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Bahrain - Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under Article 44 of the Convention: Initial reports of States parties due in 1994: Addendum [2001] UNCRCSPR 16; CRC/C/11/Add.24 (23 July 2001)
UNITED NATIONS
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CRC
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Convention on the Rights of the Child
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Distr. GENERAL
CRC/C/11/Add.24 23 July
2001
Original: ENGLISH
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COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER
ARTICLE 44 OF THE CONVENTION
Initial reports of States parties due in 1994
BAHRAIN
[Original:
Arabic]
GE.01-43802
(E) 040901
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
Introduction 1 -
2 5
Part I (General)
A. Brief outline of the State 3 -
24 5
B. General political framework 25 - 31 8
C. The Bahraini
legal system and the protection accorded
to rights and freedoms 32 -
35 9
D. The legal status of the Convention on the Rights of
the
Child under the legal system of the State of
Bahrain 36 - 37
10
E. Remedies and measures to strengthen and protect
the rights
recognized in the Convention 38 - 42 10
F. The State of
Bahrain’s endeavours to disseminate,
propagate and make known the
provisions of the
Convention 43 - 50 11
Part II
A. General
measures of implementation 51 - 60 13
B. Definition of the child 61
- 74 15
C. General principles 75 - 89 17
Non-discrimination
(art. 2) 75 - 76 17
Best interests of the child (art. 3) 77 -
83 18
The right to life, survival and development
(art. 6) 84
- 85 19
Respect for the views of the child (art. 12) 86 - 89 19
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
D. Civil rights and
freedoms 90 - 118 19
Name and nationality (art. 7) 90 -
93 19
Preservation of identity (art. 8) 94 - 97 20
Freedom
of expression (art. 13) 98 - 99 21
Freedom of thought, conscience
and
religion (art. 14) 100 - 101 21
Freedom of association
and of peaceful
assembly (art. 15) 102 - 107 21
Protection of
privacy (art. 16) 108 22
Access to appropriate information (art.
17) 109 - 112 22
The right not to be subjected to torture or other
cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or
punishment (art. 37 (a)) 113 -
118 23
E. Family environment and alternative care 119 -
181 24
Parental guidance (art. 5) 119 - 120 24
Parental
responsibilities (art. 18, paras. 1-2) 121 - 125 24
Separation from
parents (art. 9) 126 - 129 25
Family reunification (art. 10)
130 26
Illicit transfer and non-return (art. 11) 131 -
133 26
Recovery of maintenance for the child
(art. 27, para. 4)
134 - 139 26
Children deprived of a family environment (art. 20)
140 - 172 27
Adoption (art. 21) 173 33
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
Periodic review of
placement (art. 25) 174 - 175 33
Abuse and neglect (art. 19),
including physical and
psychological recovery and social
reintegration
(art. 39) 176 - 181 33
F. Basic health and welfare 182 - 238 35
Health and health services (art. 24) 182 - 185 35
Survival and development (art. 6, para. 2) 186 - 216 36
Disabled children (art. 23) 217 - 238 49
Social security and
childcare services and
facilities (arts. 26 and 18, para. 3) 239 54
Standard of living
(art. 27, paras. 1-3) 240 - 248 54
G. Education, leisure and cultural
activities 249 - 299 56
Education, including vocational training and
guidance (art. 28) 239 - 271 56
Aims of education (art. 29) 272 - 283 61
Leisure, recreation and
cultural activities (art. 31) 284 - 299 66
H. Special protection
measures 300 - 339 71
Children in situations of emergency 300 - 304 71
Children in conflict with the law 305 - 321 71
Children in
situations of exploitation, including physical
and psychological recovery
and social reintegration 322 - 339 75
Conclusion 340 -
341 78
List of annexes* 79
* The annexes
are available for consultation in the files of the secretariat.
Introduction
- The
State of Bahrain acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was
adopted by the General Assembly of the United
Nations on 20 November 1989, under
the terms of Amiral Decree No. 16 of 1991, which was published in the
Official Gazette on 4 September
1991, and the Convention entered into force
in the State of Bahrain on 14 March 1992. In accordance with the
provisions of article
44, paragraph 1, of the Convention, all States parties
have an obligation to submit periodic reports on the measures they have adopted
which give effect to the rights recognized therein and on the progress made on
the enjoyment of those rights. The State of Bahrain
has the honour to submit
the following report, constituting its initial and second reports, to the
Committee on the Rights of the
Child.
- This
report has been prepared jointly by the public and private bodies concerned, in
collaboration with the National Committee on
Childhood.
PART I
General
A. Brief outline of the State
1. Description of the State of Bahrain
- The
vast majority of Bahrainis are of Arab origin and can trace their descent partly
from the successive tribal migrations from the
Arabian Peninsula during or after
the preIslamic period. Their historical roots go back to the Dilmun
civilization during the preChristian
era. As a result of their geographical
location on the ancient international trade route, they intermixed with a number
of migrants
from neighbouring countries who settled among them.
- The
State of Bahrain consists of an archipelago of islands in the shallow waters of
the central Arabian Gulf. This archipelago comprises
36 islands covering a
total area of 709.5 km2. The largest island is the island of
Bahrain, covering an area of 589.83 km2, which contains the capital
Manama and is linked by causeways to neighbouring islands such as Muharraq,
Sitra, Umm Na’san and
Nabih Salih. The main island is also linked by a
causeway to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The other large islands of the Bahrain
archipelago include Hawar, situated at a distance of 25 km to the southeast of
the main island and covering an area of about 52 km2. In order to
meet the needs of the population, a further area of about 33 km2 was
reclaimed from the sea through landfill between 1976 and 1996. In 1998, 13.3
per cent of the existing land was used for housing
purposes, 5.9 per cent for
agriculture, 9.3 per cent for industry and commerce, 5.9 per cent for the
cultural heritage and tourism
and 16.5 per cent for Bahrain’s gas and
petroleum.
2. Demographic indicators
- According
to the 1991 census, Bahrain’s population amounted to 508,037 persons of
whom 294,346 were male (57.9 per cent) and
213,691 female (42.1 per cent). The
proportion of nonBahrainis amounted to 36.4 per cent, of whom 70.9 per cent were
male and 29.1
per cent female.
- According
to the 1998 estimates, the population of Bahrain had increased
to 642,972 persons, of whom 376,210 were male (58.4 per cent)
and
266,762 female (41.6 per cent).
- In
1991, the number of foreigners residing in the State of Bahrain, disaggregated
by ethnic group and duration of residence, amounted
to 184,732 persons (see
annex 1)
- In
the same year, the nonBahraini population was estimated at 251,953 persons
(38.8 per cent of the total population), of whom 178,523
were male
(70.9 per cent) and 73,430 female (29.1 per cent).
- In
1998, the population density was estimated at 906 persons per
km2.
- The
age structure of the Bahraini and nonBahraini population in 1998 is shown in
annex 2. The population distribution by gender was
as
follows:
Total Bahraini males: 197,687
Total Bahraini
females: 193,332
Total nonBahraini males: 178,523
Total nonBahraini
females: 73,430
- The
urban/rural ratio is high in all areas of Bahrain in view of the expansion
and development of the new towns. The urban proportion
of the population
amounted to 88.4 per cent in 1991, as compared with 80.7 per cent
in 1981. The proportion of housing units connected
to public utilities
(water, electricity and public sewage) amounted to 99.7 per cent
in 1991.
- It
is noteworthy that, in 1998, the overall fertility rate per woman amounted
to 3.5 children for Bahraini women and 1.4 children
for nonBahraini
women (see annex 3).
- In
1998, the infant mortality rate amounted to 8.1 per 1,000 births among Bahrainis
and 10.2 per 1,000 births among nonBahrainis (see
annex
3).
- In
1998, life expectancy at birth stood at 70.55 for males and 72.59 for females
among Bahrainis and 76.05 for males and 75.96 for
females among
nonBahrainis.
- The
physician/population ratio amounted to 896 persons per physician in 1998, as
compared with 2,679 in 1969 and 3,921 in 1960.
3. The economic situation
- Bahrain
has adopted financial and economic policies based on the principle of a free
economy and market mechanisms. The State is
endeavouring to diversify its
sources of income, to create an appropriate investment environment that will
attract further local,
Arab and foreign investments, and to develop the
legislation and procedures relating to those activities. These policies have
been
highly successful insofar as GDP at current prices rose from 1,289.4
million Bahraini dinars in 1987 to 2,387.4 million dinars in
1997. Hence, the
economic growth rate rose to 6.4 per cent per year at current prices
and 5.5 per cent at fixed prices during the
period from 1988 to 1997 (6.1
per cent in 1996) and the per capita share of GNP rose from 2,351.9 dinars
in 1987 to 3,040.7 dinars
in 1997. Bahrain has also succeeded in ensuring a
decent life for its citizens by improving their overall living conditions
through
the provision of all the principal utilities and social services. The
per capita share of government expenditure rose from 994.4
dinars in 1987
to 1,134.1 dinars in 1997. Expenditure on educational services per student rose
from 113.6 dinars in 1987 to 131.7
dinars in 1997 and the per capita share of
government expenditure on health services rose from 69 dinars in 1987 to 89.9
dinars in
1997. The policy of diversifying the sources of income likewise
succeeded in reducing the petroleum sector’s contribution
to GDP from 32
per cent in 1975 to 18.5 per cent in 1997. The economic growth that Bahrain has
achieved as a result of its economic
policies undoubtedly heralds a promising
future for the Bahraini economy, as attested by the international economic
institutions
concerned.
- International
reports indicate that the State of Bahrain has maintained a public budgetary
deficit of less than 3 per cent and actually
achieved a budgetary surplus in
1996 and 1997. In addition, the State of Bahrain was one of the three States
that achieved the lowest
rate of inflation, amounting to 0.2 per cent in 1996,
1.7 per cent in 1997 and 0.4 per cent in 1998.
Development of GDP and GNP at current prices and per capita
share thereof
- It
is noteworthy that Bahrain took third place after Hong Kong and Singapore in the
American Heritage Foundation’s Index of
Economic Freedom, which is based
on a number of criteria including, in particular, financial, monetary and trade
policies, government
consumption of production, capital flows, foreign
investments and intellectual property rights.
- According
to a report published by the United Nations Development Programme (Human
Development Report 1997), for the fourth consecutive year Bahrain ranked
first among the Arab States and fortythird among 174 States on the basis of the
criterion of human development.
4. Manpower
- In
accordance with article 13 of the Constitution, work is an obligation and a
right of every citizen and the State undertakes to provide employment
opportunities on equitable conditions.
Bahrain is a country that needs to
import labour in order to implement its investment and development
plans.
- The
rate of unemployment amounts to 6.3 per cent of Bahrain’s total labour
force, which comprised about 226,448 workers according
to the census of 1991 and
294,734 workers according to the estimates of the Central Statistical Bureau in
1998. The State is endeavouring
to overcome the problem of unemployment through
numerous measures at the governmental and private levels to create new
employment
opportunities, make existing employment opportunities more widely
known and promote vocational training, etc.
- Bahraini
women are contributing to social progress through the role that they are playing
in the care and upbringing of the young
generation, in addition to their
contribution to economic activity and social development. In 1998, Bahraini
working women constituted
19 per cent of the total national labour force, while
nonBahraini working women constituted 16 per cent of the total immigrant labour
force (see annex 4).
5. Religion
- Article
2 of the Constitution stipulates that the religion of the State is Islam.
Article 22 further stipulates that freedom of conscience is absolute and that
the State guarantees the inviolability of places of worship as well as freedom
to engage in religious observances and to participate
in religious processions
and meetings in accordance with the customs observed in the
country.
Statistical indicators
- According
to the data collected during the 1991 census, the population distribution by
religion was as follows:
Muslims (415,448 persons): 81.8 per
cent
Christians (43,237 persons): 8.5 per cent
Other religions (48,352
persons): 9.7 per cent
B. General political framework
- Bahrain
is an independent Arab State. The religion of the State is Islam and the
Islamic Shari’a is the principal source of
its legislation. It became a
member of the United Nations in 1971.
- The
rulership of Bahrain is hereditary and its system of government is democratic,
sovereignty being vested in the people. Citizens
have the right to participate
in public affairs and enjoy their constitutionally recognized public rights and
freedoms in the legally
prescribed manner.
- The
system of government and the State’s legislative, executive and judicial
authorities are regulated by the Constitution. The Amir, who is the Head of
State, shares the executive authority with the Cabinet and Ministers and the
judgements of the judicial
authority are handed down in his name, in accordance
with the provisions of the Constitution.
- In
keeping with its customs and traditions and its Islamic faith, the State of
Bahrain has adopted the consultative system and, accordingly,
has established a
Consultative Council representing all the population groups and all the
country’s sectors. This Consultative
Council consists of 40 members
appointed by His Highness the Amir from among knowledgeable persons of
sound judgement and good counsel.
The Council’s function is to express an
opinion on all aspects of the Government’s activities, to propose
legislation
and to advise the Government on important issues. Its members enjoy
parliamentary immunity throughout their term in office and are
completely free
to express their opinions on matters that are raised or discussed in the
Council. The State is in the process of
developing a system under which
membership of the Consultative Council will be elective and will include
women.
- Article 101
of the Constitution stipulates that: “The honour of the judiciary and the
integrity and impartiality of judges constitute the basis of government
and a
guarantee of rights and freedoms. In their administration of justice, judges
shall be subject to no other authority and no
interference in the course of
justice shall be permitted under any circumstances. The law shall guarantee the
independence of the
judiciary and shall define the immunities of judges and the
regulations by which they are governed”.
- The
State is divided administratively into four governorates. The
organizational structure of the local administration has been developed
and a
study is currently being conducted on ways to make the municipal councils
elective.
- The
State of Bahrain is a member of the League of Arab States and also of the
Gulf Cooperation Council, the Organization of the Islamic
Conference and
the United Nations.
C. The Bahraini legal system and the protection accorded
to rights and freedoms
- The
document proclaiming the Bahraini Constitution of 1973 defined the cornerstones
of the State’s general policy on issues concerning the international and
local communities
by stipulating that the State aspired to a future based on
consultation and justice in which freedom and equality would be guaranteed
and
fraternity and social solidarity would be consolidated.
- With
regard to the role that the State of Bahrain should play at the international
level in its capacity as a member of the international
community, that document
also indicated that Bahrain should uphold humanitarian values and make an
effective contribution to regional
and international endeavours to secure the
welfare of mankind as a whole, promote freedom and justice throughout the world
and safeguard
international peace and security.
- These
basic provisions and principles set forth in that document promulgated in
December 1973 were confirmed in the text of the Constitution itself, in
which public rights and freedoms were emphasized.
- All
the national laws and legislation concerning all aspects of public rights and
freedoms are in conformity with the Constitution. Detailed reference will be
made to some of these laws in part II concerning the substantive provisions
of the Convention.
D. The legal status of the Convention on the Rights of
the
Child under the legal system of the State of Bahrain
- With
regard to the legal status of the provisions of international treaties and
conventions, article 37 of the Constitution stipulates that a treaty shall
acquire the force of law after its conclusion, ratification and publication in
the Official Gazette,
which endows it with the same legal status as any of the
country’s other laws.
- These
treaties and conventions are published in the country’s Arabiclanguage
Official Gazette, which is distributed among the
government agencies and can be
obtained by citizens and residents at a nominal price. Under the terms of
Decree No. 16 of 1991,
the Convention on the Rights of the Child was
published in the Official Gazette No. 1971 on Wednesday,
4 September 1991. Having
thus become part of Bahraini law, the
provisions of the Convention can be invoked before the national
courts.
E. Remedies and measures to strengthen and protect the
rights
recognized in the Convention
- Legal
redress is one of the public rights that the Constitution guarantees to all.
The judicial authority, which is one of the State’s three authorities, is
dealt with in articles 101103
of the Bahraini Constitution, which stipulate
that service in the judiciary is an honour, that its integrity constitutes the
basis of government and a safeguard
of rights and freedoms, and that judges are
subject to no other authority. The law guarantees the independence of judges
and provides
safeguards for the administration of justice, in which no
interference is permitted. The Constitution further stipulates that court
hearings should be public and may be held in camera only in the exceptional
circumstances specified
by law.
- Legislative
Decree No. 13 of 1971, concerning the organization of the judiciary, provided
for the independence of the judiciary and
defined the manner of appointment and
the immunities of judges. It made provision for three levels of courts: courts
of first instance
(lower and higher courts and courts of enforcement); higher
civil courts of appeal; and the Court of Cassation. The courts are divided
into
two categories: the civil courts, which are competent to hear civil and
criminal cases, and the Shari’a courts, which
adjudicate on matters of
personal status. The Shari’a courts, which are subdivided into Sunni and
Jaafari branches, are competent
to hear personal status disputes relating to
marriage, divorce, inheritance and child custody, etc. Within the framework of
respect
for religious freedom, which is guaranteed in the Constitution, the
courts adjudicate on matters of personal status in accordance with the rules of
the Islamic school of law to which the plaintiff
belongs. Disputes between
Muslims in this regard are heard by the Shari’a courts, while disputes
between members of other
religions are heard by the civil
courts.
- It
should be noted that the Court of Cassation has ruled that the civil courts are
competent to hear petitions against administrative
decisions.
- Since
the Convention has become part of the country’s law and, as such, is
binding on all the authorities, any failure to comply
therewith constitutes a
breach of the law and entails
criminal responsibility on the part of
the offender. It also entails liability under the terms of the Civil Code
promulgated in 1970
and, in all cases, the person responsible is held liable for
any damages to which his fault might give rise.
- Any
citizen can also lodge a complaint against administrative authorities with their
senior officials, including the competent Ministers,
and, in accordance with the
timehonoured customs and traditions, any Bahraini citizen can submit a complaint
in person to His Highness
the Amir, His Highness the Prime Minister or
His Highness the Crown Prince during the weekly audiences at which
they receive citizens
and others.
F. The State of Bahrain’s endeavours to disseminate,
propagate
and make known the provisions of the Convention
- The
National Committee on Childhood, in collaboration and coordination with the
Children’s Department of the Public Authority
for Youth and Sport and with
the Ministries, bodies and private associations concerned, is making various
endeavours to make the
rights of the child more widely known and to support
activities relating thereto, including the promotion of public awareness
concerning
the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the reports on its
implementation. Numerous public symposia and radio and televised
discussion
groups were organized, before and after the ratification of the Convention, with
the participation of all the public and
private sectors of society in order to
shed light on the provisions of the Convention and compare them with the
legislation in force
in the State of Bahrain. All the bodies concerned with
children have also been eager to discuss the question of the rights of the
child
at every symposium or conference held on this topic. In addition, a number of
children’s writing and painting competitions
have been held on the subject
in order to make children more familiar with the Convention and its aims and
inform them of their rights.
The State is also encouraging participation by
children in the conferences and symposia that are held in and outside Bahrain to
discuss the Convention and make it more widely known.
- In
the private sector, the nongovernmental associations operating in various fields
in Bahrain play an important role, within their
respective fields of activity
and in collaboration with the governmental authorities, in promoting greater
public awareness of the
provisions of international human rights instruments,
including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, by disseminating them
among
their members in order to make it easy for their members to familiarize
themselves with the provisions and principles contained
in those instruments,
thereby making them more aware of their rights and obligations arising
therefrom.
- The
Human Rights Committee established by the Consultative Council is studying the
human rightsrelated legislation and regulations
in force in the State of Bahrain
with a view to proposing appropriate amendments thereto and helping the official
agencies concerned
to promote greater awareness of human
rights.
- The
information media are playing an active role in furthering the aims of the
Convention by holding televised discussion groups and
interviews with the
officials concerned in order to make the provisions of the Convention more
clearly understood. The audiovisual
information media are also mobilizing
public support for the projects of Ministries and public and private
institutions and are providing
them with every facility to make their objectives
known to all social sectors. In fact, all branches of the audiovisual
information
media are committed to the dissemination and consolidation of the
humanitarian values on which Bahraini society is based and, in
particular, are
encouraging fraternity and cooperation among all sections of society and
promoting social solidarity in order to
achieve the prosperous society to which
the State of Bahrain is aspiring.
- In
the education sector, all educational institutions, systems and programmes are
complying with the constitutional provisions that
guarantee rights and freedoms
and are also encouraging a spirit of cooperation and good relations in order to
establish an appropriate
social structure for the ongoing development plans that
the State of Bahrain is pursuing.
