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 16) In order to enforce this constitutional measure, a number of laws and decrees have been introduced containing legal provisions prohibiting all forms of discrimination against and ill-treatment of children. They include: • Act No. 11/2008 on Domestic and Family Violence, which provides for the establishment of mechanisms to prevent and punish domestic and family violence …
Para 18) Act No. 11/2008 on Domestic and Family Violence provides for the establishment of specific mechanisms for the prevention of domestic and family violence and, in article 7, lists various forms of violence, including physical, psychological and sexual violence and emotional and financial abuse.
Para 19) With specific reference to bodily harm and physical violence, article 7 (a) defines physical violence as follows: “Physical violence is understood as any behaviour that damages bodily integrity or health, such as slapping, pulling, pushing, hitting, pinching, biting, scratching, kicking and assaulting with weapons or objects”. Article 19 of the Act provides for penalties for offences of causing bodily harm, in the following terms: “Any person who, by committing abuse in a domestic or family setting, harms the body or health of another person, shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of from 3 to 8 years”. The penalties for aggravated offences of causing bodily harm are set out in article 20 of the Act. Para 20) Act No. 6/2012, the Criminal Code, also provides for the punishment of offences of bodily harm in general, in articles 141 to 151, and against minors in particular, in article 152. It cannot therefore be said that any legislation exists in Sao Tome and Principe that permits bodily harm against children or any other persons.
Para 25) The Counselling Centre against Domestic Violence has improved certain aspects of its internal conditions and acquired computer equipment to enable its offices to communicate with District Commands and the National Police Department in the Principe Autonomous Region. It has also set up a shelter for victims, produced behaviour change communication materials, conducted local outreach campaigns and a participatory baseline study on domestic violence, and evaluated the implementation of the Gender-based Violence Strategy and its respective update for the period 2019–2023.
Para 26) However, it should be noted that the Centre still faces many difficulties in ensuring its proper functioning.
Para 28) Also in the context of capacity-building for the judicial system, a process to modernize the entire justice system has been launched in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The aim of the process is to modernize the system’s organization, management, human resources and physical and information technology infrastructure, as well as the provision of equipment and materials. To this end, a series of actions are planned, including: … The establishment of a directorate general for crime prevention dedicated to tackling domestic violence …
Para 81) Recommendations 108.36, 108.37 and 108.39 essentially call for measures to counter all forms of discrimination and violence against women. Sao Tome and Principe has adopted a series of legislative and other measures to combat this evil, which is taking root in society: • Act No. 11/2008 on Domestic and Family Violence provides for the creation of mechanisms for the prevention and punishment of domestic and family violence, in line with the commitments made under the CEDAW, and for the establishment of courts specializing in cases of domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence. It also provides for measures to assist and protect victims of domestic violence. It defines the concept of domestic violence as “any act or omission occurring within the family or household that causes death, injury, physical, sexual or psychological suffering and material or non-material damage or deprivation of liberty in the following situations”. The Act also identifies and defines six forms of domestic and family violence, namely, physical, psychological and sexual violence and financial and emotional abuse. The penalties for offences that fall within these categories of violence are established in articles 13, 15, 17, 18 and 19 of the Act. • Act No. 12/2008 on Strengthening Legal Protection Mechanisms for Victims of Domestic and Family Violence Offences raises national awareness of violence of this kind, which constitutes a flagrant violation of women’s rights, and helps women themselves to break the silence on the subject and to draw attention to the problem by reporting cases of domestic and family violence, which was previously not considered an offence. • Act No. 6/2012, the Criminal Code, was adopted in order to protect against and prohibit all forms of discrimination and violence against women, ill-treatment and exploitation of minors and subordinates, domestic violence and so on. Articles 129 to 256 of the Code establish penalties for these offences.
Para 82) As mentioned above, in line with recommendation 107.57, access to education in Sao Tome and Principe is universal and free of charge up to the ninth year of schooling, and there is no discrimination as regards the right to education or the right to employment.

UN Compilation:
Para 12) UNICEF stated that the districts of Mé-Zóchi and Lembá were among those with the highest rates of domestic violence, according to the national police. Mé-Zóchi included some of the most populated rural communities in the country. The preliminary results of the study financed by UNICEF in 2018 on the impact of interventions against domestic violence showed that awareness of domestic violence as a crime had increased in communities in the most remote areas of the country, such as those in the districts of MéZóchi and Lembá. That knowledge resulted from awareness-raising activities supported by United Nations and other organizations. Nevertheless, existing gender dynamics affected the translation of the knowledge into new behaviours.
Para 13) UNICEF noted the critical situation of women in the country, and that worrying phenomena continued to be observed in the area of child protection, including child labour, violence against children (corporal punishment was common), sexual violence and early marriage.
Para 14) UNICEF also noted that some of the most critical barriers to eliminating violence against children and women included strong gender stereotypes and discrimination, as well as multiple-partner dynamics out of wedlock, leading to an absence of social and economic responsibility by males, and the use of corporal punishment by caregivers.
Para 49) UN-Women also referred to concerns regarding … the proportion of women aged 15–49 years who had reported that they had been subjected to physical and/or sexual violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 12) The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights noted, as a step forward, the holistic efforts of Sao Tome and Principe to combat gender-based domestic violence and child abuse. The Commission noted in particular the introduction of appropriate legislation and the establishment of entities and institutions to that effect, including the Counselling Centre against Domestic and Spousal Violence. The Commission also appreciated the awareness-raising campaigns, including the “green ribbon” campaign against child abuse, domestic violence, early pregnancy, drug use and related gender-based crimes, among other violations of women’s and children’s rights.
Para 13) Despite notable advances, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights remained concerned about the high prevalence of child abuse, domestic violence, early pregnancy, drug use and related gender-based crimes.

UN Compilation:
Para 28) CRC also noted as positive the decrease in mother-to-child transmission of HIV ...

National Report:
Para 11) … In 2017, it ratified: … the ICESCR; … It has also ratified the OP-CRC-SC, …

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 18) Just Atonement Inc … regretted that Sao Tome and Principe had not ratified the OP-CRC-SC.

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 ...