Workshop issues guiding recommendations on Restorative Justice Law for Children

Manama, Oct. 26 (BNA): The international workshop on the “Prospects and Challenges of Effective Application of the Restorative Justice Law for Children” has issued a set of important recommendations at the end of its sessions. The two-day workshop was held under the patronage of Attorney-General, Dr. Ali bin Fadl Al Buainain and in cooperation with the Judicial and Legal Studies Institute and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and with the participation of the British and French embassies in Bahrain and international experts. The lecturers, including judges, members of the Public Prosecution Office and experts, reviewed the legal topics of criminal treatment of the children, the best practices to achieve child interests and protection. The workshop featured in-depth discussions were held and concluded with several recommendations to ensure the effective implementation of the provisions of the Restorative Justice Law for Children, the observance of the best interests of children during the procedures against them, and the legal and executive means to protect them from abuse. In his concluding remarks, Al Fadl noted the achievements accomplished by the workshop and stressed that the outcomes and recommendations would be used to guide the public prosecution in implementing the provisions of the Children’s Restorative Justice Law. The recommendations of the workshop: I. Recommendations related to the institutional building of restorative justice for children: 1- The necessity of working to provide the necessary legislative and logistical support for building institutions related to restorative justice, whether by supporting or merging existing institutions or by establishing new institutions and emphasizing coordination among them. 2- Capacity building by ensuring the availability of specialization and expertise among all those dealing with the children exposed to delinquency or the children violating the provisions of the penal law, with the required recommendations of the following: a. Establishing specialized police to deal with children b. Supporting and developing the capabilities of specialized investigation units and providing them with psychological and social expertise. c. Supporting the capacities of judges and prosecutors specialized in dealing with children and providing them with specialized psychological and social expertise. d. Expanding professional training at all levels and supporting the philosophy of restorative justice that seeks to heal societal rifts, and convince all workers in criminal justice institutions that punishment is not considered a goal and that restricting a child’s freedom is only a last resort following assessment. 3- Emphasizing the independence and uniqueness of criminal dealing with children’s procedures, with the emphasis on the importance of: a. Taking into account the diversity of ways of dealing with children b. Reducing cases of summoning children to appear before crime institutions, using digital innovations. c. Recourse to restriction of liberty is only a last resort d. Complete separation between children and adults 4. Commending the continuous consultation between the legislative branch 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 legislative branch playing its role in supporting restorative justice for children through legislative initiatives and approving the necessary budgets to activate and implement the law. 6. Seeking to conduct periodic evaluation sessions to ensure that the correctional justice for children achieves its goals through in-depth statistical and analytical studies. 7. Using artificial intelligence in determining the causes and cases of a children's exposure to danger or abuse, in order to enhance the capabilities of various institutions to deal properly with children. 8. Understanding the specificity of the procedures necessary to deal with cases of child endangerment or ill-treatment through the innovations of the digital environment, which has become an important place contemporary society. 9. Benefiting from international efforts based on experiences and assessing the levels of success of their application on the ground, in addition to the INSPIRE initiative, and studies of the International Bureau for Children's Rights. II. Recommendations related to processes and standards for dealing with children: 1. Expanding the concept of violence and cases of abuse to ensure that all forms of abuse to which children may be exposed are covered. 2. Expanding the list of people assigned to monitor cases of child delinquency or cases of abuse, and making the reporting process a legal duty. 3. Choose and implementing measures that are appropriate for children and achieve their best interest, and that are compatible with the conditions of the children, their families and society. 4. Providing opportunities for children to express themselves and participate in choosing the measures and programs to which they subject to ensure their effectiveness and success 5. Providing social, educational and health services and ensuring they are accessible to children everywhere, because protecting children from exposure to delinquency is a priority. 6. Taking all necessary measures to ensure that children are dealt with at all stages, through: a. Being careful not to re-traumatize the victim child. b. Being quick in completing the procedures to ensure that the children understand the relationship between the crime and the procedures the are undergoing. c. Letting the child express themselves freely, and not rushing to obtain information from their parents, using the appropriate language and style. d. Not starting unless there is access to the reports of psychological and social experts e. Being flexible in dealing with all groups of children and building trust with them. 7. The importance of the physical, psychological and social examination of the children by specialists, before and during criminal proceedings. 8. Emphasizing the seriousness of freedom-restricting measures, and making sure that the freedom restriction period includes programs aimed at social reintegration, as a prelude to the post-freedom phase. 9. Continued follow-up of the children when released at the end of the restriction of their freedom. 10. The importance of benefiting from the practice of sports activity in preparing the children socially and psychologically III. Recommendations for Raising and Strengthening 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 delinquency, and playing a positive role in this regard. 3. Enhancing community awareness of the importance and role of restorative justice, and realizing that the rehabilitation and reintegration of children represents a major interest for the community, not only for the benefit of the children and society, but also for the healing of 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 the laws and the use of visual, radio and digital communication.