United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (The Riyadh Guidelines)

Preamble

The General Assembly,

Bearing in mind the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as other international instruments pertaining to the rights and well-being of young persons, including relevant standards established by the International Labour Organisation,

Bearing in mind also the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (The Beijing Rules),

Recalling General Assembly resolution 40/33 of 29 November 1985, by which the Assembly adopted the Beijing Rules recommended by the Seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders,

Recalling that the General Assembly, in its resolution 40/35 of 29 November 1985, called for the development of standards for the prevention of juvenile delinquency which would assist Member States in formulating and implementing specialized programmes and policies, emphasizing assistance, care and community involvement, and called upon the Economic and Social Council to report to the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders on the progress achieved with respect to these standards, for review and action,

Recalling also that the Economic and Social Council, in section II of its resolution 1986/10 of 21 May 1986, requested the Eighth Congress to consider the draft standards for the prevention of juvenile delinquency, with a view to their adoption,

Recognizing the need to develop national, regional and international approaches and strategies for the prevention of juvenile delinquency,

Affirming that every child has basic human rights, including, in particular, access to free education,

Mindful of the large number of young persons who may or may not be in conflict with the law but who are abandoned, neglected, abused, exposed to drug abuse, and are in marginal circumstances and in general at social risk,

Taking into account the benefits of progressive policies for the prevention of delinquency and for the welfare of the community,

1. Notes with satisfaction the substantive work accomplished by the Committee on Crime Prevention and Control and the Secretary-General in the formulation of the guidelines for the prevention of juvenile delinquency;

2. Expresses appreciation for the valuable collaboration of the Arab Security Studies and Training Centre at Riyadh, in hosting the International Meeting of Experts on the Development of the United Nations Draft Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency, held at Riyadh from 28 February to 1 March 1988, in co-operation with the United Nations Office at Vienna;

3. Adopts the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency contained in the annex to the present resolution, to be designated "the Riyadh Guidelines";

4. Calls upon Member States, in their comprehensive crime prevention plans, to apply the Riyadh Guidelines in national law, policy and practice and to bring them to the attention of relevant authorities, including policy makers, juvenile justice personnel, educators, the mass media, practitioners and scholars;

5. Requests the Secretary-General and invites Member States to ensure the widest possible dissemination of the text of the Riyadh Guidelines in all of the official languages of the United Nations;

6. Requests the Secretary-General and invites all relevant United Nations offices and interested institutions, in particular, the United Nations Children's Fund, as well as individual experts, to make a concerted effort to promote the application of the Riyadh Guidelines;

7. Also requests the Secretary-General to intensify research on particular situations of social risk and on the exploitation of children, including the use of children as instruments of criminality, with a view to developing comprehensive countermeasures and to report thereon to the Ninth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders;

8. Further requests the Secretary-General to issue a composite manual on juvenile justice standards, containing the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (The Beijing Rules), the United Nations Guidelines on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (The Riyadh Guidelines), and the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, and a set of full commentaries on their provisions;

9. Urges all relevant bodies within the United Nations system to collaborate with the Secretary-General in taking appropriate measures to ensure the implementation of the present resolution;

10. Invites the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities of the Commission on Human Rights to consider this new international instrument with a view to promoting the application of its provisions;

11. Invites Member States to support strongly the organization of technical and scientific workshops, and pilot and demonstration projects on practical issues and policy matters relating to the application of the provisions of the Riyadh Guidelines and to the establishment of concrete measures for community-based services designed to respond to the special needs, problems and concerns of young persons, and requests the Secretary-General to co-ordinate efforts in this respect;

12. Also invites Member States to inform the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Riyadh Guidelines and to report regularly to the Committee on Crime Prevention and Control on the results achieved;

13. Recommends that the Committee on Crime Prevention and Control request the Ninth Congress to review the progress made in the promotion and application of the Riyadh Guidelines and the recommendations contained in the present resolution, under a separate agenda item on juvenile justice and keep the matter under constant review.