A/HRC/21/25 report found that children are at high risk of violence from their first point of contact with the law.11 This appears to occur in developed and developing countries. The use of tasers during the arrest of children is a situation of particular concern. 22. As prescribed by international standards on juvenile justice, it is important to notify parents or caregivers following the arrest of a child, and secure their attendance at the police station. However, failure to notify the parents, or to do so in a timely manner, happens in both developing and developed countries. C. Police interrogation 23. As stated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, every child deprived of his or her liberty shall have the right to prompt access to legal and other appropriate assistance. It is observed in the UNODC Criminal Justice Assessment Toolkit 3 that: “Good practice and respect for human rights, as well as the professionalism of the interviewer, should prevent suspect interviews from becoming violent, but there may be places in which severe interrogation techniques are tolerated, or even encouraged, and may involve the use of torture”. 12 24. Many juvenile justice laws fail to include a clause that a child shall not be questioned by a police officer or a prosecutor without a parent, guardian or responsible adult being present. The presence of a parent, guardian or responsible adult is important in that it provides a high level of protection against ill-treatment of child suspects by police.13 25. Similarly, the United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems provide specifically that States should establish child-friendly legal aid systems that enable children to contact their parents or guardians at once and to prohibit any interview in the absence of a parent or guardian, and lawyer or other legal aid provider. 26. A recent study of juvenile justice systems in Eastern Europe and Central Asia recognizes that some countries have legislated to provide for the presence of lawyers during interrogation.14 At the same time, in some other regions legal representatives rarely assist any suspect at the police detention stage of the criminal justice process. 15 D. Searches and the taking of samples 27. International instruments pertaining to juvenile justice do not provide specific protection in relation to searches or the taking of samples. Similarly, many laws at the domestic level fail to incorporate protective rules in this area. Some countries do have laws relating to the taking of intimate and non-intimate samples, but not all differentiate between child suspects and adult suspects. 11 12 13 14 15 NGO Advisory Council, Five years on: A global update on violence against children (2011). P. 17, available from: http://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prisonreform/cjat_eng/3_Crime_Investigation.pdf Rule 15, United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice, deals with “legal counsel, parents and guardians” but this comes under part 3 of the rules pertaining to “Adjudication and Disposition”. UNICEF, The development of juvenile justice systems in Eastern Europe and Central Asia: Lessons from Albania, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Ukraine (2009). UNODC, Access to legal aid in criminal justice systems in Africa: Survey Report (2011). 7