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Mali - Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under Article 44 of the Convention: Second periodic reports of States parties due in 1997 [2006] UNCRCSPR 10; CRC/C/MLI/2 (11 April 2006)

UNITED NATIONS		CRC
	Convention on the Rights of the Child	Distr. GENERAL CRC/C/MLI/2 11 April 2006 ENGLISH Original: FRENCH

COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER ARTICLE 44 OF THE CONVENTION

Second periodic reports of States parties due in 1997

MALI * **

[ 9 September 2005]

^* For the initial report submitted by the Government of Mali, see CRC/C/3/Add.53; for its consideration by the Committee, see CRC/C/SR.575-577 and 586, and for the concluding observations, CRC/C/15/Add.113.

^** In accordance with the information transmitted to States parties regarding the processing of their reports, the present document was not formally edited before being sent to the United Nations translation services.

GE.06-41956 (EXT)

CONTENTS

Paragraphs Page
PART I. GENERAL INFORMATION CONCERNING MALI 1 - 16 12

PART II. SPECIFIC INFORMATION 17 - 680 16

I. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION
(arts. 4, 42 and 44, para. 6) 17 - 87 16

II. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD (art. 1) 88 - 120 34

III. GENERAL PRINCIPLES 121 - 200 38
A. Non-discrimination (art. 2) 121 - 155 38
B. Best interests of the child (art. 3, para. 1) 156 - 177 43
C. The right to life, survival and development (art. 6) 178 - 185 46
D. Respect for the views of the child (art. 12) 186 - 200 47

IV. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS (arts. 7, 8, 13-17
and 37 (a)) ` 201 – 243 49

A. Name and nationality (art. 7) 201 – 218 49
B. Preservation of identity (art. 8) 219 51
C. Freedom of expression (art. 13) 220 - 222 51
D. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
(art. 14) 223 - 224 51
E. Freedom of association and peaceful assembly
(art. 15) 225 - 227 52
F. Protection of privacy (art. 16) 228 - 233 52
G. Access to appropriate information (art. 17) 234 - 237 53
H. The right not to be subjected to torture (art. 37) 238 - 243 53

V. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE
(arts. 5, 18, paras. 1 and 2, and arts. 9-11, 19-21, 25, 27,
para. 4, and 39) 244 - 331 55
A. Parental guidance (art. 5) 244 - 259 55
B. Parental responsibilities (art. 18) 260 - 269 57
C. Separation from parents (art. 9) 270 - 281 59
D. Family reunification (art. 10) 282 - 287 60
E. Illicit transfer and non-return (art. 11) 288 61
F. Recovery of maintenance for the child
(art. 27, para. 4) 289 - 291 62
G. Children deprived of a family environment (art. 20) 292 - 301 62
H. Adoption (art. 21) 302 - 310 65
I. Periodic review of placement (art. 25) 311 - 320 66
J. Abuse and neglect (art. 19), including physical and
psychological recovery and social reintegration
(art. 39) 321 - 331 69

Paragraphs Page

VI. BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE (arts. 6, 18, para. 3, 23,
24, 26 and 27, paras. 1-3) 332 - 438 71
A. Children with disabilities (art. 23) 332 - 349 71
B. Health and health services (art. 24) 350 - 425 76
C. Social security and childcare services and facilities
(arts. 26 and 18, para. 3) 426 - 435 94
D. Standard of living (art. 27, paras. 1-3) 436 - 438 96

VII. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
(arts. 28, 29 and 31) 439 - 549 97
A. Education, including vocational training and guidance
(art. 28) 439 - 513 97
B. Aims of education (art. 29) 514 - 542 117
C. Leisure and cultural activities (art. 31) 543 - 549 125

VIII. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES (arts. 22, 38, 39, 40,
37 (b)- (d), and 32-36) 550 - 679 129
A. Children in situations of emergency 555 - 566 130
B. Children in conflict with the law 567 - 615 132

C. Children in situations of exploitation, including
physical and psychological recovery 616 - 679 138

Tables and Figures

Table

1. Public expenditure on social sectors

2. Initially intended and actual spending under the NPA 1992-2000

3. Spending under NPA as percentage of total public spending

4. Foreign aid

5. Gross school enrolment rates, 1995-2004

6. Gross school enrolment rates by sex and level of education, 1994-2004 (including medersas)

7. Students in Koranic schools, by age group

8. Vagrant children in the District of Bamako, October 2002

9. Adoptions, 2000-2003

10. Children deprived of their family environment placed in reception and placement institutions, 2002-2003

11. Distribution of community health centres by region in 2003

12. Private health establishments in Mali, January 2003

13. Rates of use of health services, 2003

14. Vaccination coverage for country as a whole of children aged less than one year

15. Vaccine status of children aged from 0 to 59 months

16. Indicative ratios of welfare and health-care personnel

17. Health budget as a share of the national budget

18. Infant and juvenile mortality, 1991-1995 and 1996-2000

19. The causes of infanto-juvenile morbidity in 2003

20. The causes of infanto-juvenile mortality in 2003

21. Adolescent fertility: Percentage of adolescents aged 15-19 who have. already had a child
    or are expecting their first child
22. Summary of social health programmes and projects implemented by financing agencies in 1997

23. Disadvantaged vulnerable children

24. Evolution of numbers and the pre-primary enrolment rate

25. Evolution of numbers, gross admission rate to the first cycle of basic education

26. Evolution of numbers, gross admission rate at the second cycle of basic education

27. Evolution of the illiteracy rate by sex according to EDSM II and III

28. Evolution of the education budget from 1995 to 2002

29. Evolution of regional education budgets from 2001 to 2003

30. Geographical distribution of school indicators (2003)

31.

Figure

1. Changes in initially intended and actual spending under NPA

2. Schooling profile by sex, 2002

Acronyms and Abbreviations

AFAS Association of Women Living with AIDS (Association des Femmes Atteintes par le Sida)

AFIMA Malian Association of Female Engineers (Association des Femmes Ingénieurs du Mali)

AJM Malian Association of Women Lawyers (Association des Juristes Maliennes)

AMAS Malian Association to Support AIDS Sufferers (Association Malienne d’Aide aux Malades du Sida)

AMPPF Malian Association for the Promotion and Protection of the Family (Association Malienne pour la Promotion et la Protection de la Famille )

AMSOPT Malian Association for Monitoring and Guidance in Traditional Practices (Association Malienne pour le Suivi et l’Orientation des Pratiques Traditionnelles)

AN-RM National Assembly of the Republic of Mali (Assemblée Nationale de la République du Mali)

APAF-Muso Association for the Promotion of Family Assistance (Association pour la

Danbé Promotion des Aides Familiales)

APCAM Federation of Malian Farmers' Associations (Assemblée Permanente des Chambres d’Agriculture du Mali)

APDF Association for the Advancement and Defence of Women's Rights (Association pour le Progrès et la Défense des Droits des Femmes)

APE Parent Teacher Association (Association des Parents d’Elèves)

ARV Antiretrovirals

ASACO Community Health Association (Association de Santé Communautaire)

ASDAP Association for the Support of Population Activities (Association de Soutien pour le Développement des Activités de Population)

BCS Central Pay Office (Bureau Central des Soldes)

BOAD West African Development Bank (Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement)

CADBE African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child Charte Africaine des Droits et du Bien être de l’Enfant

CADDE Deconcentration and Decentralization of Education Support Unit (Cellule d’Appui de Déconcentration et de Décentralisation de l’Education

CADEF Action Committee for Children's and Women's Rights (Comité d’Action pour les Droits de l’Enfant et de la Femme)

CAF Functional Literacy Centre (Centre d’alphabétisation fonctionnel)

CAFe Women’s Learning Centre (Centre d’Apprentissage Féminin)

CAFO Coordinating Body for Women's Associations and NGOs in Mali (Coordination des Associations et ONG Féminines du Mali)

CAP Educational Outreach Centre (Centre d’Animation Pédagogique)

CCA- ONG NGO Coordinating Committee (Comité de Coordination des Actions des ONG)

CCIM Malian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie du Mali)

CED Centre for Education in Support of Development (Centre d’Education pour le Développement)

CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

CESAC Counselling, Support and Assistance Centre (Centre d’Écoute, de Soutien et d’Assistance Conseil)

CESC Economic, Social and Cultural Council (Conseil Économique, Social et Culturel)

CFE Centre on Business Procedures (Centre de Formalités des Entreprises)

CMDT Malian Textile Development Company (Compagnie Malienne de Développement des Textiles)

CNAPN National Action Committee on the Eradication of Practices Harmful to Women's and Children's Health (Comité National d’Action pour l’Éradication des Pratiques Néfastes à la santé de la Femme et de l’Enfant)

CNDIFE National Centre for Documentation on Women and the Child (Centre National de Documentation et d’Information sur la Femme et l’Enfant)

CNPA National Council for the Elderly (Conseil National des Personnes Agées)

CNR/CNF National Centre for Non-formal Education Resources (Centre National des Ressources de l’Éducation non Formelle)

COMADE Malian Coalition for the Rights of the Child (Coalition Malienne des Droits de l’Enfant)

CPE Child Protection Code (Code de Protection de l’Enfant)

CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child

CSAR Revitalized Neighbourhood Health Centre (Centre de Santé d’Arrondissement Revitalisé)

CSCOM Community Health Centre (Centre de Santé Communautaire)

CSLP Strategic Framework for Combating Poverty (Cadre Stratégique de Lutte contre la Pauvreté)

CSREF Referral Health Centre (Centre de Santé de Référence)

CTSP National Transition Committee for the People's Well-being (Comité National de Transition pour le Salut du Peuple)

CVECA Self-managed Village Savings and Loan Society (Caisse Villageoise d’Epargne et de Crédit Autogérée)

DCF Women's Rights and Citizenship (Droits et Citoyenneté des Femmes)

DEFSAM Development of Women Entrepreneurs in the Malian Agricultural and Food Sector (Développement de l’Entreprenariat Féminin dans le Secteur Agroalimentaire au Mali)

DNAFLA National Directorate for Functional Literacy and Applied Linguistics (Direction Nationale de l’Alphabétisation Fonctionnelle et de la Linguistique Appliquée)

DNB National Budget Directorate (Direction Nationale du Budget)

DNFPP National Directorate of the Civil Service and Personnel (Direction Nationale de la Fonction Publique et du Personnel)

DNP National Planning Directorate (Direction Nationale du Plan)

DNPEF National Directorate for the Promotion of the Child and the Family (Direction Nationale de la Promotion de l’Enfant et de la Famille)

DNPF National Directorate for the Advancement of Women (Direction Nationale de la Promotion de la Femme)

DNSI National Directorate of Statistics and Information Technology (Direction Nationale de la Statistique et de l’Informatique)

EDS I Malian Population and Health Survey, 1987 (Enquête Démographique et de Santé du Mali, 1987)

EDS II Malian Population and Health Survey, 1995-1996 (Enquête Démographique et de Santé du Mali 1995-1996)

EDS III Malian Population and Health Survey, 2001 (Enquête Démographique et de Santé du Mali 2001)

EDS/ EDSM Malian Population and Health Survey (Enquête Démographique et de Santé du Mali)

EMEP Malian Poverty Assessment Survey (Enquête malienne pour l’évaluation de la pauvreté)

EVF/EMP Education for Family Life and on Population Issues (Education à la Vie Familiale et en Matière de Population)

FAAF LAYIDU Women's Activities Support Fund (Fonds d’Appui aux Activités des Femmes)

FNAM National Federation of Malian Crafts and Trades Workers (Fédération Nationale des Artisans du Mali)

FONDS GED Gender and Development Fund (Fonds Genre et Développement)

GDP Gross domestic product

GRM Government of the Republic of Mali

GSER Gross School Enrolment Ratio (Taux Brut de Scolarisation (TBS)

HCCT Council of Regional Population Groups (Haut Conseil des Collectivités Territoriales)

HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus

IEC Information, Education and Communication

IFMST Encouraging Girls to study Scientific and Technical Subjects (Incitation des Jeunes Filles vers les Matières Scientifiques et Techniques)

ILO International Labour Organization

IMAARV Malian Initiative for Access to Antiretrovirals (Initiative Malienne d’Accès aux Anti-Rétroviraux)

IST Sexually Transmissible Disease (Infection Sexuellement Transmissible)

MATCL Ministry of Regional and Local Government (Ministère de l’Administration Territoriale et des Collectivités Locales)

MDSSPA Ministry of Social Development, Solidarity and the Elderly (Ministère du Développement Social, de la Solidarité et des Personnes Agées)

ME Ministry of Education (Ministère de l’Éducation)

MEB Ministry of Basic Education (Ministère de l’Education de Base)

MEF Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance (Ministère de l’Économie et des Finances)

MEN Ministry of National Education (Ministère de l’Éducation Nationale)

MESSRS Ministry of Secondary and Higher Education, and Scientific Research (Ministère de l’Enseignement Secondaire, Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique)

MFAAC Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans' Affairs (Ministère des Forces Armées et des Anciens Combattants)

MFPT Ministry of the Civil Service and Labour (Ministère de la Fonction Publique et du Travail)

MINEDAF Conference of Education and Finance Ministers (Conférence des Ministres de l’Éducation et des Finances)

MLA Monitoring Learning Achievement (Suivi Permanent des Acquis Scolaires)

MPFEF Ministry for the Advancement of Women, the Child and the Family (Ministère de la Promotion de la Femme, de l’Enfant et de la Famille)

NGO Non-governmental organization

NPA National Plan of Action for the Survival, Development and Protection of Children 1992-2002

NTIC New Information and Communications Technologies (Nouvelle Technologies de l’information et de la Communication)

OMATHO Malian Tourism and Accommodations Bureau (Office Malien du Tourisme et de l’Hôtellerie)

ORTM Malian Broadcasting Authority (Office de Radio-Télévision du Mali)

PA Work Programme (Programme d’Activités)

PASACOOP Project to support Cooperative Structures (Projet d’Appui aux Structures de l’Action Coopérative)

PASAF Project to support the Fight against Practices Harmful to Women's and Children's Health (Projet d’Appui à la lutte contre les Pratiques préjudiciables à la Santé de la Femme et de l’Enfant)

PASAOP Programme to support the Farm System and Rural Organizations (Programme d’Appui au Système Agricole et aux Organisations Paysannes)

PGRN Natural Resource Management Project (Projet de Gestion des Ressources Naturelles)

PISE Education Sector Development and Investment Programme (Programme et Investissement du Secteur de l’Éducation)

PM-RM Prime Minister of the Republic of Mali

PNAE National Environmental Action Programme (Programme National d’Actions Environnementales)

PNLS National Programme to Combat AIDS (Programme National de Lutte contre le SIDA)

P-RM President of the Republic of Mali.

PRODEC Ten-year Education Programme (Programme Décennal de Développement de l’Éducation)

PRODEJ Ten-year Justice Programme (Programme Décennal de Développement de la Justice)

PRODESS Ten-year Social and Health Programme (Programme Décennal de Développement Socio-Sanitaire)

PTME Programme to prevent Mother-to-Child Transmission (Programme de Prévention de la Transmission Mère-Enfant)

RBC Community-based Rehabilitation (Réadaptation à Base Communautaire)

REFAMP African Women Ministers and Parliamentarians Network (Réseau des Femmes Africaines Ministres et Parlementaires)

RGPH General Population and Housing Census (Recensement général de la population et de l’habitat)

RH Reproductive Health

SASDE Accelerated Strategy for Child Survival and Development (Stratégie Accélérée de Survie et de Développement de l’Enfant.)

SECO-ONG Malian NGO Coordination Secretariat (Secrétariat de Coordination des ONG du Mali)

SFD Decentralized Financial System (Système Financier Décentralisé)

SG General Secretariat (Secrétariat Général)

SYCREF Women's Credit System (Système de Crédit destiné aux Femmes)

UDPM Democratic Union of the Malian People (Union Démocratique du Peuple Malien)

0. United Nations

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNFPA United Nations Population Fund

USAID United States Agency for International Development.

WAEMU West African Economic and Monetary Union (Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine, UEMOA)

MAP OF MALI

Foreword

As the President of the Republic has put it, "children have a prime place in my country; they are often considered as a manifestation of divine blessing and are held in high esteem by their parents and the community. They are a symbol of hope in the future of the family, the community, the country and the continent".

Mali ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) by an Order dated 20 September 1990. Following ratification, and in accordance with article 44 of the Convention, the Government of Mali submitted its initial report on the implementation of the Convention in 1996. In March 1998, the Malian Coalition for the Rights of the Child (COMADE) submitted its supplementary report on the implementation of the Convention. The Committee on the Rights of the Child considered the initial report in September 1999, at its 575th to 577th meetings.

The present report covers the period from 1999 to 2004. It contains, in a single document, Mali's first periodic report on the implementation of CRC.

It has been prepared by means of a participatory process involving both government bodies and civil-society organizations, in keeping with the guidelines for the form and content of the periodic reports to be submitted under article 44 of the Convention.

PART I: GENERAL INFORMATION CONCERNING MALI

1.1 Geography and administration

1. Mali lies in the heart of West Africa, within the Sudano-Sahelian belt. The country has an area of 1,241,238 square kilometres and a mean population density of 7.9 per square kilometre. It has a total of 7,200 km of borders with Algeria to the north, Burkina Faso and Niger to the east, Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea to the south and Mauritania and Senegal to the west.

2. The relief is generally uniform, with a mean altitude above sea level of 500 m. It comprises on the one hand plateaux which are extensions of the Fouta Djallon highlands– the Manding and Koutiala plateaus and the Bandiagara cliffs, and on the other extensive desert and river plains.

3. The climate is hot and dry, with one dry season and one rainy season that lasts five months in the south and at least one month in the north. The vegetation comprises: a belt of open forest and tree savannah in the Guinean zone; a belt of tree and shrub savannah in the southern Sudanic zone; a belt of shrub savannah and orchard savannah with nere and karate in the northern Sudanic zone; shrub savannah bearing mostly thorn bushes in the Sahelian zone; Echinochloa stagnina (borgou) pasture in the Niger delta; sparse thorny cover in the Saharan zone, and a desert belt.

4. The drainage system comprises the Niger and Senegal rivers and their tributaries, which flow through the south of the country, the Niger for a distance of 1,700 km and the Senegal for 800 km. The Niger Delta contains an area of lakes, particularly Lakes Débo, Faguibine, Télé and Oro.

5. The main ethnic groups are the Bambara (Bamanan), Malinke (Maninka), Sarakole (Soninke or Maraka), Peulh, Dogon (Dogonon or Habe), Sonrhai (Songhoi and Arma), Bobo (Boua), Senufo (Senyari), Minianka, Bozo, Moors, Tuaregs and Arabs.

6. There are three levels of administrative unit:

– National level: 8 administrative regions (Kayes, Koulikoro, Sikasso, Ségou, Mopti, Gao, Tombouctou and Kidal) and the district of Bamako;
– Regional level: 49 cercles;
– Local level: 703 rural or urban communes.

7. The main towns are Bamako (the capital), Kayes, Koulikoro, Sikasso, Ségou, Mopti, Gao, Tombouctou and Kidal.

8. The principal economic activities are crop-farming, stock-farming, fishing, handicrafts, trade, mining, industry and small and medium-sized businesses.

9. Mali has access to the following main ports:

– Abidjan (Bamako-Abidjan by road: 1,115 km);
– Dakar (Bamako-Dakar by rail: 1,250 km);
– Conakry (Bamako-Conakry by road: 1,100 km);
– Nouakchott (Bamako-Nouakchott by road).

10. It has maritime warehouses at Abidjan, Dakar, Lomé, Takoradi (Ghana), Nouakchott and Conakry.

11. There are air services through the following airports:

– International: Bamako-Sénou;
– Domestic: Kayes, Nioro, Sikasso, Mopti, Gao, Tombouctou, Yélimané, Kidal.

