In Guyana, it is estimated that some 3000 young girls drop out of school annually as a result of pregnancy, the government has told the United Nations Rights of the Child Committee.
In its written response to the list of issues concerning additional and updated information related to the combined Second, Third and Fourth Periodic Reports of Guyana to the Committee, government said that the issue of teenagers, who become pregnant and drop out of school is of concern. “There is nevertheless evidence that many teenage mothers have an interest in returning to school to complete their education. However, in the past, there have been occasions when there were objections by the school authorities due to conservative attitudes,” the government said in its response.
Guyana’s delegation appeared before the UN Committee on January 15th 2013 in Geneva, Switzerland.
The report pointed out that in April 2008, the Ministry of Education and its Schools Welfare Service launched Phase One of an initiative to re-integrate teenage mothers in schools. The initiative was funded by the UNICEF under the theme ‘Assisting to achieve quality education through reintegration’. “In Guyana, it is estimated that some 3,000 young girls drop out of school annually as a result of pregnancy. They become more vulnerable and have reduced choices and opportunities which further contribute to the cycle of poverty. This programme arose as a result of requests from teenage mothers who wanted to resume their education but were facing many obstacles,” the response by government said.
It stated that the reintegration programme is geared at empowering teenage mothers to regain their dignity and self-worth and to be reintegrated into mainstream society.
The teenage mothers are also given complementary counseling on building self-esteem, parenting and childcare, and stress and anger management to empower and assist them to adjust to their new role as a parent, while they complete secondary school, the government said.
Meantime, statistics in the government’s report showed that from January to March last year, the Childcare and Protection Agency recorded 1069 incidences of child abuse with 529 cases of neglect, 224 cases of sexual abuse and 213 cases of physical abuse. In 2011 the agency recorded 3999 incidences of child abuse.
Further, the government said that in 2012, the police received 146 reports of child abuse and 35 persons were charged with one thus far receiving a 5-year imprisonment term.
Meantime, the government told the UN Committee that the greatest threat to the protection and promotion of children’s rights and equal access to services is emerging from the threat to parliamentary democracy posed by the opposition “dictatorship of one” in the Parliament. “The greatest threat to the protection and promotion of children’s rights and equal access to services and the potential for a reversal of the democratic and socio-economic gains is emerging from the threat to parliamentary democracy posed by the opposition “dictatorship of one” in the Parliament,” said the government in its response.
In its submission, government said that children hold a special place on its agenda and it remains unwaveringly committed to fulfilling its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and since the submission of its combined 2nd, 3rd and 4th Periodic Reports in 2010, significant efforts have continued to be made to ensure the creation of the best environment where children can thrive within available resources.
Meantime, in its concluding observations on Guyana’s submissions, the Committee welcomed the establishment of the Childcare and Protection Agency but expressed concern that the Agency does not have adequate authority and sufficient resources for effectively fulfilling a coordination role, and that Guyana has not designated or established a specific body for the overall coordination of the implementation of the Convention across sectors and at the national, regional and local level.
It urged Guyana to establish or designate a specific high level body for the overall coordination of all activities relevant for the implementation of the Convention and ensure that it has sufficient authority and adequate human, technical and financial resources to effectively coordinate actions for children’s rights, between government entities and across sectors nationally, regionally and locally throughout the State party’s territory, particularly its hinterland/interior and rural areas.
Guyana was also urged to provide this body with a leadership role in advocacy for child rights, policy formulation, monitoring of programme implementation and mobilization of resources for children; and rationalize the work of the various child rights bodies and provide them with the necessary human, technical and financial resources to carry out their role effectively.
The Committee also welcomed the establishment of the Rights of the Child Commission. “The Committee also notes as positive the establishment of the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Social Services to provide oversight on Government policy and performance in relation to the social sector, including matters relating to children. However, the Committee is concerned that the Rights of the Child Commission does not have a fully functional complaints mechanism for children and has only dealt with a limited number of direct complaints to date. Furthermore, the Committee is concerned that the limited independence and powers of the Rights of the Child Commission are not in full compliance with the Paris Principles. The Committee is further concerned that the resources allocated to these two bodies are not adequate for them to operate effectively,” the report said.
The UN Committee also welcomed Guyana’s adoption of the Amerindian Act in 2006 and establishment of the Indigenous Peoples Commission to address the discrimination and marginalisation faced by Amerindian children and other measures taken to address discrimination against Amerindians. However, it expressed concern at the prevalence of discrimination against Amerindian children, and children with disabilities. Furthermore, the Committee also expressed concerned about discrimination against children on the basis of sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
It urged Guyana to ensure that its programmes address the situation of discrimination against Amerindian children, children with disabilities, and children because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. “The Committee further urges the State party to include information in its next periodic report on measures and programmes relevant to the Convention and undertaken by the State party in follow-up to the Declaration and Programme of Action adopted at the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, as well as the outcome document adopted at the 2009 Durban Review Conference,” the report said.
In relation to health and health services, the Committee noted as positive the 2008–2012 National Health Sector Strategy for improving child and maternal health. “However, the Committee is concerned that preventable maternal mortality rate remains high, particularly in the hinterland and amongst socio-economically disadvantaged women,” the report said adding that the Committee reiterates its previous concern on the high infant and under-5 mortality rates. The Committee also expressed concern at the high rates of tuberculosis in Guyana.
It recommended that Guyana apply the findings and recommendations of its maternal mortality surveillance committees and perinatal information system to implement comprehensive programmes for addressing maternal and perinatal deaths. It also urged Guyana to undertake targeted programmes for addressing preventable health problems among children, including with regard to malaria, diarrhoea, malnutrition, and acute respiratory diseases with particular attention to tuberculosis.
The committee urged Guyana to undertake measures to address the quality, access and utilisation of all health and nutrition services, particularly perinatal facilities, in its hinterland and outlying regions, take all necessary measures to combat tuberculosis; and seek financial and technical assistance from UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), to implement the recommendations in this regard.
