LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK - General Assembly A

B. Methodology

II. LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK

• The Constitution

• Act No. 16/66, on compulsory primary education

• Act No. 19/95 of 13 February 1996, on organization of social security for disabled persons

• Act No. 24/96 of 6 June 1996, on political parties, which makes no distinction between men and women regarding participation in public life

• Act No. 7/96, on political elections, which does not discriminate in this regard

• Act No. 05/98 of 5 March 1998, on the status of refugees in the Gabonese Republic

• Act No. 87/98 of 20 July 1999, on the Nationality Code, which furthered the interests of women and children

• Acts Nos. 09/89 and 10/99, on preventive detention and on compensation for wrongful preventive detention

• Act No. 1/2000 of 18 August 2000, setting out measures to protect the health and social rights of women, mothers and children and repealing Order No. 64/69

• Act No. 09/2004 of 21 September 2005, to prevent and combat child trafficking in the Gabonese Republic

• Act No. 19/2005 of 3 January 2006, on the establishment and organization of the National Human Rights Commission

• Order No. 59/76 of 1 October 1976, on the protection of minors

• Decree No. 00269/PR/SEAS/UNFG/CAB of 31 May 1971, on welfare in Gabon

• Decree No. 01389/PR/MASPF of 2 November 1982, proclaiming a National Day for Persons with Disabilities

• Decree No. 00647/PR of 19 July 2000, on the responsibilities, structure and operation of the appeals office

• Decree No. 00648/PR of 19 July 2000, on the responsibilities, structure and operation of the National Commission for Refugees

• Decree No. 00646/PR of 19 July 2000, on the responsibilities, structure and operation of the subcommittee on eligibility

• Decree No. 000152/PR/MNASBE of 4 February 2002, on the responsibilities, structure and operation of the National Centre for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities

• Decree No. 00243/PR/MASSNBE of 12 April 2002, on the distribution of school textbooks

• Decree No. 00102/PR/MISPD of 17 October 2002, establishing the Department of Prison Health and the Department of Social Affairs, which is responsible for social issues

• Decree No. 000024/PR/MTE of 6 January 2006, regulating checks, investigations and searches for the purpose of preventing and combating child trafficking in the Gabonese Republic

• Decree No. 000873/PR/MFPEPF of 17 November 2006, on the establishment, responsibilities and structure of a national observatory for children’s rights

• Decree No. 000102/PR/MDHLCCLCI of 15 January 2007, on the establishment and structure of the Gabonese National Committee for the Drafting of Human Rights Reports

• Decree No. 103/PR/MDHLCCLCI of 15 January, proclaiming a National Human Rights Day

• Decree on the establishment and structure of the Directorate-General for Human Rights

• Decree No. 00031/PR/MTEFP, on combating trafficking in minors

• Decree No. 298/PR/MFPF, on the establishment, responsibilities and structure of the National Commission for the Family and the Advancement of Women

• Order No. 000/PM/MDCRPE/AS of 12 December 1972, establishing a court welfare office in Libreville

• Order No. 0012/MASSBE/DGAS of 5 November 1985, establishing a school for deaf children

• Order No. 1145/PM/PAECF of 30 July 2000, establishing an identity card for refugees and regulating issuance and renewal

• Order No. 000158/PM/MSNASBE of 8 August 2000, on the establishment, responsibilities and structure of a committee to monitor the implementation of the platform for action on trafficking for labour exploitation

• Order No. 001/SEAS/UNFG, on houses for healthy children

• International Labour Organization (ILO) Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention No. 182, ratified in 2004

• Decision No. 055/MASSNCRA/SG//DAS/SASS of 5 April 1992, establishing an ad hoc commission on the foster care for abandoned children

• Decision No. 000001/PM/MESI/PDM of 3 June 2006, establishing the procedure for the care and repatriation of trafficked children in the province of Ogooué-Maritime

• Civil Code

• Criminal Code

• Labour Code

B. Instruments ratified by Gabon

10. Gabon is party to several international instruments on the promotion and protection of human rights, as shown in the following table:

International instrument Ratified

Charter of the United Nations 1960

Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1960

International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

29 February 1980 (R)

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 21 January 1983 (R) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 21 January 1983 (R) International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the

Crime of Apartheid

29 January 1980 (R)

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

21 January 1983 (R)

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

5 May 2004 (R)

Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

8 September 2000 (R)

Convention on the Rights of the Child 9 February 1994 (R)

