Lists of Issues - CRC - Poland - CRC/C/Q/POL/2 (2002)

List of issues : Poland. 14/06/2002.

CRC/C/Q/POL/2. (List of Issues)

Convention Abbreviation: CRC
COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
31st Session
Pre-sessional Working Group
10-14 June 2002

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

List of issues to be taken up in connection with the consideration
of the second periodic report of the Republic of Poland (CRC/C/70/Add.12)

Part I

Under this section the State party is request to submit in written form additional and updated information, if possible before 9 August 2002.

A. Data and Statistics, if available

1. Please provide updated demographic data of the under-18 population (disaggregated by gender, ethnic, and national background) for the years 1999, 2000 and 2001.

2. In light of article 4 of the Convention, please provide specific disaggregated data on the amount and proportion of the budgetary allocations and spending on social needs at the central, vovoidship, powiat and gmina levels, preferably for the last three years (1999-2001). In particular, how much was spent on:

a) education, (different types of education, i.e. pre-primary, primary and secondary education as well as extra-curricular activities and programs)
b) health care, including preventive health care programs and health education
c) children with disabilities in residential education centers and in the regular school system
d) the juvenile justice system
e) programs for the prevention of domestic violence and for the protection, recovery and reintegration of victims of abuse
f) support programs for families in distress and families vulnerable to poverty (in particular families with many children) and programs for the integration of "social orphans" into their families and communities
g) and other social services

3. With reference to child abuse, please provide annual statistical data for the last three years on:

a) the number of individual complaints received annually by the police and other designated bodies in the last three years from victims under 18 (disaggregated by age and gender)
b) the number and percentage of complaints by victims under 18 years of age which have resulted in either a court decision or other types of follow-up (disaggregated by age and gender)
c) the number of child victims (disaggregated by age and gender) and vulnerable families that have received counseling and assistance in recovery and reintegration

4. Please provide data (disaggregated by sex, age, type of crime) on the number of children:

a) who have allegedly committed a crime reported to the police;
b) the number of children held in pre-trial detention and the average duration of such detention;
c) who were sentenced by courts to educational measures;
d) who were sentenced by courts to correctional measures, and the average duration of such detention
e) the percentage of recidivism cases;
f) under-13 years of age in juvenile reform centers.

5. With reference to special protection measures, please provide statistical data (including by gender, age, urban/rural areas) per year between 1999 and 2002 on:

a) the number of complaints received and investigated by police regarding in commercial sexual exploitation of children, including prostitution, pornography and trafficking
b) the number of prosecution and convictions regarding commercial sexual exploitation of children, including prostitution, pornography and trafficking, and data on the nature of sentencing for those found guilty of such crimes
c) the number of child victims of sexual exploitation who have received counseling and assistance in recovery and reintegration

B. General Measures of Implementation

1. The Committee would appreciate receiving information on recommendations contained in the Committee's previous concluding observations (CRC/C/15/Add.31, 15 January 1995) which have not yet been implemented, in particular those related to the problems of violence against children (para. 30), the administration of juvenile justice (para. 32) and children in institutions (para. 34).

2. Please indicate if the State party may withdraw its reservations on articles 7 and 38 and the declarations on articles 12 through 16 and article 24, in light of the Vienna Declaration and Plan of Action of the World Conference on Human Rights of 1993.

3. Please provide examples of cases where the Convention has been directly invoked before courts and/or administrative bodies.

4. Please provide up-to-date information on efforts to further ensure compatibility between domestic law and the principles and provisions of the Convention. In particular, please explain how the Convention's four general principles of non-discrimination (art. 2 of the Convention), best interests of the child (art. 3), right to life, survival and development of the child (art.6) and respect for the views of the child (art. 12), are being integrated and applied in all judicial, administrative and political decisions. In addition, please clarify the extent to which the principle of acting in the "child's welfare" as described in the Law on the Ombudsman for Children, Family and Guardianship Code and Polish family law coincides with principle of best interests of the child as recognised in article 3 of the Convention.

5. Please clarify the role of the newly created office of the Ombudsman for Children and how he works with ministries and other governmental organizations.

6. Please provide information on existing or foreseen mechanisms to coordinate governmental policy for children at the local, provincial and national levels. Please clarify the role of the newly Plenipotentiary for Family Affairs, with respect to coordination of policies on children, and the extent to which the Plenipotentiary cooperates with ministries and civil society organizations.

7. Please provide information on efforts to coordinate and harmonize data collection between the Central Statistical Office (GUS) and all ministries dealing with children and how such a mechanism ensures that disaggregated data is provided on all issues covered by the Convention.

Part II

Please provide copies of the text of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in all official languages of the State party as well as in other languages or dialects, when available. If possible, please submit these texts in electronic form.

Part III

Under this section, the State party is invited, whenever appropriate, to briefly (three pages maximum) update the information provided in its report with regard to:

- new bills or enacted legislation
- new institutions
- newly implemented policies
- newly implemented programmes

Part IV

The following is a preliminary list of major issues that the Committee intends to take-up during the dialogue with the State party. THEY DO NOT REQUIRE WRITTEN RESPONSES. This list is not exhaustive (and does not contain issues already covered in Part I) as other issues might be raised in the course of the dialogue.

The dialogue with the State party might include issues such as:

1. Follow-up and support (budgetary and organizational) to local authorities following decentralization reforms, which have given responsibility for social service provision to local authorities, and in that regard resulted in, for instance, the closure of kindergartens.

2. Racial discrimination, in particular against the Roma, in the provision and access to health care and education services.

3. Enforcement of laws on child abuse and sexual exploitation, and child-sensitive procedures in judicial proceedings involving child victims.

4. Violence against children, including the use of corporal punishment within the family, schools and other institutions.

5. Programs for the prevention, protection, recovery and reintegration of victims of abuse and sexual exploitation.

6. Programs for families in difficult circumstances and children in alternative care.

7. Availability, accessibility and quality of preventive health care programs for children.

8. Activities of the government to reduce poverty.

9. Inclusion and integration of children with disabilities into the education system and society at large, and availability of support systems for families with children with disabilities.

10. Disparities in access to, and quality of, education (pre-primary, primary, gymnasia and secondary) between urban and rural areas.

11. The situation of unaccompanied minors applying for refugee status.

12. The juvenile justice system and its conformity with the Convention and other relevant international norms and standards.

13. Trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children.

14. Child labour, especially in the agricultural sector.