PRESENTATION TO THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON WOMEN CHILDREN AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITES:

13 MARCH 2013

South Africa’s Combined Second, Third and Fourth Periodic State Party Report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) & the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child(Reporting period: 1998 - June 2012)

OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION

1) Brief Background to Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)

2) Brief background to the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC)

3) Drafting Process of the UNCRC/ACRWC

4) Structure of the Report

5) General Observations to Implementation of the UNCRC/ACRWC up to date, with specific focus on Challenges

6) Way Forward to Depositing the Report

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CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD (UNCRC)

Purpose of the UNCRC (Convention)

South Africa ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on 16 June 1995. This was the first international treaty that the new democratic government ratified.

The Country also ratified two of the three Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, namely:

The Optional Protocol Prohibiting the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Pornography on 30 June 2003 and

The Optional Protocol on Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict on 24 September 2009

In accordance with article 44 obliged to submit periodic reports on measures adopted and progress made in terms the rights of children.

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UNCRC: WHAT IS OUR REPORTING STATUS

When DWCPD was established found that: The second (2002) and third (2007) UNCRC reports were done but not submitted.

Cabinet was informed about status in a presentation on 21 September 2011. Obtained approval to submit a combined report in 2013 report.

The UNCRC Secretariat was informed that South Africa will submit a consolidated 2nd, 3rd and 4th report by June 2013.

The DWCPD established an Inter Departmental Committee for coordination & monitoring of child rights delivery& oversee this process

Met several times since September 2011:Developed guidelines for process.

Departmental submissions: Opened from February to 30 August 2012 (extended) (See handout on consultation process).

Discussion document released for consultation on 5 July 2012.

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UNCRC: WHAT MUST WE REPORT ON:

GENERAL STRUCTURE. OF REPORT

• General measures of implementation. • Definition of a child. • General principles relating to the rights of the child.• Civil rights and freedoms.• Family environment.• Basic health and welfare • Education, Sport, leisure and cultural activities.• Special protection measures in the state of emergency;

conflict with the law, situations of exploitation, minority groups.

• Refer to reporting guidelines for Optional Protocols.

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ACRWC

• Ratification: Presently, 46 Countries ratified. • SA: Ratified the ACRWC on 7 January 2000: • Harmonisation, implementation & monitoring: SA have reporting

obligations to the AU every 3 years. No report submitted thus far.• The Expert Committee on the ACRWC responsible for reports &

feedback. It was established in 2001 and have 11 members all voluntary and part-time. Located within the Social Affairs Commission– This Committee has an extended mandate: It deal with cases;

Conduct visits; Seminars; and determine the theme for the Day of African Child annually.

– Both report - same content different corresponding articles and emphasis.

– Report to the AU Expert Committee: July 2013.

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ACRWC: MEASURES OF SPECIAL EMPHASIS

The ACRWC place SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON the following: • Responsibilities of the Child - Art 31 e.g.. Child’s duty towards: • Harmful social and cultural practices Art.21 (child marriage)• Children of imprisoned mothers -Art 30• Children who need special protection on account of being in risky or

vulnerable conditions (children in street/orphaned & vulnerable) The consultations and reporting placed emphasis on these areas.

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THE CONSULTATION PROCESS: UNCRC & ACRWC

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National Consultations Provincial Consultations

Government Departments: Started Oct: 2011The Interdepartmental Committee was established to coordinate the consultation process and submissions

Workshop with provincial ORC’sProvinces receive the discussion document on 5 June & commenced with Provincial Consultations

Departmental inputs received from February to September 2012Follow-up meetings calls; requestsMeeting with Chief Directors on progress

2 day Consultation workshops hosted by Offices on the Rights of the Child & Premier Offices. July – September: Workshop reports produced and submitted

National Consultation workshops conducted June and September Discussion report and statistical matrix used as tools to collect data

The non government sector has been included and participated in the provincial and national consultation workshops.

Further inputs and verificationFinal draft to all: October

Submissions incorporated:Draft Report approved by all ClustersSubmission to Cabinet for approval

COMMENTS ON THE STRUCTURE OF DRAFT REPORT

• The report takes into account the UNCRC Committee’s Concluding Observations on the last country report submitted in 1998 and addresses these directly in the report where relevant.

• With consideration of the stipulated page restrictions, the body of the report focuses on high level developments only.

• Statistical information is provided in Annexures 1A-1H and supplementary narrative is included in Annexures 2A-2N.

• The report draws primarily on information provided by various Government Departments and obtained from Government reports, policies and strategies and the consultation process described above.

