CAT/OP/CHL/1/Add.1
stigmatization associated with criminal charges and sanctions. Hearings should not be held
in public, and the names of adolescents in conflict with the law should remain confidential.
61.
In terms of legislation, Act No. 20084, specifically article 20, stipulates that “the
penalties and consequences provided for in this Act are intended to give effect to the
responsibility of adolescents for any offences that they commit in such a way that the
penalty becomes part of a comprehensive socioeducational intervention aimed at achieving
their full social reintegration”. The Act’s custodial and non-custodial penalty regimes
therefore include a socioeducational perspective. With regard to non-custodial penalties,
article 11 stipulates that community service “consists of performing unpaid activities for the
benefit of the community or of persons in a precarious situation”.25
62.
As a means of implementing the aforementioned legal provisions, SENAME, which
is responsible for imposing these penalties directly or through accredited partners,
coordinates and conducts the relevant socioeducational programmes. Moreover, during the
current year, under the auspices of the Interministerial Committee on Juvenile Criminal
Responsibility, which is coordinated by the Ministry of the Interior and Public Security and
the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, a number of actions intended to grant juvenile
offenders access to a wide range of socioeducational services have been undertaken jointly
by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Ministry of
Sport and the Ministry of Social Development.
63.
As to the stigmatizing effect of criminal penalties, article 59 of the aforementioned
Act amends Decree-Law No. 645 of 1925, which established the National Convictions
Register, by providing that details of prosecutions or convictions involving minors shall
only be recorded in certificates issued for the purpose of being admitted into the Armed
Forces of Chile, Carabineros de Chile, the Prison Service, the Investigative Police or for the
purposes set out in the first paragraph of the present article.
64.
A proposed amendment to the regulations implementing Act No. 20032 (on
subsidies for SENAME) that would extend socioeducational services to adolescents
residing in an open institution, which are currently only available to juveniles deprived of
their liberty, is under consideration. The proposed amendment would help prevent young
people from falling behind at school, as the absence of educational development, illiteracy
resulting from lack of practice and disenchantment with the school system are issues which
need to be addressed through socioeducational programmes, in addition to the psychosocial
issues that are already dealt with through the imposition of the penalties provided for in Act
No. 20084. These amendments, which are regulatory in nature and do not entail changes to
the legislation, will enter into force in July 2017.
65.
As to adolescents with serious mental health problems, the Ministry of Health has
agreements with several institutions that are part of the child protection and juvenile
criminal responsibility systems. These include:
(1)
The agreement between the National Service for Prevention of Drug and
Alcohol Use and Rehabilitation of Users, the Ministry of Health, SENAME and the Prison
Service: The purpose of this cooperation agreement is to support implementation of the
Mental Health Programme of the Ministry of Health through the country’s health centres
25
Similarly, articles 13 and 14, which relate to the penalties of probation and special probation,
underline the importance of offenders adhering to a personal development plan structured around
programmes and services designed to promote their social integration and attending intensive
socioeducational and community-based social reintegration programmes that will allow them to
participate in formal education and employment training, having access to treatment for drug abuse
and rehabilitation programmes and strengthening links with their families or responsible adults,
respectively.
Articles 16 and 17, which set out the custodial penalties of imprisonment in either a semi-open or
closed institution, provide for allowing offenders to engage periodically in training, socioeducational
and group activities, both inside and outside the institution, and fully guarantee their right to continue
with basic, secondary, or specialized studies, including through their return to school, and to
participate in socioeducational, training, job training and personal development activities.
GE.17-07762
13
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