A/64/215 B. Deprivation of liberty as a last resort 65. International human rights law and standards require that the deprivation of a child’s liberty shall always be a last resort and only for the shortest possible time. 17 While any deprivation of liberty must fulfil considerable safeguards, 18 the threshold for detaining a child is even higher. Prior to initiating any judicial process and throughout the following proceedings, serious consideration shall be given to extrajudicial solutions, such as diversion. 19 Detention pending trial shall be limited to exceptional circumstances and whenever possible be replaced by alternative measures, such as close supervision or placement with a family. 20 The imprisonment of a child is only permissible if its overall aim, the reintegration and rehabilitation of the juvenile, cannot be achieved through any other measures. Non-custodial measures such as probation, counselling or vocational training programmes, shall be encouraged. 21 At all stages, the child has the right to be treated in a manner consistent with the promotion of the child’s sense of dignity and worth. 22 66. Reviewing the experience of his fact-finding missions, the Special Rapporteur has unfortunately come to the conclusion that too many children are deprived of their liberty, in violation of the above outlined standards. In many countries, the juvenile justice system, if it exists at all, is rudimentary and does not live up to human rights standards. Extrajudicial interventions or non-custodial measures are more often than not underdeveloped or not considered seriously enough, all of which makes the detention of children a regular procedure instead of a matter of last resort. 23 Furthermore, in many countries the criminal justice system functions as an ill-suited substitute for a lacking or dysfunctional welfare system, resulting in the detention of children who have not committed a crime but who actually require welfare assistance, such as street children. 67. In general the Special Rapporteur is alarmed by the very low age of criminal responsibility in many countries. 24 During his missions, he came across boys and girls as young as 9 or 10 years old who were deprived of their liberty, many of them in prolonged pretrial detention. 25 In this respect, the Special Rapporteur wishes to reiterate the opinion of the Committee on the Rights of the Child according to which __________________ 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 09-43792 Article 37, paragraph (b), of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; see also the following soft law standards: the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the “Beijing Rules”: General Assembly resolution 40/33, annex, para. 19.1), and the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty (the “Havana Rules”: General Assembly resolution 45/113, para. 1). See, for example, article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. See Beijing Rules, rule 11.1. See Beijing Rules, rule 13.2 and Havana Rules, rule 17. United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (the “Tokyo Rules”: General Assembly resolution 45/110, annex); see also art. 40, para. 4 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. See art. 40, para. 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. See, for example, A/HRC/7/3/Add.5, and Committee on the Rights of the Child Concluding Observations: Togo, CRC/C/15/Add.255, para. 74. For example, eight years in Indonesia: A/HRC/7/3/Add.7, para. 40. See also Committee on the Rights of the Child, general comment No. 10 (2007), paras. 30-35. See Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding Observations: Mongolia, CRC/C/15/Add.264, para. 66; for example in the Republic of Moldova, police detention of juveniles can last up to four months if so decided by the investigative judge: A/HRC/10/44/Add.3, para. 16. 19