An assessment of Juvenile Justice in Afghanistan

The present publication has been realized in the frame of the project Child Right Consortium III. This is a project carried out in Afghanistan and based on four pillars: Juvenile Justice promotion; support to street and working children; support to extremely vulnerable individuals and disable children and children victims of abuses; advocacy. This paper aims to provide an overall assessment of the obstacles that children in conflict with the law face while in the juvenile justice system. It also sheds light on the conditions of children in conflict with the law and underlines disparities and developments that occurred within the juvenile justice system. Finally, it identifies the greatest needs for improvement, particularly within the juvenile justice legal system and investigates which alternatives to detention are being utilized. This report is based on data stemming from 348 interviews with children and Afghan professionals working within the juvenile justice system in Afghanistan that were conducted from September to December 2009.