How Is DCI Using the General Comment No 10

How is DCI Using the General Comment No 10?

DCI is an independent non-governmental organisation that promotes and protects children’s rights in over 40 countries worldwide. Since its establishment in 1979, the DCI movement has provided direct assistance to children, and undertaken research, monitoring, lobby and advocacy on diverse issues including child labour, violence against children, juvenile justice, child trafficking, and child combatants. At DCI’s most recent International General Assembly (Bethlehem, 2005) DCI identified the issue of juvenile justice as its priority for action at the international level. The overall goal of DCI’s work in this field is to improve the situation of children in conflict with the law.

In March 2007, DCI presented Committee members with its plans to provide follow up to GC 10 through actions at the national and international level. DCI aims to promote the implementation by States Parties of articles 37 and 40 of the CRC related to juvenile justice and will thus engage in:

• Lobby and advocacy actions with relevant UN bodies and government representatives;
• Seek to build partnerships with other governmental and non-governmental actors;
• Develop training tools and accompanying materials to be used by DCI national sections

At national level, 8 of DCI’s national sections will be involved in pilot activities including:

• Holding seminars and training sessions on the GC 10 with relevant professionals;
• Meeting with government officials and other local NGO partners to raise awareness of the GC10, and translating materials into their local languages;

Participating DCI national sections are DCI-Albania, DCI-Cameroon, DCI-Costa Rica, DCI-Ecuador, DCI-Ghana DCI-Sierra Leone, DCI-Sri Lanka, and DCI-Uganda.

• What is DCI Doing to Prevent Juvenile Delinquency?

At the international level, Defence for Children International (DCI) played an active role in drafting the UN Guidelines on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency in 1990. These Guidelines, which are also known as the Riyadh Guidelines, work to address root causes such as socio-economic inequities and encourage the use of targeted programmes directed towards children most at risk of coming in conflict with the law.

DCI-Albania has undertaken a research project funded by UNICEF on juvenile delinquency and its prevention in Albania. This is the first time such a project has been carried out in the country, and its results are intended to improve Albania’s preventative work on juvenile delinquency, offering recommendations to policy and law makers in the country.

DCI-Bolivia regularly carries out activities focusing on the prevention of juvenile delinquency by encouraging young people, and specifically those who have faced abuse, to become leading actors in their futures. They work to establish community groups comprised of children and adolescents who educate adults and their peers on the capacities, the potential, the rights and opportunities for children and adolescents. Training and capacity-building workshops are also regularly organised for teachers and students in different regions of Bolivia.

• What is DCI Doing to Promote an Appropriate Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility?

DCI-Sierra Leone worked tirelessly to lobby their government to adopt a new national child rights legislation called the “Child Rights Bill 2007”. A key success in the adoption of this Bill is that it raises the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 years of age – bringing it in line with international norms and standards

• How is DCI Promoting the Use of Diversion?

In July 2005, the DCI movement launched a global campaign called “No Kids Behind Bars!” whose primary objective is to reduce the number of children in detention, by promoting the development and implementation by governments of National Action Plans. DCI encourages these Action Plans to include diversionary methods which steer children away from the court system and towards restorative justice alternatives.

DCI-Palestine offers specialised training and capacity building to law enforcement officials on appropriate rights-based means of dealing with children in conflict with the law.

DCI-SierraLeone raises awareness and advocates for the use of diversion by police and judicial authorities. Developing national guidelines on diversion from the justice system will be a key campaign objective for DCI-Sierra Leone in 2008.

• What is DCI Doing to Promote the Right to a Fair Trial?

DCI-Belgiumlaunched an appeal to the Belgian Court of Arbitration against changes made to theLaw for the Protection of Youth. DCI-Belgium argued that several provisions of the new law were contrary to international standards including the CRC and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

DCI-Costa Ricahas facilitated training and capacity building workshops on national and international juvenile justice standardstargeted towards police forces and relevant professionals of the justice systemwith an aim to ensure that children accused of committing an offence were protected during trials. Further, DCI-Costa Rica called on the Supreme Court of Justice in Costa Rica to adopt measures for national courts to be provided with specialised juvenile judges.

DCI-Ghana provides legal defence and representation for children in conflict with the law for bail, hearing, release, discharge or probation and reintegration.

• What is DCI Doing to Decrease the Number of Children Behind Bars?

The overarching goal of the DCI movement’s No Kids Behind Bars! Campaign is to reduce the number of children in prison worldwide while promoting alternatives to detention.

DCI also has a close relationship with the Human Rights Council’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, using the individual complaints system to alert the Group to cases where children have been arbitrarily deprived of their liberty

DCI-Belgiumregularly lobbies and advocates for an end to the detention of children whose parents have been denied asylum in Belgium.

DCI-Canada monitors the state of juvenile justice and youth correctional facilities in Canada in cooperation with local youth social services, monitoring and reporting on the situation of children who are deprived of their liberty and offering alternatives.

DCI-Italy is carrying out an in-depth multi-disciplinary study on the rights of children partially or completely deprived of their liberty. The study will contain a series of recommendations to Italian institutions and government.

DCI-Palestine monitors and reports on the number of children being arbitrarily deprived of their liberty, often for acts of political resistance. They also monitor the conditions of detention centers and report on abuses.

DCI-SierraLeone runs a socio-legal defence centre which represents children in conflict with the law and their families. As part of this work, DCI-Sierra Leone intervenes in cases where children are being deprived of their liberty arbitrarily.

• What is DCI Doing to End the Death Penalty and Life Imprisonment Without Parole?

A number of DCI’s national sections have lobbied for an end to the death penalty and life imprisonment.

DCI-Spain was a strong advocate against the use of the death penalty for minors in the United States. The US eliminated the practice in 2005.

At the international level, the DCI movement lobbied delegations on the issue of juvenile justice at the 11th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. In particular, DCI congratulated the United States for abolishing the death penalty for minors and called on all States to end capital punishment and life imprisonment.