Expert Consultation on Prevention and Responses to Violence against Children within the Juvenile Justice System - Vienna

Vienna (Austria) 24 January 2012 - UN partners based in Vienna, New York and Geneva convened an Expert Consultation on the prevention of and responses to violence against children within the juvenile justice system.

The Consultation received strong support from the Government of Austria and UNICEF and was opened by Yury Fedotov Executive Director, UNODC, Marta Santos Pais, Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children, Wolfgang Waldner, State Secretary with the Austrian Ministry for European and International Affairs, and Marcia Kran Director Research and Right to Development Division, OHCHR.

The meeting was a critical step in the consolidation of cooperation between the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children and UN partners. It included experts on juvenile justice from all regions.

The overall aims of the consultation were to examine how juvenile justice can be an integrated part of the development of strong child protection systems; to identify the risks and systemic factors that lead to both children’s involvement with the criminal justice system, and to violence against children within the system, as well as approaches that help address the risks how to strengthen legislation and the enforcement process, and how to best to shift from a punitive approach to a child sensitive juvenile justice system

The outcome recommendations and practical strategies will be presented to governments and other relevant stakeholde