CRC/C/GEO/CO/3
page 18
(a) The abolishment, in November 2006, of the Commission of Minors and the
Inspectorate of Minors, the only specialist unit dealing with prevention activities with regard to
juveniles, and that apparently no appropriate mechanism has been put in its place;
(b) The increasing number of children entering the criminal justice system and receiving
custodial measures and punishments;
(c) The lack of juvenile courts;
(d) The absence of efficient mechanisms to ensure that imprisonment is used as a last
resort and for the shortest possible period of time (e.g. pre-sentence reports, risk and needs
assessment, individual sentence planning, parole board); and the often disproportionate length of
sentences in relation to the seriousness of offences;
(e) The lack of community-based programmes offering an alternative to prosecution and
custody, in particular, the negative impact of the 2006 “Zero-Tolerance” policy on juvenile
offenders, such as the reduced possibility of alternative sentencing;
(f) The excessive length of pre-trial detention and the limited access to visitors during
this period;
(g) The conditions of detention; and
(h) The absence of facilities for the physical and psychological recovery and social
reintegration of juvenile offenders.
71.
The Committee reiterates its previous recommendation that the State party bring
the system of juvenile justice fully in line with the Convention, in particular articles 37, 40
and 39, and with other United Nations standards in the field of juvenile justice, including
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), the United Nations Rules for the Protection of
Juveniles Deprived of Their Liberty (the Havana Rules) and the Vienna Guidelines for
Action on Children in the Criminal Justice System; and the Committee’s general comment
No. 10 (2007) on children's rights in juvenile justice. In this regard, the Committee
recommends the State party in particular:
(a) Undertake all necessary measures to ensure the establishment of juvenile courts
and the appointment of juvenile judges in all regions of the State party;
(b) Ensure that all professionals involved with the system of juvenile justice are
trained on relevant international standards;
(c) Consider deprivation of liberty only as a measure of last resort and for the
shortest possible period of time; protect the rights of children deprived of their liberty and
monitor their conditions of detention; and ensure that children remain in regular contact
with their families while in the juvenile justice system;
(d) Take a holistic and preventive approach to addressing the problem of juvenile
crime (e.g. addressing underlying social factors) advocated in the Convention with a view