1.2 Demographic and socio-economic characteristics

12. Main demographic and socio-economic characteristics:

– Population: 9.8 million (RGPH, 1998), including 51% women; estimated population in 2003, 12 million;
– Annual growth rate (RGPH, 1998): 2.2%;
– Proportion of population living in urban areas (RGPH, 1998): 26.8%;
– Life expectancy at birth: 61.6 years;
– Birth rate (RGPH, 1998): 49‰;
– Maternal mortality rate (EDS-III, 2001): 582 per 100,000 live births;
– Infant mortality rate (EDS-III, 2001): 113‰;
– Infanto-juvenile mortality rate (EDS-III, 2001): 226‰;
– Children aged less than 1 year (0-11 months) (RGPH, 1998): 2.92%;
– Children aged 1 to 4 years (RGPH, 1998): 14.04%;
– Children aged less than 5 years (0-4 years) (RGPH, 1998): 16.96%;
– Children aged less than 15 years (0-14 years) (RGPH, 1998): 46.06%;
– Children aged less than 19 years (0-18 years) (RGPH, 1998): 55.15%;
– Women of childbearing age (15-49 years) (RGPH, 1998): 22.55%.

13. Main development indicators:

– Average real GDP growth, 1999-2002: 4.7%;
– Per capita GDP in 2002: 224,311 CFA francs ($US 412);
– Mean foreign national debt, 1999-2002: 84.4% of GDP;
– Mean national debt servicing burden, 1999-2002: 14.2% of exports of goods and services;
– Poverty threshold in 2001: 144,022 CFA francs; 64.2% of the population is below this threshold;
– Human Development Index in 2004: 0.326 (2003: 0.337), making Mali 172nd among the 175 countries ranked in the index;
– According to EMEP-2001, economic activity is dominated by the primary sector, which employs over 80% of the working population. Overall, unemployment is close to 5%; it is concentrated in the towns, where the rate is 8% as against 4% in rural areas, and is highest of all, at 10%, in the District of Bamako;
– Gross school enrolment, 2002/2003: 67% (girls: 56.4%);
– Primary school dropout rate, 2002-2003: boys, 5.8%; girls, 10.4%; boys + girls, 4.8%;
– Primary school class repetition rate, 2002-2003: boys, 19.6%; girls, 20.4%; boys + girls, 19.9%;
– Literacy rate in 2002: 35%;
– Malnutrition in children aged less than 5 years (EDS-III, 2001):

• – Height for age (minus 2 standard deviations): 39.4%;
• – Weight for height (minus 2 standard deviations): 10.6%;
• – Weight for age (minus 2 standard deviations): 33.8%;

– Vaccination of children aged 12-23 months (EDS-III, 2001):

• – Fully vaccinated: 28.0%;
• – BCG: 69.0%;
• – DTPP: 61.0%;
• – DTPP3: 39.0%;
• – Measles: 49.0%;

– Improved sanitation/sanitary facilities:

• – Country as whole: 7.2%;
• – Rural areas: 4%;
• – Urban areas: 15.8%.

– Access to drinking water:

• – Country as whole: 48%;
• – Rural areas: 36%.

1.3 Political framework

14. Under the current Constitution, which came into force on 25 February 1992, the Republic of Mali is a State subject to the rule of law and is a pluralist democracy.

15. Since it acceded to independence on 22 September 1960, the country has seen three political regimes, as well as a transition period that followed the coup d'état of 26 March 1991:

– 1960 to 1968: During this period the country's first leaders established a de facto single-party system with a socialist regime run by the Sudanese Union of the Alliance for African Democracy (US-RDA). This regime was overthrown by a military coup d'état on 19 November 1968.
– 1968 to 1991: The military regime installed following the coup d'état suspended the Constitution and put a halt to all political activity during the period from 1968 to 1979, when a single constitutional party was established, the Democratic Union of the Malian People (UDPM). The UDPM was overthrown on 26 March 1991 by a coup d'état.
– 1991 to 1992: The Transition Committee for the People's Well-being ran the country from March 1991 to 8 June 1992, when the democratically elected President took office;
– June 1992 to present: The country has developed a thoroughgoing multi-party system, with more than 85 political parties in existence today. The 1992 Constitution established a semi-presidential regime under which the President serves for a five-year term that is renewable once.

16. Mali is a secular republic with the following institutions:

– The President of the Republic;
– The Government;
– The National Assembly;
– The Supreme Court;
– The Constitutional Court;
– The High Court;
– The Economic and Social Council;
– The Council of Regional Population Groups.

PART II: SPECIFIC INFORMATION IN RELATION TO THE FUNDAMENTAL ARTICLES OF THE CONVENTION

I. GENERAL MEASURES OF APPLICATION (arts. 4, 42 and 44, para. 6)

Reservations expressed by the Government

17. Mali has always expressed its political will to promote the rights of the child and to guarantee children considerate protection. This will and this commitment to the development of the child have been regularly demonstrated.

18. The initial report, submitted in 1996, mentioned Malian society's difficulty in accepting various provisions of article 16 of the Convention concerning arbitrary or illegal interference in the child's private life, which remains under the parents' authority.

19. Since then, Malian law has changed because of the country's belief in the rule of law and democracy. The ratification of international conventions (in particular, article 10 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child) and provisions of the Child Protection Code have rendered the reservation expressed concerning article 16 invalid.

20. Bearing in mind the practical situation in the country, Mali also expressed a reservation in its initial report to article 32 as regards the economic exploitation of children. In response to the recommendations made by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Mali has launched the ILO/IPEC national programme for the elimination of child labour and ratified ILO Conventions Nos. 138 and 182 concerning respectively the minimum age for admission to employment and the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.

21. The reservations must now be officially withdrawn.

Measures taken to align national law and policy fully with the principles and
provisions of CRC

22. Mali has taken a number of steps since 1999 to align its law more closely with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child:

– The creation at Bollé of specialized detention and rehabilitation centres for boys and for girls and women in place of the sections reserved for these categories of person in ordinary detention centres (Ordinance No. 99-006/P-RM of 31 March 1999 establishing the Bollé Specialized Detention and Rehabilitation Centre for Women and Ordinance No. 99-007/P-RM of 31 March 1999 establishing the Bollé Specialized Detention and Rehabilitation Centre for Minors);
– Act No. 99-041 of 12 August 1999 containing the Social Welfare Code, article 5 of which provides that the purpose of the family benefits system is to disseminate among families the ideas and resources needed to ensure better living conditions and education for children;
– Act No. 99-046 of 28 December 1999 containing the Education Policy Act;
– Decree No. 99-450/P-RM of 31 December 1999 specifying the conditions for the establishment and operation of private reception and placement centres for children from the ages of 0 to 5 years;
– Act No. 00-039 of 7 July 2000 concerning Wards of the Republic;
– Decree No. 00-387/P-RM of 10 August 2000 setting the conditions for recognition and care as a ward;
– Decree No. 00-388/P-RM of 10 August 2000 establishing the National Guardianship Council;
– The review of the law containing the Criminal Code (Act No. 01-079 of 20 August 2001) so as to remove from it, in accordance with the Riyadh Guidelines and the Beijing Minimum Rules, all provisions relating to the criminal responsibility of minors;
– The review of the law containing the Code of Criminal Procedure (Act No. 01-080 of 20 August 2001);
– The review of the law concerning the age of criminal responsibility and the establishment of juvenile courts in all judicial districts having ordinary courts (Act No. 01-081 of 24 August 2001);
– Decree No. 01-534/P-RM of 1 November 2001 establishing a travel document to serve as evidence of permission for children from zero to 18 years of age to leave the country;
– Decree No. 02-067/P-RM of 12 February 2002 setting the conditions for the establishment and operation of private reception, listening, counselling and accommodation centres for children from 5 o 18 years of age;
– The adoption of the Bamako Guidelines on the Harmonization of National Legislation against the Exploitation of Children in French-Speaking and Other African Countries (signed at Bamako on 29 March 2002);
– Act No. 02-044 of 24 June 2002 concerning reproductive health;
– Act No. 02-049 of 22 July 2002 containing the Health Policy Act;
– Act No. 02-050 of 22 July 2002 containing the Hospitals Act.

23. The above new laws have supplemented existing legislation, in particular the following:

– Act No. 62-17/AN-RM of 3 February 1962 containing the Marriage and Guardianship Code;
– Act No. 62-18/AN-RM of 3 February 1962 containing the Nationality Code, and subsequent amending legislation;
– Ordinance No. 36/CMLN of 31 July 1973 containing the Kinship Code (Code de la parenté);
– Decree No. 314/PG-RM of 26 November 1981 regulating school enrolment and attendance;
– Act No. 87-27/AN-RM of 16 March 1987 regulating Civil Status;
– Ordinance No. 90-37/PRM of 5 June 1990 establishing the Reception and Family Placement Centre in Bamako;
– Act No. 92-020/AN-RM of 23 September 1992 containing the Labour Code;
– Decree No. 96-178/P-RM of 17 June 1996 specifying the kinds of work and the categories of enterprise in which children may not be employed.

24. In addition, Mali has ratified a number of international conventions protecting children:

– The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (Ordinance No. 98 008/P-RM of 3 April 1998;
– The Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (accession by Mali on 19 August 1964);
– The Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery and the Slave Trade and the Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery (accession by Mali on 19 August 1964);
– ILO Convention No. 143, the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975);
– The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (accession by Mali: decree No. 95-370/P-RM of 16 October 1995);
– ILO Convention No. 182, concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (Ordinance No. 00-006/P-RM of 9 February 2000);
– Conventions and declarations on the health and education of children, in particular the Millennium Declaration and the goals of Education for All adopted at the Dakar Forum in the year 2000;
– The adoption and implementation of the ECOWAS Initial Plan of Action against Trafficking in Persons;
– ILO Convention No. 138 concerning the Minimum Age of Admission to Employment (Act No. 01-061 of 3 July 2001);
– The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Ordinance No. 01-033/P-R of 7 August 2001);
– The Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child : the Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflicts and the Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (both ratified by Mali in 2002);
– The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the supplementary Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Traffic in Persons, Especially Women and Children (respectively ratified by Ordinance No. 02-09/P-RM and Ordinance No. 02-010/P-RM of 16 January 2002);
– The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights relating to the Rights of Women (Ordinance No. 04-019/P-RM of 16 September 2004);
– The Agreement on Cooperation with the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire in Combating Transboundary Trafficking of Children (signed at Bouaké on 1 September 2000);
– The Agreement on Cooperation with Burkina Faso in Combating Transboundary Trafficking of Children (signed at Ouagadougou on 25 June 2004);
– The Agreement on Cooperation with the Republic of Senegal in Combating Transboundary Trafficking of Children (signed at Dakar on 23 July 2004).

25. These legislative and regulatory efforts notwithstanding, a number of measures aimed at harmonization and implementation remain to be taken, and this is holding back the full application of the Convention. For example, not all implementing decrees have yet been issued for the Child Protection Code and implementing instruments are still needed for the Decree regulating school enrolment and attendance and the law prohibiting begging by children.

Place of the Convention in Malian law

26. According to article 116 of the Constitution, "subject to their implementation by the other party, treaties and agreements which have been lawfully ratified or approved take precedence, once published, over domestic laws".

27. That being so, there is no difficulty in invoking provisions of the CRC before the courts.

Provisions in domestic law for the exercise of the rights of the child

28. Ordinance No. 02-062 of 5 June 2002 containing the Child Protection Code incorporates rules strongly marked by concern for human rights. In addition, it is based on a critical analysis of Malian society and law and international legal instruments and inspired by the principles of national policy in the areas of promotion of the child and the family, health, justice and social development.

29. The CPE, which draws heavily on provisions of the CRC and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, contains articles establishing:

– Explicit prohibitions of discrimination against the child (arts. 23-38);
– An obligation to report any act that may endanger a child's health, development or physical or moral integrity (art. 73);
– The functions of child protection officers (délégués à la protection de l’enfance) and probation officers (délégués à la liberté surveillée)] (arts. 66-72 and 173-176).

30. However, not all these measures have been put into effect. This applies in particular to the appointment of child protection officers and probation officers.

National legal decisions reflecting the principles and provisions of the CRC

31. Domestic law having been harmonized with the CRC, all legal decisions are consistent with the Convention. However, there is not much written material about relevant case law.

Legal remedies in the event of violation of rights of the child

32. In addition to the traditional forms of remedy available to minors (appeal, appeal against judgments made in absentia and appeal for judicial review), the CPE prohibits and penalizes all infringements of rights recognized by the Code. It does so in article 38, paragraph 4, which reads:

"Without prejudice to the possibility of prosecution, the perpetrators, whether natural or legal persons, of any direct or indirect infringement of the rights recognized by the present Code incur civil liability. All acts conducive to infringement of a right recognized by the present Code shall be punishable by a fine of 30,000 F to 300,000 F and, in the event of their repetition, by imprisonment for 2 to 6 months".

National global strategies for the benefit of children
33. Mali drew up an initial National Plan of Action for the period 1992-2000. To implement the Plan, it established, by Decree No. 94-209/PM-RM of 7 June 1994, a high-level structure, the National Monitoring and Assessment Committee for the National Plan of Action on the Survival, Development, Protection and Participation of Children. By Decree No. 00-297/PM-RM of 23 June 2000, adjustments were made to the Committee to take account of changes in the implementation of the rights of the child in the light of new government nomenclature (see para. 45 below).

34. The Ministry for the Advancement of Women, the Child and the Family was established on 16 September 1997 by Decree No. 97-282/P-RM. This marked the first incorporation of such a body in the structure of the government since independence and was a reflection of the political will expressed in the 1997 presidential Minimum Programme of Action for Democracy, Development and Solidarity, the aims of which include development of a policy for the benefit of children.

35. The Ministry's mission is to:

– Devise and implement measures for the welfare of women, children and the family;
– Devise and implement actions to ensure better insertion of women and children into economic, social and cultural life by taking into account their particular needs;
– Promote the rights of women and the child;
– Promote the family.

36. A National Directorate for the Promotion of the Child and the Family and regional and subregional child and family promotion services have been established to pursue these goals as regards children.

37. The National Directorate is responsible for elaborating national policy in the areas of child protection and family welfare. As such, it is tasked with:

– Drawing up child and family promotion programmes and plans;
– Undertaking research, studies and surveys concerning the legal, economic, social and cultural status of children and the family;
– Undertaking action for the promotion of the child and the family;
– Coordinating and monitoring the child- and family-promotion activities of government departments and agencies.

38. The National Directorate comprises two divisions: the Child Promotion Division and the Family Promotion Division.

39. Thanks to the creation of the central, regional and subregional child- and family-promotion organs, better account can be taken of the particular needs of children and the family, services have been bought nearer to their target population groups and the actions of development partners and civil society can be more closely coordinated.

40. To combat transboundary trafficking of children between itself and Côte d’Ivoire, Mali developed and applied an emergency national plan of action covering the period from June 2000 to December 2001.

41. The national programme against child labour, which includes a component to combat trafficking of children, is being implemented with financing from the Government of United States of America via the International Labour Office.

42. Throughout the decade, Mali has launched a series of sectoral planning and development framework programmes aimed at ensuring significant results: the Ten-year Health and Social Development Plan (PDDSS 1988-2007), the Ten-year Social and Health Programme (PRODESS 1988-2002); the Ten-year Education Programme (PRODEC 1998-2007), the Ten-year Justice Programme (PRODEJ 2000-2010). Given the existence of these sectoral programmes, which address the issues of survival, development and the law, elaboration of a second NPA is considered unnecessary. The issue of child protection has been taken into account in the
2002-2006 Strategic Plan of the Ministry for the Advancement of Women, the Child and the Family.

43. The Strategic Plan provides the framework for national child-promotion policy. Its aims are:

– Improvement of child survival by strengthening parents' individual and collective ability to use essential health services for children's benefit;
– Creation of a legal and social environment conducive to development of the child;
– Improvement of communities' and children's knowledge and ability regarding prevention and special protection;
– Improvement of education in civics for young adults with a view to their effective participation in public life;
– Performance of studies and research;
– Communication and advocacy in support of children.

44. Mali subscribed to the Declaration on a World Fit for Children adopted at the World Summit for Children held at New York in May 2002. (see the national report on the Summit, December 2002). However, it has yet to draw up a national plan of action for implementation of the Declaration. Such a plan will have to take into account the country's various social programs and the CSLP.

Machinery for applying the CRC, coordinating policy and monitoring progress application of the Convention

45. The National Monitoring and Assessment Committee for the National Plan of Action for the Survival, Development, Protection and Participation of Children was established by Decree No. 00-297/PM-RM of 23 June 2000. Following the establishment of the Ministry for the Promotion of the Child and the Family, the Committee comprises:

– Chairperson: the Minister for Promotion of the Child;
– Vice-Chairperson: the Minister responsible for the Plan;
– Members:

• – Two representatives of the Minister for Promotion of the Child;
• – A representative of the Minister for Health;
• – A representative of the Minister for Education;
• – A representative of the Minister for Justice;
• – A representative of the Minister for Social Action;
• – A representative of the Minister for Water;
• – A representative of the Minister for Finance;
• – A representative of the Minister for Regional and Local Government;
• – A representative of the Minister for Employment;
• – A representative of the Minister for Rural Development;
• – Representatives of the development partners involved in implementing the Plan of Action;
• – A representative of the Malian Coalition for the Rights of the Child;
• – A representative of the Coordinating Body for Women's Associations and NGOs;
• – A representative of the Save the Children Alliance in Mali.

46. The National Committee's mission is to:

– Encourage and coordinate monitoring of action taken under the Plan;
– Devise indicators for monitoring and assessing the Plan;
– Draft periodic reports and prepare annual and/or mid-term reviews for international meetings;
– Decide on changes or new directions to be included in the Plan;
– Take part in international meetings on the problems of children;
– Work to mobilise the resources needed to implement the Plan;
– Monitor execution of the departmental projects and programmes included in the Plan.

47. The National Directorate for the Promotion of the Child and the Family serves as the Committee's secretariat. At the regional and local levels, structures comprising all the stakeholders have been set up under the responsibility of representatives of the Ministry of Regional and Local Government (MATCL). For them, secretariat services are provided by the local offices of the Ministry for the Advancement of Women, the Child and the Family (MPFEF).

48. The National Committee has functioned only to a limited degree since its establishment in 2000 and needs to become more active in discharge of its mandate.

The Standing Committee for Monitoring of the Agreement on Cooperation between Mali and the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire

49. As part of its international corporation to protect the rights of the child, Mali has signed agreements with a number of countries, including Côte d’Ivoire (2000), Burkina Faso (2004) and Senegal (2004), on cooperation in combating transboundary trafficking of children. An agreement between Mali and Guinea is in preparation.

50. The Agreement between Mali and Côte d’Ivoire is monitored by a Standing Committee comprising 16 members, eight from each country. The Malian members of the Committee are:

– Chairperson: the Minister or a representative of the Minister responsible for promotion of the child;
– Permanent members:

• – Two representatives of the Ministry for Promotion of the Child;
• – A representative of the Foreign Minister;
• – a representative of the Minister for Security;
• – A representative of the Vocational Training Minister;
• – A representative of the Minister for Regional and Local Government;
• – A representative of the Save the Children Alliance;
• – A representative of the Malian Coalition for the Rights of the Child.

– Associate members:

• – A representative of the UNICEF office in Mali;
• – A representative of the International Organization for Migration office in Mali;
• – A representative of the International Labour Office in Mali.

– The Standing Committee's mission is to:

• – Assess progress in implementing the commitments made by Mali in the Agreement;
• – Exchange information on networks of child traffickers and on child-protection laws and regulations;
• – Analyse the strategies for combating trafficking of children and propose any necessary adjustments;
• – Study any obstacles to the proper implementation of the Agreement and identify appropriate solutions;
• – Put forward ideas for better implementation of the Agreement;
• – Make the requisite technical preparations for meetings to monitor application of the Agreement.