- At
the international and regional levels, the Government of the State of Bahrain
has consistently supported and endorsed all the endeavours
made to protect the
rights of the child and of the family. For example, it endorsed the World
Declaration adopted by the World Summit
for Children, as well as the Plan of
Action for its implementation, and prepared a National Plan for Children in
accordance with
the principles of that Declaration and the Plan of Action. It
also adopted the Arab Plan for Children. It celebrates the International
Day of
the Child and participates in numerous Arab and international conferences on
this subject.
- In
this connection, it should be noted that the State of Bahrain has acceded to the
following conventions:
(i) The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
of 9 December 1948, to which Bahrain acceded under the
terms of
Decree No. 4 of 1990;
(ii) The Slavery Convention of 25 September 1926, as amended by the Protocol
drawn up in 1953, and the supplementary Convention on
the Abolition of
Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery of
1956, to which Bahrain acceded under
the terms of Decree No. 7 of
1990;
(iii) The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination of 1965, to which Bahrain acceded under
the terms of
Decree No. 8 of 1990;
(iv) The International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime
of Apartheid of 1973, to which Bahrain acceded under
the terms of Decree
No. 8 of 1990;
(v) .The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment, adopted by the General Assembly
of the
United Nations on 10 December 1984, to which Bahrain acceded
under the terms of Decree No. 4 of 1998;
(vi) International Labour Convention No. 111 of 1958 concerning discrimination
in employment and occupation, to which Bahrain acceded
under the terms of Decree
No. 11 of 2000.
- Ad
hoc committees are currently studying the question of accession by the State of
Bahrain to a number of other human rights instruments.
PART II
A. General measures of implementation
1. Measures to ensure that national law and policy are in
conformity with the
provisions of the Convention
- The
State of Bahrain believes that it is very important that children should be
brought up and educated in such a way as to promote
their optimum development
from all the physical, mental, emotional, cultural, moral and spiritual
standpoints and prepare them to
become upright citizens and instruments for the
preservation of ongoing cultural and human interaction between the
generations.
- The
State of Bahrain has always shown concern for the welfare of children in order
to ensure their proper upbringing and education
in accordance with the lofty
values and high moral standards of religion. This welfare is among the
objectives highlighted in the
body of the Constitution, which stipulates that
the State has an obligation to protect children and the young generation and
show concern for the physical,
moral and intellectual development of young
persons. The State’s fulfilment of this obligation is clearly evident
from the
manner in which children enjoy legal protection under the various
relevant legislative enactments and from the social, economic,
cultural and
other measures that are being taken in this regard.
- The
Ministries, in collaboration with the other bodies concerned, are studying the
measures and procedures that the State of Bahrain
is applying to safeguard the
rights of the child, bearing in mind the provisions of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, including
the provision in article 44 under which
States parties undertake to submit to the Committee on the Rights of the Child
reports on
the measures they have adopted which give effect to the rights
recognized in the Convention and on the progress made on the enjoyment
of those
rights.
2. Remedies and measures to strengthen and protect the
rights recognized
in the Convention
- In
addition to the information contained in part I concerning remedies and measures
to strengthen and protect recognized rights, article 32 of the Juveniles
Act promulgated in Decree
No. 17 of 1976 stipulates that the
decision handed down by the juvenile judge must be notified to one of the
juvenile’s parents,
his guardian or the person responsible for him, who
have the right to institute appeal proceedings, in the juvenile’s
interests,
against that decision in the legally prescribed manner. Article 32
of the Act further stipulates that an appeal may be lodged against
judgements
handed down by a juvenile court, with the exception of those involving a
reprimand or ordering delivery of the juvenile
into the custody of a parent or
guardian, since the Act does not permit appeals against these two types of
judgement which are conducive
to the best interests of the juvenile
concerned.
- With
regard to juvenile delinquents over 15 but under 18 years of age,
article 70 of the Penal Code promulgated in Decree No. 15 of
1976
stipulates that judgements handed down against persons in this age group must
take into account their young age, which constitutes
a mitigating circumstance
that warrants reduction of the penalty by at least two degrees. Enforcement of
the penalty may also be
suspended in accordance with articles 71
and 81 of the Code.
- If
those provisions are not applied, the convicted person is entitled to lodge an
appeal, in accordance with article 158 of the Code
of Criminal Procedure
of 1966, on the ground that the judgement violated the provisions of those
articles. If the Court of Appeal
rejects the appeal, the convicted person may
contest the legality of the judgement before the Court of
Cassation.
- The
Court of Cassation is empowered to verify the proper application of the
Juveniles Act and the Penal Code whenever judgements handed
down by the Courts
of Appeal are contested on grounds of their illegality.
3. National mechanisms to coordinate policies on children
and monitor
the implementation of the Convention
- Cabinet
Decision No. 15 of 1999, promulgated on 11 July 1999, made provision for the
establishment of a National Committee on Childhood
(see annex 5) consisting of
representatives of the Ministries, public institutions and private associations
concerned with children.
The Committee’s function is to oversee all
child-related matters and activities, to promote the development of children of
all age groups, to endeavour to provide children with legal protection in all
fields, to monitor and study their basic problems and
needs and to propose
appropriate solutions thereto. The Committee is also the national body
responsible for monitoring compliance
with the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, including the preparation of the national reports on its
implementation.
- The
State of Bahrain is endeavouring to concert and coordinate the efforts that are
being made, at the national level, by the various
bodies and institutions
providing services for children with a view to ensuring that all such services
are integrated and accord
the highest priority to the interests of the child so
that the State can fulfil its obligations towards its children in accordance
with the international instruments and conventions to which it is committed,
since the State believes in the importance of the stage
of childhood as a basic
foundation for the future. This concern, and the response that it has elicited,
are illustrated, inter alia, by the following procedural
measures:
(a) The National Committee on Childhood is
responsible for coordinating the preparation and implementation of a national
plan of
action and monitoring the implementation of the World Declaration on the
Survival, Protection and Development of Children in the
1990s and the
Convention on the Rights of the Child;
(b) The Ministries of Health,
Education and Labour and Social Affairs have established working groups to study
the provisions of
the Convention with which they are
directly concerned, to
compare them with the services that they are providing, and to monitor the plans
that have been formulated
for the implementation of the provisions that have not
yet been put into effect;
(c) A committee, consisting of representatives
of the Ministries and the public and private institutions concerned, including
the
bodies responsible for laws and legislation, has been established to prepare
a comprehensive report on child-related services in
the State of Bahrain and to
formulate a comprehensive national plan for children;
(d) The
authorities attach great importance to private voluntary work and the Ministry
of Labour and Social Affairs is providing
moral, material and technical support
for the projects of associations seeking to further the interests of children
and women.
- Within
the context of the State of Bahrain’s endeavours to promote the welfare of
children, the laws concerning children are
currently being reviewed with a view
to the formulation of appropriate recommendations to consolidate the
State’s achievements
in the field of child welfare and intensify the
efforts that are being made in this regard, bearing in mind the fact that the
laws
under which children are protected in the State of Bahrain embody an
integrated concept of the rights of the child in all spheres
of life and
therefore ensure the material and moral security of children. In this
connection, it is noteworthy that the legal system,
being derived from the
provisions of the Islamic Shari’a, guarantees the legal protection and
social welfare of Bahraini children
in a manner consistent with the Convention
on the Rights of the Child.
B. Definition of the child
- The
legislation in force in the State of Bahrain is in conformity with the
provisions of article 1 of the Convention on the Rights
of the Child, which
defines the child as “every human being below the age of 18 years unless,
under the law applicable to the
child, majority is attained
earlier”.
- The
Juveniles Act, promulgated in Legislative Decree No. 17 of 1976,
defines a juvenile as a person who is under the age of 15 Gregorian
years at the time when he commits an offence or is found to be in a situation
that exposes him to the risk of delinquency. With
regard to impediments to
criminal responsibility, article 32 of the Bahraini Penal Code of 1976
stipulates that a person under 15
years of age cannot be held responsible
for the commission of an act constituting an offence, being liable solely to the
measures
provided for in the Juveniles Act. Article 101 of the Penal Code
further stipulates that the provisions concerning permissibility,
causation and
impediments to responsibility, as contained in chapter II concerning
criminal responsibility, also apply to minor infractions
of the
law.
- Under
the terms of article 125, paragraph 4, of the Code of Criminal Procedure of
1966, a court cannot convict a defendant on the
basis of the testimony of a
juvenile unless the latter’s testimony is corroborated by independent
evidence furnishing substantive
proof not only that the offence was committed
but also that it was committed by the defendant.
- With
regard to the testimony of witnesses, article 65 of the Law of Evidence in Civil
and Commercial Matters, promulgated in Legislative
Decree No. 14 of 1996,
stipulates that a person under 15 years of age is not competent to testify
although his statements may be
heard, as presumptive evidence, without
administration of the oath. A person who is not of sound mind is likewise
incompetent to
testify.
- Article
10 of the Commercial Code, promulgated in Act No. 7/1987, stipulates that, in
the absence of any other impediment, a person
over 18 years of age is competent
to engage in commercial transactions. Article 7 of the Civil Code of 1970
further stipulates that
a person under 18 years of age has the right to
institute civil proceedings in accordance with the conditions laid down in the
Code.
Under article 8 of the Code, civil proceedings cannot be brought in
respect of an infraction committed by a person under 18 years
of
age.
- Article
13 of the Guardianship of Property Act of 1986 sets the age of majority
at 21 Gregorian years and article 2 of the Bahraini
Nationality Act
stipulates that any person who has not reached the age of 18 Gregorian years
must be regarded as a minor.
- Article
50 of the Private Sector Employment Act of 1976 prohibits the employment of
persons of either sex who are under 14 years of
age. The Act also makes
provision for the following safeguards concerning
juveniles:
(a) Juveniles between the ages of 14 and 16 may be
employed only on the following conditions and with due regard for the provisions
of article 42 of the Act:
(i) Authorization must be obtained from the Ministry of Labour and Social
Affairs.
(ii) They must undergo a medical examination to ascertain their physical fitness
prior to their entry into service and at periodic
intervals thereafter. Their
fitness must be attested in a certificate the form of which is determined by the
Minister of Health
in agreement with the Minister for Labour and Social
Affairs.
(iii) They must not be employed in industries or occupations which are
designated by the Minister of Health, in agreement with the
Minister for Labour
and Social Affairs, as hazardous or detrimental to their
health.
(b) Juveniles must not be employed during the
night-time period, amounting to not less than 11 hours from sunset to
sunrise.
(c) Juveniles must not be required to engage in actual work for
more than six hours per day and must not be required to be present
at the place
of work for more than seven consecutive hours. Their working hours must be
interspersed with one or more rest periods
or meal times totalling not less than
one hour, the said period or periods being scheduled in such a way as to ensure
that the juvenile
does not work for more than four consecutive
hours.
(d) Juveniles must under no circumstances be required to work
overtime or to remain at their place of work after their stipulated
working
hours and must not be required to work on days of rest. In general, the
exemptions concerning working hours and holidays
do not apply to them. Their
wages must under no circumstances be based on productivity or piecework.
- The
State of Bahrain has ratified the Forced Labour Convention No. 29 of 1930 and
the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention No. 105
of 1957, which are among the
basic international labour conventions.
- The
State of Bahrain has also acceded to Arab Labour Convention No. 18 of 1996
concerning the employment of young persons, article
1 of which prohibits the
employment of any person under 13 years of age.
- In
the State of Bahrain, the stage of basic education ends when the child obtains
the General Certificate of Preparatory Education,
i.e. on reaching the age of
15.
- It
is noteworthy that, according to the statistics compiled by the Central
Statistical Bureau for 1998, the proportion of married
Bahraini women is as
follows:
29.5 per cent in the age group 15-19
44.4 per cent
in the age group 20-24
73.9 per cent in the age group 15-24
- The
proportion of married Bahraini men in the age group 20-29 amounts to
69.3 per cent.
- Legislative
Decree No. 23 of 1979 regulating enlistment by individuals in the Bahraini
Defence Force, as amended, stipulates that
recruits into the ranks must not be
under 17 or over 35 years of age. This does not apply to non-commissioned
officers, technicians
or specialized personnel who can be recruited from the age
of 15 (as cadets) to the age of 40.
- It should
be noted that there is no compulsory military service in the State of
Bahrain.
C. General principles
Non-discrimination (art. 2)
- The
State respects and guarantees the rights of every child within its jurisdiction
without any form of discrimination. In this connection,
it should be noted that
article 18 of the Constitution of the State of Bahrain stipulates that:
“All persons shall be equal in human dignity and all citizens shall be
equal before
the law in regard to their public rights and obligations without
discrimination among them on grounds of gender, origin, language
or
belief.” Article 4 of the Constitution further stipulates that:
“Government shall be based on justice, and mutual cooperation and
understanding shall constitute
firm links between citizens. Liberty, equality,
security, tranquillity, education, social solidarity and equal opportunities for
citizens shall form pillars of society and shall be guaranteed by the
State.” In Bahrain, foreigners are treated with full
respect and esteem
in keeping with the spirit of equality and friendship that characterizes
Bahraini society. For example, foreigners have access to the same
judicial, security, cultural, health, educational and other services
as
citizens. Of the 39 private schools in Bahrain, 17 are for foreigners and there
are also numerous foreign social and cultural
associations.
- In
actual practice, there is no social, health, educational or other form of
discrimination against children.
Best interests of the child (art. 3)
- The
best interests of the child are the first consideration in all procedures
concerning children and the requisite protection and
care are provided in order
to guarantee their welfare. The State ensures that the institutions, government
departments and facilities
responsible for the care or protection of children
meet the standards set by the competent authority.
- Article
5 of the Constitution stipulates as follows: “The family, which derives
its strength from religion, morality and patriotism, is the cornerstone
of
society. The law shall protect its legal structure, strengthen and develop its
bonds and protect mothers and children within
its bosom. The law shall also
provide for the welfare of the rising generation, protect them from exploitation
and shield them from
moral, physical and spiritual neglect. The State shall
show particular concern for the physical, moral and intellectual development
of
young persons.”
- The
Bahraini Constitution derived these principles from the Islamic Shari’a,
on which the family system in the State of Bahrain is based. The stipulation
to
the effect that the family, based on religion and morality, is the cornerstone
of society reflects the concern that Islam shows
for children, the interests and
welfare of whom are accorded priority equivalent to the religious obligation to
fight for the cause
of God. In Islam, both the mother and the father have an
obligation to ensure the care and welfare of their children, since they
are the
ones most capable of doing so.
- Islam
also regulates the natural and legal guardianship of children, who need someone
to take charge of their personal affairs, such
as maintenance, education,
guidance and medical care, or to manage their property. In the words of
Almighty God: “Do not
touch the property of orphans, except with the best
of motives, until they reach maturity. Keep your promises; you are accountable
for all that you promise” (Holy Koran, verse 33 of the chapter entitled
“The Night Journey”).
- Guardianship
of property is regulated by legal principles under which a guardianship council
must be established to manage the property
of minors. The powers of the
guardians, the circumstances in which their guardianship is terminated and the
minor gains control
of his or her property, and other matters, are all regulated
by the law, which shows due regard for the best interests of minors
and
juveniles.
- Legislative
Decree No. 25 of 1998, concerning private educational and training institutions,
makes child custody subject to the control
and supervision of the Ministry of
Labour and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Education and empowers the
Minister for Labour and
Social Affairs to take decisions regulating these
matters.
- In
order to emphasize the concern that the State of Bahrain is showing for the
interests of the child and encourage more intensive
endeavours on the part of
the public and private bodies that have already helped to ensure major
achievements in this field, Cabinet
Decision No. 15 of 1999, promulgated on
11 July 1999, made provision for the establishment of a National Committee on
Childhood,
chaired by the head of the Public Authority for Youth and Sport and
including representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs,
the Interior,
Justice and Islamic Affairs, Cabinet Affairs and Information, Health, Labour and
Social Affairs and Education, as well
as the Public Authority for Youth and
Sport and private associations.
The right to life, survival and development (art.
6)
- Article
8 (a) of the Constitution stipulates that: “Every citizen has the right
to health care. The State shall show concern for public health and shall ensure
the availability of means of prevention and treatment by establishing various
types of hospitals and health facilities.” These
hospitals and facilities
have separate sections for children.
- The
health services that the State of Bahrain is providing in order to protect the
right of the child to life, survival and development
and to protect children
from all the diseases to which they might be exposed are referred to in detail
below in paragraph 37 of the
report, concerning survival and
development.
Respect for the views of the child (art. 12)
- Article
23 of the Constitution stipulates that: “Freedom of opinion and of
scientific research shall be guaranteed. Everyone shall have the right to
express
and propagate his opinion orally, in writing or by any other
means.”
- All
citizens, including children, enjoy freedom of opinion and expression within the
limits of the law.
- In
accordance with the Law of Evidence in Civil and Commercial Matters, promulgated
in 1996, the statements of a person under 15 years
of age may be heard, as
presumptive evidence, without administration of the oath.
- Persons
under 18 years of age have the right to institute civil proceedings in
accordance with the conditions laid down in the Civil
Code of
1970.
D. Civil rights and freedoms
Name and nationality (art. 7)
- Children
are registered immediately after birth and are given a trinomial name, which is
entered in a birth certificate issued by
the competent authorities in the State.
Article 4 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Regulatory Act of 1970
stipulates that
births must be notified, in writing or orally, to the Ministry
of Health and the competent official must verify the accuracy of the
information
entered on the birth notification form.
- The
child’s nationality is governed by the Bahraini Nationality Act of 1963,
as amended, under which a person is deemed to be
Bahraini:
(a) If he was born in or outside Bahrain to a father
who was Bahraini at the time of the birth;
(b) If he was born in or
outside Bahrain to a mother who was Bahraini at the time of the birth, in the
event of the child’s
father being unknown or his paternity not being
legally established;
(c) If he was born in Bahrain to unknown parents, a
foundling being deemed to have been born therein failing proof to the
contrary.
- When
a person is granted Bahraini nationality under the terms of article 4,
concerning naturalization, his minor children at the time
of his acquisition of
that nationality are deemed to be Bahrainis by naturalization but have the
right, within one year from the
date on which they reach the age of majority, to
opt for their original nationality. Anyone born to such a person after his
naturalization
is likewise deemed to be Bahraini by naturalization.
- Under
the Passports Act No. 11 of 1975, minor children and unmarried daughters have
the right to be issued with passports in the manner
detailed in the provisions
of the said Act, as amended, and in its implementing regulations promulgated by
the Minister of the Interior
in Ordinance No. 15 of 1976.
Preservation of identity (art. 8)
- Under
the terms of article 14 of the Central Population Registry Act, every Bahraini
and non-Bahraini resident over 16 years of age
is obliged to carry a Central
Population Registry card, which may be issued to the guardian of a person below
that age provided that
the guardian assumes responsibility, on behalf of its
holder, for its proper use and safe keeping.
- The
card shows the person’s name and registration number, which appears on all
the official documents, records and files concerning
him. The card’s
holder has an obligation to present it to the representatives of the public
authorities whenever so requested.
A child’s name may be changed at any
time, in accordance with the procedures applied by the civil courts, with the
consent
of the child’s parents provided that the new name is among those
that are customarily used in Bahraini society.
- Under
article 317 of the Bahraini Penal Code of 1976, anyone who falsifies the
parentage of a newborn child, removes or alters the
facts concerning a
child’s personal status or enters fictitious personal details in official
registers is liable to a penalty
of detention. Article 18 of the Registration
of Births and Deaths Act of 1970 prescribes a penalty of detention and/or a fine
for
anyone who deliberately provides false information or resorts to fraudulent
or illicit means in order to register a birth.
- From
the above, it is evident that the State of Bahrain protects children from being
deprived, in any way, of some or all of the constituents
of their identity.
Freedom of expression (art. 13)
- Article
23 of the Constitution stipulates that freedom of opinion and of scientific
research shall be guaranteed and that everyone shall have the right to express
and propagate his opinion, orally, in writing or by any other means, in
accordance with the legally specified conditions and procedures.
Article 24 of
the Constitution further stipulates that freedom of the press and of printing
and publication shall be guaranteed in accordance with the law.
