Manama, October 26 (BNA) The international workshop on “Prospects and Challenges of Effective Implementation of the Restorative Justice Law for Children” issued a set of important recommendations at the end of its sessions.
The two-day workshop was held under the auspices of Attorney General Dr. Ali bin Fadl Al Buainain and in cooperation with the Institute of Judicial and Legal Studies and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, with British and personal participation. French embassies in Bahrain and international experts.
The lecturers, including judges, members of the Public Prosecution Office, and experts on legal issues related to the criminal treatment of children, reviewed the best practices to achieve the interests and protection of the child.
The workshop included in-depth discussions that were held and concluded with several recommendations to ensure the effective implementation of the provisions of the Restorative Justice Law for Children, taking into account the best interests of children during the procedures taken against them, and the legal and executive means. To protect them from abuse.
In his closing speech, Al-Fadl referred to the achievements of the workshop, and stressed that the results and recommendations will be used to guide the Public Prosecution in implementing the provisions of the Restorative Justice Law for Children.
Workshop recommendations:
First – Recommendations related to institutional building of restorative justice for children:
1- The need to work on providing the necessary legislative and logistical support to build institutions related to restorative justice, whether by supporting existing institutions, merging them, or creating new ones, and emphasizing coordination among them.
2- Capacity building by ensuring the availability of specialization and expertise for everyone who deals with children exposed to delinquency or children in violation of the provisions of the Penal Code, with the necessary recommendations for the following:
a. Establishing a specialized police to deal with children
NS. Supporting and developing the capabilities of specialized investigation units and providing them with psychological and social expertise.
NS. Supporting the capacities of judges and prosecutors specialized in dealing with children and providing them with specialized psychological and social expertise.
Dr.. Expand professional training at all levels and support the philosophy of restorative justice that seeks to heal societal rifts, and convince all workers in criminal justice institutions that punishment is not a goal and that restricting the child’s freedom is only a last resort after evaluation.
3- Emphasizing the independence and uniqueness of criminal dealing with children’s procedures, emphasizing the importance of:
a. Taking into account the diversity of ways of dealing with children
NS. Reducing the cases of children being summoned to appear before criminal institutions by using digital innovations.
NS. Resorting to the restriction of liberty is only a last resort
Dr.. Complete separation between children and adults
4- Commending the continuous consultation between the legislative authority and all parties concerned with initiatives and strategies of criminal justice in general and restorative justice in particular, which contributes to unifying visions and continuity of development.
5. Emphasizing the importance of the role of the legislative authority in supporting restorative justice for children through legislative initiatives and approving the necessary budgets to activate and implement the law.
6. Working on periodic evaluation sessions to ensure that restorative justice for children achieves its goals through in-depth statistical and analytical studies.
7. The use of artificial intelligence in identifying the causes and cases of children being exposed to danger or abuse, in order to enhance the capabilities of various institutions to properly deal with children.
8. Recognize the specificity of the procedures necessary to deal with cases of child endangerment or mistreatment through the innovations of the digital environment, which has become an important place for contemporary society.
9. Benefiting from international efforts based on experiences and evaluating the levels of success of their application on the ground, in addition to the INSPIRE initiative and the studies of the International Office for Child Rights.
II. Recommendations related to processes and standards for dealing with children:
1. Expand the concept of violence and cases of abuse to ensure that all forms of abuse that children may be exposed to are covered.
2. Expand the list of persons entrusted with monitoring cases of child delinquency or cases of abuse, and make the reporting process a legal duty.
3. Choosing and implementing procedures that are appropriate for children, achieve their interests, and are compatible with the conditions of children, their families and their community.
4. Provide opportunities for children to express themselves and participate in choosing the procedures and programs they are subject to to ensure their effectiveness and success
5. Providing social, educational and health services and ensuring that they are available to children everywhere, because protecting children from exposure to delinquency is a priority.
6 – Take all necessary measures to ensure dealing with children at all stages, through:
a. Take care not to re-traumatize the child victim again.
NS. Speed up the completion of procedures to ensure that children understand the relationship between the crime and the procedures they are going through.
NS. Allow the child to express themselves freely, and not to rush to get information from their parents, using appropriate language and style.
Dr.. It will only start if there is access to expert psychological and social reports
NS. Flexibility in dealing with all groups of children and building confidence with them.
7. The importance of the physical, psychological and social examination of children by specialists before and during criminal proceedings.
8. Emphasizing the seriousness of the procedures for restricting freedom and ensuring that the period of freedom restriction includes programs aimed at social reintegration in preparation for the post-freedom phase.
9. Continued follow-up of children upon their release at the end of the restriction of their freedom.
10. The importance of taking advantage of sports activity in preparing children socially and psychologically
Third. Recommendations to raise and strengthen community awareness:
1- Providing legal assistance and support in various civil society institutions
2- The participation of all civil society parties in monitoring cases of abuse and deviation, and playing a positive role in this regard.
3- Increasing community awareness of the importance and role of restorative justice, and realizing that the rehabilitation and reintegration of children is a major interest of the community, not only for the benefit of children and society, but also for the purpose of healing societal damage.
4. The importance of the role of the media, not only when the law is issued, but also in the continuous follow-up to the effective implementation of laws and the use of visual, radio and digital means of communication.