CRC/C/MMR/CO/3-4
age of 16 years) and a youth (between 16 and 18 years); the absence of a minimum age for
marriage for boys; and the legality of the marriage of girls as young as 14 years with
parental consent.
34.
The Committee reiterates its previous recommendation (CRC/C/15/Add.237,
para. 26) that the State party review its legislation to define the child as any person
below 18 years of age and establish the minimum legal age for marriage for boys and
girls at 18 years.
C.
General principles (arts. 2, 3, 6 and 12 of the Convention)
Non-discrimination
35.
The Committee reiterates its concern (CRC/C/15/Add.237 para. 27) about the
multiple forms of discrimination that persist in the State party, particularly those against
girls and children in vulnerable and disadvantaged situations, such as children from ethnic
and religious minority groups (including Rohingya children), children from remote and
border areas, internally displaced children, children in street situations, children affected by
HIV/AIDS, children with disabilities, orphans and children in situation of poverty.
36.
The Committee urges the State party to:
(a)
Undertake the necessary legislative changes to ensure nondiscrimination on the basis of sex, ethnicity or religion and explicitly incorporate the
principle of non-discrimination on any grounds in all newly developed legislation and
policies;
(b)
Adopt and implement measures to prevent and eliminate discrimination
against individual children and specific groups of disadvantaged children;
(c)
Carry out public awareness-raising campaigns on the detrimental
impacts of discrimination; and
(d)
Include information in its next periodic report on measures and
programmes relevant to the Convention on the Rights of the Child undertaken by the
State party in the follow-up to the Declaration and Programme of Action adopted at
the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and
Related Intolerance, as well as the outcome document adopted at the 2009 Durban
Review Conference.
Best interests of the child
37.
While noting that the principle of the best interests of the child is mentioned in
article 27 of the Child Law, the Committee is concerned that the knowledge of this
principle remains insufficient and no action has been taken by the State party to include it
in any other legislation or budgets, or to ensure that it is sufficiently applied in the judicial
and administrative decisions.
38.
The Committee urges the State party to strengthen its efforts to ensure that the
principle of the best interests of the child is appropriately integrated and consistently
applied in all legislative, administrative and judicial proceedings and all policies,
programmes and projects relevant to and with an impact on children. The legal
reasoning of all judicial and administrative judgments and decisions should also be
based on this principle.
7