A/HRC/28/68 20. Other legal instruments applicable to children include the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (Beijing Rules), the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (Riyadh Guidelines), the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty (Havana Rules), the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (Bangkok Rules) and the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. 1. Deprivation of liberty of children 21. For the purpose of the present report, “deprivation of liberty” denotes any form of detention or imprisonment or the placement of a child in a public or private custodial setting where that child is not permitted to leave at will by order of any judicial, administrative or other authority (A/68/295, para. 27). Deprivation of liberty involves more severe restriction of motion within a narrower space than mere interference with liberty of movement: it includes police custody, remand detention, imprisonment after conviction, house arrest, administrative detention, involuntary hospitalization and institutional custody. It also includes children deprived of their liberty by private individuals or entities that are empowered or authorized by a State to exercise powers of arrest or detention. 22. In accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and regardless of the age of majority, the terms “children” and “child” refer to all persons under the age of 18 years. 2. Prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment of children 23. The prohibition of torture is one of the few absolute and non-derogable human rights standards, a peremptory norm of customary international law or jus cogens. In addition, international law acknowledges the need for special protections for children and detained persons. 24. In its general comment No. 2, the Committee against Torture interpreted States’ obligations to prevent torture are indivisible, interrelated and interdependent with the obligation to prevent cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment (ill-treatment) because conditions that give rise to ill-treatment frequently facilitate torture (CAT/C/GC/2, para. 3). The Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Havana Rules have extended this protection to children deprived of their liberty, specifying that no member of the detention facility or institutional personnel may inflict, instigate or tolerate any act of torture or any form of harsh, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, punishment, correction or discipline under any pretext or circumstance whatsoever. 25. Under article 37 (b) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and explained by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in its general comment No. 10 (CRC/C/GC/10), the deprivation of liberty of a child should be a last resort measure to be used only for the shortest possible period of time. Similarly, the Havana Rules require that deprivation of liberty be limited to exceptional cases. Both the Beijing Rules and the Riyadh Guidelines emphasize this principle. In addition, the best interests of the child must be a primary consideration in every decision on initiating or continuing the deprivation of liberty of a child. 1 26. Where the deprivation of liberty of a child can be justified as necessary, limited and consistent with the best interests of the child, the child must be treated with humanity and respect for his or her inherent dignity and in a manner that takes into account the needs of 1 Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 3 (1). 5