IPJJ Newsletter, Nr. 7, June 2008
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Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice (IPJJ)
Newsletter
Newsletter
Nr. 7, June 2008
Contents:
1. Editorial
2. New resources
3. Future events
4. Links
1. Editorial:
In this edition of the Panel Secretariat newsletter, we would like to encourage juvenile justice actors to follow-up on the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child relating to children’s rights in juvenile justice expressed in the Committee’s Concluding Observations and their General Comment No. 10 (2007) and to use these tools as guidance for reform.
At its 48th Session, which ended in early June, the Committee made strong recommendations on juvenile justice to Bulgaria, Eritrea, Georgia, the Republic of Serbia and Sierra Leone covering both children in conflict with the law and children victims and witnesses of crimes. This included, amongst others, recommendations relating to the reduction of pre-trial and other forms of detention and the development of alternatives such as community service or restorative justice. The Committee also recommended that State parties seek or request technical assistance in the area of juvenile justice and police training from the Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice and its members.
We would also like to highlight the outcome of the discussion organised by Defence for Children International (DCI) on “Protecting the Rights of Children in Juvenile Justice Systems: Follow-up to General Comment No. 10” which took place on 5 June 2008 in Geneva. At the meeting, two members of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Ms. Nevena Vuckovic Sahovic and Mr. Jean Zermatten, reiterated the need for State parties to develop comprehensive juvenile justice policies as recommended by the General Comment. The Panel Secretariat Coordinator gave examples of how Panel members use the General Comment as a useful reference document in their advocacy, training, policy and legal reform activities. Finally, DCI shared examples from its follow-up project in eight national sections (Albania, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka and Uganda) and in Latin America. A report of the meeting prepared by DCI is available below.
At its 48th Session, which ended in early June, the Committee made strong recommendations on juvenile justice to Bulgaria, Eritrea, Georgia, the Republic of Serbia and Sierra Leone covering both children in conflict with the law and children victims and witnesses of crimes. This included, amongst others, recommendations relating to the reduction of pre-trial and other forms of detention and the development of alternatives such as community service or restorative justice. The Committee also recommended that State parties seek or request technical assistance in the area of juvenile justice and police training from the Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice and its members.
We would also like to highlight the outcome of the discussion organised by Defence for Children International (DCI) on “Protecting the Rights of Children in Juvenile Justice Systems: Follow-up to General Comment No. 10” which took place on 5 June 2008 in Geneva. At the meeting, two members of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Ms. Nevena Vuckovic Sahovic and Mr. Jean Zermatten, reiterated the need for State parties to develop comprehensive juvenile justice policies as recommended by the General Comment. The Panel Secretariat Coordinator gave examples of how Panel members use the General Comment as a useful reference document in their advocacy, training, policy and legal reform activities. Finally, DCI shared examples from its follow-up project in eight national sections (Albania, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka and Uganda) and in Latin America. A report of the meeting prepared by DCI is available below.
Selected resources on these points:
Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice (IPJJ) Secretariat
- Extracts from the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Concluding Observations: Technical assistance recommendations referring to the ‘Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice’ (June 2008) (EN)
- Presentation on “The Committee on the Rights of the Child’s General Comment No. 10 (2007) on ‘Children’s Rights in Juvenile Justice’ and the Work of Panel Members”(June 2008) (EN)
- 48th Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Information Notes on Juvenile Justice (June 2008) (EN)
Penal Reform International (PRI)/ Human Rights Watch (HRW)
- Press Release. “Georgia: Raise Age of Criminal Responsibility. UN Committee on the Rights of the Child Urges Reform” (10 June 2008) (EN)
2. Selected new resources on the Panel website:
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
- Secure Detention of Massachusetts Youth After Arraignment and Before Adjudication (2008) (EN)
- Challenges in the fulfilment of the Convention on the Rights of Child. Experiences from the Regional Project on Juvenile Justice in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay (2008) (ES)
- Child Protection Strategy (June 2008) (EN, FR, ES, other UN languages)
- Handbook on Restorative Justice and Victim-Offender Mediation (2007) (EN)
- Handbook for Police on Ethical and Psychological Standards of Police Conduct with Juveniles (2007) (EN)
- Expert Discussion on Children and Transitional Justice, Background Paper (June 2008) (EN)
- First Report on the Juvenile Justice System, An Analysis of Antisocial and Delinquent Behaviour of Children in Spain (February 2008) (ES)
- Anne Harland and Amanda Borich, Evaluation of Youth Offending Teams in New Zealand (November 2007) (EN)
3. Forthcoming Panel member events:
To view the Calendar of events: www.juvenilejusticepanel.org/events/
Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice (IPJJ)
- Panel Member Annual Meeting, 9-10 July 2008, Geneva, Switzerland.
- Technical Round Table on Juvenile Justice in CEE/CIS, 8 -10 July 2008, Geneva, Switzerland.
- DCI International Conference “Ending Violence against Children in Juvenile Justice Systems: From Words to Action”, 1 - 3 October 2008, Brussels, Belgium.
4. New links from our website:
Intergovernmental/Governmental Organisations:
NGOs:
Professional Organisations:
Contents
AS AN EXCHANGE OF RESOURCES CAN ONLY SUCCEED WITH YOUR INPUT, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO SEND US INFORMATION ON JUVENILE JUSTICE ISSUES (reports, events, best practices, lessons learned, etc).
Yours sincerely,
The Newsletter Team
About the Newsletter:
Editorial in English: Davinia Ovett, Secretariat Coordinator, IPJJ
Editorial in French: Marie Abeng, Communications Assistant, IPJJ
Translation into Spanish: Katrien De Moor
Please send us your comments to: newsletter@juvenilejusticepanel.org
Address:
Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice, Secretariat, 1, rue de Varembé, CP 88, CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland, Tel: +41 (0) 22 734 05 58, Fax: +41 (0) 22 740 11 45
http://www.juvenilejusticepanel.org
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*** The Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice (IPJJ) does not necessarily endorse, support, share or take any responsibility for the views expressed in the documents linked in this Newsletter or others available on the website.
** The Newsletter is available in English, French and Spanish. If you wish to subscribe to another language version please click here.
*** The Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice (IPJJ) does not necessarily endorse, support, share or take any responsibility for the views expressed in the documents linked in this Newsletter or others available on the website.