Planning Commission

Tarayana Foundation

The Royal Court of Justice (RCJ) works closely with the NCWC in developing women and child friendly judicial procedures. The RCJ and the NCWC recently organized a National Consultation to identify gaps and explore areas of collaboration in this respect. The National Consultation adopted 8 recommendations referred to as the Gedu recommendations.

The RCJ has lectured various schools and institutions on legislations, emphasizing on issues related to the rights and duties of children for the better protection of their rights, as part of its “Know the Law to Protect Your Rights” campaign.

Presently the RCJ is working towards establishing a Juvenile Bench and is considering the establishment of a Family Court.

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The Election Commission of Bhutan(ECB) was established as an independent constitutional body in 31st December 2005 by Royal Decree to supervise, direct and control elections in Bhutan.

The NCWC has been complementing the ECB’s Bhutan Electoral Education Training Strategy (BEETS) by implementing activities to create awareness on the electoral system and to produce well-informed and educated voters, especially amongst women, youth and people with disabilities.

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The Planning Commission was appointed as the focal point for gender in 2001. As the government gender focal body, the Planning Commission undertook the formation of a 21 member theme group of gender focal points cutting across all sectors in order to encourage and facilitate a multi-sectoral approach to address gender issues and concerns and strengthen linkages for coordination of gender activities.

Through this existing system to promote gender equality, the Planning Commission has been instrumental in the preparation of the 2001 Gender Pilot Study with the assistance from the UN System in Bhutan , as well as in the preparation of the country's combined initial to sixth periodic CEDAW report, which was to the UN CEDAW Committee in January 2004.

Despite some changes in the structure of the government (in 2003, the Planning Commission was dissolved and became the Department of Planning (DoP) under the Ministry of Finance, and in 2005 following a resolution passed in the 84^th Session of the National Assembly, the DoP was reconstituted as the Planning Commission), the Planning Commission's mandate as the focal point for gender remained the same.

In September 2005, the NCWC and the erstwhile DoP revitalized the network of gender focal points. The network has representation from 10 ministries of the Royal Government, the NGOs, civil society, the academia, the legal and armed forces, as well as a representative from the parliament.

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The Ministry of Health (MoH) has a widespread network of health facilities across the kingdom covering around 90% of the population. The emphasis for health facilities has shifted more towards rural areas from urban areas in the recent times. The MoH initiates and implements programmes and activities which aim to improve the general health of the population. Some of these provisions are particularly for the benefit of women and children in the Kingdom.

The MoH implements Bhutan's national policies and programmes to reduce maternal mortality. Reproductive health services are a vital component of the country's primary health care system. It also plays a crucial part in the prevention of and response to HIV/AIDS and STD through its National HIV/AIDS and STD Programme. Many comprehensive child health programmes and institutional mechanisms such as the EPI, Maternal and Child Health, Nutrition, ARI and Diarrhoeal Disease Control programmes and measures such as promoting breast feeding, designation and equipping of baby friendly hospitals and establishing “well child” clinics are other initiatives coordinated and managed within the MoH under the Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) umbrella strategy. It also provides free child health care services, medicines and vaccines.

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The primary responsibility of the Ministry of Education (MoE) is the provision of general education form Day Care to Class XII. The principal functions of the Ministry includes the provision of infrastructure for the equitable distribution of access to education, train adequate number of teachers, the development of relevant curriculum and teaching/learning materials as well as the revision and constant updating of the curriculum, the maintenance of quality of education provided, the management of youth activities and issues and the formulation and analysis of education policies.

Till very recently provision of Teacher Education with in the country was also looked after by the Ministry. Now with the establishment of Royal University of Bhutan (RUB), MoE has close link with the RUB for the Teacher Education.

Since the panned development started in the country, the MoE has been very instrumental in the overall development of education in the country and has made impressive progress in the field of education covering a wide range of programmes and activities primarily targeted for the overall development of the youth of Bhutan . The Education Ministry not only focuses on access to education for all but quality of education is also equally emphasized.

Today, there is an extensive network of schools and other educational institutions spread throughout the country. In 1994, the MoE formally took over the Non-Formal Education (NFE) System in the country from the DDC (now DDA) and NWAB and further expanded its reach to the population. The NFE system provides basic literacy skills to those who missed primary education or who dropped out early from the formal school system.

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The mission of the organization is to empower disadvantaged girls and women in Bhutan and integrate them back into their own communities as independent, socially and economically productive members of the society.

Some of the activities of RENEW include :

Gender training, awareness campaigns, media communication, publications,     promotional activities, sensitization and awareness raising with a specific focus     on violence.

Establishing support groups in communities (pilot project in 6 zones in     Thimphu) and training volunteers in gender awareness, basic counseling skills     and data collection; establishing professional back up support in RENEW     project team coordinating RENEW working committee and Friends of RENEW.

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The mission of the organization is to enable Bhutanese youth to realize their full potential as productive citizens of this world through sustained financial support.

The organization is carrying out an increasing number of activities to care for the disadvantaged youth in the country. For example, YDF funds the Vocational Training Centre for the Disabled, Drak-Tsho , and REWA, a recovering community for substance abusers in Thimphu .

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Tarayana Foundation is a non profit organization founded by Her Majesty Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck in 2003. The organization helps the needy, poor and socially and economically disadvantaged people in the country through sponsorship, maintenance allowances for people living in difficult circumstances, sponsoring students in disadvantage circumstances, supporting needy patients to receive medical care and other charity works.

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Following its establishment, UNDP has been working closely with the NCWC in supporting the government's efforts to mainstream gender into development activities and programmes .

UNDP is assisting the NCWC in the preparation of the National Plan of Action for Gender and the preparation of Bhutan 's 7 th periodic report to the CEDAW Committee. The Plan of Action is expected to guide and support the government's efforts to promote gender equality. Through the current project, UNDP is also supporting the NCWC in sensitizing and building capacity among law-makers, law enforcement agencies and parliamentarians to address the issues of violence against women and low political participation of women.

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The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEF is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and committed to the survival, protection and development of all children in the world.

In Bhutan , UNICEF works closely with the NCWC in promoting, protecting and reporting on the rights of all children in the country, with current focus on sensitization and capacity-building among law enforcement agencies and parliamentarians and the establishment of a complaints mechanism.

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Reducing feminized poverty
Ending violence against women
Reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS among women and girls, and
Achieving gender equality in democratic governance in times of peace as well as   war.

NCWC receives support from UNIFEM for the project “Ending Violence against Women ”. The key strategies to address violence against women in this project are through awareness raising among the judiciary and the police about gender issues, violence against women and its consequences on society, as well as through sensitization of the general public.

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Save the Children is the leading independent organization creating real and lasting change for children in need in the United States and around the world. It is a member of the International Save the Children Alliance, comprising 27 national Save the Children organizations working in more than 110 countries to ensure the well-being of children.

In Bhutan , Save the Children started its first program activities in 1982 and during the next year expanded work to other parts of the country. Between 1989 - 2002, Save the Children worked in the entire Zhemgang district as part of the Integrated Sustainable Development Program, supporting primary education, health and nutrition and economic opportunities programs in collaboration with Zhemgang district administration and the SNV (Netherlands Development Organization). Since June 2002, Save the Children has continued its collaboration with the Royal Government of Bhutan in supporting primary education, health, and adolescent development programs in the Zhemgang district.

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