Letter to the editor. Our legal system must comply with the Convention on the Rights of the Child

When the UN Human Rights Council recently reviewed Sweden criticism for his criminal policy – Above all, the proposals for reduced criminal age and child prisoners. It is welcome. The criticism has been strangely absent in the Swedish debate, even though the proposals are contrary to The UN Convention on the Rights of the Childwhich has been Swedish law since 2020.

During party leadership debate in Sweden’s television Recently, the right parties went hard for what they called the left’s soft attitude to children who commit serious crimes. But the UN’s position is not a matter of politics – it is based on research.

Effective reactions to youth offenses, according to the UN, are based on rehabilitation and social operations, not punishment. Children under the age of 14-15 do not have the maturity required to fully understand the consequences of their actions or participate in a legal process.

Children who commit crimes Must be met with responsibility, but also with an understanding of their special needs as children. I get, like many others, worried about blasts and shooting. But it feels like the harsh rhetoric around immigrants has colored our politicians’ children’s view.

Politicians tend to focus more on repressive measures, especially in young people from socio -economically vulnerable areas. It creates a picture of some children as more punishable, less innocent, and in practice less worth protecting according to the principles of child law.

The child’s right to equal treatment and protection under the Convention on the Rights of the Child applies to all children, but in the public debate it seems that that right is conditional. We also know that children are often groomed by adult criminals. Children who are forced into crime should not be treated as perpetrators, but as a victim.

It’s not shopping About to « explain » crimes, but about understanding the driving forces behind them. To turn a blind eye to the adult influence and instead criminalize children risks cementing their vulnerability and makes the way back to a life without crime. Sweden needs a legal system that protects children, does not sacrifice them for political points.

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