCO officers visit the RYC and
CYC or to members of the Board of Visitors. As for other
instances, the minor can express himself before the Magistrate
when he is being tried before the latter sitting as a Juvenile
Court. However, if the parents call to declare the child
"uncontrollable" it is not sure whether he is allowed to give
his version properly and matters are "expedited".
Placement
in institutional care
Children
placed are not consulted by Child Welfare 0fficers or
magistrates as there is no legal obligation to do so.
The right
of children to complain is indeed limited. Two NGOs are now
specialised in meeting the children in both Rehabilitation and
Correctional Youth Centres and they can refer complaints to
the OCO. They also see parents who are prisoners and
visit their children who are in institutions to make the link.
Section IV
Child Rights & Freedoms
(articles 7-8-3-17 & 37a)
Article 7
1. The child shall be registered immediately after birth
and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to
acquire a nationality and. as far as possible, the right to
know and be cared for by his or her parents.
2. States Parties shall ensure the implementation of these
rights in accordance with their national law and their
obligations under the relevant international instruments in
this field, in particular where the child would otherwise be
stateless.
Article 8
1. States Parties undertake to respect the right of the
child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality,
name and family relations as recognized by law without
unlawful interference.
2. Where a child is illegally deprived of some or all of
the elements of his or her identity, States Parties shall
provide appropriate assistance and protection, with a view to
re-establishing speedily his or her identity.
A
Name, Nationality & Preservation of Identity
•
Every child has the right to be declared, have a name and a
nationality. The greatest challenge is to detect
children who have not been declared and whose parents are
untraceable. When the Permanent Secretary undertakes to
proceed with a tardy declaration, this can take up to one year
or even more.
•
The OC has made proposals to reduce the delay at various
departments responsible for enquiry: the police, the
Attorney-General's 0ffice and the Ministry of Social Security.
The latter proceeds with an enquiry into the means of the
parents, if they are found, so that they can obtain legal aid.
As regards
nationality:
•
A child born of a Mauritian mother abroad can get nationality
even if the father is foreign since 1995. Children can now
have dual nationality.
•
Children, whose parents have acquired nationality under
certain sections of the law and not by descent, cannot acquire
nationality automatically. They must apply and it is at the
discretion of the Minister of the Interior (always the Prime
Minister in Mauritius).
•
Children, adopted by a Mauritian, become Mauritian.
- Section 6
provides that “the Minister may, in such special circumstances
as he thinks fit, cause any minor to be registered as a
citizen of Mauritius”. This leaves a very wide discretion to
the Minister of the Interior to register a refugee child, or
one who would otherwise be stateless.
The OC had
to deal with the case of a child born of foreign parents who
had acquired nationality by virtue of the law before 1995. The
parents of the child, then aged 12, had been asked to leave
Mauritius
at the end of their contract "along with their family." The
child has been brought up in Mauritius and her school seized
the OC who made a proposal to the Prime Minister and Minister
of the Interior to allow her to come back, at least with her
mother, until she could express her own choice and a foster
family could be found for her. The Prime Minister reversed his
decision. The OC also proposed that, in the future, before
such decisions are taken, the child should be consulted.
B.
Freedom of expression (article 13)
Article 13
1. The child shall have the right to freedom of expression;
this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers,
either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or
through any other media of the child's choice.
2. The exercise of this right may be subject to certain
restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by
law and are necessary:
(a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others; or
(b) For the protection of national security or of public
order (ordre public), or of public health or morals.
See supra
comments under article 12. None of the fundamental liberties
are guaranteed to children specifically since Section 3 of the
Constitution and section 16 do not refer to discrimination on
the basis of age. They are however guidelines as far as
children are concerned because they are guaranteed to every
citizen, presumably even if children are not full-fledged
citizens. The OC would prefer the description to be wider to
be in line with the International Covenants (ICCPR and ICESCR).
C.
Freedom of thought,
conscience and religion (Article 14)
Article 14
1. States Parties shall respect the right of the child to
freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
2. States Parties shall respect the rights and duties of
the parents and, when applicable, legal guardians, to provide
direction to the child in the exercise of his or her right in
a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child.
3. Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be
subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and
are necessary to protect public safety, order, health or
morals, or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.
See supra.
This right guaranteed by the Constitution is one of the most
cherished by Mauritians who are very attached to their
beliefs. For example, the dressing code is accepted and an
attempt to exclude two girls for wearing their headscarf (hijab)
was immediately reversed as even girls of the same school, but
who were not from the same faith, set up a demonstration.
Today no one will dare to comment negatively on the wearing of
a hijab or any other visible religious sign.
D.
Freedom of association
and peaceful assembly (article 15)
Article 15
1. States Parties recognize the rights of the child to
freedom of association and to freedom of peaceful assembly.
2. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of these
rights other than those imposed in conformity with the law and
which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests
of national security or public safety, public order (ordre
public), the protection of public health or morals or the
protection of the rights and freedoms of others.
The right
to assemble freely has been curtailed by the Prevention of
Terrorism Act, but in Mauritius, at present, this law, which
was "imposed" after the 11th September attacks, is dormant.
People
organize themselves and are forever demonstrating. The
question of “using” children in such demonstrations has once
been raised by the former Minister. But very quickly she
realized that there was a need to differentiate between
manipulation by adults and the right of participation of
mature children.
E.
Protection of Privacy
(article 16)
Article 16
1. No child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful
interference with his or her privacy, family, home or
correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his or her honour
and reputation.
2. The
child has the right to the protection of the law against such
interference or attacks.
The OC has
submitted guidelines to the Press on the need to protect the
children's right to privacy. In cases of child victims and
even authors of violence and crime, there has been a lot of
abuse and photographs and names are mentioned by most titles
of the written press. The included guidelines are from UNICEF,
WHO, SAVE THE CHILDREN, INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF
JOURNALISTS and the BBC. They were also given the 0slo
Challenge "to Media professionals" as well as those addressed
to "Media owners". The OC has asked for their comments and
will be proposing the drafting of a Code of Ethics and the
inclusion of basic provisions in the forthcoming "Child Act".