• As is the usual practice, non-government organizations have indicated that they will submit alternative reports to the Committee on the implementation of the Convention from their perspective

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GOVERNMENT SUBMISSIONS RECEIVED AND NOT RECEIVED BY 30 /09 /2012

UNCRC AND ACRWC

RECEIVED 1)Social Development2)Justice and Constitutional Development3)Basic Education4)SAPS5)Labour6)Tourism7)Defence 8)Health9)Public Enterprises10)Rural Development and Land Reform11)National Treasury12)Home Affairs13)Correctional Services14) Water and Environmental Affairs15)Transport16)Science and Technology

NOT RECEIVED

1)Sport and Recreation2) Arts and Culture3)Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs4)Communication5) Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries6) Energy 7) Economic Development8)Trade and Industry 9) Public Works10) Mineral Resources

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GOVERNMENT SUBMISSIONS RECEIVED AND NOT RECEIVED BY 30 /09/2012

Optional protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography

RECEIVED 1)Social Development2)Justice and Constitutional Development3)Labour4)Health5)South African Police Services6)Films and Publications Board

Optional Protocol on Children Involved in Armed Conflict

NOT RECEIVED 1.Communications2.Education

NOT RECEIVED1.Department of Defense

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GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF UNCRC

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GENERAL OBSERVATIONS: Feedback

• Significant progress made: See summary• Various pro-poor policies and programmes are in place to ensure that

children in poverty receive preferential support. • Number of children living in poverty has decreased from 73% in 2003

to 60% in 2009 (Statistics South Africa, 2010). • Decline in the number of children experiencing hunger and

malnutrition. In 2002, 34, 7% of children reported having gone hungry. This dropped to 18,6% in 2010 (Statistics South Africa, 2011).

• Between 2002 and 2009, the number of 7 – 14 year olds attending school increased from 96 to 99% (Statistics South Africa, 2011).

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GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

• Children with disabilities attending school increased by more than 20% between 2002 and 2010 and 56% of children attending school do not pay school fees (Statistics South Africa, 2012).

• In addition, the percentage of children living in formal housing increased by 6% between 2002 and 2010;

• The percentage of children with access to piped water increased from 54,7% to 61,8% in the same period;

• Access to sanitation increased by 10% to 49,5% in 2010; and access to electricity increased from 70 to 83% between 2002 and 2010 (Statistics South Africa, 2011).

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PART I: GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION

South Africa has established an impressive legislative and policy architecture to implement the UNCRC and the ACRWC

Main conclusions: SA has ratified all major instruments on children (Communications) SA has adopted key legislation to safeguard children's rights SA has sufficient policy and institutional framework: E.g. Established DWCPD; The National Plan of Action for Children and the M&E framework provides for an

integrated framework to set goals for children’s rights. delivering and monitoring.Recommendations: Improve state reporting Strengthen linkages between laws, policy and implementation Ratify the Convention on Social & Economic Rights Strengthen intersectoral coordination Strengthen M&E systems

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PART I: GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION

South Africa has established a substantive legislative and policy architecture to implement the UNCRC and the ACRWC

Engagement with government departments indicates that:(a)there is an urgent and serious need for all departments to critically assess the capacity of the M&E units (systems and competencies required to meet reporting demands) (b)the information systems required to produce the standards and quality of data required is generally poor (c)the M&E units and programme divisions of departments are not always effectively aligned to produce the data needed (d)a need to strengthen the alignment between the M&E indicators (systems) between national, provincial and municipal levels (e)there is an urgent need for a comprehensive M&E framework and a uniform data base capable of tracking trends on child wellbeing. The DWCPD has developed a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for Children’s Rights and Wellbeing including an initial core set of indicators.

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PART TWO: DEFINITION OF THE CHILD

Concern: Children under the age of 18 may marry, subject to their age, their consenting thereto and the consent of either their parents or the Minister of Home Affairs.

Children under the age of 18 may marry, subject to their age, their consenting thereto and the consent of either their parents or the Minister of Home Affairs. The position is different for boys and girls depending on their ages, and is different in the case of civil versus customary marriages. Child marriages continue to take place – In 2008, a total of 524 children concluded civil marriages, 509 were girls and 15 were boys. The majority were older than 16. A total of 470 girls and 11 boys aged 16 years or older were married in 2008. One 13 year old girl was married, 6 children aged 14 (4 girls and 2 boys), and 27 children (25 girls and 2 boys) aged 15 years were married in 2008. (Statistics SA Marriages and Divorces , 2009)Despite intensive consultation with traditional leaders and communities during the development of the Children’s Act, there are reports of widespread disregard of age limits for the circumcision of boys and virginity testing of girls under the age of 16 years.. The Child Justice Act (2008) raises the age of criminal capacity from 7 to 10 years – UNCRC recommend 12years

Recommendations Amend the legislation to bring the age of marriage inline with the recommendation of the AU : 18years Review the age of criminal capacity & bring inline with internal standard of 12years.

