Democracy and Political Governance Chapter 3 effective on 24 April 200615. Since then, the ombuds-person makes two working trips to Rodrigues every year, making it easy for citizens living in Rodrigues to access the services of the ombudsperson directly. Citizens have become gradually more aware of their rights and more willing to defend them. The CRM believes that two trips per year are not enough for the people of Rodrigues, given their geographic isolation and low literacy rate. They make it difficult for them to submit written complaints. 175. 176. The Ombudsperson for Children Act of 2003 is a very commendable legal instrument. It confers strong powers and wide-ranging functions on the ombuds-person. The act allows the ombudsperson to investigate complaints made to him or her. 177. After hearing the minister of women’s rights, child development and family welfare, and after considering reports that the ombudsperson and NGOs submitted, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child noted in 2007 that there had been “insufficient facilities for the rehabilitation of child victims of abuse and inadequate research on critical areas concerning children”. Based on discussions with different stakeholders, the CRM noted the need for more qualitative studies on issues relevant to the rights of the child. 178. The Child Protection Act of 1994 has been improved over the years and is a good law. However, it needs amending to include issues about the mentoring system and placing children with their next of kin. The CRM noted that the ombudsperson for children has made recommendations to amend the Child Protection Act, but progress is rather slow. 179. 102 The CRM noted that the ombudsperson has gone beyond his or her formal mandate on occasions and has investigated, on his or her own initiative, cases related to rights, like the right to access water, which the constitution does not recognise yet. This supports the view that the constitution should include economic, social and cultural rights in order to ensure that they are protected regardless of the goodwill of the office holder. The 2007/2008 report of the Office of the Ombudsperson for Children notes that the international community will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 20 November 2009. This is an opportunity for Mauritius to consolidate efforts to comply fully with the convention. An amended 15 - 33rd Annual Report of the Ombudsperson, January to December 2006. Chapter 3 Democracy and Political Governance children’s act, for example, would be a considerable step towards children’s rights. Reports on human rights 180. The APR Panel commends the participatory process Mauritius used and the comprehensive reports it submitted to the UN and AU. However, it noted repeated delays in submitting reports. For instance, it was only in 2008 that Mauritius submitted its second, third, fourth and fifth combined reports on the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights. More regular and timely reports will enable the relevant treaty bodies to make recommendations in line with new developments in human rights. Rights of access to welfare 181. The APR Panel welcomes Mauritius’s considerable efforts aimed at ensuring universal education. The recent establishment of the ZEP would help to reduce school dropouts. However, the CRM learnt that the high level of school drop-outs (35 per cent) is not attributable solely to the poor (in economic terms) environment in which students live. More than one stakeholder has highlighted the language of tuition as a possible reason for children dropping out of school. The NHRC and the Office of the Ombudsperson have recommended using Creole as a medium of instruction, at least in the early stages of primary education. The CRM learned, during discussions with the MECHR, about an ongoing pilot project by the Catholic mission on developing written Creole. This is an opportunity to develop and formalise the Creole language. The ministry is awaiting the results of the pilot project to assess the benefits of introducing Creole as a fully fledged language of instruction. In the meantime, the ministry is encouraging teachers to use Creole as the language to support French and English. The APR Panel believes that Mauritius needs an in-depth assessment to ensure that introducing Creole to the education system does not lead to more students from poor backgrounds being marginalised. 182. Mauritius has put health at the heart of its socioeconomic development agenda. Mauritius has promoted access to health as a fundamental human right by guaranteeing free access to public health services. The government’s priority is to provide universal, accessible and efficient health services with proper emphasis on the concept of ‘customer care’, as it promised in its 2005 to 2010 programme. It also promised to develop a patient charter that sets out patients’ rights 103