During a
meeting with magistrates, the question of giving the judgement
in public was decried by some magistrates who are aware of the
rights of the child. A consensus needs to be found on this
issue.
F.
Access to appropriate information (Article 17)
Article 17
States Parties recognize the important function performed
by the mass media and shall ensure that the child has access
to information and material from a diversity of national and
international sources, especially those aimed at the promotion
of his or her social, spiritual and moral well-being and
physical and mental health. To this end, States Parties shall:
(a) Encourage the mass media to disseminate information and
material of social and cultural benefit to the child and in
accordance with the spirit of article 29;
(b) Encourage international co-operation in the production,
exchange and dissemination of such information and material
from a diversity of cultural, national and international
sources;
(c) Encourage the production and dissemination of
children's books;
(d) Encourage the mass media to have particular regard to
the linguistic needs of the child who belongs to a minority
group or who is indigenous;
(e) Encourage the development of appropriate guidelines for
the protection of the child from information and material
injurious to his or her well-being, bearing in mind the
provisions of articles 13 and 18.
The biggest
challenge remains the control of "injurious" information
available on the internet. Despite several initiatives to make
progress in this field, nothing specific has been done. With
cell phones, this kind of information, specially pornographic
images, is uncontrolled. The only solution at this stage is
awareness of children on these kinds of issues. There must be
collaboration with experts from abroad to tackle this
"international problem".
As regards
the language issue, the National television has introduced
news in Mauritian Creole since 2001. There is already a news
bulletin in French, English and Bhojpuri. Most popular
programmes are in Mauritian Creole on all radios and
television. Newspapers are mostly in French and some are
in English. There are two Chinese dailies.
Some
newspapers target very small children, others target
adolescents. Most dailies and weeklies have pages reserved for
children, some of the articles are in fact written by
children.
G.
The right not to be subjected to torture or any other cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment (article 37a)
Article 37
States
Parties shall ensure that:
(a) No
child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment. Neither capital punishment
nor life imprisonment without possibility of release shall be
imposed for offences committed by persons below eighteen years
of age;
•
Mauritius
acceded to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on 9.12.92 and
has signed but not yet ratified the 0ptional Protocol
(21.06.05).
•
The OC is still investigating into punitive practices at the
Correctional and Rehabilitation Youth Centres following a case
of a young boy who was allegedly beaten by a guard.
Discussions are going on with Government on a full reform of
the system.
•
The OC has also started campaigning against corporal
punishment at home, at school and in any institution. She has
proposed that the Criminal Code, the Education Act and
Regulations be amended to ban all forms of CP including
humiliation and emotional violence.
•
Occasionally, there is a reported case of police brutality
which concerns a minor (usually adolescents). These are
reported to the National Human Rights Commission who then
investigates and eventually refers the case to the Director of
Public Prosecutions who may decide to prosecute or not. Some
Human Rights NGOs are very active and sensitise the public on
their rights in this respect and people report cases more
often. The press also gives wide coverage to issues of
brutality.
•
The Death penalty is no longer practised in Mauritius.
Section V - Family environment and alternative care
(articles 5, 18(1-2), 9-11, 19-21, 25, 27(4), 39)
A.
PARENTAL GUIDANCE (Article 5)
Article 5
"States
Parties shall respect the responsibilities, rights and duties
of parents or, where applicable, the members of the extended
family or community as provided for by local custom, legal
guardians or other persons legally responsible for the child,
to provide, in a manner consistent with the evolving
capacities of the child, appropriate direction and guidance in
the exercise by the child of the rights recognized in the
present Convention."
The
challenge for Government is to empower men, women and children
so that the family unit remains a haven of peace and children
are properly guided within the family. Despite enormous
efforts by both Government and NGOs, the rapid development of
the country in the 80s, has had a negative impact on the
social front with all adult members of families working for
long hours and no appropriate infrastructure to act as buffer.
The nuclear family is now the norm. This also means that the
kind of support available previously from the extended family
is decreasing.
0n the
other hand, there is a lot of respect in
Mauritius
for religious and cultural norms and socio-cultural groups are
very organised and active to preserve their cultures and
integrate families. Many such groups will give family support.
B.
Parental
responsibilities (article 18 1-2)
Article 18
1. States Parties shall use their best efforts to ensure
recognition of the principle that both parents have common
responsibilities for the upbringing and development of the
child. Parents or, as the case may be, legal guardians, have
the primary responsibility for the upbringing and development
of the child. The best interests of the child will be their
basic concern.
2. For the purpose of guaranteeing and promoting the rights
set forth in the present Convention, States Parties shall
render appropriate assistance to parents and legal guardians
in the performance of their child-rearing responsibilities and
shall ensure the development of institutions, facilities and
services for the care of children.
Institutions for the care of children have been developed but
they are not adequate. It is under this article particularly
that the OC has proposed the setting-up of a mentoring system.
(see annex II on Chain of Services)
There are
very few free day care centres for children aged 0-3 but
Government is supporting private preprimary schools for those
aged 4-5. Some local authorities provide these kinds of
services too and the OC has already declared that such Local
Authorities could do more in this respect as they are working
in greater proximity with the people.
Of course,
it is mostly a problem for poor parents who cannot afford to
pay for nannies and good day-care centres.
On the
other hand, the social services available at the Ministry of
Health are quite widespread throughout the island for pregnant
mothers, babies and toddlers.
Single
parent families
Social aid
is not sufficient and is withheld as soon as the mother starts
living with a new partner, whether the latter can or does
contribute for the children of another partner or not.
C.
SEPARATION FROM PARENTS (Article 9)
Article 9
1. States Parties shall ensure that a child shall not be
separated from his or her parents against their will, except
when competent authorities subject to judicial review
determine, in accordance with applicable law and procedures,
that such separation is necessary for the best interests of
the child. Such determination may be necessary in a particular
case such as one involving abuse or neglect of the child by
the parents, or one where the parents are living separately
and a decision must be made as to the child's place of
residence.
2. In any proceedings pursuant to paragraph 1 of the
present article, all interested parties shall be given an
opportunity to participate in the proceedings and make their
views known.
3. States Parties shall respect the right of the child who
is separated from one or both parents to maintain personal
relations and direct contact with both parents on a regular
basis, except if it is contrary to the child's best interests.
