Defence for Children International
Text
United Nations Rules for the protection of juveniles
deprived of their liberty
Resolution 45 / 113
14 December 1990, 68th plenary seccion
The General Assembly,
Bearing in mind the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading * Treatment or
Punishment and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as other
international instruments relating to the protection of the rights and
well-being of young persons,
Bearing in mind also the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of
Prisoners adopted by the First United Nations Congress on the Prevention of
Crime and the Treatment of Offenders,
Bearing in mind further the Body of Principles for the Protection of
All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, approved by the General
Assembly by its resolution 43/173 of 9 december 1988 and contained in the annex
thereto,
Recalling the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the
Administration of Juvenile Justice (The Beijing Rules),
Recalling also resolution 21 of the Seventh United Nations Congress
on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenses, in which the Congress
called for the development of rules for the protection of juveniles deprived of
their liberty,
Recalling further that the Economic and Social Council, in section
II of its resolution 1986/10 of 21 May 1986, requested the Secretary-General to
report on progress achieved in the development of the rules to the Committee on
Crime Prevention and Control at its tenth session and requested the Eight United
Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders to
consider the proposed rules with a view to their adoption,
Alarmed at the conditions and circumstances under which juveniles
are being deprived of their liberty world wide,
Aware that juveniles deprived of their liberty are highly vulnerable
to abuse, victimization and the violation of their rights,
Concerned that many systems do not differentiate between adults and
juveniles at various stages of the administration of justice and that juveniles
are therefore being held in gaols and facilities with adults,
1. Affirms that the placement of a juvenile in an
institution should always be a disposition of last resort and for the minimum
necessary period;
2. Recognizes that, because of their high vulnerability,
juveniles deprived of their liberty require special attention and protection and
that their rights and wellbeing should be guaranteed during and after the period
when they are deprived of their liberty;
3. Notes with appreciation the valuable work of the
Secretariat and the collaboration which has been established between the
Secretariat and experts, practitioners, intergovernmental organizations, the
non-governmental community, particularly Amnesty International, Defence for
Children International and Rädda Barnen International (Swedish Save the
Children Federation), and scientific institutions concerned with the rights of
children and juvenile justice in the development of the United Nations draft
Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty;
4. Adopts the United Nations Rules for the Protection of
Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty contained in the annex to the present
resolution;
5. Calls upon the Committee on Crime Prevention and Control
to formulate measures for the effective implementation of the Rules, with the
assistance of the United Nations institutes on the prevention of crime and the
treatment of offenders;
6. Invites Member States to adapt, wherever necessary,
their national legislation, policies and practices, particularly in the training
of all categories of juvenile justice personnel, to the spirit of the Rules, and
to bring them to the attention of relevant authorities and the public in
general;
7. Also invites member States to inform the
Secretary-General of their efforts to apply the Rules in law, policy and
practice and to report regularly to the Committee on Crime Prevention and
Control on the results achieved in their implementation;
8. Requests the Secretary-General and invites Member States
to ensure the widest possible dissemination of the text of the Rules in all of
the official languages of the United Nations;
9. Requests the Secretary-General to conduct comparative
research, pursue the requisite collaboration and devise strategies to deal with
the different categories of serious and persistent young offenders, and to
prepare a policy-oriented report thereon for submission to the Ninth United
Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders;
10. Also requests the Secretary-General and urges Member
States to allocate the necessary resources to ensure the successful application
and implementation of the Rules, in particular in the areas of recruitment,
training and exchange of all categories of juvenile justice personnel;
11. Urges all relevant bodies of the United Nations
system, in particular the United Nations Children’s Fund, the regional
commissions and specialized agencies, the United Nations institutes for the
prevention of crime and the treatment of offenders and all concerned
intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, to collaborate with the
Secretary-General and to take the necessary measures to ensure a concerted and
sustained effort within their respective fields of technical competence to
promote the application of the Rules;
12. Invites the Sub-Commission on Prevention of
Discrimination and Protection of Minorities of the Commission on Human Rights to
consider this new international instrument, with a view to promoting the
application of its provisions;
13. Requests the Ninth Congress to review the progress
made on the promotion and application of the Rules and on the recommendations
contained in the present resolution, under a separate agenda item on juvenile
justice.
* Resolution 39/46, annex
