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The overall
goal of DCI�s international programme on juvenile justice is �to make
the situation of children and juvenile justice in the world known
internationally, promoting actions that aim to include juvenile justice
as a priority item on political agendas on an international, regional
and national level and which aims to strengthen national juvenile
justice systems, guaranteeing the rights of children and adolescents in
conflict with the law,�:
DCI action
to defend the rights of these children takes many practical forms:
Click on
the links below for more information:
Lobbying
and Advocacy
Internationally, Defence for Children International has applied its
expertise in standard setting to the drafting of relevant international
instruments. In addition to the UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child, DCI assisted in the drafting of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for
the Administration of Juvenile Justice (Beijing Rules, 1985), the UN
Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (Riyadh
Guidelines, 1990) and the UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles
Deprived of their Liberty (Havana Rules, 1990).
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During
the International Conference �Kids Behind Bars� held in Bethlehem (30th
June-2nd July 2005), Defence for Children International
launched the �No Kids Behind Bars!� Global Campaign, whose main
objective is to reduce the number of children in detention, by promoting
the development and implementation of National Action Plans by
governments. For more information about the campaign please go to:
www.kidsbehindbars.org
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Defence for
Children International participates in major international forums such
as the United Nations Human Rights Council, the United Nations
Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and the United
Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, in order to
lobby and raise awareness on the rights of children in conflict with the
law and especially those deprived of their liberty.
Direct Intervention
In
several countries, Defence for Children International has set up
socio-legal defence centers where lawyers with expertise in children�s
rights provide legal defence for children and their families, who do not
have the means to defend themselves. Typically, DCI socio-legal defence
centers are staffed by lawyers, social workers, psychologists, and
children�s rights activists who work together on behalf of children and
their families in need of protection, whether in relation to courts of
law, the police, the army, or other forms of authority. The socio-legal
defence centers have also enabled DCI to offer training courses to
juvenile justice professionals and extensively expand its implementation
of awareness raising campaigns and training courses, further deepening
public understanding of children�s rights. Between 2002 and 2004,
Defence for Children International implemented a project involving 7
socio-legal defence centers in Albania, Bolivia, Colombia, Ghana,
Macedonia, Sri-Lanka and Uganda.
Currently, Defence for Children International is implementing a regional
project on juvenile justice in
Latin America. The project
is
implemented in 8 countries of the region, namely: Argentina, Bolivia,
Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay. The regional
project aims to
strengthen
juvenile
justice
systems
in the Latin American region
and incite
institutional
policies for the reduction of penal violence,
bringing regional
practices inline with
articles 37 and
40 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The 4 main
components of the justice system addressed through this programme are:
legisation; alternative measures; training; social sensitisation.
DCI Americas recently published a short booklet on the experience of
this first phase of the project.
Please click here to download a
copy
in Spanish.
For further background and
future steps of the Latin American Regional Programme,
please click here.
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Defence for Children International is now developing a similar regional
programme in
Africa. As
a first preparatory activity, a regional consultation meeting in
Nairobi, Kenya took place in October 2006. The purpose of this meeting
was to map the main problems in Africa and to develop a strategic plan
of action for the Regional Programme in Africa, which will be used by
DCI national sections to develop national plans of action.
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Monitoring
Defence for
Children International attends the sessions of the UN Committee on the
Rights of the Child. At the end of each session, a comprehensive report
is prepared, based on the official country report, NGO alternative
reports and concluding observations of the Committee members.
Click here to view the DCI
reports on the sessions of the CRC Committee.
DCI�s
national sections regularly prepare and present alternative reports to
the Committee on the Rights of the Child.
Networking and information sharing
Defence for Children International is
a member of the Sub-group on Juvenile
Justice, a thematic sub-group of the NGO Group for the Convention on the
Rights of the Child. This sub-group is a thematic and coordinating forum
for national, regional and international NGOs and professionals working
in the field of juvenile justice.
Defence for
Children International is an active member of the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Defence for
Children International is one of the founding organisations of the Child
Rights Information Network (CRIN):
www.crin.org .
Defence for
Children International is a member of the Inter-agency Panel on Juvenile
Justice. Established by a 1997 ECOSOC Resolution, the Panel aims to
bring together policies, projects and activities among international
governmental organizations and international non-governmental
organizations engaged with national authorities in juvenile justice
reform. The work of the Panel is guided by the relevant provisions of
the Convention on the Rights of the Child, other relevant international
standards and the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of
the Child. In order to access the website of the Panel, please
click
here
On a
bi-monthly basis, Defence for Children International publishes a
comprehensive electronic newsletter with relevant information on the
latest developments, publications and events in the area of juvenile
justice. In order to subscribe to the DCI juvenile justice e-newsletter,
please
click here.
Research and documentation of Children�s Rights
DCI carries
out research to identify violations of children�s rights and build up
more comprehensive assessments of the state of juvenile justice systems
in individual countries.
DCI�s International
Secretariat in Geneva, features a resource center that contains one of
the most extensive collections of published material on all aspects
relating to children�s rights in the world. In order to have more
information about the resource center, please
click here. |