4. Where such separation results from any action initiated
by a State Party, such as the detention, imprisonment, exile,
deportation or death (including death arising from any cause
while the person is in the custody of the State) of one or
both parents or of the child, that State Party shall, upon
request, provide the parents, the child or, if appropriate,
another member of the family with the essential information
concerning the whereabouts of the absent member(s) of the
family unless the provision of the information would be
detrimental to the well-being of the child. States Parties
shall further ensure that the submission of such a request
shall of itself entail no adverse consequences for the
person(s) concerned.
Article
9(3) is difficult to respect. Although the Criminal Code has
been amended in 1998 to criminalise the non representation of
a child to another parent who has a right to see him/her, the
police authorities do not even know either that this provision
exists or how to apply it. The OC has written to the
Commissioner of Police on this and the difficulties of
enforcement and will be discussing with him. A course on this
aspect will have to be devised for the Police Force and the
Magistrates but in fact the new Family Court should be able to
tackle this very simply.
The OC has
often asked the Ministry of Women’s Rights, Child Development
and Family Welfare to better organise visits of parents to
shelters and other institutions where children are placed. The
visits are very rare.
D.
FAMILY REUNIFICATION (Article 10)
Article 10
1. In accordance with the obligation of States Parties
under article 9, paragraph 1, applications by a child or his
or her parents to enter or leave a State Party for the purpose
of family reunification shall be dealt with by States Parties
in a positive, humane and expeditious manner. States Parties
shall further ensure that the submission of such a request
shall entail no adverse consequences for the applicants and
for the members of their family.
2. A child whose parents reside in different States shall
have the right to maintain on a regular basis, , save in
exceptional circumstances personal relations and direct
contacts with both parents. Towards that end and in accordance
with the obligation of States Parties under article 9,
paragraph 1, States Parties shall respect the right of the
child and his or her parents to leave any country, including
their own, and to enter their own country. The right to leave
any country shall be subject only to such restrictions as are
prescribed by law and which are necessary to protect the
national security, public order (ordre public), public
health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others and are
consistent with the other rights recognized in the present
Convention.
The OC has
proposed that an amendment be made to the Immigration Act to
allow a foreign parent better access to his/her child/children
if the latter is/are living in Mauritius following a judgement
granting custody to the Mauritian parent living in Mauritius
after a breakdown of a marriage. The amendment is being
prepared at the State Law Office.
E.
Illicit transfer and non return (Article 11)
Article 11
1. States Parties shall take measures to combat the illicit
transfer and non-return of children abroad.
2. To this end, States Parties shall promote the conclusion
of bilateral or multilateral agreements or accession to
existing agreements.
The Hague
Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction is the only Convention relating to children which
has been domesticated. At present, there is pending before the
authorities a case concerning a child in South Africa who had
been allowed to leave Mauritius with her mother on the express
condition that she would be returned as her father had
obtained her custody. Nothing could be done since Mauritius
had not recognised the accession of
South Africa
to the Convention. The procedure to proceed with the
recognition, with retroactive effect, took a long time but it
is now done.
The OC has
proposed that there should be a close monitoring of the said
Convention and not wait until there is a case to start
proceedings, as it would not be in the best interests of any
child because of the long delays involved.
F.
Recovery and maintenance for the child (Article 27(4))
Article 27
4. State Parties shall take all appropriate measures to
secure the recovery of maintenance for the child from the
parents of other persons having financial responsibility for
the child, both within the State Party and from abroad. In
particular, where the person having financial responsibility
for the child lives in a State different from that of the
child, States Parties shall promote the accession to
international agreements of the conclusion of such agreements,
as well as the making of other appropriate arrangements.
The
non-payment of alimony is a criminal offence, but very few
cases are in fact the subject of a police enquiry for the same
reasons as explained regarding non representation of child. In
fact, there is a lack of public awareness on these issues.
Further, Courts refuse to grant reimbursement of payment of
alimony if non payment has been going on for a long time.
It is
obvious that a Family Court could better deal with such claims
and follow up its own judgements to ensure compliance.
The OC has
occasionally the possibility to obtain payment of alimony
through mediation. But this is done on an "amicable" basis
only.
As regards
alimony from persons who are abroad, there are no laws,
agreements and mechanism to obtain same on behalf of abandoned
spouses and children.
G.
CHILDREN DEPRIVED OF THEIR FAMILY ENVIRONMENT (Article 20)
Article20
1. A child temporarily or permanently deprived of his or
her family environment, or in whose own best interests cannot
be allowed to remain in that environment, shall be entitled to
special protection and assistance provided by the State.
2. States Parties shall in accordance with their national
laws ensure alternative care for such a child.
3. Such care could include, inter alia, foster placement,
kafalah of Islamic law, adoption or if necessary placement in
suitable institutions for the care of children. When
considering solutions, due regard shall be paid to the
desirability of continuity in a child's upbringing and to the
child's ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic background.
The State
has created several services to respect Article 20(1) but the
implementation is not satisfactory.
See Annex
II on Chain of Services
As far as
possible children's ethnic and cultural backgrounds are
respected but more attention could be put on this subsection.
H.
Adoption (Article 21)
Article 21
States Parties that recognize and/or permit the system of
adoption shall ensure that the best interests of the child
shall be the paramount consideration and they shall:
(a) Ensure that the adoption of a child is authorized only
by competent authorities who determine, in accordance with
applicable law and procedures and on the basis of all
pertinent and reliable information, that the adoption is
permissible in view of the child's status concerning parents,
relatives and legal guardians and that, if required, the
persons concerned have given their informed consent to the
adoption on the basis of such counselling as may be necessary;
(b) Recognize that inter-country adoption may be considered
as an alternative means of child's care, if the child cannot
be placed in a foster or an adoptive family or cannot in any
suitable manner be cared for in the child's country of origin;
(c) Ensure that the child concerned by intercountry
adoption enjoys safeguards and standards equivalent to those
existing in the case of national adoption;
(d) Take all appropriate measures to ensure that, in
inter-country adoption, the placement does not result in
improper financial gain for those involved in it;
(e) Promote, where appropriate, the objectives of the
present article by concluding bilateral or multilateral
arrangements or agreements, and endeavour, within this
framework, to ensure that the placement of the child in
another country is carried out by competent authorities or
organs.
