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Summary: The Committee against Torture today concluded its review of the United Kingdom. Corporal punishment, restraining techniques in custody and the age of criminal responsibility were just some of the children's rights issues raised by the Committee.
Opening remarks Introducing the report of the United Kingdom, Mark Sweeney, Director of the Law, Rights and International Directorate, Ministry of Justice, said that there could never be any justification for torture and the United Kingdom had in place a strong system of clear guidance, Ministerial oversight and legal scrutiny in respect of human rights and many of the requirements of the Convention against Torture. Concerning children, Mr Sweeney said that the National Assembly for Wales had passed the Rights of Children and Young Persons Measure which placed a legal duty on the Welsh Government to have due regard to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and protect children against torture, sale and other forms of exploitation. During the review, the Committee raised a number of concerns over children's rights: Unaccompanied children Asked by the Committee to comment on reports about the detention of children in degrading conditions at Heathrow Airport, the delegation said that an Independent Monitoring Board report for Heathrow in 2012 had noted that the holding room remained unsuitable for anything other than a very brief period of detention and inappropriate for holding children or for overnight use. The delegation informed the Committee that a number of projects to upgrade the rooms had been initiated. Age of Criminal Responsibility Concerning the age of Criminal responsibility in England and Wales - set at 10 - the government said it had no plans to make ammendments as children that age were old enough to differentiate between bad behaviour and serious wrongdoing. Corporal Punishment The Committee expressed concern about the lack of law prohibiting corporal punishment and asked what the government's intentions were concerning total prohibition. In response, the government said that no child should ever be subjected to violence or abuse and any punishment that constituted violence or abuse was unlawful. The Government, however, did not wish to criminalize parents for giving their child a mild smack. A number of Committee experts commented on the lack of willingness by the Government to criminalize mild slaps and noted that criminalizing corporal punishment was about setting standards in parenting and teaching parents and children about dignity and the value of non-violence. Restrained in youth custody Asked about the reported 70 per cent increase in the use of restraining measures against juvenile detainee, the government said that restraining in the youth custody system should only be used as a last resort and young people should be debriefed after incidents to enable them to discuss what happened and to better understand behaviours that led to the use of restraints. Reoffending rates among youth On high reoffending rates among youth, the delegation said that almost half of those released from custody reoffended within a year and the costs of reoffending for the national economy were very high. The reforms would transform the way in which offenders were rehabilitated in the community through a new focus on life management and mentoring support. Seventy-one per cent of juvenile offenders released from custody went on to reoffend within a year and the costs of custody were huge. The delegation told the Committee that plans for the future of youth custody aimed to establish a system of Secure Colleges and place education at the centre of efforts to rehabilitate serious and persistent youth offenders. Reducing overcrowding and reducing the number of prisoners held in overcrowded accommodation was a strategic aim of the Government, which would take time to implement. Mental health The Committee said that the detention of juveniles suffering from mental health issues was fundamentally wrong and they should be immediately referred to a mental health institution rather than held in a police station, regardless of how brief the stay. To read the full exchange, click here. Further Information