Pledges on Promoting Child-Centred, Inclusive and Responsive Justice
The Global Working Group on Justice for Children invites all participating Member States, intergovernmental organisations, and civil society organisations to affirm their commitment to strengthening child-centred justice by including the following proposed pledges in their formal written contributions and interventions to the 15th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, September 2026, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
These pledges are intended to assist Member States to implement their own national strategies to advance people-centred justice, through comprehensive strengthening of child-centred justice. The pledges call upon States, intergovernmental organisations and civil society organisations to:
Recognise and advance child-centred justice as an essential pillar of people-centred justice,ensuring that justice systems and services are designed around children, their rights, and justice needs, particularly in this context of criminal justice.
Strengthen implementation of child-centred justice through sustained international cooperation, multisectoral partnerships, technical assistance, and interagency cooperation, building multilateral capacity to transform established commitments into national strategies, policies, and practices.
Ensure the meaningful participation of children in justice processes, recognising children as rights-holders, partners, and agents of change in the development, implementation, and evaluation of child-centred justice approaches.
See more information in the Briefing Paper linked below:
Pledge 1: Recognise Child-Centred Justice as a Core Pillar of People-Centred Justice
“The Government of ______ pledges, by ______, to take concrete and measurable steps to strengthen children’s access to justice and fair, timely and just outcomes through child-centred approaches across all justice contexts. We commit to reviewing and strengthening our laws, policies, institutions, services and practices to ensure they are designed, implemented and evaluated in accordance with children's human rights, justice needs, best interests, participation rights, and evolving capacities, and to identify and address barriers to justice.
We commit to ensuring access to justice and effective remedies for all children affected by justice systems, including through prevention and early intervention measures, and for children as victims or survivors, witnesses, children alleged as, or accused of, or found to have infringed criminal laws, children deprived of liberty, and children requiring care and protection. We further commit to identifying and implementing priority reforms, allocating appropriate resources, and monitoring progress toward a more child-centred and people-centred justice system."
Pledge 2: Sustain Multilateral Commitment and Interagency Cooperation to Secure Child-Centred Justice
“The Government of _____ pledges to strengthen the implementation of child-centred justice through sustained international cooperation, multisectoral partnerships, technical assistance, exchange of evidence and good practices, investment in institutional and professional capacity, and formalised child-centred justice interagency cooperation, in light of the precedent first set in the Guidelines for Action on Children in the Criminal Justice System (ECOSOC 1997/30), and subsequent evolving norms and standards. We further commit to strengthening the collection, analysis and use of disaggregated data concerning children's justice needs, experiences and outcomes to inform policy, reform, implementation, and monitoring of progress”
Pledge 3: Institutionalise Meaningful Consideration of Children’s Views in all Child-Centred Justice Processes.
“The Government of _____ pledges [by _____ ] to conduct a [review/ assessment] of its justice system to identify any impediments to, and to take all appropriate steps and measures to ensure, the safe, meaningful and sustained participation of children in all relevant matters affecting their access to justice and effective remedies, including in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of laws, policies, services and reforms that affect them, in compliance with Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and UNCRC General Comment No. 12 on the right of the child to be heard (57-64; 65-67) and to develop and implement appropriate follow-up measures to address any barriers identified through that review.”
The Global Working Group on Justice for Children
About the Global Working Group: Established in 2018,The Global Working Group on Justice for Children is a partnership of international, multi-agency experts who promote a shared commitment to advance child-centred justice. It places children, and their human rights, at the core of the people-centred justice movement, and recognises that without equal access to justice for children, we cannot achieve equal access to justice for all as outlined in SDG 16.3.
The Global Working Group on Justice for Children is convened by the Institute for Inspiring Children’s Futures at the University of Strathclyde (IICF). It includes Child Friendly Justice European Network (CFJ-EN), Defence for Children International (DCI), ECPAT International, International Legal Foundation (ILF), the Legal Empowerment Fund (LEF), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the United Nations Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children (OSRSGVAC), the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies, Terre des hommes Lausanne Foundation, and UNICEF. This Group works in close collaboration with the Justice Action Coalition.
“Responding to children’s distinct needs, and realising their full range of rights and opportunities, is the basis to achieving peaceful, just and inclusive societies for all.”
Picture: ©Tdh/Joakim Löb