3. MONITORING MECHANISMS OF PLACES WHERE CHILDREN ARE DEPRIVED OF THEIR LIBERTY “Independent and qualified monitors should be empowered to conduct inspections on a regular basis and to undertake unannounced inspections on their own initiative; they should place special emphasis on holding conversations with children in the facilities in a confidential setting.” UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No 10 3 3.1. The right-based approach of monitoring The CRC sets the general framework of the rights granted to children and all the above mentioned rules, standards and principles define their specific rights when they are deprived of their liberty taking into account that, aside from the right to liberty, they have the same rights as children living normal lives outside. These include the right to survival and development, the right to non-discrimination, the rights to participation and the right to have their best interests as a primary consideration in all decision that affect them. Children’s rights are interdependent and should be approached with a holistic perspective. Above all, the CRC emphasises that children should only be deprived of their liberty as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time; and the explicit and over-riding purpose of depriving children of their liberty should be to contribute to their education, rehabilitation and to prepare their reintegration into society. A right-based approach of monitoring, consisting of the consideration of children’s rights and needs as a starting point, is the reference from which monitors should perform their monitoring task in order to control the effective upholding of these rights, safeguarding and enforcing on the one hand (protective / investigative role), and ensuring that they are not violated or abused on the other hand (preventive role). 29