- Children
have numerous opportunities to express their views and obtain information and
are encouraged to develop various aspects of
their personalities, as is clearly
illustrated by the radio and television programmes in which children participate
and by the broadcasting
of special radio programmes on school activities. This
freedom is also exercised at children’s scientific clubs and cultural
and
information centres such as the Scientific Centre and the Sulman Cultural Centre
for Children, both of which are run by the Children’s
Department, and the
scientific clubs run by the Public Authority for Youth and Sport. The two
centres, which are open to children
from 7 to 18 years of age, enable them to
meet, engage in creative activity, exhibit their works and manifest their
talents through
the practice of numerous scientific, cultural and recreational
activities ranging from painting, dramatic art and computer technology
to music
and scientific activity. Cultural services, including a specialized library for
children and cultural and artistic competitions,
are also provided and it is
intended to expand these centres now that they have proved successful and
outstandingly popular with
children and their guardians.
Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (art.
14)
- Although
Islam is the official religion of the State, freedom of thought and of religious
observance is enjoyed by all, including
non-Muslims. Article 22 of the
Constitution stipulates that: “Freedom of conscience shall be absolute
and the State shall guarantee the inviolability of places of worship
as well as
freedom to engage in religious observances and to participate in religious
processions and meetings in accordance with
the customs observed in the
country.” In Bahrain, there are 13 churches for the various Christian
communities. Since the
Bahraini people are characterized by their tolerance,
all religions enjoy legally guaranteed freedom to engage in their observances
and the State encourages children to exercise their rights in a manner
consistent with their capabilities.
- By
law, parents and guardians enjoy freedom in regard to the guidance and education
of their children and can choose between the education
provided at
government-run or private schools.
Freedom of association and of peaceful assembly (art.
15)
- Article
27 of the Constitution stipulates as follows:
“Freedom to form association and trade unions at the national level,
for lawful purposes and by peaceful means, shall be guaranteed
in accordance
with the legally specified conditions and procedures. No one shall be compelled
to join or remain in an association
or trade union.”
Under the terms of article 28 of the Constitution:
“Individuals shall have the right to assemble without the need for
prior notification or authorization and no member of the
security forces shall
be permitted to attend such private meetings. Public meetings, processions and
gatherings shall be permitted
in accordance with the legally specified
conditions and procedures, provided that their purposes and means are peaceful
and consistent
with morality.”
- The
Social and Cultural Associations and Clubs, Private Institutions and Sports
Organizations Act promulgated in Legislative Decree
No. 21 of 1989 regulates the
right to establish associations and clubs for purposes of social, educational,
cultural or charitable
activities. It also permits the registration of such
associations with the legally specified authorities. The Act prohibits the
establishment of associations for purposes which would violate public order or
morality or prejudice the integrity of the State or
the social order.
Associations established for such purposes are unlawful.
- The
Act regulates membership of associations, as well as the election of their
governing bodies. It also makes provision for the
establishment of sports clubs
and federations, including the Olympic Committee, and stipulates that their
governing bodies must be
elected.
- Cooperative
associations, which are regulated by Act No. 8 of 1972, are subject to the same
basic principles, including the requirement
that their administrative organs
must be elected.
- The
State of Bahrain has 204 registered associations operating in various fields,
including 37 foreign associations, 28 foreign clubs
and 8 cultural and
scientific associations registered with the Ministry of Information.
- The
above-mentioned associations pursuing a wide variety of aims and activities
serve Bahraini society as well as the foreign communities
of various
nationalities.
Protection of privacy (art. 16)
- Privacy
is protected by the Constitution and the law. For example, article 25 of the
Constitution stipulates that: “Homes shall be inviolable and shall not be
entered or searched without the permission of their occupants
except in cases of
extreme necessity and in the manner prescribed by law.” Article 26 of the
Constitution further stipulates that: “Freedom of postal, telegraphic and
telephone communications shall be safeguarded and their confidentiality
shall be
guaranteed. Communications shall not be censored nor shall their
confidentiality be violated except in cases of necessity
provided for by law and
in accordance with the procedures and guarantees specified therein.”
Access to appropriate information (art. 17)
- The
State of Bahrain believes in the role played by information and in the need to
make effective use of the possibilities and opportunities
that it and the new
methods of international communication offer for the transmission of
information. It also believes in the role
that information plays in providing
families with the knowledge and skills needed to improve the situation of their
children. Accordingly,
the State shows concern for programmes intended for
families and children and monitors and utilizes new developments at the Arab
and
international levels in order to develop its local programmes.
- The
State’s public agencies and private associations disseminate information
of use to children through television and radio
programmes and newspapers. The
Ministry of Education is also playing a role in this regard by providing
educational resource centres
and scientific laboratories for children at
government-run schools and diligently developing and modernizing the academic
curricula
in a manner consistent with the educational needs of children.
- The
endeavours that are being made in this field are illustrated by the Ministry of
Education’s Information and Documentation
Centre, which has a broad
database of educational research works, studies and scientific publications for
children. The Ministry
also operates an Educational Research Centre which
prepares and publishes research and studies for children at all educational
levels.
The Public Authority for Youth and Sport operates a children’s
library at the Sulman Cultural Centre and the Mother and Child
Welfare
Association runs an information centre for women and children. The latter
centre, which is linked to the information network
of the Arab Council for
Children and Development, is endeavouring to provide a broad database of
information and studies, as well
as a bibliography on subjects of interest to
women and children, in the form of periodicals, university theses, research
works, conference
papers and other audiovisual material from the Arab region.
The centre has begun to provide services for specialists in women’s
and
child-related issues and also for university students and public and private
scientific institutions in and outside Bahrain and
is exchanging services and
publications with similar centres. In addition, the centre is conducting
social, educational, psychological,
health, demographic and other studies and
research with the assistance of Arab and international organizations, which are
also helping
it to plan and enhance its database on the family and
children.
- The
State of Bahrain has a large number of public libraries, comprising special
sections for children, and encourages the organization
of numerous exhibitions
of children’s books, which are readily available to the public. The
numerous Internet centres in
all parts of the country offer further
possibilities for children to obtain appropriate information
The right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel,
inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment (art. 37
(a))
- Article
19 (d) of the Bahraini Constitution stipulates that: “No one shall be
subjected to physical or mental torture, enticement or degrading treatment, for
which the
law shall prescribe penalties. Any statement or confession found to
have been obtained through torture, enticement or such treatment,
or threat
thereof, shall be deemed null and void.”
- The
Juveniles Act No. 17 of 1976, to which reference has already been made, makes no
provision for capital punishment or life imprisonment
as penalties for juveniles
who commit crimes. Article 6 thereof merely prescribes a number of measures
such as a reprimand, delivery
into the custody of a parent or guardian, the
fulfilment of specific obligations or placement in a governmental or private
social
welfare institution.
- Chapter
V of the Penal Code of 1976 refers to impediments to responsibility. For
example, article 32 stipulates that a person under
15 years of age cannot be
held responsible for the commission of an act constituting an offence, being
liable solely to the measures
provided for in the Juveniles
Act.
- Article
70 of the Penal Code (in chapter IV concerning exonerating and mitigating
circumstances) stipulates that mitigating circumstances
include the young age of
a defendant over 15 but under 18 years of age and the commission of an offence
for honourable motives or
purposes or as a result of severe and undue
provocation by the victim. Article 71 further stipulates that, if a mitigating
circumstance
is established in a case involving an offence punishable by the
death penalty, the penalty must be reduced to imprisonment or detention
for a
period of not less than one year and, if the offence is punishable by
imprisonment for life or for a fixed term, it must be
reduced to the penalty for
a misdemeanour, unless otherwise specified in the Code.
- The
Code of School Discipline promulgated by the Ministry of Education was designed
to develop a sense of responsibility among schoolchildren,
preserve their
dignity, safeguard their rights, ensure justice and equality in disciplinary
measures and prohibit beatings and corporal
punishment in all schools. Pupils
are given opportunities to lodge complaints and grievances with their
school’s governing
body and with the Department of Education and can also
use a “hot line” to bring their questions, issues and problems
to
the attention of the Ministry of Education, from which they receive a direct
response.
- The
State of Bahrain acceded to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on 5
April 1998 under the terms of
Decree No. 4 of 1998 promulgated on 18 February 1998.
E. Family environment and alternative care
Parental guidance (art. 5)
- The
State respects the rights and obligations of parents or, as appropriate, of the
members of the extended family or the persons
legally responsible for guiding
the child in the exercise of his or her rights.
- As
already mentioned, article 5 of the Constitution stipulates that the family is
the cornerstone of society and that the law shall protect its legal structure,
strengthen and develop
its bonds and protect mothers and children within its
bosom. Article 4 of the Constitution further stipulates that government shall
be based on justice, and mutual cooperation and understanding shall constitute
firm links
between citizens.
Parental responsibilities (art. 18, paras. 1-2)
- The
Islamic Shari’a emphasizes the need for parents to show the utmost concern
for the upbringing and development of their children.
The State provides
appropriate assistance for the parents or persons legally responsible for the
child through its legislative provisions
and the health, educational, social and
other welfare services and activities that it organizes for children.
- It
is noteworthy that the State authorities and private sector institutions
concerned with children attach great importance to the
question of the provision
of crèches to which working women can entrust their children under three
years of age. The Ministry
of Labour and Social Affairs is supervising the
crèches run by the associations that render this public service and is
providing
them with the financial and technical support needed to improve the
standard of their services. The Ministry also encourages the
establishment of
such crèches, supports their staff training programmes and drafts laws
and regulations to regulate their
activities.
- In
order to encourage women to enrol in programmes for the eradication of
illiteracy, crèches have been established at literacy
centres to take
care of the children of their female students.
- The
Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs supervises all the private crèches,
while the Ministry of Education is responsible
for formulating the curricula of
kindergartens, supervising their application and ensuring an appropriately
healthy educational environment
for the children.
- In
response to the request for the establishment of crèches and
kindergartens at places of work, some Ministries, such as the
Ministries of
Information and Defence, have established crèches in their premises to
take care of the children of their female
staff. The main purpose of the
establishment of these crèches is to encourage women to seek employment
without worrying about
their children and to ensure the proper care and
upbringing of children in the early stages of their lives.
Separation from parents (art. 9)
- The
Juveniles Act of 1976 stipulates that a child cannot be separated from his or
her parents and placed in a juvenile social welfare
institution unless found to
be in a situation that exposes the child to the risk of delinquency or endangers
the child’s health,
security, morals or upbringing. It should be noted
that a juvenile can be so separated for misconduct only with the consent of his
or her father, legal or testamentary guardian, or mother, as
appropriate.
- Under
the terms of article 317 of the Bahraini Penal Code, any one who abducts,
conceals or substitutes a newborn child is liable
to a penalty of detention.
Under article 318 of the same Code, any one who, having been ordered to hand
over a child under his guardianship
to the person to whom the child’s
custody or safe keeping has been awarded, fails to do so is liable to a penalty
of detention
and/or a fine.
- From
the above, it is evident that the child has a natural right to grow up and live
with his or her parents. However, if this is
precluded by circumstances, the
child is protected by the law from exploitation or ill-treatment even on the
part of the child’s
parents.
- The
Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs pays monthly amounts of financial
assistance, through its Department of Social Assistance,
to orphaned and
disabled children and to the children of
convicts.
Family reunification (art. 10)
- There
is no legal provision that prevents families from leaving the country or
returning thereto for purposes of family reunification
or family gatherings.
All Bahrainis and foreigners have the right to leave the country and return
thereto provided that they meet
the stipulated legal
requirements.
Illicit transfer and non-return (art. 11)
- The
Passports Act of 1975 stipulates that passports issued to Bahraini citizens must
include the names of their wives and minor children
accompanying them on their
journey, as well as their dates of birth and gender, their photographs being
affixed to the passport and
stamped by the passport issuing
authority.
- The
said Act permits the issue of separate passports to persons lacking legal
capacity only with the consent of their legal representatives.
- The
Act therefore ensures that children do not travel without the consent of their
parents or the persons acting on the latter’s
behalf. Moreover, in order
to protect their children, parents have the right to petition the courts to
prohibit their children holding
separate passports from travelling alone without
their consent.
Recovery of maintenance for the child (art. 27, para.
4)
- In
accordance with the provisions of the Islamic Shari’a, child maintenance,
comprising food, clothing, accommodation, education
and medical treatment, is a
legal obligation borne by the child’s father while he is married to the
child’s mother, and
even if the child’s parents divorce, until the
child is old enough to work and earn a living or, in the case of girls, until
they marry. The maintenance obligation continues if the child is unable to earn
a living due to a disability or for any other health-related
reason. The
child’s mother, if wealthy, or the person responsible for the
child’s welfare in the event of the death
of the parents, also has an
obligation to maintain the child.
- The
financial situation of the maintenance provider is taken into account when
assessing the amount of maintenance, which may be increased
in the event of a
change in the provider’s economic circumstances. It is noteworthy that
ongoing maintenance takes precedence
over all the providers’ other
debts.
- Article
39 of the Guardianship of Property Act stipulates that, on reaching the age of
18, a minor may be authorized to receive and
manage all or part of his property,
in which case, the minor may be required to pay from his net income the amount
needed to meet
his expenses and the expenses of those for whom he is legally
responsible.
- Under
article 44 of the same Act, on reaching the age of 16, a minor may be authorized
to enter into a contract of employment, in
which case he is competent to dispose
of the wage or other remuneration that he earns from his work.
- Bahraini
law contains provisions that regulate the recovery of child maintenance (see
annex 6).
- Under
the provisions of the above-mentioned Act, the guardian has an obligation to
safeguard and manage the minor’s property
and to provide the minor with
monthly maintenance, failing which he is liable to a penalty of detention and/or
a fine for committing
the offence of causing prejudice to movable property owned
by a person lacking legal capacity.
Children deprived of a family environment (art. 20)
- One
of the guiding principles on which social action in regard to children is based
stipulates as follows: “Social action is
a means the aim of which is to
benefit human beings and social solidarity and cohesion are the principle
guarantees of its success.”
The strategic objectives for the application
of this principle are defined as follows:
(a) Concern for the
family and endeavours to provide it with the requisite social services,
contribute to the solution of the problems
that it encounters, ensure its
stability and increase the income of its members;
(b) Contribution to
the establishment of a safe society by providing various types of care and
rehabilitation for disabled children,
preparing them to engage in forms of work
consistent with their abilities, integrating them in society, protecting members
of local
communities, and particularly children, from delinquency, studying
their problems, providing them with sound counselling and endeavouring
to ensure
their economic security through financial assistance that guarantees them a
decent life.
- The
Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is eager to protect children from
temporary or permanent deprivation of their family environment
in order to
safeguard their interests and ensure that they remain in a healthy environment
that guarantees their proper upbringing
and education. To this end, the
Ministry has established a Child Welfare Centre at which orphaned children and
children of unknown
parentage are cared for in an alternative family
environment. The following paragraphs give examples of this care and
protection.
Fosterage
- Under
this Islamic alternative to adoption, the fosterage of children faced with
special circumstances, including orphans and children
of unknown parentage, is
subject to various rules and conditions, including the
following:
(a) The family must be Bahraini;
(b) The
family relations must be closely knit and stable;
(c) The family must be
of good conduct and reputation;
(d) The family must be capable of
undertaking child care in all its social, economic and health-related
aspects;
(e) The foster parent must not be over 50 years of
age;
(f) The family must not already have more than two children, who
must be old enough to be self-reliant. Preference is accorded to
childless
families;
(g) An unmarried, divorced or widowed Bahraini woman may
foster a child provided that she meets the other stipulated conditions.
- The
State of Bahrain is currently applying the system of fosterage (kafalah)
provided for in Islamic law. The Ministry of Labour
and Social Affairs, in
coordination with the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs, implements the
fosterage decisions taken by
the competent courts in accordance with Islamic law
and the foster child’s official identity papers are issued by the other
bodies concerned in the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of the
Interior.
Juveniles
- Bahrain
strongly believes that this category of children must be protected and cared for
so that they can live in harmony and concord
with others without being exposed
to the risk of delinquency.
- In
keeping with this belief, the Ministry of the Interior established a Juvenile
Welfare Centre shortly after the State of Bahrain
gained its independence in
1973. This Centre, which is rightly regarded as one of the region’s model
centres since its educational
and rehabilitation facilities and programmes meet
the highest international standards, has been commended by numerous States and
governmental and non-governmental organizations including, for example, experts
from the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
and a delegation from
Amnesty International who visited the centre.
- In
the State of Bahrain, juvenile welfare is divided into two categories:
institutional and non-institutional care.
(a) Non-institutional care
- The
responsibility for this type of care is undertaken by the Juvenile Section of
the Women’s Police at the Ministry of the
Interior, in collaboration with
the Juvenile Welfare Unit at the Ministry of Labour and Social
Affairs.
- In
cases of exposure to delinquency, such as begging, peddling, truancy from
educational institutions and lack of parental control,
the sociologist at the
Office of the Women’s Police serves notice, in writing, on the guardian to
provide the juvenile with
the care and supervision needed to ensure that the
juvenile is never again found in a situation that exposes him or her to the risk
of delinquency. A copy of the said notice is sent to the Juvenile Welfare Unit
at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the
staff of which monitor the
juvenile’s welfare and endeavour to overcome any obstacles impeding the
rectification of his or
her conduct. If the juvenile is again found to be at
risk of delinquency six months after the notice was served, the
juvenile’s case is once again referred to the Women’s Police, who
takes the necessary measures to bring the matter, through
the Juvenile Social
Welfare Unit, to the attention of the juvenile court. The situations that
entail a risk of delinquency include:
(i) Frequentation of delinquents, suspected delinquents or persons renowned for
their bad conduct;
(ii) Engagement in, or assisting persons engaged in, acts associated with
prostitution, vice, moral corruption, gambling or narcotic
drugs,
etc.;
(iii) Lack of a legitimate livelihood or reliable provider;
(iv) Affliction with a mental disease or infirmity entailing total or partial
loss of discretion or choice and endangering the safety
of the afflicted person
or of others.
- In
such cases, the Juvenile Social Welfare Unit of the Women’s Police assumes
the task of ensuring the juvenile’s welfare.
It may do so without
applying to the juvenile court unless so required.
- If
the case is to be referred to the juvenile court, the Unit’s staff
undertake a comprehensive social study of the juvenile’s
family
circumstances, taking into consideration the health and economic aspects, the
nature of the relations between the parents,
the size of the family, the
juvenile’s social history and academic status and the reasons for his
delinquency from the viewpoint
of his family and the social worker, and then
propose the measures most conducive to his reform. This report is submitted,
with
the case file, to the juvenile judge.
- The
staff of the Social Welfare Unit assume responsibility for the juvenile’s
welfare after the juvenile court has ordered an
appropriate measure other than a
confinement order. These measures are limited to the
following:
A reprimand;
Delivery into the custody of a parent or guardian;
Enrolment for vocational training;
Fulfilment of specific obligations;
Judicial probation.
- In
the case of the above-mentioned measures, the sociologists at the Welfare Unit
visit the juvenile’s home, school or place
of work at least every two
weeks in order to monitor his conduct and help him to overcome any obstacles
that he might encounter.
The Unit’s sociologists are required to submit a
comprehensive report on improvements in the juvenile’s behaviour to
the
juvenile judge every six months.
- In
cases involving judicial probation, the juvenile judge terminates or extends the
measure or replaces it with another measure in
the light of the juvenile’s
circumstances and responsiveness.
(b) Institutional care
- This
is the last resort for persons working with juvenile delinquents who endeavour
to avoid separating juveniles from their families
unless the juveniles’
interests so require.
- The
Juvenile Welfare Centre operates on the basis of a “family system”
in which juveniles are distributed among the various
families in accordance with
their age and the extent of their delinquency. The Centre’s female
sociologists provide the juveniles
with all types of social services from the
time of their admission to the Centre until their departure therefrom. In
addition to
this basic and primary form of care, it also has cultural,
educational, recreational and after-care programmes.
- It
is noteworthy that the programmes offered at the Centre include the educational
programme adopted by the State’s Ministry
of Education and vocational
programmes under which males are trained in carpentry, electrical engineering,
electronics and agriculture
and females are trained in dressmaking, embroidery,
hairdressing, domestic science and other useful activities. The Centre also
provides training in artistic fields, such as painting, handicrafts and
sculpture. The juveniles take part in the annual competitions
organized by the
Ministry of Education in which many of them have won valuable prizes for their
outstanding work. In view of the
important role that sport plays in physical
and moral education, the Centre organizes sports activities and holds sports
competitions
from time to time.
- In
order to ensure that this category enjoys the requisite forms of legal and
legislative protection, the Juveniles Act promulgated
in Legislative Decree No.
17 of 1976 defined the term “juvenile” and specified the measures to
be taken in the event
of delinquency. The Act comprises 45 articles which are
applied when dealing with juvenile delinquents or potential delinquents.
