Bhutan

Bhutan

Bhutan is a landlocked country in South Asia with a land area of 38,394 square kilometers and is one of the smallest countries in the world. The population of Bhutan is 771,612 of which 53 percent are men and 47 percent are women. Bhutan signed the Convention on the Rights of the Children (CRC) on the 4th of June 1990 and ratified it on the 1st of August 1990. Children and adolescents amount to 34 percent of the population.

The Bhutanese nationality is difficult to obtain unless both parents are from Bhutan. Hence, some children in Bhutan are considered stateless which means they do not enjoy the same rights as citizens.

According to a recent survey done by UNICEF, children in Bhutan are vulnerable to climate change that threatens their health, education and protection. Bhutan’s dependence on climate sensitive sectors such as hydropower and agriculture make it vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

The constitution of Bhutan recognizes Buddhism as the state’s “spiritual heritage,” but provides for freedom of religion, and bans discrimination based on religious belief. 75 percent of the population follows either the Drukpa Kagyu or the Nyingma school of Buddhism while 22 percent of the total population are Hindus. Unregistered religious groups are not allowed to own property, raise funds, conduct outreach activities, or import literature. In Bhutan UNICEF supports monastic institutions and nunneries, which are separate from the civil community as they have child monks and nuns.

Monasteries and nunneries are often detached from mainstream society, hence children in these institutions need specific support to access basic needs such as water, sanitation, hygiene, nutrition and education.

Religious bodies in Bhutan have been supporting the communities during the pandemic – they have promoted messages of compassion and kindness. This was an important function carried out by the faith actors during the pandemic when communities, especially the ones that were under served were in real need of this support. The religious institutions provided much needed mental health, meditation and mindfulness support, which contributed to the wellbeing of children and families. Such collaboration also contributed to social cohesion within the community.

The Evangelical Alliance in Bhutan have been promoting and discussing these issues within the church. They are in the process of implementing programs towards child protection and child rights. The civil service in Bhutan is currently undergoing reform, hence there are process oriented challenges within government agencies. It is expected that these issues will be resolved once the reforms are completed.

Since Buddhism is the state religion in Bhutan, the Chief Abbot is revered across the country and promotes well being messages. The role of the Chief Abbot is similar to that of the Pope among Catholics and he oversees the Central Monastic Body.

The monastic education system is a longstanding tradition with close to 6,000 boys and girls living in more than 220 monasteries and 28 nunneries across the country. UNICEF works with the Central Monastic Body and Bhutan Nuns Foundation to support the wellbeing of child monks and nuns and provide support in the areas of WASH, education, child protection and behavior change. Monastic institutions also receive support to improve the health and well-being of monks and nuns through the Sports for Development (S4D) program. The S4D curriculum was endorsed in 2020 by the monastic body for use in monastic institutions to promote physical education, health and well-being.