51. The Committee has been unable to meet regularly because of the social and political situation in Côte d’Ivoire.

52. Standing Committees have also been set up to monitor the Agreements with Burkina Faso and Senegal.

53. Political moves are in hand to ensure more frequent monitoring meetings.

The National Committee for Coordination and Monitoring of the Emergency National Plan of Action for Combating Transboundary Trafficking of Children

53. Implementation of the Emergency National Plan of Action for Combating Transboundary Trafficking of Children is coordinated and monitored by a committee comprising all the ministerial departments and civil-society stakeholders having an important role to play in combating the scourge of child-trafficking.

54. This committee comprises:

– Chairperson: the Minister for the Advancement of Women, the Child and the Family;
– Members:

• – The Ministry of Regional and Local Government;
• – The Ministry of Justice;
• – The Ministry of Social Development, Solidarity and the Elderly;
• – The Ministry of Security and Civil Defence;
• – The Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training;
• – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Malians Abroad;
• – The Telecommunications Ministry;
• – The Ministry of Youth and Sports;
• – UNICEF;
• – The International Organization for Migration;
• – The International Labour Office;
• – The Save the Children Alliance;
• – The Malian Coalition for the Rights of the Child.

55. Secretariat services are provided by the National Directorate for the Promotion of the Child and the Family.

56. Structures comprising all the stakeholders will be set up at the regional and local levels under the responsibility of representatives of the Ministry of Regional and Local Government. Secretariat services will be provided by the local offices of the Ministry for the Advancement of Women, the Child and the Family.

57. These committees are having operating problems.

The Steering Committee of the National Programme for Combating Child Labour

58. Progress under the National Programme for Combating Child Labour is monitored by a Steering Committee reporting to the Ministry of the Civil Service and Labour.

Data collection agencies

59. Data on the rights of the child is collected, processed and analysed by a number of specialized agencies:

– The National Directorate of Statistics and Information Technology;
– Planning and Statistics Units of the Ministries for health, education, agriculture, transport, mining, industry and trade;
– The Child Survival Research and Documentation Centre (Centre de recherche et de documentation sur la survie de l’enfant, CREDOS);
– Research institutes (INRSP, ISFRA, CNRST, IER);
– The University of Bamako;
– The Sustainable Human Development Observatory;
– The Employment and Training Observatory.

60. In addition, ministerial authorities, civil-society organizations, international NGOs and United Nations agencies carry out regular surveys of children's situation.

The National Centre for Documentation and Information on Women and the Child

61. To strengthen the system for the collection of data on children, Mali has established CNDIFE, the National Centre for Documentation and Information on Women and the Child (Act No. 04-004 of 14 January 2004). The Centre includes a department of the Observatory for the Condition of the Child which is responsible for:

– Making a compendium of child-related research, studies and data;
– Carrying out studies and research on specific issues;
– Establishing and managing a child data bank;
– Helping to evaluate the impact of action plans, programmes and projects for the promotion of the child;
– Processing data for the benefit of public- and private-sector actors;
– Contributing to the production, monitoring and analysis of the main child-related indicators;
– Participating in the inter-African system for monitoring international, regional and sub-regional agreements concerning the child;
– Participating, together with the other relevant structures and bodies, in the elaboration of the country's periodic reports on the situation of the child;
– Promoting exchanges and discussion concerning child-related issues.

62. Machinery for providing information on vulnerable groups of children is being established, but much remains to be done.

Initiatives taken in conjunction with civil society

63. All the Government's activities for the benefit of children are prepared, implemented and monitored in partnership with the full range of components of civil society.

64. Malian civil society is a member of all the coordinating and monitoring bodies established by government organs and those organs draw on its action.

65. As an example, in 2002 the Government and civil society drew up, adopted and implemented a joint plan of action as part of the world campaign for children initiated by the preparatory committee for the special session of the United Nations General Assembly devoted to children (New York, 8-10 May 2002).

66. Civil society has also participated alongside the Government in the elaboration, implementation and assessment of national child policy and programmes. It is represented in all the organs for project and programme monitoring and execution and in the consultation and coordination machinery.

67. The organizing capacity and the mobilization of civil society must be strengthened in order to exert more influence on government policy.

Measures taken to secure the exercise of children's economic, social and cultural rights at the national, regional and local levels

68. The Strategic Plan for the Advancement of Women, the Child and the Family and the related sectoral programmes (PRODESS, PRODEJ, PRODEC, etc.) are coordinated within the Strategic Framework for Combating Poverty (CSLP) adopted on 29 May 2002.

Proportion of the budget devoted to social spending for children

69. The following table shows how public expenditure on social sectors has changed over the years:

TABLE 1
Public expenditure on social sectors

(billions of CFA francs)

Source: Provisional report, Review of the 20/20 Initiative [Revue de l’initiative 20/20] (April 2004).

70. It will be seen from the above table that, on average, spending on essential social sectors accounted for 12.2% of government spending on social sectors between 1995 and 1998 and 11.8% between 1999 and 2002 and was thus relatively unchanged throughout the period 1993-2002, despite a steady increase in its nominal level. The financing shortfall was of more than 47 billion CFA francs in 2002, as against 12 billion CFA francs in 1998.

71. According to the NPA 1992-2000 assessment report, which was issued in 2001, budgetary expenditure on social services for children, including health, social protection and education, amounted to 410.9 billion CFA francs, or an annual average of 45.6 6 billion CFA francs, as against a predicted level of 131.8 billion. To this amount must be added the expenditure incurred under two programmes conducted with the help of technical and financial partners: PRODEC, begun in 1998, and PRODESS, begun in 1999.

TABLE 2
Initially intended and actual spending under NPA 1992-2000

(billions of CFA francs)

Source: DNP/DNB, NPA 1982-2000 assessment report, issued 2001.

* Information unavailable

FIGURE 1

Changes in initially intended and actual spending under NPA

Source: DNP/DNB, NPA 1982-2000 assessment report, issued 2001.

72. It can be seen from Tables 2 and 3 and Figure 1 that while intended spending under the NPA totalled 133 billion CFA francs, actual disbursements totalled 309% of this amount. Spending on survival (202.1 7 billion CFA francs) and spending on development (208.7 3 billion CFA francs) were respectively 306% and 340% of the intended amounts.

TABLE 3

Spending under NPA as percentage of total public spending

Source: DNP/DNB, NPA 1982-2000 assessment report, issued 2001.

73. In percentage terms, child-related budget spending changed only slightly. There is therefore a very great need for inter- and intra-sectoral readjustment of allocations for essential social services.

Measures taken to ensure that all relevant national, regional and local authorities are guided by the best interests of the child

74. The members of the National Assembly and the Economic and Social Council and regional decision-makers have been alerted to the importance of taking the specific issues of child promotion into account in their planning and budgeting activities.

75. Guides concerning juvenile justice and the rights of the child have been developed for trainers.

Measures taken to eliminate welfare differences between groups of children

76. Policy on health, education and justice is put into effect simultaneously in all parts of the country, the fundamental objective being to make basic social services accessible to all population groups.

77. As regulations have been strengthened, the number of specialized institutions for children in need of special protection has increased. In addition, the Development Education Centres provided for under PRODEC cater for children who are not enrolled in school or who leave school early.

International cooperation and application of CRC

78. A variety of programmes in support of children and their rights have been undertaken through cooperation between Mali and United Nations agencies (UNICEF, UNFPA, ILO, WHO, UNDP, UNESCO).

79. During the period 1993-1998, official development assistance to Mali increased significantly, from 58.5 billion CFA francs to 141.5 billion CFA francs. The proportion of the total allocated to social services rose from 13.57% in 1993 to 20.40% in 1998 and thus averaged 18.63% between 1993 and 1996 and 21.98% between 1997 and 1998. The principal beneficiary of this assistance is the basic health sector, followed by education and water and sanitation.

80. These ratios are a reflection of the efforts by Mali's technical and financial partners: the target of 20%-20% has been well beaten. Mali now needs to increase this proportion still further and above all to improve its inter- and intra-sectoral management of the funds it receives.

TABLE 4
Foreign Aid

(billions of CFA francs and percentages)

Source: Provisional report, 20/20 Initiative (April 2004)

81. In 1998, Mali became the seventh country to reach the completion point under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. In 2003, HIPC resources disbursed totalled 19 billion CFA francs, as against a CSLP target of 24.5 billion CFA francs, giving an execution rate of 78%. Mali's good results earned it 75 billion CFA francs of budgetary assistance at the donors' roundtable in March 2004.

82. As follow-up to the Declaration on Social Development and Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, March 1995), Mali has carried out a study of the financing of essential social services (20/20 Initiative, 1998), initiated a review of official development assistance, adopted a national poverty reduction strategy (SNLP, 1998) and set up the Observatory for Sustainable Human Development and the Combating of Poverty.

Measures to publicise the principles and provisions of the Convention

83. The following action has been taken to publicise the principles and provisions of CRC:

– Training: from 1999, training of civil servants and NGO social workers, with production of a CRC trainer's handbook; use of the core groups of trainers to provide training on children's issues for people in other relevant categories: judges, lawyers, social workers, security service personnel, teachers, journalists and presenters from the public and private written, audio and audiovisual media, traditional artists and communicators; training of some 200 young parliamentarians by specially trained members of the Bureau of the Children's Parliament; training by NGOs of members of the Association of Children and Young Workers;
– For members of the Economic and Social Council and the National Assembly, awareness-raising by representatives of specialized authorities;
– For children's organizations and associations, neighbourhood development associations and rural communities, presentation and promotion of CRC by associations and NGOs specializing in child protection;
– Since 1982, the regular conduct by NGOs in cooperation with relevant public technical bodies of radio campaigns to promote the rights of the child;
– The launching of the regional strategy for the universal registration of children at birth;
– The celebration of special occasions: African Children's Day (16 June), International Children's Day (20 November), and the holding of special events: a day of radio and television broadcasts in support of children (second Sunday in December);
– The holding of round tables and competitions on the situation of children, with children's participation;
– The printing and distribution of material concerning the Convention (50,000 booklets entitled “Les enfants d’abord” (Children First) and 15,000 leaflets about the Convention);
– The making of documentaries about children;
– The writing and performance of plays about various aspects of the Convention;
– The design, printing and distribution of posters about the rights of the child;
– The translation (in progress) into Bamanan, Soninke, Sonrhai, Peulh and Dogon of the Convention and the Child Protection Code and the Decree establishing the children's travel document and the accompanying enabling order;
– Inclusion of the rights of the child in the curriculum of the National Training Institute for Social Workers, in the "Young People's Rights" module;
– The drawing up by the Children's Parliament of the document "Un Mali digne des enfants” (A Mali Fit for Children);
– The launching during the Children's Parliament's seventh session, on 9 September 2001, of the Decade for a Culture of the Rights of the Child, 2001-2010.

84. These numerous efforts notwithstanding, the majority of the population and even some very important people know little about the Convention.

Dissemination of the reports on application of CRC

85. The present periodic report was prepared by means of a participatory process involving all the government and non-governmental bodies concerned with children's issues. Its approval was the subject of a national workshop. Its contents will be made known to all stakeholders through the distribution of copies and the holding of regional seminars.

86. The recommendations made by the Committee on the Right of the Child will be followed up by the National Monitoring and Assessment Committee for the NPA.

87. In 2001, following the consideration by the Committee on the Rights of the Child of Mali's initial report, the Malian Coalition for the Rights of the Child undertook a campaign to disseminate the Committee's recommendations. This campaign did not, however, reach all regions of the country.

II. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD (art. 1)

Minimum legal age

88. Article 2 of the Child Protection Code provides that "'Child' means any human being who is aged less than 18 years and has not attained the age of majority by special provision".

89. In Mali, the age of majority is not uniform. The ages of criminal, civil, social and political majority differ, varying between 18 and 21 years.

90. The draft Individuals and Family Code which the Government adopted in May 2002 harmonized the ages of majority in civil and criminal matters at 18 years. However, this instrument has yet to be adopted by the National Assembly.

Education

91. Article 26 of Act No. 99-046 of 28 December 1999 containing the Framework Education Act provides that "the right to education creates an obligation for parents to enroll their children in school and to keep them there at least until the end of the period of basic education". Article 34 of the Act defines the period of basic education as "a continuous period of 9 years". Basic education is open to children from the age of 6 years.

92. The sum of the length of the period of basic education and the age of school enrolment is 15 years. This corresponds to the standard in most international instruments, including ILO Convention No. 138, the Minimum Age Convention.

Work

93. Article L 185 of the Labour Code prohibits "the use of pregnant women and children for work that is beyond their strength or is a source of risk or that, because of its nature and the conditions in which it is performed, may cause them moral harm ".

94. Both article L 187 of the Labour Code and the enabling decree for the Code (Decree No. 96-278/P-RM of 13 June 1996) specify the work for which children may not be used and the ages below which they may not be employed.

95. Decree No. 96-278/P-RM sets the minimum age for admission to employment at 14 years. However, the country's economic situation makes application of this rule very difficult. In ratifying the ILO Minimum Age Convention, Mali decided to raise the minimum age for admission to employment to 15 years. The Labour Code must now be brought into line with that decision.

96. Article 34 of the Child Protection Code provides that "every employee aged less than 18 years is entitled, without discrimination based on race, place of origin, colour, social origin, citizenship, belief, sex, age, matrimonial status, family status or handicap, to equal treatment as regards membership of a trade union or business or vocational association or entry to a self-governing profession".

Marriage

97. Article 10 of the Marriage and Guardianship Code states that "there is no marriage when there is no consent”. Forced marriage is therefore forbidden. Article 15 of the Marriage Code and article 133 of the Act regulating civil status punish by imprisonment for six months to one year and/or a fine of 25,000 to 120,000 CFA francs any civil registry official who celebrates a marriage without verifying that both spouses consent to it. Article 26 of the Marriage and Guardianship Code provides that any marriage entered into without the free consent of both spouses may be subject to a petition for annulment by the spouse whose free consent was not given.

98. "A male who has not reached the age of 21 years and a female who has not reached the age of 18 years may not contract marriage without the consent of their parents..." (Marriage and Guardianship Code, art. 11).

99. Males may not contract marriage until they have turned 18 years of age and females until they have turned 15 years of age. However, the Minister of Justice may, by unappealable decision, waive the age requirement when there are substantial reasons for doing so. The draft Individuals and Family Code innovates by setting the marriageable age at 18 years for females and males.

Infringement of moral and physical integrity

100. The Criminal Code protects the sexual integrity of children up to the age of 15 by punishing any sexual relation or any act of a sexual nature committed against them, even with their consent: " Any indecent act committed or attempted, without violence, against a child of either sex below the age of 15 years shall be punishable by five to 10 years' imprisonment and, optionally, 1 to 20 years' expulsion..." (Criminal Code, art. 225). "Anyone who carries out or attempts to carry out the customarily authorized sex act with a girl below the age of 15 years shall be punishable by 1 to 5 years' imprisonment... " (ibid, art. 227).

Recruitment to the armed forces and involvement in armed conflicts

101. The armed forces regulations set the minimum age for voluntary enrolment in the armed forces at 18 years; the minimum age of conscription (national service) is also 18. Under Article 17 of the Child Protection Code, it is forbidden to cause children to participate in, or to involve them in armed conflicts or to enroll them in armed forces or groups below the age of 18 years.

102. Mali ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflicts in 2002.

Justice

103. Article 1 of Act No. 01-081 of 24 August 2001 on the criminal responsibility of minors and the establishment of juvenile courts and article 26 of the Criminal Code state that the "age of criminal responsibility is 18 years".

104. Children aged less than 13 years are legally incapable. Between the ages of 13 and 18 years, a child may only be considered criminally responsible if a court decides that it acted knowingly. Even in that event, special rules apply to the responsibility and the proceedings are oriented more towards protection than to punishment.

105. The Child Protection Code provides that when minors are arrested they must be informed promptly and in detail of the acts of which they are suspected and of their rights to the help of a lawyer and the presence of a parent or guardian.

106. The criminal police must also inform the minor's parents or guardian of the events immediately or, if that is not feasible, as soon as possible.

107. Children aged less than 15 years may not be remanded in police custody for questioning [garde à vue]. Children aged 15 years or more against whom there is serious evidence of commission of a crime or misdemeanour may only be held at the disposal of the criminal police with the prior consent of the Procurator of the Republic or a juvenile judge.

108. Such detention may not exceed 20 hours unless the Procurator of the Republic approves its extension. The duration of the extension may not exceed 10 hours. Minors must be held separately from adults in the place of detention.

109. Minors aged more than 13 years may only be preventively detained in a .prison if that is considered essential or no alternative arrangement is possible. They must be held in a special part of the prison and the period of detention may not exceed 3 months in the event of proceedings for a misdemeanour and 1 year in the event of proceedings for a crime. They must be separated from the other prisoners at night.

110. They are entitled to health care and to the assistance of the competent welfare, education and protection authorities.

111. In no event may a minor be sentenced to death or to life imprisonment. A minor prosecuted for an offence punishable by death or life imprisonment may be sentenced to 10 to 20 years' imprisonment.

112. The Child Protection Code authorises minors to give evidence in judicial proceedings and to express their opinions on matters that directly affect their interests.

Adoption

113. International adoption is governed by the provisions of the Hague Convention, which Mali ratified in 2001. Adopted children have access via the designated central authority to information concerning themselves.

114. Regarding the situation within Mali, the provisions of the Kinship Code and the Marriage and Guardianship Code afford protection to adopted children and enable them to maintain ties with their biological families.

Inheritance

115. For a child to have legal capacity to inherit, the only requirements are that the child should be alive when the estate owner dies and should not have been legally deprived of the status of a possible heir to that person.

Real estate transactions

116. As regards real estate transactions, article 29 of the Child Protection Code provides that "every child having legal capacity (who is emancipated) has the right to conclude contracts on equal terms without discrimination based on age...".

Freedom of association and worship

117. Ordinance No. 59-41/PCG of 28 March 1959 concerning associations (other than trading companies, mutual assistance societies, cultural associations and congregations) places no restrictions on children's rights to set up or belong to associations.

118. Article 25 of the Constitution provides that Mali is a "secular and social" State. That presupposes freedom of worship for every citizen.

Consumption of alcohol

119. The Act of 1 October 1917 on the suppression of public drunkenness and the regulation of beverage-vending establishments (which is still applicable in Mali) prohibits all bar keepers, innkeepers and other beverage vendors, on pain of criminal penalty (a fine and/or imprisonment in the event of repetition of the offence), from:

– Allowing entry to their establishments by or serving spirits or alcoholic beverages to minors aged less than 18 years;
– Selling, even for removal from their premises, spirits or alcoholic beverages to minors aged less than 18 years;
– Employing in beverage-vending establishments females aged less than 18 years other than members of their own family.

Artistic performances

120. Regarding artistic performances, Decree No. 291 of 20 October 1960 makes it obligatory for films to be certificated. It provides that "no cinema film may be shown publicly in the Republic of Mali without having first been certificated". The Film Censorship Board has the options of: granting a certificate authorising the film to be shown uncut or unchanged or after cuts or changes; refusing certification; prohibiting showing of the film to minors aged less than 16 years. In the latter event, notice of the ban must be displayed at cinema entrances and in all publicity material concerning the film.

III. GENERAL PRINCIPLES

A. Non-discrimination (art. 2)

Place of the principle of non-discrimination in Malian law

121. Article 2 of the Malian Constitution provides that “all Malians are born free and equal in terms of rights and duties. All discrimination on grounds of social origin, colour, language, race, sex, religion and political opinion shall be prohibited”.

122. In addition, the Child Protection Code sets out clearly, in its articles 23 to 36, the principle of non-discrimination as regards, inter alia, access to services, occupation and use of accommodation, legal capacity to conclude housing contracts, treatment, employment and membership of a trade union or commercial association.

