Unicef slammed the UK judicial system for violating its obligations to protect children rights after figures showed 45 percent of under-18s detained during August unrest had no criminal records.

The UN body described the UK judiciary´s measure as "very worrying", which violated the 1989 UN convention on the rights of a child.

The agency is responsible to uphold the international treaty, which Britain signed up to in 1991.

Under article 37, remand must only be used as a last resort in criminal proceedings, where there are no alternatives to stop a child reoffending.

Two other UK-based agencies, the Howard League for Penal Reform and the Children´s Rights Alliance for England (CRAE), said they believed custodial arrangements, especially for children who had not yet been put on trial, breached the convention.

The latest Ministry of Justice figures show that more than 40 percent of the 269 children whose court hearings were not completed by mid-September were remanded in custody. This compares with an average remand rate of 10 percent last year.

Of those on remand, 60 percent had no previous convictions and 45 percent had had no contact with the judicial system at all, including official reprimands or warnings.

UK agencies also warned that Britain imprisoned more children than any other country in western Europe and after the unrests the child population in prison jumped by up to 8 percent.

"The UN convention on the rights of the child [CRC] is clear in article 37 that the detention of children should only happen as a last resort in criminal proceedings. The fact that 45 percent of the children detained on charges of rioting and looting are completely unknown to the UK´s criminal justice system is, therefore, very worrying”, Unicef´s UK branch said in a statement.

Carolyne Willow, the national coordinator for CRAE and an expert on the convention believed that Britain was in breach of its obligations.

"The UK is on the worst child incarcerators in the western world … Last year, 75 percent of children in custody were incarcerated for offences that did not involve violence against the person," she said.

"We shouldn´t let all the tough-talking distract us from ministers´ obligations under international law and the fact that children who end up in custody are among the most disadvantaged in our country."

End.
Last Updated: 11 October 2011