Preventing and Countering Violence Against Children by Organized Criminal Groups and Terrorist Groups in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice

E/RES/2024/11View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the Economic and Social Council, under agenda item 19c Crime prevention and criminal justice, published in 2024.

What subjects does this mandate have?

6 subjects

Children Crime Prevention Crime Victims Criminal Justice Organized Crime Terrorism

What’s in this document?

13 operative paragraphs

Recommends to the General Assembly the adoption of the following draft resolution:

Strongly condemns violence against children, reaffirms the duty of the State to protect children from all forms of violence in both public and private settings, and calls for the elimination of impunity, including by investigating and prosecuting, with due process, and punishing all perpetrators;

Urges Member States, in accordance with fundamental principles of their domestic law, to remove any barrier that children may face in accessing or participating in the justice system, including any kind of discrimination, to pay particular attention to the issue of the rights of the child, including the child’s best interests as a primary consideration, and in this regard to ensure that children in contact with the criminal justice system are treated in an age- and gender-sensitive manner, taking into account the specific needs of those children who are in particularly vulnerable situations;

Encourages Member States that have not yet integrated crime prevention and children’s issues into their overall rule of law efforts to do so, and to develop and implement a comprehensive crime prevention and justice system policy, with a view to preventing the involvement of children in criminal activities, promoting the use of alternative measures to detention, such as diversion and restorative justice, adopting reintegration strategies for former child offenders and complying with the principle that deprivation of liberty of children should be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time, as well as to avoid, wherever possible, the use of pretrial detention for children;

Calls upon Member States to take all necessary and effective measures to prevent and counter the recruitment, abuse and exploitation of children by organized criminal groups and terrorist groups, including by adopting legal measures, consistent with their obligations under international law, aimed at prohibiting and criminalizing such practices and by promoting the accountability of perpetrators;

Also calls upon Member States to adopt specific measures aimed at preventing and countering the recruitment, abuse and exploitation of children online by organized criminal groups and terrorist groups;

Encourages Member States to foster collaboration among policymakers and government agencies, with the participation of educational institutions, the private sector, civil society organizations and children themselves, in order to prevent and counter the recruitment, abuse and exploitation of children by organized criminal groups and terrorist groups and to promote public participation and awareness of this issue;

Emphasizes the importance of recognizing the victim status of children subjected to recruitment, abuse and exploitation by organized criminal groups and terrorist groups and stresses that the recognition of victim status may not exclude criminal liability and other forms of accountability of children alleged to have committed terrorist, criminal and other offences and does not exclude potential prosecution of such crimes in accordance with domestic law, and reiterates that all children formerly associated with such groups should be treated with respect for their rights, dignity, needs and the child’s best interests and with due regard to their priorities, in accordance with applicable international law, including international human rights obligations, and bearing in mind relevant United Nations standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice, prioritizing their reintegration;

Calls upon Member States to implement, and strengthen as appropriate, measures to assist in the rehabilitation and reintegration of children and youth who have been involved in any form of organized criminal group, including gangs, as well as in terrorist groups, while protecting their rights and giving full recognition to the importance of delivering justice and protecting the safety of victims of these criminal groups and that of society throughout the implementation of such measures;

Encourages Member States, as appropriate, to share information through bilateral and relevant multilateral platforms, such as the International Criminal Police Organization, on organized criminal groups and terrorist groups, and to make best use of its tools, resources and expertise in order to prevent and counter the recruitment, abuse and exploitation of children by organized criminal groups and terrorist groups;

Requests the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, within its mandate, to provide technical assistance to Member States, upon request, based on their priorities and needs and subject to the availability of extrabudgetary resources, in implementing the present resolution;

Also requests the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, upon availability of extrabudgetary resources, to facilitate an event on the margins of the Fifteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, gathering parliamentarians from all Member States, to exchange best practices in eliminating violence against children and promoting children’s rights in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice, including with the participation of the Inter-Parliamentary Union;

Invites Member States and other donors to provide extrabudgetary resources for the purposes specified in the present resolution, in accordance with the rules and procedures of the United Nations.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

Table of contents