A/HRC/4/40/Add.4 page 15 D. Juvenile justice 56. In a country in which one half of the population is below 18 years of age, the treatment of juvenile offenders is of major importance. Regarding juvenile justice, the Childhood Code provide Honduras with a legislative framework fully compliant with the relevant provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: a separate judicial system is established for minors in conflict with the law, the primacy of education and rehabilitation over punishment are stressed in unmistakable terms, the exceptional character of detention as a sanction for young offenders is clearly stated. Moreover, the Honduran Institute for Childhood and Family (IHNFA), the government agency charged with the protection and promotion of the rights of the child and not the general penitentiary system, is in charge of managing the detention facilities for young offenders. 57. The Working Group has also noted that the new management of IHNFA, which had only been in office for a few months at the time of the visit, appears to be fully committed to turning the promise of the Childhood Code into reality. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights made a request for interim measures of protection in December 2004 in view of the terrible conditions of detention at the “Renaciendo” centre. In October 2005 and April 2006 the Supreme Court of Honduras issued orders to IHNFA in habeas corpus proceedings initiated by the human rights prosecutors of Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula in favour of the internees of the “Renaciendo” and “El Carmen” centres. When the Working Group visited those two centres it observed that significant efforts were under way to improve the conditions of detention, particularly at “Renaciendo”, where the detained youths acknowledged, in private interviews with the members of the delegation, the efforts made by the new administration. However, despite the efforts made recently by IHNFA, much remains to be done to improve the conditions of detention and to ensure respect for human dignity and detainees’ rights. E. Role of specialized human rights prosecutors and Human Rights Commissioner 58. In addition to the institutions mandated under the Criminal Procedure Code with monitoring the legality of detention, that is primarily the juez de ejecución, the public prosecutor and the defence counsel, the Human Rights Commissioner has a role in the prevention of arbitrary detention. In this respect, the Commissioner’s power of unrestricted access to all detention facilities and the police’s obligation to report all cases of detention to the Commissioner provide the population with important protection. 59. Also the creation of the special human rights prosecutors has the potential to add a layer of protection, as the habeas corpus proceedings brought by human rights prosecutors in favour of the detainees of the prisons in Tegucigalpa (Valle del Tamara), San Pedro Sula and Puerto Cortes, as well as of the internees of “Renaciendo” and “El Carmen” show. Unfortunately, their number is limited and particularly in rural areas they are absent, also because of lacking resources. 60. At a more fundamental level, however, the Working Group notes that, as welcome as these institutions may be, their efforts cannot substitute for the effective functioning of the institution with primary responsibility in this respect, the juez de ejecución.