Measures taken against discrimination

123. The perpetrators of any direct or indirect infringement of a right recognized by the CRC incur civil responsibility and may also be liable to prosecution.

124. All acts conducive to infringement of a right recognized by the CRC are punishable by a fine of 30,000 F to 300,000 F and, in the event of their repetition, by imprisonment for 2 to 6 months

125. Notwithstanding the laws and regulations, there is discrimination against some categories of children (fewer girls in school, little access for handicapped children to education, less access to essential social services for the poorest children and children from rural areas, etc.).

Measures to reduce economic, social and geographical differences

126. The principal goals of the ongoing process of administrative decentralization are a substantial reduction of poverty and the enhancement of living conditions. These goals are to be achieved by means, on the one hand, of improved resource management through the exercise of management authority and, on the other, of selective investment by the central Government in the poorest communes. The process has expanded considerably since 1996, with the number of communes concerned rising from 19 to 703 (684 rural and 19 urban communes).

127. Despite the pursuit of a selective approach with the aim of reducing differentials, funding allocations do not always match the pattern of poverty.

128. Following an extensive participatory process that began in 2000, the Government adopted the final document of the Strategic Framework for Combating Poverty (CSLP) on 29 May 2002. The Framework brings together sectoral programmes and State management around the objective of reducing the incidence of poverty from 63.8% in 2002 to 47.5% in 2006.

129. The CSLP seeks to tackle economic and social differences through efforts in three areas:

(1) Improvement of governance and participation;

(2) Development of human resources and access to basic social services;

(3) Development of infrastructure and support for productive sectors.

130. Included within each area are specific efforts on behalf of the poor, in particular increases in spending to combat poverty and the drawing-up of medium-term spending frameworks to ensure better coordination of spending in the education and health sectors.

131. Two years after the introduction of the CSLP, progress has been made, but shortcomings persist. The improvements include a marked increase in budgetary allocations to the education and health sectors. Allocations to essential social services rose strongly over the period 2001-2003: basic education accounted for 6.7% of the budget in 2001 and 10%, or some 50% more, in 2003; the corresponding figures for health were 6.3% in 2001 and 7.1%, or 12.7% more, in 2003.

132. The Malian Poverty Assessment Survey (EMEP 2001) found that poverty was still widespread. In 2001, poor living conditions or mass poverty (inadequate water, electricity, education, health, employment opportunities, housing, etc.) affected 63.8% of the total population, as against 64.2% in 1999 (National Report on Sustainable Human Development, 2000). EMEP showed that mass poverty was more prevalent in rural areas (76%) than rural areas (30%) and among women than among men but that it affected a smaller proportion of children aged under 15 (47%) than of adults (53%).

133. There remains much to be done, therefore, to improve access for the poorest and most vulnerable sectors of the population to basic social services.

134. With respect to the reduction of social differences, the 1992 revision of the Commercial Code eliminated the requirement that the husband must give permission for his wife to work as a vendor. As a result, more women have become involved in economic activity. In addition to the Women's Activities Support Fund (FAAF LAYIDU) established in 1995 for the socio-economic advancement of women (beneficiaries between 1995 and 2004: 5,000 women's groups, 42,000 women) there are the Women's Credit System (SYCREF) and women's support programmes and projects in cooperation with UNDP, UNFPA, UNIDO, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the Netherlands, the United States of America, ILO and France.

Measures taken to combat discrimination against girls

135. The Malian Constitution provides for equality between girls and boys in its article 18. The Education Ministry has a section that deals with school enrolment for girls and whose mission is to increase the number of girls in educational establishments. In addition, school enrolment projects aimed at girls have been carried out in three of the country's regions with the lowest school enrolment rates and the greatest differences between those rates for girls and boys.

136. In the case of basic education, the enrolment rate for girls rose from 33.4% in 1995-1996 to 59.9% in 2003-2004. The corresponding figures for boys were 51.3% in 1995-9096 and 81.3% in 2003-2004.

137. Despite the positive trend, the gap between the sexes is still large. There are also substantial differences from one region to another: whereas the capital, Bamako, had a gross school enrolment rate in 2002-2003 of 121.3%, the rates in Mopti and Kidal were 45.6% and 31.5% respectively.

TABLE 5
Gross school enrolment rates, 1995-2004

(percentages)

Source: Planning and Statistics Unit (CPS), Ministry of Education

138. Indicators of the efficiency of the school system continue to give cause for concern. In 1994-1995, 6.1% of girls, as against 5.3% of boys, dropped out of the first stage of basic education. In 2002/03 and 2003/04, the boys' dropout rate declined to 2.81% whereas the girls' dropout rate rose to 10.07%.

TABLE 6
Gross school enrolment rates by sex and level of education, 1994-2004 (including medersas)

(percentages)

Source: CPS, Ministry of Education.

139. As the above table shows, there is an imbalance between boys and girls at all levels of education. The number of girls, which is already low at the basic level, declines at the secondary level and is almost negligible at the post-secondary level.

140. Activities in support of the advancement of females include those of the National Centre for Resources and Non-formal Education and the functional literacy campaigns conducted by representatives of civil society.

141. While the efforts made are substantial, the level of education of women and girls remains very low and lower than that of males. The Integrated Light Household Survey (ELIM 2003) found that 69% of the population (64% of males and 75% of females) aged 6 years or more had never attended school.

142. The difference was the same in 2001 (EDS-III), when 77% of females and 66% of males had had no education.

Measures taken to collect statistics differentiating between boys and girls

143. Ministerial departments' planning and statistics units have set up systems for breaking down data by sex. Major surveys such as the EDS surveys (EDS II in 1995 and EDS III in 2001) and EMEP (2001) furnish data disaggregated by sex.

144. Data collection media have been designed for the establishment of a system for providing information on the most vulnerable children. However, given the current state of data collection in Mali, no reliable information can be obtained on the following groups: children born out of wedlock; foreign children; migrant children; child refugees or asylum seekers; children living and/or working in the streets; children with disabilities.

Measures to prevent and eliminate behaviour and prejudices harmful to children

145. The basic education syllabus includes education in civics, family life and population issues.

Measures to protect children against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of their parents' status, activities or opinions

146. Article 9 of the Constitution provides that legal penalties are personal. Consequently, a child can neither be called to account for, nor, a fortiori, suffer the consequences of its parents' acts.

The principal difficulties encountered in applying article 2

147. Malian society is heavily influenced by cultural considerations that are not without adverse consequences for women's and children's health.

148. The National Action Committee on the Eradication of Practices Harmful to Women's and Children's Health (CNAPN) was set up within the ministerial department responsible for women and children by Decree No. 99-157/PM-RM of 16 June 1999. The Committee is responsible for proposing strategies and action against practices harmful to women and children's health.

149. Social and cultural investigations carried out by the Committee in pursuit of the National Programme for Combating the Practice of Excision (CNAPN/PNLE) have identified 16 practices harmful to women's and children's health.

150. Mali regards the following 16 practices as harmful to the health of women and children:

– Excision;
– Scarification;
– Filing of teeth;
– Cionectomy;
– Tattooing;
– Bloodletting;
– The use of aphrodisiacs by women;
– Depigmentation;
– Forced marriage and/or marriage at a very young age;
– Levirate and sororate marriages
– Nutritional taboos;
– Forced feeding;
– Starvation diet prior to marriage;
– The killing of babies that are orphans or are born outside wedlock;
– Practices that humiliate women during difficult deliveries;
– Physical violence against women.

151. CNAPN/PNLE makes proposals and suggestions in the following areas:

– Information and awareness-raising for the population;
– Production of audiovisual teaching aids;
– Training;
– Promotion of research;
– Changes to the law;
– Support for associations and NGOs;
– Encouragement of positive practices.

152. In fighting these harmful practices, special emphasis is placed on excision. Excision contributes significantly to increasing mother and child mortality and morbidity rates, is a prime cause of difficulties in childbirth, and often produces irreversible disabilities (vesico-vaginal fistulas).

153. Excision is a very ancient practice and according to EDS III, which was carried out in 2001, 92% of girls and women had been excised. Excision mostly takes place during infancy. It is least common in the north of the country (34%) and most common in Mopti (88%), Kayes (98%) and Bamako (93%).

154. The National Programme for Combating the Practice of Excision (PNLE) was set up by Ordinance No. 02-053/P-RM of 4 June 2002. It has as its objectives:

– Coordination of all action against excision;

– Conduct of studies and research into excision;

– Development of an information, education and communication strategy directed at individuals, social groups and local authorities with a view to gaining their support for the national policy of ensuring an end to excision;

– Design of nationwide programmes with all relevant partners;

– Assessment and monitoring of field activities against excision;

– Creation of a data bank on excision;

– Support for the development of relevant curricula and their introduction in training schools for health and education professionals.

155. There is no specific law that penalizes excision.

B. The best interests of the child (art. 3)

The best interests of the child in the Constitution and laws and regulations

156. The preamble to the Constitution refers expressly to the defence of women's and children's rights. A number of legal instruments emphasise the safeguarding of the best interests of the child.

157. Article 7 of the Child Protection Code provides that "all decisions must aim at maintaining the child in its family environment and avoiding separating it from its parents unless a judicial authority is of the opinion that such separation is necessary in order to protect the child's best interests. Any decision to that effect must guarantee the child the right to continue to enjoy living conditions and services suited to its needs and age and compatible with its normal family environment".

158. In accordance with article 3 of the Convention, articles 12, 86, 87 and 91 of the Marriage and Guardianship Code provide for the protection and safeguarding of the child's best interests in all circumstances:

– "In the event of disagreement between divorced or separated parents, the administrative authority shall rule in the interests of the child" (op. cit., art. 12);
– "Custody of children shall be awarded to the spouse who obtained the divorce unless, in the light of the information collected pursuant to article 65 above, the court or the public prosecutor's office orders for the children's benefit that all or some of them shall be entrusted to the care of the other spouse or of a third party" (ibid., art. 86).

159. In addition, the Criminal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Act concerning the age of criminal responsibility and the establishment of juvenile courts pay special attention to the concept of the best interests of the child. These provisions notwithstanding, there remain problems of application.

Attention paid to the best interests of the child by the courts, administrative authorities, legislative organs and public or private social welfare institutions

160. Article 3 of the Child Protection Code provides that "in all actions concerning children taken by the courts, administrative authorities or public or private social welfare institutions, the best interests of the child shall be the primary consideration. Together with its emotional and physical needs, account must be taken of the child's age, health and family environment and the other aspects of its situation".

161. Article 94 of the Code provides that "educational assistance costs shall in all cases be payable by solvent parents from whom maintenance may be claimed. When one of the parents exercises a profession or is an employee, notification of the juvenile judge's or juvenile court's decision to the employer or remunerating entity shall have the effect of an order for distraint and create an obligation of payment directly to the person or institution providing the educational, medical or psychoeducational assistance".

162. Several provisions of the Kinship Code , the law regulating civil status and the draft Individuals and Family Code stress the concept of the best interests of the child, inter alia as regards filiation, civil status, etc.

163. Article 9, paragraph 1, of the Social Welfare Code provides that "children who have been declared to the civil registry authorities and are supported by the beneficiary qualify for family allowances".

164. There remain difficulties in applying these laws and procedures. In particular, the juvenile court system has yet to be properly established and various procedures are not followed.

The best interests of the child in family, social and school life

165. Although Malian law provides for the child's best interests to be safeguarded, problems in applying it persist:

– The number of dependent minor children a person has is taken into account in allocating social housing, but the needs in this respect are still enormous;

– Problems in providing school transport are a factor of the high school dropout and failure rates;

– Few people are able to receive family allowances.

Legislative and administrative measures taken to ensure children the protection and care necessary for their well-being

166. Action in the areas of health and education gives priority to the interests of the child (for example, the Expanded Programme on Immunization and the programmes for the development of public health services, the protection of infants and mothers and family placements).

167. Access to social services nonetheless remains inadequate, particularly for the poorest members of the population and people in rural areas.

Measures taken to establish appropriate standards for all institutions, services and public and private establishments responsible for the care of children

168. Decrees No. 99-450/P-RM of 31 December 1999 and 02-067/P-RM of 12 February 2002 set the conditions for the establishment and operation of private reception and placement centres for children and private reception, listening, counselling and accommodation centres for children respectively.

169. Socio-educational institutions are regulated by Act No. 87-41/AN-RM authorizing the private exercise of social welfare occupations.

170. The Bollé Specialized Detention and Rehabilitation Centre for Women established by Order No. 99-006/P-RM of 31 March 1999 houses delinquent girls and adult female offenders.

171. The Bollé Specialized Detention and Rehabilitation Centre for Minors established by Order No. 99-007/P-RM of 31 March 1999 houses delinquent boys.

172. These two centres, which are the only ones in Mali, come under the Ministry of Justice. This raises the problem of the separation of minors and adults in prisons.

173. The introduction of standards has yielded benefits including: better control over the establishment of institutions; permanent monitoring; an end to the haphazard reception, placement and adoption of children; more attentiveness to, and better counselling for children; improved understanding of the problem of street children.

174. There are, however, continuing difficulties, including:

– The shortage of centres;

– The shortage of qualified staff;

– The huge number of children;

– The shortage and unsuitability of premises;

– The lack of equipment and funds;

– Popular disapproval of the centres.

Main problems concerning the best interests of the child

175. Because of traditional attitudes, excision and other practices harmful to children's health continue and the economic exploitation of children and the numbers of child beggars and street children are increasing. This is despite the measures taken to protect children.

176. In addition, girls are lagging further behind boys in the area of school enrolment and maternal and infant mortality rates remain very high.

The best interests of the child and the training of staff

177. Since 1999, the Ministry for the Advancement of Women, the Child and the Family, the Ministry of Justice and COMADE, an NGO coalition, have, using guides for trainers, been providing training for field workers concerning the Convention, the Child Protection Code, child labour and juvenile justice.

C. The right to life, survival and development (art. 6)

Measures taken expressly to guarantee children's right to life and to create an environment conducive to their survival and development

178. Article 1 of the Malian Constitution provides that “the human person is sacred and inviolable. All individuals have the right to life, liberty, and security and integrity of person”.

179. Article 169 of the Child Protection Code prohibits sentencing children to death and a number of other laws set out and protect the child's right to life in greater detail. For example, the Criminal Code protects children from all action against their life or survival. Severe penalties exist for infanticide, the abandonment of children and the withholding of food or care from a child. The law even protects children from the time of conception by penalising abortion.

180. One of the fundamental objectives of the Child Protection Code is to prepare the child "for a free and responsible life in a solidary civil society that is based on the inseparability of the awareness of rights and of duties and in which the values of equity, tolerance, participation, justice and peace hold sway".

181. The Ten-year Social and Health Programme (PRODESS) provides for measures to reduce infant mortality. The Accelerated Child Survival and Development strategy (SASDE) began in 2002 in 6 cercles and the assessment made in 2003 showed that basic health coverage for children could be substantially improved by inexpensive action involving households. SASDE now covers 32 cercles out of the total of 49.

182. Care for children affected or infected by HIV/AIDS is seriously inadequate. Treatment to prevent mother-child transmission only began in 2002 and there is virtually no data concerning it or AIDS orphans. In 2001, infant and child mortality was 229‰. There must be no letup in effort.

Measures taken to ensure registration of child deaths and their causes

183. Registration of births, marriages and deaths is far from systematic in Mali, particularly where children are concerned. The reasons for this include cultural factors, the remoteness of some regions and the fact that the great majority of their inhabitants (along, in some instances, with registration officials) are ignorant of the law.

183. Since decentralization and implementation of the sectoral health policy began in the 1990s, some of the registration problems have been resolved as registration centres are now nearer the target populations. There is regular registration of deaths occurring in health centres.

185. It remains the case that only 4% of deaths are officially registered (source: National Directorate of Internal Affairs, 2004).

D. Respect for the views of the child (art. 12)

Legislation on children's right to express their views freely

186. Article 4 of the Constitution provides that "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, worship, opinion, expression and creation in compliance with the law".

187. In family and social matters, children's freedom of expression is still limited. As a rule, children are not consulted about their being placed in the care of Koranic teachers; in addition, some girls are not consulted concerning their marriage.

188. Thanks to the circulation of information and campaigns to increase awareness of children's rights, the situation regarding children's freedom of expression is improving somewhat.

Measures taken to safeguard children's rights to express their views and to be heard in judicial and administrative proceedings

189. Article 9 of the Child Protection Code provides that "every child has the right freely to express its opinions, which must be taken into account in accordance with the child's age and maturity. To that end, children shall be given a special opportunity to express their opinions and to be heard in all judicial proceedings and regarding all welfare and educational measures concerning their situation". The child's opinion must be sought concerning all action having to do with placement and every application for its adoption.

190. The Code provides for a number of means for children's expression of their opinions (/juvenile court system; child protection officers; special minors' division; assize court for minors). However, those means are not yet in operation.

Organs within which children have the right to participate in decision-making

191. To enable children to participate in public life, Decree No. 96-172/PM-RM of 13 June 1996 established a Children's Parliament. Through this organ, which has regional and local offshoots, children can make known their views on matters of importance to the country.

192. The Children's Parliament is:

– A place for dialogue between its members and the other citizens of the country;

– A place where children can state their views;

– A place for dialogue and advocacy concerning the protection, survival, development of children and their role in national life;

– A means for providing information about and promoting popular support for implementation of the Convention.

193. After each biannual session, the Parliament submits to the authorities a report on its concerns about the situation of children in Mali and the action it expects from the Government.

194. The Children's Parliament deserves to be more widely known and to be given more resources to ensure its autonomy, effectiveness and democratic nature.

195. The setting-up in some schools of children's governments has shown that children have a great role to play in the running of schools and the encouragement of higher school attendance.

Measures to create greater awareness among families and the public of the need to encourage children to exercise their rights and express their opinions; child-development courses for members of some professions; inclusion in the educational curriculum of courses concerning the Convention

196. Since 1999, training about the Convention has been provided for judges, lawyers, social workers, security service personnel, teachers, journalists and presenters from the public and private written, audio and audiovisual media, traditional artists and communicators. The impact of this training is not yet sufficiently apparent. Assessment is needed.

197. There is no module specifically devoted to the Convention in the curricula of higher educational establishments, but there is instruction in the rudiments of human rights and in child psychology.

198. The curriculum of the National Training Institute for Social Workers includes a module on children and young people.

Legislative, judicial and political decisions to take account of children's opinions

199. Under the Child Protection Code (arts. 73 and 74), it is obligatory to report on violence against and to help children. A number of structures and associations (APAF-Muso Danbé, APDF, COMADE, DNPEF, etc.) have received and dealt with individual and collective complaints from children.

200. The taking into account and even the making of children's complaints are hampered by the social and cultural context and failure to apply appropriate judicial penalties.

IV. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS (arts. 7, 8, 13-17 and 37 (a))

A. Name and nationality (art. 7)

Measures to ensure that children's freedoms and civil rights are recognized and respected

201. A number of codes and other laws contain provisions concerning the civil status of children. They include:

– The Kinship Code;

– The Nationality Code;

– The Marriage and Guardianship Code;

– Act No. 87-27/AN-RM of 16 March 1987 regulating civil status;

– The Child Protection Code;

– Act No. 01-081 of 24 August 2001 on the criminal responsibility of minors and the establishment of juvenile courts.

Measures taken to ensure that every child is registered at birth

202. All these pieces of legislation contain provisions that guarantee that the child has a name and nationality. Every birth must be declared, regardless of the place of birth, and this declaration must be made within 30 days (Act No. 87-27/AN-RM regulating the civil status, arts. 74 and 79):

“The birth of any child born live in the territory of the Republic of Mali must be declared to the civil registry office of the place of the birth, even where the foreign parents have declared this birth to the consular authorities of their country.

Any birth during travel by road, rail, river or air shall be declared to the civil registry centre of the first stopover place” (op. cit., art. 75).

