UKRAINE, CRC/C/UKR/CO/4

37. The Committee expresses concern that a child’s citizenship may be renounced by the State party in the following circumstances, as referred to in paragraph 58 of the State party’s report: (i) if the child, and at least one parent, leave for permanent residence abroad and at least one parent gives up Ukrainian citizenship; and (ii) when a child has acquired Ukrainian citizenship at birth and, at the time of birth, at least one of his or her parents was a foreigner or stateless person, such citizenship may be renounced at the request of either parent, regardless of the child’s place of residence.

38. The Committee recommends the State party to:

(a) Amend legislation so as to guarantee by law and in practice the right of the child to a nationality and not to be deprived of it on any ground and regardless of the status of his/her parents;

(b) Ratify the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

41. The Committee is deeply concerned about the significant number of allegations of physical ill-treatment of detainees, including children, notably during initial questioning in district police stations. In particular, the Committee is gravely concerned at alleged cases of torture and ill-treatment of juveniles by Militsia officers to extract confessions and of migrant children while in custody of the Ukraine State Border Guard Services. The Committee is further concerned at reports of widespread use of corporal punishment in the home, despite its prohibition in the home, in schools, the penal system and alternative care settings. In this context, the low level of awareness and understanding among children and among the public about children’s rights and about the prohibition of such acts is of serious concern to the Committee.

41. The Committee urges the State party to take all necessary measures to prevent and eliminate torture and all forms of ill-treatment of children, and, in particular, to:

(a) Initiate comprehensive trainings for members of the Militsia and the Ukraine State Border Guard Services on the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment and on international standards relating to juvenile justice;

(b) Strengthen independent monitoring of children deprived of their liberty, including by “mobile groups/teams” (see CCPR/C/UKR/6/Add.1 (2008) and CAT/C/UKR/CO/5 (2007)) or other mechanisms, until a National Preventive Mechanism is formally established by the State party under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture;

(c) Ensure prompt, independent and effective investigation of all alleged cases of torture or ill-treatment of children and, as appropriate, prosecute offenders;

(d) Undertake a study on access to justice of children deprived of their liberty with a view to improve respect for legal safeguards against torture and ill-treatment;

(e) End all forms of corporal punishment in the home and other settings by ensuring effective implementation of the existing legislative prohibition, including through awareness-raising campaigns and public education promoting positive and non-violent child-bearing.