Convention on the Political Rights of Women 19 April 1967 (R) Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the

sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography

10 September 2007 (R)

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 17 September 2007 (R) African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights 20 February 1986 (R) African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the African Child 18 May 2007 (R) OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee

Problems in Africa

August 1975

Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights

14 August 2000 (R)

Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court 20 September 2000 (R) United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime 10 December 2004 (R) Convention relating to the Status of Refugees 27 April 1964 (R) Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees 28 August 1973 (R) Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of

Genocide

21 January 1983 (A)

III. PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS A. Promotion of human rights

11. In its work to promote human rights, Gabon has focused its efforts on raising awareness and training. In this connection, the Department of Human Rights, led by Deputy Prime Minister Paul Mba Abessole, prepared a document that was the first of its kind in Gabon, a White Paper on Human Rights in Gabon. Within this framework, awareness-raising campaigns have been conducted for specific population groups (adults and children), on specific topics in the area of health, education, labour and improved welfare.

1. Awareness-raising campaigns 12. The campaigns essentially consisted of the following:

(a) A travelling exhibition to raise awareness of children’s rights, which toured primary and secondary schools throughout the country from 10 May to 16 June 2004;

(b) A public information campaign on children’s rights, in Franceville and Port-Gentil, from 22 May to 2 June 2006;

(d) Visits to army barracks, police camps, prisons and other places of detention in Libreville and the interior, in 2006.

(a) Children’s health

13. As in other countries, children represent Gabon’s future, and the Government therefore attaches great importance to anything that affects their physical or mental health. In this context, with the assistance of the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Gabon conducted an extensive awareness-raising campaign on health, child mortality and maternal mortality.

14. This campaign gave rise to a number of programmes, including the 2004 Integrated Management of Childhood Illness programme.

15. The first days against maternal and neonatal mortality brought to light a worrying state of affairs in Gabon. The maternal mortality rate is approximately 519 per 100,000 live births; in other words, 250 deaths per year, according to the 2000 demographic and health survey.

16. Various activities to reduce maternal mortality have been carried out by the Government of Gabon, with the aim of:

(a) Improving medical monitoring and childbirth assistance;

(b) Reducing risk factors related to pregnancy (malaria, anaemia and malnutrition).

17. At the same time, an information campaign to raise awareness of the issue of teenage pregnancy resulted in the liberalization of contraception and the creation of national centres for welfare counselling with a mission to provide, free of charge, reception and a listening ear,

information, guidance and advice and, where necessary, specialist support tailored to the individual.

18. In Port-Gentil, in the province of Ogooué-Maritime, health workers have set up meetings with girls in order to inform them about contraception methods and family planning.

19. In the same vein, in November 2005 the Ministry of Education’s AIDS Prevention Committee officially distributed educational, training and awareness-raising materials on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV/AIDS to heads of primary and secondary schools.

(b) Combating trafficking and exploitation of children

20. In accordance with the relevant international conventions, Gabon is firmly committed to combating trafficking and exploitation of children. The monitoring committee set up for this purpose has conducted several information and awareness-raising seminars, which have considerably reduced a problem that had begun to take on alarming proportions in Gabon.

21. It is worth noting, however, that those responsible for trafficking are not Gabonese nationals, but our brothers from friendly countries.

(c) Women

22. Under the Constitution and by its ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Gabon recognizes gender equality and equity.

23. Thus, as part of its efforts for the advancement of women, the Government has established an Observatory for Women’s Rights and Equality, with the aim of defending the rights of women, family and children.

24. To complement this policy, the Office for the Coordination of Women’s NGOs and Associations works towards the same goal, in partnership with the Ministry for the Family, the Protection of Children and the Advancement of Women.

25. In order to further consolidate women’s involvement in economic life, the Government has established a President’s Prize for the promotion of women’s socio-economic activities.

26. Also, with the aim of preventing mother-to-child transmission, STDs and HIV/AIDS, various actions have been carried out in the field, including promoting voluntary testing and organizing awareness-raising, information and education campaigns targeting the most vulnerable population groups and people living with HIV/AIDS.

27. These campaigns have focused on the different modes of contamination, risk behaviour and prevention.

(d) Persons with disabilities

28. The first action taken in respect of this population group was to take a census. Gabon now has statistics for people with disabilities, by category.

