A/68/274 conciliation, conferencing and sentencing circles. Common to all approaches is the focus on healing, respect and strengthened relationships. 49. In the context of the criminal justice system, child-sensitive restorative justice may involve bringing together the victim, the offender, his or her parents or guardians, child protection and justice actors, and the community, in a safe and structured environment. Through a non-adversarial and voluntary process, based on dialogue, negotiation and problem-solving, restorative justice aims to rehabilitate and reintegrate the young offender, through helping to reconnect him or her with the community, and ensuring that the offender understands the harm caused to the victim and the community and acknowledges accountability for criminal behaviour and reparation of its consequences. 50. Restorative justice promotes a paradigm shift: rather than assess how much punishment is inflicted, it measures how much harm is repaired or how much recurrence of violence is prevented through an effective process of reintegration of young offenders into society. 51. This process is framed by significant international standards on the protection of the rights of children involved with the criminal justice system. 18 The Convention on the Rights of the Child, recognizes the right of every child alleged as, accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law to be treated in a manner consistent with the promotion of the child’s sense of dignity and worth so as to reinforce the child’s respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of others, taking into account the age of the child and the desirability of promoting his or her social reintegration, and his or her assumption of a constructive role in society (article 40 (1)). The Convention encourages the establishment of a separate justice system specifically applicable to children (article 40 (3)); anticipates measures to deal with the child without resorting to judicial proceedings, provided that human rights and legal safeguards are fully respected (article 40 (3) (b)); and foresees a variety of dispositions to ensure that children are dealt with in a manner appropriate to their well-being, and proportionate both to their circumstances and to the offence (article 40 (4)). 52. The Economic and Social Council adopted basic principles on the use of restorative justice, encouraging the development of mediation, conciliation, conferencing and sentencing circles as an effective alternative to formal criminal justice mechanisms. 19 __________________ 18 19 12/26 These include the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules) (General Assembly resolution 40/33, annex); the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (the Riyadh Guidelines) (Assembly resolution 45/112, annex); Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty (Assembly resolution 45/113, annex); and the Guidelines for Action on Children in the Criminal Justice System (Economic and Social Council resolution 1997/30, annex). See, for example, Economic and Social Council resolution 1999/26 of 28 July 1999 on the development and implementation of mediation and restorative justice measures in criminal justice; Council resolution 1998/23 of 28 July 1998 on international cooperation aimed at the reduction of prison overcrowding and the promotion of alternative sentencing; and Council resolution 1997/33 of 21 July 1997 on elements of responsible crime prevention: standards and norms. 13-41970