A/67/230 1. Prevention of and responses to violence against children within the justice system 13. In January 2012 the Special Representative organized an expert consultation on the prevention of and responses to violence against children within the justice system, together with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Government of Austria. 14. At the consultation, in which governmental experts and representatives of United Nations agencies, international and regional organizations, human rights bodies, academia and civil society participated, a set of practical recommendations to assist States and other actors in the development of a violence-free justice system for children was drawn up. Those recommendations, included in a joint report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/21/25), address the following issues: (a) Preventing the criminalization and penalization of children. The prevention and reduction of situations leading to the deprivation of children’s liberty is a critical strategy for decreasing the risk of violence in the criminal justice system. States should pursue this goal by: (i) decriminalizing “status offences”, such as begging, vagrancy, truancy and loitering; (ii) preventing the detention of unaccompanied migrant children and asylum seekers on the basis of their status; (iii) ensuring that children with mental health and substance abuse problems are appropriately cared for, rather than dealt with by the criminal justice system; (iv) ensuring universal birth registration, raising the age of criminal responsibility to at least 12 years and continuing to raise it further, and ensuring non-custodial options for children below that age; and (v) supporting the prevention of criminalization and penalization through a robust and well-resourced child protection system, with effective coordination between the justice, social welfare and education sectors. (b) Protecting children from all forms of violence within the juvenile justice system. National laws, policies and procedures concerning juvenile justice should be brought into full compliance with relevant international standards, and juvenile justice reforms should pursue a child- and gender-sensitive approach and be guided by child rights principles and safeguards, including (i) the recognition of the deprivation of children’s liberty as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate time; (ii) the separation of children from adults and of girls from boys in a child-sensitive environment; (iii) the explicit prohibition of and effective protection of children from violence, including as a form of punishment, treatment or sentencing; (iv) the legal provision of safe and child-sensitive counselling, reporting and complaints mechanisms to prevent and respond to incidents of violence; and (v) the establishment of independent oversight and monitoring mechanisms and accountability systems for the inspection of places of detention and the prompt investigation of incidents of violence against children. (c) Ensuring the use of diversion and alternative non-custodial measures. Effective alternative mechanisms to formal criminal proceedings and to deprivation of liberty should be developed and used, including restorative justice, mediation, probation, community service and community-based programmes, including treatment for children with substance abuse problems. (d) Ensuring qualified and trained personnel. A sound system of selection, recruitment and retention of competent professionals should be put in place, supported by continued education and capacity-building on children’s rights and juvenile justice standards to prevent violence against children in the juvenile justice system. 6 12-45164