C. General principles Non Discrimination 9. The Committee commends the State Party for the measures adopted to eliminate all forms of discrimination against children in its territory as provided in its 1992 Constitution, the 1998 Children’s Act, and other national laws. However, it was brought to the Committee’s attention that some group of children still continue discrimination in various sectors across the country. These groups of children include children in rural areas, children with disabilities and the girl child. Particularly, the Committee is informed that children with disabilities are facing discriminatory practices in the context of education due the existence of the very limited educational facilities which are also donor dependent. In this regard, the Committee notes that children with disabilities are not receiving education on an equal basis with other children with no disabilities. 10. The Committee is also concerned that although at basic education level, parity is nearly achieved, at higher levels of education, the retention rate for girls remains lower as girls drop out of school due to economic constraints of their families which leads to boys being chosen to go to school, inadequate sanitary facilities especially during their menstrual period and teenage pregnancy. 11. The committee therefore recommends that:  An inclusive education should be expanded with adequate funding provided for special schools to avoid heavy reliance on donor funding;  The Committee also recommends, through the Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty (LEAP) program the Government should focus on assisting girls from poor households, raise parental awareness on the importance of keeping girls in schools, and introduce age appropriate sexual and reproductive education, including the importance of contraception, in school curriculums; and  The Government should also provide assistance and take measures to encourage girls to return to school after delivery. Best interest of the child 12. The Committee recognizes efforts made by the State Party to ensure that the best interest of the child is considered by state administrative, judicial and legislative structures. However the Committee observes that child custody cases take a while to conclude, the Spousal Property Bill is yet to be adopted and a high number of child abuses cases are reported to State institutions. The Committee recommends that the State Party ensures that determination of matrimonial cases do not prolong the conclusion of child custody cases. The Committee also recommends that the Spousal Property Bill awaiting adoption in 4

Select target paragraph3