E/C.12/DOM/CO/4
(c)
Redouble its efforts to reduce the high teenage pregnancy rate, especially
among girls from marginalized and underprivileged groups and from low-income and
low-education families, and ensure access to and availability of sexual and
reproductive health services and information for all women and teenage girls,
particularly in rural areas.
61.
The Committee refers the State party to its general comment No. 22 (2016) on
the right to sexual and reproductive health.
Drug policy
62.
The Committee is concerned that the State party imposes disproportionate
punishments on users of illicit drugs and persons who traffic in small quantities of such
drugs, who are made to serve long prison sentences in overcrowded facilities and appalling
living conditions (art. 12).
63.
The Committee recommends that the State party adopt a health- and rightsbased approach to drug abuse problems, reconsider its penalization of drug use and
take steps to ensure adequate living conditions in prisons. The Committee urges the
State party to adopt emergency measures to put an end to prison overcrowding,
including through recourse to alternatives to imprisonment for those who commit
minor offences. The Committee refers the State party to the United Nations Standard
Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (Tokyo Rules), adopted by the General
Assembly by resolution 45/110.
Right to education
64.
While the Committee welcomes the State party’s efforts to increase spending on
education and improve school infrastructure, it is concerned that:
(a)
The quality of instruction remains poor and the curricula do not provide
sufficient coverage of human rights, gender equality or sexual and reproductive health;
(b)
Despite the steps taken, children of Haitian descent and children who do not
possess a birth certificate continue to face difficulties in gaining access to education,
especially at the secondary and tertiary levels;
(c)
The dropout and repetition rates, in particular at the primary level, remain
high (art. 13).
65.
The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a)
Take the necessary steps to enhance the quality of instruction by
allocating sufficient resources for education, increasing the number and salaries of
qualified teachers and improving infrastructure and educational materials;
(b)
Incorporate comprehensive age-appropriate lessons on human rights,
gender equality and sexual and reproductive health into primary and secondary
curricula;
(c)
Redouble its efforts to guarantee access to all levels of education for all
children and adolescents, in particular Haitian children, children of Haitian descent
and children who do not possess a birth certificate or identity document;
(d)
Adopt the appropriate measures to reduce the school dropout and
repetition rates at all levels of education, especially at the primary level and among
students belonging to marginalized and disadvantaged groups.
GE.16-18306
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