Young activists speak out for juvenile justice - UN June 2010

9 June 2010

Six young people representing the Youth Justice in Action Campaign are speaking out for juvenile rights at the 14th session of the Human Rights Council at the UN in Geneva this week.

Last year, the Human Rights Council approved Resolution 10/2 which demands fair treatment for those young people who are in conflict with the law.

This year, young representatives are presenting research from their countries showing that the resolution is not being abided by and calling for the UN to increase pressure on governments to comply with the resolution.

The young people, aged between 19 and 24 from Togo, Ireland, Sierra Leone, Guatemala and England, are on rigorous schedules meeting with ministers and making oral interventions in the UN to improve understanding of juvenile justice issues such as extra-judicial killing, arbitrary detentions, poor detention conditions, lack of access to legal advice, and education rights in detention.

Ibata from Togo and David from Sierra Leone have met with representatives from the office of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment. Jade from Ireland made an oral intervention on the rights of young girls and women in prison.

Barker from England spoke in front of the council on the often horrific conditions for young people around the world in detention:

“We suffer from arbitrary detention and long periods of pre-trial detention. At the age of 10, my colleague David was held without trial, in an adult prison and was subject to abuse and torture, something not uncommon in some of our countries. My colleague Ibata was held in arbitrary detention without trial at the age of 16. He shared a cell big enough for two with eight other children. None of them were ever tried.”

He continued: “We have come to advocate on juvenile justice based not just on reports and statistics but on our own personal experience... In all our countries, detention and prison is used as a routine response rather than as a last resort.” (see full video )

Matthew Jackson, Y Care International’s Director of Global Youth Work and International Advocacy says: “What is unique at this UN meeting is not only that young people are taking part from around the world but that they are using their experiences to lobby for change in the UN on issues that have affected them and they are achieving a lot more than professional lobbyists.”

Transcript of oral intervention on juvenile justice.

Transcript of oral intervention of young women in prison.