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Contents:

1. Editorial
2. New resources
3. Future events
4. Links
5. Feed-back request


1. Editorial:                                                                                                                        


In this edition of the newsletter we would like to highlight new research and resources on the gender dimensions of justice for children, with a particular focus on girls, whether in conflict with the law, as victims or witnesses of crimes.

As noted in the research below, girls in conflict with the law are increasingly being deprived of liberty, even for petty offences, instead of benefiting from diversion or non-custodial measures. Girls are also often deprived of liberty with adult women, contrary to the principle of separation from adults enshrined in Article 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Conditions of deprivation of liberty may also fail to take into account the specific needs of the girl child, including, for example, her enjoyment of the right to health.

The reports below also highlight that girl victims and witnesses of crimes, including victims of sexual violence, are insufficiently protected by the justice system. To ensure that victims are not further stigmatised and re-victimised, it is essential that their rights be protected throughout the justice process, in accordance with Article 39 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Guidelines on Justice in Matters involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crimes (ECOSOC resolution 2005/20).


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2. Selected new resources on the Panel website:                                                 

Resources on gender issues:

(a) Girls in conflict with the law

• Women’s health in prison : Correcting gender inequity in prison health 
  2009 (EN)
  World Health Organization (WHO)

• Girls and offending – patterns, perceptions and interventions 
  2009 (EN) 
  Youth Justice Board (YJB)

• Review of provision for girls in custody to reduce reoffending 
  February 2009 (EN) 
  CfBT Education Trust
   
• Afghanistan: Female prisoners and their social reintegration   
  March 2007 (EN)
  United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

(b) Girls as victims and witnesses of crimes:

• A study on violence against girls  
  Report on the International Girl Child Conference
  9-10 March 2009, The Hague, The Netherlands
  June 2009 (EN)  
  Government of the Netherlands/ UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre

• Don’t turn your back on girls – Sexual violence against girls in Haiti 
  November 2008 (EN), (FR)
  Amnesty International

General resources on juvenile justice:

• Central American Diagnosis - Standards Art. 37-40 CRC - Criminal Juvenile Justice (in Spanish only)
  (Diagnostico Centroamericano - Estándares Arts.37-40 CDN - Justicia Penal Juvenil) 
  2009 (ES) 
  Defensa de Niñas y Niños - Internacional, DNI – Sección Costa Rica

• Expectations: Criteria for assessing the treatment and conditions for children and young people held in prison custody 
  July 2009 (EN)
  Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons
  
  
• Made in America: The Global Youth Justice Movement 
  Summer 2009 (EN)
  Scott Bernard Peterson (in Reclaiming children and youth, volume 18, issue 2)

• The right of the child to be heard, General Comment No. 12 (2009),
  20 July 2009 (EN)
  Committee on the Rights of the Child

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3. Forthcoming Panel member events:                                                                     

To view the complete Calendar of events: www.juvenilejusticepanel.org/events

Recently added events

• Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)  
  Celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
  8 – 9 October 2009, Geneva
  For more information, please click here

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4. New links from our website:                                                                                   


NGOs:

• GSDRC (Governance and Social Development Ressource Center – section on juvenile justice and gender)
  

• National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) Center for Girls and Young Women

To view other NGOs links, please click here

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5. Feed-back request:                                                                                                    

In this edition, we have tried a new layout that we hope is more user-friendly. Please send us your feed-back, including: your input on the information included in the newsletter; its relevance to your work; what types of amendments you would suggest; and any technical problems that you may have encountered in reading the newsletter or accessing our website.

Yours sincerely,

The Newsletter Team.

About the Newsletter:
English edition: Davinia Ovett, Secretariat Coordinator, IPJJ
French edition: Nicolas Gehriger, Communications Assistant, IPJJ
Spanish translation: Vera Winkelried
Please send us your comments to: newsletter@juvenilejusticepanel.org

Address:
Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice, Secretariat, 1, rue de Varembé, P.O. Box 88, CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland, Tel: +41 (0) 22 734 05 58, Fax: +41 (0) 22 740 11 45
http://www.juvenilejusticepanel.org