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/></td> <td> <p style="font-size:1.4em;">United Nations</p> </td> <td> <p> <span style="font-size:2em;">CRC</span>/C/EST/CO/2-4</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td> <p style="font-weight:bold;font-size:2em;">Convention on theRights of the Child</p> </td> <td> <p>Distr.: General</p> <p>8 March 2017</p> <p> </p> <p>Original: English</p> </td> </tr> </table> <div class="content"> <p style="font-weight:bold;font-size:1.2em;">Committee on the Rights of the Child</p> <h2 style="font-weight:bold;">Concluding observations on the combined second to fourth periodic reports of Estonia *</h2> <h2>I.Introduction</h2> <p>1.The Committee considered the combined second to fourth periodic reports of Estonia (CRC/C/EST/2-4) at its 2167th and 2169th meetings (see CRC/C/SR.2167 and 2169), held on 17 and 18 January 2017, and adopted the present concluding observations at its 2193rd meeting, held on 3 February 2017. </p> <p>2.The Committee welcomes the submission of the combined second to fourth periodic reports of the State party and the written replies to the list of issues (CRC/C/EST/Q/2-4/Add.1), which allowed for a better understanding of the situation of children s rights in the State party. The Committee expresses appreciation for the constructive dialogue held with the multisectoral delegation of the State party.</p> <h2>II.Follow-up measures taken and progress achieved by the State party</h2> <p>3.The Committee welcomes the progress achieved by the State party in various areas, including the ratification in 2014 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, as well as other legislative, institutional and policy measures relating to children s rights since the consideration of its previous report. </p> <h2>III.Main areas of concern and recommendations</h2> <h3>A.General measures of implementation (arts. 4, 42 and 44 (6))</h3> <h3>Legislation </h3> <p>4.The Committee welcomes the adoption of the new Child Protection Act, in force since 1 January 2016, as an important step for further enhancing children s rights policies and strategies in the State party. It is, however, concerned about the lack of measures to evaluate the Act, including through regular assessment of relevant by-laws and the development of impact assessments in relation to implementing regulations and by-laws. In particular, it is concerned about the failure to adequately regulate the obligations of local governments with regard to by-laws on establishing the position of child protection workers.</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">5. The Committee recommends that the necessary regulations and budgetary allocations are made for the effective implementation of existing legislative measures, including the Child Protection Act. The Committee also recommends that the State party further regulate the obligations of local governments with regard to by-laws on establishing the position of child protection workers.</p> <h3>Comprehensive policies, strategy and coordination</h3> <p>6.The Committee welcomes the various policies and programmes relating to children s rights that have been adopted since the consideration of the previous report, including the Strategy on children and families 2012-2020, and the establishment in 2016 of the Child Protection Council tasked with defining the goals of the national child protection policy and coordinating the actions needed to achieve those goals. The Committee is, however, concerned that the State party does not have a comprehensive cross-sectoral policy on children s rights to ensure that all State policies and programmes are compliant with the Convention.</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">7. The Committee recommends that the State party: </p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(a) Strengthen the mandate of the Child Protection Council at the interministerial level to ensure that it has sufficient authority to coordinate all activities relating to the implementation of the Convention at cross-sectoral, national, regional and local levels and that the necessary human, technical and financial resources are available for its effective operation;</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(b) Develop a comprehensive policy on children that encompasses all areas covered by the Convention and that ensures coordination and complementarity among government entities; and, on the basis of the policy, develop a strategy containing the elements for its application, supported by sufficient human, technical and financial resources.</p> <h3>Budgetary allocation</h3> <p>8.The Committee remains concerned that legislation, strategies and policies are not linked to detailed resource allocation. The Committee is further concerned about:</p> <p>(a)The continuing absence of a comprehensive State and municipal system to analyse and monitor budgetary allocations for implementing all the provisions of the Convention;</p> <p>(b)The limited public participation in budgetary processes;</p> <p>(c)The ongoing impact of structural adjustment and austerity measures on children s rights in the post-economic-crisis period.</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">9. In the light of general comment No. 19 (2016) on public budgeting for the realization of children s rights, the Committee recommends that the State party:</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(a) Utilize a child-rights approach in the elaboration of State and municipal budgets, by implementing a tracking system for the allocation and use of resources for children in the budgets. The State party should also use the tracking system to assess how investments in any sector serve the best interests of the child and ensure that the impacts on children are measured;</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(b) Ensure transparent and participatory budgeting through public dialogue, especially with children and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in the area of children s rights and proper accountability of the authorities at the municipal and State levels;</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(c) Carry out impact assessments of austerity measures in areas that are directly and indirectly related to children s rights.</p> <h3>Data collection</h3> <p>10.The Committee welcomes the various measures taken to improve the collection, processing and publication of statistical data, particularly through the establishment of the STAR case management database. It is however concerned that:</p> <p>(a)Statistics on children relating to all areas of the Convention are not published annually along with regular statistics;</p> <p>(b)Mainstream statistics do not contain child-focused data;</p> <p>(c)Available data is held in several databases which are not integrated.</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">11. In the light of its general comment No. 5 (2003) on general measures of implementation of the Convention, the Committee reiterates its previous recommendation (CRC/C/15/Add.196, para. 10 (a) and (b)) and further recommends that the State party: </p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(a) Develop a comprehensive information system on all areas of the Convention;</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(b) Collect and publish adequate child-focused data in mainstream statistics;</p> <p>(c)<span style="font-weight:bold;">Take into account the conceptual and methodological framework set out in the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights entitled </span><span style="font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;">Human rights indicators: a guide to measurement and implementation</span><span style="font-weight:bold;"> (2012) when defining, collecting and disseminating statistical information.</span></p> <h3>Independent monitoring </h3> <p>12.The Committee welcomes the fact that, in 2011, the Chancellor of Justice was granted the competence of Ombudsperson for Children and that an Advisory Committee, including representatives of various youth organizations, was created to support these new functions. The Committee is, however, concerned that, while negotiations are under way to seek accreditation in accordance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles), the Ombudsperson for Children is not in full compliance with the Paris Principles and there is insufficient awareness among children about the individual complaint mechanism. </p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">13. In the light of its general comment No. 2 (2002) on the role of independent human rights institutions in the promotion and protection of the rights of the child, the Committ