Defence for Children International
United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile
Delinquency – Riyadh Guidelines
Annex
Fundamental principles
Scope of the guidelines
General
prevention
Socialisation process
Family
Education
Community
Mass
and juvenile adminstration
Research policy
development and co-ordination
I. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
1.The prevention of juvenile delinquency is an essential part of
crime prevention in society. By engaging in lawful, socially useful activities
and adopting a humanistic orientation towards society and outlook on life, young
persons can develop non-criminogenic attitudes.
2.The successful prevention of juvenile delinquency requires efforts
on the part of the entire society to ensure the harmonious development of
adolescents, with respect for and promotion of their personality from early
childhood.
3.For the purposes of the interpretation of the present Guidelines,
a child-centred orientation should be pursued. Young persons should have an
active role and partnership within society and should not be considered as mere
objects of socialization or control.
4.In the implementation of the present Guidelines, in accordance
with national legal systems, the well-being of young persons from their early
childhood should be the focus of any preventive programme.
5.The need for and importance of progressive delinquency prevention
policies and the systematic study and the elaboration of measures should be
recognized. These should avoid criminalizing and penalizing a child for
behaviour that does not cause serious damage to the development of the child or
harm to others. Such policies and measures should involve:
a)The provision of opportunities, in particular educational
opportunities, to meet the varying needs of young persons and to serve as a
supportive framework for safeguarding the personal development of all young
persons, particularly those who are demonstrably endangered or at social risk
and are in need of special care and protection;
b)Specialized philosophies and approaches for delinquency
prevention, on the basis of laws, processes, institutions, facilities and a
service delivery network aimed at reducing the motivation, need and opportunity
for, or conditions giving rise to, the commission of infractions;
c)Official intervention to be pursued primarily in the overall
interest of the young person and guided by fairness and equity;
d)Safeguarding the well-being, development, rights and interests of
all young persons;
e)Consideration that youthful behaviour or conduct that does not
conform to overall social norms and values is often part of the maturation and
growth process and tends to disappear spontaneously in most individuals with the
transition to adulthood;
f ) Awareness that, in the predominant opinion of experts, labelling
a young person as “deviant”, “delinquent” or “pre-delinquent”
often contributes to the development of a consistent pattern of undesirable
behaviour by young persons.
6.Community-based services and programmes should be developed for
the prevention of juvenile delinquency, particularly where no agencies have yet
been established. Formal agencies of social control should only be utilized as a
means of last resort.
II. SCOPE OF THE GUIDELINES
7.The present Guidelines should be interpreted and implemented
within the broad framework of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Declaration of the
Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and in the
context of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of
Juvenile Justice (The Beijing Rules), as well as other instruments and norms
relating to the rights, interests and well-being of all children and young
persons.
8.The present Guidelines should also be implemented in the context
of the economic, social and cultural conditions prevailing in each Member State.
III. GENERAL PREVENTION
9.Comprehensive prevention plans should be instituted at every level
of Government and include the following:
a)In-depth analyses of the problem and inventories of programmes,
services, facilities and resources available;
b)Well-defined responsibilities for the qualified agencies,
institutions and personnel involved in preventive efforts;
c)Mechanisms for the appropriate co-ordination of prevention efforts
between governmental and non-governmental agencies;
d)Policies, programmes and strategies based on prognostic studies to
be continuously monitored and carefully evaluated in the course of
implementation;
e)Methods for effectively reducing the opportunity to commit
delinquent acts;
f ) Community involvement through a wide range of services and
programmes;
g)Close interdisciplinary co-operation between national, State,
provincial and local governments, with the involvement of the private sector,
representative citizens of the community to be served, and labour, child-care,
health education, social, law enforcement and judicial agencies in taking
concerted action to prevent juvenile delinquency and youth crime;
h)Youth participation in delinquency prevention policies and
processes, including recourse to community resources, youth self-help, and
victim compensation and assistance programmes;
i ) Specialized personnel at all levels.
