COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD STARTS CONSIDERATION OF INITIAL REPORT OF MONACO

CRC
27th session
6 June 2001
Morning





Children in Monaco Enjoy Special Position and Privileges, Delegation Says


The Committee on the Rights of the Child this morning started its consideration of an initial report of Monaco on how that country was implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Introducing the report, Bernard Fautrier, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Monaco to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that his country was one of the smallest countries in terms of population and territory; the population of Monaco had now reached 35,000 among which 7,000 were Monegasques. He said the country's children enjoyed a special position and privileges within the society, and the Government was envisaging to improve their situation to the maximum.

Over the course of their consideration of the report of Monaco, Committee members raised questions, among other things, regarding Monaco's declaration on nationality; its reservation on article 40 of the Convention on judicial review; about why Monaco had not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; why it was not yet a member of the Council of Europe; and on the dissemination of the Convention.

The delegation of Monaco was also made up of Claudette Gastaud, Director of Health and Social Action of Monaco.

Monaco is among the 191 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and as such it must provide the Committee with periodic reports on how it was implementing the provisions of the treaty.

The Committee is expected to conclude its discussion with the delegation of Monaco when it reconvenes at 3 p.m. and an Expert will offer preliminary remarks on the report.

Report of Monaco

The initial report (document CRC/C/28/Add.15) enumerates the measures taken by the State with the view to implementing the provisions of the Convention on an article-by-article basis. It says the population of Monaco is less than 30,000 including 122 nationalities, and only 5,070 persons are considered to be Monegasques. According to the 1990 population census, there were 12,047 French and 5,000 Italians. Under the country's law, a "child" was any person under 21 years of age, unless the specified age of majority is lower pursuant to relevant legislation. The age of majority to exercise civil and political rights is 21. A minor might be emancipated by his parents at the age of 18 for boys and 15 for girls if they entered into marriage.

Children must attend school from age 6 to 16 inclusive, the report says; children may enter employment as soon as they complete their compulsory schooling; night work is prohibited without exceptions; sexual relations, even consensual, with a minor under 15 are considered an indictable offence punishable by imprisonment of up to 10 years; children under 15 cannot validly consent to have sexual relations; and the age of criminal liability is 18 years; children aged under 13 are not criminally liable.

According to the report, the abduction of a child is punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment in certain cases; failure to hand over a child to the persons entitled to its custody is punishable by 5 to 10 years imprisonment; assault and battery, deprivation of care or food, or any form of duress exercised against a child under the age of 15 are punishable by imprisonment of between one and five years and a fine; and rape or indecent assault of a minor is punishable by up to 20 years, and the same sentence applies for inciting minors to immorality or prostitution.

Monegasque law contains no special law on children belonging to a minority or an indigenous group, the report notes. The concept of "national minority" does not exist in Monegasque law and cannot easily be applied to the Principality. Native Monegasques account for just 5,070 of Monaco's 29,972 inhabitants; consequently they form a minority in their own country. Foreigners account for over 80 per cent of the Monegasque population.


Introduction of Report

BERNARD FAUTRIER, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Monaco to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that his country was one of the smallest countries in terms of population and territory. The country had ratified the Convention in 1993, the same year it became a member of the United Nations.

Mr. Fautrier said that the population of Monaco had now reached 35,000, including 7,000 Monegasques. Children under the age of 18 comprised 20 per cent of the whole population. The country's children enjoyed special privileges and a special position within the society, and the Government was envisaging to improve their situation to the maximum.

Mr. Fautrier stressed the importance of the presence of national and international associations working on the promotion and protection of the rights of children. The activities of the World Association of Children's Friends, which was established by the late Princess Grace, were known worldwide; and today, it had national representations in 25 countries. Its activities were extended to Africa and south-eastern Asia in the area of development cooperation. In order to increase the effectiveness of and enhance cooperation between public and private initiatives, the Government had signed a number of agreements with Monaco-based voluntary groups and groups with an international profile.

In conclusion, Mr. Fautrier said that due to its geographical position, Monaco had close links with neighbouring countries, particularly with France with which it had a custom union agreement to avoid border control.


Discussion

Committee members queried the Monegasque delegation on a number of issues. An Expert said that Monaco had declared that the Convention, especially article 7, should not affect the rules laid down in Monegasque legislation regarding nationality; and it had also made a reservation on article 40, paragraph 2 (b) (v), which concerned judicial review. Other Experts also asked the delegation why Monaco had not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; why it was not yet a member of the Council of Europe; and on the dissemination of the Convention, among other things.

In response to the questions, the delegation said that it would soon ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms Discrimination against Women. Women were already equally participating in public affairs and in the decision-making process within the Government.

Monaco had also initiated the procedure to be a member of the Council of Europe and it had fulfilled all the requirements of the Council, the delegation said. One thing which was still pending was the guarantee for pluralistic representation in parliament. Parliament was hesitant to give this guarantee required by the Council. The Government had endeavoured to reform some of the legislation pertaining to elections and hoped to resolve the problem in the coming years.

With regard to Monaco's reservation on the Convention, the delegation said that with the passing of time, the Government might amend some of its legislation which would permit it to withdraw its reservation.

Concerning equality between men and women in transmitting nationality, currently a bill was pending to be submitted to the country's parliament, the delegation said. Women had been asking for such a bill to be enacted in order to correct the inequalities that existed in transmitting nationality to children. In the past, Monegasque women were hampered from transmitting their nationality to their children if the father was a foreigner.

The Government of Monaco had presented draft legislation to parliament concerning nationality to which it had made reservations in the context of the Council of Europe's requirements, the delegation said. However, parliament was not yet able to vote on the draft because of other engagements.

Monaco allocated 6 per cent of its annual national budget to education and health, the delegation said. Preventive and follow-up health care services had been given priority in the field of health. The 50 million francs annually allocated for education and health covered Monaco's 6,000 children.

The problem of child prostitution was not a specific social problem because of the small population, the delegation said. The Government, however, had taken measures as a follow-up to the Stockholm programme and plan of action concerning prostitution involving children.

Monaco was not unaffected by the HIV/AIDS virus, the delegation said; the Government had taken preventive measures against that pandemic; free and anonymous AIDS testing was available to minors and adults alike. The social services and community-based organizations also had individuals who were trained to listen to children and direct them towards an appropriate physician.

The process of integration of persons from 122 very diverse origins was not easy, the delegation said. An educational frame-work had to be put in place to allow children from various nationalities to pursue their education successfully. In addition to French, other languages, such as Italian and English, were taught in schools to help foreign children.

Monaco was represented by its national organizations which dealt with international cooperation services in the field of children affairs, the environment and school building, the delegation said. There had been a number of schools in Madagascar, for example, run by the Monaco-based non-governmental organizations. Recently, they had constructed elementary schools in Benin. The organization such as the Monegasque Red Cross, "Mission Enfance", "Association mondiale des amis de l'enfance", and "Monaco Aide et Presence" received funds from the Government to finance their development projects in the developing countries.

Continuing their queries, Committee members asked, among other things, if Monaco had ratified the 1993 Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption; if children were kidnapped and taken out of the country; whether corporal punishment was prohibited in schools and the family; the right to know biological parents in the event of sperm or egg donation; and about the protective measures put in place against pornography.



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