A/64/215 provisions, most prominently in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (art. 10, para. 2 (b), and art. 10, para. 3) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (art. 37, subpara. (c)). 34 Paragraph 13 of general comment No. 21 of the Human Rights Committee emphasizes that the separation of accused children from adults is a “mandatory provision” of the International Covenant. Furthermore, this rule intends to protect child detainees, who are mostly first-time offenders for petty crimes, against the criminal subculture dominant in many places of detention that could undermine any efforts for reintegration and rehabilitation. Ideally, juvenile detention facilities should be separate institutions with their own premises and specialized staff; if that is not the case, the separation must ensure that children are out of sight and earshot of adults, i.e., that they are held in a separate wing of a prison. 35 Separation should be 24 hours a day. Under no circumstances should adult prisoners guard child detainees. 76. While in most States that the Special Rapporteur has visited there existed a general awareness of the need for separating detainees and for respective norms, the implementation of those principles was at best piecemeal. The lack of separation was particularly disturbing with regard to police custody and pretrial detention, stages in which children found themselves in an environment characterized by tension, fear, abuse and violence. Once in prison, the separation was in some cases enforced only during the night, leaving children exposed to adults throughout the day. In some cases, children were not separated from adults outside of the cell during recreation time, e.g., in Paraguay and the Republic of Moldova. In a few instances, children were left to be guarded by older detainees, who not only lacked the specific training but might abuse their position. 77. One of the most haunting examples was the Criminal Investigation Department in Lagos, Nigeria, where the Special Rapporteur came across an 11-year-old boy who had already been there for two weeks. He was held in an unofficial cell in the worst imaginable conditions, together with approximately 100 other adult detainees, almost all of whom had visible traces of abuse. The cell, which was far too small for the number of persons it held, was covered only by a makeshift roof, which did not provide protection from the sun, making the temperature and humidity unbearable. A hole in one corner of the cell served as a toilet. Food of insufficient quality was provided in insufficient quantities; its distribution was left to the detainees, resulting in an even smaller portion for those who were too vulnerable to fight for it. When the Special Rapporteur interviewed the boy, the boy was too weak to stand. 36 78. Similar to the uneven power relations between adults and children, older children with a comparably advanced physical development can turn against their fellow child detainees. Separating children according to their age, the stage of their physical development or their level of aggression is a safeguard against such violence and can counter bullying and other harmful peer pressure, especially when criminal responsibility starts at a young age. 37 79. An exception to the separation of children from adults is only permissible if “it is considered in the child’s best interest”, a qualification that should be interpreted narrowly but which provides for the possibility that a juvenile reaching the age of __________________ 34 35 36 37 22 See also the Havana Rules, rule 29, and the Beijing Rules, rules 13.4 and 26.3. See Beijing Rules, rules 13.4 and 26.3. A/HRC/7/3/Add.4, appendix I, para. 43. A/HRC/7/3/Add.7, para. 40; see also Havana Rules, rule 28. 09-43792