CRC/C/15/Add.237
page 18
75.
The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a)
Carry out a national study to assess the scope, nature and causes of the
phenomenon of street children in order to develop a comprehensive policy for preventing
and reducing it;
(b)
Provide street children, wherever they are in the State party, with recovery
and rehabilitation services and, wherever necessary, with adequate nutrition, necessary
health care and educational opportunities; and
(c)
Seek assistance from, inter alia, UNICEF.
Administration of juvenile justice
76.
The Committee is concerned at the limited progress achieved in establishing a functional
and adequate juvenile justice system throughout the country. In particular, the Committee is
concerned about:
(a)
The absence of juvenile courts and juvenile judges and the lack of social workers
and teachers specializing in this field;
(b)
The overuse and long periods of pre-trial detention, which has no established
(c)
The poor conditions of detention;
(d)
The lengthy periods before juvenile cases are heard;
limits;
(e)
The lack of assistance for the rehabilitation and reintegration of juveniles
following judicial proceedings;
(f)
The sporadic training of judges, prosecutors and prison staff;
(g)
The minimum age for criminal responsibility (age 7), which is far too low;
(h)
The lack of a provision in the Child Law ensuring legal assistance; and
(i)
begging.
The legal sanctions imposed on children who commit statutory offences such as
77.
The Committee recommends that the State party take additional steps to reform the
juvenile justice system in the spirit of the Convention, in particular articles 37, 40 and 39,
and 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 and the Vienna Guidelines for Action on Children in the Criminal Justice
System.