| School-leaving age |
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87. The Government is committed to making basic education free and compulsory. It plans to achieve not less than 80 per cent access to basic education within the next decade. […]
329. According to the educational policy of the GSE, basic education (grades 1-7) is free and compulsory for all citizens.
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| Minimum age of employment |
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68. According to article 68/1 of labour proclamation No. 118/2001, it is prohibited to employ a person under the age of 14. A contract of employment shall not be enforceable against a person below the age of 18 if it is determined to be prejudicial to the interest of that person (art. 9/2). In addition, article 69 of the proclamation provides that the minister may, by regulation, issue a list of activities prohibited to young employees (between the age of 14 and 18), which shall in particular include:
- Work in the transport of passengers and goods by road, railway, air and sea and in docksides and warehouses involving heavy lifting, pulling or pushing, or any other related type of labour;
- Work connected with toxic chemicals, dangerous machines, electric power generation plants, transformers or transmission lines;
- Underground work, such as mines, quarries and similar works; and
- Work in sewers and digging tunnels.
A young employee may not be assigned to work after 6 p.m. and begin work before 6 a.m. (art. 68 (2)) and may not be made to work for more than seven hours per day (art. 68 (3)).
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| Minimum age for marriage |
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69. According to article 46 of proclamation No. 1, 1991 of the TCCE, marriage is solely based on the voluntary agreement of both partners. In general, persons have to attain the age of 18 years if they are going to marry. In spite of this, the Code in many articles talks of under-age marriage. But for an under age person to marry, he/she must voluntarily agree and get the permission from his/her parents (article 309/1of the Transitional Penal Code of Eritrea (TPCE)).
[…] With regard to the minimum marriageable age, although the draft Civil Code of Eritrea states that the marriageable age is 18, this does not apply if the man and woman have both attained the full age of 16 years and the woman submits to the authority who will celebrate the marriage a declaration made by a doctor stating that the woman is pregnant or has already given birth to a child (article 581/2 of the draft Civil Code).
70. In many parts of the country, the male elders of the extended families pursue all marriage alliances - usually along religious, ethnic and linguistic lines. Girls are often betrothed between the ages of 8 and 14 and conclude the marriage between the ages of 13 and 15. Girls often have no choice in their marriage partner. However, in some ethnic groups, such as the Nara, marriage is not acceptable until the woman is 18 and the man 20 years of age.
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| Minimum age for criminal responsibility |
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74. With regard to under-age criminal liability. The Transitional Penal Code of Eritrea recognizes three categories of children:
Children below the age of 12: Article 52 of TPCE states that the criminal law does not apply to children below the age of 12 years. That is, children of this age have no responsibility for their acts. If they commit a crime, correctional measures are expected to be taken by the parents, school or guardian;
Children between 12 and 15 years: Criminals between the age of 12 and 15 are punishable according to the laws specified under articles 161-173 of TPCE. […]
Under age 15-18: Article 56/1 of TPCE states that, if an under-age person between the ages of 15 and 18 commits a crime, she/he is tried under the ordinary provisions of the Penal Code. […]
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