Gabon: persons with disabilities

Estuaire

29. The Government has worked to improve the promotion of minorities’ rights; some 80 per cent of Pygmies (minorities) are now informed and aware of hygiene practices conducive to the health and development of children and women.

30. The first stage of the provision of birth certificates consisted in awareness-raising among Pygmy populations on the benefits of registering their children at birth.

31. All Pygmies registered in the 29 villages concerned are informed and aware of the need to register their children at birth.

Target towns Population over five Population informed Percentage

Civil society is very active, and has carried out a number of actions to promote human rights.

32. The Association Against Ritual Crimes uses regular awareness campaigns to denounce the persistence of ritual crimes in Gabon.

33. The Gabonese Movement for Family Welfare organizes awareness-raising campaigns to combat teenage pregnancy and introduce family planning.

34. The Gabonese Association for People with Disabilities is also involved in the promotion of human rights, using travelling exhibitions to promote awareness-raising.

2. Training

35. Generally speaking, awareness-raising ties in closely with training. In the area of health, the new system of management of childhood illness, initially introduced in Libreville and Owendo, required new skills to be learned. Sixty per cent of health workers from these municipalities received training on techniques related to Integrated Management of Childhood Illness. This programme covers:

(a) Promotion of exclusive breastfeeding;

(b) Feeding children;

(d) The use of iodized salt in food;

(e) Preventive hygiene to combat diarrhoea.

36. The Integrated Management of Childhood Illness programme has made it possible to monitor childhood illnesses in each municipality and has yielded reliable data on childhood illnesses, in particular the most common ones (acute respiratory infections, diarrhoea, malaria and malnutrition).

37. In order to address the problem of malaria, which affects 64 per cent of pregnant women, the Ministry of Health held two workshops in Lambaréné and Mouila in 2006 to train trainers on strategies for combating malaria during pregnancy.

38. The approach used in the workshops was intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy, in line with WHO recommendations.

39. The workshop enabled national experts to update their knowledge of:

(a) The process of malaria transmission;

(b) Health care during pregnancy, and prevention techniques.

40. In 2002, in collaboration with the French cooperation agency, the project for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) was supplemented by special training in new obstetric practices and treatment of opportunistic diseases, and actions to increase public awareness and harness public support.

41. In December 2005 health workers in Port-Gentil were given a training seminar on reducing maternal mortality. The aim of the seminar, which was organized by the Ministry of Health’s Reproductive Health Services project, with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), was capacity-building among health workers in the area of family planning.

42. The project for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) has a total of 87 prenatal consultation facilities throughout the country. The project’s results for 2007 show that the information given on prevention appears to have been appropriate for the target population, and testing is accepted by women. Thus 78.6 per cent of infected women received treatment prior to delivery and 62 per cent gave birth in a maternity clinic. Of the 382 children born

HIV-positive, 353 (92.4 per cent) were given treatment at birth.

43. In terms of combating child trafficking, one key aspect of the Government’s action plan is the training of relevant actors in combating child trafficking and exploitation. The training is mainly aimed at the security forces, labour inspectors, NGOs, judges, social workers, watchdog

committees, staff of technical ministries, municipal councillors, occupational associations, community leaders, foreign communities, religious communities and young people.

44. In this connection, the monitoring committee has organized several training, information and capacity-building seminars:

(a) Seminar to train trainers for the security forces, labour inspectors and judges in combating child trafficking for the purposes of exploitation, organized in Lambaréné by the monitoring committee, with technical support from UNICEF, from 22 to 30 October 2003;

(b) Introductory training seminar on the issue and on techniques for dealing with victims of child trafficking, organized in partnership with UNICEF and the Embassy of the United States of America to Gabon, from 18 to 20 January 2001;

(c) Seminar to draw up a subregional agreement on repatriation of trafficked children in humanitarian conditions, organized in Libreville by the Government with the technical support of the International Labour Organization (ILO);

(d) Capacity-building seminar for the security forces and labour inspectors, organized by the Government in Libreville, from 26 to 29 November 2003;

(e) Capacity-building seminar for the security forces and labour inspectors, organized by the Government in Libreville in June 2004, under the ILO/IPEC/LUTRENA project;

(f) Capacity-building seminars for members of watchdog committees in Ogooué-Maritime, (in collaboration with ILO and UNICEF), Haut-Ogooué (in collaboration with ILO and the

provincial Governor) and Woleu-Ntem (in collaboration with ILO).