IV. SOCIALIZATION PROCESSES
10.Emphasis should be placed on preventive policies facilitating the
successful socialization and integration of all children and young persons, in
particular through the family, the community, peer groups, schools, vocational
training and the world of work, as well as through voluntary organizations. Due
respect should be given to the proper personal development of children and young
persons, and they should be accepted as full and equal partners in socialization
and integration processes.
A. Family
11.Every society should place a high priority on the needs and
well-being of the family and of all its members.
12.Since the family is the central unit responsible for the primary
socialization of children, governmental and social efforts to preserve the
integrity of the family, including the extended family, should be pursued. The
society has a responsibility to assist the family in providing care and
protection and in ensuring the physical and mental well-being of children.
Adequate arrangements including day-care should be provided.
13.Governments should establish policies that are conducive to the
bringing up of children in stable and settled family environments. Families in
need of assistance in the resolution of conditions of instability or conflict
should be provided with requisite services.
14.Where a stable and settled family environment is lacking and when
community efforts to assist parents in this regard have failed and the extended
family cannot fulfil this role, alternative placements, including foster care
and adoption, should be considered. Such placements should replicate, to the
extent possible, a stable and settled family environment, while, at the same
time, establishing a sense of permanency for children, thus avoiding problems
associated with “foster drift”.
15.Special attention should be given to children of families
affected by problems brought about by rapid and uneven economic, social and
cultural change, in particular the children of indigenous, migrant and refugee
families. As such changes may disrupt the social capacity of the family to
secure the traditional rearing and nurturing of children, often as a result of
role and culture conflict, innovative and socially constructive modalities for
the socialization of children have to be designed.
16.Measures should be taken and programmes developed to provide
families with the opportunity to learn about parental roles and obligations as
regards child development and child care, promoting positive parent-child
relationships, sensitizing parents to the problems of children and young persons
and encouraging their involvement in family and community-based activities.
17.Governments should take measures to promote family cohesion and
harmony and to discourage the separation of children from their parents, unless
circumstances affecting the welfare and future of the child leave no viable
alternative.
18.It is important to emphasize the socialization function of the
family and extended family; it is also equally important to recognize the future
role, responsibilities, participation and partnership of young persons in
society.
19.In ensuring the right of the child to proper socialization,
Governments and other agencies should rely on existing social and legal
agencies, but, whenever traditional institutions and customs are no longer
effective, they should also provide and allow for innovative measures.
B. Education
20.Governments are under an obligation to make public education
accessible to all young persons.
21.Education systems should, in addition to their academic and
vocational training activities, devote particular attention to the following:
a)Teaching of basic values and developing respect for the child’s
own cultural identity and patterns, for the social values of the country in
which the child is living, for civilizations different from the child’s own and
for human rights and fundamental freedoms;
b)Promotion and development of the personality, talents and mental
and physical abilities of young people to their fullest potential;
c)Involvement of young persons as active and effective participants
in, rather than mere objects of, the educational process;
d)Undertaking activities that foster a sense of identity with and of
belonging to the school and the community;
e)Encouragement of young persons to understand and respect diverse
views and opinions, as well as cultural and other differences;
f )Provision of information and guidance regarding vocational
training, employment opportunities and career development;
g)Provision of positive emotional support to young persons and the
avoidance of psychological maltreatment;
h)Avoidance of harsh disciplinary measures, particularly corporal
punishment.
22.Educational systems should seek to work together with parents,
community organizations and agencies concerned with the activities of young
persons.
23.Young persons and their families should be informed about the law
and their rights and responsibilities under the law, as well as the universal
value system, including United Nations instruments.
24.Educational systems should extend particular care and attention
to young persons who are at social risk. Specialized prevention programmes and
educational materials, curricula, approaches and tools should be developed and
fully utilized.
25.Special attention should be given to comprehensive policies and
strategies for the prevention of alcohol, drug and other substance abuse by
young persons. Teachers and other professionals should be equipped and trained
to prevent and deal with these problems. Information on the use and abuse of
drugs, including alcohol, should be made available to the student body.
26.Schools should serve as resource and referral centres for the
provision of medical, counselling and other services to young persons,
particularly those with special needs and suffering from abuse, neglect,
victimization and exploitation.
