SOUTH ASIA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

2209Children.—The Government has demonstrated its commitment to child welfare byits rapid expansion of primary schools, health-care facilities, and immunization programs.The mortality rates for both infants and children under 5 years havedropped significantly since 1989. The Government provides free and compulsory primaryschool education, and primary school enrollment has increased at 9 percentper year since 1991, with enrollment of girls increasing at an even higher rate. In1995 the participation rate for children in primary schools was estimated at 72 percent,with the rate of completion of 7 years of schooling at 60 percent for girls andat 59 percent for boys. There is no law barring ethnic Nepalese children from attendingschool. However, most of the 75 primary schools in southern areas heavilypopulated by ethnic Nepalese that were closed in 1990 remain closed today. The closureof the schools acts as an effective barrier to the ability of the ethnic Nepalesein southern areas to obtain a primary education. Children enjoy a privileged positionin society and benefit from international development programs focused on maternaland child welfare. Amnesty International reported that at least 23 students,between 7 and 21 years of age, whose relatives had been arrested for supportingthe prodemocracy movement, were expelled from school in eastern Bhutan in 1998.Amnesty International also reported that 19-year-old Needup Phuntso was expelledfrom school in March 1998 and was tortured by members of the Royal Bhutanesepolice after his arrest in Thimphu in July 1998.A study by UNICEF found that boys and girls receive equal treatment regardingnutrition and health care and that there is little difference in child mortality ratesbetween the sexes. Government policies aimed at increasing enrollment of girls haveincreased the proportion of girls in primary schools from 39 percent in 1990 to 43percent in 1995.There is no societal pattern of abuse against children.People with Disabilities.—There is no evidence of official discrimination towarddisabled persons but the Government has not passed legislation mandating accessibilityfor the disabled. Societal discrimination against the disabled is a problem.National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.—Ethnic Nepalese have lived in the southernpart of the country for centuries, and the early phases of economic development atthe turn of the century brought a large influx of additional ethnic Nepalese. In thelate 1980’s, concern over the increase in the population of and political agitationamong ethnic Nepalese prompted aggressive government efforts to assert a nationalculture, to tighten control over southern regions, to control illegal immigration, toexpel ethnic Nepalese, and to promote national integration. Early efforts at nationalintegration focused on assimilation, including financial incentives for intermarriage,education for some students in regions other than their own, and an increase in developmentfunds in the south.Beginning in 1989, more discriminatory measures were introduced, aimed atshaping a new national identity, known as Drukpa. Drukpa is based on the customsof the non-ethnic Nepalese Ngalong ethnic group predominant in the western partof the country. Measures included a requirement that national dress be worn for officialoccasions and as a school uniform, the teaching of Dzongkha as a second languagein all schools, and an end to instruction in Nepali as a second language(English is the language of instruction in all schools). Also, beginning in 1988, theGovernment refused to renew the contracts of tens of thousands of Nepalese guestworkers. Many of these workers had resided in the country for years, in some caseswith their families.During the mid- and late 1980’s, citizenship became a highly contentious issue.Requirements for citizenship first were formalized in the Citizenship Law of 1958,which granted citizenship to all adults who owned land and had lived in the countryfor at least 10 years. However, in 1985 a new citizenship law significantly tightenedrequirements for citizenship and resulted in the denaturalization of many ethnicNepalese. While citizenship previously was conferred upon children whose fatherwas a citizen under the 1958 law, the 1985 law required that both parents be citizensin order to confer citizenship on a child, and that persons seeking to prove citizenshipthrough their own or their parents’ residency in 1958 be able to prove residencyin the country at that time. In many cases, persons were unable to producethe documentation necessary, such as land tax receipts from 1958, to show residencynearly 30 years before. The law permits residents who lost citizenship under the1985 law to apply for naturalization if they can prove residence during the 15 yearsprior to that time. The Government declared all residents who could not meet thenew citizenship requirements to be illegal immigrants.The 1985 Citizenship Act also provides for the revocation of the citizenship of anynaturalized citizen who ‘‘has shown by act or speech to be disloyal in any mannerwhatsoever to the King, country, and people of Bhutan.’’ The Home Ministry, in acircular notification in 1990, advised that ‘‘any Bhutanese nationals leaving theVerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:46 Sep 20, 2001 Jkt 071555 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\COUNTRYR\S71555\71555.035 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1