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A side event at the Human Rights Council addressed the issue of violence against children in the criminal justice system. Ugo Cedrangolo, of OHCHR, began the presentations by emphasising that violence against children concerns not only children in conflict with the law, but also children in contact with the criminal justice system via other means, such as child victims and witnesses. He divided the topic into three core areas: the deprivation of liberty, treatment and condition in detention, and the victims or witnesses of crime. He noted violence often occurs right at the moment of arrest, or subsequent custody. āThis has been recognised as one of the most dangerous situations for potential victims of tortureā, he said. Mr Cedrangolo explained the relevant standards governing the issue, including article 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, General Comment ten of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and the 'Riyadh guidelines'. Mr Cedrangolo highlighted the issue of pre-trial detention, whereby children may languish for months or even years in jail awaiting trial. Discrimination is an important component - children from certain groups are more vulnerable to coming into contact with the criminal justice system, such as migrant children, children from minority backgrounds, and children with mental health problems. Secondly, he also drew the audienceās attention to the issue of status offences. Children are criminalised for incidents which wouldĀ not be offencesĀ if perpetrated by adults. Bernard Boeton, of Terre Des Hommes, said that from his field experience, āno institution can say that they have not had the problem, donāt have the problem or will never have the problem of sexual abuseā. Child protection policies, he said, were crucial: to protect children, to protect the staff and to protect the institution itself. He drew attention to the grave lack of data on juvenile justice. āThere is a major black hole for the period between arrest and conviction: information is lacking, the rules are not known and the rights of children are not enforcedā, he added. He also mentioned that offenders below the minimum age of criminal responsibility are generally not provided with adequate responses. However, he also said that the window of opportunity for reform is open. Conditions of detention have improved, legal reform is underway. There are a lot of initiatives in the region. We need to make sure all blocks of the system are in place. There is still a tendency to apply a one size fits all model to address the issues.ā He concluded: āReforming the systems without changing the minds will not be enough.ā Nikhil Roy, of Save the Children UK, talked about advocacy strategies on juvenile justice. He provided ten advocacy strategies with which to combat violence in the juvenile justice system: Questions from the floor The director of Defence for Children International asked if the apparent rise in juvenile delinquency following the fall of the Berlin wall could be attributed to a true rise in criminality, or if the figures simply masked other factors. Bruce Abramson remarked on the need to engage the broader society, and also the deficiencies in the draft guidelines on alternative care regarding this issue. He said: āThere is discrimination against children accused of crime, as they are not included in the guidelines.ā Roberta Cecchetti, of the International Save the Children Alliance, raised the issue of criminal responsibility. She said: āIt is still the major benchmark used by states to deal with children in conflict with the law. If there is responsibility, there is harsher punishment.ā She asked: āHow can we help in delinking the minimum age of criminal responsibility from the reform of the criminal justice system?ā A representative from Human Rights Advocates asked what mechanisms were available to prevent the executionĀ of, and lifeĀ sentences handed to,Ā juvenile offenders in countries such as Iran and the US. Veronica Birga, of OHCHR, concluded by summarising the discussions, and in particular drawing attention to the UN Study on Violence Against Children, which emphasised how childrenās low status was a primary component of violence towards them. She highlighted the ongoing efforts to appoint a Special Representative to the Secretary General on Violence Against Children. Further information
Jean Claude Legrand, of UNICEFās Regional Office for CEE/CIS, said the fall of the Berlin wall had precipitated a huge increase in numbers of juvenile offenders.
Rait Kuuse, of Prison Reform International, detailed practical examples of PRIās work in Georgia on violence and juvenile justice.