Working towards Ending-Child Detention:

The ball was struck forcefully by the young player with the wooden stick. Echoes can be heard around the room during a lively game. The shot was immediately blocked by a line of opposing players. The two teenagers are doing well; the football seems to hold no secrets for them, even though it has only been in their cell for a few weeks.

Sanniquellie Prison, located in the northern region of Nimba County, currently hosts fourteen minors in its custody. One of whom is a female. Until recently, they had only one separate cell, which was much smaller, meaning that the majority were living with adult prisoners.

“That was, of course, unhealthy and contrary to international standards, but what could we do? We had no other options” laments Charles Z. Mahn, Prison Superintendent.

The prison currently holds 339 prisoners, despite a normal capacity of 126. As is the case throughout the country, prisons are overcrowded and lacking in everything. For children that are imprisoned, this reality is only worse.

With UNICEF’s support, since last December, the correctional facility has introduced dedicated child‑friendly spaces to ensure that minors in custody are housed separately from adults. These areas provide safe sleeping arrangements with eight beds per room and are designed to uphold children’s rights, dignity, and wellbeing while promoting rehabilitative approaches.

There are 24 beds in total, complete with mattresses, sheets and pillows. The minors are aged between 15 and 17, with the only girl being just 16. However, as she is on her own, she currently prefers to live with the other women where there’s less violence and exposure to danger.

“Before, the minors often lived in constant fear says Julie K. Tarwoe, a social worker.

“Their lives were very difficult. They had daily interactions with adults, with all the violence that entails. Even for the lucky few who were in the juvenile cell. Even in the open areas within the prison grounds, everyone mingled together. But it was enough for just one of these minors to misbehave to be transferred to the adult cells. Once there, they faced a new reality: they had to pay detention fees. If the minor didn’t pay, they were beaten. And that’s not to mention the intimidation and abuses, which was unfortunately sometimes extremely traumatic.”-

Julie visits the minors often, sometimes two to three times a week depending on whether she can arrange transport from Ganta, which is just under an hour’s drive away.

Most of the juveniles come from this large city; they have been arrested for burglaries or drug trafficking, but also for far more serious offences such as gang rape or murder.

“Every time I come to the detention facility, we sit down, I talk to them, listen to them, try to open their minds. They aren’t always aware of their actions or the consequences. They should be at school, but because of poverty and a lack of financial means, they face major problems and end up here.”

Conversations with some of these minors, revealed that they are often disoriented, particularly among those who have only recently arrived.

Take Peter * for example, aged 16, who has been here for two months.

“A street fight,” he says. He has no idea what lies ahead for him; he hasn’t had his trial yet.

“But I hope to get out soon and never come back here.”

Or Charles*, 17, imprisoned following a case of motorbike theft.

“I used to go to school, but I dropped out in grade 9; my parents couldn’t afford my education any longer and my father went to Monrovia to look for work. So, I was hanging about on the streets and got mixed up with bad people. I have no idea when I’ll get out of here; I’ve got no information, but I dream of being out and being able to get back to my education, to become a mechanic. Here, we don't get any education.” Like others, he’s been in the old cells, with the adults. “It was horrible; we were literally stuck together, with far too many of us in cells that were far too small, sleeping on the floor. The rest, I don’t want to talk about.”

Like the others, Peter and Charles spend much of their time playing football or watching television, which was also donated by UNICEF.

Another child says he sometimes prefers to read the Bible while lying in bed. Single beds that some of the juvenile inmates have even personalized with a drawing on the sheet.

“They’re minors, they’re in prison, but at least they feel safe there,” reassures the superintendent.

Liberia’s child justice programme is focused on promoting restorative services as alternatives to detention. Through implementation of the National Strategy on Child Justice (2022), efforts are underway to decentralize child-friendly juvenile procedures and ensure that detention is applied strictly as a measure of last resort. A Child Justice Study Report and Roadmap have been disseminated, while child justice training has been integrated into the Judicial Training Institute’s curriculum. Together, these initiatives promote child-sensitive approaches and protect children in conflict with the law from criminalization and detention.

In the past two years, the Diversion Programme has provided meaningful alternatives to detention, resolving 94 per cent of 759 cases through diversion. These results, achieved with the support of UNICEF Liberia and the Embassy of Sweden, show that a child-friendly justice system is both achievable and sustainable

* fictitious name