Ginevra – ONU: Committee on rights of child concludes Thirty-sixth session. Adopts Conclusions on Reports of … France.

Adopts Conclusions on Reports of El Salvador, Panama, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Liberia, Myanmar, Dominica, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and France

The Committee on the Rights of the Child concluded today its thirty-sixth session and issued its conclusions and recommendations on the situation of children in El Salvador, Panama, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Liberia, Myanmar, Dominica, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and France whose reports on efforts to comply with the Convention on the Rights of the Child were considered this session.

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And concerning the report of France, the Committee welcomed the adoption by the State party of several laws and noted with appreciation the positive developments relating to the implementation of the Convention. The Committee urged, among other things, the State party to establish a central registry for data collection and introduce a comprehensive system of data collection incorporating all the areas covered by the Convention. It also recommended that France pursue its efforts to prevent and combat child abuse and neglect.

Final Conclusions on Country Reports

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FRANCE

As positive developments in the second periodic of France, the Committee welcomed the ratification of the optional protocols to the Convention, as well as that of ILO Convention No. 182. The Committee noted with appreciation the positive developments relating to the implementation of the Convention, such as the adoption by the State party in recent years of numerous laws and regulations; and the measures taken to follow-up the recommendations of the Committee in particular the establishment of an Ombudsman for Children; the establishment of the Commission of Inquiry on the Rights of Child in France; and the Parliamentary Delegations on the Rights of the Child, as well as the establishment of a National Observatory for Childhood in Danger.

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Referring to the new legislation of 15 March 2004 on wearing religious signs in public schools, the Committee recommended that the State party, when evaluating the effects of the legislation, use the enjoyment of children’s rights as a crucial criteria in the evaluation process and also consider alternative means, including mediation, of ensuring the secular character of public schools, while guaranteeing that individual rights were not infringed upon and that children were not excluded or marginalized from the school system and other settings as a result of such legislation. The dress code of schools might be better addressed within the public schools themselves, encouraging participation of children. The Committee further recommended that France continue to closely monitor the situation of girls being expelled from schools as a result of the new legislation and ensure they enjoyed the right of access to education.

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