The
Act makes provision for reform measures to be taken against juvenile delinquents
or potential delinquents, but does not prescribe
penalties for them and does not
specify the period of their confinement in social welfare institutions in order
to avoid such confinement
being regarded as a form of penalty. The juveniles
remain in the institutions or the Juvenile Welfare Centre for a period of not
more than one year until their conduct improves.
- The
Juvenile Welfare Centre, which was established by the Ministry of the Interior
in 1973, accommodates children under 15 years of
age whose conduct cannot
be reformed or rectified while they are in their natural
environment.
- In
general, it can be said that the number of juvenile delinquents and potential
delinquents does not constitute a high proportion
(only 3.2 per thousand
according to the statistics for 1991) of the total number of juveniles under 15
years of age in Bahrain.
- The
Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior,
organizes courses to train teachers to deal with juveniles.
- For
its part, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs also shows concern for this
category by receiving applications concerning
juveniles and undertaking the
studies and research needed to determine their social, economic and
psychological situation and circumstances
in order to propose, in coordination
with the competent officials in the Ministry of the Interior, the best ways to
help them to
overcome that situation.
Assistance for the blind
- In
1974, the State of Bahrain established the Nur Institute for the Blind, which is
now known as the SaudiBahraini Institute for the
Blind. This Institute, which
is run by the Regional Bureau of the Middle Eastern Committee for the Blind in
the Gulf region, accommodates
about 120 male and female students from 6 to
20 years of age. It comprises academic and vocational sections, as well as a
telephone
operator training section, and organizes various social, cultural,
religious and sports activities. The Institute also monitors
its students after
their graduation in order to help them to find appropriate employment and
integrate in society.
- The
Friends of the Blind Association, which was established in 1981, is a private
organization that caters for the needs of the blind
by endeavouring to achieve a
number of objectives, such as facilitating their movements, overcoming the
obstacles that they encounter
and diligently endeavouring to provide
opportunities for the blind to play a role in society by providing them with the
requisite
forms of care and rehabilitation. The Association established the
Friends’ Kindergarten, which was opened during the academic
year 1990/91,
to provide specialized educational care for blind children under six years of
age. Thirty children of both sexes are
enrolled in this kindergarten every
academic year.
- The
Association provides support for needy families with blind members and arranges
treatment in cases in which blind persons can
be helped to recover or improve
their vision through the provision of financial assistance with the aid of
private individuals and
bodies. It also organizes social, cultural, sports and
information activities.
Children with family problems
- In
order to protect this category, the Child Welfare Centre was opened in 1984 to
care for orphans, children of unknown parentage
and children from broken
families, as well as children suffering from family problems, who are
transferred to the Centre for temporary
care until their family problems are
solved and they can return to their natural environment. The purpose of the
establishment of
this Centre was to provide social, psychological, health,
educational and recreational care for this category of children and to
develop
laws and legislation to promote their welfare. The Centre endeavours to ensure
that the children’s stay therein is
temporary by encouraging their
fosterage by Bahraini families in order to provide them with a natural and
carefully selected family
environment. The Centre monitors the children’s
adaptation to their foster families and endeavours to overcome the difficulties
and obstacles that the foster families encounter. Children who continue to be
accommodated at the Centre are enrolled at kindergartens
and primary schools
when they reach the appropriate age. In view of the desire of the
Centre’s officials to place children
with alternative families that
provide them with the requisite care so that they do not remain in the Centre
for a long period of
time, the Centre is currently accommodating only 34 male
and female children under 12 years of age. In order to ensure that the
Centre
plays a more effective role in the upbringing of its children, a governing body,
consisting of specialists, officials and
other persons concerned in the
governmental, public and private sectors, has been established to formulate the
Centre’s general
policy and monitor its operations.
- Private
associations are also playing an important role in solving family problems
through the establishment of advisory offices to
provide families, on request,
with counselling, guidance and assistance.
Needy families
- The
Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is endeavouring to improve the
socioeconomic circumstances of indigent families by setting
up development
projects to increase their earnings and provide them with a stable and
independent income.
- The
Ministry is also endeavouring to make families and individuals more aware of the
importance of work and production so that they
can use their aptitudes and
abilities to secure a source of income, while monthly amounts of financial
assistance are paid, through
the Ministry’s Social Assistance Department,
to indigent families lacking a provider or whose provider is unable to work.
This support, from which children from poor or low-income families also benefit,
is intended to enable them to lead a normal stable
life.
- Public
service associations, such as charitable organizations and funds, some
women’s associations and the Bahraini Red Crescent
Society, provide the
requisite financial assistance for needy families and their
children.
- The
Minister for Labour and Social Affairs issued Ordinance No. 22 of 1995
concerning the social assistance scheme (see annex 7) from
which children also
benefit until they reach the age of 18 or, in the case of children over that age
who are continuing their education
and are therefore regarded as remaining
within the bosom of their families, until they complete their university
studies. This also
applies to girls, who are regarded as remaining within the
bosom of their families, even after reaching the age of 18, until they
marry or
find employment. The Ordinance likewise applies to the families of convicts
whose sole provider is serving a prison sentence
pursuant to a court judgement
and who lack a reliable means of subsistence. Convicts’ families continue
to receive assistance
after their release from prison until they find
employment.
- Financial
assistance is paid to orphans who have lost both parents and to children of
unknown parents who lack an adequate and reliable
means of subsistence until
they reach the age of 18 or even beyond that age until they find employment.
Assistance is also payable
to all disabled or mentally retarded persons over 18
years of age who are totally or partially unable to earn a living and support
their families and who lack an adequate and reliable income and require special
care that places a burden on their families.
- In
general, it should be noted that the Constitution refers to the role of the
State in the provision of social security and social insurance services and
stipulates that every citizen
has a right to health care.
Adoption (art. 21)
- The
State of Bahrain does not apply the system of adoption, as mentioned in the
Convention, since the country’s laws make provision
for the system of
fosterage, in accordance with the Islamic Shari’a, as an alternative to
adoption. The State and its numerous
private organizations encourage the
fosterage of orphaned, poor and gifted indigent children and the Cabinet has
recently approved
the Fosterage Act which regulates the procedures needed to
safeguard the rights of children and foster families and specifies their
respective needs and obligations. Consideration is currently being given to the
adoption of fosterage procedures under which families
would undertake the care
and upbringing of children who would retain their independent names and under
which non-Bahrainis would
not be permitted to foster children from inside the
State, although, if they so desired, they would be provided with assistance to
adopt children from abroad after a study of the family’s circumstances had
been conducted in collaboration with the competent
authorities in their
countries.
Periodic review of placement (art. 25)
- In
accordance with article 6 of the Juveniles Act, the measures that can be taken
against juveniles may include placement in a government-run
or private social
welfare institution or in a specialized hospital. Article 12 of the Act further
stipulates that the institution
or association in which the juvenile is placed
must submit a report on the juvenile’s situation and conduct to the court
every
six months so that the court can decide on the appropriate action to be
taken.
- Article
13 of the Act stipulates that a convicted juvenile must be confined in a
specialized institution in order to receive the care
that his situation
requires. The court reviews the progress made in the juvenile’s treatment
at periodic intervals of not
more than one year, during which it examines his
medical reports, and may order his release if it finds that his situation so
permits.
Abuse and neglect (art. 19), including physical and
psychological recovery and
social reintegration (art. 39)
- The
Ministry of Health formed a committee comprising representatives of a number of
official bodies concerned, such as the Ministries
of Education, Health, Justice,
Labour and Social Affairs and the Interior, to formulate a plan for the
protection of children. On
the basis of the available data concerning the
phenomenon of child abuse and in the light of the challenges posed by this
phenomenon
and the available local resources, a detailed chronological plan of
action was drawn up to address this problem in accordance with
the following
general guidelines:
(a) Treatment and rehabilitation
Restructuring of the Child Protection Committee at
the Ministry of Health to include specialists in primary, secondary and
psychological
health care and female sociologists;
Formulation of protocols to deal with physical, sexual and psychological
abuse;
Establishment of a “hot line” so that cases of abuse can be
reported by physicians and other professionals;
Organization of a visit by a WHO expert in child abuse (who helped to draw up
a detailed plan of action in December 1998);
Establishment of a special register of cases of abuse in order to provide a
database for the monitoring of this phenomenon.
(b) Promotion of public awareness concerning the phenomenon
of abuse
- The
Committee, in collaboration with public and private institutions, has organized
numerous symposia and discussion groups, such
as a debate with public
information professionals and another debate with primary health care physicians
and nurses in 1999, and
the following action has been
scheduled:
Organization of informative symposia and workshops for persons, such as
physicians and nurses, dealing with child victims of abuse;
Organization of a campaign to increase public awareness concerning this
phenomenon and ways to prevent it;
Preparation of educational programmes for children, consistent with their
ages, concerning the development of social skills and the
prevention of
abuse.
(c) Law and justice
- A
detailed chronological plan of action has also been prepared
for:
The formation of a committee to review Bahraini legislation concerning the
protection of children and propose appropriate amendments
and additions to the
Ministry of Justice in order to ensure more effective protection of
children;
The promulgation of legislation under which it would be compulsory to report
cases of abuse;
The promulgation of legislation under which it would be compulsory to carry
out an autopsy on any child who died for no obvious reason;
The promulgation of legislation to prohibit any person with a record of child
abuse from working with children;
The appointment of a special judge to hear cases of abuse;
The formulation of laws and regulations to ensure that children are protected
in all institutions, such as kindergartens and schools,
that have dealings with
them.
- Reference
has already been made, in paragraphs 113 to 117 above, to the legislation under
which children are protected from subjection
to abuse, neglect, torture or other
forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
The Strategic Plan to Protect Children
- Since
the month of January 1999, the Ministry of Health has been diligently
implementing this Plan, the aims of which are as follows:
To strengthen the family by providing education and employment and meeting
its basic needs;
To promote the educational role of schools;
To promote the role of institutions working with children and young persons
and to ensure that they are properly controlled;
To accord the highest priority to the interests of the child;
To amend the national laws and legislation and establish an implementing
mechanism;
To put intentions and resolutions, including the Convention on the Rights of
the Child, into practical effect;
To provide resources to support and protect the family and children and deal
with cases of ill-treatment;
To formulate general guidelines for joint action by the various bodies to
protect children.
The general framework for the prevention of
ill-treatment
- The
general framework for the prevention of ill-treatment consists of measures aimed
at:
Improving the psychological, physical and social health of children and their
families;
Identifying and supporting children who are subjected to ill-treatment;
Preventing the repetition of ill-treatment in order to protect the child;
According the highest priority to the interests of the child.
F. Basic health and welfare
Health and health services (art. 24)
- The
State of Bahrain has undertaken to achieve a standard of health that will permit
its people to live a socially and economically
productive life by the year 2000.
To this end, the Ministry of Health is diligently endeavouring to ensure the
highest standard of
all forms of health care and, in particular, of primary
health care in accordance with the Declaration proclaimed at the International
Conference on Primary Health Care held at Alma Ata in the Soviet Union
in 1978, which stated that primary health care formed the
basis for the
achievement of an acceptable standard of health in all parts of the world in the
foreseeable future. The field that
aroused the greatest interest and met with
the greatest response in the various departments in the Ministry of Health was
maternal
and child health, for which specialized therapeutic services are
provided at the Sulmaniya Medical Centre, in addition to the preventive
services
that are available at all the health centres that have been established
throughout the country. Maternal and child services,
which form part of the
primary health-care services, include the periodic examination of children under
six years of age in order
to monitor their development, detect any impediments
thereto at an early stage and intervene rapidly by providing treatment or
referring
the patient to the competent institutions, in addition to
administration of the basic vaccinations to children. The list of vaccinations
has recently been expanded to include the latest vaccinations recommended by the
World Health Organization in order to keep pace
with international scientific
developments.
- With
regard to maternity services, which include the care of expectant mothers, at
least 99 per cent of pregnant women attend maternity
clinics and
98.5 per cent of all births take place under medical supervision.
Ultrasonographic examination services for pregnant
women have been introduced at
four health centres in the country’s four health districts where pregnant
women who are most
at risk are examined and referred to hospital specialists.
Post-natal examination and family planning services, as well as periodic
examinations for the early detection of breast and cervical cancer among women,
are provided at all the health centres. In fact,
the State of Bahrain is a
pioneer in the provision of such services, which include clinical examinations,
laboratory analyses, counselling
sessions and referral of patients at risk to
hospital specialists. The home visit services are intended mainly for women and
children,
who constitute the categories most at risk. Prenuptial examination
services are also provided for all persons planning to marry
in order to reduce
the incidence of hereditary blood diseases such as sickle cell anaemia and
thalassemia.
- The
Ministry of Health is endeavouring to promote more extensive breastfeeding and,
to this end, is implementing the child-friendly
hospitals project the aim of
which is to encourage and train expectant mothers to breastfeed their infant
children immediately after
their birth. UNICEF has awarded certificates of
merit to all the maternity hospitals run by the Ministry of Health for their
successful
implementation of this project. It is noteworthy that the State of
Bahrain was the first Gulf State to implement such a project
on a wide
scale.
- Other
important programmes, such as the further training programme and numerous public
awareness programmes, are being implemented
by female health educators in
coordination with the various information media and with the help of numerous
educational aids such
as brochures and posters. Computerized services are also
available, including a special programme for maternal and child services,
in
order to schedule appointments for patients and provide important statistical
data. To this end, all the physicians and nurses
working in the maternal and
child departments of the health centres have been trained to operate computers
and use that programme.
Survival and development (art. 6, para. 2)
- In
order to further develop and improve the standard of health services in the
country, the Ministry of Health has established numerous
planning committees in
the principal health sectors. These committees include the Maternal and Child
Health Planning Committee,
which has studied the world health objectives and
formulated local objectives prioritized in the light of the country’s
health
problems. The requisite programmes have been prepared to achieve these
objectives and monitor their requirements and the obstacles
impeding their
achievement. It should be noted that the health objectives for the 1990s were
achieved a long time before the target
date.
- The
objectives of the State of Bahrain’s national plan, which incorporates the
objectives of the World Declaration on the Survival,
Protection and Development
of Children in the 1990s, are largely consistent with the objectives set forth
in the Arab Plan for Children
in the Health Field. Some of the objectives
concerning diseases that are not regarded as significant in the State of
Bahrain, such
as vitamin A and iodine deficiency, have been discarded while
others, such as the need to reduce the incidence of hereditary blood
diseases,
have been added. Some of the principal measures and achievements of the
National Plan for Mothers and Children, the aim
of which is to protect the
lives, survival and the development of children, are described
below.
1. Reduction of the mortality rate among children under five
years of age
- In
1998, the mortality rate among children in the age group 1-5 years
amounted to 2.0 per thousand (see annex 8). The perinatal infant
mortality rate amounted to 14.8 per thousand and the mortality
rate among infants under 1 year of age amounted
to 8.5 per thousand.
These low rates are comparable to those in
the developed industrial countries. In 1998, the vaccination coverage rate was
100 per
cent for measles and 98 per cent for diphtheria,
whooping cough, tetanus and poliomyelitis (see annex 9). To achieve these
objectives,
the following measures were taken:
(a) Reduction in the incidence of infectious
diseases
- The
Ministry of Health is developing vaccination services and increasing their
coverage rates in accordance with the methods recommended
by the World Health
Organization. The following achievements have been made:
A plan has been formulated for the eradication of poliomyelitis and tetanus,
from both of which Bahrain has been declared free, no
cases having been reported
since 1993. The epidemiological monitoring and investigation programmes
have also been developed;
Numerous vaccination campaigns have been conducted since 1995 to
eradicate poliomyelitis and measles. Approximately 98 per cent of
children in the various age groups were vaccinated during those campaigns and
booster doses are being administered against those
diseases;
Vaccinations are continuing to be administered to children afflicted with
sickle cell anaemia (Haemophilus influenzae B and pneumococcal);
Children under five years of age are continuing to be routinely
vaccinated against epidemic hepatitis;
Since January 1998, the Haemophilus influenzae B vaccine has been
routinely added to the expanded immunization programme;
The vaccinations provided for under the expanded immunization programme have
been rescheduled, in order to ensure that children enjoy
greater immunity,
through the administration of a first dose of the measlesGerman
measlesmumps vaccine at the age of 12 months and
a second dose at
5-6 years of age;
A plan has been formulated for the examination of all expectant mothers in
order to ensure that they are free from epidemic hepatitis
B and for the
administration of the vaccine, together with immune globulin, to the children of
infected mothers at the time of their
birth in order to protect them from
infection;
A double tetanusdiphtheria vaccination is administered to male and female
schoolchildren at the age of 13 years;
The Health Education Department has prepared programmes for dissemination by
the various information media to make the public more
aware of the importance of
vaccinations and of participation in the national campaigns.
Reduction in the incidence of diarrhoeal diseases and
mortality resulting therefrom
- Death
from diarrhoea is a rare occurrence, diarrhoearelated infection and mortality
having been reduced through the implementation
of numerous programmes to promote
the universal use of oral rehydration, the broadcasting of radio and television
spots to stimulate
public awareness concerning prevention and treatment, and the
provision of diagnostic services to identify the causes. According
to a family
health survey, in 1995 the incidence of diarrhoea amounted to 8.4 per
hundred of the population under five years of age.
Reduction in the incidence of respiratory diseases and
mortality resulting therefrom
- In 1995,
the incidence of minor and severe respiratory diseases among children under
five years of age amounted to 43 per cent, with
very few deaths
resulting therefrom. The mortality rate from severe respiratory diseases was
reduced through:
Ongoing immunization of children against these diseases;
Immunization of children suffering from chronic diseases and prone to annual
bouts of influenza;
Preparation and periodic broadcasting of public information messages;
Ongoing training of health workers in diagnostic and therapeutic skills;
Provision of the various types of treatment needed;
The conduct of public awareness campaigns, by the Health Education
Department, concerning respiratory diseases and the prevention
thereof at the
beginning of the winter season.
(b) Reduction in the incidence of accidents
- According
to a family health survey, the incidence of accidents among children under
five years of age amounted to 5 per cent in 1995.
Of these
accidents, at least 75 per cent occurred at home,
12 per cent on the roads and 13 per cent in other
places.
- The
various programmes that have been formulated to reduce the incidence of
accidents focus on public education and training in first
aid in order to
save the lives of victims. Private associations also organize symposia on this
subject. For example, the Bahraini
Child Development Association has held a
seminar on accidents and injuries in parks and other public places and the
Health Education
Department has organized workshops at social centres and in
governmentrun schools at all educational levels on the prevention of
accidents
in the home and the principles of first aid. A series of educational
lectures on this subject have also been held at maternity
hospitals.
(c) Reduction in the perinatal and infant mortality
rates
- The
following measures have been taken to achieve this objective:
A committee on the reduction of the perinatal mortality rate among children
under five years of age has been established and is currently
conducting a
survey of the causes of stillbirths;
Periodic meetings are held in the Paediatric Department to study cases of
mortality and ways to prevent it;
Bahraini physicians and nurses are continuing to receive specialized onthejob
training in intensive care;
A number of paediatricians have been trained in various fields of
specialization, including endocrinology, disorders of the digestive
system,
enzyme imbalances and hepatic, respiratory, hereditary, neurological and blood
disorders so that they can help to form appropriate
units in the Paediatric
Department and provide the highest standard of care;
The requisite equipment is provided for the care of premature babies in
accordance with the latest medical technology and techniques;
A genetic laboratory has been established to detect hereditary diseases
through the analysis of chromosomes.
- In
1998, the birth and mortality rates in the State of Bahrain, as announced by the
Public Health Department of the Ministry of Health
(see annex 7), were as
follows:
Crude birth rate per 1,000 of the population: 20.3;
Stillbirth rate per 1,000 births: 10.8;
Premature birth rate per 1,000 live births: 71;
Perinatal foetal mortality rate per 1,000 births: 14.8;
Early foetal mortality rate per 1,000 live births: 5.4;
Late foetal mortality rate per 1,000 live births: 3.1;
Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births: 8.5.
