A/72/53/Add.1 20. Recognizes that every child and juvenile alleged as, accused of or recognized as having infringed the law, particularly those who are deprived of their liberty, as well as child victims and witnesses of crimes, should be treated in a manner consistent with his or her rights, dignity and needs, in accordance with international law, bearing in mind relevant international standards on human rights in the administration of justice and taking into account the age, gender, social circumstances and development needs of such children, and calls upon States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child to abide strictly by its principles and provisions; 21. Urges States to consider applying the United Nations Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Children in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, as appropriate, in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of laws, policies, programmes, budgets and mechanisms aimed at eliminating violence against children in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice, and encourages them to support and to benefit from the programme proposed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the United Nations Children’s Fund in this regard; 22. Encourages States that have not yet integrated children’s issues into their overall rule of law efforts to do so, and to develop and implement a comprehensive juvenile justice policy to prevent and address juvenile delinquency as well as with a view to promoting, inter alia, the use of alternative measures, such as diversion and restorative justice, and ensuring compliance with the principle that the deprivation of a child’s liberty should only be used as a measure of last resort, for the shortest appropriate period of time, and that such decisions must be subject to periodic review of their continuing necessity and appropriateness, and to avoid, wherever possible, the use of pretrial detention for children; 23. Urges States to systematically integrate children’s access to justice into justice sector reforms, rule of law initiatives and national planning processes, such as national development plans and justice sector-wide approaches, and to support it through the national budget; 24. Encourages States not to set the minimum age of criminal responsibility at too low an age, bearing in mind the emotional, mental and intellectual maturity of the child, and in this respect refers to the recommendation of the Committee on the Rights of the Child to increase their lower minimum age of criminal responsibility, without exception, to 12 years, as the absolute minimum age, and to continue to raise the lower limit to a higher age; 25. Urges States to ensure that, under their legislation and practice, neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment are imposed for offences committed by persons under 18 years of age; 26. Calls upon States to consider establishing or strengthening existing independent and child-friendly national monitoring and complaints mechanisms so as to contribute to safeguarding the rights of children deprived of their liberty; 27. Welcomes the work on the in-depth global study on children deprived of liberty,43 and encourages Member States, United Nations agencies, funds, programmes and offices, and other relevant stakeholders, to support the elaboration of the study; 28. Invites States to provide for human rights training on the administration of justice and juvenile justice, including anti-racist, anti-discrimination, multicultural, gendersensitive and child rights training, for all judges, lawyers, prosecutors, social workers, immigration, correction and police officers, and other professionals working in the administration of justice; 29. Also invites States, upon their request, to benefit from the technical advice and assistance provided by the relevant United Nations agencies and programmes in order to strengthen their national capacities and infrastructures in the field of the administration of justice, including in addressing overcrowding, overincarceration and violence against children in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice; 43 GE.17-18194 See General Assembly resolution 69/157, para. 52 (d). 45