A/HRC/31/78 purpose, which is to help judges gain an idea of these troubled minors ’ personalities before they rule on their cases. While it is true that there is a wall that separates this observation centre from the prison itself, in practice this separation is often illusory. In addition, the Abidjan Juvenile Observation Centre does not have medical facilities of its own, so minors who are ill are cared for in the prison infirmary; in some cases they stay there overnight, with all the safety issues and threats to their mora l integrity which that entails. 58. This situation is on the point of being rectified thanks to the relocation of the Abidjan Juvenile Observation Centre. The minors housed in the facility located within the Abidjan Detention and Correctional Centre are to be rehomed in the new Observation Centre shortly. Throughout the country, the utmost effort should be made to separate minors, whether they are in temporary detention or have been c onvicted, from adult prisoners. 4. The specific situation in the Dabou Centre 59. Another matter that should be forcefully addressed is the situation of the children who are referred to as “germs” (microbes) in the Dabou Centre. The Independent Expert feels called upon to reiterate his categorical condemnation of the use of this term to stigmatize children in conflict with the law (see A/HRC/29/49, para. 17). At the time of the Independent Expert’s visit to Côte d’Ivoire, the Dabou Centre housed some 60 children who are considered to pose a danger to the community because of the acts of violence that they have committed in the past and the risk that they may commit similar acts in the future. They are themselves sometimes attacked by members of the public in retaliation for acts of violence which they have or are suspected of having committed. 60. The Independent Expert has been assured that these children are not incarcerated, since they have gone to the Centre of their own free will or have been taken there by family members and are free to leave whenever they wish. The Centre is run by the Unit for Coordination, Follow-up and Reintegration, which took the place of the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Authority. The authorities emphasized that the Centre’s purpose is to rehabilitate the children who are housed there. 61. The Independent Expert wishes to make the following observations in this regard. It is imperative that these children be protected from attacks by members of the public, which may be motivated by fear or by a desire for revenge. Moreover, the determination of the extent to which they pose a danger to society, any restriction of their freedom of movement for any appreciable amount of time and any type of custodial arrangement should be overseen by the justice system. Children in conflict with the law should be provided with suitable rehabilitative care that is in keeping with their young age and in accordance with the law. The institutions entrusted with providing that care should be closely supervised by the justice system. 62. Special attention should be devoted to the children known as “talibés” who have recently begun to enter the country across its northern borders. These children usually come from very poor families who entrust the m to religious teachers. However, rather than ensuring their education, some of these teachers subject them to the most disgraceful forms of exploitation and force them to beg on their behalf. C. Child protection policy 63. Child protection systems should also have a preventive component. The authorities should not wait until a child begins to engage in misconduct before taking 16/23 GE.16-00901