A/HRC/28/68
be determined, which also incorporate the component of adequate development and
survival of the child. 23
C.
Training, complaint mechanisms and monitoring
63.
An essential safeguard against torture and other forms of ill-treatment is the
availability of multidisciplinary and qualified staff working in children’s institutions. Inside
the law enforcement, institution and migration systems, children are more vulnerable to
human rights violations than adults because of the manner in which judicial and other
officials deal with children.
64.
A significant number of States lack an independent mechanism to monitor human
rights violations not only in detention facilities but also in medical and social care
institutions. Moreover, even when legislation exists to provide for the monitoring of such
institutions, inadequate human and financial resources and weak legal enforcement
mechanisms are no excuse for failure to prevent abuse.
65.
Article 25 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the right of a
child who has been placed by the competent authorities for the purposes of care, protection
or treatment of his or her physical or mental health to a periodic review of the treatment
provided to the child and all other circumstances relevant to his or her placement. In this
context, the Special Rapporteur recalls that the possibility of release should be realistic and
regularly considered (CRC/C/GC/10, para. 77). He also observes that, in practice, many
States fail to apply these rights. Acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment are more widespread than they appear owing to the greater
vulnerability of children and their lack of capacity to articulate complaints and seek redress
(see A/HRC/25/35, paras. 13-17).
66.
Effective complaint procedures are an important safeguard against torture and other
ill-treatment in all places of detention for children. According to article 37 (d) of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, children, including migrant children, have the right
to prompt access to legal aid and other appropriate assistance, as well as the right to
challenge the legality of the deprivation of their liberty before a court or other competent,
independent and impartial authority, and to a prompt decision on any such action.
67.
With regard to migrant children, authorities routinely impede their access to lawyers,
non-governmental organizations, service providers, interpreters and other sources of
information and protection. Furthermore, children often never meet with their appointed
guardian because they are deported before their representative arrives. In some cases, the
report of a child’s ill-treatment is routinely ignored by the official guardians. States have
similarly failed to implement a legal right to representation for children detained in healthcare settings. Even when States provide a legal right to review, it generally does not cover
children placed with parental consent.
68.
In January 2014, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, at its sixty-fifth session,
adopted a recommendation that the General Assembly request the Secretary-General to
conduct an in-depth international study on the issue of children deprived of liberty
(A/69/41, annex II). The Special Rapporteur therefore welcomes General Assembly
resolution 69/157, in which the Assembly invited the Secretary-General to commission an
in-depth global study on children deprived of liberty.
23
14
Rights and guarantees of children in the context of migration and/or in need of
international protection, Advisory Opinion of 19 August 2014, paras. 222 and 231233.
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