Mauritius
has no national policy on adoption although the Civil Code
provides for both “adoption simple” and “adoption
plénière” and for the way of deciding that a child is
adoptable. Unfortunately, the question of adoption is left in
the hands of the judges of the Supreme Court and there is no
provision for the kind of social report that is needed to help
the judge to find out if such adoption is really in the best
interests of the child. There is no independent agency to deal
with the social enquiries regarding the child, nor regarding
the adopters if they are Mauritians.
The
National Adoption Council only deals with intercountry
adoption when a foreigner is going to adopt a Mauritian child.
The foreigner must have authority to adopt, obtained from a
serious agency in his own country.
It is
usually the Probation and Aftercare Service of the Ministry of
Social Security which makes the social enquiry whereas this
service is already overburdened with enquiries in criminal
matters. (See later). The Ministry of Women’s Rights, Child
Development, Family Welfare and Consumer Protection which is
the main Ministry concerned with Child Development and
Protection is hardly able to make report to judges. They must
be represented by an attorney or counsel from the State Law
Office, themselves overburdened with court cases, advice given
to Ministries and law making.
The OC has
been advocating for a rationalisation of the services and for
a new approach to adoption, to no avail until now.
See Annex
II on Chain of Services
Foster care
system
The
Ministry of Women’s Rights, Child Development and Family
Welfare made Regulations under the CPA 1994 to set up a Foster
Care Scheme which provides for the creation of an Advisory
Committee and for registration procedures. It sets out a Code
of Conduct and the parameters for placement of children in
foster care. The foster family is given a certificate for two
years which can be renewed. The main provisions relate to the
number of children to be accommodated (two if they are very
young or three at the most except if it concerns siblings of
the same family).
Originally
children were to be placed for a period of up to one year if
they were under Emergency Protection Orders or up to two years
if they were committed.
After three
months of placement, there was an evaluation to be made. In
fact, now children are being placed for more than two years.
There is no
proper evaluation of the whole system, which is new, to
identify the strengths and weaknesses and review the
Regulations if need be.
There are
33 children in foster families at present. No effort has been
made to recruit more foster families, presumably because of
the lack of evaluation.
I.
PERIODIC REVIEW OF PLACEMENT (Article 25)
Article 25
States Parties recognize the right of a child who has been
placed by the competent authorities for the purposes of care,
protection or treatment of his or her physical or mental
health, to a periodic review of the treatment provided to the
child and all other circumstances relevant to his or her
placement.
Very little
is done to follow up cases of children placed, except in some
institutions run by NGOs.
Further,
since there is very little rehabilitation of parents, few
children in fact should be returned to their families as they
may have to be removed more than once, which of course causes
great harm to the child and amounts to an institutional abuse.
In this
respect too, it seems that the reason is lack of resources and
specially lack of training at all levels, and failure to have
a proper monitoring mechanism.
The OC, who
was awaiting the publication of the Regulations of the
Ministry of Social Security, is preparing norms and is relying
on the setting-up of a proper monitoring committee for all
care institutions.
J. ABUSE
AND NEGLECT, including
physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration
(Articles 19,39)
Article 19
1. States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative,
administrative, social and educational measures to protect the
child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or
abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or
exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of
parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the
care of the child.
2. Such protective measures should, as appropriate, include
effective procedures for the establishment of social
programmes to provide necessary support for the child and for
those who have the care of the child, as well as for other
forms of prevention and for identification, reporting,
referral, investigation, treatment and follow-up of instances
of child maltreatment described heretofore, and, as
appropriate, for judicial involvement.
In the absence of data it is very difficult even for the
OCO to evaluate just how much has been done to protect the
child from all forms of abuse and violence while in the care
of parents, legal guardians or any other person who has the
care of the child. It is true that there is greater awareness
on the fact that the very persons who have to care for the
child can be abusers. There have been efforts to legislate
(the CPA 1994), to create greater awareness, to provide some
facilities to place children, to provide psychological help,
to train the police and other traditional partners like
lawyers and judges, etc..... But the challenge is enormous and
it looks like the more awareness there is the more cases are
reported and capacity to find satisfactory solutions is
restricted.
Further, the increase in the number of cases of child abuse
and neglect is due to the overall economic and social policy
which is placing more and more people in the most precarious
situations. These policies are unfortunately, as already
explained, dependent on exogenous causes and on the Global
economy.
In view of
this disturbing situation, and the fact that crimes against
children seem to be on the increase, for the same reasons the
OC has tried to get all stakeholders on board to join in the
efforts to combat all forms of violence during the National
Campaign on the Prevention of Violence against Children.
•
There is definitely more awareness on the subject. Many more
citizens are expressing their concern getting organised and
there are more and more NGOs specialising in actions that are
directly linked to the struggle against violence and at
helping and rehabilitating victims.
•
Many retired citizens and persons who have some free time have
also expressed to the OCO their desire to become child mentors
when the project will be set up. Some are already doing
voluntary work without any special training and support. (See
Annex II for proposal on mentoring).
•
The question of transgenerational violence is not always
understood. People are only beginning to understand that
children victims of violence may become anti-social or violent
themselves, or become authors or victims of violence later on
in life.
•
The National Campaign is gaining momentum.
•
The setting-up of the OCO is one important step in the
reinforcement of reporting specially by children themselves.
It also carries on a different kind of investigation. Now
there is investigation into actions or omissions of all
persons and institutions whether public bodies or private
authorities or associations of individuals. That renders every
person or body who has a duty to care for children more
accountable. (See law at Annex I). Of course, the OCO must be
reinforced and be given better means to carry out its mandate
effectively.
•
It is important to highlight the role played by the police to
support the efforts of the Ministry of Women’s Rights, Child
Development, Family Welfare and Consumer Protection. There are
several services which specialise in child abuse cases. The
Child Protection (CPU), the Police Family Protection Unit (PFPU)
and the Brigade des Mineurs (BPM).
