human rights in prison settings, intended for the stakeholders of the judicial chain and
penitentiary staff, strong emphasis is being laid on children's rights.
Regarding the effective separation of minors from adults, in 2013, 78 out of the 88 prisons
in the country were operational. Although all of them are not equipped to receive minors,
36 of them had a juvenile section while 15 others had a minors' unit.
In order to improve the consideration of standards related to the construction of prisons, a
position of civil engineer was advertised during the competitive entrance examination for
prison administrators. As concerns police and gendarmerie stations, the architectural
configuration is still not in strict compliance with this principle. However, in view of
ensuring specific care of minors in conflict with the law in police stations, Decree No.
2012/540 of 19 November 2012 to organize the General Delegation for National Security,
provided for social affairs units in some police stations to handle the protection of the
family and vulnerable social groups.
Furthermore, to promote maximum care for children in conflict with the law, five social
worker positions were opened during the recruitment into the penitentiary administration in
May 2014. After their training, this staff will support social workers already working in
prisons, that is, 2 in Yaounde, 1 in Douala, 1 in Bertoua and 1 in Garoua.
With regard to human resources, thanks to training sessions organized since 2011, and
intended for stakeholders of the child protection chain (magistrates, police officers, social
workers, etc.) Cameroon is gradually having professionals who are better equipped to
deal with child protection matters.
Concerning alternatives to detention, the Criminal Procedures Code provides for
measures such as entrusting the child to custody of his/her family, placement in a
specialized institution and placing him on probation, being supervised by delegates
appointed by the judge.
The system of administration of juvenile justice is gradually including the relevant
provisions of international instruments on the protection of, and assistance to, children in
conflict with the law. The existence of statistical data on minors in prisons from 2011 to
20132 makes it possible to measure the efforts made to reduce the number of minors
detained in prisons and to opt for alternatives to detention in favour of minors.
However, the low number of centres specialized in the placement and care of detained
minors, cumbersomeness of procedures, the absence of a regulatory framework relating
to the functions of assessors and probation delegates, inadequate financial and human
resources to support alternatives to the detention of minors, constitute a hindrance to the
smooth administration of juvenile justice.
To overcome the situation, efforts shall be made in view of adopting a code of conduct for
penitentiary staff, redeploying probation delegates in the various Courts, effectively
implementing alternatives to the detention of minors, rehabilitating and/or building
institutions for the placement of minors.
XI. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CHILD (Art. 31)
2
there were 916 minors in 2011; 865 in 2012; and 861 in 2013.
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