Children’s Law of Liberia. Accordingly the age of marriage for women is lowered to 16 with parental consent. 7.3. General Principles i. Right to life survival and development: The Committee notes that the provision of Penal code providing for death penalty and life imprisonment for children aged 16 and 17 is still not repealed. However the Committee notes that in 2014, the Ministry of Justice initiated a bill to abolish the death penalty and life imprisonment for juvenile offenders, which is currently being considered through a consultative process. ii. Participation of the child: The Committee notes the existence of Children’s Forum and Children’s Clubs to enhance child participation. However there is no budgetary allocation for Children’s Forum, hindering their effectiveness. 7.4. Civil Rights and Freedoms i. Birth registration: The Committee notes that only 25 % of children under the age of 5 have birth certificates. However progress has been achieved by the Government in increasing the rate of birth registration and certification in collaboration with UNICEF and World Bank, by enhancing accessibility of birth registration centers. ii. Nationality The Committee observed that the Constitution provides that Liberian nationality can only be given to people with Negro descent, leaving many nonNegros who have settled in the country at risk of statelessness. The Committee further notes that in additional to discrimination based on race in acquisition of nationality, transfer of citizenship from mother to child raises an issue of gender based discrimination. It is noted that women do not have the right to transfer citizenship, if a Liberian woman has a child with a foreigner she can not transfer her citizenship to her child, but this doesn’t apply to men, a Liberian man who has a child with a foreigner can transfer his citizenship to his child. iii. Protection from abuse: The Committee notes that even though the Teachers and Administrators Code of Conduct prohibits corporal punishment, it is not prohibited by law; the practice is not outlawed in the family and alternative environment setting. Recent court cases regarding corporal punishment indicate an attitude that corporal punishment is seen as necessary to discipline children.