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UNICEF's Regional
office web site for CEE/CIS |
The challenges of reforming
juvenile justice systems in CEE/CIS
Standards for reforms in the area of juvenile justice are well developed in international instruments, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989; United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (Beijing Rules), 1985; United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (Riyadh Guidelines), 1990; United Nations Guidelines for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of Liberty, 1990.
At present, there are no agreed-upon regional indicators to measure the progress of reforms in the area of juvenile justice. However, a review of responses by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child to State reports (since 2002) underscores the justification for concern over violence in detention and correctional facilities.* Ill--treatment of children in police custody was mentioned in relation to five countries (Albania, Georgia, Romania, Ukraine and Uzbekistan) in the region. The Committee has also highlighted the problem of child-to-child violence and self-harm during deprivation of liberty.
It is increasingly recognized that protection measures are particularly important during police custody and pre-trial detention. Reports suggest that the interrogation period and the first 24 hours after arrival in a place of detention are particularly high-risk times for psychological and physical maltreatment of children.
The detention of girls with older women, in particular, is very widespread both at pre-trial facilities and those where sentences are served. It is usually justified by the ‘impossibility’ of providing separate accommodation for the relatively small number of girls involved with the justice system. This thinking prevails despite the fact that girls in detention are no less vulnerable to abuse than their male peers. In addition, because of the much smaller number of correctional facilities for females girls are far more likely than boys to be held at long distances from their families and home communities, a situation that inhibits the monitoring and reporting of maltreatment and rights’ violations even more.
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