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Summary: The violations highlighted are those issues raised with the State by more than one international human rights mechanism. This is done with the intention of identifying children's rights which have been repeatedly violated, as well as gaps in the issues covered by NGOs in their alternative reports to the various human rights monitoring bodies. These violations are listed in no particular order. _________________________________________ The provisions of the Juvenile Law are not applied to children over 15 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, June 2011) The Committee reiterates its previous recommendation (CRC/C/15/Add.75, paragraph 48) that the State party bring the system of juvenile justice fully in line with the Convention, in particular, articles 37, 39 and 40, and with other relevant standards including the Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules), the Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (the Riyadh Rules), the Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty (the Havana Rules), the Vienna Guidelines for Action on Children in the Criminal Justice System; and the Committee's General Comment No.10 (2007) on the rights of the child in juvenile justice. In this regard, the Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Raise the legal age of criminal responsibility to internationally acceptable level, at least and not below 12 years; (b) Raise the age of full criminal responsibility to 18 years and accord protection of juvenile justice to all children below 18 years and over the newly established minimum age; (c) Adopt a preventive strategy to avoid children entering in conflict with the law; (d) Ensure that all cases of children in conflict with the law are treated by specialised judges, in specialised courts; (e) Expand possibilities for alternative sentences such as probation and community service, that deprivation of liberty is always used as a last resort and that conditions of detention are in conformity with international standards; (f) Increase efforts to establish a gender-sensitive programme of recovery and reintegration of children following justice proceedings; (g) Ensure that there are effective independent mechanisms available to receive and address concerns raised by children within juvenile justice system; (h) Train juvenile justice judges and develop a comprehensive training programme for police brigades, judges and social workers and other professionals dealing with children in conflict with the law to strengthen their technical capacity and knowledge on juvenile justice system and alternatives for detention; (i) Fully investigate the case of the young person who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2010 for an act committed when he was 17 years old and provide information to the Committee on any judicial development of this case and whether the sentence has been reviewed, and (j) With the use of the technical assistance of UNICEF and the United Nations Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice, monitor the quality and efficiency of juvenile justice in order to ensure its compliance with international standards at all time and for all crimes. (Paragraph 70) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Country visit: 9-24 October 2001 The administration of juvenile justice is currently regulated by Legislative Decree No. 17 of 1976, which establishes a Juvenile Court competent to hear cases involving minors up to the age of 15 who have committed an offence or are somehow at risk. These minors are not criminally responsible in the eyes of the law: "A person who is not more than 15 years of age at the time of committing an act constituting a crime shall not be held liable. In this case, he shall be subjected to the provisions of the juveniles' law" (Criminal Code, art. 32). (paragraph 68) This is consistent with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the "Beijing Rules"). The rules really are applied in practice, as the Working Group's delegation was able to ascertain when it visited the juvenile rehabilitation centre run by the Ministry of the Interior in Isa Town. The Centre has the necessary personnel and facilities to provide appropriate care for girls and boys who are placed there by order of the Juvenile Court. Current procedure stipulates that a minor charged with an offence must be represented by a lawyer and that the only measures the court may apply are those intended to bring about his re-education or reabsorption into society. The Centre is run by women police officers assisted by women teachers, sociologists, psychologists and other specialized staff. The children attend school and then undergo vocational training. They play sports, participate in outside activities, receive visits and may be allowed to spend weekends with their families. (paragraph 69) Juveniles between 15 and 18 years of age are criminally responsible and may be tried in the ordinary courts in the same way as adults. Article 70 of the Criminal Code stipulates that minority is a defence and an extenuating circumstance for juveniles aged between 15 and 18, and article 71 provides for reduced penalties: "If there is an extenuating justification for an offence punishable by a death sentence, the penalty shall be reduced to jail or imprisonment for one year. If the penalty for such offence is life or term imprisonment it shall be reduced to the punishment for a misdemeanour unless the law otherwise provides." (paragraph 70) From this general formula, which is not specifically aimed at juveniles, it follows that whereas minors may not be sentenced to death, they can be sentenced to harsh penalties, especially for criminal offences. The courts have considerable latitude in the matter and nothing prevents them from imposing the same penalty on a minor as on his adult co-principals. For example, the delegation spoke to individuals serving heavy sentences for offences committed when they were only 16, and in some cases the court passed the same sentence on them as on their co-principals or accomplices. (paragraph 71) The 1964 Penitentiary Code currently in force makes no specific provision for prisoners under the age of 18, except to say that persons under 16 years of age may not be chained up (art. 9). The prison authorities explained to the delegation that prisoners over the age of 16 were housed with adults; segregation of adults and juveniles was only applied in the case of under 16s, who are categorized as remand prisoners and treated as such. In this connection, the Working Group, while noting that conditions of detention in Bahraini prisons are satisfactory overall, reminds the authorities that under international law anyone below 18 years of age is considered a minor, and that under the Beijing Rules minors aged 18, even when criminally liable, must be tried by a special court which seeks to safeguard their best interests and takes account of their age by applying specially developed standards. Their segregation from adults is a requirement of the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty (1990). (paragraph 72) The legal rules applying to