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Wednesday, July 08, 2015

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 Child Queries the Government of Cuba
Regarding the Sale of Children and Child Pornography
Posted on July 6, 2015

Committee on the Rights of the Child, 70th 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 Child, 70th 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

Source: Committee on the Rights of the Child Queries the Government of
Cuba Regarding the Sale of Children and Child Pornography | Translating
Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/committee-on-the-rights-of-the-child-queries-the-government-of-cuba-regarding-the-sale-of-children-and-child-pornography/

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