IX. Collaboration with CSOs: The Committee realizes that at institutional level, there is good collaboration between the Government and CSOs on children’s issues and that CSOs are given seats on national coordination committees on child protection issues. 7.2. On the Definition of the child and other age related requirements In its concluding observations and recommendations, the Committee raised a concern in relation to the minimum age of criminal responsibility, which was set at the age of seven. During the visit, the Committee noted that the Cabinet had made a decision to raise the age of minimum criminal responsibility to the age of 10, and there is an ongoing discussion on the Child Justice Bill, if adopted, will further raise it to 12 years. In terms of the minimum age of Marriage, the Committee notes that the Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe has clearly outlawed child marriage, however, the Marriage Act which sets age of marriage at 16 for girls, is yet to be amended. 7.3. General Principles i. Right to life survival and development: During the discussions, the Committee was informed that the State Party has increased its immunization coverage which is over 90% and has introduced new vaccinations for children. Immunizations are available for free and well-coordinated. However, the Committee was also informed on the existence of some religious believes which sometimes hinder vaccination for children. The Committee also notes that maternity services are free in public hospitals and that the number of women who use this service has increased significantly. However, it has also been observed that there are instances where government facilities have introduced charges as a cost recovery measure. The Committee also noted that some districts present high level of stunting and under-nutrition. ii. Participation of the child: While the Committee had the opportunity to observe how the child parliament vibrantly operates during the celebration of DAC, it was informed that the child parliament is not active throughout the year. 7.4. Civil Rights and Freedoms i. Birth registration: The Committee was informed that decentralization of birth registration services is an ongoing process and that currently there are 10 provincial offices, 72 district offices, and 206 sub offices in health centers for birth registration. It was further indicated that the recommended harmonization of the Birth and Death Registration Act to remove discriminatory provisions is ongoing in the framework of the general harmonization of laws with the Constitution of Zimbabwe. The Office of the Registrar General indicated that the registration of children below the age of six are registered for free while children above the age of six are charged a nominal fee of $2. Free mobile registration is established structurally to be undertaken once a year. The Committee notes that a decree has been issued for traditional leaders to issue 7