The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice, often referred to as the Beijing Rules, is a resolution of the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
General Assembly
A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company.
Specific examples of general assembly include:
Churches
* General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presb ...
regarding the treatment of juvenile prisoners and offenders in member nations.
History
In September 1980, the United Nations held its Sixth
United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders in
Caracas,
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
. The UN had previously declared 1980 the "Year of the Child".
Dahn Batchelor, who holds a certificate in criminology and participant at that Congress, presented a paper about the need for a
bill of rights
A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pr ...
for young offenders. The
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
delegation supported the paper. Much drafting of the policy took place at a conference in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
,
China. It was originally proposed as a Bill of Rights for Young Offenders, but was eventually renamed the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules on the Administration of Juvenile Justice.
The proposed draft was then discussed at length at the United Nations Seventh Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, in September 1985.
It was adopted on 29 November 1985 by the United Nations General Assembly.
See also
*
United Nations Standard Minimum Rules
*
Convention on the Rights of the Child
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC or UNCRC) is an international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children. The Co ...
*
Defense of infancy
The age of criminal responsibility is the age below which a child is deemed incapable of having committed a criminal offence. In legal terms, it is referred to as a defence/defense of infancy, which is a form of defense known as an excuse so that ...
External links
Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice
Juvenile law
United Nations General Assembly resolutions
1985 in the United Nations
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