President,
Norway welcomes the report of the Special Rapporteur on judges and lawyers on the protection of children in the justice systems, and appreciates the effort to reflect more broadly on the diverse experiences of children when they encounter the justice system. Investing in child-sensitive justice is indeed indispensable to strengthening the rule of law in every country.
We would in particular like to point to the special rapporteur’s recommendation concerning children of parents that are being sentenced, in particular to the death penalty. We underline the importance that judges consider the effect of their sentences on the well-being of the child and the child’s best interests, and that prosecutors should apply the same consideration when requesting sanctions against parents.
As the Special Representative on Violence against Children has pointed out, children of parents sentenced to the death penalty have been invisible in statistics, in policies and programmes. We cannot look away from the impact that sentencing a parent to death has on children.
Finally, we would like to ask the special rapporteur to elaborate on what measures that should be taken to ensure that these children’s rights are best heeded by the justice system?