15.3 The Juvenile Court Rules have been developed and Gazzetted in July 2014. The Rules set out the rules of procedure and practice in Juvenile Courts. 15.4 The Chief Justice issued Directives to Magistrates to refer children cases to Juvenile Courts. 15.6 Piloting a Program in Diversion and Community Rehabilitation and Reintegration Scheme for Children in Conflict with Law and Children at risk of Offending in the Temeke Municipal Council (Dar es Salaam Region). The program became operational in July 2012 and will run through to June 2015. So far, 120 children have benefited from this program. The State Party has made initiatives striving to replicate the community Rehabilitation program in other region in the Mainland and Zanzibar. In 2014, the program will be rolled out to Mbeya Region (Mainland) and in Urban and West Regions (Zanzibar). 15.7 Piloting the Legal aid program for children in conflict with law in Dar es Salaam Region from 2012 to 2015. Since it became operational in 2012, the program has provided legal assistance to more than 647 children and facilitated the release of 471 children from detention facilities. The State Party is currently in the process of replicating this model in Mbeya Region. Further plans are been made to replicate it in other Regions. In addition the state Party has finalized drafting a legal Aid Bill which will, among others, guarantee the right to legal assistance for children in Tanzania. 15.8 The Chief Justice has issued a Directive to law enforcers to fast track cases involving children. The directive aims at ensuring children cases are handled timely and reducing the time children spent in detention facilities. 15.9 In addition, the Tanzania Mainland Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has undertaken the following measures to ensure effective protection of child suspects and victims in the prosecution process: (a) the DPP has issued Directive No. 3 of 2010 directing all actors in the investigation process to ensure that cases involving children are prosecuted in the Resident Magistrates’ Courts or District Courts only after the completion of investigation. This aims to provide safeguards to child offenders to avoid initiating unnecessary criminal cases against children where the evidence is yet to be completely gathered; (b) the Office of the DPP has developed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the prosecution of cases involving child suspects and victims. The SOPs, which are at the consultative/final stages, strive to put in place child-friendly procedures for dealing with child suspects and victims; (c) the Office of the DPP has reviewed the Prosecution General Instructions (PGI) to include children issues on how to prosecute juvenile justice cases and interview child witnesses. Currently, the PGI is awaiting the approval of the DPP for it to become operational; (d) the Office of the DPP has started conducting regular monitoring missions of remand27 and prison facilities to assess the situation prevalent therein with a view to improving the treatment of children incarcerated therein In the period under report, a total number of 89 detention facilities were inspected in 23 out of 31 regions. During the inspection, 46 pretrial children cases were withdrawn through nole prosequi28; and all cases filed in Primary Courts were withdrawn therefrom and instead filed in District Courts, where it is ideally safe for children to be prosecuted; and (e) the DPP has trained 121 staff involved in the investigation and prosecution of child offenders on the Law of the Child Act and applicable international juvenile justice norms. 16. In Zanzibar, the State Party has established two Children’s Courts, which have already been designated and are operational, one in the Urban West Region in Unguja which determine all cases from all 27 28 In the State Party remand or detention facilities are police lock-ups run by the Police Force. This is a formal withdrawal of a case made by the prosecution indicating that the State has no intention to proceed with prosecution. 9