Deprivation of liberty of children in the administration of justice

The UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty (2019) estimates that every year, 410,000 are de jure deprived of liberty, while 1.41 million are de facto deprived of liberty in the administration of justice, including remand centers and prisons or in police custody. Globally, an estimated 259,000 children were in detention on any given day in 2024. This is only the tip of the iceberg, as data on children in the administration of the justice system is not available from all countries.

Unlike any other child rights issue, the treatment of children alleged as, accused of or recognized as having infringed penal law is the subject of at least six sets of international standards and norms, underlining the importance of reducing the use of deprivation of liberty in the child justice system to its strict minimum. All State Parties to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) have committed to treating “every child alleged as, accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law (…) in a manner consistent with the promotion of the child’s sense of dignity and worth” and which promotes “the child’s reintegration and the child’s assuming a constructive role in society”.

While the CRC stipulates that the detention of children who are alleged as, accused of or recognized as having infringed the penal law should be “a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time,” deprivation of liberty is often used as a measure of first resort and is globally misused and overused. The overwhelming majority of children in detention are first-time offenders and/or are there for minor and status offences.

Several studies show that detention is highly harmful to children, costly and ineffective in preventing crime. Advances in knowledge about child and adolescent development, along with evidence of effective practices and the harmful impacts of deprivation of liberty on children, have not been adequately reflected in national legislation, policy and practice.

Children deprived of liberty face high risks of violence, and detention of children is closely linked to or constitutes violence against children. It does not deter crime and does not promote the child’s reintegration into society. On the fifth anniversary of the UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty, the UN Task Force on Children Deprived of their Liberty calls on States to take all necessary actions to prevent and protect all children, without discrimination, from being deprived of liberty. This is in line with the Secretary-General’s Guidance Note on Child Rights Mainstreaming which recognizes “systematic attention to child rights as necessary for the UN to be fully inclusive and able to deliver on its mandate across all pillars, including upholding ‘all rights of all people’, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ensuring peace and security.”