The Child
Protection Unit, which is composed of an officer of the Police
Force and a CDU officer, was set up in June 2000. It has a
friendly approach and the infrastructure has been developed
with proper interview rooms, psychological services and
follow-up. Today, the two such units, which wee supposed to be
models for the setting-up of other such units, have been
converted into Family Support Units.
A Child Protection Register is kept by Police Officers
respecting Sexual/Physical abuse.
The Police Family Protection Unit (PFPU) has been set up in
1994 with the aim of providing expedient and professional
service to requests for assistance by victims of Domestic
Violence, Family conflicts, Child Abuse and any other form of
abuse. The PFPU is the link between the public, the regular
Police and the different stakeholders i.e. Ministries, NGOs
offering service to the victims of Domestic Violence and Child
Abuse.
Sensitization campaigns on the Protective Behaviour
Programme are carried out by officers of the Police Family
Protection Unit to pupils of primary and secondary schools
with the aim of empowering children to deal with difficult and
abusive situations. A booklet entitled ‘Le Toucher’ is being
distributed to children in the context.
The PFPU has its Headquarters in
Port Louis
and 8 sub-Units throughout the island including one in
Rodrigues.
The BPM which is a sub-unit of the Police Family Protection
Unit has been set up in 2003. It deals with all issues
pertaining to minors. In criminal investigations, it provides
the necessary liaison between the investigators and the child
victims or child offenders. It does not investigate cases
reported to the Police though the officers do undertake
routine fact-finding or discreet enquiries.
The BPM has a meaningful and sound customer-care service
aimed at optimizing the protection of children and also
alleviating the anxiety of parents whose children have been
subjected to abuses while acting as a watchdog against child
abuse.
The OC works in close collaboration with all these services
and particularly the BPM which goes in the field when a deeper
enquiry is needed in any case reported at the OCO. As said
before, it needs to be beefed up.
SECTION VI
- BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
(Articles 6, 18(3), 23,24,26,27 (1-3))
Mauritius
is still a Welfare State despite the economic difficulties and
the permanent pressure from International Financial
Institutions to cut down on the welfare services and to
privatise as much as possible. But the "Welfare" culture is
deep-rooted and there is always a lot of resistance both by
the people and most NGOs, including those who work for
children.
In fact,
several attempts to dismantle the Welfare State have been
frozen. Recently, the outgoing Government decided to do away
with the universal pension by excluding all those above 60 who
are earning a sum of Rs 20,000 from receiving a
non-contributory pension which has been given to every senior
citizen reaching retirement age. The new Government has
decided to re-establish same. This measure may indirectly
affect children as many grandparents in fact care for their
grand children and are not entitled to any form of aid unless
they become guardians. Sometimes they get alimony from the
parents of the children but often the OC has had to intervene
with the Social Security Officers to "make a special case".
The OCO is unable at this stage to make a policy
recommendation on Welfare issues except on a case to case
basis, when complaints are received.
At this
stage, with new policies being formulated it is possible to
make new proposals. For example with the introduction of the
free bus passes for school children, the OC has made a
proposal regarding children in non formal schools as well as
disabled children who need appropriate vehicles and
facilities.
Regarding
disabled children in general, comments have already been made
in other parts of the Report.
Antenatal
and postnatal care
The OC has
noted with satisfaction that the National Television and all
radios, both public and private, have excellent programmes on
health care, specially for newly born babies and for pregnant
mothers.
One subject
which the OCO has introduced on radio is the "shaken baby
syndrome". More needs to be done. Discussions with Health
Officers who sit on a Committee against violence, led to a
proposal to introduce the subject and many other subjects
relating to health of mothers to be, including the need to
plan their child bearing life and take care of their
reproductive health, into a special educational programme at
antenatal and postnatal clinics.
Violence
and health
The OC had
already discussed with the previous Minister of Health on the
need to launch the WHO Report on Violence and Health, hold a
campaign around the issue of violence and its negative impact
on the health of individuals or of society as a whole as well
as prepare a Plan of Action to deal with the issue. This
proposal has been renewed.
It is
important to note that the Ministry of Women’s Rights, Child
Development, and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Health had
organised a training of health officers to teach them how to
detect signs of domestic violence and to report. This must be
reviewed as doctors and health specialists have a duty to
report any child abuse that they notice while examining a
child.
A Resource
Kit for General Practitioners has been presented by the
MWRCDFW to enable them to respond effectively to family
violence in a medical setting as a result of a recent study
which revealed that victims of domestic violence are more
likely to tell health professionals about violence.
Pregnancy,
family planning, abortion
The data in
terms of demography presents
Mauritius
as a low birth rate country now and there is a lot of talk on
the dangers of an aging population. The problem is that this
kind of data is crude and does not relate to people's lives
and the impact of a disproportionate high pregnancy rate of
some women and the low rate of others. Many women, who aspire
at having a more active professional life, prefer to have few
children or even not to have children at all, though this is
rather the exception than the rule.
But women
who are poor, illiterate and unempowered, like in any other
part of the world, have no capacity to follow any kind of
birth control and they tend to fall pregnant often and are
unable to control their partners. Often, they are unmarried or
separated and they have multiple partners who abandon them,
rarely contribute for their maintenance or do not contribute
adequately. If these partners are unemployed or self-employed,
suits for alimony do not give results. These women then depend
on the Welfare State or fall prey to all sorts of networks -
drugs, prostitution, etc..... This is unfortunately a vicious
circle which needs to be broken. But thirty years of women's
empowerment programmes do not seem to have benefitted those
women but only women from the elite, or at least a new
category of women entrepreneurs who are now trained and
earning a living in all sorts of businesses.
The
pregnancy rate is linked to this socio-economic background,
but also to religious belief. Abortion is for example still
illegal but it is largely practised. Backstreet abortion still
takes place but richer women can always find a solution. Many
women, however, do not abort, nor do they take pills or
protect themselves and they procreate without knowing how to
provide for the new child. The consequences for the child are
always very harsh.