27.Through a variety of educational programmes, teachers and other
adults and the student body should be sensitized to the problems, needs and
perceptions of young persons, particularly those belonging to underprivileged,
disadvantaged, ethnic or other minority and low-income groups.
28.School systems should attempt to meet and promote the highest
professional and educational standards with respect to curricula, teaching and
learning methods and approaches, and the recruitment and training of qualified
teachers. Regular monitoring and assessment of performance by the appropriate
professional organizations and authorities should be ensured.
29.School systems should plan, develop and implement extracurricular
activities of interest to young persons, in co-operation with community groups.
30.Special assistance should be given to children and young persons
who find it difficult to comply with attendance codes, and to “drop-outs”.
31.Schools should promote policies and rules that are fair and just;
students should be represented in bodies formulating school policy, including
policy on discipline, and decision-making.
C. Community
32.Community-based services and programmes which respond to the
special needs, problems, interests and concerns of young persons and which offer
appropriate counselling and guidance to young persons and their families should
be developed, or strengthened where they exist.
33.Communities should provide, or strengthen where they exist, a
wide range of community-based support measures for young persons, including
community development centres, recreational facilities and services to respond
to the special problems of children who are at social risk. In providing these
helping measures, respect for individual rights should be ensured.
34.Special facilities should be set up to provide adequate shelter
for young persons who are no longer able to live at home or who do not have
homes to live in.
35.A range of services and helping measures should be provided to
deal with the difficulties experienced by young persons in the transition to
adulthood. Such services should include special programmes for young drug
abusers which emphasize care, counselling, assistance and therapy-oriented
interventions.
36.Voluntary organizations providing services for young persons
should be given financial and other support by Governments and other
institutions.
37.Youth organizations should be created or strengthened at the
local level and given full participatory status in the management of community
affairs. These organizations should encourage youth to organize collective and
voluntary projects, particularly projects aimed at helping young persons in need
of assistance.
38.Government agencies should take special responsibility and
provide necessary services for homeless or street children; information about
local facilities, accommodation, employment and other forms and sources of help
should be made readily available to young persons.
39.A wide range of recreational facilities and services of
particular interest to young persons should be established and made easily
accessible to them.
D. Mass media
40.The mass media should be encouraged to ensure that young persons
have access to information and material from a diversity of national and
international sources.
41.The mass media should be encouraged to portray the positive
contribution of young persons to society.
42.The mass media should be encouraged to disseminate information on
the existence of services, facilities and opportunities for young persons in
society.
43.The mass media generally, and the television and film media in
particular, should be encouraged to minimize the level of pornography, drugs and
violence portrayed and to display violence and exploitation disfavourably, as
well as to avoid demeaning and degrading presentations, especially of children,
women and interpersonal relations, and to promote egalitarian principles and
roles.
44.The mass media should be aware of its extensive social role and
responsibility, as well as its influence, in communications relating to youthful
drug and alcohol abuse. It should use its power for drug abuse prevention by
relaying consistent messages through a balanced approach. Effective drug
awareness campaigns at all levels should be promoted.
V. SOCIAL POLICY
45.Government agencies should give high priority to plans and
programmes for young persons and should provide sufficient funds and other
resources for the effective delivery of services, facilities and staff for
adequate medical and mental health care, nutrition, housing and other relevant
services, including drug and alcohol abuse prevention and treatment, ensuring
that such resources reach and actually benefit young persons.
46.The institutionalization of young persons should be a measure of
last resort and for the minimum necessary period, and the best interests of the
young person should be of paramount importance. Criteria authorizing formal
intervention of this type should be strictly defined and limited to the
following situations:
a)where the child or young person has suffered harm that has been
inflicted by the parents or guardians;
b)where the child or young person has been sexually, physically or
emotionally abused by the parents or guardians;
c)where the child or young person has been neglected, abandoned or
exploited by the parents or guardians;
d)where the child or young person is threatened by physical or moral
danger due to the behaviour of the parents or guardians; and
e)where a serious physical or psychological danger to the child or
young person has manifested itself in his or her own behaviour and neither the
parents, the guardians, the juvenile himself or herself nor non-residential
community services can meet the danger by means other than institutionalization.
