A/HRC/21/31 number of United Nations international standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice offered guidance to States on how that should be done. The panellist referred, inter alia, to the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules, 1985), the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty (the Havana Rules, 1990) and the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (the Riyadh Guidelines, 1990). He concluded by stating that violations of children’s rights in the administration of justice called for a multifaceted response. Although States had the primary responsibility, the role of non-State actors was also essential. The international community had also a key role to play in this regard. 32. Ms. Santos Pais, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children, said that a juvenile justice system framed by the rights of the child was critical for the prevention of incidents of violence against children; unfortunately, juvenile justice remained an area where children’s rights were often put at risk and where violence remained a serious challenge. Thousands of children were still deprived of liberty, not as a measure of last resort, and in many cases were awaiting trial for endless periods of time. A large proportion of those children were held for minor offences, detained in inhuman conditions, without education and vocational training and/or options for a genuine rehabilitation. Countless children endured violence and humiliating treatment by staff in detention centres, as a form of control, discipline or punishment; they risked torture, rape and abuse, including when placed in facilities with adults. It remained difficult to access data on the numbers of children deprived of liberty and on the reasons that led to their placement in detention centres or in care institutions. 33. The Special Representative noted that, similarly, there was a lack of independent mechanisms to safeguard children’s rights in the justice system and to address any complaints presented by child victims, which led to a culture of impunity and tolerance of violence. She referred to the Expert Consultation on the prevention of and responses to violence against children within the juvenile justice system and shared some recommendations from the meeting. It was critical to promote strong and cohesive national child protection systems to prevent the involvement of children in the criminal justice system, and to secure children’s protection from violence. It was necessary to minimize the cases of children in contact with the juvenile justice system. Similarly, it was urgent to set the minimum age of criminal responsibility in line with international standards, and it was vital to reduce the use of deprivation of liberty to truly as a measure of last resort and for the shortest period of time. Banning all forms of inhuman sentencing was of utmost urgency, and investing in restorative justice, diversion mechanisms and alternatives to deprivation of liberty was a critical component of that process. 34. Ms. Shankardass, Secretary-General of the Penal Reform and Justice Association– India, said that the issue of children of incarcerated parents was a universal one, yet it had been universally neglected. The State had obligations to children of incarcerated parents because it had interfered with their family life by separating the children from their parents. In South Asia, home to one fifth of the world’s population, the most basic quantitative information about children who had parents in prison was lacking. The only obtainable figure was that of children accompanying mothers to a prison on any given day when the statistics were recorded in the registers. She explained that the lack of an all-inclusive socioeconomic development in the South Asian region acutely affected the delivery of human rights for those ―left behind‖. Families of incarcerated persons were usually poor and powerless, with neither the means nor the know-how to address the issue of rights. National acts and international documents relating to child rights existed in each of the countries of South Asia, but the special category ―children of incarcerated parents‖ was conspicuous by its absence in the criminal justice system. The effects of parental incarceration on children should be addressed by bringing the subject onto the national 10