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CHILD PROTECTION MINIMUM STANDARD 14 : JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN

BRIEF PROJECT HISTORY: The Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action were adopted by the international community in September 2012 following a consultation with 400 representatives from 30 organisations throughout more than 40 countries worldwide. These standards, which are aimed at guaranteeing child protection in crisis situations, include Minimum Standard 14: Justice for Children. This standard states that all boys and girls who come into contact with the justice system as victims, witnesses or alleged offenders must be treated in accordance with international standards. However, child justice standards are not always complied with in full when emergency situations arise. To address the problem, the Child Protection Working Group (CPWG) has tasked itself with increasing understanding of Standard 14 and ensuring its application around the world. This is why, in 2014, the IBCR was called in to conduct, in partnership with Terre des Hommes, an in-depth analysis of the problems faced by children who interact with the justice system during humanitarian crises.

GOALS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

In reviewing Standard 14, the IBCR was able to assess the extent to which this international standard is applied in crisis situations affecting children around the world During the second phase of the project, which took place in 2015, the IBCR conducted four case studies: one on the post-crisis situation in Mali, one on the post-natural disaster rebuilding efforts in Haiti, one on the armed conflict context in Afghanistan, and one on the hybrid situation in the Philippines involving a natural disaster and armed conflict The purpose of these case studies was to illustrate and support the analyses appearing in the report Two five-day missions were organised in Mali and Haiti, while the studies involving the Philippines and Afghanistan were made possible by professionals already on mission in those countries .

The IBCR also organised an online conference providing child justice professionals with key information on Standard 14 The Bureau also helped produce a short video on child justice

Finally, the IBCR attended the Child Protection Working Group’s annual meeting in Bangkok and presented the results of these various initiatives Following discussions held concurrently with the meeting, the IBCR was appointed to lead a new Global Working Group on Child Justice in Emergency Situations, which also has UNICEF and Terre des Hommes on board With this work plan in hand, the IBCR travelled to Lebanon for a workshop on adapting Standard 14 to the situation in that country The IBCR participated in the workshop with a view to fostering collaboration within the country and carrying out a pilot project to document the experiences of various humanitarian actors as they apply Standard 14 over time Talks on this matter are still underway

198 documents were analysed as part of a literature review

4 in-depth studies were carried out in Mali, Haiti, Afghanistan and the Philippines

The IBCR attended 3 international workshops on child protection in Geneva, Bangkok and Beirut