The International Juvenile Justice Observatory (IJJO) would like to highlight the work carried out by M. Thomas Hammarberg, Human Rights Commissioner for the Council of Europe, in the field of juvenile justice.

Hereafter you can read the current reports elaborated by Mr. Hammarberg on the situation of juvenile justice in the following countries: Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Ireland, Macedonia, Montenegro and United Kingdom.

The United Nations Secreatry General has published the document ‘Guidance Note: UN Approach to Justice for Children' with the main objective to ensure that the welfare, security and juvenile justice systems respect the rights of the child victim and/or offender, based on the fundamental principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The International Juvenile Justice Observatory (IJJO) invites you to consult the main strategies based on the international legal rules and standards, highlighting the principles 7 and 8 which underline the importance of the prevention of delinquency and the detention of the minor as a last resort.

The electronic Newsletter of the IJJO, is a service created by the Observatory for its users and collaborators, to receive it monthly in your email it’s only necessary to register as a user or collaborator.

On October 21st and 22nd 2008 the III International Conference "Juvenile Justice Systems in Europe: current situation, trends in applicable models and good practices" took place in Valencia (Spain), organised by the International Juvenile Justice Observatory together with the County Council of Justice and Public Administrations of the Generalitat Valenciana (Spain).

During these two days, more than 450 practitioners and experts coming from 45 countries in both Europe, America, Africa or Australia got together to analyse the juvenile justice systems, action models and intervention programmes that are applicable in the different European Union Member States and the rest of the world.

We would like to invite you to consult the illustrated report about the II International Conference organized by the IJJO: 'Juvenile justice in Europe: a framework for the integration', Brussels, Belgium. 24^th-25^th October 2006.

21st and 22nd October 2008
The International Juvenile Justice Observatory informs you that there remains less than one month for the Third International Conference IJJO: "Juvenile Justice Systems in Europe: current situation, trends in applicable models and good practices", to take place in Valencia, Spain

The analysis will focus on the following main subjects:

- Comparative analysis of juvenile justice systems in Europe: current situation and trends in applicable models.

- Good practices and recommendations applicable on juvenile justice systems.

Please check the final programme.

Ending executions for crimes committed by children in just five countries would result in universal implementation of the prohibition on the juvenile death penalty, Human Rights Watch said in the report: 'The last holdouts. Ending the Juvenile Death Penalty in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Pakistan, and Yemen'.

Human Rights Watch documents failures in law and practice that since January 2005 have resulted in 32 executions of juvenile offenders in five countries: Iran (26), Saudi Arabia (2), Sudan (2), Pakistan (1), and Yemen (1). Governments should use next week’s United Nations General Assembly session opening to commit to urgently needed reforms to protect the rights of children in conflict with the law.

On the September 3rd Fernando de Rosa Torner, Justice and Public Administrations Counsellor for the Generalitat Valenciana (Spain) and Mr. Cédric Foussard, Director of the Juvenile Justice Observatory (IJJO) signed the Collaboration Agreement.

III International IJJO Conference, 'Juvenile Justice Systems in Europe: current situation, trends in applicable models and good practices'.

The last month of July 2008, in New York, the International Juvenile Justice Observatory (IJJO) presented conclusions about the Regional Conference of Innovation in Latin America: "Youth: the core for Sustainable Development" (Costa Rica) during the Annual Ministerial Review (AMR).

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and UNICEF have elaborated the United Nations Guidelines on Justice in matters involving child victims and witnesses of crime.

The right to be heard, protected and also to be treated with dignity and respect during the justice process of child victims and witnesses of crime are some of the principles that were included in these United Nations Guidelines.