National Juvenile Justice Conference 2025: For every child, a second chance
Strengthening systems and collaboration to protect every child’s right to justice
The National Juvenile Justice Conference 2025, jointly organised by the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) and UNICEF Maldives, has concluded with much needed and impactful dialogue, centred around advancing juvenile justice reform in Maldives.
Under the theme ‘Empowering Change: Advancing Juvenile Justice and Safeguarding Children’s Rights,’ the conference brought together key policymakers, law enforcement, the judiciary, academics, civil society, and young people to address the complex challenges in the Maldivian juvenile justice system today.
Following the conference, PGO, in collaboration with UNICEF Maldives, has compiled and launched a publication of the research papers – Multi Institutional Research into Juvenile Justice – presented during the conference. These papers cover the existing literature, international best practices and the current situation in Maldives. Additionally, it also reflects on the recommendations discussed by stakeholders to improve and strengthen these aspects.
Current juvenile justice system in Maldives
In recent years, Maldives has seen a rise in children in conflict with the law. According to recent data from the Maldives Police Service, 120 cases involving young people were investigated in 2023. This number rose to 213 in 2024, with the majority of cases related to theft, drugs, and gang activity. This highlights an urgent need to strengthen crime prevention and explore non-custodial, community-based rehabilitation measures.
However, ensuring that children in conflict with the law are treated in accordance with their developmental needs while being held accountable, remains a significant challenge.
“When the juvenile justice system fails to respond effectively, the result is not just a policy gap – it is a failure of protection. We risk re-traumatizing already vulnerable children and pushing them further into cycles of harm.”
While the law allows alternatives to jail time, like community-based programmes, such programmes are limited in availability and are inadequate to effectively address the complex challenges faced by these children.
Rehabilitation is also a major challenge. Many existing programmes remain too limited and fail to meet the different needs of young offenders. After release, many struggle to rejoin society due to stigma, lack of education or job training, and little support.
Key conference highlights
The conference provided a platform for stakeholders to share insights, evidence, and best practices – integrating academic research with practical policy discussions – through panel discussions and presentation of technical papers. Conversations focused on four key areas related to juvenile justice:
- Crime prevention and such as early intervention
- Prosecution and diversion
- Rehabilitation and reintegration
- Collaboration and community services
In addition to this, participants were also provided with key information related to trauma-informed practices and adolescent mental health through two keynote speeches. By taking the conversation beyond the legal system, participants were able to better understand the developmental needs of young people, along with their role when engaging with children in conflict with the law.
One of the most impactful sessions of the conference was the youth panel. During the panel, members of UNICEF Maldives’ youth cohort shared their lived experiences and concerns about the juvenile justice system. This is an important part of UNICEF’s efforts to include the perspectives of children and young people in shaping the systems that impact them the most.
“The National Juvenile Justice Conference was a very eye-opening experience. I gained a deeper understanding of the system, and the youth panel gave us a platform to share our perspectives as young people while giving policymakers a chance to hear what’s really happening in our community and what needs to change.”
Next steps
The conference ended with a renewed commitment to pave the way for more child-centred and evidence-based reform. Based on the conference discussions, the Prosecutor General’s Office presented a policy recommendation paper during the closing ceremony, calling for:
- More focus to be placed on prevention, diversion, rehabilitation and reintegration of children in conflict with the law.
- Strengthened collaboration between justice stakeholders, social services, and civil society.
- Comprehensive outline of timelines and responsible agencies to carry out the recommendations.
The key recommendations included in the paper focused on eight main areas:
- Crime prevention and early intervention: developing a comprehensive crime prevention strategy with early intervention measures, parental awareness, and community engagement.
- Legislative reform and restorative justice: advancing legislative reforms to formalize restorative justice practices and align laws with international standards.
- Rehabilitation and treatment services: strengthening rehabilitation and treatment services with individualized care and dedicated facilities.
- Capacity building and training: enhancing capacity building, inter-agency coordination, and case management systems.
- Community engagement and reintegration: highlighting the importance of community support for reintegration.
- Monitoring, evaluation and data management: developing robust monitoring and data systems.
- Addressing legal and operational challenges: formulating standardized procedures for diversion and rehabilitation.
- Infrastructure and facility improvements: upgrading infrastructure to provide age-appropriate, specialized services.
“The real success of this conference will not be measured by the number of papers published or panel discussions held, but by the lives we change in the years to come.”
Looking ahead
While this marks an end to the current dialogue, it has also opened pathways for deeper collaboration and action. Building a juvenile justice system in Maldives that protects, rehabilitates, and empowers children and young people require collective action and dedicated efforts from all partners.
With continued dedication, we can move forward to create a justice system that truly gives every child a second chance.
