The Rehab Archipelago - Human Rights Watch

Legal Principles
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to which Vietnam is a party, obligates the
government to protect children from “all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse,
neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in
the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child.” 240
Just as with adults, all children detained must be treated with dignity and there is an
absolute prohibition on subjecting a child to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment. 241
The CRC states that any arrest, detention, or imprisonment of a child must conform with
the law and can be done only as a “measure of last resort.” 242 Moreover, children deprived
of their liberty have the right to challenge the legality of their detention before a court or
other competent, independent and impartial authority and are entitled to a prompt
decision on any such action. 243 This means that in general a child should not be detained
unless it is adjudicated that he or she has committed a violent act against someone or is
persistent in committing other serious offenses and there is no other appropriate
response. 244 The Committee on the Rights of the Child has said that states should therefore
develop non-institutional forms of treatment for children. 245
The detention of persons under age 18 in the same facilities as adults is prohibited under
international human rights law and Vietnamese law. 246 The decrees governing drug
detention centers require children to be detained in separate areas. 247
240 Convention on the Rights of the Child, (CRC), adopted November 20, 1989, G.A. Res. 44/25, annex, 44 U.N.
GAOR Supp. (No. 49) at 167, U.N. Doc. A/44/49 (1989), entered into force September 2, 1990, art. 19(1).
Vietnam ratified the CRC on February 28, 1990.
241 ICCPR art. 7; CRC art. 37(a). See also Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment, Report to General Assembly 2000, A/55/290, paras. 11 and 12,
http://www.un.org/documents/ga/docs/55/a55290.pdf (accessed July 28, 2009).
242 CRC, art. 37(b).
243 CRC, art. 37(d).
244 The U.N. Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (“Beijing Rules”), adopted by
General Assembly resolution 40/33 of 29 November 1985,
http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/40/a40r033.htm (accessed July 28, 2011).
245 See e.g. Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding Observations: Latvia, CRC/C/LVA/CO/2,para..
62(d); Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding Observations: Brunei Darussalam, CRC/C/15/Add.219,
paras. 53 and 54; and Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding Observations: Vincent and the
Grenadines CRC/C/15/Add.184, paras. 50 and 51.
246 ICCPR, art 10(2) and 10(3); CRC art. 37(c); Drug law, arts. 29(2) and 31.
69 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | SEPTEMBER 2011