Moreover,
because of the high fertility rate of young girls, teenage
pregnancies are on the rise. Here there are two victims, the
child who mothers another child. The few teenagers, who fall
pregnant and who are from rich families, are usually taken
care of by their parents. The burden for the State is
ever-growing with more and more children who need support. The
OC is of opinion that, though there are enormous efforts from
the State and NGOs, what is lacking is the application of the
Whole Child Policy, which was well developed and found its way
in the National Children's Policy. But it has never been
implemented mostly because of lack of coordination and wastage
of energy in emergency situations rather in a strategic
multi-disciplinary action.
HIV-AIDS
The
programme of prevention of transmission of HIV from mother to
child started in 1999 has been very successful even though
more and more pregnant women are infected for lack of
empowerment. Unfortunately, however, Mauritius is considered
as being one of the countries most affected by intravenous
drug users. The World Drug Report places it fourth in terms of
its percentage of such drug users per population.
Prévention Information Lutte contre le Sida
(PILs) and several other NGOs have been advocating the
distribution of sterile syringes but also the use of some
types of medication and of psychological support to
contain the spreading of the disease. But this is a sensitive
issue. Recently, the Minister of Social Security said that she
was in favour of studying the implications of the
reintroduction of Subutex.
The free
access to condoms remains marginal. Sexual education remains
taboo. Mass media campaign is only done by NGOs. Free access
to get a test is also not available for minors under 16.
The OC has
written to the Minister of Health on the issue and will take
up the matter again with the new Minister.
C.
SOCIAL SECURITY and
child care services and facilities (Articles 26 and
18(3))
Article 26
1. States Parties shall recognize for every child the right
to benefit from social security, including social insurance,
and shall take the necessary measures to achieve the full
realization of this right in accordance with their national
law.
2. The benefits should, where appropriate, be granted,
taking into account the resources and the circumstances of the
child and persons having responsibility for the maintenance of
the child, as well as any other consideration relevant to an
application for benefits made by or on behalf of the child.
The
following social benefits are available for children or in
relation to children who are in needy circumstances:
1.
Basic orphans pension
2.
Child allowance
3.
Guardians' allowance
4.
Inmates in charitable institutions
5.
Child allowance under Social Aid Act, includes those in full
time education (between 15-20 years old) and the disabled
6.
Compassionate allowance for those suffering from serious
illness
7.
Rent allowance (50% of rent)
8.
Examination fees
9.
Spectacles
10.Abandoned
child's allowance
11.Allowance
when spouse gives birth to more than one child for a maximum
of 24 months
12.Child
allowance in case of unemployment of parents. (Unemployment
Hardship Act)
13.Family
allowance (for very low income earners with three children or
more who are less than 15 years)
The
benefits are not very high and some of them can be combined.
Article 18
3. States
Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that
children of working parents have the right to benefit from
child-care services and facilities for which they are
eligible.
The Labour
Act provides for mothers who need to breast-feed their
children to take one hour or twice half-an-hour off to do so
while they are working. However, for this to be effective,
babies should be placed in crèches at or near the place of
work. This has never been possible up to now. The Government
cannot force the private sector to meet the extra expenses
involved but it should be possible to find a workable
compromise by involving State and non-State actors and having
recourse to different funds available for setting up day-care
centres in the vicinity of some zones, which can then cater
for workers and children living in that vicinity. The OC will
try and get all stakeholders around the table to find a
win-win solution.
D.
STANDARD OF LIVING (Article 27 (1-3))
Article 27
1. States Parties recognize the right of every child to a
standard of living adequate for the child's physical, mental,
spiritual, moral and social development.
2. The parent(s) or others responsible for the child have
the primary responsibility to secure, within their abilities
and financial capacities, the conditions of living necessary
for the child's development.
3. States Parties, in accordance with national conditions
and within their means, shall take appropriate measures to
assist parents and others responsible for the child to
implement this right and shall in case of need provide
material assistance and support programmes, particularly with
regard to nutrition, clothing and housing.
4. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to
secure the recovery of maintenance for the child from the
parents or other persons having financial responsibility for
the child, both within the State Party and from abroad. In
particular, where the person having financial responsibility
for the child lives in a State different from that of the
child, States Parties shall promote the accession to
international agreements or the conclusion of such agreements,
as well as the making of other appropriate arrangements.
Re Housing
Government
has always had a special policy on social housing, ever since
Mauritius was hit by some severe cyclones in 1960 and later in
1975. Unfortunately, with the rapid development of the country
in the 80s, this problem became acute. Successive Governments
have redoubled efforts to address this issue with the
setting-up of a Mauritius Housing Corporation and a National
Housing Development Company Ltd (NHDC). People have been
encouraged to save their money for a reasonable down-payment
and very low monthly rent. Some people also qualify for
obtaining help to set up a roof in concrete on their own
houses rather than move house. The Trust Fund for the
Integration of Vulnerable Groups has also invested a lot in
social housing in the most deprived areas. But the demand is
ever-growing and there are many squatters on State land or
even private land who will need to be rehoused.
The
Landlord and Tenant Act has favoured lessees of unfurnished
houses since 1960. The law makes it very difficult to evict a
tenant and, though a Rent Tribunal has been set up, standard
rent does not go up for old houses. If the owner wants to
reconstruct, he must give priority to his tenant but with a
different rent.
The OC
wants to inform the Commission on a new issue which has now
caught a lot public attention in Mauritius. It concerns the
difficulties of those who have indebted themselves heavily
with pawnbrokers who end up by seizing the mortgaged land, and
sometimes the house of the debtor. The Government set up a
Commission of Inquiry presided by an ex-judge to look into
this problem of “sale by levy” which has increased the burden
of poor people
Recovery of
maintenance
No
agreements have been reached to recover maintenance from
abroad. The OC has had to deal with two cases. One was
impossible to solve. The second one found fortunately a
positive compromise with the paternal grandmother of a child
whose father was abroad. Both were done through mediation.
In fact, in
Mauritius the Criminal Law has been amended in 1998 to provide
for criminalisation of non-payment of alimony. Usually the
police can use the law as an incentive to obtain compliance
but as explained before they do not enforce this law properly.
Otherwise, if a judgement has been obtained in Court regarding
a parent who is employed, it is fairly easy to obtain an
attachment order. But Courts refuse to grant orders for
recovery of alimony unpaid for several months. They do not
consider this as a debt.
