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Malawi has Achieved Substantial Advances
on all Grounds in Addressing Child Rights, Delegation Says
Report Prepared by
Committee On Rights Of Child Considers Initial Report
Of Malawi
24 January 2002
The Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon
started its consideration of an initial report from Malawi
by hearing a Government delegation say that the country
has made substantial advances on all grounds in addressing
issues of child rights.
The report was introduced by Trifonia Dafter, Chairperson
of the Parliamentary Committee on Social and Community Services
of Malawi, who said that concerning education, for example,
apart from providing free primary education, measures had
been put in place to sort out recurrent problems that affected
children in school directly. She also said that current
programmes placed access to general basic education at the
centre of poverty reduction strategies. Funding for the
4,765 primary schools around the country was steadily being
increased. The Government was now grappling with the problem
of disparity in access to education between boys and girls,
she added.
Mrs. Dafter noted that the health status of Malawians was
highly affected by the prevalence of HIV/AIDS; the general
prevalence of HIV/AIDS amongst the whole population was
estimated at 8.8 per cent; in the age group of 15-49, HIV/AIDS
affected 16.5 per cent. The health situation had had very
negative effects on several government programmes as the
Government had had to provide additional resources to support
the orphan population that had grown to 2 million.
Over the course of their consideration of the report, Committee
Experts asked, among other things, how the State differentiated
public law from customary law; why the mandatory period
of education was short; about the measures taken to encourage
marriage after 18 years of age; if the Ombudsman received
complaints from children; about the body that monitored
the implementation of child rights; if the Convention was
widely disseminated; about the budgetary allocation for
activities concerning child rights; if the results of the
poverty alleviation programme were evaluated; about the
impact of the structural adjustment programme; how the Government
was implementing the 20-20 strategy in social affairs; and
about the system of taxation.
The delegation of Malawi is also made up of Tresfore Kanciombe
and Penston Kilembe, of the Ministry of Gender, Youth and
Community Services.
As one of the 191 States parties to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, Malawi is obligated to send periodic
reports to the Committee on how it is implementing the provisions
of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Friday, 26
January, it will meet in private; it will meet in public
at 10 a.m. on Monday, 28 January to consider the initial
report of Bahrain.
Summary
The initial report, which is contained document CRC/C/8/Add.43,
gives a general view of the country's economic and social
situation, saying that Malawi is classified as a least-developed
country, and that the extent of poverty is wide and deep.
Overall, 60 per cent of the population is classified as
poor, consuming less that $ 40 per person annually. This
poverty is manifested in the high incidence of malnutrition,
morbidity and mortality. About 48.3 per cent of children
under five years of age are stunted and about 50 per cent
are malnourished. Infant and child mortality rates are estimated
at 135 and 215 per thousand born, respectively; and life
expectancy at birth was estimated at 39.3 years for 1997.
With regard to the definition of a child, the report says
that the national laws do not have one definition of a child;
the national laws and the Constitution do not uniformly
comply with the Convention nor do they uniformly define
a child; and there is no law prescribing the minimum age
at which children can receive legal counselling in the absence
of parents or guardians. Under section 14 of the penal code,
children are regarded as having criminal capacity at the
age of seven years, although there is a presumption that
between the ages of 7 and 12 the child lacks criminal capacity.
Although sexual intercourse with a girl below the age of
13 years with her consent was prohibited, due to cultural
practices, girls of 13 years and sometimes even younger
are encouraged by parents or guardians to marry in some
parts of the country.
The report notes that the Constitution does not provide
for the principle of the best interests of the child. However,
the Constitutional Technical Review has recommended that
this principle should be provided for. The Constitution
provides for the right of a child to maintenance, but only
after the dissolution of a marriage. In addition, there
are no specific policies and programmes that are directly
related to the principle of the best interests of the child.
The report also notes that the situation of orphans in
Malawi is worsening due to the increasing deaths of adults,
with AIDS being the main cause. It is projected that the
number of children who will be orphaned by AIDS will have
risen from 140,000 in 1995 to over 300,000 by the year 2000.
Most orphans are being cared for by their extended families.
However, with the increase in the number of orphans compounded
by the acceleration of adult mortality and the deterioration
of the economic situation, extended families are no longer
able to take care of their orphans.
The report says that there is no policy yet on people with
disabilities; and few children with disabilities enjoy the
rights stipulated in the Convention; the majority of children
with disabilities face problems of access to public services.
The main stumbling block is attitudes of the society; culturally,
a child with disabilities is considered a "curse";
and consequently, care for such a child is not optimal.
Introduction
TRIFONIA DAFTER, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee
on Social and Community Services of Malawi and Head of the
delegation, said that following the transition of the Government
from a one-party system to a democratic multi-party system
in 1994, her country had instituted various reforms in governance
with a view to addressing issues of human rights abuses.
The reforms were aimed at ensuring that citizens enjoyed
unrivalled freedoms in all their endeavours as provided
for by the Constitution.