2. Reduction in the maternal mortality rates resulting from
pregnancy and
birthrelated complications through the provision of
health care during
the periods of pregnancy and childbirth, the
encouragement of spacing
between births and the promotion of public
awareness concerning the
need for family planning
- In
1998, the maternal mortality rate, amounting to 0.15 per thousand live births,
was low in comparison with other countries and the
proportion of births that
took place under medical supervision amounted to 98 per cent. In 1995, the
proportion of expectant mothers
who attended clinics to receive medical care
amounted to 99 per cent and the proportion of married women using birth-spacing
methods
amounted to 62 per cent. According to surveys conducted in 1995, the
incidence of iron deficiency anaemia among expectant mothers
in the State of
Bahrain amounted to about 40 per cent, which is a very high proportion. The
following steps have been taken to reduce
maternal mortality
rates:
Female physicians and State-registered midwives working in maternity clinics,
health centres and hospitals are continuing to receive
training in the provision
of the highest standards of maternal care services and the skilled diagnosis of
dangerous cases from the
early stages of pregnancy;
Special hospital care is provided for pregnant women suffering from
hereditary blood diseases and other chronic diseases;
A hospital indexing system has been introduced to identify pregnant women
liable to give birth prematurely;
Ultrasonographic detection equipment is provided at maternity hospitals and
health centres and physicians are trained to operate it;
Hysteroscopic equipment to examine the uterine cervix and cavity are provided
at gynaecology and maternity departments in order to
improve the standard of
diagnosis and treatment;
Various studies and research projects are being undertaken in order to
evaluate, inter alia, the nutritional status of expectant mothers
and the incidence of anaemia among women;
Periodic examination services are provided for women with a view to the early
detection of tumours of the breast and cervix;
Family planning services are provided and integrated with maternal and child
services in all the health centres;
The Health Education Department of the Ministry of Health is implementing the
breast selfexamination programme for single and married
women at governmentrun
and private institutions;
Various means of contraception for birthspacing purposes are made available
at health centres and private organizations, such as the
Family Planning and
Care Association, are supporting those services by providing instruction in
various methods of contraception
and by training health workers;
A special monitoring system has been introduced for women using family
planning services;
Training courses and education programmes are organized to promote family
planning and the prevention of the spread of iron deficiency
anaemia among the
various social sectors;
Pregnant mothers are examined periodically to determine their haemoglobin
levels;
Some private associations, such as the Bahraini Family Planning and Care
Association, and some women’s associations, in collaboration
with the
Ministry of Health, provide public awareness and counselling services in the
field of family planning by distributing educational
pamphlets and organizing
lectures and symposia;
The Bahraini Family Planning and Care Association has established a family
planning advisory centre, which is playing an important
educative and
informative role;
The general trend is to encourage male participation in these educational
programmes, in which emphasis is placed on reproductive
health and family
planning, and numerous private clubs and associations participate in the
symposia that are held.
3. Reduction in the incidence of severe and moderate
malnutrition among
children under five years of age
- According
to a study of the incidence of anaemia among children under six years of age,
which was conducted in 1996 by the Department
of Nutrition, 47 per cent of
children from six months to five years of age were suffering from general
symptoms of anaemia and about
32 per cent were suffering from
iron deficiency anaemia.
- The
incidence of malnutrition has been reduced through implementation of the
following measures:
Female public health nurses receive ongoing training to develop their skills
in the field of anthropometric examination and the use
of growth tables and
curves;
Female health educators and public health nurses receive training in the
principles of proper nutrition in order to develop their
nutritional knowhow and
a plan has been formulated, in collaboration with the Department of Nutrition at
the Ministry of Health,
to develop the skills and knowhow of primary health care
physicians and nurses with a view to the early detection of problems of
malnutrition, including earlystage obesity, so that the requisite examinations
and counselling sessions can be organized to prevent
an aggravation of the
problem. The headquarters of the National Bank of Bahrain has been chosen for
the implementation of the first
phase of the programme in which health workers
will be trained and educational symposia will be held on the subject of proper
methods
of child nutrition at schools, social centres and clubs attached to
health centres. The Department of Nutrition has published tables
concerning the
nutrition of children under six years of age, which have been distributed to all
the health centres;
Data concerning the weight, height and cranial dimensions of children under
six years of age are computerized and sophisticated programmes
are used to
evaluate growth and formulate the requisite treatment plans;
The Ministry’s Department of Nutrition conducts periodic nutritional
surveys with a view to the identification of cases of malnutrition
and the
compilation of an extensive database for the development of necessary health
plans;
Periodic radio and television spots are broadcast on infant nutrition,
weaning, the nutrition of children under six years of age and
balanced
nutrition;
The Department of Nutrition, in collaboration with other bodies concerned, is
studying the possibility of adding iron to locally manufactured
flour and adding
iodine to salt in order to avoid problems of iron deficiency anaemia and iodine
deficiency among the population;
In 1999, the Department of Nutrition conducted a survey to determine the
magnitude of the problem of iodine deficiency among schoolchildren
in the State
of Bahrain and preventive programmes will be formulated in the light of its
findings;
At the beginning of every academic year, the Health Education Department
prepares numerous programmes to promote greater public awareness
of the
importance of a proper breakfast for schoolchildren. These programmes are
broadcast on the radio and form the subject of
articles in primary school
magazines.
4. Promotion and encouragement of breastfeeding immediately
after birth
- In
1995, a family health survey found that 97 per cent of all children were
breastfed immediately after birth, 64 per cent were breastfed
for a period of
one year, 40 per cent were breastfed for a period of two years and 36 per cent
were breastfed without the addition
of other liquids, such as water, to the end
of the fourth month. It is hoped that these high figures, which reflect the
success
of the child-friendly hospitals project in Bahrain, will continue to
rise.
- The
principal aims of the child-friendly hospitals project were:
To produce a breastfeeding manual for health workers;
To train all health workers in all aspects of breastfeeding and maternal and
child nutrition;
To organize lectures on breastfeeding for expectant mothers;
To conduct clinical breast examinations and advise expectant mothers on the
proper ways to overcome breastfeeding obstacles;
To send physicians and State-registered midwives on training courses to learn
how to apply the breastfeeding policy.
- The
following steps were taken to achieve these aims:
The Ministry of Health established a Breastfeeding Committee to implement the
childfriendly hospitals project, to inform the public,
through the information
media, of the discontinuation of the free distribution of infant formula, to
study the present situation
in Bahrain and to formulate a breastfeeding policy
to be applied in hospitals and health centres in accordance with the 10 steps
recommended by the World Health Organization and UNICEF. This Committee has
been expanded to include members from the Defence Force
Hospital, the Health
Sciences College and social centres;
The childfriendly hospitals project has been implemented at all hospitals and
health centres since 1993 and, in that year, the State
of Bahrain was awarded a
UNICEF certificate acknowledging the fact that the project was being applied
successfully in all the maternity
hospitals run by the Ministry of Health;
In 1995, the marketing and distribution of infant formula was regulated by an
Amiral Decree and, in 1996, the Ministry of Health established
a committee to
monitor the implementation of the provisions of that Decree;
Preparations were made for the holding, in November 1999, of a workshop for
the Arabian Gulf States in order to evaluate the current
status of the
child-friendly hospitals project and study the needs, obstacles and future
plans, in coordination with UNICEF;
A study was conducted to evaluate child-friendly hospital services and verify
their effectiveness in improving the nutritional status
of the country’s
children.
5. Reduction in the incidence of hereditary blood
diseases
- In
1992, the incidence of sickle cell anaemia amounted to 2 per cent and the
incidence of βthalassemia amounted to between 2
and 4 per cent. In 1999,
these rates had declined by virtue of the educational endeavours and the
services provided in the country.
According to the data from a study in which
male and female schoolchildren were examined in 1999, the incidence of those
diseases
among that age group was as follows:
Sickle cell
anaemia: persons infected 1.2 per cent; carriers of the disease
13.8 per cent;
βthalassemia: persons infected 0.09 per
cent; carriers of the disease 2.89 per cent.
- The
Ministry of Health is taking the following measures to protect the population
from those diseases:
Prenuptial examination services have been provided at all the health centres
since 1992. They include laboratory analyses to identify
persons infected
with or carrying disease, as well as a study of the family’s pathological
history, conduct of the requisite
clinical examinations and provision of the
necessary counselling and guidance. Dangerous cases are referred to the
Department of
Hereditary Diseases at the hospital;
The most modern technology and diagnostic equipment for hereditary diseases
is available in the Ministry of Health’s laboratories;
All the physicians, nurses and health educators working in the health centres
receive ongoing periodic training in the provision of
prenuptial examination
services and in the procedures for the identification of cases requiring special
care;
Training courses and national campaigns on hereditary blood diseases, which
emphasize the importance of prenuptial examinations, are
organized for local
female supervisors of social centres and also for schoolchildren and university
students;
Brochures and posters are produced to stress the importance of prenuptial
examinations;
The Hereditary Blood Diseases Association, which is a private association
comprising a group of physicians, specialists and persons
concerned with this
subject, undertakes studies and research and organizes ongoing public awareness
campaigns.
- The
Health Education Department engages in various activities,
including:
(a) The delivery of health awareness lectures in
this field;
(b) The periodic broadcasting of health spots in radio
programmes;
(c) The organization of health exhibitions on all national
and healthrelated occasions;
(d) The dedication of three programmes
of the “Doctors on the Air” series to prenuptial
examinations.
(e) The broadcasting of periodic television spots on
prenuptial examinations;
(f) The publication of short informative
messages in daily newspapers.
6. Improvement of the physical, mental and social health of
adolescents
- As
a token of its concern for young persons and adolescents, the Ministry of Health
established an Adolescent Health Committee to
safeguard the present and future
physical, mental and social health of adolescents. This Committee comprises
representatives of
a number of bodies concerned from various departments of the
Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, the Military Hospital
and the
Public Authority for Youth and Sport.
- The
Committee has begun to formulate a plan of action in the field of adolescent
health and, to this end, is gathering and studying
all the health, social and
statistical information available on this age group. The members of the
Committee are also being provided
with a large amount of theoretical information
and the first workshop that was held, in collaboration with the World Health
Organization,
for their benefit focused on four fields:
Health services and what the State is currently providing in this field;
Training;
Information and education;
Studies, research and ongoing evaluation.
- After
a discussion of the needs of adolescents in Bahrain, the Committee held a second
workshop with help from a UNDP development
fund. An ambitious plan was
formulated covering the four abovementioned fields. In 1999, a committee was
formed to supervise the
implementation of that plan, prepare a scheduled
programme and evaluate the results.
- The
following action has been taken to improve adolescent health.
(a) Quantitative and qualitative improvement of the service
provided for
adolescents in all the health centres and in the Hospital
for
Mental Diseases
- The
skills of personnel working in the health sector are being developed through
internal and external training courses and endeavours
are being made to ensure
the availability of the number of personnel needed to provide the requisite
counselling services.
(b) Training
- The
numerous categories that are being trained include: physicians, female nurses
and health educators, clerks, schoolteachers, parents,
journalists and leaders
of youth institutions.
(c) Promotion of health awareness through health
education
- The
following measures have been taken to achieve this aim:
The Committee established by the Ministry has drawn up an educational plan of
action which, hopefully, will be put into effect in
the near future with UNDP
assistance;
The Adolescent Health Committee held a workshop for the public in
collaboration with the Ministry of Education;
The Committee has organized numerous lectures at schools on the subject of
adolescent health;
The Committee has conducted a full survey of the academic curricula of
Bahraini schools covering the subject of adolescent health;
The Committee is continuing to organize lectures for social supervisors in
Bahraini schools on the physical and psychological changes
that occur during the
stage of adolescence.
7. Promotion of awareness by all family
members of the harmful
effects of smoking
The AntiSmoking Association, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, is
promoting greater public awareness of the harmful effects
of smoking and the
serious diseases to which it leads by publishing educational pamphlets and
organizing lectures and television
and radio spots;
Cigarette advertising on radio and television has been prohibited by an
Amiral Decree;
Smoking in public places has been prohibited by a similar decree;
The national AntiSmoking Association is playing a major role in the promotion
of greater public awareness;
A National AntiSmoking Committee has been formed under the chairmanship of
the Minister of Health;
A programme to promote awareness of the harmful effects of smoking has been
included in the academic curricula;
Cigarette marketing companies are obliged to display the agreed health
warning on their products;
An Amiral Decree has prohibited smoking on all public transport;
An Amiral Decree has prohibited the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco
derivatives to persons under 18 years of age;
An Amiral Decree has prohibited cigarette manufacturers and distributors who
sponsor sporting events or competitions from exploiting
those occasions to
promote or advertise their products;
An antismoking awareness committee has been established in most Bahraini
schools;
A subcommittee has been established to formulate a strategy to combat the
smoking of narghiles.
8. Endeavours to ensure a safe and healthy environment
- Within
the context of the increasingly intensive endeavours that are being made to
ensure a safe and healthy environment, Legislative
Decree No. 21
of 1996 concerning the environment (see annex 10) stipulated that the
agency responsible for environmental affairs
at the Ministry of Housing,
Municipalities and the Environment would be empowered to issue decisions and
instructions on all environmental
matters and, in particular, would assume the
following functions:
Participation in the formulation of an environmental scientific research
policy in collaboration with the bodies concerned;
Exercise of the right to demand any information that it deems necessary from
any institution engaged in an activity that might lead
to environmental
pollution or degradation;
The drafting of laws and legislation and the promulgation of regulations to
protect the environment and keep it healthy;
The discussion, study and formulation of proposals and solutions on any
environmentrelated matters or problems referred to it by the
Cabinet or by any
other public or private body in the State;
The conduct or supervision of comprehensive research and studies on
pollution, the monitoring of its adverse effects on health and
the environment
and the adoption of any preventive means or measures needed to curb all forms of
environmental pollution and prevent
environmental degradation;
The establishment and monitoring of controls and permissible limits
concerning the level and concentration of environmentally pollutant
emissions;
Endeavours to promote greater concern for the educational, social, cultural
and informationrelated aspects and to further develop
environmental awareness in
order to enable society to contribute effectively to the protection and
development of the environment;
The formulation and implementation of the plans and programmes needed to
train qualified technical personnel in the field of environmental
affairs;
The establishment of systems for the compilation, analysis and exchange of
data and information with the help of research institutes
and organizations and
associations specialized in the field of environmental affairs in or outside the
State;
The study of international, regional and Arab agreements concerning
environmental affairs, and submission of an advisory opinion as
to whether
Bahrain should accede thereto, in collaboration with the authorities
concerned.
- In
order to reduce the level of pollution, safeguard resources and prevent
infection with the diseases resulting from environmental
degradation, a joint
committee consisting of representatives of the Ministry of Health, the Health
Sciences College, the Bahraini
Physicians Association and the Environmental
Protection Committee has been established to examine the correlation between
information
received and pathological cases, particularly those linked to
environmental factors.
- The
DirectorateGeneral for Environmental Affairs at the Ministry of Housing,
Municipalities and the Environment, being eager to protect
the population and
their environment, has taken numerous measures, including the
following:
Chemical substances are controlled, licences for their importation being
issued in coordination with the bodies concerned, and a study
is made of their
environmental effects;
Fines are imposed, in collaboration with the Traffic and Licensing Department
of the Ministry of the Interior, in respect of motor
vehicles the exhaust
emissions of which contain toxic components;
Principles and priorities have been established for the implementation of the
national emergency plan and the national plan to combat
oil pollution, with the
participation of all the bodies concerned in the State and in the presence of
international observers, in
the event of any oil spills in the State’s
territorial waters;
The State of Bahrain has acceded to the Vienna Convention for the Protection
of the Ozone Layer of 1985 and the Montreal Protocol
on Substances that
Deplete the Ozone Layer.
- Endeavours
are also currently being made to establish a healthcare waste disposal unit in
view of the considerable threat that such
waste poses to the
environment.
9. Assurance of general access to clean drinking water and
sanitary facilities,
especially in rural areas
- With
regard to the assurance of general access to clean drinking water and sanitary
facilities, especially in rural areas, pure drinking
water and sanitation
services have been provided in 100 per cent of the country’s
urban and rural areas.
Disabled children (art. 23)
- The
State of Bahrain attaches great importance to the right of disabled children to
enjoy special care and meets their needs free
of charge, whenever possible,
through the payment of assistance and the provision of equipment and
rehabilitation and training services.
- Responsibility
for the care and welfare of children suffering from any form of disability is
assumed by public and private bodies
which, with help from the private sector,
endeavour to meet their needs through the provision of various types of
services, including:
(a) Implementation of care and
rehabilitation programmes in the private and governmentrun centres and
facilities specialized in the
various forms of disability, which facilitate the
social integration and adaptation of disabled persons;
(b) Vocational
rehabilitation of children, in order to help them to find a job or suitable work
and achieve an appropriate degree
of occupational adaptation, through training
and guidance programmes tailored to the needs of the labour
market;
(c) Provision of opportunities for participation in all social,
cultural and sports activities at the local, Arab and international
levels with
a view to overcoming the feeling of incapacitation;
(d) Provision of
various types of compensatory aids, free of charge for persons who cannot afford
them, in order to promote their
social integration and
adaptation;
(e) Exemption of disabled persons from payment of public
transport fares;
(f) Issue of reduced-price tickets for disabled
persons, together with a companion, to travel to the States of the Gulf
Corporation
Council in order to facilitate their movement and
travel;
(g) Payment of financial assistance to disabled children and
their families, if necessary, in order to meet their needs;
(h) Exemption
from Customs duty on equipment and apparatus imported for the use of disabled
children;
(i) Promotion of greater awareness among families, in order to
enable them to protect their children from the causes of disability,
through the
organization of ongoing programmes, lectures and symposia for parents, guardians
and members of local communities;
(j) Examination and diagnosis of
disabled children to determine their capacities and
aptitudes;
(k) Promotion of health awareness and proper healthy habits
through an integrated health education programme designed to prevent
diseases
and accidents;
(l) Improvement of all aspects of primary health
care;
(m) Provision of more extensive data and information to prevent
the occurrence or aggravation of disability;
(n) Development and
encouragement of the propensities and hobbies of disabled children in order to
help them to enrich their lives
and occupy their leisure time through
recreational activities.
- Enjoyment
of those services is subject to a number of conditions and procedures. For
example, the child must be suffering from a
mental, auditory or physical
disability, must be free from infectious and contagious diseases and, for
purposes of rehabilitation,
must possess a minimum ability to learn and must not
be suffering from behavioural disorders. In addition, the family must want
their child to benefit from all those types of services and must cooperate in
order to meet their requirements.
- Joint
action by governmental and private bodies in the field of care of the disabled
began through the National Committee for the
Disabled, which was established in
1984 and included representatives not only of the governmental and private
sectors but also of
the disabled themselves. On 11 May 1992, the National
Committee was renamed the National Foundation for Services for the Disabled,
which continued and expanded its functions of formulating public policy
concerning rehabilitation of the disabled, proposing legislation,
undertaking
studies and research work and establishing the projects needed to fund
activities relating to the care and rehabilitation
of the disabled. The
Foundation’s principal achievements include the provision of a fixed
source of funding for the care of
the disabled, the management and operation of
a number of investment projects for the benefit of the disabled, and provision
of the
types of financial and technical support needed for their rehabilitation
and the development of their abilities and potential.
- The
Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs provides numerous services for children
suffering from disabilities, for whom it has established
a number of welfare
centres and institutions which provide educational, medical, social and
psychological services for children with
mental, sensory and physical
disabilities. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is also endeavouring to
rehabilitate and integrate
disabled children in society by providing care and
enrolling those who are capable of integrating at nursery schools and
kindergartens.
It also secures employment opportunities for disabled persons
after their vocational and technical rehabilitation.
- According
to the results of the 1991 General Population and Housing Census published by
the Central Statistical Bureau (see annex
11), the proportion of disabled
persons per 1,000 of the population amounted to about 7.56 among Bahrainis
and 3.4 per cent among
the nonBahraini population.
Welfare institutions for disabled persons
The National Bank of Bahrain Rehabilitation Centre for Disabled
Children
- The
aim of this Centre, which is run by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs,
is as follows:
(a) To rehabilitate disabled children and endow
them with the skills needed to become self-reliant in their daily
lives;
(b) To provide all types of care and rehabilitation, health,
psychological and social services for disabled children;
(c) To
integrate disabled children in society so that they can become useful members
thereof.
- In
order to be admitted to the Centre, a child must be Bahraini, suffering from
severe or moderate mental disability or cerebral palsy,
under 12 years of age
and free from contagious diseases. Permanent or temporary accommodation and day
care are available at the
Centre, the services of which
include:
(a) Rehabilitation services;
(b) Educational
programmes;
(c) Medical services;
(d) Health care and
physiotherapy services;
(e) Subsistence services.
