Child-friendly Pre-trial facility opened

A tangible achievement of strengthening ‘child justice system’ in Bhutan has been the establishment and opening of a child-friendly pretrial centre and a protected interview room at the Women and Child Protection Unit of Royal Bhutan Police in Phuentsholing. The centre was inaugurated on 13^th July, 2016 by the additional Chief of Police, Colonel Chimi Dorji.

 Established with generous support from Save the Children, Italy, the facility protects the rights of children who come in contact with the law as enshrined in Child Care and Protection Act (CCPA), while promoting a child-friendly justice system in the country.

 The Royal Bhutan Police have established Woman and Child Protection Units (WCPU) alongside the police stations in order to deal with cases relating to women and children. At the moment, only two such units (Thimphu & Paro) have separate pretrial facility for children who come in conflict with law.

The child friendly facility will have adequate space, installations and equipment with recreational facilities for meaningful development of child’s character and abilities. The facility will have a protected interview room in which the child victims and witnesses can be interviewed in a child friendly manner.