Committee on Rights of the Child continues review of report of Chad

MORNING
HR/CRC/99/31
28 May 1999

 

Government is struggling to end traditional practices harmful to children, delegation says, but progress comes slowly

The Committee on the Rights of the Child carried on this morning with its consideration of an initial report from Chad, asking a Government delegation about efforts to end traditional practices such as corporal punishment, adoptions within the extended family -- in which children were given to relatives to raise, at times resulting in maltreatment or sexual abuse -- and harmful traditional medical treatments.

Limane Mahamat, the Chadian Minister of Justice, told the panel that legislation was evolving year by year to improve human-rights protections and to reflect the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Cultural attitudes that ran contrary to the spirit of the Convention were indeed a concern, he said. The Government hoped and intended to eliminate cultural practices harmful to children and sought to change attitudes that were not in line with the Convention. Efforts would continue to educate people and to change such traditional values.

Spreading information about human-rights standards and domestic laws was difficult, he added; Chadians spoke a number of languages, rural regions of the country could be inaccessible, and much of the population was illiterate.

Discussion over the course of the meeting centred on the general topics of civil rights and freedoms; family environment and alternative care; and basic health and welfare.

As one of 191 States parties to the Convention, Chad is obligated to submit periodic summaries on its efforts to improve the circumstances and protect the rights of children. Government delegations generally appear before the panel to discuss these reports and to answer questions.

In addition to Mr. Mahamat, the Chadian delegation consisted of Djonata Djatto, Counsellor for Administrative Affairs, Jurisprudence, and Human Rights of the Office of the Prime Minister; Kaguer Darbo, Director of Judicial Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Motoyam Nanitom, Director of Child Protection of the Ministry of Justice; and Antoine Turzi, future Honorary Consul of Chad in Switzerland.

The Committee will reconvene at 3 p.m. to conclude its review of the report of Chad.

Discussion

The Chadian delegation responded to a number of questions.

LIMANE MAHAMAT, Minister of Justice of Chad, said legislation was evolving year by year to improve human-rights protections and to reflect the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; the Ministry of Finance would be more involved in future in child-related activities, since obviously funding for such programmes was important.

Cultural attitudes that ran contrary to the spirit of the Convention were indeed a concern, Mr. Mahamat said; Chad had made no reservations in its ratification of the Convention, and under the Chadian system the Convention superseded domestic laws and certainly took precedence over traditions and customs; the Government certainly hoped and intended to eliminate cultural practices harmful to children and sought to change attitudes that were not in line with the Convention. Chad did not intend to hide behind traditions that had negative values for children. Efforts would continue to educate people and to change these traditional values.

Complaints relating to children did not often go before the courts, he said; they were resolved in other ways. Government agencies and departments lacked resources; one effort to cope with these shortcomings was a project started recently to further train Government staff in dealing with children and to enhance professional development of teachers.

Inter-community and inter-ethnic marriages were not prohibited or interfered with, Mr. Mahamat said; it was not common, but there could be groups or persons who did not accept the notion of inter-community marriages, but civil law and general society were not opposed.

There were informal and private ways of ensuring men supported their children and families, but the Government hoped to have legal, official ways and was interested in advice on the best way to proceed.

There had been problems with improper treatment of children in zones of the country where there had been rebellion, Mr. Mahamat said; peace now had been restored, but it was likely that not all those who had committed offences would be brought to justice; in situations of conflict, it also was difficult to keep military leaders and leaders of armed bands from recruiting children under the age 18 into their forces, and such children had suffered; but since the restoration of peace, the Government had taken steps to remove from the army all those who were below the minimum age; those -- including young women -- who had suffered and were brave enough to file complaints of violations were responded to, and if the perpetrators were apprehended, they were punished. Efforts also were being made to teach members of the armed forces to respect human rights.

Information, including information about the Convention, had to be spread orally in the countryside, Mr. Mahamat said; rural radio was a major way for disseminating such useful information and helped to change attitudes; in rural regions, for example, there had long been a tradition of violence, and radio helped spread messages of tolerance and respect for women's and children's rights.

