98. Legal context:

(a) The State Law and Order Restoration Council enacted the Child Law (Law No. 9/93) on 14 July 1993. Section 20 (a) of the Child Law states that every child shall: (a) have opportunities of acquiring education; (b) have the right to acquire free basic education (primary level) at schools opened by the State. Section 20 (b) of the Child Law states that the Ministry of Education shall: (a) have an objective of implementing the system of free and compulsory primary education; (b) lay down and carry out measures as may be necessary for regular attendance at schools and the reduction of untimely drop-out rates; (c) make arrangements for literacy of children who are unable for various reasons to attend schools opened by the State;

101 (b) The 1973 Union of Myanmar Basic Education Law, chapter 5 (c) relating to the duties of the Basic Education Council, prescribes compulsory basic education of children at an appropriate time and up to a suitable stage of learning as one of its specific tasks.

98. Legal context:

(a) The State Law and Order Restoration Council enacted the Child Law (Law No. 9/93) on 14 July 1993. Section 20 (a) of the Child Law states that every child shall: (a) have opportunities of acquiring education; (b) have the right to acquire free basic education (primary level) at schools opened by the State. Section 20 (b) of the Child Law states that the Ministry of Education shall: (a) have an objective of implementing the system of free and compulsory primary education; (b) lay down and carry out measures as may be necessary for regular attendance at schools and the reduction of untimely drop-out rates; (c) make arrangements for literacy of children who are unable for various reasons to attend schools opened by the State;

101 (b) The 1973 Union of Myanmar Basic Education Law, chapter 5 (c) relating to the duties of the Basic Education Council, prescribes compulsory basic education of children at an appropriate time and up to a suitable stage of learning as one of its specific tasks.

43. Section 2 of the Oilfield (Labour and Welfare) Act provides that a child is a person below the age of 15, and a minor is defined as a person between the age of 15 and 18. Section 3 (1) of the Mines Act defines that a child is a person who has not completed his fifteenth year.

110 b) Section 24 (a) of the Child Law states that every child has:

(i) The right to engage in work in accordance with law and of his own volition;

(ii) The right to employment, rest and leisure and other rights prescribed by law. Section 24 (b) states that the Ministry of Labour shall protect and safeguard in accordance with the law to ensure the safety of children employees at the place of work and prevention of any infringement or loss of their rights.

(c) Section 65 (a) of the Child law prohibits employing or permitting a child to perform work which is hazardous to the life of the child or which may cause disease to the child or which is harmful to the child's moral character.

Information unavailable

45. Concerning the offences committed by a child, section 28 (a) of the Child Law states that a child under 7 years and under 12 years of age who has not attained sufficient maturity of understanding to judge the nature and consequences of his conduct on that occasion is exempted from penal action.