Under this section the State party is requested to submit in writing additional and updated information, if possible before 6 April 2001:

A. Data and statistics, if available

1. Please provide demographic data of the under-18 population, disaggregated by by district, sex, ethnic and religious background.

2. Please provide specific disaggregated data on national budgetary allocation and spending for social needs for the last three years, in percentages. In particular, how much was spent on:

a) education (including allocations for primary and secondary education, salaries, preservation of school buildings, etc.);

b) health (including allocations for primary health care, vaccinations, adolescent health care and other health care services for children);

c) child protection (for example institutional or foster care);

d) juvenile crime prevention, and rehabilitation; and

e) other social services.

3. Please provide the following information about children deprived of a family environment, and separated from parents, disaggregated by sex, and age for the last three years:

a) number of children separated from their parents; and

b) how many children are placed with relatives, and in welfare institutions.

4. Please specify for the last three years the enrollment and completion rates, disaggregated by sex, age, and district, in percentages, in:

a) kindergarten;

b) elementary;

c) intermediate;

d) secondary; and

e) vocational schools.

5. Please specify the number of children with disabilities, disaggregated by sex and age:

a) living with their families;

b) in institutions;

c) attending regular schools; and

d) attending special schools.

6. Please provide the following statistical data of children (disaggregated by sex, age, type of crime, type of sanction) for the last three years:

a) number who were reported to the police for allegedly committing crimes;

b) number who were sentenced by Courts to sanctions, and the nature of the sanctions imposed (imprisonment; community service; other);

c) number of suspended sentences;

d) where the sanction is deprivation of liberty, please further specify the period of imprisonment; and

e) percentage of recidivism cases.

B. General Measures of Implementation

1. The information indicates that the Planning Commission, the Ministry of Health and Education, and the Child Rights Task Force are entrusted to varying degrees with monitoring and coordinating efforts to implement the Convention.

i) Please indicate what role each of these institutions plays with respect to:

a) intersectoral coordination and cooperation of policies and programmes affecting children at and between central, and local levels of government;

b) monitoring the implementation of the Convention at central and local levels;

c) receiving and addressing complaints of violations of child rights;

d) the collection and analysis of disaggregated data; and definition of the appropriate indicators in order to design policies and programmes affecting all persons under 18 years.

ii)What, if any, overlap, or duplication exists in their functions?

iii) Please specify their operating resources, including budget, and human resources.

2. i) Please explain the measures taken and their effectiveness with respect to the State's public awareness-raising campaigns of the Convention, particularly with respect to professionals working for/and with children (eg. of Government officials, legislators, community-based organizations, religious leaders, the mass media), and the public-at-large, including children themselves.

ii) Please describe any ongoing human rights training and education activities for professionals, especially those working for and with children.

Please provide the Committee with copies of the text of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in all official languages of the State party as well as in other languages or dialects spoken, when available. If possible, please submit these texts in electronic form.

Under this section, States parties are invited, whenever appropriate, to briefly (3 pages maximum) up-date the information provided in their report with regard to:

- new bills or enacted legislation

- new institutions

- newly implemented policies

- newly implemented programmes

The following is a preliminary list of major issues that the Committee intends to take-up during the dialogue with the State party. THEY DO NOT REQUIRE WRITTEN RESPONSES. This list is not exhaustive, and other issues may be raised in the course of the dialogue.

The dialogue with the State party might include issues such as:

1. Ratification of other international human rights instruments.

2. Role/activities of non-governmental organizations and civil society in the implementation of the Convention, including civil rights and freedoms.

3. Implementation of the general principles of the Convention, such as non-discrimination, the best interests of the child, and the right of the child to express views and have them taken into consideration.

4. With respect to the definition of the child, issues including:

a) the age of criminal responsibility;

b) the difference in the minimum age of marriage for males and females and consideration given to raising the minimum age for girls; and

c) age of voluntary recruitment.

5. Progress made in ensuring birth registration.

6. The general principle of non-discrimination (art.2) of the Convention, and in particular, with respect to some minority groups (eg. Lhotshampas):

a) impact on children of citizenship and marriage laws, which defacto discriminate against children, including restrictions on the right of a woman to pass on her nationality to her child where she is married to a foreign national;

b)requirements of census clearance certificates and citizenship cards to access education, and other services;

c) reports of discrimination of children on the basis of status, activities, or opinions of their parents; and

d) public awareness campaigns to combat negative attitudes towards minority groups.

7. Developments in the verification of nationality, and repatriation of refugees who fled southern Bhutan.

8. In light of article 2 of the Convention, progress in reducing disparities between rural and urban areas, especially with regard to access to health, including for children with disabilities, education and social services.

9. With respect to ill-treatment of children, issues such as:

a) legal provisions to protect children from being ill-treated in homes, schools, care and other institutions, and by the police;

b) mechanisms for children to file complaints, and for mandatory reporting (e.g. by teachers and police), investigating, prosecuting and monitoring cases of child abuse;

c) steps to prevent ill-treatment of children, including corporal punishment; to raise awareness of its negative consequences; promote alternative forms of discipline; and to overcome socio-cultural barriers which inhibit victims from seeking assistance; and

d) studies concerning the extent and factors underlying ill-treatment, including sexual abuse and the ways this information has been used as a basis to design policies to address this phenomenon.

10. Progress in developing professional capacity in the health and education sectors.

11. Progress in developing professional capacity and specialized services for children with disabilities, as well as steps for their full inclusion in society.

12. In the area of child labour, issues including:

a) child labour in the agricultural sector and domestic work; and

b) consideration given to ratify ILO Conventions No. 138 on minimum age for admission to employment, and No. 182 on prohibition and immediate action for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.

13. Studies and measures to address substance abuse, including the use of alcohol and tobacco, among children.

14. With respect to commercial sexual exploitation of children, issues such as:

a) studies concerning its causes and extent;

b) awareness-raising campaigns;

c) mechanisms to reporti and monitor this phenomena; and

d) consideration to adopt a comprehensive Plan of Action as follow-up to the 1996 Stockholm World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children.

15. With respect to the treatment of juvenile offenders, issues such as:

a) reform of the juvenile justice system;

b) measures to ensure contact between the child and his/her family;

c) conditions of children in deprived of their liberty and how they are monitored;

d) independent and effective complaint procedures to deal with issues such as ill-treatment;

e) availability of education, health, and other social facilities; and

f) availability and effectiveness of services for the recovery and rehabilitation of juvenile offenders.