The National Commission for Women and Children (NCWC) was established following the approval by the Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB) vide order number COM/03/04/487 dated 29 th January 2004 of the Council of Ministers. This directive was the result of deliberations in the Coordination Committee Meetings (CCM) of the Council of Ministers to institute a structure that would spearhead the fulfillment of the RGoB obligations towards meeting the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in particular and other related conventions in general.

The RGoB ratified the CEDAW and the CRC without any reservations in August 1981 and May 1990 respectively. Bhutan submitted its initial report to the CRC Committee in 1999 and its combined initial to 6th periodic reports to the CEDAW Committee in December 2004. Bhutan also ratified some other international and regional convention, among which the SAARC Conventions on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution and on Regional Arrangements for the Promotion of Child Welfare in South Asia.

Although the NCWC is now the premier institution responsible for overall coordination and monitoring of the activities related to women and children, various agencies/committees/focal persons had been given similar responsibilities in the past. After the ratification of the CEDAW, a committee was formed to monitor the implementation of the Convention. A forum of gender focal points in different ministries was established and the then Planning Commission Secretariat was appointed in 2001 as the focal point for coordinating gender matters in the country. As far as the CRC is concerned, an ad-hoc committee was also organized for the purpose of writing the country's initial report. In 1999, following the delegation of the responsibility for the implementation of CRC/CEDAW activities to the Ministry of Health and Education by the Council of Ministers, a focal person was appointed to oversee and coordinate activities and a Multi-sectoral Task Force was established.