The Administration of juvenile justice in Eastern and Southern Africa

Abstract

By resolution 40/33 of 29 November 1985, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the United Nations standard Minimum Rules for the Administration Of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules"). The resolution urges all concerned to ensure concerted and sustained efforts to implement the principles contained in the Beijing rules, in such areas as training and exchange of personnel, research and evaluation and the development of alternatives to institutionalization of juvenile offenders. The Beijing Rules emphasizes that juvenile justice should be conceived within a comprehensive framework of a social policy for all juveniles, and implemented within the context of economic, social and cultural conditions prevailing in each country. Accordingly, this report has been prepared in the response to the "Beijing Rules", particularly as regards research and data collection on the administration of juvenile justice. The report attempts to analyze the nature and type of juvenile justice in operation in eastern and southern African countries.