SECTION VII
- EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL NEEDS
(Articles 28, 29, 31)
Article 28
1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to
education, and with a view to achieving this right
progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity, they
shall, in particular:
(a) Make primary education compulsory and available free to
all;
(b) Encourage the development of different forms of
secondary education, including general and vocational
education, make them available and accessible to every child,
and take appropriate measures such as the introduction of free
education and offering financial assistance in case of need;
(c) Make higher education accessible to all on the basis of
capacity by every appropriate means;
(d) Make educational and vocational information and
guidance available and accessible to all children;
(e) Take measures to encourage regular attendance at
schools and the reduction of drop-out rates.
2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to
ensure that school discipline is administered in a manner
consistent with the child's human dignity and in conformity
with the present Convention.
3. States Parties shall promote and encourage international
cooperation in matters relating to education, in particular
with a view to contributing to the elimination of ignorance
and illiteracy throughout the world and facilitating access to
scientific and technical knowledge and modern teaching
methods. In this regard, particular account shall be taken of
the needs of developing countries.
Re. Article
28(1) is fully respected: Education is free and compulsory
between the age of four to sixteen. Financial assistance is
provided as already explained.
Examination
fees are also available for secondary level. Scholarship are
also given by the Government and friendly countries to
students who have good results after their Higher School
Certificate. They can then pursue further education. Some
specialised scholarships are given by the Private Sector and
even some NGOs for students who want to specialise in specific
subjects like Information Technology, Hotel Management,
Banking, etc....
Regarding
28(2), please refer to the report earlier on Corporal
Punishment. There is a need to review the school discipline
policy.
Regarding
28(3), Mauritius has very close links with UNESCO, the British
Council, the Centre Charles Baudelaire (French Cultural
Centre), the Indian High Commission and the Indira Gandhi
Centre for Indian Culture, the American and Chinese Embassies
amongst others. All contribute regularly to the "elimination
of ignorance and illiteracy". The Rajiv Gandhi Centre for
Science was inaugurated recently by Mrs. Sonia Gandhi. It is a
modern Science Museum. The "Agence Universitaire de la
Francophonie" runs courses in Entrepreneurship at an
International Centre based at the University of Mauritius.
There is a new University of Technology set up with French
aid.
Training in
various medical specialisation is also done in close
cooperation with some foreign universities so that prospects
for goods students of secondary level are better than before
because children who do not get scholarships can aspire to
either go to the University of Mauritius or attend courses
offered by the other tertiary institutions set up in close
collaboration with foreign universities. They can go to the
Hotel School and prepare for employment in the Tourism
Industry. That school had been set up at the time when French
aid was available to
Mauritius,
i.e. in the 70s. As explained aid is very limited nowadays.
Primary
Education
The "ZEP'
Schools
In view of
upgrading the quality of education in the primary schools
which over three consecutive years have recorded a percentage
of passes at the Certificate of Primary Education (CPE)
examinations of below 40%, the Ministry of Education and
Scientific Research introduced the concept of ZEP (Zones
d'Education Prioritaire) schools. This project is
implemented in 28 Government and Roman Catholic Schools. These
schools are located mainly in deprived areas. A new unit was
created at the Ministry and a new approach adopted towards
these schools. The basic needs are satisfied first. Hence, a
packed lunch is given freely to the pupils everyday. There is
special support through the Liaison Officers and Parent
Mediators who have been recruited and posted in these schools.
Their job is to bridge the gap between school and home. They
visit parents in their homes and counsel them on how to follow
their children at home. They also help the teachers in
handling problem children. They even report to the authorities
cases of children at risk.
Cluster
coordinators have also been recruited to support teachers in
the teaching and learning process. They help the teachers to
find appropriate methods so as to make their teaching more
effective. They also carry out some on-the-job training to
teachers. The Government is also giving an extra allowance of
Rs 2000 monthly to teachers posted in these schools as an
incentive. However despite this allowance, teachers are not
asking voluntarily to be posted in these schools given the
number of children who need psychological assistance. The
educational material also should be adapted to the needs of
these children. Remedial education classes as well as Pastoral
Care should be introduced to make this project more efficient.
The ZEP
school project has the merit of involving the private sector
and the NGOs in the school life. The private sector is
presently paying the salaries of the Liaison Officers. It also
sponsors projects in these schools. Some NGOs are actively
involved in contributing to the development of the children
through special camps during holidays, artistic programmes and
educational tours.
Secondary
As
explained, the new Minister is starting another Reform.
Hopefully, more will be known in a few months.
Medium of
education
The
language issue is very controversial in
Mauritius.
The medium used in State schools or schools funded by
Government is English which is not the mother tongue of the
vast majority of Mauritians. The result is that (i) most
teachers of primary schools have to use Creole or even
Bhojpuri to explain everything including English itself;
(ii) children from poor uneducated families have difficulty to
keep pace and are definitely disadvantaged; (iii) few
Mauritians really master English which is not taught as a
foreign language except in "private" schools preparing
children for a baccalaureate where French is the medium.
Experts,
both from Mauritius and from abroad, have explained the need
to respect the right of the child to learn in his own
language, not just as a right but also for pedagogical
reasons, in vain. The majority of parents believe that their
children must master English and French but fail to understand
that these languages must be properly taught and are not so
easy to acquire for non-native speakers who just use them
occasionally. Many parents also want their children to learn
an oriental language which makes sense in view of the
pluralism of the country. However, the whole question is
highly emotional and linked to issues of identity. Any reform
in the field of education will have to bear all these highly
sensitive feelings in mind as the main objective is to
preserve national unity.
Systems of
non-formal education
Fortunately, there are NGOs which cater for children who have
dropped out of school. One very important umbrella
organisation, ANFEN, runs several schools.
Exclusion
of children
Apart from
the issues of poverty and disability already dealt with
previously in the Report, the OC wants to draw attention to
the fact that she had to intervene concerning a case of a
child whose father was in prison and was HIV positive. His
preprimary school convinced his mother to have the child
tested and asked the Ministry of Health for the results.
Indeed, though it was alright to advise the mother, the OC
thought that it was highly improper to have communicated the
result to the headmaster. Even though it was negative. She
proposed that the policy be made clear in the future only to
communicate to the parents and not to third parties.
