Committee on the Rights of the Child

Seventy -first session

11-29 January 2016

Item 4 of the provisional agenda

Consideration of reports of States parties

List of issues in relation to the combined second and third periodic reports of Brunei Darussalam

The State party is requested to submit in writing additional, updated information, if possible before 15 October 2015 (10,700 words maximum).

The Committee may take up all aspects of children’s rights set out in the Convention during the dialogue with the State party.

Part I

In this section, the State party is requested to submit its responses to the following questions.

1.Please provide detailed information on clear, objective, and transparent criteria for determining which system of law (Islamic, secular or otherwise) the State party applies for which cases. In doing so, please also provide information on what circumstances could result in the application of Islamic law to non-Muslims.

2.Please provide detailed information on the mandates of the inter-agency consultative mechanism and ministerial-level National Council on Social Issues.

3.Please provide information about the collection of data for monitoring the implementation of all aspects of the Convention. Please indicate if it is disaggregated by age, sex, ethnic origin, geographic location and socioeconomic status.

4.Please inform the Committee of measures taken to establish an independent national human rights institution in line with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles).

5.Please provide detailed information on measures taken by the State party to facilitate the involvement of non-governmental organizations and civil society in the implementation of the Convention.

6.Please provide detailed information about the various minimum ages for marriage in the State party. In doing so, please provide information on how the State party ensure that this does not result in discrimination on the basis of ethnic origin.

7.In the context of ethnicity being a mandatory attribute for identity cards in the State party, please also provide information on measures taken, if any, to ensure the protection of ethnic minorities from discrimination. Additionally, please provide information on measures to ensure that children who are born out of wedlock, non-Muslims, and/or foreigners, are protected from discrimination.

8.Please provide information on measures taken to eliminate practices that discriminate against girls, including inheritance, gender stereotypes and patriarchal attitudes.

9.Please provide detailed information about measures undertaken to ensure universal and free access to birth registration. In that context, please provide specific information on measures to address the needs of: (a) children in migration circumstances, including irregular migration; (b) children in Kampong Ayer (the “Water Village”); and (c) children in rural areas.

10.Please provide updated details on the legislation concerning the transmission of nationality by mothers. Please also provide information on measures undertaken to prevent statelessness.

11.Please provide information on measures, including legislative ones, taken to ensure the freedom of conscience and belief for children in the State party. In doing so, please include specific information on the possibilities, if any, for children to opt out of religious classes in schools and/or choose religious or other classes according to their respective beliefs.

12.Please provide updated information on measures taken to prohibit corporal punishment of children in all settings, including in educational, home, institutional, care, and judicial contexts.

13.Please provide detailed information on the minimum age for employment, including in domestic work, in the State party. In doing so, please provide information on safeguards, if any, concerning hazardous work, hours and conditions of work, as well as the right of the working child to education.

14.Please provide detailed information on the legal status of female genital mutilation in the State party. In so doing, please also provide information on measures taken, if any, to eliminate that practice.

15.Please provide detailed information on measures taken by the State party to ensure children have access to mental health, and sexual and reproductive health and education.

16.Please provide detailed information on measures taken to provide inclusive education for children with disabilities, including psychosocial and/or intellectual disabilities.

17.Please provide information about measures in the State party concerning children in conflict with the law. In doing so, please include specific information on: (a) safeguards, if any, for dealing with children, particularly those under the age of 12 years; (b) special juvenile courts and/or specifically trained judges; (c) the conditions of detention for children found to be in conflict with the law; and, (d) whether the criminal law(s) in the State party can result in children being subject to capital punishment, amputation, and/or whipping.

Part II

In this section the Committee invites the State party to provide a brief update (no more than three pages) on the information presented in its report regarding:

(a)New bills or laws, and their respective regulations;

(b)New institutions and their mandates, or institutional reforms;

(c)Recently introduced policies, programmes and action plans and their scope and financing;

(d)Recent ratifications of human rights instruments.

Part III

Data statistics and other information, if available

1.Please provide, if available, updated statistical data, disaggregated by age, sex, ethnic origin, geographic location, and socioeconomic status, for the past three years, on:

(a)The number of working children;

(b)The percentage of school attendance, disaggregated by level of education, among such children.

2.Please provide, if available, updated statistical data, disaggregated by age, sex, ethnic origin, geographic location and socioeconomic status, for the past three years, on:

(a)The percentage of non-registered children among of the general population;

(b)Data showing the evolution of that previous percentage within the past years; and

(c)The percentage of non-registered children who attend school regularly.

3.Please specify the number of children with disabilities and children with limited capabilities disaggregated by age, sex, type of disability, ethnic origin and geographical location, for the past three years, regarding children:

(a)Living with their families;

(b)Living in institutions;

(c)Attending regular primary schools;

(d)Attending regular secondary school;

(e)Attending special schools;

(f)Out of school;

(g)Cases of abandonment of children with disabilities.

4.Please provide, if available, updated statistical data, disaggregated by age, sex, ethnic origin, geographic location and socioeconomic status, for the past three years, on:

(a)Marriages involving persons under the age of 18 years;

(b)The numbers of domestic and/or sexual violence cases that have been reported in the context of marriages involving persons under the age of 18 years;

(c)The percentage of pregnancies among married girls under the age of 18 years.

5.Please provide the Committee with an update of any data in the report which may have been superseded by more recent data collected or have been affected by new developments.

6.In addition, the State party may list areas affecting children that it considers to be of priority with regard to the implementation of the Convention.