UN Secretary-General Guidance Note: UN Approach to Justice for Children

This note provides the guiding principles and framework for UN justice for children activities at the national level.

This note provides the guiding principles and framework for UN justice for children activities at the national level that apply in all circumstances, including in conflict prevention, crisis, postcrisis, conflict, post-conflict and development contexts. It is framed within the UN mandate to support the realisation of human rights, poverty reduction and the Millennium Development Goals, and is a contribution to the UN coherence agenda in the rule of law area.

The goal of the justice for children approach is to ensure that children, defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child as all persons under the age of eighteen, are better served and protected by justice systems, including the security and social welfare sectors. It specifically aims at ensuring full application of international norms and standards for all children who come into contact with justice and related systems as victims, witnesses and alleged offenders; or for other reasons where judicial, state administrative or non-state adjudicatory intervention is needed, for example regarding their care, custody or protection.