Thomas Hammarberg: Children should not be treated as criminals

In his article published by eGov monitor Thomas Hammarberg, European Commissioner for Human Rights addresses the disturbing European trend to lock up more children for offences at an earlier age. He argues that young offenders are children first and foremost and should be protected by human rights standards for children.

Holding them responsible for conduct which contravenes the law should not necessary lead to criminalising them. As mentioned in the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency, labelling young persons as delinquent can contributes to their criminal behaviours in the future.

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