Metropolitan Model United Nations Conference XLII Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice

Children as Victims and Perpetrators of Crime

Children (defined as a young human below the age of puberty or below the legal age of majority) are often treated differently from adults (anyone o er the age of majority)! "his separation is especially apparent within the criminal justice system! #hether a child is the ictim or perpetrator of a crime$ they are often treated differently than adults are! % child ictim may be traumati&ed by a courtroom setting because they are being treated harshly$ or a child perpetrator may be sentenced to a lighter punishment than an adult would be gi en for the same crime! Internationally$ se eral efforts ha e been made to standardi&e ictims' rights! "he UN created the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power $ adopted as an international pro ision in ()*+$ which outlined basic practices for the treatment of of isions, it generally drew attention to the need for ictims' rights! -ther international pro isions that include a discussion ictims' rights include the International Co enant on Ci il and .olitical /ights and$ most pertinent to this topic$ the Con ention on the /ights of the Child (C/C)! In some countries$ especially those with an under0de eloped criminal justice system$ children do not ha e these rights! In countries with a high crime rate$ children are most often ictims$ especially in cases of abuse! %cts ha e been passed to ma1e children feel more comfortable in a courtroom setting by limiting the amount of people or

ideotaping the child's testimony in a place other than the courtroom! % wea1 ju enile justice system has been put in place by the CC.C2$ but many changes are needed to ma1e children feel completely comfortable in a courtroom! In most countries$ all offenders of crime$ child or adult$ do not ha e rights! "o protect children's rights$ UN-3C (United Nations -ffice -n 3rugs %nd Crime) offers assistance to protect these rights! "hese accommodations are de eloping communication strategies and education programs to raise awareness on the rights of child offenders and ictims$ pro iding legal assistance and ad isory ser ices to re iew legislati e bodies and recommend actions to agree with the re4uirements of the international legal framewor1 in the area of justice for children$ conducting research in relation to children ictims and offenders as a basis for de eloping punishment reform policies$ and training law enforcement and justice officials in child0inter ention techni4ues! % common sentencing for child offenders of crime is sending the child to a rehabilitation center in the hopes that the child will not commit anymore crimes! 5o$ if a child commits a who crime! can committed "he lead the same lenient child serious ery serious crime$ they will be gi en a harsh punishment$ but not as harsh as an adult more to the

treatment of child offenders committing more

crimes in the future! 6owe er$ some nations ha e ta1en the opposite approach, in countries

such as Iran$ the e7ecution of ju enile offenders has increased drastically o er the past decade$ which some nations ha e felt is far too e7treme for the punishment of ju enile offenders! "here ha e been no actions ta1en by the United Nations to change child offender's rights$ only to pre ent ju enile delin4uency! %ctions must be ta1en around the world to limit children being ictims of crime$ ma1ing them feel as safe as possible$ and gi ing them the same rights adults are gi en! Child perpetrators must be treated as adult criminals due to the se erity of their transgressions! Questions To Consider:
3o child ictims in your country ha e e4ual rights as adult ictims8 3o offenders of crime ha e rights in your country8 If so$ how do the

child offenders rights differ from the adult offenders rights8

6a e laws been passed by your go ernment to ma1e child ictim

rights e4ual and child offender rights the same as adults8 Sources: http9::www!un!org:esa:socde :unyin:documents:ch;<!pdf http9::www!unodc!org:unodc:en:justice0and0prison0reform: http9::www!interpol!int:Crime0areas:Crimes0against0children:Crimes0 against0children http9::www!un!org:rights:dpi(<=+e!htm