The Social Rehabilitation Centre
- This
social rehabilitation institution, which is run by the Ministry of Labour and
Social Affairs, was opened in 1980 and comprises
three units (special education,
vocational training and
protected workshops). Its function is to diagnose the condition of the
disabled person, discover his abilities and propensities and
endow him with
basic academic skills through an educational programme adapted to the various
manifestations of disability.
- The
Centre’s programmes and services cover academic and vocational skills,
selfsufficiency skills, social and recreational skills
and vocational training.
Its students are enrolled in vocational training and rehabilitation programmes
after they have completed
the special education programmes.
The Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait Rehabilitation Centre
- This
Centre, which is run by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, provides
various types of services for disabled young men
who are incapable of working in
the labour market in a normal manner. It gives them opportunities to receive
training, at protected
workshops, in special vocational skills such as equipment
maintenance, upholstery, agriculture, handicrafts, housekeeping and
cooking.
The Sheikhan al-Farisi Comprehensive Communication
Centre
- This
governmental institution, which is run by the Ministry of Labour and Social
Affairs, provides a full range of rehabilitation
and educational services for
persons suffering from auditory disabilities. It has 20 classrooms in
which 134 children with hearing
disabilities are taught to communicate through
intensive auditory, speech and linguistic training programmes. The children
receive
an academic education based on modern teaching methods and comprehensive
means of communication (speech, reading and writing, lip
reading, sign language
and finger alphabet). The children’s families are also taught to
understand and deal with them. The
Centre endeavours to integrate children who,
although hard of hearing, are capable of receiving a normal academic education,
in government-run
schools after completion of their linguistic and auditory
rehabilitation.
The Children’s Day Care Centre
- This
Centre, which is run by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, caters for
the needs of persons suffering from multiple disabilities.
The costs of its
construction were covered by a donation from the Sulmaniya Rotary Club and it
began its operations in 1993. It
currently accommodates 32 male and female
children from 4 to 12 years of age suffering from multiple disabilities or
cerebral palsy.
The Amal Early Care Centre
- This
Centre, which is run by the Maternal and Child Welfare Association, provides
special care for disabled children from 3 to 6 years
of age in order to
maintain an educational balance between them and their peers. It focuses on
developing their linguistic expression,
collective participation and other
skills, taking into consideration individual differences between the
children.
- The
Centre is endeavouring to expand its services to cover persons suffering from
blindness and auditory and oral disabilities, who
would subsequently be
transferred to special institutes on reaching the appropriate age
therefor.
The Amal Institute for Disabled Children
- This
Institute, which is run by the Maternal and Child Welfare Association, develops
the abilities, skills and behavioural patterns
of disabled persons by providing
a number of educational, counselling, vocational, health and recreational
services. It trains children
from 6 to 14 years of age, who are
subsequently transferred, in the light of their condition, to rehabilitation
centres or ordinary
schools.
The Hearing and Speech
Development Centre
- This
Centre, which is run by the Bahraini Child Development Association, is aspiring
to become one of the most progressive and dynamic
centres for the rehabilitation
of persons suffering from auditory disabilities in the Arabian Gulf region and
in the Arab region
in general. It is also aspiring to become a specialized
centre for research and studies relating to auditory disabilities and hearing
and speech problems at the local, Arab and international levels. The Centre
applies the auditory-oral method to teach and deal with
its child students.
The “Blossoms of Mobility”
Kindergarten
- This
kindergarten, which is run by the Mobility International (Bahrain) Centre,
caters for physically disabled children from 3 to
6 years of age. Its aim
is to help them to acquire the knowledge and skills needed for social
integration and to prepare them for
enrolment in ordinary primary
schools.
The Wafa Centre
- This
Centre, which is run by the Bahraini Mental Retardation Association, caters for
mentally retarded children. Its aim is to provide
social and recreational
programmes to enhance the children’s abilities and skills and help them to
develop their personalities
and become independent.
The Introversion Centre
- This
Centre, which is run by the Bahraini Mental Retardation Association, caters for
solitary children by endeavouring to develop
their independence and life skills
and endow them with the experience needed to adapt to their social situation.
The Centre also
provides counselling and guidance for families and trains them
in ways to care for, and deal with, their introvert
children.
- The
following private bodies are working with disabled
persons:
(a) The Mobility International (Bahrain)
Centre;
(b) The Friends of the Blind Association;
(c) The
Bahraini Committee for Disabled Sports;
(d) The Bahraini Mental
Retardation Association;
(e) The Bahraini Down’s Syndrome
Association;
(f) The Bahraini Child Development
Association;
(g) The Maternal and Child Welfare
Association;
(h) The Introversion Association;
(i) The Indian
Sneha Centre.
- Some
associations, such as the Bahraini Charitable Association, the Bahraini
Red Crescent Society and some women’s associations,
show special
concern for the disabled and numerous contributions in this regard are also made
by governmental bodies such as the
Ministry of Housing, Municipalities and the
Environment, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry
of the
Interior, the Ministry of Health and the Public Authority for Youth and
Sport.
Social security and childcare services and facilities (arts. 26
and 18, para. 3)
- Article
5 (b) of the Constitution stipulates that: “The State shall ensure that
the requisite social security is available to citizens in the event of old age,
sickness, incapacity for work, orphanhood, widowhood or unemployment. It shall
provide them with social insurance and healthcare
services and shall endeavour
to protect them from the scourge of ignorance, fear and poverty.” The
childcare facilities in
the State of Bahrain ensure full care for orphaned
children, children from broken families and children of unknown parentage, who
are provided with social, educational, psychological, health and recreational
care. The high degree of social and family cohesion
which, as one of the
pillars of Muslim society, characterizes the State of Bahrain considerably eases
the burden on the State in
this regard.
Standard of living (art. 27, paras. 1-3)
- The
social security and social welfare legislation, together with the other social
legislation, ensures that children enjoy legal
and social protection. The
Social Insurance Act of 1976, as amended, which is the principal social
security enactment, ensures the
financial security of children by stipulating,
inter alia, that children are entitled to a lump sum indemnity if
the insured person dies without leaving a widow (art. 38) and that they are
entitled to a monthly pension if the insured person dies
or becomes totally
disabled as a result of an occupational accident (art. 57).
- The
Act further stipulates that, on the death of an insured person or a pensioner,
his pension entitlement devolves on his children
or the other categories
specified in article 75 of the Act. Such pensions continue to be paid to male
children until they reach
the age of 22 years or begin to earn an income, unless
they can show proof of being incapacitated for work or enrolled for higher
or
university education. The pensions paid to female children are not discontinued
until they marry or earn a wage equivalent to
the pension.
- Under
the terms of article 80 of the Act, grandsons and granddaughters are entitled to
the pension that would have been payable to
their deceased father on the
conditions laid down in articles 78 and 79 of the Act. Article 135 sets a
minimum level for pensions
payable to all beneficiaries, including children, and
this minimum has been increased on a number of occasions by decision of the
Prime Minister.
- Male
children under 18 years of age (or older, subject to proof that they are
continuing their education, until they complete their
university studies),
female children under that age (or until they marry or find employment), orphans
and persons in an equivalent
situation, and disabled or retarded persons, are
considered to be among the categories entitled to social assistance under the
terms
of Ordinance No. 22 of 1995, concerning the social assistance scheme,
which was promulgated by the Minister for Labour and Social
Affairs.
- Improvement
of the socio-economic circumstances of families is one of the urgent objectives
of the bodies concerned including, in
particular, the Ministry of Labour and
Social Affairs. Private associations are also playing a major role in the
provision of financial
and moral support for families.
- The
endeavours that are being made in this field are illustrated by the
following:
(a) The provision of social and financial
assistance, with emphasis on the productive family programmes which are designed
to secure
a fixed source of income for families through the development projects
that are being implemented by the Ministry of Labour and Social
Affairs,
including:
The productive family project;
The local female
pioneers project;
The hairdressing project;
The tailoring and
dressmaking project;
The adult education project;
The Microstart
project.
- The
Ministry of Education has also introduced courses in new fields of
specialization, such as tourism, hotel management, insurance
and banking, into
the academic curricula. In view of the growing demand for some fields of
specialization due to the needs of the
labour market, some other official
bodies, such as the Ministry for Cabinet Affairs and Information, have made
arrangements for the
award of specialized diplomas in hotel management through
their Catering and Hotel Training Centre.
- With
regard to handicrafts, the Ministry for Cabinet Affairs and Information has
established the Jasra Craft Centre. The Ministry
of Oil and Industry is also
operating a Handicrafts Centre which is endeavouring to encourage these crafts,
train families therein
and encourage them to market their products. The Bahrain
Training Institute, which is run by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs,
also trains large numbers of students in many of the skills required by the
labour market.
(b) The number of day-care centres for children
under three years of age in Bahrain has been increased to 46 in order to
accommodate
a larger number of children.
(c) More social centres have
been established and provided with kindergartens and nurseries supervised by
private associations.
The Ministry is providing these associations with
financial and technical support in order to encourage the establishment of
associations
concerned with children. A total of seven social centres are now
operating in various parts of the country.
- The
Ministry is endeavouring to counsel families and help them to solve the problems
that they encounter by organizing social guidance
and counselling programmes,
symposia and lectures in local communities, particularly on the subject of
social education, family solidarity,
the problems entailed by family break-ups,
and the development of a sound sense of peaceful citizenship. It is also
developing the
productive family programme through the introduction of new
fields to enable families to become more economically self-reliant instead
of
depending on the financial assistance that they receive.
G. Education, leisure and cultural activities
Education, including vocational training and guidance (art.
28)
- In
the State of Bahrain, the initial stages of education are free of charge to
children from 6 to 17 years of age in accordance with
article 7
of the Constitution, which stipulates that the State shall patronize the
science, literature and the arts, shall encourage scientific research and shall
ensure the availability of educational and cultural services for citizens. The
State’s education policy is based on two fundamental
aims derived from the
Constitution: (i) dissemination of education in order to make it easily
available to persons of school age in all parts of the country; (ii)
improvement
of the quality and standard of education in order to more effectively meet the
needs of students and the requirements
of socio-economic development in the
country.
- Expenditure
on education is one of the priorities in the policy that is being pursued by the
Government of the State of Bahrain.
In fact, the appropriations for recurrent
expenditure on education account for more than 13 per cent of the State’s
general
budget. The State supplies the furniture, equipment, instruments and
raw materials needed by schools and also provides students
with school books
free of charge. In addition, it meets the costs of transporting the students to
and from their schools and provides
them with health care and social and
educational counselling.
- The
Ministry of Education is endeavouring to ensure that all schools are fully
staffed with male and female teachers, including an
adequate number of
replacements to stand in for colleagues who are forced to absent themselves.
The average pupil/teacher ratio
at all academic levels is 15 pupils
per teacher. Ministerial Ordinance No. 534/168-1/1992 promulgated in 1992 (see
annex 12) stipulates
that primary school teachers should give 22 classes per
week and preparatory and secondary school teachers should give 20 classes
per
week. Male and female teachers enjoy the same terms and conditions of
employment in regard to salary, appointment procedures,
pupil quota, promotion
and in-service training opportunities and professional support during their
period of probation. The salary
scale for male and female teaching staff
differs from the public grade-based scale applied in the other Ministries of
State in regard
to salaries and annual increments.
- Applicants
for teaching posts must hold a university and a teaching qualification and must
have passed the examination, which the
Ministry of Education holds every year,
in their field of specialization. The Ministry also organizes in-service
vocational training
programmes for teachers in their academic fields of
specialization and in the latest educational developments in regard to teaching
methods and techniques.
- Article
28, paragraph 1 (a), of the Convention on the Rights of the Child stipulates
that primary education should be made compulsory
and available free to all.
Article 7 of the Constitution of the State of Bahrain stipulates that education
shall be compulsory and free of charge in the initial stages specified by law
and
in the manner provided for therein. The statistics on education show that,
although compulsory education is not regulated by law,
the school enrolment rate
amounted to 95.6 per cent in 1996, which exceeds the target rate of 80 per cent
set in the World Declaration
on the Survival, Protection and Development of
Children in the 1990s.
- The
educational structure in the State of Bahrain consists of four academic levels.
The first is the pre-school level comprising
private nursery schools, supervised
by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, and kindergartens supervised by
the Ministry of
Education. There are a total of 130 such establishments
attended by about 14,800 male and female children in the age group 3-6 years
in
the case of kindergartens and under 3 years in the case of nursery
schools.
- The
second level, which is the stage of basic education, comprises the following
three academic cycles the curricula of which are
selected and organized in the
light of the development and age-related characteristics of the
children.
(a) The first cycle
- This
covers the three lowest grades of primary education in which children enrol on
reaching the age of 6 years. The philosophy of
the grade teacher system, which
is applied in this cycle, reflects the provisions of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, particularly
in regard to the need to make the child the
focal point of the education process and to provide a stable school environment
and a
healthy atmosphere in which the child feels secure and loved, in which
concern is shown for the child’s integrated physical,
spiritual, mental,
psychological and social development and in which the child’s aptitude to
learn and to acquire knowledge,
skills and beneficial healthy habits is
developed. The maximum class density in this cycle is 30 pupils. The grade
teacher system
was introduced in Bahraini schools in the academic year 1983/84
within the context of the project for the extensive development of
primary
education, including the aims of education, educational curricula, teaching and
evaluation methods, teacher training, school
administration and the design of
school buildings.
(b) The second cycle
- This
comprises the three higher grades of primary education in which children enjoy
the environment and resources provided by the
grade teacher system, with due
regard for the requisite balance between academic specialization and overall
educational experience.
The primary schools apply the structural evaluation
system to monitor the child’s development, the aim of which is to ensure
that the child attains a mastery of basic skills through teaching, diagnosis and
further teaching, that slow learners receive individual
attention and that
outstanding pupils are encouraged through incentives to continue their
education.
(c) The third cycle
- The
curriculum of this cycle, comprising the three preparatory grades, is being
developed and harmonized with the curricula of the
two preceding cycles. All
pupils who have completed the second cycle of basic education are admitted to
the third cycle.
- The
latest statistics indicate that 97 per cent of all children in the 6-15 age
group are enrolled for basic education at government-run
and private schools,
the remainder being at private schools or institutions for disabled persons with
special needs.
- The
third cycle is the stage of secondary education in which, in accordance with
article 28, paragraph 1 (b), of the Convention, the
State encourages the
development of different forms of secondary education, including general and
vocational training, makes them
available and accessible to every child and
takes appropriate measures such as the introduction of free education and the
provision
of financial assistance in case of need. During the last two decades,
the State of Bahrain has shown great concern for secondary
education in view of
the interlinkage between its output and the requirements of ongoing social
development. One of the principal
recent innovations in secondary education in
the State of Bahrain has been the subdivision of this stage of education into
diversified
streams with modernized curricula. For example, in addition to the
science and arts branches of general education, secondary education
in Bahrain
comprises technical and vocational branches, commercial education and training
in advertising and publicity and the textile
and clothing trades, the latter two
fields of training being intended for young women in order to give them an equal
opportunity
to enter the labour market and meet its needs for qualified
personnel in these fields. During the academic year 1998/99, the distribution
of male students in the various branches of secondary education was as follows:
industry 27.44 per cent, science 26.40 per cent,
commerce 22.19 per cent and
arts 19.92 per cent.
During the same year, the corresponding distribution of female students was:
science 40.43 per cent, arts 33.51 per cent, commerce
23.89 per cent
and textiles/clothing/advertising and publicity 2.17 per cent.
- The
academic plan for the secondary level of education is based on the system of
accredited hours, its academic courses being divided
into four
categories:
(a) Common courses: These diversified and
integrated courses are designed to ensure that all students attain a minimum
level of
general culture by providing them with sufficient information, skills
and guidance to help them to continue their
self-education;
(b) Specialized courses: These are the courses that the
student is obliged to attend in each branch;
(c) Optional specialized
courses: These are intended to give a broader and deeper insight in a
particular field of specialization
or in a field that is related to another
field of knowledge;
(d) Optional courses: These are intended to enrich
the curriculum, satisfy the students’ predelictions and propensities and
achieve an integrated balance between the other basic and specialized courses.
- The
final stage of education is higher education which, in Bahrain, is diversified
and provided at various institutions with differing
fields of specialization and
academic levels. This type of education, which is available at universities,
colleges and intermediate
institutes, lasts from two to four or more years.
Bahrain has two universities, the University of Bahrain and the Arabian Gulf
University, which have specialized programmes in engineering, business
management, science, the arts, education and other fields
of higher studies.
The costs of the university education of outstanding Bahraini students are met
by the State. The Arabian Gulf
University, which is a university jointly
operated by the States of the Gulf Cooperation Council, provides university
education in
the field of medicine and the medical sciences, as well as
postgraduate courses in special education and technical studies, for students
from the State of Bahrain, the Arabian Gulf States and other countries who meet
the requirements for admission.
- All
students attending preparatory schools (grades 7-9) receive educational and
vocational counselling to familiarize them with available
secondary educational
courses and present and future employment opportunities in the country and every
student is given an opportunity
to study subjects such as metalworking,
carpentry, decoration, ceramics and the principles of design. Since the
academic year 1999/2000,
the principles of design and technology have been
taught, on an experimental basis, as part of the syllabus for male and female
students
in the first cycle at some primary schools in order to endow them with
the practical skills needed to think in a logical manner,
solve problems,
understand scientific applications and use them to design and fabricate useful
original products that will give them
an insight into working life and prepare
them, from a young age, to participate therein in an effective and well-informed
manner.
Responsibility for the coordination of vocational guidance
is assigned to the school’s social supervisor. Endeavours are being
made to develop the methods and tools of vocational guidance
at schools within
the context of a wider concept of the promotion of vocational education at all
academic levels.
- In
accordance with article 28, paragraph 1 (e), of the Convention, measures must be
taken to encourage regular attendance at schools
and reduce drop-out rates. In
this connection, it should be noted that the Ministry of Education has made all
the necessary endeavours
to minimize drop-out rates, which do not exceed 0.02
per cent at the primary level, 1.9 per cent at the preparatory level and 3.86
per cent at the secondary level. The Ministry is aiming to gradually reduce
these already low rates.
- In
accordance with article 28, paragraph 2, of the Convention, States parties must
take all appropriate measures to ensure that school
discipline is administered
in a manner consistent with the child’s human dignity and in conformity
with the Convention. The
Ministry of Education is endeavouring to enable
schools to assume their full responsibilities, in collaboration with the home
and
local society, in order to provide children with a proper and balanced
upbringing and education. It is doing so by improving the
professional skills
of teachers, social supervisors and administrators, conducting a periodic
comprehensive review of the educational
environment in schools and encouraging
students to take part in school activities and student committees in order to
promote the
principles of participation, cooperation and respect for the views
of others. The aim of the Code of School Discipline promulgated
by the Minister
of Education in Ordinance No. 549/168-1/92 (see annex 13) was to develop a
feeling of responsibility among students,
safeguard their dignity and rights and
ensure justice and equality in disciplinary procedures which, inter alia,
prohibit caning
and corporal punishment in all schools. Students are given an
opportunity to express their complaints and grievances through their
school’s governing body and the Department of Education and can also use
the “hot line” to bring their questions,
issues and problems to the
attention of the Ministry of Education, from which they receive a direct
response. In 1999, the Cabinet
approved the establishment of parents’
councils in all government-run schools.
- Private
education has helped to absorb about 23,000 male and female pupils at the stage
of basic education. There are 132 nursery
schools and kindergartens run by
women’s associations and the private sector (see annex 14), which help to
prepare children
for school entry. During the academic year 1997/98, there were
about 10,020 male and female children enrolled at kindergartens,
representing a
proportion of 21.89 per cent of all male children and 24.73 per cent of all
female children (see annex 15).
- Private
schools and kindergartens are supervised by the Department of Private Education
in order to ensure the proper functioning
of the educational process
therein.
- A
training centre for female kindergarten teachers has been established, in
cooperation with the Arab Gulf Programme and with support
from UNICEF, to train
those teachers to apply sound pedagogical principles. The Faculty of Education
at the University of Bahrain
has also opened a department to train female
kindergarten teachers who, after graduating, are awarded an intermediate
diploma. The
first batch of teachers graduated in the academic year 1993/94.
There are currently 48 national and foreign private schools at which
more than
27,000 male and female students are enrolled.
