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Children's Education, Marriage, and Labour Age
In at least 25 countries
of the world there is no specified age for compulsory education; at least
33 States have no minimum age of employment and in 44 girls can be married
earlier than boys. In at least 125 countries children may be taken to
court and risk imprisonment for criminal acts at an age between 7 and
15, often the age range for compulsory education. Moreover, in the same
country, it is not rare to find that children are legally obliged to go
to school until they are 14 or 15 years old but a different law allows
them to work at an earlier age or to be married at the age of 12 or to
be criminally responsible from the age of 7.
Being aware of the legal situation of children around the world is necessary
for designing effective measures to improve it. Based on States Parties'
reports under the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and therefore
reflecting States' representations of their own practice, 'At what age?'
brings to light problems that are not - but should be - effectively addressed:
at what age do children become adults and loose their protection under
the Convention on the Rights of the Child?
This publication analyses national legislation on the duration of compulsory
education and legal safeguards against adult responsibilities infringing
on children's education. What it shows is that children's right to education
is currently under threat from early marriage, child labour and imprisonment.
States have not adapted their legislation in favour of the right to education,
and they do not have agreed standards for the transition from childhood
to adulthood either internationally or nationally.
For more information contact:
IBE-UNESCO, Case Postale 199
1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland
Tel: 00 41 22 9177854, Fax: 00 41 22 9177801
Email: info@right-to-education.org
Website: www.right-to-education.org
Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.html?ID=3038
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