Violence Against Girls in Eritrea a Report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child
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Violence against Girls in Eritrea A Report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child Contents 1. Preliminary Observations .............................................................................................................................. 199 2. Status of Women and Girls ...................................................................................................................... 201 3. Violence Against Girls in the Family ........................................................................................... 203 3.1 Domestic Violence ................................................................................................................................... 203 3.2 Marital Rape ..................................................................................................................................................... 205 3.3 Honour Crimes .............................................................................................................................................. 206 3.4 Cultural Practices in the Family that Violate the Human Rights of Girls .......................................................................................................... 206 3.4.1 Early Marriage ................................................................................................................................ 206 3.4.2 Dowry ............................................................................................................................................................. 207 3.4.3 Polygamy..................................................................................................................................................... 207 3.4.4 Female Genital Mutilation .......................................................................................... 207 3.5 Sexual Abuse and Incest ................................................................................................................... 209 4. Violence Against Girls in the Community ............................................................................. 210 4.1 Child Sex Workers ................................................................................................................................... 210 4.2 Rape ................................................................................................................................................................................ 211 5. Violence Against Girls in Armed Conflict ......................................................................... 213 5.1 Child Soldiers ............................................................................................................................................... 213 5.2 Girls in Emergency Situations ................................................................................................ 213 6. Conclusions and Recommendations ............................................................................................... 214 Concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: Eritrea Thirty-third session – 19 May - 6 June 2003 Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 44 of the Convention ....................................................................................................... 220 A. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 220 B. Positive aspects ..................................................................................................................................................... 220 C Factors and difficulties impeding the implementation of the Convention ............................................................................................................................................. 221 D. Principle areas of concern and recommendations .......................................... 221 197 . Eritrea 1. Preliminary Observations The submission of specific information on violence against girls to the Committee on the Rights of the Child forms part of the Violence Against Women Programme of OMCT, which focuses on the integration of a gen- der perspective into the work of the United Nations human rights treaty monitoring bodies. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (hereinafter “Convention”) establishes standards for the protection of girls from physical and psycho- logical violence in the home, in the community and at the hands of State officials. The Convention uses both feminine and masculine pronouns in its provisions and it stresses in Article 2(1) that : “State parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind, irre- spective of the child’s … sex.” Among the rights that States Parties must protect regardless of sex, are: the right to life; the right to be free from violence, mistreatment and exploitation while under the care of a parent or other guardian; the right to be free from harmful traditional practices; the right against sexual exploitation and abuse; and the right against tor- ture. Importantly, Article 39 provides that “States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to promote physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of a child victim of: any form of neglect, exploitation, or abuse; torture or any form of cruel inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; or armed conflicts. Such recovery and reintegration shall take place in an environment which fosters the health, self-respect and dignity of the child.” The reporting guidelines of the Committee on the Rights of the Child con- tain an umbrella clause which requests States Parties to provide gender- specific information, statistical data and indicators on various issues covered by the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The particular situ- ation of the girl child is also addressed more specifically in certain Articles. For example, with respect to Article 1 of the Convention (defini- tion of the child), the Committee on the Rights of the Child has identified gender-specific issues of particular relevance to the girl child, including, for example, the minimum age for marriage, which can be problematic where it is set at a very young age for girls. With respect to Article 2 (non-discrimination), States Parties are requested to provide information 199 Violence Against Women: 10 Reports / Year 2003 “on the specific measures taken to eliminate discrimination against girls and when appropriate indicate measures adopted as a follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women.”1 Eritrea ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in April 1994, shortly after gaining its independence from Ethiopia. However, OMCT notes with concern that Eritrea has not ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, which is particularly relevant for Eritrea because of its long history of hostilities with Ethiopia. Eritrea has also failed to sign the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. With regard to girls, Eritrea has acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (September 1995). However, OMCT regrets that Eritrea is not a party to the Optional Protocol, which provides the framework for the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women to hear individual com- plaints and to conduct inquiries into grave systematic violations of women’s rights. Notably, the government of Eritrea has failed to sign the Convention Against Torture. Eritrea has ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (April 2001), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (January 2002), and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (August 2001). Eritrea gained independence in April 1993 through a referendum after 30 years of war with Ethiopia. Since that time, the conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia has continued, eventually resulting in the establishment of a UN Mission for the two countries in 2000 to help keep the peace.2 The continuous state of conflict in the region has been detrimental for the human rights of Eritreans in general. It has been reported that human rights abuses, committed by both Eritreans and Ethiopians, during the years of fighting, were rampant. More recently, in Eritrea, there has been increasing oppression of free speech and freedom of assembly, as well as problems with arbitrary arrests and detentions. In particular, reports indi- cate the growing persecution of journalists and dissidents3 leading to Eritrea’s label as the only country in Africa without a private press.4 200 Eritrea There are also reports of detentions without trial and unfair trials.5 The State report from the government of Eritrea to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, U.N. Doc. CRC/C/41/Add.12 (2002), specifically rec- ognizes discrimination against the girl child in several respects, including the prevalence of female genital mutilation (FGM), the common occur- rence of early marriages for girls, division of labor in the home which puts an undue burden on the girl child, disparities in education between girls and boys, and the particular effect of armed conflict on the girl child.6 While OMCT commends