Justice for every child
Strengthening access to a child-friendly justice system
- English
- Tiếng Việt
Challenges
An estimated 84,000 children interact with the justice system each year across Viet Nam. But, as is the case in many countries, the justice system in Viet Nam is designed for adults and lacks specialized services to meet the unique needs of children.
This means thousands of children as victims, witnesses, alleged perpetrators or involved in civil cases face obstacles accessing a justice system that is age-appropriate, free from discrimination and where they are treated with care, compassion and dignity.
Family and Juvenile Courts, together with trained judicial and law enforcement professionals, are critical to ensuring the justice system is child responsive. Yet, more than 40 per cent of provinces do not have such courts, while the police, prosecutors, judges and lawyers have limited access to specialized training on how to handle child-related cases, especially with a gender perspective.
For many children, this also means limited opportunities for a second chance. Two-in-three child offenders convicted for a crime are sentenced to imprisonment, despite international evidence pointing to the effectiveness of community-based diversion and alternatives to detention.
Solutions
All children, no matter their background, have a right to justice and protection. That is why UNICEF is a driving force for equitable access to justice to ensure that every child can access a child-friendly, gender-sensitive and well-equipped system to secure children’s rights.
We work directly with justice institutions and law enforcement in Viet Nam to conduct trainings and share international best practices to promote legal aid, restorative justice, diversion and alternatives to detention as well as support services for children as victims or witnesses.
UNICEF is supporting partners to increase the number of Family and Juvenile Courts and their impact. In order to achieve lasting change, we advocate for amendment of the Child Law, including the age of the child, which is 18 in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, but 16 in Vietnamese law. We also advocate for development of a comprehensive law on justice for minors.
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Impacts
UNICEF supported the establishment of Family and Juvenile Courts, through successful pilot projects in 2016 and 2018, which have been scaled-up to reach 60 per cent of provinces today. Our goal is that by 2026, all provinces have functioning Family and Juvenile Courts, while 40 per cent of children aged under 18 in conflict with criminal laws will benefit from community-based rehabilitation measures. In addition, justice institutions and law enforcement will have enhanced capacity to implement inclusive, child-friendly and gender-responsive procedures, and provide coordinated services so children and adolescents in contact with the law have better access to justice.