A/HRC/14/34
at the national level. The recommendations are focused on the judiciary and access to
justice, legal aid, law enforcement and detention.
32.
A large number of initiatives on human rights and juvenile justice have been
undertaken by non-governmental and civil society actors in recent years. One example is
the First World Congress on Restorative Juvenile Justice, held in Lima in November 2009.
The Declaration adopted by the Congress urged the adoption of a restorative justice
approach to juvenile justice, as an approach which focuses on repairing the individual,
relational and social harm caused by the offence committed. Also of note are a series of
papers on various aspects concerning children of prisoners published by the Quaker United
Nations Office.37
IV. United Nations system activities
33.
As a whole, the United Nations system has undertaken a large number of activities
and initiatives which have a bearing on the protection of human rights in the administration
of justice. This chapter outlines some illustrative examples of these activities, with a focus
on juvenile justice and on those practices identified by their implementers as promising in
terms of effecting change.
34.
In 2009, UNICEF further strengthened its focus on upstream policy advocacy and
legal reform work, supporting new or amended pieces of legislation in Kenya, Central
African Republic, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Djibouti and Sri Lanka. In Ethiopia, the agency
assisted in developing a National Criminal Justice Policy, designed to extend special
attention to children in conflict with the law, child victims and other vulnerable groups
throughout all stages of the criminal justice procedure. In Liberia and in Papua New
Guinea, UNICEF has led the development of a national common approach to justice for
children, with a view to leveraging the work of other United Nations entities on the issue.
35.
UNICEF continues to focus its efforts on the reduction of the number of children in
detention, for example through the setting up of mechanisms for diversion from judicial
proceedings and alternatives to deprivation of liberty. In Togo the work of the UNICEF
country office in promoting diversion has resulted in an increase of 83 per cent in
alternatives to detention sentences. Building the capacity of justice for children
professionals (including ministry staff, the police, judges, lawyers, paralegals and social
workers) also remains a major strategy in UNICEF justice interventions, through both preand in-service training and the inclusion of justice for children issues in regular professional
curricula. The agency has also emphasized a shift from juvenile justice to justice for
children, implying a focus beyond children in conflict with the law to also include child
victims and witnesses of crime. New tools for policymakers and professionals working with
child victims and witnesses of crime, such as a model law and an implementation
handbook, have been developed with UNODC. At country level, UNICEF offices have also
further strengthened their support to child victims and witnesses of crime, through the
establishment of child-friendly courts and police procedures, victim support units, toll-free
telephone lines, legal support and counselling. With UNICEF’s assistance, Swaziland has
established its first child-friendly court.
37
GE.10-13137
Oliver Robertson: Children Imprisoned by Circumstance (QUNO, Geneva, 2008); Jennifer
Rosenberg: Children Need Dads Too – Children with Fathers in Prison (QUNO, Geneva, 2009); Jean
Tomkins: Orphans of Justice – In search of the best interests of the child when a parent is
imprisoned: A legal analysis (QUNO, Geneva, 2009).
11
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