complied with this provision by enacting specific provisions on this subject in the Law of the Child Act and the Zanzibar Children’s Act. Section 42(2) of the Law of the Child Act and section 64(2) of the Zanzibar Children’s Act provide, mutatis mutandis, that an application for maintenance ‘may be made against any person who is eligible to maintain the child or contribute towards the welfare and maintenance of the child.’ (f) Adoption and periodic review placement (Article 24) 102. The State Party repealed and replaced the old provisions relating to adoption with new provisions currently embodied in the Law of the Child Act and the Zanzibar Children’s Act. In respect of Tanzania Mainland, the procedure for applying for an adoption order is set out under section 54 of the Law of the Child Act. This law requires, in section 54(1)(a), that an application for adoption order of a child be made to the High Court. Also in terms of section 54(1)(b), an application for “open” adoption must be made to the Resident Magistrate’s Court or District Court. The emphasis is primarily on domestic adoption. In order to adopt a child, an applicant must be bona fide resident of Tanzania. Non Tanzanian citizens must have a resident permit, which is normally for a minimum of two years. The Law of the Child Act allows international adoptions where adopting parents are residents. 103. The State Party has provided in section 76(1) of the Zanzibar Children’s Act that in Zanzibar adoption does not apply to persons subscribing to Muslim faith; rather persons of Muslim faith shall follow “kafalah” as prescribed in section 75 of this law. According to section 2 of this law, “Kafalah” means the commitment to voluntarily take care of the maintenance, protection and education of the child in the same way as the biological parents of the child would do. So, under the Zanzibar Children’s Act adoption applies to non-Muslims only, whereby an application for an adoption order shall be made to the High Court and heard by such court in terms of section 76. An application for adoption of a child may also be made by an applicant who is a citizen of the United Republic of Tanzania but does not reside within Zanzibar under section 83. 104. In its previous Concluding Observations, the Committee encouraged the State party to further the steps undertaken to ratify the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. The State Party is currently at the consultation stages with a view to ratifying the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. (g) Abuse, neglect, exploitation including physical and psychological recovery and social integration( Art 16 and 27) 105. The State Party has conducted a Study on Violence Against Children (VAC) and the report of the above mentioned study was launched, in respect of Tanzania Mainland, by Honourable Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro (the then UN Deputy Secretary-General) in August 2011. This is the first national survey of violence against children to be conducted in the State Party and it nationally represents a survey of 3,739 females and males of the ages between 13 and 24 years, based on a three-stage cluster household survey design. It was designed to yield separate estimates of experiences of sexual, physical, and emotional violence prior to turning age 18 for females and males in both parts of the State Party. The VAC study report identified all forms of violence against children (Sexual, Physical and Emotional) and their underlying causes is a critical step towards developing Multi-sectoral National Prevention and Response Strategies and Policies to the better protection of the children within Tanzania. 106. The study findings have enabled the State Party to commit itself towards developing a three-year National Plan Action to Prevent and Respond to Violence against Children 2013-2016 by creating enabling policy and legislative environment to establish sustainable intervention to prevent and respond to any violence against children. There is also strong commitment by all stakeholders geared to: a) Reducing violence against children, b) Improving the quantity and quality of services for those who have been affected by violence against children, c) Mitigating the serious health consequences that result from such violence, and d) Reaffirming rights and dignity to Tanzanian children. In terms of coordination structures, the State Party has 30