47.Government agencies should provide young persons with the
opportunity of continuing in full-time education, funded by the State where
parents or guardians are unable to support the young persons, and of receiving
work experience.
48.Programmes to prevent delinquency should be planned and developed
on the basis of reliable, scientific research findings, and periodically
monitored, evaluated and adjusted accordingly.
49.Scientific information should be disseminated to the professional
community and to the public at large about the sort of behaviour or situation
which indicates or may result in physical and psychological victimization, harm
and abuse, as well as exploitation, of young persons.
50.Generally, participation in plans and programmes should be
voluntary. Young persons themselves should be involved in their formulation,
development and implementation.
51.Government should begin or continue to explore, develop and
implement policies, measures and strategies within and outside the criminal
justice system to prevent domestic violence against and affecting young persons
and to ensure fair treatment to these victims of domestic violence.
VI. Legislation and juvenile
administration
52.Governments should enact and enforce specific laws and procedures
to promote and protect the rights and well-being of all young persons.
53.Legislation preventing the victimization, abuse, exploitation and
the use for criminal activities of children and young persons should be enacted
and enforced.
54.No child or young person should be subjected to harsh or
degrading correction or punishment measures at home, in schools or in any other
institutions.
55.Legislation and enforcement aimed at restricting and controlling
accessibility of weapons of any sort to children and young persons should be
pursued.
56.In order to prevent further stigmatization, victimization and
criminalization of young persons, legislation should be enacted to ensure that
any conduct not considered an offence or not penalized if committed by an adult
is not considered an offence and not penalized if committed by a young person.
57.Consideration should be given to the establishment of an office
of ombudsman or similar independent organ, which would ensure that the status,
rights and interests of young persons are upheld and that proper referral to
available services is made. The ombudsman or other organ designated would also
supervise the implementation of the Riyadh Guidelines, the Beijing Rules and the
Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty. The ombudsman
or other organ would, at regular intervals, publish a report on the progress
made and on the difficulties encountered in the implementation of the
instrument. Child advocacy services should also be established.
58.Law enforcement and other relevant personnel, of both sexes,
should be trained to respond to the special needs of young persons and should be
familiar with and use, to the maximum extent possible, programmes and referral
possibilities for the diversion of young persons from the justice system.
59.Legislation should be enacted and strictly enforced to protect
children and young persons from drug abuse and drug traffickers.
VII. Research, policy development and
co-ordination
60.Efforts should be made and appropriate mechanisms established to
promote, on both a multidisciplinary and an intradisciplinary basis, interaction
and co-ordination between economic, social, education and health agencies and
services, the justice system, youth, community and development agencies and
other relevant institutions.
61.The exchange of information, experience and expertise gained
through projects, programmes, practices and initiatives relating to youth crime,
delinquency prevention and juvenile justice should be intensified at the
national, regional and international levels.
62.Regional and international co-operation on matters of youth
crime, delinquency prevention and juvenile justice involving practitioners,
experts and decision makers should be further developed and strengthened.
63.Technical and scientific co-operation on practical and
policy-related matters, particularly in training, pilot and demonstration
projects, and on specific issues concerning the prevention of youth crime and
juvenile delinquency should be strongly supported by all Governments, the United
Nations system and other concerned organizations.
64.Collaboration should be encouraged in undertaking scientific
research with respect to effective modalities for youth crime and juvenile
delinquency prevention and the findings of such research should be widely
disseminated and evaluated.
65.Appropriate United Nations bodies, institutes, agencies and
offices should pursue close collaboration and co-ordination on various questions
related to children juvenile justice and youth crime and juvenile delinquency
prevention.
66.On the basis of the present Guidelines, the United Nations
Secretariat, in co-operation with interested institutions, should play an active
role in the conduct of research, scientific collaboration, the formulation of
policy options and the review and monitoring of their implementation, and should
serve as a source of reliable information on effective modalities for
delinquency prevention.