1 Children’s Rights in Detention
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Ursula Kilkelly
Abstract
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was adopted in 1989 and is the most highly ratified instrument in human rights law, setting the minimum standards to which children are entitled across their childhood (Tobin, 2019). The Committee on the Rights of the Child (the CRC Committee) has played an important role, interpreting the CRC in its General Comments and helping to improve implementation at a national level through the state party reporting process (Sloth-Nielsen, 2019). Over the years, the CRC’s standards have been supplemented by instruments adopted at international and regional levels, producing a now comprehensive framework for the legal protection of children’s rights.
Children who come into conflict with the law were an early concern of the international community, resulting in two substantial provisions in the CRC – Articles 37 and 40 – that address the child’s rights in youth justice and detention (Liefaard, 2020). Article 40(1) of the CRC recognizes the right of children in conflict with the law to be treated in a manner consistent with their sense of dignity and worth, reinforcing the child’s respect for the rights and freedoms of others and which takes into account the child’s age and the desirability of promoting their reintegration into society. It requires states to have regard to the child’s due process rights and prescribes measures of specialization and diversion as key to the rights-based approach to youth justice.
Abstract
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was adopted in 1989 and is the most highly ratified instrument in human rights law, setting the minimum standards to which children are entitled across their childhood (Tobin, 2019). The Committee on the Rights of the Child (the CRC Committee) has played an important role, interpreting the CRC in its General Comments and helping to improve implementation at a national level through the state party reporting process (Sloth-Nielsen, 2019). Over the years, the CRC’s standards have been supplemented by instruments adopted at international and regional levels, producing a now comprehensive framework for the legal protection of children’s rights.
Children who come into conflict with the law were an early concern of the international community, resulting in two substantial provisions in the CRC – Articles 37 and 40 – that address the child’s rights in youth justice and detention (Liefaard, 2020). Article 40(1) of the CRC recognizes the right of children in conflict with the law to be treated in a manner consistent with their sense of dignity and worth, reinforcing the child’s respect for the rights and freedoms of others and which takes into account the child’s age and the desirability of promoting their reintegration into society. It requires states to have regard to the child’s due process rights and prescribes measures of specialization and diversion as key to the rights-based approach to youth justice.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of Cases and Instruments iv
- List of Figures vi
- About the Authors vii
- Acknowledgements viii
- Foreword ix
- Introduction 1
- Children’s Rights in Detention 5
- An International Perspective 20
- Irish Youth Justice Law and Policy 35
- Introducing Child Detention in Ireland 50
- Oberstown and the Process of Change 68
- Implementing Children’s Rights in Detention 87
- Children’s Rights to Protection from Harm 105
- Staff Wellbeing and Communication 122
- International and National Influences and Advocacy 139
- Reflections: Enablers and Barriers to Reform 155
- Afterword 177
- References 180
- Index 203
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of Cases and Instruments iv
- List of Figures vi
- About the Authors vii
- Acknowledgements viii
- Foreword ix
- Introduction 1
- Children’s Rights in Detention 5
- An International Perspective 20
- Irish Youth Justice Law and Policy 35
- Introducing Child Detention in Ireland 50
- Oberstown and the Process of Change 68
- Implementing Children’s Rights in Detention 87
- Children’s Rights to Protection from Harm 105
- Staff Wellbeing and Communication 122
- International and National Influences and Advocacy 139
- Reflections: Enablers and Barriers to Reform 155
- Afterword 177
- References 180
- Index 203
