Monthly Archives: June 2018

The World Congress on Justice for Children took place on May 28-30, 2018 in Paris, France. Three major issues were addressed in the Congress: the global trend towards children’s involvement in violent extremism and possible responses, the need for more effective ways to reduce juvenile offending and recidivism, and how to improve protection mechanisms for vulnerable children, including early prevention. Numerous professionals and stakeholders from all around the world shared their perspectives on youth and family justice, and the prevention of offending and violent extremism. Professor Manfred Nowak was a speaker on the keynote panel, many members of the NGO Panel were speakers and facilitators on different panels and workshops, and various activities and meetings were held in relation with the UN Global Study. Professor Nowak held a briefing session with state representatives on the Study and responding to the Questionnaire. He also met with the NGO Panel to discuss NGO engagement with the Global Study and to respond to questions directly from the Panel.

A regional consultation for the United Nations Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty was held during the Continental Conference on Access to Justice for Children in Africa on May 10, 2018. The conference addressed a range of topics on access to justice for children in different contexts across Africa, several of which involved the deprivation of liberty of children. It also marked the launch of the report, “Spotlighting the Invisible: Justice for Children in Africa”, and ended with a Call to Action setting out concrete steps for key actors, including governments, African Union bodies, and civil society.

The topics discussed during the Global Study regional consultation on the third day included the deprivation of liberty related to the administration of justice, armed conflict and national security, and in the context of migration. It was well-attended by government officials, civil society representatives and academics from across the region. Findings from this consultation, as for all consultations, feed into the Global Study.

Please find the concept note here.

The Experts and the Advisory Board of the UN Global Study met in Vienna, Austria, on April 10-11, 2018. This meeting reflected the new phase of the UN Global Study – implementation. The main outcomes were the appointment and first meeting of the Advisory Board and the finalization and adoption of the research methodology. Cross-cutting issues such as the impact of deprivation on liberty on children’s health, gender, and child participation will also be included in the study. Five research groups were established: children deprived of liberty in the administration of justice; children living in places of detention with their parents; children deprived of liberty for migration related reasons; children deprived of liberty in institutions; and children deprived of liberty related to armed conflict and national security. Each of these research groups comprises a research institution/academia, an UN focal point, an NGO focal point, and Advisory Board Members.

Please find below the research groups and the NGO focal points:

• Children deprived of liberty in the administration of justice – NGO focal point: DCI (Helen Griffiths), CRIN (Leo Ratledge)
• Children living in places of detention with their parents – NGO focal point: Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE) (Rachel Brett), Quakers (Laurel Townhead)
• Children deprived of liberty for migration related reasons – HRW (Michael Garcia Bochenek)
• Children deprived of liberty in institutions – NGO focal point: Lumos (Anna Darling), SOS Kindersdorf International
• Children deprived of liberty related to armed conflict and national security- NGO focal point: HRW (Jo Becker)

The questionnaire can be found here in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Bahasa, Burmese, Khmer, Lao, Malay, and Vietnamese.

On June 26, 2018 — International Day in Support of Victims of Torture — Professor Nowak, the Independent Expert leading the UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty has called for countries around the world to count the number of all children deprived of liberty in different contexts. This aims to provide a snapshot of the number of children detained at that specific point in time.  The questionnaire can be found here in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Bahasa, Burmese, Khmer, Lao, Malay, and Vietnamese.  Please contact us (globalstudy@defenceforchildren.org) in case of any questions.

The NGO Panel for the Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty has developed a guidance document to inform the NGO community about the GSCDL, its origin, its implementation, the methodology of work and the role of the NGOs, and more broadly civil society and the academic world, about the role they can play in the Study, including the ways they can support and contribute to it.

You will find on this document:

1. An Overview of the Study and overall Implementation of the Study
2. The role and action of NGOs for the follow up of the Global Study
3. Annex – Global Presentation of The Study, its Origins and Implementation

See the full document here.

You can contact us via: globalstudy@defenceforchildren.org