Project:
Juvenile Justice System Reform - Carrying out a comprehensive reform of the juvenile justice system
- Funding Sources: UNICEF
The National Expert Group on
Juvenile Justice was established in 2003 by the National Commission on Child Protection. The Group included representatives of the Commission on Minors, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice, the Council of Justice, the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Presidential Office and the Women’s Committee. In cooperation with UNICEF, the CLC provided technical assistance to the Expert Group to produce a detailed
analysis, of the
system for children in conflict with the law, examining law, policy and practice relating to children above and below the age of criminal responsibility. Based on this analysis, the Expert Group recommended that the Government of Tajikistan:
- bring legislation into line with international standards;
- reform the closed detention centres in order to bring regulations and practices into line with international standards;
- establish alternative sentencing and diversion schemes, in order to effectively address juvenile offending in communities and to reduce the use of institutionalisation; and
-train law enforcement officials to ensure children who come into conflict with the law are treated in accordance with their rights.
The CLC has been cooperating with the Government of Tajikistan and UNICEF over the last three years to implement these recommendations. In particular, the CLC:
- has carried out training on children’s rights and standards of good practice for police, prosecutors and judges;
- devised and implemented a model for diversion and alternative sentencing schemes in cooperation with local NGOs – the first of its kind in Central Asia. Due to the success of these models, the model has been replicated in other districts in Tajikistan and there are plans to roll the model out in 2008. The schemes have successfully worked with over 200 children;
- is working on the reform of the closed detention centres. This work has involved redrafting regulations, training staff, providing legal assistance programmes in the institutions and implementing a reintegration programme to prepare children (and their families) for their release and provide support on their return to their families and communities, in addition to assisting in renovating and refurbishing the buildings;
- is providing technical assistance for the review of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Time Frame for this Project: 2003-2009
Further Information: Capacity Building
- Project: Child Protection System Reform (including children with disabilities)
- Providing technical assistance to the Government of Tajikistan to reform the child protection system.
- Funding Sources: UNICEF
Child Protection: The CLC is undertaking a comprehensive analysisof the child protection system with a view to providing recommendations to the Government of Tajikistan on the reform of law, policy and practice. The CLC is also providing technical assistance to develop legislation which strengthens gate keeping mechanisms in order to prevent unnecessary institutionalisation of children.
In 2005, the Centre undertook a comprehensive evaluation of UNICEF’s deinstitutionalisation programme in order to inform the development of this programme.
Children with Disabilities: Training has also been provided to the staff of the children with disabilities home in the capital to develop the quality of work that the personnel carry out with the children.
Time Frame for this project: 2005-2009
- Project: Establishing a Local Child Rights NGO
- Building local capacity of a Child Rights NGO
- Funding Sources: Sigrid Rausing Trust
Through our work in Tajikistan, we identified that there was a lack of effective local NGOs providing legal assistance to vulnerable children and children in conflict with the law and advocating for legal reform. In order to plug this gap, the CLCestablished a local NGO. We have been assisting local staff to develop the legal assistance services, profile and capacity of the Child Rights Centre Tajikistan.
The local NGO has successfully established legal assistance programmes in the closed detention centres, developed child rights guides for children in institutions and provided child rights training personnel in the detention centres. The NGO has combined legal and social work assistance to provide support for children released from detention centres. The CRC is currently developing a duty lawyer scheme and establishing a legal help hotline.
The Children’s Legal Centre will continue to provide technical support and assistance to the NGO to ensure its development and sustainability.
Website: www.crc.tj
Time Frame for this project: 2005-2007
Further Information:CapacityBuilding; Juvenile Justice; Child Protection; Child Rights
- Project: Developing Legal Services
- Supporting the work of NGO Child Rights Centre: legislative reform of the Child Protection system and developing the legal services of a local NGO
- Funding Sources: Family Law Bar Association
The Family Law Bar Association provided a grant to enable a family law barrister to spend six months of 2007 in Tajikistan to support the legal reform work of the Children’s Legal Centre. The barrister worked on the development of regulations of one of the closed detention centres, assisted in the legal analysis of the child protection; system and supported the local NGO, which the Children’s Legal Centre set up, to develop their legal services, client care and case management system. The barrister also provided assistance in fundraising and project management.
Further Information: Juvenile Justice
Click here to visit the Children and Armed Conflict Unit's country profile of Tajikistan.
