CRC/C/15/Add.190
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(c)
Proceed with the implementation of the “national project to combat the
problem of street children”, ensuring that this project is in full conformity with the
Convention and addresses the concerns raised in the present concluding observations;
(d)
Seek international cooperation from, among others, UNICEF.
Juvenile justice
69.
Noting the reference to a juvenile court project in the State party’s response to the list of
issues, the Committee is concerned that the holistic approach to addressing the problem of
juvenile crime advocated in the Convention, including with respect to prevention, procedures
and sanctions, has not been sufficiently taken into consideration by the State party. The
Committee is concerned that the age of criminal responsibility is too low as a child may be
punishable by detention in a reformatory from the age of 7.
70.
The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a)
Raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility;
(b)
Establish a system of juvenile justice that fully integrates into its legislation
and practice the provisions of the Convention, in particular articles 37, 39 and 40, as well
as other relevant international standards in this area, such as the Beijing Rules, the Riyadh
Guidelines, the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their
Liberty and the Vienna Guidelines for Action on Children in the Criminal Justice System;
(c)
Ensure that all children under 18 years of age benefit from the protection of
juvenile justice standards;
(d)
Guarantee that sentences of capital punishment are not given for acts
committed when the perpetrator was a child under 18 and that sentences of life
imprisonment without possibility of release are likewise not handed down;
(e)
End the imposition of corporal punishment, including flogging, amputation
and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, on persons who
may have committed crimes while under 18;
(f)
Ensure that children who are homeless, unaccompanied, begging and in
other similar situations are not criminalized.
9. Optional Protocols
71.
The Committee recommends that the State party ratify the Optional Protocols to
the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict
and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.