Welcome to the United Nations 
OHCHR 
Press releases Treaty bodies
Default title
24 January 2000
Share
AFTERNOON
HR/CRC/00/19
24 January 2000
COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD OFFERS PRELIMINARY
CONCLUSIONS ON THE INITIAL REPORT OF GRENADA
The Committee on the Rights of the Child offered this afternoon its preliminary conclusions on the report of Grenada by urging the Government to exert more efforts in the field of legislative reform and to allocate more financial resources for the promotion of the rights of children.
The Committee encouraged the Government to ratify International Labour Office (ILO) Convention 138 on the minimum age of taking employment. It also urged the Government to disseminate the report and to continue to train law-enforcing officers on the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Committee experts also urged the Grenadian Government to change public attitudes so that the population could understand that a child was a subject of rights and was a partner in the society. The change of attitude should also stress the respect of the human dignity of the child, the Committee said.
Formal conclusions and recommendations will be issued in writing towards the end of the Committee's three-week session which concludes on 28 January.
Discussion over the course of the afternoon meeting focused on the general topics of basic health and welfare; education, leisure and cultural activities; and special protection.
As one of 191 States parties to the Convention, Grenade is obligated to submit periodic reports to the Committee on efforts to improve the circumstances of the country's children. A two-member Grenadian delegation headed by the Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Women's Affairs and Social Security, Brenda Hood, was on hand to respond to questions raised by the Committee's 10 experts.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 25 January, it will take up the initial report of South Africa (document CRC/C/51/Add.2).
Discussion
In response to questions raised by Committee experts during the morning meeting, the members of the Grenadian delegation said that adoption in Grenada generally took place among relatives. Since extended family ties still played a large role in the society, children were adopted by one of the relatives. Inter-country adoption of children also mainly concerned Grenadian relatives living abroad. Very few children were adopted by non-Grenadians.
Most of Grenadian households were run by women who also took care of the children, the delegation said. Cases of single mothers with children whose fathers were unknown were common in the country. In the event that the name of the father was included on the official registry, the father was obliged by law to participate financially in the upbringing of the child.
A question was raised on alcoholic consumption by children, to which the delegation said the country's law prohibited the purchase and consumption of alcoholic drinks by children.
The delegation stressed again that application of corporal punishment was not the Government's policy, and that in schools, such practice was regulated. However, due to tradition, there had been resistance by the society to eliminate corporal punishment and it was still used as a means to discipline children.
The National Coalition on the Rights of the Child was a unique institution with a special mission to ensure that the principles and provisions of the Convention were disseminated at all levels of the society. Several members of the Coalition were public officers and were allowed to carry out activities on behalf of the Coalition during working hours.
Follow-up questions were asked by Committee members on such issues as the rate of infant and maternal mortality; the rate of suicide; the immunization campaign; the rise of cases of gonorrhoea and other venereal diseases; the extent of the spread of the HIV/AIDS virus; iodine-deficiencies; breast-feeding; the policy of nutrition; abortion; and domestic violence, among other things.
Concerning breast-feeding, the delegation said that mothers were encouraged to breast-feed their children at least up to six months, the officials said. However, when mothers returned to work, it was difficult to continue breast-feeding. In such cases, breast-feeding would take place only during the night when mothers returned from work.
The Government had been campaigning to raise public awareness on the issue of HIV/AIDS through various means, including the mass media, posters and seminars, the delegation said.
Cases of child abuse and incest had been reported within the Grenadian society, the delegation said. Besides the campaign to increase public awareness on these issues, the law punished those who perpetrated such acts with up to 10 years of imprisonment. The victims were put under medical and psychological observation to overcome their trauma.
The rate of suicide among children was rare with only two known cases last year involving two teenagers who committed suicide under the influence of drug-addiction, the delegation said.
Abortion was illegal in Grenada and no medical doctor was allowed to exercise it, except in cases in which the life of the mother was in danger, the delegation said.
Preliminary Concluding Observations and Recommendations
The Committee thanked the members of the delegation for their constructive and fruitful dialogue with the experts. It said the report was prepared in accordance with the guidelines of the Committee.
The Committee said that the National Coalition for the Rights of the Child was a positive measure aimed at promoting and protecting the rights of child. It said some legislative provisions should be brought in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child . The Government should seek international technical assistance to pursue such legislative reform. In addition, the Government was urged to exert more efforts in the field of legislative reform and to allocate more financial resources to the promotion of the rights of children.
The Committee said that the problems of data collection was one of its concerns. Data collection should be carried out by the Government to better realize the real situation of the rights of children. The Committee said it also observed that the Government lacked a policy to properly address HIV/AIDS in the country. It welcomed the building of new high schools, and urged that children should be kept in schools.
The Committee encouraged the Government to ratify International Labour Office Convention 138 on the minimum age of taking employment. It also urged the Government to disseminate the report and to continue to train law-enforcing officers on the provisions of the Convention.
It also urged the Grenadian Government to change public attitude so that the population understood that a child was a subject of rights and partner in the society. The change of attitude should also stress the respect of the human dignity of children.