Child mothers, and young mothers whose children were not acknowledged by their fathers, were a problem, but the Government was attempting to help them, he said; various community social services were provided; steps were being taken to prevent discrimination against such young mothers. Children born out of wedlock were usually registered by their mothers and given the mothers' surnames; if paternity was established later by the court, a child's name could be changed.

Corporal punishment occurred in certain families, he said; in schools, it was prohibited. There had been some tradition in Koranic and even Christian schools that such punishment contributed to a child's development and education, but the Government rejected such attitudes and for some years had outlawed the practice.

Declaration and registration of births was obligatory -- within two months in urban areas, and six months in rural areas, Mr. Mahamat said. An obstacle to all this was that much of the rural population was illiterate; that made it difficult for the State to make it clear to many parents why registration of births was important. Registration of births among nomads was an extremely difficult problem -- these people were rarely in the same place for long and their children rarely attended school; it was hard to provide services to them or to keep track of them. National identity numbers were provided in the registries; anyone who did not have such a number could apply for one.

Traditional practices of inter-family adoption existed; in some regions it was felt that children should be entrusted to relatives to be raised; sometimes such children were subject to violence; if that occurred, parents or community officials acted to withdraw the children from the relatives' care; a bill strictly prohibiting violence against children was being developed and should be passed soon. It also was true that taking back a child given to relatives could be difficult -- it could damage the harmony of the extended family and there could be dramatic denunciations and even violence. Abuse of children by relatives with whom they had been placed was a sensitive subject within extended families -- they did not want such matters to be publicly discussed, and things tended to be resolved privately. Sexual abuse by relatives often became known through pregnancy; often young women were so afraid that they would not give the name of the father.

Cases of discrimination could be prosecuted in the courts, Mr. Mahamat said, but many Chadians were not aware of the law; informing people of laws and rights was a difficult and slow process.

Ablation of the uvula was a common traditional reaction to vomiting by children, he said; it was often considered standard treatment; the Government was trying to educate people not to do this, since it often led to infection and even to death.

Authority in the family traditionally resided with the father -- the culture was patriarchal -- but matters were changing; now often there was a system of parental authority, granting the mother an important role in guidance and decision-making within the family, Mr. Mahamat said. Because of the long-running conflict in the country, many women had become de facto heads of their families.

The private sector and non-governmental organizations had taken steps to help and to shelter battered women, he said, but no State facilities or programmes existed for this. There was political will to help, but resources were short and the Government did not have the money to tackle all of the population's problems; if international aid were forthcoming, the Government would be eager to set up services and facilities for helping battered women.

Child mortality rates had declined significantly, he said, although they still were high; only 11 per cent of children now were immunized against the standard diseases, and more international help was needed to achieve an acceptable immunization rate. Campaigns were being carried out, meanwhile, to teach oral-rehydration therapy to parents as a way of treating diarrhoea in children. In 1996, there were 1,240 reported cases of HIV/AIDS, rising to over 2,000 by 1998; rates of infection among children were rising, too; although these numbers were perhaps not very alarming compared to the situation in other African countries, the Government was concerned and was working to educate people about the disease and about how to avoid it.

Efforts were being made to increase access to drinking water, he said; the Government was drilling new wells; many projects were under way and bit by bit, all of the population would have access to water.

Abortion was illegal, and women and girls who had abortions could be prosecuted, along with the person who performed the procedure, Mr. Mahamat said; by and large if the procedure went well no one heard about it and there were no legal consequences, but if the woman fell ill or died or was hospitalized, then the authorities became involved.

Although there were problems with health and nutrition only to be expected in a country that was among the poorest in the world, he said, the trends were improving, in part because of international support. Time and further support were needed for further progress.

MOTOYAM NANITOM, Director of Child Protection of the Ministry of Justice of Chad, said cases of incest did occur on occasion; it was extremely difficult to get the victims to discuss such matters; they were afraid. It was clear that many women were victims of family violence, and the Government was carrying out awareness campaigns to make women aware of their rights and to make everyone aware that such violence was illegal. Awareness campaigns also had been carried out on traditional practices under which women did not inherit when their husbands died -- often they and their children were left completely destitute -- and on such matters as female genital mutilation.