More than 1 million children worldwide are living in detention as a result of being in a position of conflict with the law, without access to a fair judicial process or legal representation. This occurs despite numerous protective treaties and conventions, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that every child is not to be deprived of his or her liberty "unlawfully and arbitrarily".

Stories of these children are often untold, unwanted, forgotten-and sometimes even unknown. Defence for Children International (DCI), an independent non-governmental organization working to promote and protect children's rights, defines the situations as "horrifying, unacceptable, irresponsible, degrading and even inhuman". The situation of children in prison started receiving more attention in 1989, when the Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. In most cases, however, it is still a silent issue that hardly makes the media spotlight.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Human Rights Watch (HRW), DCI and other relevant organizations have worked in recent years to try to unveil this reality and make the rights of children in conflict with the law, or those imprisoned without sufficient cause, a top priority for decision-makers. While they emphasize that international standards do exist, they also claim that strong action is necessary to successfully implement such standards into the national legal and judicial systems.

"Children do not belong in prison. Children should go to school. They should play and enjoy themselves"

The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 1990 United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty provide a framework for children's rights, vis-a-vis the law. The imprisonment of a child is to be used "only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time", while the convicted child "shall be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and in a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of his or her age", the Convention states. The right to have access to legal or other assistance and to challenge the legality of imprisonment in front of any appropriate authority is also emphasized. However, in spite of these clear statements, the standards set by the Convention are constantly violated.

The work of Governments and the justice systems, supported by children's rights organizations, should focus on two priorities: the current situation in prisons-decreasing as much as possible the number of convicted children; and prevention-improving the conditions and circumstances that lead to children being deprived of their liberty. Studies and reports agree that the overwhelming majority of children who end up in prison come from particularly difficult backgrounds, poor communities and families, and minority groups. Working at the root of the problem could prove particularly helpful. "It is much better to drain the swamp than fight the alligators", DCI stresses in its 2003 report titled Kids Behind Bars.

UNHCR PHOTO/J. Stejskal

UNICEF is supporting and providing advice to several countries, such as Moldova, Panama and Montenegro, to reduce the number of child incarcerations, and is working to protect children from the abuses and exploitations that very often lead to violence. The Children's Chance for Change Project-a juvenile justice reform initiative sponsored by UNICEF, the Government of Serbia and the Swedish International Development Agency-states that "children entering into conflict with the law do so not by choice but as a result of narrowed opportunities available for their development. These opportunities are even more limited once they have entered into the penal system". Prison terms are very likely to cause further damage instead of creating conditions for children's reintegration into society. These compounding effects are the reason why particular emphasis is placed on alternatives to detention, considering that other solutions can be more helpful than punitive measures. Alternative measures include preventing the child's contact with the judicial system in cases of minor offences, and involving the victims, their family and community in the promotion of reconciliation, restitution and responsibility. Counselling, probation and community service can also be used as alternatives to custodial sentencing.

The issue of children in conflict with the law is of main interest to HRW, which like UNICEF has investigated through the years the situations of convicted children in a number of critical countries. In its last report entitled Making Their Own Rules: Police Beating, Rape and Torture of Children in Papua New Guinea, HRW examined a wide range of abuses committed by law enforcement officers towards imprisoned children in that country. It places special attention on the necessity to detain children and adults separately, the granting of regular correspondence with family and legal representatives, and the issues of death penalty and juvenile offenders. "Only six countries in the world-Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United States and Yemen-were known to have executed juvenile offenders" in the 1990s, in violation of international legal standards, HRW reported. "The United States has executed nine juvenile offenders in this decade, more than the reported total for any other nation in the world."

DCI has been advocating for juvenile justice throughout its nearly 30-year history, but its commitment has become even stronger in recent years. To support its "No Kids Behind Bars" campaign, DCI has issued four reports, which included overviews of the situation of children in prison, analyses of international and national laws that specifically apply to children, scenarios from specific countries, and recommendations to Governments and the international community for improving the equity of the legal system and for preventive measures.

The year 2005 was a particularly busy time for DCI and its campaign. On the occasion of the Eleventh United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, held in Bangkok, Thailand, from 18 to 25 April 2005, DCI succeeded having a special paragraph included in the final Bangkok Declaration: "We affirm our determination to pay particular attention to juvenile justice. We will consider ways to ensure the provision of services to children who are victims of crime and children in conflict with the law, in particular those deprived of their liberty, and also to ensure that those services take into account their gender, social circumstances and developmental needs and the relevant United Nations standards and norms, as appropriate."

"Children do not belong in prison. Children should go to school. They should play and enjoy themselves", DCI claims in its 2005 report. They should not be behind bars. They should be with their families. This is the message that organizations fighting against the violation of the rights of children in conflict with the law want to convey, and it deserves the attention that is too often denied.