- Article
28, paragraph 3, of the Convention stipulates that States parties should promote
and encourage international cooperation in
matters relating to education with a
view to contributing to the elimination of ignorance and illiteracy. The
Ministry of Education
is making all the necessary endeavours to increase the
proportion of educated persons and reduce the illiteracy rate which, in the
target age group 10-44 years, amounts to 5.38 per cent. The Ministry also
offers ongoing education programmes through literacy centres
in many Bahraini
towns and villages.
Statistical indicators
- According
to the latest statistical indicators, the Government’s endeavours in the
field of education have achieved the following
results:
In the academic year 1999/2000, there were 197 schools comprising 3,837
classes, the average density of which was 30 pupils. The
number of male and
female pupils enrolled in that year amounted to 115,349;
The enrolment rate at general secondary schools was 85 per cent;
The enrolment rate for children at the primary level was 100 per cent;
The State is encouraging and supervising private education. In the academic
year 1999/2000, there were 48 private schools, of which
18 were national
and 30 foreign, at which 27,846 male and female students were enrolled. About
6.5 per cent of the total number
of Bahraini students in the country were
enrolled for private education.
- As
a result of the intensive endeavours that the Government of the State of Bahrain
has made to eliminate illiteracy, the illiteracy
rate declined from 52.9 per
cent in 1971 to 12 per cent in 1996, in which year it amounted to about 5.38 per
cent in the age group
10-44 years.
Aims of education (art. 29)
- The
education policy of the Ministry of Education is based on the following two
fundamental aims derived from the spirit and provisions
of the
Constitution:
(a) Dissemination of education in order to make
it easily available to persons of school age in all parts of the
country;
(b) Improvement of the quality and standard of education in
order to more effectively meet the needs of students and the requirements
of
socio-economic development in the country.
- In
keeping with this education policy, the Ministry of Education has intensified
its endeavours to develop its education system by:
Training administrative personnel to formulate efficient and comprehensive
plans and take sound decisions conducive to the smooth
functioning of the
education process at all levels, even in remote areas, and providing
the services needed to help them to reform
and modernize
education;
Enabling the school administration to attain the level of competence needed
to help it to exercise an appropriate degree of technical
and pedagogical
autonomy in order to be able to assume and effectively develop its educational
responsibilities and improve the standard
of general performance at schools, and
by training senior administrators to carry out field research and planning
tasks;
Developing, documenting and modernizing an efficient education information
system linked to the State’s other information systems;
Developing the research skills of persons working in the education sector and
establishing an educational and functional research
unit in the central
administration;
Improving the efficiency of the teaching staff at schools by studying the
present qualifications of male and female teachers and proposing
appropriate
programmes for the ongoing development of their professional skills;
Promoting confidence in the teacher, enhancing his social status and giving
him wider scope to play his new role as a basic participant
in all aspects of
the educational process;
Reviewing the regulations and ordinances in order to give schools greater
freedom to take initiatives and speed up the reform and
modernization of
education;
Endeavouring to secure the promulgation of the laws and legislation needed to
enforce compulsory basic education;
Continuing to develop school curricula and educational and evaluation
processes at the basic and secondary stages of education and
conducting studies,
research and pilot experiments in connection with aspects of the curricula, such
as school books, educational
materials, teaching methods, tools for structural
diagnostic evaluation and activities to achieve the aims of the curricula;
Endeavouring to link the school to the environment, which constitutes a
fundamental component in the educational process;
Continuing to promote technical and vocational education, link it to working
life and encourage its adaptation to the current needs
of the country’s
industrial and commercial institutions in order to enable it to meet the
country’s requirements for
skilled manpower in various occupational
fields;
Intensifying endeavours to promote ongoing adult education and, in
particular, to combat illiteracy, in such a way as to provide everyone
with
better ongoing opportunities for education in order to eliminate illiteracy;
Adopting a comprehensive and flexible position in regard to international
educational developments and attempting to derive optimum
benefit therefrom in a
manner compatible with the cultural characteristics of society;
Developing school premises by studying their current status, defining the
specifications and criteria needed to ensure that they are
used in a more
adaptable and flexible manner consistent with the requirements for the ongoing
development of the educational process,
and continuing to conduct research with
a view to further improvement of the educational environment in and outside the
school;
Ensuring more effective supervision of private educational establishments by
the Ministry of Education with a view to monitoring all
aspects of the
educational process.
- In
the light of the provisions of the country’s Constitution and the
education policy that has been formulated pursuant thereto,
and in accordance
with article 3 of the Education Act of 1989, the aims of education have
been defined as follows:
To enable and assist every individual to develop his aptitudes, abilities,
skills and propensities in order to achieve a better quality
of human life
through cooperation in the fields of work and employment;
To promote the optimum integrated physical, emotional, mental, social, moral
and spiritual development of each individual within the
community, with due
regard for individual differences in order to ensure the advancement of the weak
and the disabled and the ongoing
advancement of those who are talented and
already developed;
To enhance the ability of the individual to think in a critical manner and to
make, and properly apply, sound judgements;
To inculcate the Islamic faith, affirming its contribution to integrated
individual personality, family cohesion and social unity
and solidarity, and
highlighting its role as a comprehensive mode of life, its suitability for every
time and place and its ability
to keep pace with the requirements of the modern
age;
To foster a deep sense of pride in belonging to the Arab and Islamic nations
through full awareness of the Arab and Islamic intellectual
heritage and its
historic role in the development of human civilization and the advancement of
science and the arts, and through
an understanding of the constituents and the
potential of the Arab nation and its ability to achieve progress and unity and
contribute
to the development of human civilization;
To understand the close links between the Arabian Gulf States, their
developmental requirements, the challenges with which they are
faced, the
endeavours that they are making to promote mutual cooperation and integration,
and their role in the fulfilment of the
aspirations of the Arab and Islamic
nations;
To enable the individual to contribute to scientific and technological
progress and benefit from its fruits by making it indigenous,
adapting it to his
advantage, strengthening its humanitarian and independent nature and encouraging
an open-minded approach to other
human cultures in order to benefit from their
experiences;
To enable the individual to use his leisure time profitably in voluntary
social work and cultural, scientific and sports activities
and to enjoy the arts
and literature, in addition to encouraging him to participate in cooperative
community life;
To enable society to achieve socio-economic progress by meeting its
quantitative and qualitative requirements for skilled national
manpower capable
of work, production, research and creative innovation;
To contribute to the development of a fully integrated, educated and
productive society and the achievement of cultural enrichment
by providing all
citizens, young and old, male and female, with opportunities for
self-advancement through the system of formal and
informal education;
To develop awareness of the characteristics of the environment and the human
heritage and ways to ensure their preservation and proper
utilization;
To develop the concepts of education for peace, a better future for mankind
and international cooperation and solidarity based on
justice, equality, mutual
respect and cultural interaction among all States and peoples.
- In
keeping with the philosophy of the grade teacher system, which is applied in
primary education and under which the child is regarded
as the focal point and
objective of the educational process, the academic plan is based on organization
of teaching and learning
activities with a view to developing the child’s
personality with due regard, wherever possible, for the child’s
particularities
and independence, diversification of the sources of learning
within the class environment and application of the structural evaluation
system
linked to the skills that a student is expected to master, as stipulated in the
Regulations Concerning Evaluation in Basic
Education of 1994 (see annex 16).
This gives every child an opportunity to learn in accordance with his or her
capacity and potential,
without the need for comparison with others, thereby
endowing him or her with a feeling of confidence and a desire to
learn.
- In
view of the importance of awareness of human rights, this subject has been
incorporated in the academic curricula in a manner consistent
with the academic
level of each student, particularly in the religious education, national
education and family education syllabuses,
in which reference is made to the
responsibilities of the individual towards his family, his society, his country
and the world.
- As
a token of respect for the right of the child to acquire his or her culture and
learn his or her mother tongue, the State of Bahrain
allows immigrant
communities to establish their own educational institutions that provide
appropriate tuition in their culture in
order to facilitate
integration in educational institutions in their home country, on the
condition that the students also receive an appropriate amount
of knowledge
concerning the history, geography and national culture of Bahrain.
- The
Ministry of Education, being aware of the great importance of knowledge
concerning the need to preserve and develop the natural
environment,
incorporated environmental education in the academic curricula a long time ago.
It also diligently organizes educational
and cultural activities to give
students a more thorough understanding of their environment and endow them with
skills and attitudes
that help them to adopt a proper approach to the
environment.
- Since
the teacher is the cornerstone in the educational development process, the
vocational development of teachers is accorded high
priority in the education
policy of the State of Bahrain. This concern for the teaching profession begins
at the pre-service stage
and is illustrated by the academic and educational
requirements for entry into the profession and the criteria for the selection
of
the best candidates. In view of the importance of the vocational development of
teachers, the Ministry of Education uses various
ways and means to ensure
effective ongoing vocational development, including short- and long-term
training programmes in fields of
specialization, teaching strategies and
techniques and annual conferences for each academic level, at which teachers
present working
papers, attend lectures and discussions and prepare proposals
and recommendations. The learning resource centres for teachers, which
are
organized and run by the teachers themselves, also constitute effective channels
for the ongoing development of teachers and
tools for the practice of
cooperation and the learning of skills in the fields of leadership, dialogue,
discipline and initiative,
which are essential to enable educational
institutions and their staff to achieve the educational goals which are in
conformity with
the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child.
- In
order to ensure that academic curricula cover the latest scientific developments
and show due regard for socio-economic changes,
they are subject to constant
review in the light of field evaluations and studies of the observations made by
teachers, students,
specialists in the formulation of curricula and other
persons concerned with education and its linkage to the needs of society so
that
it can make a constructive contribution to the development of the personalities
of children and young persons, endow them with
the systematic thinking skills
needed to face contemporary changes and encourage them to adopt the values of
cooperation, tolerance
and initiative.
- The
Ministry of Education has completed the implementation of the project for the
development of industrial secondary education and
is about to begin the
comprehensive development of commercial secondary education in collaboration
with the country’s labour
and production institutions. Practical steps
are also being taken to review basic education and formulate concepts for its
development
in a manner consistent with future requirements and
challenges.
- Being
eager to provide a proper educational environment, the Ministry ensures that
educational institutions in the State of Bahrain
are designed, constructed and
equipped in accordance with approved technical specifications that are reviewed
periodically in the
light of the findings of evaluation exercises. The
specifications cover the engineering, technical, health and educational
requirements
appropriate to the ages of the students in each academic cycle and
stage. The Ministry of Education is also planning to conduct
a periodic and
comprehensive internal and external evaluation of its educational institutions
in the light of quality-related specifications
and criteria.
- The
Ministry of Education, wishing to develop and modernize its curricula in a
manner consistent with the most recent innovations,
has installed computers and
the Internet in all secondary schools and has also introduced new courses and
fields of specialization
to meet the needs and requirements of the labour
market.
Leisure, recreation and cultural activities (art. 31)
- The
Ministry of Education organizes numerous cultural and recreational activities
for students at all educational levels both during
and outside school hours.
These activities, which help students to occupy their leisure time in a positive
manner beneficial to
themselves and to their society and local environment,
include the following:
Cultural and scientific lectures at schools;
Workshops on ways to develop creative skills, first aid, etc.;
Establishment of various student committees and associations, such as the
Anti-Smoking Committee, the Committee to Promote the Economic
Use of Electricity
and Water at School, the Committee on the Joint Exhibition of School Products
and the School Library Committee;
Organization of student visits to museums and scientific centres;
Participation in committees and activities of the Scout Movement;
Organization of cultural, scientific and recreational competitions in fields
such as poetry, oratory, music and painting;
Participation in local and regional scientific competitions.
- Through
its Student Affairs and Student Services Departments, the Ministry of Education
encourages the establishment of student groups
at schools to organize cultural
and recreational activities, such as school artistic activities, exhibitions of
children’s
paintings, literary expression competitions, school theatrical
performances, the production of artistic publications and the organization
of
field visits.
- The
State also encourages cooperation and exchanges of services among the various
institutions endeavouring to occupy the leisure
time of children and young
persons in a beneficial and useful manner. In this connection, the Ministry of
Education is cooperating
with the Public Authority for Youth and Sport by
allowing schools to be used, during the summer holiday, as youth centres in
which
the younger generation can engage in cultural, sports and recreational
activities.
- The
Ministry provides social and psychological counselling services in order to
enable students to choose the academic courses most
appropriate to their needs.
It also organizes field visits to various places of work, such as companies,
banks and hospitals, and
arranges meetings between students and senior
professionals in various occupational sectors, such as engineers, physicians,
accountants,
etc.
- The
Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, organizes
first aid courses in schools and makes arrangements
with health centres to
provide schools with the necessary medicines, to monitor the condition of sick
students and to supervise the
coating of their teeth with a substance that
protects them against cavities and decay.
- The
Ministry of Education is endeavouring to play a more active scientific and
cultural role through public libraries by providing
students with various
sources of knowledge and encouraging them to read and engage in purposeful
research.
- In
addition to the leisure, recreational and cultural activities available at
cultural centres, scientific clubs, sports grounds and
public parks, the State
is also encouraging the private sector to act as a partner in the provision of
recreational, leisure and
cultural facilities and services for children under
the supervision and control of the State agencies concerned. It is also
encouraging
that sector to establish recreational halls in all parts of the
country. In addition, the cinemas that have been established throughout
the
country screen suitably selected films for children.
- The
Ministry of Education shows special concern for all modern types and forms of
physical education and sports activities, which
constitute an important
component of general education and make a fundamental contribution to the
physical, social, mental and psychological
training and development of citizens.
Scout and Girl Guide activities are also strongly encouraged in view of the role
that they
play in the development of upright citizens.
- In
this connection, the Sports Education, Scouting and Girl Guide Department
organizes numerous activities in the following fields:
Sports education
On the conclusion of its
annual sports tournaments, the Department holds a closing ceremony, presided
over by the Minister of Education,
at which it reviews the most outstanding
activities and achievements, presents awards to winning schools, honours
pathfinders in
the Scout Movement who have received top-ranking badges of merit
from the Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council, distributes
shields and
certificates to the winning schools and honours Scout and Girl Guide
leaders;
Numerous programmes and activities are implemented under the
Department’s annual plan, which includes sports competitions for
all
educational levels;
During the academic year 1998/99, certificates of merit were introduced for
outstanding schools at all educational levels in order
to encourage them to show
greater interest in, and make careful preparations for, the sports activities
that are organized by the
Department;
Various types of sports competitions have been introduced in girls’
schools in order to enable them to effectively play their
natural role by
enabling their students to demonstrate their abilities in various sports
activities;
Highly sophisticated methods have been adopted to ensure that the results of
the competitive physical fitness championship are calculated
in record time and
distributed on schedule to the participating schools;
The training centres focus on gymnastics, ballet and taekwondo as the best
means to develop a taste for sport through diversified
activities;
A number of sports clubs and federations are coordinating their endeavours to
ensure the success of their development programmes and
the proper selection and
sponsoring of talented sportsmen in order to establish a foundation for
individual and team sports.
Local courses and assemblies
The Department holds an annual general assembly of
male and female sports teachers, as well as a special assembly for newly
recruited
male and female teachers in order to explain the Department’s
regulations, the working relationship between the Department
and school
administrations and any other matters relating to sports education;
The refresher courses that are organized for male and female umpires of
school sports have been attended by a large number of sports
teachers. One-week
training courses have also been organized for umpires officiating at the
competitive physical fitness championship;
The Department has also organized meetings to explain recent developments in
matters of concern to sports instructors and umpires.
Scouting
Annual Scout competitions are organized to form a
group of young researchers and train them for the future. The competitions
cover
Scout training methods, scientific research and the role of Scouts at the
national level;
The Cub Festival, which is held every year, includes competitions, selected
games and entertainment activities;
Numerous Scout camps are organized every year in order to implement Scout
programmes, particularly the outdoor, venture and discovery
programmes;
The Scout programme also includes field visits to institutions and companies
for fact-finding and other useful purposes and training
courses are organized
for Scout leaders in order to familiarize them with the latest developments in
the field of scouting;
The Ministry of Education arranges for its Scouts to participate in numerous
local annual activities and events, such as the celebration
of National Day and
the campaign to clean up the coasts in collaboration with the official and
private bodies concerned.
Girl Guides
Bahrain’s Girl Guides participate actively in
numerous national, Gulf and Arab annual camps;
Girl Guides distribute leaflets and posters explaining the harmful effects of
smoking to mothers and housewives at their homes in
order to make them better
informed. In this connection, two symposia have been held under the slogan
“Refrain from smoking
for a better life”;
Bahrain’s Girl Guides also take part in the celebration of Arab Towns
Day on 15 March of every year;
Bahrain’s Girl Guides participate in the international campaign to
clean up the coasts, which has been supervised by the Washington-based
Center
for Marine Conservation since 1985. They also participate in the international
“Clean World” campaign, which
is based in Sydney, Australia;
Girl Guides take part in the ongoing symposium entitled “The Role of
Clubs and Associations in Solving the Household Garbage
Problem”, which is
organized by the Youth and Environment Association in collaboration with the
Central Municipal Authority,
with a view to forming a “friends of the
environment” group to participate in environmental protection and
conservation
activities.
Special education and the welfare of students with special
needs
(a) The welfare of disabled students in government-run
schools
- The
Ministry of Education’s approach to the welfare of disabled students is
based on the principle of the integration of disabled
persons with special needs
in ordinary school classes, with due regard for their various types of
disability. In accordance with
the basic objectives of the philosophy of
education which the State of Bahrain has adopted and which are based on respect
for the
rights of the child and the welfare and social integration of disabled
persons, the Ministry has been implementing a pilot project
for the integration
of disabled children in ordinary classes since 1992 and specialized teachers
have been trained to deal with this
category of students in order to ensure
the project’s success. The project has been expanded to cover 43 per cent
of the government-run
primary schools. Through its departments concerned, the
Ministry of Education also organizes ongoing workshops to train male and
female
teachers in ways to deal with, and develop the abilities of, students suffering
from various forms of disability. In addition,
the Ministry is installing
escalators and ramps in schools to facilitate the movement of students with
physical disabilities.
- The
Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the public and private institutions
concerned with the disabled, provides rehabilitation
and training services for
disabled students with special needs. All blind children are enrolled at the
Bahraini-Saudi Institute
for education from the primary to the preparatory
levels and deaf children are enrolled at specialized centres for the education
of the deaf and dumb. Children with learning difficulties or mental
disabilities, such as minor or severe mental retardation, are
also enrolled at
specialized institutes.
(b) Encouragement of outstanding and gifted
students
- In
addition to the prizes and incentives that it offers to gifted students, the
State awards grants and scholarships to outstanding
students in all fields so
that they can continue their higher studies at State expense. The Ministry also
organizes competitions
and exhibitions to honour successful students on all
national occasions, such as Science Day, National Day, etc.
- The
Ministry of Education is endeavouring, through ongoing training workshops, to
make primary and preparatory school teachers more
familiar with ways to deal
with outstanding and gifted students. These workshops include a special
programme which explains the
concept and needs of outstanding students, trains
teachers to formulate special educational strategies for them and acquaints
teachers
with Arab and international experiences in this field.
- In
1995, the Ministry established a Committee for the Encouragement of Outstanding
and Gifted Students which, inter alia, adopted
a definition of
“outstanding and gifted student”, specified the methods and criteria
to be applied in order to identify
such students, disseminated awareness
concerning this matter among educationalists and formulated programmes to cater
for the needs
and develop the abilities of gifted students.
- The
Ministry’s policies in this regard are based on the legislation, laws and
ministerial ordinances which stress the importance
of catering for gifted and
outstanding students with special needs. For example, section 11 of the
Education Act contains explicit provisions concerning gifted and outstanding
students, including an article which stipulates that the Ministry
of Education
should cater for the needs of talented students by establishing special classes
for them and by formulating appropriate
curricula and programmes to nurture and
develop their aptitudes and talents.
- The
Ministry is currently monitoring and supporting school experiments to cater for
the needs of intellectually outstanding students
by sending female teachers
abroad for specialized training in intellectual talent and subsequently
appointing them at primary schools
in order to identify outstanding students on
the basis of clearly defined criteria, organize advanced activities for them
within
the classroom, develop their thinking skills and monitor their
educational and psychological needs. The Ministry is also selecting
schools
that are qualified for inclusion in the outstanding students’ programme
and is supplying them with the plans and materials
needed to cater for the needs
of such students. About 22 per cent of the government-run primary schools have
plans and programmes
for this category of
students.
H. Special protection measures
Children in situations of emergency
Refugee children (art. 22)
- Article
21 of the Constitution prohibits the extradition of political refugees.