HR/CRC/00/19
24 January 2000
COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD OFFERS PRELIMINARY
CONCLUSIONS ON THE INITIAL REPORT OF GRENADA
The Committee on the Rights of the Child offered this afternoon its preliminary conclusions on the report of Grenada by urging the Government to exert more efforts in the field of legislative reform and to allocate more financial resources for the promotion of the rights of children.
The Committee encouraged the Government to ratify International Labour Office (ILO) Convention 138 on the minimum age of taking employment. It also urged the Government to disseminate the report and to continue to train law-enforcing officers on the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Committee experts also urged the Grenadian Government to change public attitudes so that the population could understand that a child was a subject of rights and was a partner in the society. The change of attitude should also stress the respect of the human dignity of the child, the Committee said.
Formal conclusions and recommendations will be issued in writing towards the end of the Committee's three-week session which concludes on 28 January.
Discussion over the course of the afternoon meeting focused on the general topics of basic health and welfare; education, leisure and cultural activities; and special protection.
As one of 191 States parties to the Convention, Grenade is obligated to submit periodic reports to the Committee on efforts to improve the circumstances of the country's children. A two-member Grenadian delegation headed by the Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Women's Affairs and Social Security, Brenda Hood, was on hand to respond to questions raised by the Committee's 10 experts.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 25 January, it will take up the initial report of South Africa (document CRC/C/51/Add.2).
Discussion
In response to questions raised by Committee experts during the morning meeting, the members of the Grenadian delegation said that adoption in Grenada generally took place among relatives. Since extended family ties still played a large role in the society, children were adopted by one of the relatives. Inter-country adoption of children also mainly concerned Grenadian relatives living abroad. Very few children were adopted by non-Grenadians.
Most of Grenadian households were run by women who also took care of the children, the delegation said. Cases of single mothers with children whose fathers were unknown were common in the country. In the event that the name of the father was included on the official registry, the father was obliged by law to participate financially in the upbringing of the child.
A question was raised on alcoholic consumption by children, to which the delegation said the country's law prohibited the purchase and consumption of alcoholic drinks by children.
The delegation stressed again that application of corporal punishment was not the Government's policy, and that in schools, such practice was regulated. However, due to tradition, there had been resistance by the society to eliminate corporal punishment and it was still used as a means to discipline children.
The National Coalition on the Rights of the Child was a unique institution with a special mission to ensure that the principles and provisions of the Convention were disseminated at all levels of the society. Several members of the Coalition were public officers and were allowed to carry out activities on behalf of the Coalition during working hours.
Follow-up questions were asked by Committee members on such issues as the rate of infant and maternal mortality; the rate of suicide; the immunization campaign; the rise of cases of gonorrhoea and other venereal diseases; the extent of the spread of the HIV/AIDS virus; iodine-deficiencies; breast-feeding; the policy of nutrition; abortion; and domestic violence, among other things.
Concerning breast-feeding, the delegation said that mothers were encouraged to breast-feed their children at least up to six months, the officials said. However, when mothers returned to work, it was difficult to continue breast-feeding. In such cases, breast-feeding would take place only during the night when mothers returned from work.
The Government had been campaigning to raise public awareness on the issue of HIV/AIDS through various means, including the mass media, posters and seminars, the delegation said.
Cases of child abuse and incest had been reported within the Grenadian society, the delegation said. Besides the campaign to increase public awareness on these issues, the law punished those who perpetrated such acts with up to 10 years of imprisonment. The victims were put under medical and psychological observation to overcome their trauma.
The rate of suicide among children was rare with only two known cases last year involving two teenagers who committed suicide under the influence of drug-addiction, the delegation said.
Abortion was illegal in Grenada and no medical doctor was allowed to exercise it, except in cases in which the life of the mother was in danger, the delegation said.
Preliminary Concluding Observations and Recommendations
The Committee thanked the members of the delegation for their constructive and fruitful dialogue with the experts. It said the report was prepared in accordance with the guidelines of the Committee.
The Committee said that the National Coalition for the Rights of the Child was a positive measure aimed at promoting and protecting the rights of child. It said some legislative provisions should be brought in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child . The Government should seek international technical assistance to pursue such legislative reform. In addition, the Government was urged to exert more efforts in the field of legislative reform and to allocate more financial resources to the promotion of the rights of children.
The Committee said that the problems of data collection was one of its concerns. Data collection should be carried out by the Government to better realize the real situation of the rights of children. The Committee said it also observed that the Government lacked a policy to properly address HIV/AIDS in the country. It welcomed the building of new high schools, and urged that children should be kept in schools.
The Committee encouraged the Government to ratify International Labour Office Convention 138 on the minimum age of taking employment. It also urged the Government to disseminate the report and to continue to train law-enforcing officers on the provisions of the Convention.
It also urged the Grenadian Government to change public attitude so that the population understood that a child was a subject of rights and partner in the society. The change of attitude should also stress the respect of the human dignity of children.