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National law and policies on minimum ages – Bhutan

 

According to the CRC, laws and policies must be directed to the best interest of the child. This is especially so in provisions that aim to safeguard the child against exploitation or an early end to childhood, i.e. in the instances where children are most vulnerable and at risk. Yet such safeguards are often ignored and different areas of legislation found to clash with each other. What happens if the age for the end of compulsory education is 14 but the minimum age of employment is 12? Or vice versa? What if a girl can be married before school leaving age - will she then return to school? And who ensures schooling in prisons, when in reality education should protect children from incarceration?

 

 

 

 

With 192 parties to it, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the most widely ratified UN treaty. Each State Party must submit periodic reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which uses this process to monitor State compliance with the treaty. The vast majority of the information on minimum ages presented on these pages is taken directly from such reports (occasionally, if these failed to include relevant information concerning minimum ages, other components of the reporting process - such as the Committee’s Concluding Observations - were consulted). States Parties’ reports constitute self-assessment by governments and are therefore authoritative sources, emanating directly from those empowered to make decisions. Using this type of sources also permits a range of actors to hold governments accountable for the standards which they report under the CRC. The sections of these reports have been reproduced faithfully, and readers are encouraged to make use of the full original text, available here.

 

Individual country reports are often written by diverse parts of the government, and frequently run to more than 100 pages. Moreover, within some states’ legal systems there are various recognised sources of law, which frequently generate conflicting minimum ages. Distilling precise numbers out of such documents is therefore a precarious task. While we would encourage cross-country comparison, we would also stress the danger that those countries with a more honest engagement with the reporting process might come off worse when compared with those which would mis-represent the degree of compliance, whether wilfully or not. For a full explanation of the principles that guided us in our analysis, please visit the introductory pages here.

Sources:

2nd periodic report: CRC/C/BTN/2, 16 July 2007
Initial report: CRC/C/3/Add.60, 14 October 1999
 
Minimum age for the end of compulsory education
From 2nd report
288. Primary education is free and from the age of six, every Bhutanese child has a right to eleven years of free “basic education” consisting of one year of pre-primary school, six years of primary and four years of secondary schooling to take the child up to grade ten. There are some costs, however, for uniforms, school shoes and the school development fund.
From initial report
138. Education, including technical and vocational education, is provided free of cost up to the tertiary level for all children. Every child has the right to enrol in a school after attaining the age of 6. The Government provides free tuition, textbooks, stationery, midday meals and boarding facilities where required. This policy stems from the Royal Government's belief in the importance of education for national development. The Royal Government of Bhutan is further convinced that education is a prerequisite for improving the quality of life of its people at large. Although primary education has not been made compulsory since universal access has not been achieved as yet, the Government has allocated resources progressively to the education sector. Educational facilities are being established to the maximum extent of available resources.
 
Minimum age for admission to employment
From 2nd report
400. The Labour and Employment Act provides for a minimum age for admission to employment. It proposes that children under 15 years of age be prohibited from work, with some exceptions.
402. According to the Act, permissible work for children between the ages of 13 and 15 years for up to a maximum of eight hours include: Babysitting, running errands or golf caddying; Working in the theatre or public performances; and Work supervised by the school that complements a child’s education or training, or gives the child work experience to enable the child to make a career choice in the future.
403. There is no child labour in the industrial sector but young domestic workers continue to be employed, particularly in urban towns where both parents work. It is still a difficult issue to tackle although it is being more widely discussed. Although such children are physically provided for, they are not often able to go to school. One reason is the shortage of non-formal schooling placements since many of these children are unable to attend school on a full-time basis.
406. The results of different surveys may be inconsistent, but they lead to some general conclusions. At least one quarter of Bhutanese children aged 10-14 are working. In the rural areas, most of them help their parents in agriculture. In towns, children can be found working in shops and restaurants or as street vendors. Many more girls are employed as domestic workers.
407. Many of the working children come from large and poor families where it is believed that they would be better off working for someone, particularly in the home where the understanding is that it is an easier and more protected environment. The lack of baseline data and other studies make it difficult to ascertain the causes and extent of child labour.
From initial report
32. Child labour in the modern and industrial sectors does not exist in Bhutan. However, children do provide a helping hand in the farms. Havingachieved an enrolment ratio of 72%, even this is limited to small chores during school vacations. The Regulation for Wage Rate, Recruitment Agencies and Workmen's Compensation, 1994 prohibits employment of any kind for children.
 
Minimum age for marriage
From 2nd report
431. […] the minimum age for marriage […] is 18 years […] the previous age of marriage for girls was 16.
From initial report
29. The minimum age for eligibility for marriage is 16 years for women and 18 for men as per section Kha 1-14 of the Marriage Act, 1980. Marriage of children below the age specified above and those persons responsible for arranging such marriages are liable for penalty in accordance with sections Kha 1-11 and Kha 8-20. Registration of marriage is compulsory by law and no marriage registration certificate is issued by the court to anyone who has not attained the age of majority as per section Kha 1-1 and Kha 1-14 of the Marriage Act,1980.
 
Minimum age for criminal responsibility
From 2nd report
387. According to the Penal Code of Bhutan 2004, the minimum age for criminal responsibility is ten years of age. Discussions are underway to increase this to 13 years in accordance with international practice.
From initial report
Information unavailable
 
Sources:
2nd periodic report: CRC/C/BTN/2, 16 July 2007
Initial report: CRC/C/3/Add.60, 14 October 1999