203. The national birth registration rate was 48% in 2001 (EDS-III) and has not risen significantly since then. There are marked differences between rural areas (41%) and urban areas (71%) and between the poorest people (33%) and the richest (80%).

204. By making it easier for rural dwellers to get medical assistance during childbirth, the decentralization policy (with the establishment of 703 communes) and the building of several community health centres (CSCOM) have also made it easier to register births.

205. Problems remain, however: the national survey carried out in 2004 identified the remoteness of registration centres and registration officers' unfamiliarity with registration procedures as major obstacles to the registration of children at birth.

206. Steps are being taken to remedy the situation: training for civil registry officers, awareness-raising in communities, revision of the law on civil status, projects to encourage registration at birth, and writing of a guide for birth-registration trainers.

207. A 2004-2008 action plan to improve registration of civil status (Plan for the Civil Status Consolidation Support Mission (Plan de la Mission d’Appui à la Consolidation de l’Etat Civil, MACEC) is being prepared in order to bring civil registry services nearer to the population.

Improving the population's awareness and acceptance of the need to register children at birth

208. In 2003, the central theme for the celebration of African Children's Day in Mali was the right to be registered at birth. Awareness of this right was promoted through means including round tables, lectures with question and answer sessions, microprogrammes, songs, sketches and displays of folklore.

209. To make it easier to register children at birth, training has been provided for community-level civil registry officials. Efforts are needed to overcome the obstacles to wider use of the birth registration service. Those obstacles include illiteracy; unawareness of the benefits of and procedures for registration; uncertainty about the cost of making a declaration and obtaining a birth certificate; the weight of tradition; discrimination against women who wish to make a declaration, and unhelpful attitudes in health centres.

Elements of the child's identity taken into account and measures adopted to protect the child against all forms of degrading or discriminatory treatment

210. A child's identity comprises: its family name and forename(s); its parents' family names, forenames and occupations; the date (day, month, year), hour and place of its birth
(Act No. 87-27/AN-RM of 16 March 1987 regulating civil status, arts. 74-79).

211. Article 4 of the Child Protection Code states that “every child has the right to an identity from birth and to registration of its birth. A child's identity consists of its forename, family name, date of birth and nationality”.

The child's right to know its parents and to be brought up by them

212. Act No. 87-27/AN-RM of 16 March 1987 regulating civil status and the Kinship Code (Order No. 73-036 of 31 July 1973) take this right into account.

213. Article 7 of the Child Protection Code provides that "all decisions must aim at maintaining the child in its family environment and avoiding separating it from its parents unless a judicial authority is of the opinion that such separation is necessary in order to protect the child's best interests. Any decision to that effect must guarantee the child the right to continue to enjoy living conditions and services suited to its needs and age and compatible with its normal family environment".

214. Some children separated from their parents (children of divorced parents, child beggars, foundlings) are cared for by other members of the family or by institutions. Many of them, however, are either not cared for (street children) or are cared for in harmful conditions (children entrusted to marabouts, who force them to beg or to work outside their periods of instruction. Such children are known as "garibous", or beggars).

215. The complex problem of children separated from their parents, which is caused by multiple factors including poverty, modernization and the call of the city, is the subject of studies and recommendations aimed at bringing about the abandonment or adjustment of certain practices that divide children from their immediate families (fostering (confiage), education by itinerant marabouts).

Measures to ensure the child's right to a nationality

216. Nationality is regulated by Act No. 62-18/AN-RM of 3 June 1962 on the Nationality Code. The Code is sufficiently flexible to cover the situation of all children in Mali. It sets out flexible procedures under which every child in Malian territory can be granted Malian nationality, thus preventing cases of statelessness.

217. Article 4 of the Child Protection Code states that “every child has the right to an identity from birth and to registration of its birth. A child's identity consists of its forename, family name, date of birth and nationality”.

218. The measures taken under Mali’s decentralization policy to correct shortcomings in the process of registering children at birth will enhance observance of the child’s right to a nationality.

B. Preservation of identity (art. 8)

Measures taken to preserve the child's identity

219. The name a person is given cannot be changed except by operation of the law. A change of name can be made only by specific legal procedures designed to protect identity (Act No. 089-06-AN-RM of 18 January 1989 concerning the changing of family names).

C. Freedom of expression (art. 13)

Measures taken to ensure the child's right to freedom of expression

220. Exercise of the right to freedom of expression is recognized by article 4 of the Constitution and article 9 of the Child Protection Code.

221. As already indicated in paragraphs 186-188 and 191-195 above, the Children's Parliament, children's governments in schools, cultural centres and radio programmes for and by children provide children with means to express themselves, but their freedom of expression is limited by the family and social context.

222. Currently, access to modern means of communication and information (the Internet) is developing strongly, without restrictions to preserve national security or public order, health or morals.

D. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (art. 14)

Children's exercise of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion

223. Article 4 of the Constitution formally recognises this right and protects its exercise: "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, worship, opinion, expression and creation in compliance with the law". Malian law does not refer specifically to the situation of children. By tradition, parents keep a close watch on their children's exercise of these freedoms and do not leave them much room for manoeuvre.

Measures taken to ensure the freedom of children, including children from minorities and indigenous groups, to manifest their religion or beliefs

224. In practice, there are no restrictions on this freedom so long as the child remains within the bounds of its family religion and parental guidance.

E. Freedom of association and peaceful assembly (art. 15)

Measures taken to ensure the child's right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly

225. Article 5 of the Constitution provides that “Under the terms set by law, the State recognizes and guarantees freedom of movement, free choice of residence and freedom of association, assembly and demonstration”.

226. The traditional groupings of children based on age cohorts have always played an important role in the social life of village communities, which encourage their activities. New types of association, such as the Children's Parliament and its regional and local offshoots, the children's governments in some schools and children's clubs in urban centres, are becoming more common.

227. The traditional groupings by age cohorts are being weakened by the ongoing cultural changes and new forms of support for young people's collective activities are needed to take their place.

F. Protection of privacy (art. 16)

Measures taken to prevent any arbitrary or unlawful interference in the child's private life

228. Article 6 of the Constitution provides that “The home, the private and family sphere, and the secrecy of correspondence and communications shall be inviolable. They may be interfered with only as provided for by law”. The law places limits on the exercise of these rights by allowing parents, in the exercise of their parental duties, to supervise the company their children keep and censor their correspondence. The courts also have full freedom to adopt any measures designed to safeguard the best interests of the child.

229. Article 5 of the Child Protection Code states that "Every child has the right to respect for its private life, without prejudice to the rights and responsibilities that attach by law to its parents or the persons who have care of it".

230. Article 20 of the Code protects the child "against all publication or dissemination of its image that would violate its integrity, honour or privacy".

231. As regards children in conflict with the law, article 11 of the Code provides that "Every child who contravenes the law is entitled to treatment that will preserve its honour and person". Article 38, paragraph 4, of the Code defines the penalties applicable in the event of action conducive to infringement of any of the rights recognized by the Code.

232. As regards judicial proceedings against minors, article 115 of the Code provides that "No information capable of leading to identification of the minor may be published". Article 116 of the Code provides that "Decisions concerning minors aged 13 years may not be entered in the national criminal record".

233. Article 120 of the Code provides that " In cases against children, the publication in books or the press, on radio, in cinema films, on television or by any other means of the records of preliminary investigations or judicial hearings and the publication of verdicts are prohibited. The publication by any of the aforementioned means of any text or illustration concerning the minors' identities or personalities is also prohibited. Breaches of these provisions shall be punishable by a fine of 30,000 to 300,000 francs and, in the event of repetition of the offence, by imprisonment for 2 months to 2 years".

G. Access to appropriate information (art. 17)

Measures taken to guarantee children access to national and international sources of information and to protect them against information detrimental to their well-being

234. Regarding school textbooks and children's book caravans, action is taken through the national education system.

235. Malian law regulates children's access to information so as to protect young people against corruption and moral danger.

236. Consequently, the showing to children of violent, sexual, erotic or pornographic films or of obscene or pornographic publications and the production for children of obscene publications are prohibited. Compliance with the law on the protection of children's sexual and moral integrity is ensured through the National Film Censorship Board.

237. In addition, Mali has ratified, by Order No. 01-047/P-RM of 20 September 2001, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

H. The right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment (art. 37 (a))

Measures taken against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of children

238. Article 3 of the Constitution provides that "No one shall be subjected to torture or inhuman, degrading or humiliating treatment or punishment. Any person and any government official guilty of such acts, whether committed on his or her own initiative or on orders, shall be punished in accordance with the law".
239. Several texts protect children against violation of this constitutional provision. Persons who commit violations are prosecuted and parents' responsibility is engaged in the event of severe shortcomings or negligence in their supervision of their children:

– Circular letter No. 674/DEFA of 23 September 1969 from the Director-General of Basic Education and Literacy prohibits corporal punishment in schools and calls on all teachers to observe that ban;

– Circular letter No. 0019/MSSPA/SG of 7 January 1999 prohibits excision in health centres;

– Orders No. 94 4856/MEB CAB of 8 April 1994 and No. 94 4999/ MEB CAB and No. 94 5000/ MEB CAB of 15 April 1994 from the Ministry of Basic Education concern the rules applicable in basic schools, special educational institutions and kindergartens respectively. They prohibit corporal punishment, insults, theft, blows and violent games and the carrying of pointed, sharp or other dangerous objects;

– Various provisions of the Criminal Code protect children: article 209 concerning torture; article 210 concerning unintentional injury; article 213 concerning trial treatments and other practices harmful to health; articles 219, 220 and 221 concerning abandonment of incapacitated persons and non-assistance to persons in danger; article 226 concerning rape; article 227 concerning customary sexual intercourse, and article 244, which criminalizes trafficking of children.

240. To ensure that action can be taken in all cases where a child's health or physical or moral integrity is threatened or at risk because of the environment in which the child lives, the child's activities or acts or ill-treatment of the child, article 66 of the Child Protection Code provides for the appointment of a Child Protection Officer within the office of each regional governor and in the District of Bamako. Article 173 of the Code provides for probation, whereby a delinquent juvenile is left at liberty under the supervision of a specialist, the Probation Officer, appointed by a juvenile court. However, these two types of officer have yet to be appointed.

241. The situation of minors is also supervised independently of the judicial authorities by:

– Civil-society organizations (for example, legal clinics, the Forum for Democratic Challenges (Espace d’interpellation démocratique), Amnesty International and AMDH, the Malian Human Rights Association), which question the authorities about cases of ill-treatment;

– The independent media, through reports in the press and on local radio;

– Individuals who comply with the reporting obligations in the Child Protection Code.

242. Awareness of children's rights is promoted through training for teachers, security personnel, social workers, judges, etc., concerning juvenile justice and the Convention and through campaigns against excision.

243. There are no formal arrangements to care for children who are victims of torture or ill-treatment in their families or elsewhere. Few cases are reported; most are resolved through social mediation and the perpetrators of violence are rarely prosecuted.

V. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE
(arts. 5, 18, paras. 1 and 2, 9-11, 19-21, 25, 27, para. 4, and 39)

A. Parental guidance (art. 5)

Measures taken to ensure respect of the parents' or extended family's responsibilities, rights and duties concerning guidance of the child

244. The traditional Malian family was weakened by the colonization of the country, which brought with it other forms of social organization and hierarchization. It is being weakened still further by globalization. Nonetheless, the fundamentals of family structure and operation remain in place and heads of household and elders are therefore still the dominant figures.

245. Regardless of the ethnic group or social background concerned, the traditional Malian family can be defined as a group of persons who acknowledge themselves as having a common ancestor. Such a family may comprise several dozen people living together in the same concession, or communal residence.

246. In modern usage, “family” refers to a “household”, i.e. a group of persons who live in the same dwelling unit, share their resources and communal expenses and recognise the authority of a head of household or family.

247. Kinship [parenté] results from a blood relationship, marriage or adoption. Article 16 of the Kinship Code states that persons bound by kinship form the social family, which may be made up of one or more conjugal families comprising a father, a mother and their children.

248. Family authority is characterized by the unity of the family and by mutual respect and solidarity among the family members. The parents are responsible for a child's education throughout its minority. They decide on the child's upbringing and schooling, and sometimes on the occupation it is to take up. Parental authority involves the right to care for, guide and watch over the child.

249. The family, whether traditional or modern, constitutes the child's first level of education and socialization. It provides the child with protection and security from birth. It is the first environment for the exercise of the child's rights.

250. Outside the family, it is society as a whole that socializes the child. The family is not only a social necessity, but also a legal entity, even if family life lies very largely in the extralegal sphere, being more a matter of customs and habits.

251. The body of law regulating the family comprises:

– Act No. 62-17 AN/RP of 3 February 1962 containing the Marriage and Guardianship Code, as amended by the Act of 25 January 1963 and supplemented by Order No. 26 of 10 March 1975;
– Ordinance No. 36 CMLN of 31 July 1973 containing the Kinship Code and Act 89-06 of 18 January 1989 concerning the changing of family names;
– Act No. 87-27 of 16 March 1987 governing civil status, as supplemented by
Act No. 88-37 of 5 April 1988;
– Act No. 62-18 of 3 February 1962 containing the Nationality Code, as amended by Act No. 95-70 of 25 August 1995;
– Ordinance No. 02-062 of 5 June 2002 containing the Child Protection Code;
– Act No. 99-041 of 12 August 1999 containing the Social Welfare Code;

– Ordinance No. 79-7 of 18 May 1979 governing the pension system for civil servants and persons assimilated to civil servants.

252. The reform of family law begun in 1996 led to the adoption by the Government in May 2002 of a draft Individuals and Family Code. This instrument will shortly be submitted to the National Assembly.

253. Families' supervision of children is complicated by a variety of factors, both endogenous (poverty, illiteracy, urbanization, social and cultural constraints, discrimination against women, parents' absence from the home, etc.) and exogenous (globalization, the adverse effects of the media, and so on), leading to the weakening of family ties and a lack of proper guidance for the children.

Family counselling services and education and awareness-raising programmes for parents

254. The Government has undertaken a series of political and legal reforms in support of families. Chief among them are:

– The Declaration on National Social Protection Policy (April 2002);

– The Strategic Plan for the Advancement of Women, the Child and the Family (May 2002);

– The draft Individuals and Family Code (May 2002);

– The Child Protection Code (June 2002);
– The National Policy Declaration on Fighting HIV/AIDS (April 2003).

255. The existing social mechanisms and the above political and legal reforms enable parents or, as the case may be, the extended family, guardians or the other persons legally responsible for a child to ensure, with assistance from the State, the harmonious development of the child's personality. The aim is that children should be brought up in a spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and solidarity.

256. A number of education and awareness-raising programmes are under way for parents. They include:

– The education in family life and population issues project;

– The family planning project (AMPPF);

– The awareness-raising campaigns in connection with the Expanded Programme on Immunization and the reproductive health action plan;

– The project for the registration of births;

– The plan of action for the Civil Status Consolidation Support Mission (MACEC).

257. Efforts to educate parents must be continued, including through the pursuit of innovative strategies taking into account the positive aspects of culture and of community support mechanisms.

Measures adopted to ensure respect for the principles of the Convention

258. Malian law gives precedence to the best interests of the child (CPE, art. 3) and the principle of non-discrimination (ibid, arts. 22-38 and 39-49). Because of the country's vast size and high illiteracy rate, and despite the efforts made in 2003 to print and disseminate more than 4,000 copies of the Convention, the law is still little known.

259. In order to promote greater familiarity with the Convention and other texts concerning the rights of the child, the Government is having these instruments translated into the main national languages (Bamanakan, Soninke, Sonrhai, Peulh, Dogon and Tamacheck) and social workers, town councillors, judges, judicial police officers, artists and media workers trained in applying them. The intention is to produce 10,000 copies.

B. Parental responsibilities (art. 18, paras. 1 and 2)

Parental responsibility and the law

260. In traditional Malian society, parental authority (puissance paternelle) is exercised by the entire community, which has a say in the development of the child's personality. Every adult is responsible for children's upbringing, regardless of their degree of kinship.

261. Under article 82 of the Kinship Code, “parental authority (puissance paternelle) is the set of rights and duties of a mother and a father towards the person and property of their unemancipated minor children”. Article 33 of the Marriage and Guardianship Code provides that, as a result of marriage, the spouses “have an obligation to ensure the moral and material guidance of the family, to feed, maintain and raise their children and to prepare them to be independent”.

262. Article 84 of the Kinship Code entitles parents to monitor their children's education, supervise their relationships and correspondence and place problem children in the appropriate institutions.

263. In the draft Individuals and Family Code, the term " puissance paternelle " has been replaced by the term " responsabilité parentale " (parental responsibility). The concept of parental responsibility is also referred to in article 6 of the Child Protection Code: " In all measures taken regarding a child, preventive action within the family must be a prime consideration in order to safeguard the role of the family and to consolidate, by the protection necessary to its natural development, the responsibility with respect to the upbringing, schooling and supervision of the child that lies with the parents or guardian".

264. The weakening of the system of traditional education has undermined parental authority. In addition, there are many children whose parents cannot afford to educate them and send them to school. Parents' growing inability to discharge their parental duties is worrying. It is inter alia the reason for the rise in the number of street children.

Measures adopted to render appropriate assistance to parents and guardians

265. Act No. 99-041 of 12 August 1999 containing the Social Welfare Code establishes a system of family benefits aimed at giving families the information and resources to improve their children's' conditions of life and education. The benefits include pregnancy allowances for certain public service workers, prenatal and maternity allowances, family allowances (0-14 years) and medical coverage for children. The system only covers a small number of children (family allowances have been paid in respect of some 200,000 children).

266. Various forms of aid are available for disadvantaged families:

– Social assistance from the Government and local authorities on the basis of the issue of certificates of indigence;

– The establishment of school canteens in poor areas;

– Activities of civil-society and private-sector organizations in the form of support for the education of children from poor families, sponsorship and facilitation of access to medical care;
– Help for children having the status of wards of the nation under Act No. 00-039 of 7 July 2000 on Wards of Mali (all minors whose father, mother or family provider died in the service of the country, whether in the performance of his/her normal duties or in the performance of some exceptional act). The help includes: payment of medical expenses; payment of the costs of schooling, apprenticeship and training; award of full scholarships for secondary or higher education; when necessary, placement in a specialized institution.

267. Provision of such aid is, however, complicated by:

– The ambiguity of some legal instruments (e.g., the question when children whose parents die performing exceptional acts qualify as wards of the nation);

– The country's lack of money;

– The poor public image of the state of indigence.

Data concerning children who have received assistance

268. Numerous children have received aid from the Government, civil-society organizations, the private sector and international agencies in connection with, for example, the beginning of the school year, the month of solidarity (October), the end-of-year festivities or the anti-HIV/AIDS campaign month.

269. The social information system now being installed is not capable of providing either general or disaggregated data on children who have received public assistance.

C. Separation from parents (art. 9)

Measures adopted to ensure that children are not separated from their parents

270. As has already been said, children have traditionally been regarded in Mali as being everyone's children and the idea of separation of parents and children is new. However, several types of such separation can now occur:

– Court-ordered separation, whereby, in the child's interest, custody is given to one of the parents. In this event, contacts with the parents are not broken off completely;

– Separation because biological parents entrust the care of their child to a third party, who may be an uncle, an aunt, a brother, a friend of the family or a marabout. This sometimes leads to economic exploitation of the child;

– Separation as a result of the death of the parents: orphans are automatically taken in by the other members of the extended family or at worst (in urban areas) are entrusted to the social welfare authorities and may subsequently be adopted;

– Separation as a result of a child's imprisonment. Given Malian law, this is exceptional.

271. In all these instances, Malian law provides (through the Kinship Code, the Marriage and Guardianship Code and the law on civil status) for the protection of the child's best interests.

