Promotion of non-custodial measures
Custody may only be used as a last resort, as it jeopardises the development and reintegration of children. Tdh works in collaboration with professionals in criminal justice, especially with the police, prosecutors and judges to make sure that the necessary legislation is implemented and to improve the application of non-judicial procedures and alternatives to imprisonment. In this way children and adolescents in conflict with the law, who have often committed only minor offences, can benefit from a justice that is adapted to them. They have access to non-custodial measures, procedures for the non-violent resolution of conflicts and to reintegration.
Improvement of custody conditions
The rights of children in conflict with the law are often unrecognised. We work together with the staff of the detention centres and with training institutions for justice professionals to alleviate the negative impact of deprivation of liberty on children and young people. Our goal is to reduce violence and to lower recidivism, but also to ensure that young people in custody are treated with dignity and prepared for their reintegration.
Improving prevention and reintegration services
We work with families, organisations and community leaders to create a caring and supportive environment in the community. This should enable mitigating the violence against or by the young people and to reintegrating them in society.
Supporting collaboration in the contexts of legal pluralism
Our teams promote coordination between the people concerned in formal justice, both lay and religious, and the people concerned in traditional justice. Our aim is to encourage the recognition of positive practices of restorative justice and a decision-making that defends the best interests of the child, in particular in communities where systems of traditional justice are the most effective.