A/74/136
I. Deprivation of liberty is deprivation of childhood
1.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most widely ratified human
rights treaty, celebrating its thirtieth anniversary in 2019, provides that, in all actions
concerning children, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration
(art. 3). In particular, deprivation of liberty of children shall be used only as a measure
of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time (art. 37 (b)).
2.
Childhood, the time between birth and reaching the age of 18 years, is when
children develop their personality, their emotional relationships with others, their
social and educational skills and their talents. International law recognizes the family
as the natural and fundamental group unit of society. Children should grow up in a
family environment where they experience love, protection and security. If children,
for whatever reason, cannot grow up in a family, States shall ensure that they are
cared for in a family-type environment. Placing children in institutions and other
facilities where they are, or may be, deprived of liberty is difficult to reconcile with
the guiding principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
3.
Many children may find themselves in a vicious cycle of different situations of
deprivation of liberty throughout their childhood, which might start in an
“orphanage”, followed by various institutions for educational supervision and drug
rehabilitation until culminating in imprisonment and re offending. Deprivation of
liberty means deprivation of rights, agency, visibility, opportunities and love.
Depriving children of liberty is depriving them of their childhood.
II. Mandate and scope of the study
4.
In December 2014 the General Assembly, in its resolution 69/157, invited the
Secretary-General to commission an in-depth global study on children deprived of
liberty. In October 2016, Manfred Nowak was appointed as Independent Expert
leading the global study on children deprived of liberty.
5.
The study builds on two earlier United Nations global studies, namely, on the
impact of armed conflict on children, prepared by Graça Machel ( A/51/306), and on
violence against children, prepared by Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro ( A/61/299). The
Pinheiro study showed that the risk of physical, sexual and psychological violence is
greatest when children are deprived of liberty. In target 16.2 of the Sustainable
Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda all States are called upon to “promote
peaceful and inclusive societies by ending abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all
forms of violence against and torture of children”.
6.
For the purpose of the study, “child” means every human being below the age
of 18 years, as defined in article 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The
term “deprivation of liberty” signifies any form of detention or imprisonment or the
placement of a child in a public or private custodial setting which that child is not
permitted to leave at will, either by virtue of an order given by a public authority or
at its instigation or with its consent or acquiescence, as defined in article 4 (2) of the
Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment (General Assembly resolution 57/199) and
article 11 (b) of the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of
their Liberty (Havana Rules) (General Assembly resolution 45/113).
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