Restorative justice
Building and reforming the juvenile justice system in Belarus
- русский
- English
The challenge
Children contact the law for various reasons. For example, they can be victims or witnesses of violence; they can be objects in parental custody disputes, or subjects in conflicts with the law. It is important for the justice system to protect children from further harm in all such cases.
For a long time, the justice system and the society in Belarus have focused on punishment and intimidation of the guilty. At the same time, the interests of the victim, as well as re-education and working with the violator of the law, have remained aside. By coming to the attention of the justice system, by being punished, and by being stigmatized because of that, children can lose not only their freedom, but their childhood and future, too.
Children need practical and real help.
Such approaches do not help restore peace in society as evidenced in practice. And this should be the ultimate goal for any justice system.
Adolescents may behave defiantly due to unfavorable family environment, conflicts with peers, lack of experience or education. Children need practical and real help in this situation. They need programs that will help them become aware of the true reasons for their behavior, “fit in” the society and realize their potential.
Let us remember that children are children. Children make mistakes sometimes. Children and adolescents in conflict with the law may be stigmatized. UNICEF has been working with the Government of the Republic of Belarus to reform the juvenile justice system and change attitudes towards children in conflict with the law. We help children move towards the right decisions to make their lives better.
UNICEF and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus made the video.
The solution
UNICEF in Belarus advocates for giving teenagers a second chance. We pay special attention to resocialization (the process where a teenager masters social norms, if this has not been done before for some reason) and services for solving problems that lead to conflict with the law. The development of this approach — often referred to as “restorative justice” — is supported at the state level. We have been working with our partners on its practical implementation:
- we have been proposing specific legislative provisions;
- we have been training specialists to work with children;
- we have been developing services that replace juvenile detention with more constructive and effective approaches.
UNICEF — with the participation of the state — has developed a draft Concept for Improving Juvenile Justice in Belarus. Many of the proposed novelties are already operational.
So, now teenagers in a conflict situation can turn to a mediator, and not to the court, and, in some cases, they can resolve the conflict bypassing liability, but being aware of the consequences of their actions.
Mediation allows the parties to the conflict to choose a mutually beneficial solution on a voluntary basis with the help of a third party, which is a neutral person (mediator). In the course of mediation, a decision is made on compensating the caused harm, and depending on the outcome, a decision is made on liability.
The mediation process (negotiations through a neutral third party, which is an expert working at the intersection of law and psychology) has been included in the criminal process thanks to cooperation between the Ministry of Justice, the Mediation and Law Center Educational and Practical Institution, and UNICEF in Belarus.
Now, if teenagers need help from adults to deal with difficulties, they can contact counseling centers at social and pedagogical centers free of charge. UNICEF in Belarus together with the Mediation and Law Center and the World Without Borders NGO and with the support of the British Embassy launched a joint project — Teens in Contact with the Law — in 2019 Counseling centers were established for children and adolescents in contact with the law (teenagers who broke the law or faced it for other reasons, e.g., due to the divorce of their parents, etc.) at 4 socio-pedagogical centers (SPCs).
The centers are located at the SPCs in the Soligorsk rayon, Baranovichi rayon, Minsk rayon, and in the Leninsky rayon of Minsk. In this regard, the goal of UNICEF in Belarus is to develop social services for children in contact with the law together with the UNICEF partners.
Resources
Specialization in general courts of the Republic of Belarus (in Russian)
Convention on the Rights of the Child
Please contact Mr. Dmitry SHILIN, UNICEF Senior Coordinator in Belarus [email protected], if you have any questions about the development of juvenile justice, improvement of national approaches in this dimension, and the implementation of the rights and freedoms of children.