GENEVA (5 February 2026) – The UN Child
Rights Committee (CRC) today issued its findings on
Colombia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, and
Spain, after reviewing the seven States Parties during its
latest session.
The findings contain the Committee’s
main concerns and recommendations on implementing the Child
Rights Convention, as well as positive aspects. Key
highlights
include:
Colombia
The Committee
was deeply concerned about the worsening impact of the armed
conflict on children, particularly the increased recruitment
and use of children by non-State armed groups, marked by
disproportionate harm to Indigenous and Afro-Colombian
children, and sexual violence against girls. It also raised
alarm at the killing and maiming of children, including
during military operations, the use of digital platforms for
recruitment and exploitation. It called on Colombia to
ensure that all military operations are planned and
conducted in strict compliance with international law, to
end the recruitment and use of children by the military and
police, and to include in peace processes the immediate halt
of child recruitment, as well as the release of children
still associated with armed groups. It also urged stronger
territorial prevention and protection measures,
implementation of the Safe Schools Declaration action plan,
and prompt investigations and accountability for
perpetrators.
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Persisting violations of children’s
right to life, survival and development also prompted
serious concern, including remaining cases of infant and
child mortality and rising deaths linked to malnutrition,
preventable diseases and limited vaccination coverage,
particularly affecting Indigenous children. The Committee
also expressed alarm at child homicides and the large number
of enforced disappearances of children. It urged Colombia to
strengthen efforts to reduce infant and child mortality by
addressing malnutrition and vaccination gaps, improve
sanitation and hygiene to prevent preventable deaths, and
take urgent, culturally sensitive measures to protect
Indigenous children from acute malnutrition. It also called
for emergency support for children affected by malnutrition,
and measures to tackle corruption that affects access to
food and water. It also called for stronger prevention and
accountability measures to address homicides, illegal
traffic of firearms and disappearances, including by
strengthening the Urgent Search
Mechanism.
Ethiopia
Regarding
children in armed conflicts, the Committee expressed alarm
over the significant increase in grave violations against
children, including killing and maiming, sexual violence,
abduction, and denial of humanitarian access. It urged
Ethiopia to comply with applicable international law and to
end and prevent such grave violations, and to allow timely
and unimpeded humanitarian access. It also called on the
State Party to urgently facilitate access to encampments to
enable the identification of children and their transfer to
civilian child protection actors, to hold perpetrators
accountable, and to provide medical care, including
reproductive health, psychosocial support and legal aid to
conflict-affected children.
The Committee was
seriously concerned about the high prevalence of violence
against children, including domestic violence, abuse,
neglect, sexual and gender-based violence, bullying and
online sexual exploitation and abuse. It asked Ethiopia to
adopt national comprehensive child protection legislation
and to establish a national database on cases of violence
against children. It also called for independent and
thorough investigations into all allegations of violence,
including alleged crimes related to gender-based violence
and ill-treatment in detention centres, and for bringing
perpetrators to
justice.
Ghana
The Committee
welcomed the adoption of the National Strategic Framework
for the Elimination of Child Marriage 2017–2026, but
remained concerned about the continued violations linked to
harmful practices, including child marriage – particularly
in the North East, Northern and Savannah regions, and the
persistence of female genital mutilation, including
cross-border cases. It called on the State Party to enforce
existing legislation and implement the Strategic Framework
with adequate resources, community engagement and girls’
empowerment. It also recommended stronger surveillance and
enforcement to eradicate female genital mutilation,
including awareness-raising on its criminalisation and the
prompt investigation, prosecution and punishment of
perpetrators, including in cross-border cases.
The
Committee raised a red flag about reports that children with
disabilities were sometimes institutionalised or confined in
“prayer camps”, where they were deprived of food, water,
education and medical care, and in some cases, even killed.
It called for a human rights-based approach to disability,
including harmonising legislation, prohibiting “prayer
camps” and ensuring accountability for abuses. It also
urged the State Party to develop a dedicated policy and
strategy, and safeguard access to good-quality healthcare,
including mental health, alongside sustained public
awareness campaigns to combat stigma and harmful
beliefs.
Malaysia
The Committee
noted initiatives taken by the State Party to achieve
universal birth registration, but was seriously concerned
about persistent administrative barriers, as well as the
lack of birth registration data, particularly for migrant
and refugee communities. It also expressed concern about the
fear of detention or deportation due to marital or
immigration status that deters registration. It urged the
State Party to ensure birth certificates for all children
immediately after birth, regardless of the immigration
status of the child or parents, and to adopt clear
nationwide guidelines, covering remote and Indigenous
communities.
