The 64th session of the Committee on the
Rights of the Child (CRC Committee) took place in Geneva from 16 September to 4 October 2013. The Committee reviewed the progress
of the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 7
countries: China, Kuwait, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Monaco Sao Tome and Principe and Tuvalu.
IBFAN submitted 4 alternative reports on the situation of
infant and young child feeding for China, Kuwait, Lithuania and Luxembourg. The
reports were written in collaboration with IBFAN groups in the countries.
We regret to see that in
its concluding observations, the CRC Committee referred specifically to breastfeeding in only 2 out of the 7
countries (China and Tuvalu). In the case
of Luxembourg, even if breastfeeding was largely mentioned in the discussion
between the CRC Committee and the government delegation, Luxembourg did not
receive any recommendation concerning breastfeeding.
Some of the
recommendations on health care and on the business sector and its impact on
child rights are of relevance for infant and young child feeding and are
reported below.
The CRC Committee recommended China and Tuvalu to promote exclusive breastfeeding. It has also
stressed the need to establish Baby-Friendly Hospitals (China) and to
adopt the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and resolutions
(China, Tuvalu). It also urged Tuvalu to provide training to all health workers
about breastfeeding.
The Committee
particularly addressed the issue of children affected by contaminated formula
in China and recommended the government to strengthen its legislative framework
on food and health standard and ensure sanctions and remedies in cases of
violation.
An Emphasis has been put on the importance of respecting the
right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest
standard of health (China, Lithuania, Monaco, Sao Tome and Principe).
Countries have been reminded to pay attention to the 2013 General Comment 15 on the right of the child to
health, which explicitly recognizes the
importance of breastfeeding for the achievement of the right of the child to
health. It urges States, in the effort of diminishing
infant and child mortality, to devote particular attention to neonatal
mortality and suggests, inter alia, to “pay particular attention to ensuring full protection and promotion of
breastfeeding practices”. Moreover, “Exclusive breastfeeding for
infants up to 6 months should be protected and promoted and
breastfeeding should continue together with appropriate complementary foods preferably until two years of age
as feasible. States’ obligations in this
area are defined in the “protect, promote and support framework”, adopted
unanimously by the World Health Assembly” in the Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding.
Some of the countries are recommended to provide quality training for
the health care personnel (and to increase the budget for health programs in
general. China is urged to improve health infrastructure as well as
availability and accessibility to emergency obstetric and neonatal care,
especially in rural and poor areas, in order to prevent child and maternal
mortality. Sao Tome and Principe is recommended to undertake surveys in order
to understand the causes of maternal mortality and to intensify its efforts to
improve access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Lithuania is demanded to
ensure maternal care for women who choose to deliver at home and finally, it
recommended Monaco to ensure that all children, including non-nationals, enjoy
the same access and quality to health services.
A great focus was placed on the
need to regulate the impact of the
business sector on children’s rights. The CRC Committee drew attention to the 2013 General Comment 16, which specifically calls on States “to implement
and enforce internationally agreed standards concerning children’s rights,
health and business including the [...] International
Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and relevant subsequent World
Health Assembly resolutions”.
Countries
are recommended to ensure the implementation by companies of both international
and national environment and health standards and ensure appropriate sanctions
in cases of violations. Countries are also recommended to require companies to undertake assessments of the environmental
health-related and human rights impact of their business activities The CRC
Committee also focused on the need to prevent mother-to-child HIV/AIDS
transmission by improving access to treatment, follow-up treatments and by
ensuring early diagnosis, as well as early initiation of treatment.
Direct link to our website: http://ibfan.org/reports-on-the-un-committee-on-the-rights-of-the-child/118
Direct link to our website: http://ibfan.org/reports-on-the-un-committee-on-the-rights-of-the-child/118
