Last year I
read a disturbing news article about a young boy, which till this day has been
on my mind. In September 2012, 12-year-old American boy Christian Fernandez was
facing life in prison. The 12-year-old boy was being tried as an adult for an
alleged murder of his 2-year-old brother.[1]
This would mean that Christian would be detained in an adult detention centre
for the rest of his life. Whereby he will not be able to practice most of his
fundamental right as a child, such as the right to education.
The right
to education is a fundamental human right. It is a universal right under the
Convention on the Rights of the Child[2].
Unfortunately, a lot of children worldwide are being incarcerated and have been
denied this fundamental human right. Detention has serious consequences that are damaging to the progress/growth
of such children and their future. The CRC forbids life imprisonment for
children.[3]
However, worldwide a lot of minors receive a life sentence when they
commit a crime, for example Christian.
Christian
had a disturbing upbringing, which is now a reflection of his actions. And yet
Christian was getting straight A's in middle school. Which shows that despite
his disturbing upbringing he has the capacity and talent to learn and educate
himself. Article 28 CRC says that States
must recognize and ensure the right of a child to education. A right that Christian
unfortunately is about to loose.
Not only
has the State failed to provide a safe home for Christian according to article 19
of the CRC. But it is also acting in contrary with article 37 CRC by trailing
Christian as an adult and detaining him for life and denying him the right to
education. Luckily for Christian, his story was all over the news and this year
he got the (good) news that he will be sentenced as a minor. Which means that
he will be detained till the age of 19 in a juvenile facility.
There is a
constant debate and discussion about juvenile detentions centre’s being ineffective.
Despite research expressing the need for strong educational programs in
juvenile detention facilities, there does not exist a uniform standard for
education in juvenile centres.[4]
The question therefor
remains whether juveniles like Christian can truly exercise their right to
education behind bars.
[1] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2204144/Cristian-Fernandez-The-sad-past-boy-13-tried-adult-killing-2-
year-old-brother.html
[2] Hereafter “the CRC”
[3] Article 37 CRC – States Parties shall ensure that: (a) No
child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment. Neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment
without possibility of release shall be imposed for offences committed by
persons below eighteen years of age;
I agree with Pamela's point, and put forward a similar case concerning a boy in the Ukraine. The right to education of children in prisons is a serious issue. There have been some remarkable developments in the rights of ADULT prisoners. On the grounds of human rights litigation they have the right to father children whilst in prison (Dickson v United Kingdom1997) and to vote (recent case law). But a child can get lifelong sentence and no one seems to care that the right to development of the personality is denied. This policy is also a violation of the Beijing Rules, which we discussed last week in class, as it denies the right to reintegration in society.
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