The Human Rights Committee (monitoring body of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – ICCPR) is drafting a General Comment under its Article 9 on “Liberty and Security of person”. This document ensures “these rights [liberty and security] to everyone (…) includes girls and boys” and indeed makes extensive reference to juvenile justice and outlines certain guidelines that should be observed when children are incarcerated. Among other recommendations, the document suggests that the detention period of children should be kept to a “strict standard of promptness, such as 24 hours” – in fact, excessive detention for children can be detrimental on a psychological level. Because children are especially vulnerable to human rights violations, including maltreatment by authority figures, documents such as this General Comment on ICCPR is crucial in creating juvenile justice progress and protecting the well-being of children.
To view the full draft document:
http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CCPR%2fC%2f107%2fR.3&Lang=en