Child criminals should be treated under juvenile law: Amnesty

India must reject proposed amendments to juvenile justice laws that could allow minors to be treated as adults in cases of serious crimes like murder and rape, Amnesty International said today, pointing to the country's commitment to protect universal children's rights.
"Children suspected of crimes should be treated under juvenile justice rules, and those found guilty should be held accountable in a way that reflects their special capacity for reform," said Amnesty International India Director Tara Rao.
"The proposed reforms, if passed, will set back India's commitment to protect children's rights and breach its international obligations," she added.
Under the amendments reportedly proposed by the Women and Child Development Ministry, children aged between 16 and 18, who are accused of serious crimes like murder and rape, can be detained and prosecuted and punished as adults if convicted.

The Ministry has reportedly said that convicted child offenders would not receive the death penalty or life imprisonment for life, in line with India's obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
The proposed amendments, not yet public, have reportedly been sent to other government ministries for consultation.

"India's obligations under the CRC are not limited to refraining from giving child offenders the death penalty or life imprisonment," said Rao.
"Any amendment that in effect lowers the age at which juvenile justice rules apply to below 18 would violate India's obligations," she said
In July 2013, India's Supreme Court dismissed petitions asking for children accused of serious crimes to be tried under criminal law, and for the upper-age limit for juvenile justice rules to be lowered to 16.

The Women and Child Development Minister has said that the proposed amendments were a response to widespread public anger over the perceived leniency of the sentence given to a 17-year-old boy convicted in the December 2012 Delhi gangrape case.
In August 2013, a juvenile court sentenced the boy to three years detention in a juvenile home after finding him guilty of charges including rape and murder.
"Children can and do commit terrible crimes, and it is true that the reform and rehabilitation of child offenders under the juvenile justice system often exists largely on paper. However the solution is not to change the law, but to ensure it is better enforced," said Rao.

"Effective reform and rehabilitation will serve not only the best interests of children, but also the short and long-term interests of society," she said.