A/HRC/RES/19/37
particular juvenile justice, and encourages States to provide the secretariat of the Panel and
its members with adequate resources;
Children of incarcerated parents
68.
Welcomes the day of general discussion on children of incarcerated parents,
held by the Committee on the Rights of the Child on 30 September 2011, takes note with
interest of the outcomes thereof, and invites States to take the recommendations made at the
discussion into account;
69.
Calls upon States:
(a)
To give priority, when sentencing or deciding on pretrial measures for a
pregnant woman or a child’s sole or primary care-giver, to non-custodial measures, bearing
in mind the gravity of the offence and after taking into account the best interests of the
child;
(b)
To ensure that the best interests of the child should be a primary
consideration in relation to the question of whether and how long children of imprisoned
mothers should stay with them in prison, and emphasizing the responsibility of the State to
provide adequate care for women in prison and their children;
(c) To provide children of persons accused or convicted of offences with access
to their incarcerated parents or parental caregivers throughout judicial proceedings and the
period of detention, including regular and private meetings with the prisoners, and,
wherever possible, contact visits for younger children, subject to the best interests of the
child, taking into account the need to ensure the administration of justice;
(d)
To recognize, promote and protect the rights of the child affected by parental
incarceration, in particular the right to have their best interests included as an important
consideration in decisions relating to one or both of their parent’s involvement with the
criminal justice system, as well as the right not to be discriminated against because of the
actions or alleged actions of one or both of their parents;
(e)
Bearing in mind the best interests of the child, to keep children or their legal
guardians informed of the place of imprisonment of their incarcerated parents or parental
caregivers and, in advance, of any transfer, as well as of the progress of petitions for
pardons, reports presented to bodies such as clemency commissions, and the reasoning
behind the recommendations of these bodies to support or reject petitions;
(f)
To ensure that children whose parents or parental caregivers are on death row,
the inmates themselves, their families and their legal representatives are provided, in
advance, with adequate information about a pending execution, its date, time and location,
to allow a last visit or communication with the convicted person, the return of the body to
the family for burial or to inform on where the body is located, unless this is not in the best
interests of the child;
VII.
Follow-up
70.
Decides:
(a)
To request the Secretary-General to ensure the provision of appropriate staff
and facilities from the United Nations regular budget for the effective and expeditious
performance of the functions of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, special
procedures and special representatives of the United Nations system in the implementation
of their mandates and, where appropriate, to invite States to continue to make voluntary
contributions;
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