Justice for children

Last update: June 2025

Globally, an estimated 259,000 children were in detention in 2024

Children come into contact with the justice system in a host of ways – as victims, witnesses, because they are in conflict with the law, or as parties to civil or administrative processes, such as alternative care arrangements or asylum hearings, respectively. Children’s encounters with the justice system, along with information on the surrounding circumstances, are usually recorded by the authorities and service providers that form part of the justice sector. Such information is essential to monitoring and evaluating the performance of the justice system and to understanding the profile of children who come into contact
with it.

Children in conflict with the law – children alleged as, accused of or convicted of having committed a criminal offence – are guaranteed protection and fundamental human rights through several international and regional instruments concerned with child justice. Nevertheless, these children are all too often held in police custody, detention centres, prisons and other custodial settings in violation of treaties, norms and standards. UNICEF estimates reflect children in conflict with the law deprived of their liberty in the administration of justice (referred to as ‘children in detention’ for simplicity).

 

Children in detention