| School-leaving age |
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From CRC/C/65/Add. 14 of 13 February 2002
36. The Education Act sets forth an
obligation to enrol children in school from the age of 6
through 16 years (art. 2). Legally speaking, this is a step
forward. Practically, however, its implementation is thwarted
by lack of school infrastructure, human resources, teaching
materials, logistical means for follow-up and by poverty.
37. Thus the scope of this provision appears to be
limited. It affected only 37.7 per cent of the
school-age population in 1996, and destroyed the previously-existing balance between the
ages of compulsory schooling and of employment (14 years). Harmonization
is needed. |
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| Minimum age of employment |
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From CRC/C/65/Add. 14 of 13 February 2002
21. The minimum age of employment (14) no
longer corresponds to the maximum age of compulsory education
(16). Harsh living conditions lead parents to send their
children out to work early, especially in the agricultural and
informal sectors.
456. Children generally
operate in the informal economy, where there is
a real risk of their being exploited, especially as there is
no appropriate legislation or regulations to protect
them.
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| Minimum age for marriage |
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From CRC/C/3/Add. 19 of 15 July 1993
11. Article 238 of the Code on the Individual and the
Family sets the minimum age for marriage at 20 for boys and 19
for girls. However, derogations may be made by the judge in certain cases in which the age is 18 for
boys and 15 for girls. The Code on the Individual and the
Family stipulates that there must be mutual consent to the
marriage, which brings an end to forced
marriages.
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| Minimum age for criminal responsibility |
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From CRC/C/65/Add. 14 of 13 February 2002
417. Children under the age of 13 are
presumed to lack the capacity to infringe criminal law (Penal
Code, art. 74) and are presumed not to be responsible for
their actions. These children are either returned to their
parents or placed in care; they are subject to educational
measures only.
442. All children under 13 years of age are
presumed to bear no criminal responsibility, and there is no
need for a judge to consider the question of due
discernment.
443. They are not subject to educational measures (Act No. 19/61,
art. 14). Children over the age of 13 and under
the age of 18 who have
acted without due discernment are treated in the same
way as those under the age of
13.
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