Accordingly, the State caters for the needs of political refugees and all
members
of their families and provides them with protection, social assistance
and appropriate accommodation. Their children also benefit
from all the health,
educational, recreational and other services.
- Through
the Bahraini Red Crescent Society and other national associations, the State of
Bahrain also provides humanitarian assistance
for refugees in all parts of the
world.
Children in armed conflicts (art. 38), including physical
and psychological recovery
and social reintegration (art. 39)
- As
already indicated, Legislative Decree No. 23 of 1979 regulating enlistment by
individuals in the Bahraini Defence Force stipulates
that recruits into the
ranks must not be under 17 or over 35 years of age, except in the case of
non-commissioned officers, technicians
and specialized personnel who can be
recruited from the age of 15 (as cadets) to the age of 40. It should be noted
that there is
no compulsory military service in the State of
Bahrain.
- The
State of Bahrain is a party to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and also to the
two Additional Protocols thereto of 1977 relating
to the protection of victims
of international armed conflicts and of non-international armed conflicts.
- In
this connection, reference can be made to paragraphs 175 and following of this
report concerning physical and psychological recovery
and social reintegration
of children.
Children in conflict with the law
The administration of juvenile justice (art. 40)
- All
aspects of the juvenile’s situation are studied and endeavours are made to
provide appropriate forms of treatment and protection.
The juvenile judge, in
collaboration with female social workers from the Women’s Police
Department at the Ministry of the
Interior, endeavours to ensure that juveniles
are placed in the Ministry’s Juvenile Welfare Centre only when they cannot
be
reformed in their natural environment. Consequently, the number of juveniles
who are placed in the Centre is small in relation to
the number of juvenile
delinquents and potential delinquents with whom the Department deals every year.
In addition to the accommodation
of inmates, the Centre’s services include
the monitoring of potential delinquents through contact with their families and
their
social environment. To this end, female sociologists pay field visits to
the juvenile in his social environment in order to ensure
that he is not
isolated from his environment and the outside world.
- The
organizational structure of the Juvenile Police is headed by the
Director-General of Criminal Investigation at the Ministry of
the Interior, who
is directly responsible for the Women’s Police Department which supervises
the offices of the Women’s
Police in the Security Departments of the
various regions as well as the Juvenile Social Welfare Unit and the Juvenile
Welfare Centre.
- Every
office of the Women’s Police in the Security Departments of the various
regions is supervised by a female officer specialized
in the social sciences and
assisted by a team of policewomen who have received training in the social
sciences and ways to deal with
juveniles. The Juvenile Social Welfare Unit is
likewise headed by a similarly qualified and assisted female
officer.
- In
the police stations and the Juvenile Welfare Centre, juveniles are dealt with by
a policewoman trained in psychology, social research,
juvenile and child welfare
and moral and social counselling. Ongoing refresher courses are held for the
Women’s Police in
order to enable them to continue to discharge their
functions in a competent manner and the Women’s Police Department is keen
to ensure that its officers and policewomen attend local courses, symposia and
workshops on children in order to gain further expertise
in ways to deal with
juveniles, rectify their conduct and protect them from the dangers of
delinquency.
- Responsibility
for juvenile delinquents and potential delinquents is shared by the
Women’s Police Department and the Ministry
of Labour and Social Affairs.
Social workers from the Department monitor juvenile delinquents and potential
delinquents at their
homes and schools and attempt to provide them and their
families with the assistance needed to prevent their relapse into
delinquency.
- In
addition to the above, and further to the details concerning juvenile welfare
contained in paragraph 32.5 of this report, in 1984
the Ministry of the Interior
expanded the facilities available at the Juvenile Welfare Centre, which was
established in 1971, to
include most of the services needed by its juvenile
inmates, whose social, psychological, educational and vocational welfare is
assured
by female sociologists, psychologists and teachers specialized in
various fields of education and vocational training. The sociologists
endeavour
to ensure that the juvenile is not isolated from his environment or the outside
world by allowing him to spend weekends
and holidays with his family if his
family is willing and able to receive him. The juvenile’s families are
also encouraged
to visit them at the Centre in order to gain an insight into
their activities.
- The
aims of this Juvenile Welfare Centre, which is run by the Ministry of the
Interior, are as follows:
(a) To cater for the welfare of
juvenile delinquents by providing them with all the social, psychological,
health and educational
services needed to help them to overcome the root causes
of their delinquency, and also by strengthening the links between the juvenile
and his family, promoting a close relationship between the Centre’s staff
and the juvenile’s family and providing the
assistance needed to enable
the latter to receive the juvenile and ensure his welfare after his departure
from the Centre;
(b) To cater for the welfare of potential juveniles
who, due to their lack of a reliable provider capable of ensuring their welfare,
tend to lead a life of vagrancy, loitering in the streets, mixing with criminals
and delinquents and sleeping away from home for
long periods of time.
- Juvenile
delinquents or potential delinquents who are admitted to the Centre for purposes
of further investigation or pending their
appearance before the juvenile court
are placed in a separate wing of the Centre in order to prevent them from
committing an act
of delinquency, prior to the date set for their trial, as a
result of their environmental circumstances, their vagrancy or their
habit of
sleeping in the streets or frequenting criminals and
delinquents.
- The
Centre receives male and female juveniles under 15 years of age and, in 1998,
accommodated a total of 300 juveniles (see annex
17). During the same year, the
number of cases referred to the Centre amounted to 39 (see annex
18).
- The
Centre provides two types of care for
juveniles:
(a) Alternative care, which is provided by the
Centre’s female sociologists who formulate a treatment plan for each
juvenile
placed therein by the juvenile court after studying the various aspects
of the juvenile’s social circumstances and behavioural
patterns. This
treatment plan is implemented, through the various programmes organized for the
juvenile during his stay at the Centre,
in collaboration with all the persons
responsible for the educational, cultural, recreational and medical care
programmes.
(b) After-care for juvenile delinquents, the programmes of which
begin as soon as the juvenile is admitted to the Centre with a view
to
strengthening his links with his family and preparing his family to receive him
after his departure from the Centre. The female
sociologist assigned to the
juvenile’s case at that time visits him at his home, his school or his
place of work once every
two weeks in order to check on his situation and
attempt to solve any problems that he has encountered and which might impede his
social adaptation. After six months of monitoring, if the sociologist finds
that the juvenile has settled well in his environment,
she reduces the frequency
of her visits to once every month for a period of three months and, thereafter,
to once every two months
until such time as she is fully satisfied that the
juvenile will maintain his good conduct.
Children deprived of their liberty, including any form of
arrest, detention or imprisonment (art. 37 (b), (c) and (d))
- The
social defence legislation takes into account the fact children, being born
without the ability to distinguish between right and
wrong, cannot be held
criminally responsible for their acts until their mental faculties gradually
become fully developed. Accordingly,
under the criminal law, children are
subject to special regulations such as those contained in the provisions of the
Juveniles Act
No. 17 of 1976 which stipulates, in particular, that a young child
cannot be regarded as an offender but merely as a socially endangered
person
requiring reform and protection from engagement in further acts of delinquency
in order to safeguard society from the manifestations
of the threat that he
poses.
- The
aim of the legislature is therefore to deter the child, in a manner consistent
with his age, through protection, education, reform
and rehabilitation. Instead
of prescribing penalties similar to those to which adult offenders are liable,
the law merely recommends
the precautionary measures provided for in article 6
of the said Act which range from a reprimand to placement in a welfare
institution
or a specialized hospital. The principle on which these regulations
concerning juveniles are based is that, in the absence of criminal
responsibility, a child cannot be regarded as an offender, being merely a
potential offender in the circumstances referred to in
article 2 of the Act and,
consequently, instead of being punished, should be subjected only to the
precautionary measures provided
for in article 6 thereof. In order to ensure
the full protection of juveniles, the law stipulates that juvenile cases can be
adjudicated
only by the juvenile court established under the terms of Ordinance
No. 5 of 1976 promulgated by the Minister of Justice and Islamic
Affairs on 8
April 1976 (see annex 19). With a view to broadening the scope of the
protection accorded to juveniles, Ordinance No.
16 of 1976 promulgated by the
Minister of the Interior dealt with the phenomenon of begging, which is one
aspect of the social endangerment
of juveniles (see annex 20).
- Since
article 20 of the Constitution stipulates that there is no crime or punishment
except as defined by law, it is prohibited to subject an accused person to
physical
or mental harm. Article 24 of the Juveniles Act prohibits the
placement of a juvenile in preventive detention. If the circumstances
of the
case require his placement in protective custody, the court may order delivery
of the juvenile into the custody of one of
his parents or a legal or
testamentary guardian or, if any of them is unfit to undertake his proper
upbringing, into the custody
of a competent member of his family. In the
absence of such a family member, a juvenile must be placed in the custody of a
person
of good reputation who can be relied upon to bring him up properly, or a
trustworthy family the provider of which is willing to assume
responsibility for
his welfare and to ensure his appearance before the authorities whenever so
required.
- The
human dignity of every child deprived of liberty is respected in a manner
consistent with the child’s age.
- Article
32 of the Juveniles Act stipulates that the juvenile must be informed of every
measure or judgement concerning him and notification
thereof must also be given
to one of the juvenile’s parents, his guardian or the person responsible
for him, who have the right
to institute appeal proceedings, in the
juvenile’s interests, in the legally prescribed manner. Article 41 of the
said Act
further stipulates that juveniles are not required to pay any court
fees in respect of proceedings brought under the terms of the
Juveniles
Act.
Sentencing of juveniles including, in particular, the
prohibition of capital punishment or life imprisonment (art. 37 (a))
- As
already indicated, article 70 of the Penal Code of 1976 designates the young age
of an accused person over 15 but under 18 years
of age as a mitigating
circumstance. Under the terms of article 71 of the Code, if a mitigating
circumstance is established in a
case involving an offence punishable by capital
punishment, the penalty must be reduced to imprisonment or detention for a
period
of not less than one year and, if the offence is punishable by
imprisonment for life or for a fixed term, it must be reduced to the
penalty for
a misdemeanour, unless otherwise specified in the Code. Reference has also
already been made to article 19 of the Constitution, which stipulates that no
one shall be subjected to physical or mental torture.
Physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration
(art. 39)
- Reference
has already been made, in paragraph 35 of this report, to the appropriate
measures that the competent authorities in the
State of Bahrain are taking to
promote rehabilitation in an environment conducive to the child’s health
and respect for the
child’s dignity.
Children in situations of exploitation, including physical and
psychological
recovery and social reintegration
Economic exploitation, including child labour (art.
32)
- The
employment of juveniles is dealt with in section VIII of the Private Sector
Employment Act of 1976, which prohibits the employment
of young persons of
either sex who are under 14 years of age. The Act makes the employment of young
persons conditional on the fulfilment
of a number of requirements. For example,
they must obtain authorization from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs,
they must
undergo a medical examination prior to their entry into service and at
periodic intervals thereafter and they must not be employed
in industries or
occupations that are hazardous or detrimental to their health.
- The
Act prohibits the employment of juveniles during the night-time period, on
overtime or for more than six hours per day. They
must be granted annual leave
of not less than a full month, which they are not permitted to renounce or
postpone. This protection
was further consolidated by the State of
Bahrain’s accession, under the terms of Decree No. 8 of 1998, to Arab
Labour Convention
No. 18 of 1996 concerning the employment of
juveniles.
- The
employment of vocationally rehabilitated disabled persons is regulated in
section IV of the Act, which defines the term “disabled
person”,
explains the nature of vocational rehabilitation and stipulates that
vocationally rehabilitated disabled persons must
be employed in private sector
institutions and companies and in governmental Ministries and
agencies.
- It
is noteworthy that various governmental agencies and private sector institutions
are showing considerable concern for the rehabilitation
and employment of
disabled persons in view of the emphasis that the State is placing on the right
of disabled persons to obtain employment
consistent with their abilities and
potential in order to enable them to contribute to the socioeconomic development
process and
integrate in society. To this end, the State, with support and
assistance from the private sector, has established numerous welfare
and
rehabilitation institutions for the disabled in order to rehabilitate and train
them in various crafts and professions so that
they can have access to the
labour market. The State has also decided that they should be granted numerous
privileges and incentives.
- In
appreciation of the fact that disabled persons, being faced with special
circumstances, require exceptional protection and extra
care within the context
of socio-economic development plans, the State of Bahrain has acceded to Arab
Labour Conventions Nos. 17
of 1993, concerning the rehabilitation and employment
of disabled persons, and 159 of 1983, concerning the vocational rehabilitation
of disabled persons, with a view to expanding the scope of the privileges
granted to this category of the population.
- In
order to provide full protection in this regard, section V of the Labour Code
defines an “apprentice” as any person
who has contracted to work for
an enterprise in order to learn a trade or profession by working under the
supervision of his employer,
during a specified period of time, in return for a
wage or remuneration.
- The
Labour Code also contains a number of regulations, known as the
“protective regulations”, the aim of which is to ensure
the welfare
of mothers and their children. These regulations make provision for maternity
leave, specify the wage payable during
such periods of leave and prohibit the
dismissal of working mothers during their pre- and post-natal maternity
leave.
- This
clearly shows that the Labour Code recognizes the special status of pregnant
workers and the need to show them due consideration
during pregnancy and
childbirth and while they are nursing their children in order to enable them to
fulfil their maternal duties.
Accordingly, the Code prohibits their employment
in forms of work that would affect their health or the health of their unborn
children
and grants them 45 days’ maternity leave on full pay, plus an
additional 15 days’ leave without pay.
- The
State of Bahrain has also acceded to International Labour Convention No. 14,
concerning the application of the weekly rest in
industrial undertakings, and
Arab Labour Convention No. 15 of 1983, concerning wage fixing and
protection.
Illicit use of narcotic drugs (art. 33)
- Act
No. 4 of 1973, which regulates the circulation and use of narcotic substances
and preparations in the State of Bahrain, prescribes
the death penalty or a
penalty of life imprisonment and a fine for anyone who:
Imports or exports narcotic substances or preparations without a licence;
Cultivates, produces or manufactures narcotic substances or preparations with
a view to trafficking therein;
Possesses, purchases, sells, offers for consumption, or facilitates the
consumption of, narcotic substances or preparations.
- It
should be noted that the Penal Code regards the youthful age of an accused
person over 15 but under 18 years of age as a mitigating
circumstance in
the event of his commission of an offence insofar as, in such a case, he
benefits from a lesser penalty.
- The
State of Bahrain has acceded to the following international and regional
conventions to combat the traffic in narcotic drugs:
The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, as amended by the General
Protocol of 1972;
The Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971;
The United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances of 1988;
The Arab Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs of
1994.
Sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (art. 34)
- The
Bahraini Penal Code of 1976 contains a separate chapter, entitled
“Debauchery and Prostitution”, on the protection
of individuals,
including children, from all forms of sexual exploitation. The Code prescribes
a penalty of detention for anyone
who:
In any way incites or helps a male or female to commit an act of debauchery
or prostitution;
Induces a male or female to commit an act of prostitution through coercion,
threat or deception;
Protects a person engaged in debauchery or prostitution;
Establishes or manages, or in any way assists in the establishment or
management of, premises for debauchery or prostitution.
- In
this connection, it should be noted that the Code designates the youthful age of
an accused person over 15 but under 18 years of
age as a mitigating circumstance
in regard to the penalty (art. 70). In contrast, however, the youthful age of
the victim in offences
involving rape or indecent acts is regarded as an
aggravating circumstance that warrants a more severe penalty for the offender
(arts.
344 et. seq. of the Penal Code).
The abduction of, sale of, or traffic in children (art.
35)
- Chapter
VII, section 2, of the Penal Code is devoted to offences against the family and
prescribes penalties for the abduction, concealment
or substitution of newborn
infants or refusal to hand over a child to the person to whom the child’s
custody has been awarded.
It also covers the offences of kidnapping children,
exposing them to danger and inciting them to engage in prostitution and
prescribes
heavier penalties for offences in which the victims are
children.
Other forms of exploitation (art. 36)
- The
State of Bahrain believes that it is very important to ensure that children are
properly brought up, educated in lofty religious
values and provided with care
and that the requisite legislation is promulgated to regulate all aspects of
their protection from
all forms of harmful exploitation.
- In
this connection, it should be noted that the competent authorities in the State
of Bahrain are constantly reviewing the legislation
on children in order to make
appropriate recommendations to consolidate the achievements that have been made
in the field of child
welfare.
Children belonging to a minority or an indigenous group
(art. 30)
- The
Bahraini people are of Arab origin and all the country’s citizens and
foreign residents live in an environment characterized
by firmly established
policies and practices that ensure a decent life for all.
Conclusion
- While
submitting this report to the distinguished Committee on the Rights of the
Child, the Government of the State of Bahrain looks
forward to beginning an
ongoing and constructive dialogue with it in furtherance of the endeavours that
are being made to highlight
the importance of the upbringing and education of
children in such a way as to ensure their optimum development in all respects so
that they can become upright citizens and instruments for cultural and human
contact between the generations, enjoying protection
from all forms of
exploitation to which they might be subjected.
- The
State of Bahrain wishes the distinguished Committee continued success in the
discharge of its functions and, in its future reports,
will endeavour to provide
additional information so that the Committee can continue to monitor the
achievements made in regard to
the protection of the rights of the
child.
List of
annexes[∗]
A. Legislative texts transmitted to the Committee’s
secretariat
1. The Constitution of the State of
Bahrain.
2. Legislative enactments:
The Organization of the
Judiciary Act of 1971, as amended.
The Juveniles Act of
1976.
The Bahraini Penal Code, as amended.
The Code of Criminal
Procedure of 1966, as amended.
The Law of Evidence in Civil and
Commercial Matters of 1996.
The Commercial Code of 1987, as
amended.
The Code of Civil Procedure of 1970.
The Guardianship
of Property Act of 1986.
The Bahraini Nationality Act of 1963, as
amended.
The Private Sector Employment Act, as amended.
The text
of articles 2 and 3 of the Act regulating enlistment by individuals in the
Bahraini Defence Force.
The Private Educational and Training
Institutions Act of 1998.
The Registration of Births and Deaths
Regulatory Act of 1970, as amended.
The Passports Act No. 11 of 1975, as
amended.
The Central Population Registry Act of 1984.
The Social
and Cultural Associations and Clubs and Private Youth and Sports
Organizations and Institutions Act.
The Cooperative Associations
Act No. 8 of 1972.
The Social Insurance Act, as amended.
Act No. 4 of 1973, regulating
the circulation and use of narcotic substances and
preparations.
B. Texts, ordinances and statistics annexed to the
report[∗]
1. Non-Bahraini population, disaggregated by nationality group and
duration of residence,
in 1991.
2. Age structure of the population
in 1998.
3. Fertility, birth and mortality rates for the period
1994-1998.
4. Labour force estimates for 1998.
5. Cabinet Decision
No. 15 of 1999 establishing the National Committee on Childhood.
6. Legal
provisions regulating the recovery of child maintenance.
7. Ordinance No.
22 of 1995, concerning the social assistance scheme, promulgated by the
Minister for Labour and Social Affairs.
8. Birth statistics in the
State of Bahrain for the period 1994-1998.
9. Public health indicators
for 1998.
10. Legislative Decree No. 21 of 1996 concerning the
environment.
11. Total population and number of disabled persons (under
20 years of age) and the
proportion of disabled persons per 1,000 of the
population, according to the 1991 census.
12. Ordinance No.
534/168-1/1992, promulgated by the Minister of Education, regulating
school
rosters in order to ensure an equal quota of weekly
classes.
13. Ordinance No. 549/168-1/1992, promulgated by the Minister of
Education, concerning
the Code of School Discipline.
14. Number of
schools, classes and students in the private education system, by type
of
school, in the academic year 1997/98.
15. Enrolment rates in
kindergartens in the academic year 1997/98.
16. The Regulations Concerning Evaluation in Basic Education of
1994.
17. Number of juveniles accommodated at the Ministry of the
Interior’s Juvenile Welfare
Centre in 1998, by age
group.
18. Number of cases referred to the Ministry of the
Interior’s Juvenile Welfare Centre during
the period
1994-1998.
19. Ordinance No. 5 of 1976, promulgated by the Minister of
Justice and Islamic Affairs,
establishing the Juvenile
Court.
20. Ordinance No. 16 of 1976, promulgated by the Minister of the
Interior, prohibiting
begging.
-----
[∗] The annexes are
available for consultation in the files of the
secretariat.
[∗] The annexes
are available for consultation in the files of the secretariat.
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