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The Committee notes that no report has been received from the Government. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the following matters raised in its previous direct request:

For a number of years (since 1985) the Committee has been referring to certain provisions of the national legislation (now section 19(2) of the Defence Act, Chapter 14.01), under which a person below the age of 18 years may be enlisted with the consent of his parents or of the person in whose care he may be, no minimum age being fixed for such enlistment. The Committee noted the Government’s repeated indications that, in practice, no recruitment under the age of 18 had taken place and requested the Government to give consideration to amending the abovementioned provision of the Defence Act, so as to either fix the legal minimum age of enlistment at 18, or allow a person enlisted below the age of 18 to leave the service by his own decision upon attaining the age of 18.

In its latest report, the Government reiterates, referring to the information received from the Ministry of National Security, that it has been the practice of the Government not to recruit anyone under the age of 18 into the Regiment or the Coast Guard, the two organizations that are governed by the Defence Act.

The Committee previously noted the Government’s indication that the matter had been forwarded for the consideration of a cabinet-established committee, mandated to review the Defence Act and its subsidiary legislation. However, in its latest report the Government indicates that no changes to the legislation have been made.

The Committee trusts that the necessary measures will at last be taken in order to bring the legislation into conformity with the Convention and the indicated practice, and requests the Government to provide information on the results of the work of the abovementioned committee appointed to review the legislation, indicating any action taken or envisaged to this end, following the deliberations of the said committee.