E) Intensify awareness campaigns to educate the community on the effect of harmful practices such as ukuthwala and virginity testing on the rights of children. 37. The Committee also notes with concern that the practice of male initiation resulting in botched circumcision which in some cases results in death of initiates child as well as serious physical and psychological damage exists in South Africa. The Committee has learnt that considerable number of children are dying because of botched circumcision and compared to high number of deaths and injuries sustained, rate of investigation and conviction of perpetrators is low. Noting with appreciation measures taken by the State Party to eliminate this practice, the Committee recommends to the Government of South Africa to take further measures, inter alia: A) Adopt legislation outlawing unofficial initiation schools and criminalising the practice of male circumcision in unofficial initiation schools; B) Intensify investigation and prosecution of cases of kidnapping and taking boys to unofficial initiation schools as well as incidents of death of children in such schools as incidences of boys kidnapped and subjected to the practice of initiation without their consent as well as children dying from botched circumcision currently outnumber the cases investigated and prosecuted; C) Organise awareness campaigns to educate the community on the effect of botched circumcision on the rights and wellbeing of children. IV. Asylum seekers, Refugee, and Migrant Children 38. The Committee notes with concern the difficulties that asylum seeking and refugee, children face when trying to access social services. The Committee especially notes the difficulty they face in the application for documentation and the added barriers which will come as a result of the Refugee Amendment Bill, should it be passed. The Committee would recommend that the Government create more refugee centres, in all nine provinces, remove all legal and non-legal barriers which refugee children face in accessing social services, such as education, and that processes of documenting refugee children are tailored to be more efficient, expedient and child-friendly. 39. The Committee notes with great concern that there is no dedicated mechanism to regularise the status of unaccompanied migrant children who are not refugees in the State Party. Therefore, the Committee recommends to the Government of South Africa to: A) Identify unaccompanied migrant children as a category of persons requiring special consideration in terms of section 31(2) (b) of the Immigration Act in order to allow unaccompanied children who meet the definition to apply for and be granted permanent residence in South Africa; 14

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