272. The Kinship Code, which was adopted by Ordinance No. 73-036 of 31 July 1973, deals with the issues of names, acquisition of filiation by birth, adoption for protection, adoption for filiation, the effects of kinship and the obligation to provide children with food.

273. The efforts that Mali has made since it ratified the Convention to adjust its law to provide better protection for children temporarily or permanently deprived of their family environment are not yet complete. The Kinship Code says nothing about international adoption. The legal lacunae will be filled by the Individuals and Family Code.

274. Protection of the rights of children separated from their parents has been strengthened by the adoption in 2002 of the Child Protection Code, which provides that the child's best interests must be taken into account in any decision about separation from its parents or family (art. 3), that the child has a right to remain in regular contact and maintain personal relations with its parents (art. 10), and that the child is entitled to protection of its health and physical and moral integrity and to social and educational assistance (art. 14).

275. In addition, civil-society organizations are increasingly involved in providing reception, listening, lodging and training services for children who have broken with their families. Separation from their parents often leads to situations in which children are at risk of economic exploitation, violence and deviant practices. This is particularly the case of children entrusted to marabouts and of girls who work as domestic servants. The current machinery is not able to protect them.

Opportunities for the child to participate in proceedings concerning decisions on separation

276. Pursuant to articles 8, 9, 85, 87 and 104 of the Child Protection Code, the child has the opportunity to participate in all proceedings concerning its situation and to make known its views.

Measures adopted to enable children separated from their parents to maintain personal relations and direct contact with them

277. Article 10 of the Child Protection Code provides that "Unless the competent court decides otherwise in the best interests of the child, every child separated from one or both of its parents has the right to remain in regular contact and to maintain personal relations with them both and with the other members of its family".

278. The National Commission for Refugees, which was set up by Decree No. 98-354/P-RM of 28 October 1998, and reports to the Minister for Regional and Local Government, deals with children separated from their parents. For care, it refers them to structures such as the Association of Former United Nations Volunteers (AVENU) and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Measures adopted to ensure that when a child is separated from its parents the State provides the essential information concerning their whereabouts

279. The situations in question are governed by the Marriage and Guardianship Code, the Kinship Code and the Child Protection Code.

280. Bodies, in particular the National Commission for Refugees and the International Committee of the Red Cross, exist to deal with the cases of children separated from their parents.

Information given in cases of detention, imprisonment, exile, deportation or death

281. In cases of detention, imprisonment, exile, deportation or death, information is provided by the National Police Directorate through the Vice Squad. It is not, however, exhaustive.

D. Family reunification (art. 10)

Measures adopted to ensure that the State deals humanely and expeditiously with all applications by a child or its parents to enter or leave the country for the purpose of family reunification

282. Subregional conflicts are currently swelling the numbers of children seeking asylum. Some of these children are unaccompanied. Children from Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and other countries have been given shelter and returned to their families.

283. Under bilateral agreements with neighbouring countries, Mali has pledged to take in and shelter foreign children and return them to their families. In the period 2003-2004, the NGO Caritas-Mali, and the governmental authorities responsible for children together returned 140 children to their families. Local bodies (municipal councils, associations and NGOs) share with NGOs from neighbouring countries in returning children to their families.

284. Reunification is hampered by the potential beneficiaries' ignorance of these arrangements, and by a shortage of resources.

Compliance with the Convention in considering cases of family reunification, child asylum seekers and unaccompanied children

285. Thanks to an active partnership between government authorities and civil society, children awaiting return to their families now enjoy better conditions: all, without distinction, receive a sympathetic hearing and the necessary support (lodging, clothing, medical care, education, etc.).

Measures taken to ensure the right of the child whose parents live in a different country to maintain personal relations with them on a regular basis

286. Municipal and civil protection authorities and NGOs try to contact parents in the countries of origin. However, such initiatives are not very active, despite the existence of inter-State agreements.

Measures taken to ensure the rights of the child and its parents to leave any country, including their own, and to enter their own country

287. Under bilateral agreements with its neighbours, Mali has pledged to take in and shelter foreign children and return them to their families. The signing of bilateral agreements with neighbouring countries on the combating of transboundary trafficking of children, the repatriations and returns to families under the action plan against such trafficking and the training provided in connection with family reunification are evidence of progress. Nonetheless, more needs to be done.

E. Illicit transfer and non-return (art. 11)

Measures taken to prevent the illicit transfer and non-return of children abroad

288. As part of its action against child-trafficking, Mali has taken a series of steps to prevent illicit transfer and non-return:

– Regulatory and administrative measures through the adoption of the Decree establishing a travel document to serve as evidence of permission for children from zero to 18 years of age to leave the country;

– The signing with Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Senegal of bilateral agreements on combating the transboundary trafficking of children (see para. 24 above) and the conclusion, now in hand, of a similar agreement with Guinea;

– Prevention and awareness-raising through the establishment of more than 120 community surveillance units in the frontier zones of Sikasso, Ségou, Mopti and Koulikoro;

– The training of security service personnel responsible for issuing travel documents and monitoring borders;

– The signing of agreements with carriers' associations in the Sikasso region.

F. Recovery of maintenance for the child (art. 27, para. 4)

289. In Mali, the question of child maintenance is governed by Ordinance No. 73-036 of
31 July 1973 containing the Kinship Code. Article 81 of that Code provides that "Parents' rights are those associated with parental authority and with parents' obligations regarding the maintenance and education of children". Articles 102 to 116 of the Code define the means for discharging the obligation to provide maintenance:

– The person having the obligation is required to provide the beneficiaries of the obligation with the wherewithal to obtain food, housing, clothing and medical care;

– The obligation exists between blood relations or relatives by marriage in direct line of descent and between brothers and sisters born of the same parents or of the same father or mother;

– It also exists towards single mothers and children born out of wedlock;

– It is normally discharged through payment in cash or kind by the person having the obligation to the beneficiary.

290. Maintenance for a child is recovered in several ways:

– In the context of social assistance, by State welfare services at the request of destitute parents. Recovery by this means is very uncertain because of the welfare services' limited resources;

– Through the charitable action of religious bodies;

– By associations, NGOs or foundations.

291. Recovery is not systematic. In addition, the country's economic difficulties and severe poverty prevent many heads of households from fulfilling their maintenance obligations.

G. Children deprived of their family environment (art. 20)

Measures taken to ensure special protection and assistance for children temporarily or permanently deprived of their families

292. The establishment of the function of Child Protection Officer (Child Protection Code, art. 66) and of the obligation to report threats to children's well-being (ibid, art. 73) will help to ensure better care and protection for children deprived of their family environment. Articles 85 and 86 of the Code provide for judicial means of ensuring the greatest possible security for such children.

293. The precise numbers of children and young people living outside their families cannot be calculated because insufficient data is available on the numbers of children who are being housed and educated outside their families or have left home.

294. The Government continues to promote private and community initiatives. Consequently, efforts are made to encourage families and individuals to develop solidarity networks for children. In order better to protect children in general and children deprived of their family environment in particular against deviant practices such as exploitation, kidnapping and trafficking, Mali has adopted regulations on the placement, reception and housing of and guidance for children. Decrees Nos. 99-450 of 31 December 1999 and 02-067 of 12 February 2002 lay down the conditions for the establishment and operation of private reception, listening, counselling and accommodation centres for children.

295. As regards protection of the child, all Mali's social or judicial protection measures have the effect of promoting the prevention and correction of unacceptable treatment of children. They are measures aimed at physical or psychological rehabilitation or re-education and at children's reintegration in society and their families.

296. Among these measures, preference is given to those based on keeping the child in its family. Placement of a child outside its family is an exceptional measure and must be no more than temporary. In addition, the parents must contribute to the cost of the child's education, a requirement that stems from the desire to maintain the relations between the child and the family.

Orphans and abandoned children

297. Thanks to the traditional forms of solidarity in Mali, orphaned and abandoned children are often taken in by their extended family. In urban areas, where the traditional solidarity does not work well, orphans, abandoned children or children whose parents are mentally ill are taken in by the social services and receive the necessary protection. In 2003, the La Pouponnière reception and family placement centre in Bamako, whose initial capacity was for 120 children, was expanded: new buildings were put up by the Government and vehicles were acquired. The centre takes in an average of 300 children a year.

Students in Koranic schools

298. The table below shows the results, broken down by age group, for the District of Bamako of a census made by the NGO Mali Enjeu of children entrusted to marabouts in order to be trained in Koranic schools.

TABLE 7

Students in Koranic schools, by age group

Source : Final report, “Mendicité” (Begging), Mali - Enjeu /GARFO 99.

Street children

TABLE 8

Vagrant children in the District of Bamako, October 2002

Source: DNPEF/SAMU Social, Census of vagrant children, district of Bamako, 2002

Observance in the application of protective measures of the child's right to education and to the expression of its ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic origin, and data on the categories of children to whom protective measures are applied

299. Articles 50 to 65 of the Child Protection Code define the categories of children who can be considered as deprived of their family environment:

– School-age children who move in order to continue their schooling in villages or communes other than their own or in cities and who receive no State scholarship or maintenance;

– Children who are entrusted to marabouts for the purpose of religious training and who wander about, in towns in particular, and live by begging;

– Children whose labour is abused in the informal sector (in particular, girls employed as domestic servants);

– Street children in large urban centres such as Bamako;

– Orphans, abandoned children and foundlings, who receive particular attention when living in family placement establishments.

300. No more detailed information is available on the continuity of children's education or on respect for their religions or ethnic origins. It is certain, however, that more needs to be done to respect children's cultural identities.

Progress and problems

301. The setting of standards for placement institutions, the new juvenile courts, the increase in the number of child-care centres and the commencement of the collection of data on the above categories of children constitute major progress. Nonetheless, substantial efforts are still needed in the areas of application and monitoring of the new rules.

H. Adoption (art. 21)

Measures taken to ensure that the child's best interests are taken into account when the State authorises adoption

302. Pursuant to the Kinship Code, adoption for filiation establishes as between the adoptive parents and their adopted children the same rights and duties as exist between biological parents and their children and gives the adoptive parents the powers that biological parents have over their children. Only children aged less than five years who have been abandoned or whose parents are unknown or have died without leaving relatives capable of taking in their offspring are eligible for adoption for filiation. The adoption will only be authorized it is beneficial for the child and takes account of the child's best interests (op. cit., art. 68).

303. Adoption for protection (ibid, art. 58) is subject, however many children are involved, to the customary rules; the only condition is that the adopter does indeed take the children into his or her care. Children are eligible for such adoption whether or not they are orphans and regardless of filiation, race, religion or nationality. Adoption for protection entails for the adopter the obligation to feed, maintain and raise the children and to prepare them to be independent. For a decision on either kind of adoption to be valid, it must be given in open court following an investigation and discussion in chambers and after hearing the opinion of a representative of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

Measures taken regarding international adoption

304. International adoption is not authorized until it has been checked that the child's best interests are the prime consideration (Child Protection Code, art. 19, para. 3).

305. The main problems regarding adoption are:

– Inadequate administrative follow-up of children after adoption because the adoptive parents live too far away;

– Ignorance of the laws and regulations on the part of biological parents, who sometimes allow their children to be adopted because they cannot afford to bring them up.

TABLE 9

Adoptions, 2000-2003

306. It will be seen from the above table that international options are more numerous than national adoptions. This is proof that Malians do not often think about offering children for adoption in the modern sense of the term: fostering (confiage) and kafalah under Islamic law are more common.

Measures taken to promote article 21 of the 1993 Hague Convention

307. In acceding to the 1993 Hague Convention by Decree No. 01-391 PRM of 6 September 2001, Mali undertook to make adoption reforms. These have been included in articles 419-423 of the draft Individuals and Family Code.

308. The country now has a central body responsible for adoption matters, the National Directorate for the Promotion of the Child and the Family. The Directorate is the one and only body authorized to transmit the files on adoption cases to the presidents of courts, a restriction forming part of the action against child-trafficking.

309. The adoption of the new rules (the above-mentioned Decrees Nos. 99-450 and 02-067) the information campaigns and the other support measures have helped to make the international placement and adoption of children less risky.

310. Under article 244 of the 2001 Criminal Code, trafficking of children for the purposes of, inter alia, adoption is punishable by imprisonment for 5 to 20 years.

I. Periodic review of placement (art. 25)

Measures taken to ensure the right of children who have been placed to receive care, protection or appropriate treatment

311. Chapters II and III of the Child Protection Code give Child Protection Officers specific powers regarding placement, monitoring of placement, and care. Under article 14 of the Code, children placed in protective or rehabilitatory educational institutions or a place of detention are entitled to protection of their health and their physical and moral integrity. They are further entitled to social and educational help, due account being taken of their age, sex, potential and personality. Children in pre-trial detention or serving a sentence are entitled to periodic limited release (inter alia, to receive medical care); such release is granted according to the rules of the institution in question (ibid, art. 15).

Authorities having competence in matters of child placement, frequency of placement review and compliance with the principles of the Convention

312. Children who have no father, mother or older relative who can be called on to help them or who have been totally abandoned by their parents or older relatives are placed under the responsibility of the competent government authorities, which provide for their education and care (Child Protection Code, art. 19). A number of civil-society organizations are also active with regard to the placement of children (e.g., SOS Children's Villages).

313. Apart from the public protective or rehabilitatory educational institutions, children may be entrusted to families or, failing that, admitted to private protective or rehabilitatory educational institutions.
314. Pursuant to articles 85-88 of the Child Protection Code, it is juvenile court judges who have competence in matters of child placement and the review of placement. They may order, for a specified period, one or other of the following measures:

– Keeping of the child in its family under parental responsibility;

– Keeping of the child in its family, subject to monitoring of the child and support and guidance of the family by a Child Protection Officer;

– Medical or psychological examination of the child and/or placement of the child in a medical or psychoeducational establishment;

– Entrusting of the child to a guardian, a family, a public or private specialized educational institution or an appropriate protective or rehabilitatory educational institution;

– Placement of the child in an appropriate training centre or educational establishment;

– In the case of a child declared to have been abandoned, delegation of parental authority to anyone willing to take an interest in the child or to an educational institution;

– In the case of a foundling, after consultation of public or private institutions and of the persons who found the child, provisional measures for its care and protection.

315. The term "protective or rehabilitatory educational institutions" as used in the Child Protection Code refers to reception and placement institutions for children, institutions that provide listening, counselling and/or housing services for children and correctional education institutions. Such institutions are governed by Decrees No. 99-450 of 31 December 1999 and No. 02-067 of 12 February 2002.

316. There are four reception institutions for orphaned and abandoned children under the age of 5 years. They are under the authority of the National Directorate for the Promotion of the Child and the Family and are: the La Pouponnière reception and family placement centre in Bamako, two SOS Children's Villages, one in Sanakaroba (in the Koulikoro region) and the other in Sévaré (Mopti region), and a community centre in Bamako.

317. Since 2002, a development project has been under way at the reception and family placement centre in Bamako, the benchmark institution for family placement. Thanks to the more than 150 million CFA francs which the State and its partners have invested in the project, the centre's infrastructure has been reorganized, new equipment has been acquired and more staff have been recruited.

Review and monitoring of placement

318. Decree No. 99-450 limits the time that a child aged between 0 and 5 years may spend in a private or public reception and placement centre to a maximum of three years. The centre is responsible for all the expenses associated with the child's stay. If a paediatrician certifies that the child needs special care, the maximum period of stay may be extended by not more than six months. Thereafter, children who are not returned to their families or adopted go to a State-run or State-approved reception centre.

319. Private reception and placement centres for children have to submit regular reports to the public child-welfare authorities, which keep the children's health and the conditions in which they are received and housed under constant review.

320. Subject to explanation of the reasons for the decision, the Minister responsible for promotion of the child may order of the temporary or permanent closure of an establishment or institution if major failings are found in its performance (Decree No. 99-450, art. 17).

TABLE 10

Children deprived of their family environment placed in reception
and placement institutions, 2002-2003

Source: DNPEF, 2004.

J. Abuse and neglect (art. 19), including physical and psychological
recovery and social reintegration (art. 39)

Measures taken to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse

Criminal law

321. The question of ill-treatment of children is dealt with in the Child Protection Code and the Criminal Code. Articles 219, 225, 226 and 228 of the Criminal Code establish penalties for:

– Neglect of children such that their fate is left to chance;

– Indecent assault of minors aged between 15 and 21 years;

– Rape of children aged less than 15 years;

– Paedophilia, which is classed as a crime.

322. Paedophilia is defined as any act of sexual penetration or sexual contact of any kind committed against the person of a minor aged less than 13 years or any display or use for the purposes of trade or tourism of pornographic photographs, films or drawings showing one or more minors aged less than 13 years. Such action does not constitute the crime of paedophilia if there is less than five years' difference between the ages of the perpetrator and the victim.

Measures taken by the authorities

323. Action to promote physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration is action to remedy the effects of ill-treatment. In Mali, legislative, administrative, social and educational measures are taken to protect the child from all forms of violence while it is in the care of its parents or other people. Articles 73 to 76 of the Child Protection Code make it obligatory to report threats to children's well-being and, by providing that "no one may be sought, arrested or prosecuted for having in good faith discharged the [ said ] duty", protect people who make such reports.

324. Provisions exist in criminal and/or family law to ensure the efficacy of the prohibition of all forms of violence against children, including corporal punishment and humiliation within the family, foster family or public or private institutions such as penal establishments, schools or health services.

325. There are legal remedies available to children, and article 73, paragraph 2, of the Child Protection Code states that "any child may report its own situation or that of any other child to a child protection officer". Article 78 of the Code provides for the submission of cases to a juvenile judge. Judicial protection of children is ensured by the juvenile courts (see the Act concerning the age of criminal responsibility and the CPE).

326. Means have been established of identifying victims and perpetrators through reports, investigations and obligatory reporting by members of the public or aid agencies, to which children may talk confidentially. These arrangements are intended to ensure action and appropriate judicial proceedings concerning breaches of the law (CPE, arts. 81 and 82). They are supplemented by training, information and awareness-raising programmes concerning the machinery for physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration and all the other means of prevention and disclosure available to help children and those who look after them.

327. Special training is available for the staff of the institutions that assist children. There are information and awareness-raising campaigns for people who have the direct care of children and for the public at large; they aim at preventing situations of violence by promoting positive forms of discipline and non-violent treatment and encouraging people to report cases of ill-treatment of children of which they become aware.

328. Public information, education and communication campaigns concerning harmful practices such as excision are being expanded with the support of civil society.

Excision as a form of violence

329. Although the practice of excision is not illegal in Mali, it is recognized as a form of violence of which children are victims. Pursuant to various provisions of the Criminal Code, it can be considered an offence equivalent to wounding with intent. Article 207 of the Code provides that "anyone who voluntarily strikes blows, causes wounds or commits any other violence or assault shall, if the result is sickness or inability to work for more than 20 days, be punishable by imprisonment for 1 to 5 years and a fine of 20,000 to 500,000 francs... When the violence, wounds or blows result in mutilation, amputation, loss of the use of a member or sense, blindness, loss of an eye or other disability or disorder, the penalty shall be 5 to 10 years' imprisonment".

330. As indicated in paragraph 154 above, the National Programme for Combating the Practice of Excision is in the process of being implemented.

Problems

331. Despite Mali's efforts to put in place laws and regulations enabling it better to combat violence and abuse against children, structural problems persist and constitute potential obstacles to children's exercise of their rights. The problems are:

– The low levels of education and literacy;

– Socio-demographic factors;

– The shortage of technical bodies to assist parents and families;

– The lack of independent remedies;

– The modest level of State support, and the priority given to modern forms;

– The inadequacies of training programmes;

– The inadequacies of the placement-monitoring machinery.

VI. BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
(arts. 6, 18, para. 3, 23, 24, 26 and 27, paras. 1-3)

A. Children with disabilities (art. 23)

The situation of mentally and physically handicapped children

332. The basic study of specialized education undertaken by the Ministry of Education in 1996 put the number of persons with disabilities in Mali at 1,161,088, of whom 214,801 were aged between 0 and 19 years. There are large numbers of what are termed "children in difficult situations" in urban centres.

