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[WASHINGTON, D.C., 30 October 2008] - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has decided to extend the deadline for Member States to respond to a questionnaire on juvenile justice in the region until December 5, 2008. The IACHR also invites responses from civil society. The Commission’s Rapporteurship on Children's Rights is preparing a report on juvenile criminal justice as part of an agreement signed with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The questionnaire uses the following documents as a frame of reference: the “World Report on Violence against Children,” prepared by Professor Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, a United Nations Independent Expert, in 2006; the report on “Violence against Children and Adolescents;" the study on “Violence against Children in the Caribbean Region;" and, the Manual for the Measurement of Juvenile Justice Indicators,”prepared by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The study seeks to identify progress, obstacles, and potentials of national criminal justice systems specialising in children, to ensure adequate protection of their human rights and to prevent and eradicate the different forms of violence against children. Information received through the questionnaire will serve as one of the sources for a preliminary version of the report to be drafted and circulated for consultation at national, subregional, and regional meetings organised by the Office of Rapporteur in 2009. This consultation process will include the government ministries, civil society organisations, regional and international organisations, and academic circles, among other stakeholders. The questionnaire is already on the IACHR website and will remain available until December 5. Further information