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PART 3: GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Number of common challenges which impact on the ability of, especially vulnerable children, to access their rights, services and benefits

Provincial and district-level variations in the allocation of resources to implement national policies and programmes and in the quality of the services frustrate access to services and benefits for the most marginalised children

Insufficient coordination between different levels of government and between different departments has impeded the implementation of a number of the targeted pro-vulnerable policies and programmes.

Remedying the problems of access and quality for the most marginalised children has been problematised by inadequate data collection systems.

The State has responded to these challenges by implementing a host of structural interventions to ensure the alignment and equalisation of commitments, funding and outcomes for vulnerable children at all provincial and local levels, by developing and strengthening coordination mechanisms, and through the development of a stronger monitoring and evaluation framework.

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PART 4:CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS

• Infrastructural challenges have limited enjoyment of the right to information, especially in predominantly rural areas and areas of high poverty. Historical backlogs have resulted in insufficient public libraries, especially in marginalised areas.

• Similarly, few households in South Africa have access to the internet. In 2011 only 32, 9% of South African Households had access to the internet.

• The prevalence of corporal punishment has increased in schools in the last few years. In 2011, 17,2%, compared to 16,8% in 2009 of learners experienced corporal punishment at schools.

• The prevalence of corporal punishment has increased in schools in the last few years. In 2011, 17,2%, compared to 16,8% in 2009 of learners experienced corporal punishment at schools.

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PART 5:FAMILY ENVIRONMENT

IMPLEMENTATION CONSTRAINTSThe Children’s Act (2005) emphasizes the importance of family reunification wherever possible and in the best interests of the child. The Act requires that a child be placed in alternative care for as short a period as possible, and that effort is made for the reunification of the child and parent or care giver with the assistance of a designated social worker.

The links between government’s poverty alleviation strategies, the child care and protection system and social security benefits especially foster care and the child support grants to be investigated more critically to fine more creative and sustainable interventions to improve the capacities of indigent families to care for their children.

Abuse, neglect including physical and psychological recovery and corporal punishment (articles 29 and 39): remains a major concern. Violence, exploitation, murder of children - Drastic measures required to address this scourge.

Strengthening social service capacity: A key issue impacting delivery of services to support family and alternative care for children is the shortage of suitably qualified social service practitioners and resources to remunerate them.

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PART 6:HEALTH

IMPLEMENTATION CONSTRAINTS

While SA does not have centralized disability legislation, several laws and government strategies have been developed during the reporting period that relates to disability.

Despite legislative and policies that are in place, there remains a number of challenges that must be addresses in regard to the rights and needs of people with disabilities.

Child health outcomes and the distribution and pattern of morbidity and mortality in SA continue to be shaped by persistent inequalities, with higher mortality rates in rural settings, amongst, Africans and in the poorest quintiles.

The new Integrated School Health Programme (ISHP) to strengthen existing school health services is commendable

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PART 7: EDUCATION

IMPLEMENTATION CONSTRAINTS

Infrastructure variability and inequity is a key problem. Infrastructure backlogs which are more common in schools serving poor, often rural communities. The high drop-out rate of between 3,5% and 11,8% for older learners after Grade 9 (Department of Basic Education Report on Dropout and Learner Retention Strategy, June 2011).The low numbers of learners (41%) that are retained and complete their FET cycle (Department of Basic Education Action Plan to 2014, 2011) and the low rate of access to FET colleges. In 2011 only 1,6% of individuals attended FET colleges (Statistics South Africa , 2012).Strengthen psycho-social support services school health – very positive direction. Need to place greater emphasis and resources towards school social work services. Address instability in the organised education sector labour/unionsStrengthen children’s participation in governance and reporting

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RECOMMENDATIONS:

INVESTING IN CHILDREN MAKES PROFOUND DEVELOPMENT SENSE

IT IS THE BACKBONE OF THE ECONOMY- LET US DO THIS!

Include child focused performance indicators in the Performance Agreements of Ministers, and mainstreamed these into the national performance assessment framework (aligned to treasury and DPME, M&E regulations)

Strengthen cooperation and coordination mechanisms on national, provincial and local government levels within the DWCPD institutional framework (Child rights Machineries) to monitor and track planning, budgeting, implementation and spending on children.

Strengthen monitoring and evaluation capacity in departments to generate adequate, reliable and timely data on child rights delivery.

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TIMELINE FOR DEPOSITING OF REPORT

INVESTING IN CHILDREN MAKES PROFOUND DEVELOPMENT SENSE

IT IS THE BACKBONE OF THE ECONOMY- LET US DO THIS!

•The report submitted to Cabinet for release 5 December 2012

•Parliamentary engagement and public release: February – March 2013

•Preparation of final draft: - April •Cabinet Approve Final report – May•Printing and dissemination – June •Depositing of report via DIRCO before 15 July 2013

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We all win when children comes first !!

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