333. Pregnancy-related diseases, infectious diseases, micronutrient (iodine and vitamin A) deficiencies and, to a lesser extent, household accidents are the main causes of disabilities in Malian children.

Status of special measures in support of children with disabilities

Institutional aspects

334. Children with disabilities are cared for by:

(a) The State, through the central and decentralized units of several ministerial departments:

– The Ministry of Social Development, Solidarity and the Elderly, in particular through special-purpose missions of the National Directorate of Social Development, which was established by Ordinance No. 062/P-RM of 29 September 2000;

– The Ministry of National Education, whose National Directorate for Basic Education includes the Division for Preschool and Special Education, established by Act No. 085 of 26 December 2000;

– The Ministry of Justice, which deals with legal protection through its specialized juvenile courts and rehabilitation institutions;

(b) Voluntary associations and NGOs:

– The voluntary sector, governed by Ordinance No. 41 PCG of 28 March 1959, plays an important part in the care of disabled children. In addition to their information and awareness-raising activities, voluntary associations have been at the origin of the establishment of several special education and social reinsertion institutions. The State supports the voluntary sector through various forms of subsidy (staff, funding, etc.). The most active associations include:

Handicap International;

Handicap sans Frontières;

The Malian Association to Combat Mental Deficiency in Children (AMALDEME);

The Malian Union for the Blind;

The Malian Association for the Physically Handicapped (AMPHP);

The Malian Association for the Mentally Ill (de);

The Malian Federation for the Handicapped (FEMAPH);

Action Disability and Development (ADD).

335. As contributions towards the successful school integration of handicapped children:

– Associations of parents of handicapped children (APEH) have been set up in each of the six communes of the District of Bamako to promote the schooling of such children;

– A total of 96 officers of the associations have been trained in promoting handicapped children's educational rights;

– To enable them to do more for their children's needs, 1,100 parents of handicapped children have been taught about handicaps and handicapped children's rights;

– Training in special educational needs (UNESCO modules) has been given to 1,010 teachers, educational advisers and school principals.

International and domestic law

(a) International agreements and treaties

336. The treaties ratified by Mali include:

– The Convention on the Rights of the Child (ratified by Act No. 90-72/ANRM of 4 August 1993);

– ILO Convention No. 159 concerning the employment of disabled persons (ratified by Act No. 93-037 of 4 August 1993);

– The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (ratified by Ordinance No. 98-009/P-RM of 3 April 1998).

(b) Domestic law

337. Article 17 of the Malian Constitution states that education, instruction, training, work, housing, leisure, health and social protection are recognized rights.

338. The particular rules that apply to handicapped children are set out in the Child Protection Code:

– In addition to the rights recognized to children in general, handicapped children are entitled to protection and medical care and to teaching and training that will increase their ability to function independently and facilitate their active participation in the life of society (art. 16);

– "Handicap" means the presumed or real current or earlier existence of one of the following:

– Any degree of physical disability, infirmity, malformation or disfigurement due to a bodily lesion, a congenital anomaly or an illness, including, in particular, sugar diabetes, epilepsy, any degree of paralysis, an amputation, motor incoordination, blindness or visual impairment, deafness or hearing impairment, dumbness or speech impairment, or the need to use a guide, a wheelchair or other corrective apparatus or device;

– A state of mental deficiency or impairment;

– A lesion or disability necessitating constant care;

– A mental disturbance;

– A learning difficulty, speech dysfunction or dysfunction of one or more of the processes of understanding or of the use of symbols (art. 22);

– All children are entitled to equal treatment as regards services, possessions or facilities, without discrimination on the basis of race, place of origin, colour, social origin, citizenship, belief, sex, age, matrimonial status, family status or handicap (art. 23);

– No child, whatever its physical or moral state, may constitute a reason for discriminating against its parents as regards occupation of a dwelling (art. 24);

– A dwelling occupier's children have the right to live in the dwelling without being harassed by the dwelling owner, the owner's representative or an occupant of the building in question for reasons based on race, place of origin, colour, social origin, citizenship, belief, age, matrimonial status, family status, level of social assistance or handicap (art. 25).

Special measures

339. Special measures have been taken to make access to education easier for young people with disabilities:

– Disabilities are now considered to be an important criterion for awarding scholarships to pupils and students;

– The age limits for scholarships, guidance and examinations are raised for disabled pupils who so request.

340. There is genuine public support for people, especially children, with disabilities, as evidenced by:

– The annual celebration of October as the Month of Solidarity and Struggle against Exclusion;

– The holding of cultural, artistic and sporting competitions in aid of the handicapped;

– The declaration of 8 March 1998 as the Day of Integration of Handicapped Women in the Development Process.

Programmes in support of children with disabilities

341. A number of national programmes developed by Mali in conjunction with international organizations such as UNICEF, WHO and the Organization for Coordination and Cooperation in the Control of Major Endemic Diseases or with voluntary associations and NGOs include aspects relating to the prevention of handicaps and the rehabilitation and social reintegration of children with disabilities. They include:

– The Expanded Programme on Immunization;

– The national programme against vitamin A deficiency;

– The national programme against iodine deficiency;

– The national programme against blindness and blinding diseases;

– The social mobilization for health programme;

– The 10-year plan for community-based rehabilitation;

– The Mali-UNICEF Cooperation Programme for the period 2003-2007.

342. A social information subsystem including specific indicators for people with disabilities is being developed to monitor these programmes. With respect to data collection, it should be noted that the latest General Population and Housing Census (RGPH 1998) included provision for the counting of people with disabilities by type of handicap.

343. A community-based rehabilitation programme began in 1994. The schooling of handicapped children is among its priorities: thanks to awareness-raising and training for the education system's stakeholders, schools are open to children with disabilities. In the 2000/01 school year, the program resulted in the integration of 364 handicapped children, including 272 with a mental handicap.

344. Each year, the medico-psycho-educational centre (CMPE) of the Malian Association to Combat Mental Deficiency in Children (AMALDEME) takes in 50 young people aged between 16 and 18 years. The centre offers social, cultural, sporting and educational activities for all the children there, as well as vocational training and activities.

345. The Malian Federation of Sport for the Disabled was set up in 1994 and has achieved encouraging results both nationally and internationally. Members participating in international competitions won a respectable total of 160 medals and 10 trophies over the period from September 1994 to January 2001.

346. Underlying the above programmes are activities by specialized institutions such as:

– The medico-psycho-educational centre (CMPE) of the Malian Association to Combat Mental Deficiency in Children (AMALDEME);

– The National Institute for the Blind (INAM) in Bamako, the Regional Institute for Blind Youth (IRJA) in Gao and the Malian Union for the Blind (UMAV);

– The rehabilitation centres for persons with physical handicaps (CHRP) in Bamako, Ségou and Gao and the Malian Association for the Physically Handicapped (AMPHP);

– The School for the Hard of Hearing (EDA) on the left bank of the Niger in Bamako, the Jigiya Kalanso school for the deaf on the right bank of the Niger in Bamako and the Kita School for the Deaf set up by AMAM;

– The Torokorobougou Centre for Deaf and Deaf and Dumb Children (Bamako);

– The Malian National Centre for Orthopaedic Appliances (CNAOM);

– The School for Deaf and Deaf and Dumb Young People set up by the Malian Association for the Advancement of the Deaf and Deaf and Dumb (AMPSOM) and the Ministry of Basic Education;

– The Soundiata Centre, Commune III, Bamako.

347. Several of these institutions -- CMPE, CPRH, UMAV, IRJA, EDA. Jigiya Kalanso -- devote much of their work to the integration of children with disabilities.

348. Catering for the needs of children with disabilities is complicated by:

– The high cost of equipment and prostheses (tricycles, hearing aids, etc.);

– The children's problems of adjustment in inclusive schools;

– The difficulties of social integration;

– The high cost of medical care.

349. Desirable improvements would therefore include:

– Subsidization of equipment and prostheses;

– Strengthening of the capacity of the specialized institutions and the associations concerned with disabilities.

B. Health and health services (art. 24)

Measures to give effect to the child's right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health

350. Regarding child survival, the Government has made substantial efforts to reduce the high rates of maternal and infantile mortality through its pursuit of policies such as the reproductive health policy and the national malaria-control policy.

351. These policies have been devised on the basis of part I of the Ten-year Social and Health Programme (PRODESS). The first concern in this respect has been to bring reproductive health services closer to the public by increasing the numbers of contact points and making medicines and contraceptives available at all levels.

352. Implementation of the policies has prompted the establishment of new divisions and programmes within the National Health Directorate:

– The Reproductive Health Division, established in 2000 in place of the Family and Community Health Division;
– The National Malaria Control Programme;
– The National Schistosomiases and Geohelminthiases Control Programme;
– The National Oral Infections Control Programme;
– The National Blindness Control Programme within the Disease Prevention and Control Division;
– The Nutrition Division.

353. These divisions and programmes focus on:

– The elaboration and application of standards and procedures in the areas of reproductive health, nutrition and oral health, uncomplicated and severe malaria and the strategic plan for combating blindness;
– The integrated coverage of childhood diseases (PCIME);
– The Accelerated Child Survival and Development strategy (SASDE);
– The prevention of mother-child transmission of HIV/AIDS;
– New approaches to the reduction of maternal and neonatal mortality, as developed as part of Vision 2010 (the Millennium Goals);
– Organization of evacuation referral at 28 out of 58 referral health centres;
– Identification of unmet obstetrical needs;
– Identification of emergency obstetrical care, given that, while Mali has 26 full emergency obstetrical care units (i.e. 1.2 per 500,000 inhabitants) as against the 22 required by the standards, it has a severe shortage of basic emergency obstetrical care units, having only 15 such units (i.e., 0.7 per 500,000 inhabitants) out of the 86 required by the standards;
– Prevention of post-partum haemorrhaging;
– Implementation of the SAFE (surgery, antibiotics, facial cleanliness, environmental changes) strategy as part of Vision 2020: contribute to the elimination of blinding trachoma worldwide by 2020;
– Improvement of abortion law by review of the Criminal Code;
– Strengthening of the capacity of NGOs, associations, the profit-making private sector and denominational institutions by putting resources at their disposal and familiarizing them with the new standards and procedures concerning reproductive health, malaria, etc.;
– Determination of the methods for subsidization of non-State actors in the field of reproductive health;
– Improving coordination of the efforts of non-State actors by establishing machinery for dialogue and the circulation of information;
– Production and distribution of information on reproductive health in national languages;
– Making of targeted studies to improve knowledge of health practices.

Medical services

(a) First-contact health centres

354. Pursuant to PRODESS, 300 community health centres have been established; 347 existing such centres have been renovated and 56 new centres have been equipped. In addition, 31 first-level health centres have been built and/or renovated in the north of the country. In December 2003, Mali had a total of 660 community health centres.

TABLE 11

Distribution of community health centres by region in 2003

Source: SLIS Yearbook (2003, DNS).

355. The above total does not include former neighbourhood health centres that have not yet been revitalized or rural clinics and maternity units.

(b) The other first-contact bodies

356. To ensure better health coverage through expansion of the Minimum Activity Package, PRODESS provides for encouragement and support for the setting up of private establishments and the conclusion of contracts with private religious and other institutions.

357. As a result of the liberalization of the health sector, there were 686 private health establishments in 2003. This total includes 290 dispensing pharmacies, 155 pharmaceuticals stores, 155 health offices, 39 clinics and 29 denominational medical care establishments.

358. In addition, there are the rural doctors, itinerant practitioners each of whom covers several villages and hamlets.

TABLE 12

Private health establishments in Mali, January 2003

Source: Health Inspectorate, January 2003.
(c) Health referral organs

359. The referral organs are: at the cercle level, the referral health centres, which make first referrals; at the regional and national levels, the public hospitals, which make second and third referrals:

– In all, there are 58 Referral Health Centres; 28 of them able to make evacuation referrals. As part of the efforts to set up the evacuation referral system, there has been renovation work and new equipment has been installed at most of the referral health centres at the cercle level. Rehabilitation and upgrading of the technical facilities are complete or in hand at some of these centres;

– There are 11 public hospitals, including four in Bamako (the Point G and Gabriel Touré Hospitals, the National Centre for Odontostomatology and the African Institute of Tropical Ophthalmology), 1 in Kati and 6 in the regions (Kayes, Ségou, Mopti, Tombouctou, Gao, Sikasso). There is also a specialized national institution, the National Disease Control Support Centre;

– The secondary regional hospitals number four and are located in Nioro, Markala, San and Diré.

Availability of essential medicines and use of services

(a) Availability of essential medicines

360. With the implementation in accordance with the current national pharmaceutical policy of the Master Plan for the Supply of Essential Medicines, all first-level and first-referral health centres now have a sales point for Common International Denomination essential medicines and a distribution point for their cercle (dépôt répartiteur de cercle, DRC). Restocking is ensured through the cost recovery scheme instituted under PRODESS.

361. A further effect of the Master Plan is that each hospital now has its own pharmacy, with a cost-recovery system for inpatients.

362. The period 1992-2002 saw the opening of more than 559 pharmaceuticals stores, as well as of 10 hospital pharmacies (6 at the regional level and 4 at the national level), 59 sales points at referral health centres, 59 DRCs, 6 regional outlets of the Pharmacie Populaire du Mali (PPM) and, in the three northern regions, three outlets jointly managed by the regional health directorates and PPM.

363. Mali adopted its national pharmaceutical policy in 1998. The policy's overall objective is to make high-quality essential medicines geographically and financially accessible to the population. The strategic framework that has been built in order to achieve that objective calls for:

– The elaboration of laws and regulations that will both permit the development of a free market and provide protection for the public in terms of pharmaceutical security and affordability;

– The development of a system for the supply of high-quality essential medicines;
– The training of prescribers and distributors to prescribe and distribute essential medicines better;
– The development for prescribers, distributors and the public of a system to provide information on the use of the medicines.

364. It has become apparent from application of the policy that, despite their relatively low cost, CID products are little used because of the large quantities of medicines sold by non-professional itinerant vendors and by sidewalk pharmacies.

(b) Use of services

365. Despite the efforts made under PRODESS, health accessibility and cover are still inadequate. As of 31 December 2003, Mali had 660 community health centres (CSCOM), or first-level health points offering the Minimum Activity Package: prenatal consultations, assisted childbirth, family planning, vaccination, postnatal consultations and promotional activities under the forward-looking strategy.

366. In 2003, only 69% of the population were within 15 km of a CSCOM and only 46% within 5 km.

367. Except in the case of vaccination, the level of preventive cover is generally low. That is true of pre- and post-natal consultations, contraceptive prevalence and assisted childbirth.

368. Data from EDS III show that the frequent pregnancies and high fertility consequent on the high rates of infant, juvenile and maternal mortality are attributable to the low contraceptive prevalence, which is 8.4% for women in general and 8.1% for women in union. Contraceptive prevalence is 23.5% in Bamako, 12.7% in the country's other cities and only 4.9% in rural areas. On the other hand, according to the Local Health Information System (SLIS), the rate of assisted childbirth rose from 52% in 2001 to 59% in 2003.

369. A further constraint is the difficulty of accessing health services because of the country's economic problems, especially the fact that incomes are low in general and particularly so in rural areas.

TABLE 13

Rates of use of health services, 2003

Source: SLIS Yearbook, 2003.
Vaccination

370. The Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) is having a noticeable effect on children's health: prevalence of most of the diseases targeted by the Programme has been markedly reduced. Under the Vaccine Independence Initiative, national-budget allocations for the acquisition of vaccines were 168 million CFA francs in 1996 (actual amount disbursed: 368 million CFA francs), 328 million CFA francs in 1997 and 628,700,000 CFA francs in 1998; as such, they covered all the annual needs under the EPI. In addition, National Vaccination Days instituted as part of the poliomyelitis eradication programme covered 2,480,621 children in 1988, 2,926,569 children in 2000 and 3,269,961 children in 2001. Vaccination during these events is
increasingly combined with the administration of vitamin A and the Days are now synchronized throughout the ECOWAS countries, with a new strategy of blanket "door-to-door" coverage of families, thereby reaching the maximum number of children.

371. The routine data reporting via the SLIS has shown that the efforts made have yielded substantial progress, especially since the year 2000, progress coinciding with the commencement of the performance contracts signed between communities and the authorities with a view to vaccinating as many children under the age of 1 year as possible. CSCOMs now have high rates of vaccine coverage, sometimes exceeding 80% under the vaccination calendar for children aged less than 1 year.

TABLE 14

Vaccination coverage for country as a whole of children aged less than one year
(percentages)

Source: SLIS Yearbooks, 1996-2003.

TABLE 15

Vaccine status of children aged from 0 to 59 months

Source: EDS III, 2001.

372. Information from EDS II and III also shows that children's vaccine status has improved whatever their age and whatever the antigen:

– 49% of the mothers of children born in the past five years received at least one dose of antitetanus vaccine during pregnancy, as against 51.2% in 1995-1996;

– 56.0% of the mothers having reached at least the secondary-education level use vaccination services during pregnancy, as against 28.8% of the mothers with no formal education;

– 54.1% of the mothers living in urban areas are vaccinated more often, as against 25.0% of those living in rural areas;

– 96% of the mothers having reached at least the secondary-education level attend prenatal consultations, as against 77% of the mothers with primary education and only 52% of the mothers with no formal education;

– 57% of prenatal consultations are given by qualified staff;

– 60% of women aged less than 20 years have used prenatal consultation services more often in the past three years;

– The proportion of women receiving delivery assistance rose from 40% in 1995 (EDS II, 1995-96) 241% in 2001.

373. According to EDS III, foreseeable Caesareans represent 2% of expected births. The referral health structures perform only 2% of these Caesareans. In 2002, therefore, unmet obstetrical needs (UON) were still high, at 44.71%, as compared with 55.40% in 2001. Despite the efforts within the framework of the IPE there have been cases of poliomyelitis.

Availability of human resources

374. Welfare and health-care personnel are unevenly distributed through the country and their numbers are generally insufficient. The following table gives some indicative ratios for 2001:

TABLE 16

Indicative ratios of welfare and health-care personnel
(inhabitants per health worker)

Source: Activity report, Ministry of Health (June 1992-May 2000).

Changes since 1997

375. The health sector's share of government spending rose from 7.19% in 1997 to 7.40% in 2004.

TABLE 17

Health budget as a share of the national budget
(thousands of CFA francs)

Source: CPS/DAF, Ministry of Health.

Measures taken to reduce infant and juvenile mortality

376. According to information from EDS III, the health situation in the years 1997-2001 was a share in the paragraphs below.

Morbidity

377. With respect to malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies:

– 26% of newborns weigh less than 2,500 g at birth;

– Malnutrition is a factor in over 50% of deaths before the age of five years (57%) because weakened children are susceptible to infection;

– 23% of children suffer from severe malnutrition (weight/height) as manifested by emaciation;

– 30% of children aged less than 3 years suffer from chronic malnutrition;
– In terms of height for age, 38% of children aged less than 5 years suffer from chronic malnutrition and 19% from severe chronic malnutrition.

378. These proportions are extremely high, given that the levels in a well-nourished population in good health are of the order of 2.3%. A further point is that 46% of children whose mother does not live in the home suffer from chronic malnutrition, as against 38% of children whose mother does live in the home.

379. The proportion of children with retarded growth rises very steadily and rapidly with age: in this respect, malnutrition affects 6% of children aged less than 6 months, but three times as many of those aged between 6 and 11 months (20%) and almost every second child aged over 12 months (45% from 12 to 23 months and 49% from 24 to 35 months). The severe form of this type of malnutrition affects 7% of children aged between 6 and 11 months and almost 20% of those aged 12-23 months. The situation is particularly worrying as regards this last age category, because statural growth deficits mostly develop before age 2 and cannot be caught up beyond it.

