CRC/C/GTM/CO/3-4
97. The Committee recommends that the State party establish a 3-4 digit, toll-free,
24-hour national helpline for children. The State party should collaborate with NGOs
willing to work towards establishing a helpline, ensure that all children are aware of
and can access the helpline, and that it has an outreach component for the most
marginalized children, and allocate funds to provide services in remote areas.
Administration of juvenile justice
98.
While welcoming the fact that the PINA Law establishes special courts for children
in conflict with the law, the Committee is concerned at:
(a)
The insufficient number of specialized judges, as well as of judges charged
with the control of execution of sanctions, and the existence of only one juvenile appellate
court.
(b)
The lack of sufficient information on the availability of alternative measures
to deprivation of liberty;
(c)
The large number of adolescents in detention centres and information
received to the effect that offences against property are the main reason for detention;
(d)
The centralization of detention centres in the capital city and surrounding
areas, making children’s contact with their families and communities difficult;
(e)
The serious overcrowding and the lack of care and reintegration programmes
in the detention centres;
(f)
The insufficient and undertrained staff in detention centres; and
(g)
The absence of internal and external controls on the detention centres.
99.
The Committee urges the State party to ensure that juvenile justice standards
are fully implemented, in particular articles 37 (b), 40 and 39 of the Convention, as
well as the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of
Juvenile Justice (The Beijing Rules), the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention
of Juvenile Delinquency (The Riyadh Guidelines) and the United Nations Rules for the
Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty (the Havana Rules). In particular,
the Committee urges the State party to take into account its general comment No. 10
(2007) on children’s rights in juvenile justice (CRC/C/GC/10). It further recommends
that the State party:
(a)
Take all necessary measures, including a preventive approach to
addressing juvenile criminality, in particular paying adequate attention to social
factors and strengthening various forms of restorative justice (probation, counselling,
community service or suspended sentences) to ensure that children are held in
detention only as a last resort and for the shortest period of time;
(b)
Take all necessary measures to ensure that all cases of detention are in
compliance with the law and respect the rights of the child as set out under the
Convention. The State party should ensure that children are held separately from
adults both in pre-trial detention and after being sentenced;
(c)
Take all necessary measures to ensure that conditions in detention
facilities are not detrimental to a child’s development and meet international
minimum standards, including regular contact with their families, eliminating
overcrowding and providing sufficient well-trained staff in detention centres;
17