CHILD Protection & Rights > Child Protection Issues.

Children in Conflict with the Law and the United Nations System
The UN CRC contains several articles that specifically relate to the situation of children in conflict with the law.

More specifically, Article 37 states that no child shall “be subjected to torture, cruel treatment or punishment, unlawful arrest or deprivation of liberty.” Both capital punishment and life imprisonment without the possibility of release are prohibited for offences committed by persons below 18 years. Any child deprived of liberty shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in the child's best interests not to do so. A child who is detained shall have legal and other assistance as well as contact with his or her family.

Article 40 states that a child in conflict with the law has the right to treatment, which promotes the child's sense of dignity and worth, takes the child's age into account and aims at his or her reintegration into society. The child is entitled to basic guarantees as well as legal or other assistance for his or her defence. Judicial proceedings and institutional placements shall be avoided wherever possible.

Some other texts have been adopted by the UN to protect children in conflict with the law.
Guidelines on Justice in Matters involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime, Economic and Social Council, Resolution 2005/20 of 22 July 2005: http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain/opendocpdf.pdf?
docid=468922c92

Guidelines for Action on Children in the Criminal Justice System, Economic and Social Council, Resolution 1997/30 of 21 July 1997: http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/system.htm.

United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (The Riyadh Guidelines, 1990):
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/h_comp47.htm.

UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, 1990: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/h_comp37.htm

United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (The Beijing Rules, 1985):
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/h_comp48.htm.

Two other international documents worth mentioning here are:

- Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (1955), which first established the principle of separation of young people from adults in custodial facilities

- UN Minimum Rules for Non-Custodial Measures: the 'Tokyo Rules' (1990), are intended to promote 'greater community involvement in the management of criminal justice, specifically in the treatment of offenders' and to 'promote among offenders a sense of responsibility towards society'. The rules cover pre-trial, diversion, sentencing and post-trial issues.

The entire framework for the protection of children in contact with the law should be viewed in the wider context of human rights protection as embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of 1950 and subsequently by the UN.
In particular, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) [link: http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm], prohibits the death penalty for crimes committed when under 18 (Article 6.5) and states specifically that in 'the case of juvenile persons, the [court] procedure shall be such as it will take account of their age and the desirability of promoting their rehabilitation' (Article 14.4).

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