A/64/215 the age of 12 years should be the absolute minimum age of criminal responsibility, and that the minimum age should be raised. 26 C. Conditions of detention 68. The international human rights framework provides for a number of norms to adequately address the particular needs of children. 27 Following the principle of minimization of the difference between life inside and outside of prisons, juvenile detainees are entitled to the full enjoyment of any civil, economic, political, social or cultural right, save those that are incompatible with the deprivation of liberty. 28 Furthermore, their loss of liberty shall be restricted to the least possible degree, for example by detention in open facilities and reduced security measures. The number of juveniles detained in closed facilities should be small enough to allow for individualized treatment, 29 and the facility shall provide bedding in small group dormitories or individual bedrooms, 30 and respect the need of the juvenile for privacy. 31 69. To many children deprived of their liberty, the above norms, with their envisaged protection and conditions, must sound as if they are out of touch with reality. Too many of the children whom the Special Rapporteur met on his visits were held in severely overcrowded cells, under deplorable sanitary and hygienic conditions. This was particularly true during the pretrial detention period, despite the intention that pretrial detention should be exceptional for children. In Uruguay the situation of accused and convicted children who were held in extremely poor conditions was alarming. The system of detention was based on a punitive approach. Children had no opportunities for education, work or any other rehabilitative activity, and the boys were locked up for up to 22 hours a day in their cells. The sanitary conditions were very poor. There were no toilets in the cells, which sometimes forced detainees to wait for hours for a guard to let them go to the toilet. At the Piedras Home, the detainees had to relieve themselves in bottles and plastic bags, which they threw out of the window, resulting in a repulsive smell around the building. D. Specific forms of abuse 70. Reaffirming the absolute and non-derogable prohibition of torture and Cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, article 37, subparagraph (a), of the Convention on the Rights of the Child states that “no child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. Generally speaking, the Special Rapporteur has found children deprived of their liberty to be at a very high risk of ill-treatment. In addition to being at risk of being subjected to torture in order to extract a confession or other information, such children are particularly prone to falling victim to corporal punishment or abuse by fellow detainees. __________________ 26 27 28 29 30 31 20 Committee on the Rights of the Child, general comment No. 10, para. 32. Beijing Rules, rule 13.5 and Havana rules, rules 31-37. Havana Rules, rule 13. Ibid., rule 30. Ibid., rule 33. Ibid., rule 32. 09-43792