Africa-Press – Mauritius. A delegation from Mauritius, headed by the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Welfare, Mrs Kalpana Devi Koonjoo-Shah, and comprising representatives of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare, the Attorney General’s Office, and the Permanent Mission of Mauritius to the United Nations (UN) Office at Geneva, intervened in Geneva, Switzerland, on 17 and 18 January 2023, in the context of the 92nd session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) for the review of the combined sixth and seventh periodic Report.
Introducing the Report, Minister Koonjoo-Shah said that the Government of Mauritius had provided for several budgetary measures to relieve those who had been most affected by global challenges, including the elderly, women and children.
These support measures, she pointed out, include subsidies to stabilise the prices of food, Wage Assistance Schemes to maintain employment, and the undertaking of free vaccination programmes for children.
She indicated that since the submission of the last Report, the Children’s Act 2020, the Child Sex Offenders Register Act 2020, and the Children’s Court Act 2020, which were passed in the National Assembly in December 2020, had been proclaimed as of 24 January 2022.
As part of the Government’s efforts towards the de-institutionalisation of alternative care, the Child (Foster Care) Regulations 2022 enabled the placement of more children within a family set up, with an increased allowance paid to foster parents to incentivise more foster homes, she said.
Speaking about the Children’s Act 2020, Mrs Koonjoo-Shah stated that a child was defined as a person under the age of 18, without any derogation, and child marriage was also prohibited under the Act, with the Civil Code amended accordingly.
Furthermore, she highlighted that a system has been implemented in Mauritius for tardy declaration of birth to ensure that every child in the country had a name and an identity.
A general prohibition against corporal punishment was provided under the Act to further support efforts to eliminate violence against children, she said.
The Act, she indicated, also brought the offences of child prostitution and child pornography in line with the second Optional Protocol of the Convention. The Children’s Act also set the minimum age of criminal responsibility at 14, with the detention of minors above the age of 14 being a last resort.
The Government has further reinforced the legal framework to protect children through the creation of a Children’s Court, which had been operational since 24 January 2022.
To secure a safe and conducive family environment for children, a Committee under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Jugnauth, had been set up to ensure thorough implementation of an Action Plan against gender-based violence launched in 2020, she added.
Mrs Koonjoo-Shah noted that Mauritius is a Small Island Developing State with inherent vulnerabilities and limited resources, which strives to uphold its international obligations within the country’s domestic realities.
The Mauritian Government, she underlined, is committed to doing away with large residential care institutions which could be detrimental to the care and long-term development of children in alternative care.
She indicated that the Government is working in collaboration with stakeholders on establishing a common data platform to provide disaggregated data adding that Mauritius is looking forward to the support of the international community in the direction of further protecting and empowering children.
The country’s vision is to ensure that the rights of all the children of Mauritius were fully upheld, she reiterated. The Committee Vice-Chair and Coordinator of the Taskforce for Mauritius, Ms Faith Marshall-Harris, warmly commended Mauritius on the new legislation, particularly the recent ban on corporal punishment which was a great achievement.
The Committee, she said, was satisfied with the three new pieces of legislation discussed in the opening statement. In her closing remarks, Ms Marshall-Harris said it was a pleasure to be a part of the dialogue and commended Mauritius on significant progress being made on children’s rights, including the emphasis on education.
The Committee will issue concluding observations on the Report of Mauritius at the end of its 92nd session on 03 February 2023. The Committee on the Rights of the Child The CRC is the body of 18 independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by its States parties.
It also monitors implementation of the Optional Protocols to the Convention, on involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
Over the past 30 years, children’s lives have been transformed by the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history. The Convention on the Rights of the Child has inspired governments to change laws and policies, so more children get the healthcare and nutrition they need.
There are better safeguards in place to protect children from violence and exploitation and more children have their voices heard and participate in society.
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