(g) Training workshop on project preparation, organized in Port-Gentil in February 2005, in collaboration with ILO.

45. Two training and awareness-raising sessions for the minority Pygmy populations on HIV/AIDS and STDs have been held in the 29 target villages.

B. Protection of human rights

46. Gabon became aware very early on of the need to set up human rights protection mechanisms, and in the preamble to the Constitution explicitly recognizes human rights and freedoms. Domestic law and the international instruments Gabon has ratified also acknowledge these fundamental principles, as the foundation of human dignity.

1. Children’s rights

47. In the area of health, Gabon is committed to a policy of protecting children’s rights and has incorporated all relevant texts into its legal order. The Government has placed particular emphasis on immunization, in order to fully protect all children against childhood diseases by administering all boosters.

48. An Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) has been set up in cooperation with UNICEF. It focuses on immunization of the under-fives against tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and measles. A new approach to vaccination called “Reach Every District” has been adopted with the objective of implementing what are known as outreach strategies in neighbourhoods and communities, targeting every child in its own environment.

49. Several initiatives have been carried out using this new approach since 2004:

(a) November 2004: measles vaccination campaign, targeting children aged 0 to 14. The opportunity was also taken to give vitamin A to children aged 0 to 5, to address growth problems.

By the end of the campaign, 625,472 children had received measles vaccine, a vaccination rate of 80.41 per cent. The highest rates were recorded in the provinces of Nyanga (103.26 per cent);

Ngounié (102.66 per cent) and Ogooué Lolo (102.5 per cent), while 210,041 children (81.19 per cent) received a dose of vitamin A;

(b) 2004: National Technical Commission established to run vaccination campaigns throughout the territory;

(c) November 2005 to January 2006: Reach Every District vaccination campaign against polio, hepatitis B, measles and BCG, run in two phases:

(i) The first step was to try to increase collective immunity among infants, by giving additional doses of vaccines to children aged 0 to 11 months;

(ii) The second phase aimed to reach a maximum of children aged 0 to 5, wherever they live.

(a) HIV/AIDS

50. The plan for combating the epidemic puts particular emphasis on tighter national coordination in the fight against HIV/AIDS, both nationally and internationally. Coordination involved:

(a) Monitoring and evaluation of the disease;

(b) Reducing the socio-economic impact of HIV on individuals by setting up the ACCESS project, which aims at getting drugs to people living with HIV/AIDS more quickly by bringing the cost of treatment down. Provision is made for schoolchildren, students, the very poor, officials with a salary less than or equal to CFAF 100,000, pregnant HIV-positive women, infants and children under the age of 12;

(c) Reaching families and communities, through psychosocial support for persons infected with HIV/AIDS (pregnant women, orphans and vulnerable children);

(d) The use of antiretroviral drugs;

(e) Prevention of mother-to-child transmission;

(f) The establishment of outpatient treatment centres in some provincial capitals.

51. In April 2002 the mother-to-child transmission prevention project (PMTCT) was

implemented in collaboration with the French cooperation agency. The aim is to reduce the risk of transmission of HIV/AIDS from mother to child. The project targets pregnant women, pregnant infected women and their unborn children. The main activities under the project are:

(a) Pre- and post-test counselling;

(b) HIV testing offered at all antenatal consultations;

(d) Assistance during delivery;

(e) Post-natal support and care;

(f) Antiretroviral medication for children born to HIV-positive mothers;

(g) Care for AIDS orphans and children at risk provided by the Organization of African First Ladies against AIDS (OAFLA);

(h) Aid for girls from the Ministry of the Family, for the new school year and for income-generating activities.

(b) Education

52. School is open to all children without distinction of any kind. Under Act No. 25/59

of 22 June 1959, school is compulsory for children aged 6 to 16. Act No. 16/66 of 9 August 1966, on the general organization of education in the Gabonese Republic, reinforces this provision and makes education free and compulsory from the age of 6 to 16.

(i) Child trafficking

53. The fight against child trafficking began in earnest on 9 February 1994, following the World Summit for Children, whose theme was “A World Fit for Children”.

54. It was then that the Gabonese Government decided to commit to the protection of children for the sake of Gabon’s future as a dignified and prosperous nation, by ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Although children are protected, child labour regulated and child exploitation

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