Corporal punishment
(20) The Committee notes that corporal punishment of children is not explicitly prohibited in all settings and that
it is a common and accepted means of childrearing (art. 16).
The State party, taking into account the recommendation in the United Nations Secretary-General’s
Study on Violence Against Children, should adopt and implement legislation prohibiting corporal
punishment in all settings, including the family, supported by the necessary awareness-raising and
public education measures.
Trafficking in persons
(21) The Committee takes note of the inclusion of trafficking in the new Criminal Code (art. 389), which defines
human trafficking and includes it as a criminal offence. However, the Committee is concerned about the reports of
cross-border trafficking in women for sexual and other exploitative purposes and it regrets the low number of
prosecutions in this respect. The Committee also regrets that the State party does not have an effective system in
place to monitor and assess the extent and impact to address this phenomenon effectively. The Committee is
concerned at the decrease in the minimum penalties from five to three years of imprisonment and that redress and
reintegration services are insufficient for victims of trafficking (art. 16).
The State party should:
(a)
Continue to prosecute and punish perpetrators of trafficking in persons, especially
women and children;
(b)
Intensify its efforts to provide redress and reintegration services to victims;
(c)
Conduct nationwide awareness-raising campaigns and conduct training for
law-enforcement officials, migration officials and border police on the causes, consequences and
incidences of trafficking and other forms of exploitation;
(d)
Adopt a National Action Plan for combating human trafficking and ensure that
programs and measures are put in place for treating children victims of trafficking; and
(e)
Increase cooperation by the police and the Agency for Coordination of Protection of
Human Trafficking Victims with NGOs working against human trafficking.
Kosovo
(22) In considering Serbia’s initial report, the Committee takes note of the State party’s explanation of its inability
to report on the discharge of its implementation with regard to the Convention in Kosovo, owing to the fact that civil
authority is exercised in Kosovo by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).
Data collection
(23) The Committee requests the State party to provide in its next periodic report detailed statistical data,
disaggregated by crime, ethnicity, age and sex, on complaints relating to torture and ill-treatment allegedly
committed by law enforcement officials; on the related investigations, prosecutions, and penal or disciplinary
sanctions; and on pretrial detainees and convicted prisoners. The Committee further requests information on
compensation and rehabilitation provided to the victims.
(24) The Committee invites the State party to become a party to the core United Nations human rights treaties to
which it is not yet a party, namely: the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant
Workers and Members of Their Families and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The
Committee invites the State party to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from
Enforced Disappearance.
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