Human rights in the administration of justice A/RES/73/177 children in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice, and encourages States to support and to benefit, as appropriate, from the programme proposed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the United Nations Children’s Fund in this regard; 24. Recalls its resolutions 69/157 of 18 December 2014 and 72/245 of 24 December 2017, in which it invited the Secretary-General to commission an in-depth global study on children deprived of liberty, to be funded through voluntary contributions, and in this regard encourages Member States, United Nations agencies, funds, programmes and offices, as well as other relevant stakeholders, to support the elaboration of the study; 25. Encourages States that have not yet integrated children’s issues into their overall rule of law efforts to do so and to develop and implement a comprehensive and coordinated juvenile justice policy to prevent and address juvenile delinquency and to address risks and causes for children’s contact with the juvenile and/or criminal justice system, as well as with a view to promoting, inter alia, the use of alterna tive measures, such as diversion and restorative justice, and complying with the principle that deprivation of liberty of children should be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time, as well as to avoid, whereve r possible, the use of pretrial detention for children; 26. Stresses the importance of including reintegration strategies for former child offenders in juvenile justice policies, in particular through the provision of gender-sensitive education and life skills programmes, as well as treatment and services for substance abuse and mental health needs, in line with relevant commitments and obligations under international human rights law, with a view to their assuming a constructive role in society; 27. Urges States to take all necessary and effective measures, including legal reform where appropriate, to prevent and respond to all forms of violence against children within the justice system, including within the informal justice system, where it exists; 28. Also urges States to ensure that, under their legislation and practice, neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment without the possibility of release nor corporal punishment is imposed for offences committed by persons under 18 years of age, and encourages States to consider repealing all other forms of life imprisonment for offences committed by persons under 18 years of age; 29. Encourages States not to set the minimum age of criminal responsibility at too low an age level, bearing in mind the emotional, mental and intellectual maturity of the child, and in this respect notes the recommendation of the Committee on the Rights of the Child to increase the lower minimum age of criminal responsibility to the age of 12 years as the absolute minimum age, and to continue to increase it to a higher age level; 17 30. Also encourages States to gather relevant information, including through data collection and research, concerning children within their criminal justice systems so as to improve their administration of justice, while being mindful of the children ’s right to privacy, with full respect for relevant international human rights instruments, and bearing in mind applicable international standards on human rights in the administration of justice; 31. Stresses the importance of paying greater attention to the impact on children of imprisonment or other sentences imposed upon their parents, while noting 18-22273 7/9