A/HRC/28/68 persons of their age and maturity. 2 The Convention on the Rights of the Child specifies that the right to be confined in an age-appropriate manner includes, in particular, the right to be separated from adults unless it is considered in the child’s best interest not to do so, and the right to maintain contact with his or her family through correspondence and visits, save in exceptional circumstances. Article 40 (1) of the Convention emphasizes this principle with regard to children in conflict with the law by adding the desirability of promoting the child’s reintegration and assumption of a constructive role in society. 27. The Havana Rules indicate how States should approach the deprivation of liberty of children, going beyond the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners by including guidelines on classification and placement, physical environment and accommodation, education, vocational training and work, recreation, religion and medical care, notification of illness, injury and death, contact with the wider community, limitations of physical restraint and the use of force, as well as disciplinary procedures and return to the community. 28. The role of medical and forensic sciences in the prevention of torture and other illtreatment for children deprived of their liberty is clear (see A/69/387, paras. 19-57). All children are to be properly interviewed and physically examined by a medical doctor or qualified nurse reporting to a doctor as soon as possible after their admission to an institution, preferably on the day of arrival. In the case of girls, access to gynaecologists and education on women’s health care are to be provided. 3 29. To ensure that detention will not disrupt preparation for adulthood and the full realization of a child’s potential, access to education is a fundamental right of children deprived of their liberty. 4 While Rule 77 (1) of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners states that the education of illiterates and children should be compulsory, articles 38 to 46 of the Havana Rules also recommend participation in community schools, the availability of diplomas without reference to institutionalization, and the provision of vocational training. 30. Article 40, paragraphs 3 (b) and (4), of the Convention on the Rights of the Child provides that alternatives to detention, such as care, guidance and supervision orders, counselling; probation, foster care, education and vocational training programmes should first be sought, or other alternatives that ensure that children are dealt with in a manner appropriate to their well-being and proportionate to both their circumstances and the offence committed. 31. Lastly, regardless of the form of deprivation of liberty, whether criminal, institutional or administrative, article 37 (d) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child requires that any decision to deprive a child of liberty must be subject to periodic review of its continuing necessity and appropriateness. In its general comment No. 35, the Human Rights Committee specified that the child has a right to be heard, directly or through legal or other appropriate assistance, in relation to any decision regarding their deprivation of liberty, and that the procedures employed should be child-appropriate (CCPR/C/GC/35, para. 62). 2 3 4 6 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 10; Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 40; Bejing Rules, para. 5.1. Bangkok Rules 6-18. European Convention on Human Rights, art. 5; European Court on Human Rights, Buomar v. Belgium; Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Juvenile Reeducation Institute v. Paraguay, judgement of 2 September 2004, para. 161.