The situation of asylum-seeking, refugee
and migrant children also raised alarm, including
immigration detention and barriers to accessing basic
services. The Committee recommended legal and policy reforms
to end immigration detention of children, and to accelerate
alternatives to detention – prioritising family and
community-based options. It also called for ensuring access
to education, health and other essential services for all
refugee, asylum-seeking, undocumented and stateless
children. The Committee further recommended that Malaysia
establish a firewall between service providers and
immigration authorities, including by removing any
requirement for health-care personnel to report undocumented
persons.
Maldives
The Committee
highlighted its concern over the pervasiveness of violence
against children, including domestic violence, sexual and
gender-based violence, abuse and neglect. It was also
alarmed by social factors, including stigma and cultural
taboos, that undermined prevention, timely reporting and
effective response. It urged the State Party to effectively
implement the National Action Plan for Prevention and
Response to Violence against Children, prioritise the
investigation and prosecution of adults who exploit
children, and strengthen the capacity of law enforcement and
social workers to prevent and respond to abuse. It also
called for action to tackle stigma and harmful taboos by
encouraging reporting and engaging community and island
leaders, religious figures and the media.
The
Committee was seriously concerned about rising mental health
challenges among children and barriers to accessing
adolescent sexual and reproductive health services. It
called for the adoption of the Mental Health Bill and the
development of a comprehensive child mental health strategy.
It also urged the State Party to continue integrating mental
health services into primary health care and to adopt a
comprehensive adolescent sexual and reproductive health
policy. This should include age-appropriate education in the
mandatory school curriculum, with particular attention to
preventing early pregnancy and sexually transmitted
infections.
Pakistan
The
Committee welcomed the increase in birth registration and
fee waivers introduced in some provinces, but was seriously
concerned about the alarmingly high number of unregistered
children and barriers to birth registration, including
outdated legislation, poor enforcement, and complex
procedures. It also raised the lack of effective measures to
ensure the birth registration of marginalised and
disadvantaged children. It urged the State Party to amend
its legislation and establish effective procedures so that
birth certificates are issued to all children born in its
territory immediately after birth. It also called for the
abolition of all remaining birth registration
fees.
The Committee was seriously concerned about the
deportation of large numbers of Afghan children, including
unaccompanied children, under the Illegal Foreigners’
Repatriation Plan without individual risk assessments. It
warned that these deportations exposed children to serious
rights violations during detention and border crossings,
including family separation, exploitation and abuse. It
called on the State Party to adopt a national refugee law
and establish an asylum system to register and provide
longer-term solutions for refugee children, especially those
from Afghanistan, and to uphold the principle of
non-refoulement, including by reconsidering
the Illegal Foreigners
Repatriation Plan under which children face serious
risks.
Under the Optional Protocol, the Committee was
seriously concerned about reports that children,
particularly boys, are regularly subjected to sexual
exploitation in touristic and religious sites, hotels and
bus stops. It called for urgent measures to identify
children especially at risk and assess the scope of
exploitation. It also recommended that the State Party
develop a national policy to prevent and respond to online
child sexual exploitation and abuse and strengthen the
National Cybercrime Investigation Agency. Finally, it urged
the State party to ensure that all reported offences under
the Optional Protocol are effectively investigated, and
perpetrators prosecuted and punished with sanctions
commensurate with the gravity of the
crimes.
Spain
The Committee
welcomed Spain’s comprehensive child protection
legislation against violence (Organic Law nº 8/2021) but
was concerned by the lack of official data on cases of
sexual violence against children in the family environment
and territorial disparities and inequalities in prevention,
detection and remedies. It also raised concerns about the
increase in child sexual abuse and exploitation and weak
coordination for child-friendly justice procedures,
including low prosecution and conviction rates for abuse
committed by Catholic Church personnel. It recommended that
the State Party strengthen nationwide data collection and
child-friendly justice responses across all territories
through clear and adequate resourcing and timely
child-sensitive procedures, including prompt investigations
to avoid re-victimisation and ensure
accountability.
Persistently high levels of child
poverty and social exclusion, together with insufficient
public investment in family and child benefits, also caused
concern. The Committee was particularly alarmed by
cumulative deprivation among children living in substandard
housing and shanty settlements, including forced evictions
without adequate alternatives, which disproportionately
affected Roma children. It recommended a comprehensive,
sufficiently resourced and child rights-based strategy to
ensure an adequate standard of living for all children. This
should include stronger income support and improved access
to benefits, safeguards to prevent evictions of families
with dependent children until adequate alternative housing
is secured, and guaranteed equal access to basic utilities
and essential
services.