Mrs. Dafter said that of special attention in the Government's
endeavour was section 23 of the Constitution under the Bill
of Rights which stated that "All children, regardless
of the circumstances of their birth are entitled to equal
treatment before the law". The provision afforded children
some rights and protection within the context of the Convention.
Malawi had made substantial advances on all grounds in
addressing issues of child rights, Mrs. Dafter went on to
say. On education, for instance, apart from providing free
primary education, measures had been put in place to sort
out recurrent problems that affected children in school
directly. Current programmes placed access to general basic
education at the centre of poverty reduction strategies.
Funding for the 4,765 primary schools around the country
was steadily being increased. The Government was now grappling
with the problem of disparity in access to education between
boys and girls.
Mrs. Dafter said that her Government had placed great emphasis
on the provision of primary and preventive health care services
which were intended to address issues of infant, child and
maternal morbidity and mortality. Some of the programmes,
which the Government continued to undertake under the 1999-2004
National Health Plan, included an extended programme of
immunization, and prevention of mother to child transmission
of HIV/AIDS, among others.
She noted that the health status of Malawians was highly
affected by the prevalence of HIV/AIDS. The general prevalence
of HIV/AIDS amongst the population was estimated at 8.8
per cent. In the age group of 15-49, HIV/AIDS affected 16.5
per cent. The health situation had had a very negative effects
on several government programmes as Government had had to
provide additional resources to support the orphan population
that had grown to 2 million.
Mrs. Dafter further said that the Government was aware
that child labour was rampant in the country, particularly
in the agriculture sector where under-aged children were
used for farm production. In order to protect children from
such abuse, the Government had set up a "national task
force" to examine all issues related to child labour.
A law to regulate child labour had been endorsed by Parliament.
In the same manner, various initiatives were being undertaken
to address issues of commercial sexual exploitation of children,
including child trafficking.
In conclusion, Mrs. Dafter said that it was the view of
her Government that most of the initiatives that had been
designed to address issues of child rights could not succeed
if national laws were not synchronized to address such issues.
To that effect, the Government had sought to bring legislation,
policy and practice in conformity with the requirements
of the Convention.
Discussion
The Committee Experts raised questions under the main subjects
of general measures of implementation of the Convention;
and definition of the child. They asked, among other things,
how the State differentiated public law from customary law;
why the mandatory period of education was short; about the
measures taken to encourage marriage after 18 years of age;
if the Ombudsman received complaints from children; about
the body that monitored the implementation of child rights;
if the Convention was widely disseminated; about the budgetary
allocations for activities concerning child rights; if the
results of the poverty alleviation programme were evaluated;
about the impact of the structural adjustment programme;
how the Government was implementing the "vision 20-20"
strategy in social affairs; and about the system of taxation.
Responding to the questions posed by the Committee Experts,
the members of the Malawian delegation said that Malawi
was deeply entrenched in its traditions, particularly in
the rural areas. The Beijing Conference had served as a
platform to introduce changes in the country. In addition,
a number of programmes had been implemented, including platforms
on children and women. Some ministries had even changed
their name to reflect the efforts undertaken to improve
the situation of women and children in general. A number
of task forces had been established; and a law review commission
was also created to propose legislative amendments.
The role of the Human Rights Commission was to monitor
the implementation of the rights of the child and to see
that children enjoyed their rights, the delegation said.
The Malawian Ombudsman was competent to receive complaints
about human rights abuses, including from children, while
the Human Rights Commission monitored human rights violations
in general. In addition, the implementation of the provisions
of the Convention required the coordination and concerted
efforts of non-governmental organizations and church leaders.
The delegation said the Convention had been translated
into the two national languages, Tambuka and Chichewa.
The country's constraints to progress included limited
government resources, poverty, the low status of women and
the continued impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the delegation
said.
"No child is sentenced to death", the delegation
said in response to a question on capital punishment and
children. Child law offenders below the age of 18 years
were presumed innocent and for that reason the law did not
provide the death sentence or life imprisonment for them.
Under the decentralization scheme, the responsibility of
birth registration was left to regional assemblies, the
delegation said.
Because of the burden of external debt and poverty, less
amounts of resources were diverted to social development,
the delegation said, adding that the Government was not
able to fulfil the 20-20 strategy which required allocation
of 20 per cent of the national budget to the social sector.
Long term sustainable development required trained human
resources, the delegation said. Unfortunately, the level
of illiteracy had not decreased for many years. The Government
had introduced early child development programmes to be
integrated into the national educational system. Already,
pilot programmes were being implemented in 13 districts.
Continuing their consideration of the report of Malawi,
the Committee Experts raised a series of questions under
the main subjects of general principles; civil and rights
and freedoms; family environment and alternative care; basic
health and social welfare; education, leisure and cultural
activities; and special protection measures. The Experts
asked about, among other things, the requirements to acquire
Malawian nationality; the detention of children with adults;
discrimination against females and disabled children; the
inappropriate and humiliating names given to children; and
violence against children in the family and in schools.
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