Follow-up UN Study
The Global Campus of Human Rights plays an important role in the implementation of the UN Study and supporting national action plans, says program manager Manu Krishan. “Austria is now exploring alternatives to secured placements, for example. In South Africa, a pilot has been launched providing opportunities for young people in secured care. And in East Europa and Central Asia we are working on the de-institutionalisation of children with disabilities.” “The Netherlands has to prioritize reducing the amount of children in secured care and has to take concrete steps towards this goal” says Ton Liefaard, endowed professor of children’s rights at Leiden University. “The UN Study makes us feel uncomfortable. Like it should do. The UN Study is relevant for the Kingdom of the Netherlands and not only for foreign countries. Not being able to leave an open or closed institution freely, has an impact on children. Reintegration of young people who have been deprived of their liberty is ‘costly’ for society, therefore investments must be made in prevention, supporting families for example. Locking up children is still used as a solution. This is very worrisome.” Liefaard calls for the whole system to be reconsidered and to come up with creative solutions: “placing children in closed institutions is not the same as taking care of children.”
Situation in the Netherlands
Eva Huls, in-house lawyer at Defence for Children continues: “Each year in the Netherlands thousands of children are deprived of their liberty. In 2019, for example, there were 1.680 placements in secured youth care. In addition, children are affected by the long waiting lists and the financial consequences of the decentralization. In 2019, in nearly 20.000 cases of children in conflict with the law, the child suspects were detained in a police cell. The vast majority of these children have not committed a serious crime and/or have been arrested for the first time. Furthermore, in 2019 a total of 30 unaccompanied children and 170 children in families were placed in immigration detention. On average unaccompanied children have to stay there longer than children in families and often in poor conditions, although there are alternatives as we can see in other countries. Defence for Children urges the government to reduce the number of children in secured care or detention and address the root causes to prevent deprivation of liberty. Register more and better and prohibit the detention of children for purely migration related reasons. If deprivation of liberty cannot be prevented, then apply child-friendly conditions. But above all: create alternatives and invest in families.”
Small-scale care facilities
The figures presented by Huls makes Wörsdörfer (VVD) feel uncomfortable. “Investments must be made in creating alternatives, such as ‘family type settings’. The UN Study can certainly help us with this. And I support the call to register more and better.” Van den Berge(GroenLinks): “Secured youth care and detention of children in conflict with the law should be small-scale and placement should be avoided as much as possible. We do agree on that in parliament. I am particularly concerned about children in immigration detention: there is no consensus on this in parliament.” Nowak finds this very worrisome, Ireland has for example abolished immigration detention: “they do not run away, because they depend on the care that is being offered to them.” Van Beukering – Huijbregts (D66): “the large numbers are also caused by the fact that the ‘flow’ of children coming in and children leaving care facilities is not in order. More small-scale facilities have to be built. Multiple domains have to be involved. Not only representatives of youth policy, but representatives of e.g. housing and education policy as well.”
Concrete directions to post-election coalition formation
“The deprivation of liberty of children is one of the most overlooked violations of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,” nowak says. Liefaard adds that the youth mental health care system needs to be included in this discussion as well, because children are often confronted with these different systems. Wörsdörfer agrees: “the current pilots in the youth mental health care system should be applied throughout the Netherlands, and the adult mental health care system should be included as well.” Van den Berge: “we need concrete directions, including in the context of coalition-building after the elections.” Van Beukering – Huijbregts: “due to the decentralization municipalities are responsible for facilitating youth care. However, address at a national level the need for different type of treatment close to home and the need for prevention and reintegration.” Nowak offers to support the MPs after the elections, this is wholeheartedly accepted. “The situation in the Netherlands must improve, based on Bodine’s experience, the recommendations and the observations of the UN study and contributions today. Let’s focus on what Westerveld said earlier and make sure that in five years’ time we have abolished closed institutions,” stresses Carrie van de Kroon, host of the Global Study event.
Defence for Children International and Human Rights Watch chair the NGO panel, which is affiliated with 170 organisations, and they are now committed to implementing the recommendations of the UN Study. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to send us an e-mail: info@defenceforchildren.nl