CRC/C/ALB/CO/2-4
(f)
The absence of any educational programme for child offenders under the age
of criminal responsibility, even in cases of the commission of crimes; and
(g)
The lack of programmes to assist children in contact with the law and protect
them from harm, intimidation, reprisals and secondary victimization and hardship during
judicial procedures.
85.
The Committee recommends that the State party bring the juvenile justice
system fully into line with the Convention, in particular articles 37, 39 and 40, and
with other relevant standards, 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), the Guidelines for Action on Children in the Criminal Justice System
and the Committee’s general comment No. 10 (CRC/C/GC/10, 2007). In particular,
the Committee urges the State party to:
(a)
Establish specialized juvenile courts with adequate human, technical and
financial resources throughout the country, introduce specialized judges for children
in all the regions and ensure that such specialized judges receive appropriate
education and training;
(b)
Ensure that children are no longer detained in police stations together
with adults and without access to a lawyer and that all cases of mistreatment are
properly investigated and punished;
(c)
Organize regular training for law enforcement personnel, including
police and prison administration staff, in order to ensure that they all have a thorough
understanding of provisions of the Convention and are aware that violations are not
acceptable and will be investigated, and that perpetrators are liable to prosecution;
(d)
Provide children, both victims and accused, with effective and adequate
legal and other assistance at an early stage of the procedure and throughout the legal
proceedings in conformity with the Code of Penal Procedure;
(e)
Ensure that detention is a measure of last resort and for the shortest
possible period of time, and that it is reviewed on a regular basis with a view to
withdrawing it;
(f)
Promote alternative measures to detention, such as diversion, probation,
counselling, community service or suspended sentences, wherever possible;
(g)
Take urgent measures to address the conditions of detention in pretrial
detention centres for juveniles;
(h)
Ensure that all children deprived of liberty have effective access to
education and health services, including mental health care; and
(i)
Make use, if relevant, of the technical assistance tools developed by the
Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice and its members, including the United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and NGOs, and
seek technical assistance in the area of juvenile justice from members of the Panel.
J.
Ratification of international human rights instruments
86.
The Committee recommends that the State party, in order to further
strengthen the fulfilment of children’s rights, ratify the Optional Protocol to the
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