CRC: Committee raises concerns over age of criminal responsibility in report to General Assembly

Submitted by crinadmin on

Summary: The Committee on the Rights of the Child has submitted its report to the General Assembly (GA). The report will be presented during the GA's 67th session in New York.

In its annual report to the General Assembly, the Committee on the Rights of the Child outlined the work it has undertaken, including:

  • An update on the State reporting process
  • The latest on the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure (read about campaign for the new Optional Protocol)
  • An update on the latest draft General Comments.
  • Trends and challenges in children's rights

Age of criminal responsiblity

In outlining the trends and challenges, the Committee noted with concern that there is a growing tendency in both
developed and developing regions of the world to consider — or even reform earlier progressive legislation on juvenile criminal justice — by lowering the age of criminal responsibility and increasing penalties for children found guilty, in a misguided effort to reduce increasing public insecurity and, as a result, weakening the realization of children’s rights.

While public security is a goal that the Committee understands and shares, It said that evidence does not sustain the view (often held or repeated by the mass media) that juvenile delinquency is on the rise and that it is linked to insecurity in general; nor does it show that a harsher treatment of young offenders by itself improves public security.

  • Read the full report above

Further Information

pdf: http://www.crin.org/docs/G1243476.pdf

Articles: 
Article 40: Administration of juvenile justice
Organisation: 
Committee on the Rights of the Child
Attachment Link: 
http://www.crin.org/docs/G1243476.pdf
Link : 

Countries

    Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.