380. Chronic malnutrition affects boys more than girls (39% as against 37%). In addition, there is a gradual rise in malnutrition with birth rank, although the differences are minimal (36% for children in rank 1 and 39% for those in rank 6).

381. Slightly under 11% of children suffer from severe malnutrition (weight/height) and approximately a tenth of them suffer from the severe form of emaciation

382. The mother's level of education is a factor of strong differences in children's nutritional status. Growth deficits are twice as prevalent in children of mothers with no education as in children of mothers with a secondary or higher education (32% and 15% respectively). The level of malnutrition in the areas of food self-sufficiency suggests that there is a link between poor nutritional status and eating and behavioural habits.

383. Only 26% of children aged less than 6 months are exclusively breast-fed.

384. Only 30% of mothers practice exclusive breastfeeding up to the age of 4 months; 32.4% of children aged between 6 and 9 months receive other forms of food as well. This is despite the fact that the breastfeeding and complementary foods promotion programme is still under way. To date, 10 hospitals meet the "baby-friendly hospital" criteria; they are awaiting formal designation as baby-friendly by the international committee for baby-friendly hospitals.

385. Studies have shown vitamin A deficiency in the mother and child to be a cause of permanent night blindness in 4 to 12% of children. According to the same studies, approximately 9.5 % of children have received vitamin A. However, EDS III found, on the basis of children's vaccination cards, that only 38% of children aged less than 3 years had received at least one dose of vitamin A.

386. Iodine deficiency is common in Mali and it is estimated that some 80% of the population is at risk of it and that the overall prevalence of goitre exceeds 30%. In 2001, the rate of use of iodized salt was estimated at 74%. In January 1998, all the parties with an interest in salt (government departments, importers, vendors, consumers, NGOs and development partners) met in Bamako for a roundtable discussion and identified the steps needed to implement the law calling for iodized salt to be made available nationwide. Final work is in hand on a communication plan for the promotion of iodized salt and an action plan for combating the problems caused by iodine deficiency was drawn up in 2003.

387. A woman's nutritional status directly affects both her ability to overcome a number of perinatal complications and the nutritional status of her unborn child. It is estimated that 6 in every 10 women are anaemic. According to EDS III, 74% of children under the age of 5 years live in households that use salt containing some amount of iodine, but there are marked regional disparities for this indicator: 27% in the regions of Gao, Tombouctou and Kidal and 94% in the District of Bamako.

388. To counter the adverse effects of malnutrition on vulnerable groups, action is being taken to promote the production of weaning foods. In view of the very disturbing situation described above and of the country's poverty, the need to combat malnutrition remains a real one.

Mortality rates

389. According to the findings of EDS III, the rates of child and maternal mortality over the five years prior to the survey were:

– Infant mortality: 113.4‰;

– Infanto-juvenile mortality: 229.1‰;

– Juvenile mortality: 130.6‰;
– Maternal mortality: 588 per 100,000.

(a) Infanto-juvenile mortality

390. The results of EDS III show that infant mortality went from 122.5‰ for the period 1991-1995 to 113.4‰ for the period 1996-2000. Child mortality is higher in rural than in urban areas.

TABLE 18

Infant and juvenile mortality, 1991-1995 and 1996-2000 (‰)

Source: EDS II (1996) and EDS III (2001).

TABLE 19

The causes of infanto-juvenile morbidity in 2003

Source: SLIS Yearbook, 2003.

391. The above 10 disorders together accounted for 85.1% of consultations for children aged less than 1 year and 86.1% of those for children aged less than 5 years. Malaria, ARI and diarrhoeal disorders predominated.

TABLE 20

The causes of infanto-juvenile mortality in 2003
(% of all causes of child deaths by age group)

Source: SLIS Yearbook, 2003.
392. The above 10 causes accounted for 91% of deaths of children aged from 0 to 11 months and 81% of those of children aged less than 5 years who visited a health unit.

(b) Maternal mortality

393. According to the results of EDSM III, maternal mortality was 582 per 100,000 live births. In other words, in Mali a woman has a 1 in 24 risk of dying during pregnancy or delivery. Despite the unbroken decline in infant mortality over the past two decades and the improvements in prenatal care during the past five years, maternal mortality remains high in Mali, as it does in the other countries of the subregion. It is particularly high among women aged 15-20 years or over 35 years.

394. The main identified causes of maternal mortality are: haemorrhage, infectious complications, hypertension in pregnancy, uterine rupture, and abortion. The alarming rise in sexually transmissible diseases and AIDS in the population in general and among women in particular is a major factor of mortality and handicaps in women and children.

395. An analysis of the reproductive health situation in 2002 showed that the needs were still substantial, despite the efforts made. Because of the low use of reproductive health services on the one hand and the inadequate access to health services on the other, morbidity and mortality remain high, particularly among mothers and infants.

Determinants of child health

(a) Availability of drinking water and sanitation

396. Despite considerable progress, the level of access to drinking water remains low. Figures from EDS III show that water supply is by internal tap for 8% of dwellings, by standpipe for 18.8% and by protected well for 12.5%.

397. In households using tap water, 18% of the children have a growth deficit; in other households, the proportion is over 26%. EDS III showed the distribution of toilet types to be:

– Modern WCs: 5.6%;
– Improved latrines: 9.5%;
– Rudimentary pits: 61.6%.

398. Liquid and solid waste disposal and air pollution are among the principal causes of environmental degradation in both urban and rural areas.

399. The Council of Ministers adopted a national public health policy document in January 1996. As part of the efforts to improve sanitation, the National Directorate for Sanitation and Pollution and Nuisance Control was established by Order No. 98-027/P-RM of 25 August 1998.

400. The Directorate's responsibilities are to:

– Ensure that environmental issues are included in sectoral policies and development plans and programmes, and monitor action to address those issues;

– Supervise and evaluate the procedures for environmental impact assessments;
– Draw up and enforce national sanitation, pollution and nuisance standards;

– Monitor and enforce sanitation, pollution and nuisance law and standards;

– Ensure that the public is sensitive to and informed about problems of hygiene, pollution and nuisances.

(b) Demographic factors

401. The main demographic factors determining mother and child mortality are pregnancies following one another at short intervals and high fertility:

– Adolescent girls aged 15-19 contribute some 18.5% to the total fertility of women;
– Nearly 49.3% of adolescent girls (aged 15-19) in rural areas are already mothers or expecting their first child as against 27.9% in urban areas;
– Of uneducated adolescent girls, 46.8% have already had a child or are pregnant as against 15.9% of those who have reached at least secondary education;
– The fertility rate by age in urban areas is 129% for girls aged 15-19 and 218% in rural areas for the same age group;
– As regards the synthetic fertility rate, for women who have received no education the level is 7.1%, for those with primary education it is 6.6%, and for those with secondary education it is 4.1%.

TABLE 21

Adolescent fertility: Percentage of adolescents aged 15-19 who have already had
a child or are expecting their first child

Source: DHS III.

402. It should be mentioned that in Mali women marry at a rather young age; 25% of those aged 15 cohabit with someone even though there has been a drop in the number of early marriages (24.1% of women aged 45-49 were already married at 15, as opposed to 19.4% of those
aged 15-19 at the time of the EDSM survey).

(c) Behavioural and cultural factors

403. The main factors having an adverse effect on the health of mothers and children are sexual behaviour (high risk of STD/AIDS), female genital mutilation (excision) and nutritional prohibitions (taboos during pregnancy and for an infant during certain illnesses).

Prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS infection

404. DHS III gives a prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS of 1.7% among the population as a whole, with an estimate of 170,000 persons living with HIV, 45,000 orphans and 10,304 cases of AIDS reported between 1985 and 2002. Disaggregated data on mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS) (MCTP) and on AIDS orphans are not available for the time being. Women are more severely affected, with a rate of 2% as opposed to 1.3% among men. The Bamako district has the highest prevalence rate at 2.5%, followed by the Kayes, Ségou and Koulikoro regions (1.9% each).

405. With those seroprevalence rates, AIDS is a priority public health problem in Mali. Measures to combat the pandemic, including care of children affected and infected by the virus, are grossly inadequate. Treatment for prevention of mother-to-child transmission only really took off in 2000.

406. A policy declaration on the fight against HIV/AIDS in Mali was adopted in April 2004. It established the High National Council for Combating HIV/AIDS (HCNLS) under the aegis of the Office of the President of the Republic. Its purpose is to translate into concrete actions the objectives of the policy declaration, which echoes those of the National Programme to Combat AIDS (PNLS) established in 1999 to:

– Prevent transmission among the population as a whole, with particular emphasis on the most vulnerable population groups and mother-to-child transmission;
– To improve the quality of life of persons living with HIV and lighten the burden of the impact on affected families and on the community;
– Reduce the burden on the health services;
– Create an ethical and juridical environment favourable to respect for the rights of individuals.

407. Free medical care and antiretrovirals (ARV) for all patients without distinction has been in force since 2004. It also provides for specific actions in connection with the MCTP .

408. The MCTP programme, which started out in August 2000 in the Bamako district, showed a seroprevalence of 3.6% after eight months of implementation among pregnant women examined in prenatal consultations. Currently, 50 children are being cared for by the Malian Initiative for Access to Antiretrovirals (IMAARV) and, since May 2002, 18 mother-and-child pairs are being looked after at the Counselling, Support and Assistance Centre (CESAC).

409. Organization of solidarity as part of the fight against AIDS is reflected in Mali in the creation of listening and counselling centres for informing and sensitizing persons living with HIV, treatment of opportunistic diseases among AIDS sufferers, and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), with CID essential medicines for seropositives.

410. The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Mali is exacerbating the precarious situation of children; in other words, a highly impoverished child-health service, in which the infant mortality rate is one of the highest in the world and in which malnutrition and the low level of school attendance render young people highly vulnerable to infection. The epidemic highlights social distortions, developmental limitations and cultural constraints.

411. In Mali there is no cartography that makes it possible to locate the areas of concentration of AIDS orphans. International studies show that the regions with the highest percentages of AIDS orphans are those where the prevalence rate is highest. Although not certain, it is probable that AIDS orphans are more numerous in urban areas. In parallel, it is also evident that, with the illness or death of parents, affected/infected children are often dispatched to rural areas.

Measures taken to abolish traditional practices prejudicial to children’s health

Forced and early marriage

412. The Marriage Code and the CPE prohibit forced and early marriages. However, in practice, many ethnic groups continue to marry off their daughters before they are 14.

Action taken to promote the cessation of female genital mutilation (FGM)

(a) By the authorities

413. As mentioned above in connection with paragraphs 147-155 and 289-291 above, female genital mutilation (FGM) is a very widespread traditional practice in Mali. It is carried out very early: 8% of women claimed to have undergone FGM between the age of 0 and 1 year, and 7% between 2 and 4 (DHS III). Unlike all the other countries of the region, Mali has still not adopted specific legislation prohibiting this practice.

414. Nevertheless, FGM has been recognized as harmful to the health of women and children, and a number of mechanisms have been put in place by the Malian authorities to put an end to the practice. They include:

– The National Programme to Combat the Practice of Female Genital Mutilation (Order N 02-053/P-RM of 4 July 2002). The CNAPN has also carried out activities relating to IEC, advocacy and training on the harmful effects of FGM.

– Adoption of the Act on reproductive health (Act N 02-044 of 24 June 2002) by the National Assembly and the consideration of FGM in the context of reproductive health (care in the event of complications);

– Dissemination of circular letter No. 0019/MSPAS-S-G.07/0199 prohibiting FGM genital mutilation in any medical environment.

(c) By civil society

415. More than 50 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and associations are fighting female excision in Mali. These various actors use strategies and tools such as: IEC, advocacy, round table talks, cinema shows, theatre, etc. These actions have yielded some results, including the fact that FGM is no longer a taboo subject and that some religious and political leaders have undertaken to see it abolished.

416. The actions are beginning to bear fruit: traditional practitioners are gradually abandoning the practice, especially in the Bamako and Kayes regions, and are integrating into other sectors and activities with the assistance of the Government and civil society partners.

Activities and programmes implemented for the exercise of children’s right to health

Programmes implemented

417. A project on education for family life implemented jointly by the Ministries of Health and National Education has made it possible to develop and integrate ten modules on training, hygiene and sanitation in schools, in addition to modules on reproductive health. In the context of adolescent girls’ reproductive health, two projects have been implemented with a view to helping to strengthen their autonomy, participation and well-being through access to information and high-quality reproductive health services.

418. In order to ensure follow-up of all these programmes and the progress achieved in implementing the plan of action for children, a directing diagram for the national health and social information system was adopted in 1998 and is currently being implemented. The diagram serves to identify follow-up indicators relating to survival and protection.

Social mobilization and IEC activities

419. All the health and social action programmes implemented in Mali are supported by social mobilization and IEC activities with the participation of children (radio and television micro-programmes, production and distribution of posters and brochures on health, popular theatre, printed press, IEC meetings in health centres and among communities through community health associations, women’s groups, and so on).

420. The NGOs and associations also play an active part in implementing these various programmes. Their activities mainly cover the following areas:

– Information, sensitization and social mobilization concerning health;

– Of health and social infrastructure;

– In programme follow-up/evaluation.

421. In the area of health, NGOs are coordinated by the group Pivot Santé Population, the NGO Action Coordination Committee (CCA-ONG) and the NGO Coordination Secretariat (SECO-ONG). There are also the National Federation of Community Health Associations (FENASCOM), the Technical Union for Mutual Aid (UTM) and the Malian Coalition for the Rights of the Child (COMADE).

Financial resources

422. The State’s contribution to total health expenditure rose from 4.1% in 1990 to 11% in 2003.

423. But the universalization of the Bamako Initiative concerning the use of CID essential medicines and, through it, the cost-recovery system, has made it possible to maintain the functioning of all health services and considerably improve the quality of services. But a great deal remains to be done where the quality of care is concerned. Regarding financial assistance through international cooperation, the table below summarizes the main projects and programmes implemented since 1986, in collaboration with international organizations.

TABLE 22

Summary of social health programmes and projects implemented by financing agencies in 1997

424. The noticeable drop in 1997 is explained by the fact that most of the programmes and projects reached the end of their implementation period. Some of these projects and programmes were also reformulated in 1998 for incorporation into the implementation of PRODESS. In the HIV/AIDS area, activities already undertaken in connection with the PNLS have been reinforced since 2004 with the establishment of a multisectoral project in support of the fight against HIV/AIDS at a cost of US$ 25 million with World Bank financing.

425. This HIV/AIDS MAP project will make it possible to prepare:

– The new institutional mechanism for the fight against AIDS in Mali

– The national policy declaration on the fight against HIV/AIDS in accordance with the new multisectoral approach

– The five-year sectoral plans of action (2004-2008) for certain ministerial departments and the global national plan of action (First report on the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, September 2004)

C. Social security and childcare services and facilities
(arts. 26 and 18, para. 3)

Children’s right to social security

Measures taken by the authorities

426. Although article 17 of the Malian Constitution recognizes the right of everyone to social welfare, existing structures and mechanisms are reserved for certain socio-professional categories: wage-earners in the private and quasi-public sectors covered by the National Social Welfare Institute (INPS), State officials covered by the State budget and retirees covered by the Malian pension fund (CRM). Even those who benefit from the scheme are only partially covered.

427. Although there is no universal social security system in Mali, PRODESS intends to create alternative health financing mechanisms:

– Compulsory health insurance;

– Mutual fund system;

– Medical care funds for coverage of the poorest.

428. Act No. 96-022 of 21 February 1996 governing mutual aid funds in the Republic of Mali provides that “mutual aid funds are non-profit-making groups which, essentially through payments by their members, are intended to provide welfare, solidarity and assistance to those persons or of their families”. Mutual aid funds therefore provide:

– Prevention of social risks connected with the person and compensation for their consequences;
– Protection of children, the family, the elderly and the disabled;
– The cultural, moral, intellectual and physical development of their members.

429. INPS has set up a network of 15 inter-enterprise medical centres and assists 70 enterprise clinics and 38 rural dispensaries. INPS members have at their disposal three mother-and-child protection centres and a children’s dental centre.

430. Article 5 of Act No. 99-041 of 12 August 1999 establishing the Social Welfare Code of the Republic of Mali provides that the family benefits scheme must aim to spread among families ideas and ways of improving children’s living and educational conditions. All workers benefit from the following:

– Health and social welfare benefits in kind;

– Assistance to mothers and nursing babies in the form of prenatal and maternity allowances;

– Family allowances;

– Maternity leave.

431. Under article 20 of the Child Protection Code, a child has the right to:

– Immunization against diseases included in the expanded vaccination programme. This obligation, the implementation modalities of which would be stipulated by regulation, is the responsibility of parents and of the State (paragraph (c));
– Protection against any publication or dissemination of his or her image that does not respect her or his integrity, honour and private life (paragraph (d));

432. Also, “all employees under 18 have the right to be protected from any harassment at work by their employers or their representatives or any other employee for reasons based on sex, race, place of origin, colour, social origin, citizenship, belief, age, matrimonial status, family status or disability.” (art. 31).

Childcare services and facilities

433. As part of the regulation of private sector activities, Mali has adopted:

– Decree No. 99-450/P-RM of 31 December 1999 setting out the conditions for the creation and modalities for the functioning of private reception and placement establishments for children;

– Decree No. 02-067/P-RM of 12 February 2002 determining the conditions for the creation of and modalities for the functioning of private reception, listening, guidance and accommodation establishments for children.

434. The former of these decrees concerns children aged 0-5, and the latter those aged 5-18.

435. In addition to the private sector activities, there is a public establishment responsible for receiving and providing lodging and finding homes for children. It is called the Reception and Family Placement Centre and was created by Order No. 90-37/P-RM of 5 June 1990. Its aims are to look after and place orphan and abandoned children and mentally ill mothers.

D, Right of the child to an adequate standard of living
(art. 27, paras. 1-3)

Measures taken by the authorities

436. In addition to its activities, the National Directorate of Statistics and Information Technology (DNSI) publishes an annual bulletin on the status of children and women in Mali and conducts regular surveys on household consumption budgets and price trends.

437. As part of the fight against poverty, the Malian Government set up a Sustainable Human Development Observatory (ODHD) in January 1997, which each year publishes a report indicating the level of poverty of the population.

438. Through INPS and the Malian pension fund, the authorities have established a mechanism for supporting parents, especially through family allowances and other benefits. Some 200,000 children benefited from family allowances between 1999 and 2004. The department responsible for social development has set up a care system by category of children of destitute parents (see table below).

TABLE 23

Disadvantaged vulnerable children

VII. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

(arts. 28, 29 and 31)

A, Education, including vocational training

Steps taken to recognize and protect the right to education

439. This chapter is concerned with the Malian educational system and describes the laws and principles on which it is based, as well as its structure and infrastructure. The right to education is enshrined in article 17 of the Constitution. The educational measures adopted are contained in the Education Orientation Act (Act No. 99-046) adopted by the National Assembly on
16 December 1999 and promulgated by the President of the Republic on 28 December 1999.

440. The Ministry of National Education (MEN) comprises the following departments:

The National Directorate of Basic Education (DNEB) responsible for:

– Drawing up the elements of national policy on development of basic education in cooperation with the other technical directorates of the Ministry;
– Implementing all components of the national basic education policy (pre-school, basic education, special education, national education, medersas, literacy and CEDs (centres for education in support of development) in a unified framework;
– Coordination, technical control and monitoring of subordinate units and personalized bodies.

The National Directorate of Technical and Vocational Education (DNETP) responsible for:

– Preparing and monitoring implementation of the components of national policy on:

– Definition and creation of streams in accordance with the requirements of the economy;
– Preparation of pupils for working life;
– Preparation of pupils for higher studies;
– Strengthening tine establishments’ reception and management capacities;
– Involvement of the private sector;
– Control of flows;