minors aged between 15 and 18 should be brought into line with international standards. The Working Group recommends the Government to extend the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court to cover minors aged between 15 and 18 and allow the Court to apply the criminal penalties laid down for offenders in that age category where appropriate. Current law should also be amended to require that minors in this category are assisted by counsel at all stages of the proceedings, to allow for rehabilitative measures appropriate to their age and needs, and to have them held separately from adults in prisons. (paragraph 116) ------------------------------------------- Bahraini women married to expatriates cannot transmit their nationality to their children UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, June 2011) The Committee welcomes the 2006 royal decree granting citizenship to at least 372 children of Bahraini mothers and non-citizen fathers. The Committee further notes with appreciation the endorsement of Law 35/2009 which mandates that children of Bahraini women married to non-Bahrainis pay the same fees as citizens for government services such as health, education, and accommodation. However, the Committee is concerned that children born from Bahraini mothers do not have direct access to nationality, as children born from Bahraini fathers. The Committee strongly urges the State party to revise its national legislation with a view to allowing the transfer of Bahraini citizenship to the children of Bahraini mothers and non-citizen fathers on the same basis as the transfer of citizenship to children of Bahraini fathers and non-citizen mothers. (Paragraphs 38 & 39) UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Concluding Observations, November 2008) The children of Bahraini women are still unable to have Bahraini citizenship transferred to them, because the draft Nationality Law has not yet been passed. The Committee urges the State party to take all necessary steps to expedite the adoption of the draft Nationality Law in order to comply with article 9 of the Convention, and to withdraw its reservation to article 9, paragraph 2. (Paragraphs 30-31) UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (follow-up to Concluding Observations, April 2005) The Committee is concerned that a Bahraini woman is unable to transmit her nationality to her child when she is married to a foreign national. The Committee requests the State party considers modifying these provisions in order to conform to article 5(d)(iii) of the Convention, and draws the attention of the State party to general recommendation XXX which requests States parties ensure that particular groups are not discriminated against with regard to access to citizenship. (Paragraph 17) Universal Periodic Review, April 2008 60 - 5. The draft law on the provision of citizenship to children where the father is not a Bahraini citizen would be considered a priority (Russian Federation). ------------------------------------------- The discriminatory minimum age of marriage for boys (18 years) and girls (15 years) UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, June 2011) The Committee is deeply concerned at the inequality in the legal minimum age of marriage for boys (18 years) and girls (15 years), and that girls can marry even before the age of 15 years with the agreement of the judge. The Committee urges the State party to ensure the full compliance of all national provisions on the definition of the child with article 1 of the Convention, in particular, the definition of the minimum age of marriage. The Committee further recommends that the State party carry out awareness-raising programmes on issues such as early marriage so as to enhance the understanding of the persons under the age of 18 as children with rights guaranteed under the Convention. (Paragraphs 28 & 29) UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Concluding Observations, November 2008) The Committee is concerned that the minimum age of marriage is 15 for girls and 18 for boys, and therefore urges the State party to raise the minimum age for girls from 15 to 18. (Paragraphs 38-39) ------------------------------------------- Some areas of education, such as industrial and vocational training, remain available mainly to boys but not to girls UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, June 2011) Certain areas of education, such as specific vocational training programmes, do not provide equal vocational training opportunities for all children, some of them are being exclusively available to boys or girls and that the curriculum is still stereotyping women’s role in books, especially from first to third grades. (Paragraph 61.d) The Committee urges the State party to: (e) Continue and strengthen efforts to ensure the availability and accessibility of vocational training opportunities for all children, on an equal basis for boys and girls, and with a priority to children from vulnerable groups. (Paragraph 62.e) UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Concluding Observations, November 2008) The Committee welcomes the introduction of "Citizenship" to the curriculum, but remains concerned that certain areas of education, such as industrial and vocational training, are available mainly to boys. The Committee recommends that the State party continues to raise awareness of the importance of education for the empowerment of women. Girls and women should be actively encouraged to choose non-traditional education and professions. (Paragraphs 32-33) ------------------------------------------- Trafficking of women and children UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, June 2011) The Committee recommends that the State party ensure, through adequate provisions and regulations, that all child victims and child witnesses of crimes, such as child victims of abuse, domestic violence, sexual and economic exploitation, abduction and trafficking, as well as witnesses of such crimes, have effective access to justice and are provided with the protection required by the Convention, taking fully into account the United Nations Guidelines on Justice in Matters Involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime, annexed to Economic and Social Council resolution 2005/20 of 22 July 2005. (Paragraph 71). UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Concluding Observations, November 2008) The Committee remains seriously concerned at the existence of trafficking in women and girls into the State party for the purposes of sexual exploitation. The Committee recommends that the State party effectively implement the new laws on human trafficking and a strategy for prevention, as well as prosecution and punishment of offenders, as well as measures to protect and rehabilitate victims. The Committee calls on the State party to increase its international, regional and bilateral cooperation efforts. (paragraphs 26-27) UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children Read the report here: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=24711&flag=report
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Report published: 5 March 2002