A/HRC/21/31 effective. He stressed that the primary purpose of a juvenile justice system should be the rehabilitation and the reintegration of the child. States had to shift from a punitive to a child-sensitive approach. Conditions of detention and access to services for children deprived of liberty had to be improved. There was a need for a multifaceted response and coordination between the criminal justice system and social welfare, education and public health institutions, as well as coordination among the international organizations. The only way to know what were the best practices in the area was to have better data and information on the number of children in conflict with the law, so programming could be enriched. 47. Ms. Santos Pais said that juvenile justice could not be perceived as a secondclass justice system for youth in conflict and that it had not been designed to marginalize or to punish children. Most of the children who were in the criminal justice system should not be there in the first place, and prevention and alternative measures should be the priority. Strong legislation was needed to give children the confidence that the system was appropriate and able to deal with them in the best way. She stressed that in order to fight impunity, strong accountability systems were needed, together with independent monitoring mechanisms, ombuds for children and the need to change social perceptions. Capacity-building for law enforcement and ethical guidance on the role of the media was indispensable. She explained that there was also a need for resources, and that this should be perceived as an investment, not as expenditure. Finally, problems could not be solved without taking young people’s views and recommendations into consideration. Concerning children of incarcerated parents, she said that they were not offenders and should not be punished implicitly. She said they were stigmatized, ill perceived by society, bullied, pressured to hide their story and isolated, all of which could have emotional consequences. It was important to work with the extended family and community professionals to promote the inclusion of those children in school and sports. 48. Ms. Shankardass referred to prisons as an uncivilized way of punishment. More research on individuals inside institutions and those released after being in prisons would show how uncivilized that punishment was. Concerning guidelines for children of incarcerated parents, she indicated that she could not suggest any, given that those children should not be in prison. To facilitate their development, the incarceration of mothers should be avoided, as they were not dangerous criminals. She said that the possibility of creating a child-friendly atmosphere in a prison was very slim. The regime of a prison was not healthy for a child. Children did not belong in prisons, and more research was required to know how those left outside could come to terms with being left without a parent. 49. Mr. Pedernera said working from the State level more proactively and ending the criminalization of children was essential. He said that in order to prevent the discriminatory treatment of children by the press, in certain Latin American countries they had established observation centres for the media, which monitored such discriminatory coverage. Police officers needed to be trained to deal with children. Best practices in the educational sphere for children deprived of liberty involved ensuring that children continued to go to school outside of prison. Concerning children of incarcerated parents, he stressed that children were not deprived of liberty but were in prison because of their parents. It was important for a child to be able to have opportunities to get out of the prison and reduce his or her distance from the outside world. Completely closed institutions for children that provided all services within their walls should not be encouraged. They needed to be able to leave and interact in the public sphere. The distance between the situation of children left outside and those inside institutions should be minimized as much as possible. He reiterated that deprivation of liberty for children was a bad response; it 14