Committee on the Rights of the Child Queries the Government of Cuba Regarding the Sale of Children and Child Pornography

 

Committee on the Rights of the Child70th Session – 2015, Draft Program

Review of States Parties’ Reports

List of questions relative to the briefing presented by Cuba by virtue of Article 8, Paragraph 1, of the Optional Protocol of the Convention for the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.

It is requested of the State Party that it present in writing additional and updated information (maximum 15 pages), if possible, prior to 20 August, 2015.

In the dialogue with the State Party, the Committee can address all aspects of the rights of the child referred to in the Optional Protocol.

1. Please provide recent statistical data for children and adolescents up to the age of 18 years (disaggregated by sex, age, ethnic origin, and rural or urban areas), regarding the number of:

a) Cases of the sale of children and adolescents, child prostitution and child pornography, as well as other forms of exploitation such as child sex tourism, and actions taken, including the prosecution and punishment of those responsible;

b) Children and adolescents who have been victims of human trafficking, and of the type of exploitation for which such children have been the object of trafficking, including for the purposes of sexual exploitation, transfer of organs for profit, illegal adoption, pornography and engagement of the child in forced labor (as defined in Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the Optional Protocol), and actions taken, including the prosecution and punishment of those responsible;

c) Children and adolescents who have been victims of crimes described in the Optional Protocol, who have received assistance for their physical and psychological recovery, social reintegration, and/or have received payment of compensation or reparation for damages they have suffered, in accordance with the provisions of Article 9, Paragraphs 3 and 4, of the Optional Protocol.

2. Please provide information on whether the State Party intends to adopt a specific action plan regarding the sale of children, child prostitution, and the utilization of children in pornography. In addition, please provide information about the existence of plans at the provincial or local level that have been adopted with the aim of implementing the Optional Protocol. Please provide the Committee an update on the process to adopt the National Plan for Children for the period of 2015-2018, and provide information as to whether this plan includes lines of action for the implementation of the Optional Protocol.

3. Please describe the functions and specific competencies of the Offices for the Protection of Citizens’ Rights of the Prosecutor General of the Republic, referred to in Paragraph 18 of the State Party Report (CRC/C/OPSC/CUB/1), with respect to the implementation of the Optional Protocol. In relation to the information provides in Paragraph 19 of the State Party Report, please clarify if the State Party has initiated some process to establish an organ responsible for coordinating public policies on childhood and adolescence.

4. Please provide information on the human, financial and technical resources specifically allocated to the implementation of the Optional Protocol.

5. Please provide information regarding the current coverage of the Centers for Evaluation and Attention to Minors, in particular, in rural and remote areas. Please equally provide more detailed information on the specific actions and the results of your effort to protect children and adolescents who are victims of violence, live in institutions, afro-descendants, and refugees. Please further provide information on the measures adopted to protect adolescents between the ages of 16 and 18 years who are at risk of becoming victims of the crimes referred to in the Optional Protocol.

6. In reference to the information provided in Paragraphs 141 and 144 in the State Party Report regarding the fact that more girls than boys are victims of cases of prostitution and child pornography, please inform the Committee on strategies aimed at raising the awareness of adolescents regarding their rights and of the crimes referred to in the Optional Protocol, as well as other measures taken to combat gender stereotypes, and promote services that take into account and are adapted to the needs of female and male adolescents in sexual and reproductive health education through adequate information and services.

7. Please provide specific information on cooperative projects between the State party and the private sector–including the tourism sector, entertainment venues and sports clubs–which have the aim of preventing the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography in relation to such activities.

8. With reference to Paragraphs 70 to 72 of State Party Report with respect to the criminal liability of legal persons, please indicate the number of prosecutions and sentencings for criminal liability of private enterprises in relation to the crimes defined in Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the Optional Protocol.

9. Please indicate if sex tourism is expressly prohibited in the national legislation, as well as sanctions applicable to the particulars and legal persons involved in child sex tourism. Please also explain in greater detail the administrative measures mentioned in Paragraph 268 of the State Party Report to combat child sex tourism. In addition, please provide more information on the number of cases and the types of disciplinary measures that have been applied in cases of child sex tourism in the country.

10. Please indicate if there exists a plan to classify as a crime the possession of child pornography and the commission of sex crimes via the Internet.

11. Please provide information on the measures enacted by the State Party to ensure that victims of the crimes contained in the Optional Protocol are not treated as criminals, or stigmatized.

12. Please indicate if it is possible for children and adolescents who are victims of the crimes referred to in the Optional Protocol, to access complaint mechanisms and procedures on their own account. Please also give details on the results and difficulties that could arise in the application of the various Instructions issued by the Supreme Popular Tribunal, which are cited in Paragraphs 158, 166, 167 and 182 of the State Party Reports, related to the application of the principle of best interests of the child in the criminal justice system.

13. Please provide information regarding activities carried out in “Diagnostic and Guidance Centers” aimed specifically at addressing the rights of female and male children and adolescents who are victims of the crimes described in the Optional Protocol, its principal challenges, and results obtained in terms of the restoration of the rights of children who have been victims.

14. Please inform the Committee regarding strategies that have been adopted to guarantee access to services of rehabilitation, reintegration and compensation for children and adolescents who are victims of violations of any of the crimes described in the Optional Protocol.

IMPORTANT NOTE: 

To better understand the Committee’s questions, it is recommended to read the Cuban State Party Report,

CRC/C/OPSC/CUB/1

The Civil Society Report is not published (ACDEI NGO) so that the reader will not be an object of reprisals, and can visit or live in Cuba in peace. To suffer reprisals, threats to one’s security, including to their families, and be subjected to several hours of interrogation and documentation at Jose Martí Airport, is not pleasant. For more information, please contact the ACDEI Director, Mrs. Dora Leonor Mesa Crespo. The Cuban state is the promoter of the creation of the ratified and binding protocol: CRC-OP-SC — Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography.

Source

Committee on the Rights of the Child70th Session

14 September through 2 October, 2015

Draft Program, Topic #4

CRC/C/OPSC/CUB/Q/1

General Distribution

22 June, 2015

Original: Spanish

English, French and Spanish Only

Preliminary, Unedited Version

CRC/C/OPSC/CUB/Q/1

 Translated By: Alicia Barraqué Ellison
3 July 2015