CRC/C/MDA/CO/3
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(f)
Negotiate bilateral agreements and multilateral agreements with countries
concerned, including neighbouring countries, to prevent the sale, trafficking and
abduction of children, and develop joint plans of action between and among the
countries involved.
Helplines
70. The Committee notes that the State party has not yet established a toll-free 24-hour national
helpline, available throughout the country, for children.
71. The Committee recommends that the State party provide financial resources and other
support to establish and maintain a 3-digit, 24-hour, toll-free number to assist child victims.
In this regard, it also recommends that the State party ensure that children are aware of and
can access the helpline. Furthermore, the State party is encouraged to facilitate the
collaboration of the helpline with child-focused NGOs and the police, as well as health and
social workers. The Committee also recommends that the helpline should have an outreach
component for the most vulnerable and marginalized children and that the State party should
allocate funds specifically for the provision of services to remote areas.
Administration of juvenile justice
72. The Committee welcomes the number of achievements made by the State party in the area of
juvenile justice, including improved access to education for children in detention. The Committee
is, however, concerned that there are no alternative procedures to the deprivation of liberty, that
children convicted of crimes are held in adult detention facilities, that penalties for serious crimes
are still very high, that pre-trial detention remains excessive and that the right to due process is
frequently violated.
73. The Committee reiterates its previous recommendation (CRC/C/15/Add.192) that the
State party establish a separate system of juvenile justice fully in line with the Convention. In
addition, the Committee recommends that the State party, taking into account general
comment No. 10 (2007) on children’s rights in juvenile justice and the United Nations
Guidelines on Justice in Matters involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime (Economic
and Social Council resolution 2005/20):
(a)
Consider the establishment of juvenile courts and the appointment of trained
juvenile judges in all regions of the State party;
(b)
Ensure that all professionals involved in the system of juvenile justice are trained on
relevant international standards;
(c)
Consider introducing alternatives to the deprivation of liberty, such as diversion,
reconciliation and mediation;
(d)
Consider deprivation of liberty only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest
possible period of time;
(e)
Protect the rights of children deprived of their liberty and monitor their conditions
of detention;
(f)
Ensure that children remain in regular contact with their families while in the
juvenile justice system;