A/HRC/29/26 Lawyers, the Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors, and the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct, emphasize the necessity of quality education and proper training to enable judges, prosecutors and lawyers to discharge their functions in a manner that ensures equality of treatment of all before the courts. 87. The Special Rapporteur is convinced that appropriate education and training is a determining factor in guaranteeing the competence, independence and impartiality of the justice system. In her first report to the Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur noted that the lack of appropriate capacity-building initiatives had a direct impact on judges’ capacity to render justice independently and impartially. As a consequence, judges and lawyers require opportunities to enhance their capacity to develop argumentation and analyse issues from a human rights perspective (A/HRC/14/26, para. 24). 88. When it comes to children, understanding their development is fundamental to understanding their behaviour and their capacity to participate in legal proceedings, including their ability to interact and communicate with those who assist them, comprehend what is at stake, and make informed choices about their situation. 44 Legal-assistance providers have a duty “to understand how children communicate cognitively, linguistically, and emotionally and how this capacity changes over the course of childhood”, and that duty requires “training in how to communicate with children”.45 Within their respective functions, lawyers, prosecutors and especially judges have an obligation to uphold international human rights law, including with respect to children’s rights. Moreover, as one of the three branches of power, the judiciary is directly bound by the international human rights obligations of the State. 89. Building a child-friendly justice system, therefore, requires institutionalized and sustained efforts in the form of specialized training programmes, on-the-job education and capacity-building that focus on international human rights norms and standards, fundamental principles and related obligations. It also requires national laws to protect children’s rights. Most child-specific international instruments, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Beijing Rules, the Guidelines on Justice in Matters involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime and the Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems, make reference to this necessity. 90. These international human rights treaties and other instruments, as well as the jurisprudence arising from judicial and quasi-judicial bodies, provide judges, prosecutors and lawyers alike with legitimate instruments for adjudication that respects children’s rights, needs and vulnerabilities. IV. Conclusions 91. Every day, throughout the world, countless children come into contact with the justice system. As justice systems are often not adapted to the specificities of children, far too many children suffer adverse consequences from treatment that directly violates or disregards their fundamental human rights. In this context, judges, prosecutors and lawyers have, within the limits of their professional functions, a unique opportunity to contribute significantly to respecting, protecting and fulfilling children’s rights. By their actions judges, prosecutors and lawyers can influence the future course of children’s lives. As a result, by the very nature of their functions, they have a great responsibility towards children. 92. The Special Rapporteur has considered it important to go beyond the more limited notion of juvenile justice in this report so as to reflect the diverse experiences 44 45 18 UNDP, UNICEF and UNODC, Child-Friendly Legal Aid in Africa (2011), p. 6. Ibid., p. 11.