A/HRC/29/26 judicial and administrative proceedings affecting” them. Finally, article 3 underlines that “the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration” in all actions concerning children, including when undertaken by courts of law. As far as it grants broader protection to children, the Special Rapporteur considers that the Convention on the Rights of the Child should be considered and applied as lex specialis. 23. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has identified four general principles enshrined in the Convention2 which must be taken into account for interpreting and implementing all the rights of the child, in particular when judges, prosecutors and lawyers are considering matters affecting children. They are the rights to non-discrimination, the right to life and development, the right to be heard and the primary consideration of the child’s best interests. In its general comment No. 10 on children’s rights in juvenile justice, the Committee explained that these, together with the notion of dignity, are leading principles essential to a comprehensive policy on juvenile justice. 24. The principle of non-discrimination is especially relevant when justice systems are dealing with particularly vulnerable groups of children, such as street children, children belonging to minorities, migrant children or asylum seekers, children with disabilities, or child soldiers, who may require particular attention, protection and skills from the professionals interacting with them, especially lawyers, prosecutors and judges. 25. The best interests of the child should be a primary consideration in all decisions taken within the context of the administration of justice for children. Concretely, this means that those with decision-making power in the justice system—in particular lawyers, prosecutors and judges—must be aware of this obligation and comply with it by evaluating what the best interests of the child are in each individual case presented to them. As pointed out by the Committee, “the protection of the best interests of the child means, for instance, that the traditional objectives of criminal justice, such as repression/retribution, must give way to rehabilitation and restorative justice objectives in dealing with child offenders”.3 26. The child’s right to life and development is particularly pertinent when judges are considering sentences in criminal cases involving children. Indeed, deprivation of liberty “has very negative consequences for the child’s harmonious development and seriously hampers his/her reintegration in society”.4 For this reason, the Convention dictates that it should be used only as a measure of last resort. Other types of sanctions can also seriously affect children’s development and, for this reason, in these cases too, prosecutors and judges should bear in mind the necessity to respect the development of the child. 27. Finally, the Committee explained that “the right of the child to express his/her views freely in all matters affecting the child should be fully respected and implemented throughout every stage of the process of juvenile justice”.5 Lawyers have an essential part to play in facilitating children’s right to be heard, provided they have the required skills to listen to children’s views and represent them appropriately. The justice system itself nevertheless needs to be designed in such a way as to provide adequate opportunities for children to be heard and express their views. Judges also should be sensitized to this fundamental principle, as they are often on the receiving end of information provided during judicial proceedings and make their decisions based on this information. 2 3 4 5 6 See general comments No. 5 (2003) on general measures of implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, para. 12; No. 12 (2009) on the right of the child to be heard, para. 2; and No. 14 (2013) on the right of the child to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration, para. 1. General comment No. 10 (2007) on children’s rights in juvenile justice, para. 10. Ibid., para. 11. Ibid., para. 12.