UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 32) Regarding registration and notaries, the aims are to improve the birth registration process, simplify administrative procedures, registration and notarial practices, decentralize services and review the current fees.
Para 62) … the Government has taken a series of policy, legislative and institutional measures to ensure that children can be registered immediately after birth, free of charge, throughout the country, in accordance with the requirements set out in article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. These measures include the following: • The adoption of the National Permanent Birth Registration Strategy, through Decree No. 45/2009; the strategy comprises a set of measures that include the registration or confirmation of births in all maternity hospitals and wards (in Ayres de Menezes Hospital and in Guadalupe, Neves and São João dos Angolares on the island of Sao Tome and in Manuel Quaresma Dias da Graça Hospital on the island of Principe) and in local register offices. • The issuance of Joint Order No. 04/2017, which establishes that a birth may be registered and the mother’s identity or the child’s characteristics recorded free of charge, provided that the registration takes place within one year of the birth. • The holding of free health and birth registration fairs for all children in all districts of the country on a regular basis by the Directorate General of Registers and Notaries, in collaboration with UNICEF. • The creation of a birth registration unit in the maternity ward of Ayres de Menezes Hospital; the unit is open every day, including on weekends and public holidays. • The introduction of a computerized management system that allows for electronic birth registration at the regional register office and local register offices throughout the country. The proportion of births that are registered is now around 95 per cent, according to the multiple indicator cluster survey conducted by the National Statistics Office in 2014.

UN Compilation:
Para 6) UNICEF stated that, further to advocacy on birth registration conducted at the end of 2016, in early 2017, the ministries responsible for justice and for finance had signed a decree ensuring birth registration free of charge for children up to 1 year of age, replacing the previous policy, under which birth registration had been free of charge only during the first month of a child’s life. UNICEF expected that the new policy would help achieve full birth registration,12 and that the excellent achievements of the country in the area of birth registration could inspire other countries to reach related objectives.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 8) Just Atonement Inc regretted the lack of data in Sao Tome and Principe, which highly affected the ability to remedy situations of child abuse. It noted, in particular, that data related to birth records, … was sparse.

National Report:
Para 133) It should be highlighted that these legal measures have been consolidated in the new Criminal Code, which has numerous articles aimed at protecting the rights of children, as set out in international standards, in particular the following: ...
(m) Article 175 on sexual abuse of children;
(n) Article 176 on sexual abuse of adolescents;
(o) Article 177 on sexual acts with adolescents;
(p) Article 178 on homosexual acts with adolescents;
(q) Article 179 on prostitution of minors;
(r) Article 180 on child pornography;

Para 137) The exploitation, sexual violence and prostitution of children are social phenomena which are becoming increasingly important globally and Sao Tome is not exempt. Internal measures have thus been implemented to prevent and combat the development of these phenomena. The measures involve numerous public and private organizations, such as INPG, the Support Centre for Domestic Violence, education centres, social communication and the Association of Women Jurists, in national awareness-raising campaigns to prevent and combat exploitation, sexual violence and child prostitution.

UN Compilation:
Para 13) The CRC welcomed the revision by Sao Tome and Principe of its Penal Code in 2012 to explicitly include provisions on sexual abuse, exploitation of minors and child trafficking ...

National Report:
Para 11) … In 2017, it ratified: the ICCPR, the OP-ICCPR; … the ICESCR;

National Report:
Para 74) As regards the reference made in recommendation 108.38 to raising the minimum age for marriage, it should be noted that this matter is expressly addressed in article 22 (d) of the current Family Code, which reads: “The following circumstances also constitute a direct impediment to marriage: … (d) The person concerned is under 18 years of age.”

UN Compilation:
Para 13) UNICEF noted … that worrying phenomena continued to be observed in the area of child protection, including … and early marriage.
Para 49) UN-Women also referred to concerns regarding the proportion of women aged 20– 24 years old who were married or in a union before age 18, …
Para 53) UNICEF noted that the new family law established 18 as the minimum age for marriage and strengthened the obligations of parents, especially fathers, towards their children. The law represented an important step forward for gender equity as, previously, girls could be married at 14, and boys at 16. The stronger focus on fathers was aimed at improving shared responsibilities among caregivers with regard to child care and support.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 41) Just Atonement Inc noted with concern that children and adolescents were, in particular, vulnerable to being victims of harmful practices of witchcraft. It regretted that those human rights violations were due to deeply rooted cultural patterns and the reluctance of people to rely on formal medicine.
Para 24) Just Atonement Inc noted with concern that practices against children, such as child marriages and corporal punishment were still common in Sao Tome and Principe, despite educational efforts.