She also
advised for the future that children aged 16 may be able to
ask for a test, since they can have sexual relations and get
married at this age. Confidentiality is important even for a
child as the stigma attached to such situations is very
strong.
The OC also
had to intervene when 14 pupils were excluded from a secondary
school as they had self-inflicted wounds on their arms. The OC
sent them to psychologists. Most of them were readmitted
except three for whom the OC found alternative schools.
Clearly, such children needed counselling and not such a harsh
measure.
Education for development
The OC has had the occasion to express her regret at the
disappearance of the EDEV which was an excellent initiative
supported by UNICEF. The matter needs to be taken up again
with the new Minister.
EARLY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
The Ministry of Women’s Rights, Child Development, Family
Welfare published the Early Childhood Development (ECD)
Regulations in 2000. The regulations set the norms for Day
Care Centres, both family based and kindergartens. A
monitoring committee was set up to ensure that these
regulations are being implemented in these institutions. Basic
Training on ‘Early Childhood Care and Development’ is
organized on a regular basis to empower the carers in that
sector. After completing the training the carers get a basic
kit comprising of educational toys and materials as incentive
to implement what was taught in the training course the
soonest possible. A recognition certificate is also
issued to those who abide to the norms. The ECD unit of the
Ministry also provides refresher courses for trained carers.
An ECD Programme Guidelines covering both the psychological
and pedagogical aspects has also been published to help carers.
Recently a voluntary accreditation scheme was launched for
those who want to qualify for a Certificate of Quality. The
assessment will be done through Peer Review and by a board
comprising of several stakeholders. Presently the legal status
of the board is being reviewed.
The ECD unit of the Ministry will soon decentralize its
services in 4 zones so as to have a better monitoring of the
quality of care given in Day Care Centres.
B.
Aims of Education (article 29)
Article 29
1. States Parties agree that the education of the child
shall be directed to:
(a) The development of the child's personality, talents and
mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential;
(b) The development of respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms, and for the principles enshrined in the
Charter of the United Nations;
(c) The development of respect for the child's parents, his
or her own cultural identity, language and values, for the
national values of the country in which the child is living,
the country from which he or she may originate, and for
civilizations different from his or her own;
(d) The preparation of the child for responsible life in a
free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace,
tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all
peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons of
indigenous origin;
(e) The development of respect for the natural environment.
2. No part of the present article or article 28 shall be
construed so as to interfere with the liberty of individuals
and bodies to establish and direct educational institutions,
subject always to the observance of the principle set forth in
paragraph 1 of the present article and to the requirements
that the education given in such institutions shall conform to
such minimum standards as may be laid down by the State.
As
explained, the ZEP project aimed at respecting article 29.
It is a
matter of regret that Human Rights Education is not yet in the
Curriculum. This should put emphasis also on Children's
rights. In fact, a book had been prepared for Citizenship
Education which also included the teaching of different
aspects of different cultures, specially festivals which are
more and more celebrated in a national way. Unfortunately,
this book became controversial and was also considered too
advanced.
At present,
unfortunately, only awareness programmes cover Human Rights
and Human Values. Fortunately, there is a lot of effort in
this respect.
Re. Article
29(2)
There are
schools in Mauritius that are run by religious bodies as this
is guaranteed by the Constitution. But these schools, since
they receive Government Grants, have to take children from all
religious backgrounds. This has been confirmed by the Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council.
There are
also religious schools where children go before or after their
regular school-hours to learn more about their parents’
religion.
C.
Leisure, recreation and cultural activities (Article 31)
Article 31
States Parties recognize the right of the child to rest and
leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities
appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely
in cultural life and the arts.
States Parties shall respect and promote the right of the
child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and
shall encourage the provision of appropriate and equal
opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure
activity.
Regarding
leisure, recreation and cultural activities
•
The Government has created a Ministry of Leisure as well as a
Ministry of Art and Culture.
•
Children are encouraged to participate in all sorts of
activities as described before.
•
During the 16 Days 16 Rights Campaign, the artwork of many
children revealed that they attach a lot of attention to these
rights but also that some children are very talented. Many
artworks were on the “right to play”.
•
The Pre-School Trust Fund of the Ministry of Education puts a
lot of emphasis on the right to play and launched a toy
library last year.
•
The Ministry of Women’s Rights, Child Development and Family
Welfare has also distributed toys to all private preprimary
schools.
•
In fact, it is when children grow up that too many of them get
caught up in exam-oriented activities after school which leave
them no time for any leisure.
•
The OC has also noted with concern that fewer schools in fact
teach music or encourage drama classes. Those who did get
their pupils to participate in the Royal School of Music exam
have given up because of their belief that children must
compete to get results in academic subjects. But in many
schools cultural activities take place on specific occasions.
•
There is however a good "Conservatoire de Musique". The
various initiatives of NGOs to teach music, singing and
dancing to children in various regions mentioned earlier needs
to be encouraged and replicated.
•
The Ministry of Youth and Sports organises a "JUMP AROUND
YOUTH CONCERT" each year which is very popular with
adolescents.
There are
attempts by both local and central Government to organise
sports and leisure activities for young people and for
families. The Ministry of Tourism and Leisure has innovated
recently in this field. Local authorities could certainly do
more in general in favour of children.
•
A lot is being done in this area by NGOs: There are now three
groups in three different areas of the country who use art and
culture as a means to integrate children who are from poor
families. The GRUP ABAIM has concentrated on training
youngsters in playing musical instruments and singing. They
now have two CDs which are very popular and which also revive
our cultural heritage.
•
The GROUPE MO'SAR teaches jazz to some 200 youngsters
from one of the most deprived areas. The Government has given
them a leasehold to build a conservatory and a cultural
centre. In the same pattern, the new NGO La Pointe Tamarin
have obtained from their District Council access to a building
which has been upgraded, to teach music and art to children of
fishermen. They want to work on the emotional development of
young people to help them to better integrate their schools.
In this particular case, the OC had to mediate with the
District Council when there was an attempt to stop them from
using the building so that a vendor could use it sell
vegetables. They then agreed to find a solution to cater for
the latter but to help the children in need.
| 
