IPJJ Newsletter, Nr.1, Dec. 2007

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Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice (IPJJ)
Newsletter

Nr. 1, December 2007


Contents:

1. Editorial
2. Juvenile Justice
3. Internet tools
4. New resources
5. Future events
6. Links


1. Editorial:

On Human Rights Day (10 December), the Secretariat of the Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice (IPJJ) is pleased to present the first issue of its monthly Newsletter. This new electronic resource aims to increase the visibility of the Panel and bring juvenile justice onto the international agenda.

As a body mandated by the UN Economic and Social Council to coordinate technical advice and assistance in juvenile justice, the Panel aims to act as a focal point for actors working to ensure that juvenile justice systems comply with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international norms. The Panel also aspires to increase its role as a platform for exchange of information and expertise at the national, regional and international level. For further information on the Panel, please click here.

2. Juvenile Justice: a core issue

When faced with a child, a justice system must adapt its procedures and measures if it is to comply with the rights of the child. If it fails to do so, the consequences may be devastating for the future of the child and society. It is therefore crucial for actors working on juvenile justice to coordinate their actions and exchange information on good practices, lessons learned and technical assistance in a child-rights based approach to juvenile justice. For more information on juvenile justice, please click here.

3. Internet tools:

To facilitate exchange of information, the Panel is currently developing its website (www.juvenilejusticepanel.org), which includes a juvenile justice resource database in English, French and Spanish. Amongst the website’s many features, we would also like to flag the calendar of events of Panel member activities on juvenile justice. This feature aims to assist members and other actors in identifying who is doing what, where and what still needs to be done.

Below is a selection of information available on the website: documents published by Panel members in 2007, events planned for December 2007 and links to partners.

4. Selected resources on the website published in 2007:

Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice (IPJJ):
  • Short presentation of the Panel (2007) (EN, FR, ES)
  • Extracts from Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Concluding Observations : Technical assistance recommendations referring to the “Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice” (2007) (EN, FR, ES)
Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC):
  • CRC, General Comment No. 10 (2007) on “Children’s rights in juvenile justice” (EN, FR, ES)
UNICEF Argentina:
  • Derechos de niños, niñas y adolescentes: seguimiento de la aplicación de la convención sobre los derechos del niño. Conceptos, debatos y experiencias en justicia penal juvenil (2007) (ES)
UNICEF Barbados:
  • Children in focus: justice for children in the Eastern Caribbean (2007) (EN)
UNICEF CEE/CIS:
  • Thematic Evaluation of UNICEF’s Contribution to Juvenile Justice System Reform in Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Tadjikistan (2007) (EN)
UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre:
  • Reforming Child Law in South Africa: Budgeting and Implementation Planning (2007) (EN)
UNICEF Chile:
  • Justicia y Derechos del Niño n° 9 (agosto de 2007) (ES)
UNICEF/ Penal Reform International (PRI):
  • Juvenile Justice Training Manual (2007): (EN, FR, available in Arabic on CD)
Defence for Children International (DCI):
Terre des hommes – aide à l’enfance:
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT):
  • Alternative Reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (2007): Chile (ES, EN),  Georgia (EN)
  • Alternative reports to the Human Rights Committee (2007): Madagascar (FR), Zambia (EN)
  • Alternative reports to the UN Committee against Torture (2007): Benin (FR), Uzbekistan (EN):
Penal Reform International (PRI):
  • Newsletters 2007 and Digests 2007 (monthly) (EN)
5. Forthcoming Panel member events (December 2007):

To view the Calendar of events, please click here.

UNICEF Iran
  • Training session in juvenile justice for police officers and commanders of police stations in Kohgilouye & Boyer Ahmad Province, 10 - 13 December 2007, Kohgilouye & Boyer Ahmad Province, Islamic Republic of Iran.
  • Training session on juvenile justice for judges in Eelam and Khuzestan Provinces, 17 - 20 December 2007, Ahwaz (South), Islamic Republic of Iran.
  • Training of trainers in juvenile justice for police graduates, from 24 - 27 December 2007, Islamic Republic of Iran.
UNICEF Ethiopia
  • Training of trainers on justice for children, including juvenile justice and child development for prosecutors and judges, 12 - 24 December 2007, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
UNICEF Benin
  • Training session on juvenile justice reform, with a particular focus on alternative measures to detention. This is the sixth in a series of training sessions organised in different jurisdictions in Benin (Cotonou, Porto Novo, Ouida, Abomey and Lokossa, Natitingou, Kandi and Parakou) targeted at: judges, magistrates, attorneys, judicial police officers, local authorities, social workers, educators and NGOs, 19 - 21 December 2007, Natitingou, Benin.
Terre des hommes - aide à l’enfance
  • Training session on juvenile justice and the rights of the child for 50 social workers, educators and prison staff in Mauritania. The seven week programme is organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice of Mauritania and UNICEF Mauritania until 18 December 2007.
6. Selected links from our partners:

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: Evelyne Monnay, Communications Assistant, IPJJ
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