2. Please confirm and describe the different roles of the National Commission to Follow Up the Convention on the Rights of the Child (referred to in paragraph 39 (b) of the State party’s Core document (HRI/CORE/1/Add.100)) and the National Committee to monitor application of the Convention (referred to in paragraph 53 of the report). In light of articles 4 and 27 of the Convention, please indicate, in particular, the resources available to these bodies, the existence of any local representatives and the impact of their work in improving implementation of the Convention.

3. Please provide information on the implementation and impact of the “Plan of Action for the Survival, Protection and Development of Children in the Central African Republic” and also provide information on efforts to alleviate poverty and improve standards of living in the State party.

4. Please provide additional information on the role played by civil society in implementing the Convention. Please also provide a brief analysis of the strengths, weaknesses and constraints on civil society in the context of implementing the Convention.

5. Please describe the progress, since publication of the report, in making the provisions of the Convention widely known, including through appropriate translation, and in ensuring broad dissemination of the report through, inter alia, translation of the report into the Sango language, training in children’s rights for government employees (such as the police, judiciary and relevant Ministerial officials), the use of radio and television broadcasts for general dissemination, discussions in villages and through discussions and the teaching of children’s rights in primary and secondary schools.

7. Please describe the efforts made to ensure that the views of a child are respected including, inter alia, in the context of the legal and administrative proceedings, in the family and at school, in light of article 12 of the Convention.

8. Please provide further information on the incidence of infanticide in the State party including as a result of traditional beliefs concerning, for example, children born in the breech position, and on the measures taken to prevent and combat this phenomenon.

9. With reference to paragraph 59 of the report, please explain the opportunities available for children to seek legal assistance from a lawyer.

10. In light of article 7 of the Convention, please provide information on measures taken to improve birth registration, in particular in the rural and remote areas of the country and to ensure that parents seeking registration are not charged with fees for this service.

11. Please provide information on any practices of police brutality, of corporal punishment in the judicial process, in the family or in schools and of violence between children.

12. Please provide information on the impact of polygamy on the enjoyment by children of their rights, including inheritance rights.

13. Please provide a brief assessment of the various alternatives available to a child deprived of his or her family environment and of the capacity of existing State and non-governmental facilities and of extended families to care for such children. Please also indicate the number of children in need of alternative care and the number estimated to currently receive such assistance. Please provide information on the facilities available for the training of staff who work with children deprived of their family environment and indicate what efforts are made to monitor alternative care mechanisms.

14. Please describe the main problems regarding implementation of the Convention’s provisions in the context of the adoption or guardianship of children. Please also explain the main differences between the “simple” and “full” adoption proceedings and with the “guardianship” procedure, as described in the report (para. 129). Please describe the forms of ill-treatment suffered by children who are taken in by families under guardianship proceedings and the measures taken to end such practices. Please indicate the numbers of adopted children, the numbers of children cared for under guardianship provisions and the numbers of children estimated to suffer from ill-treatment.

15. Please explain which State structures have responsibility for formulating and implementing policy and programmes in favour of children with disabilities. Please provide a brief assessment of the overall situation of children with disabilities, including physical and cognitive disabilities, and the main problems and difficulties faced by such children in terms of the respect of their human rights.

16. Please provide further information on the access to health care of urban and rural children including, inter alia, primary health care, prenatal care and immunization, indicating as far as possible the type of care available across the country. Please provide information, in particular, on efforts to address the high infant and maternal mortality rates including through information campaigns explaining the importance of prenatal care. Please indicate the extent to which children from poor families or children without families have access to a broad range of health services. Please also draw attention to particular weaknesses and problems in the health services available and indicate efforts under way to address these concerns.

17. Please provide information on the efforts being made to extend access to clean drinking water.

18. Please provide information on the incidence of HIV/AIDS, its impact on respect for the rights of children and the measures currently undertaken to address it. Please provide information on adolescent health including, inter alia, reproductive health. Please provide information on the existence of mental health facilities and programmes, on the access of children to mental health services and on any problems that may exist.

19. Please indicate whether further progress has been made, since publication of the report, towards making social security benefits accessible to a larger percentage of the population. Please indicate what efforts are being made to extend social security coverage further and what success is expected.

20. With reference to paragraphs 136 and 137 of the report, please provide information on measures taken to combat the ongoing practice of “clandestine” excision.

21. Please provide information on the efforts under way to improve the access of children to education in the State party. In particular, please provide information on the national education budget, on enrolment rates (disaggregated by gender), on the ratio of pupils to teachers, on the capacity and quality of the existing educational infrastructure and on the drop-out rate of children from school. Please describe the measures that have been taken to address problems in these domains. Please provide additional information on changes to school curricula, referred to in paragraph 186 of the report. Please also indicate the main languages in which formal education is conducted, including the extent to which the Sango language and minority languages are used.

22. Please describe any pre-school facilities that may be available. Please provide additional information on the leisure and recreational activities of children, including children from poor and rural communities.

23. Please provide additional information on efforts undertaken by the State party and by NGOs to assist children living or working on the street, and on the results of such efforts. Please also provide information on any problems of drug abuse by children and efforts taken to address this phenomenon.

24. Please provide information on the numbers and origin of child refugees in the State party, the assistance available to them, including access to health and education, and any problems they might face.

25. Please provide information indicating what efforts are currently under way to establish a juvenile justice system, including juvenile justice courts and judges, appropriate training for officials, alternatives to detention or imprisonment, and the existence of rehabilitation facilities. Please describe the results obtained by these efforts.

26. Please provide further information and statistical data on children deprived of their liberty, including the length of their deprivation and the measures taken to:

(a) ensure that deprivation of liberty is used only as a last resort;

(b) guarantee the introduction of legal aid;

(c) ensure the periodic review and monitoring of children’s placement;

(d) ensure continued contact between the child and his/her family;

(e) ensure the effective and periodic monitoring of the facilities;

(f) the measures taken to ensure the separation of children from adults;

(g) introduce an effective complaint procedure which is independent from the authorities of detention and correction institutions, to deal with issues such as ill-treatment and violations of the children’s rights;

(h) ensure that children in detention continue to receive education, health and social services.

27. Please provide information on practices of child labour, including on relevant domestic laws, and on any measures that may have been taken to address this phenomenon. Please also indicate whether the State party intends to ratify ILO Convention No. 138 concerning the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment and Convention No. 182 concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour.

28. Please provide information indicating the methods used by the State party to deal with accusations of rape and other sexual abuse, information on the numbers of cases reported, and information indicating the numbers of persons prosecuted for such offences. Please also provide information on practices of sexual exploitation and on the measures taken to combat them.