Children's Equitable Access to Justice.Pdf
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Children’s Equitable Access to Justice: Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia ALBANIA GEORGIA KYRGYZSTAN MONTENEGRO IN COOPERATION WITH Cover photo: © UNICEF/NYHQ2011-1647/Pirozzi Aysun, 13, who previously lived on the streets, learns to weave a carpet at the Umid Yeri (‘Place of Hope’) Children’s Shelter and Rehabilitation Centre in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. © United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) The Regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS), May 2015 Permission is required to reproduce any part of this publication. Permission will be freely granted to educational or non-profit organizations. To request permission and for any other information on the publication, please contact: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS) Palais des Nations CH-1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland Tel.: +41 22 909 5000 Fax: +41 22 909 5909 Email: [email protected] <www.unicef.org/ceecis> <www.facebook.com/unicefceecis> <www.twitter.com/unicefceecis> All reasonable precautions have been taken by UNICEF to verify the information contained in this publication. Suggested citation: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), The Regional Office for CEE/CIS, Children’s Equitable Access to Justice, Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, UNICEF, Geneva, 2015. Children’s Equitable Access to Justice: Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia ALBANIA GEORGIA KYRGYZSTAN MONTENEGRO Acknowledgements The research study was produced under the direction Machaidze (research associate, Georgia), Ayesha of Anne Grandjean (UNICEF Regional Office for Mago (senior lead researcher), Mona Paré (editor) and Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Maya Velimirovic (research associate, Montenegro). Independent States). Other IDLO contributors included: Renee Chartres, Tim Fletcher, Rimma Grishmanovskaya, Sean Lees, Special thanks go to Pamela Kovacs (International Margarita Milikh, Lyal Sunga and Zuzana Zalanova, Development Law Organization) and Meagan Smith under the direction of the IDLO Research and Learning Hrle (independent consultant) and the following team Department, led by Ilaria Bottigliero. of researchers for their work: Bakai Albanov (research associate, Kyrgyzstan), Mirajidin Arynov (research The report benefited from the valuable input and advice associate, Kyrgyzstan), Debika Chatterjee (data of an expert advisory group: Claude Cahn (Human Rights analyst), Aleksandra Crvenica (research associate, Adviser to the Office of the United Nations Resident Montenegro), Veronika Duci Ntoutsi (research Coordinator in the Republic of Moldova, Office of the consultant on ethical and child-sensitive research), United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights), Migena Leskoviku (research associate, Albania), Tea Jeff Erlich (Programme Manager, Equal Before the Law: 2 Pirozzi /2010-UNI09409/ Georgia © UNICEF Access to Justice in Central Asia, Eurasia Foundation of Kuchava (UNICEF Georgia), Paolo Marchi (UNICEF Central Asia), Oliver Lewis (Executive Director, Mental Bosnia and Herzegovina), Lesley Miller, Lely Djuhari Disability Advocacy Center, Budapest, Hungary), Dan (UNICEF Regional Office for CEE/CIS), Leon Shestani O’Donnell (independent consultant), Professor Ann (UNICEF Albania), Ingrid van Welzenis (independent Skelton (Director, Centre for Child Law, University of consultant) and Elena Zaichenko (UNICEF Kyrgyzstan). Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa), Professor Geraldine Copy-editing was by Lisa Drysdale and graphic design Van Bueren QC (Professor of International Human Rights by Phoenix Design Aid. Law and Visiting Fellow, Kellogg College, Oxford, UK) and Nevena Vuckovic-Sahovic (professor of law, Union We are particularly grateful to the many children, University, Belgrade, Serbia, and former member of the family members and justice sector professionals who United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child). participated in the research and shared their insights. Valuable input was also provided by Patrick Geary The report was made possible by core funding to (UNICEF Private Fundraising and Partnerships), UNICEF and by UNICEF Child Protection thematic Nela Krnic-Brkovic (UNICEF Montenegro), Teona funds (multiple donors). 3 Contents Graphs, tables and boxes ...................................................................6 Chapter 1: Executive summary. 8 Chapter 2: Background .....................................................................14 2.1 Introduction ..................................................................14 2.2 Objectives and methodology ..................................................14 Chapter 3: A matter of rights, rule of law and development ...............................18 3.1 Elevating access to justice for children across key international agendas .......18 3.2 Accessing justice: Beyond children’s reach? ....................................18 3.3 Compounded challenges for children ..........................................19 Chapter 4: International and regional legal and policy framework ........................22 4.1 Relevant international standards ..............................................23 4.2 Regional framework: Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia .............28 Chapter 5: Children’s access to justice across the region ..................................34 5.1 Regional overview ............................................................34 5.2 National legal frameworks across the four focal countries ......................39 5.2.1 Albania ....................................................................39 5.2.2 Georgia ....................................................................39 5.2.3 Kyrgyzstan .................................................................40 5.2.4 Montenegro ................................................................40 Chapter 6: Research findings: A cross-country overview ..................................50 6.1 Why do children become involved in justice systems or processes? ............50 6.1.1 Child victims or witnesses of crime ..............................................51 6.1.2 Issues related to the family ....................................................52 6.1.3 Denial and violations of rights and social benefits ..................................53 4 ACRONYMS COE Council of Europe EU European Union EC European Commission IDLO International Development Law Organization NGO non-governmental organization UN United Nations UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNDP United Nations Development Programme 6.2 Where do children go to seek justice? .........................................54 6.2.1 Judicial forums ..............................................................54 6.2.2 Administrative bodies ........................................................55 6.2.3 Ombudspersons/national human rights institutions ................................58 6.2.4 Alternative dispute resolution forums ............................................60 6.2.5 Informal justice systems ......................................................61 6.3 What are the main obstacles that children face in seeking justice? ..............66 6.3.1 Lack of awareness of justice mechanisms and supporting institutions ..................66 6.3.2 Poor access to information on children’s rights and their realization ....................69 6.3.3 Legal and practical obstacles ...................................................74 6.3.4 Social and cultural obstacles ...................................................80 6.4 Are justice mechanisms and processes child-sensitive? ........................85 6.4.1 Specialization of professionals .................................................87 6.4.2 Measures to protect children from discrimination ..................................89 6.4.3 Guaranteeing the right to be informed ...........................................91 6.4.4 Guaranteeing the right to be heard and to express views ............................92 6.4.5 Provision of psychological and social support services ...............................93 6.4.6 Provision of witness support services ............................................94 6.4.7 Accessing legal assistance and legal aid ..........................................97 6.4.8 Protecting the right to privacy ..................................................98 6.4.9 Protecting children from hardship and ensuring their right to safety. .99 6.4.10 Fulfilling the right to reparation ...............................................106 6.4.11 Taking decisions in the best interests of the child .................................107 Chapter 7: Conclusions and recommendations ...........................................116 7.1 Conclusions .................................................................116 7.2 Recommendations ...........................................................120 Appendix: Study methodology ...........................................................126 Photography credits and captions ........................................................134 5 Graphs, tables and boxes GRAPHS 1 Opinions of justice sector professionals on the primary reasons children become involved in justice 51 systems or processes: Child victims or witnesses of crime 2 Opinions of justice sector professionals on the primary reasons children become involved in justice 52 systems or processes: Issues related to family 3 Opinions of justice sector professionals on the primary reasons