3. State Party ReportsRussian Federation[Parts of State party report relating specifically to relevant legal minimum ages, and articles 37 and 40](...) II. Definition of "child" in laws and regulations (para. 12 of the general guidelines) Article 1 45. Under current Russian legislation,
(...)
(...) No statutory minimum ages apply to other aspects of the Convention. (...) IV. Civil rights and freedoms (para. 15 of the general guidelines) (...) The right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Abuse and neglect; Physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration Articles 37, 19 and 39 86. According to various educational bodies and departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Public Prosecutor's Office, instances of cruelty to children are increasing. Children are being subjected to incorrect methods of upbringing and to humiliation, sometimes involving mental and physical violence, within the family, at kindergartens and other pre-school institutions, in schools and technical training establishments, children's homes and other boarding institutions, and at special educational institutions. They are sometimes maimed or fall victims to various forms of criminal assault. Particularly alarming is the fact that the victims are mainly younger children: about 30 per cent of the children hospitalized because of ill-treatment are infants less than a year old; another 30 per cent are below school age and the remaining 40 per cent are of school age. In order to escape ill-treatment, some 50,000 children run away from home every year, and close to 20,000, from children's homes and other boarding institutions. 87. The criminal legislation of the Russian Federation makes the gravest forms of cruelty to children (beating, torture) indictable offences. For other forms of cruelty to children, the law provides for disciplinary action against the culprits. 88. In support of the principle of the inviolability of the person of children and adolescents, steps are being taken to strengthen the sanctions applicable when children are subjected to impermissible treatment. The draft of the Russian Federation's new Criminal Code sets higher penalties for torturing minors and makes other forms of cruelty to children by persons on whom the children are dependent (in particular, the staff of child care institutions), and failure to fulfil obligations to protect children's lives and health, into criminal offences. A decision passed by the USSR Supreme Soviet on 12 April 1991 regarding immediate measures to halt the promotion of pornography, the glorification of violence and cruelty was also intended to check these problems. 89. The physical and psychological recovery and reintegration of children who have been subjected to ill-treatment are dealt with case by case by health care organizations, departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Educational Bodies. (...) IX. Special protection measures (para. 23 of the general guidelines) (...) Children in conflict with the law The administration of juvenile justice Article 40 155. In accordance with the Penal Code in force in the Russian Federation, individuals who commit a crime after reaching the age of 16 are criminally liable. For the most dangerous crimes, criminal liability begins at the age of 14. 156. A court, the prosecutor and, where the prosecutor so agrees, the investigator, may drop criminal proceedings against an individual under 18 who has committed an act prima facie constituting a crime but representing no great social danger, and refer the matter to a commission on minors, if the circumstances of the case and the personal characteristics of the offender are such that correction is possible without resorting to criminal punishment. The court can order compulsory non-penal educational measures. 157. In addition to a lawyer, a parent or teacher may be present during the interrogation of a minor accused of a crime. Proceedings in cases involving minors are governed both by the general rules of criminal procedure and by special provisions relating only to minors which are set forth in the Code of Criminal Procedure now in force. The age of the minor, his domestic circumstances and upbringing, motives and circumstances contributing to the commission of the crime and the possible involvement of adult instigators must be established in criminal cases. 158. As part of the judicial reform now being carr_ed out in the Russian Federation, the Convention's provisions on protecting the best interests of the child are to be applied in the administration of juvenile justice. Drafts of a penal code, a code of penal administration and a code of criminal procedure are currently being discussed in the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation. The criminal liability of individuals committing crimes before the age of 16 has been significantly reduced. The court must take account of the accused's age as a mitigating circumstance. At the same time, it is entitled to consider as an exacerbating circumstance the commission of a crime against a minor or with a minor as accomplice. An individual who commits a crime before reaching the age of 18 may not be sentenced to more than 10 years' imprisonment. Children deprived of their liberty, including any form of detention, imprisonment or placement in custodial settings Article 37 159. In the Russian Federation, no one may be arrested other than by court order or with the approval of the public prosecutor. Arrest consists in detention in custody. Arrest and detention in custody may be used against minors only in exceptional circumstances, when justified by the seriousness of the offence committed. 160. The draft code of criminal procedure now being discussed by the Supreme Council would for the first time permit an appeal against arrest to be lodged with the courts, and would permit detention in custody and imprisonment exclusively on the basis of a court order. A lawyer would be allowed to become involved in judicial proceedings from the moment an individual was detained or arrested. The assistance of an interpreter in cases involving minors would be provided free of charge. The intention is also to establish that the legal representative of a minor is entitled to be informed of the charges against the accused, to submit petitions and challenges, present evidence and look over all the case documents upon completion of the preliminary investigation. At the same time, the investigator retains the right to prohibit the involvement in the case of a child's legal guardian if there are grounds for supposing that this might harm the child's interests. The sentencing of juveniles, including in particular the prohibition of capital punishment and life imprisonment Article 37 161. Under the existing criminal legislation, deprivation of liberty in the form of incarceration is not to be used against minors. The draft penal code now before the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation likewise does not provide for the application to minors of deprivation of liberty in the form of incarceration. A minor sentenced to deprivation of liberty may remain in a prison with the approval of the public prosecutor of a region, territory or autonomous republic only if an offence committed by another individual must be investigated. The period of incarceration must not exceed two months, or with the approval of the Prosecutor-General of Russia, four months. 162. Individuals who at the time of the crime were under 18 years of age may not be sentenced to capital punishment. 163. Russia's criminal legislation indicates that the purpose of punishment is not to inflict physical suffering or to undermine human dignity. To protect the life and dignity of children, it makes ill-treatment of minors a punishable offence. 164. Contrary to the requirements of the Convention, the regulations concerning commissions on minors that are in effect in the Russian Federation to this day enable such commissions to declare children and adolescents guilty without a sufficiently thorough analysis of the evidence and to assign them to special educational and correctional institutions: in other words, to deprive them of their liberty. A Bill on family and juvenile courts has been prepared in order to end such anomalies. Once it is adopted, only the courts will have the right to make such rulings. 165. Experts have likewise developed proposals on new ways of working with children who have broken the law. Centres for the correction of personal development and behaviour, for pedagogical rehabilitation and for readaptation are being established. They have already begun to function in many parts of the Russian Federation. There are in the country 59 educational labour colonies spread out over 47 regions. As of 1 January 1992 they housed 20,500 convicted minors, of whom 1,020 were female. Over 19,000 offenders enter the colonies every year. The absence of educational labour colonies in 9 republics and 16 regions of the Federation means that large numbers of minors sentenced to deprivation of liberty (13,000 adolescents every year) have to be transported to colonies further away. They are thus deprived of the opportunity to see their families, pursue their studies in their native language, and maintain their accustomed ways and national and religious traditions. |
|
166. A new operational profile for educational colonies for minrs, developed and now being applied by the Ministry of Internal Affairs together with the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, and with the active support of the legislature, includes:
The establishment of educational colonies along these lines should contribute to the full application of the basic principles for treatment of detainees set out in the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and in the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice ("The Beijing Rules"). Children in situations of exploitation including physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration Articles 36 and 39 167. In recent years, various methods and forms of social, medical and other work to achieve the physical and psychological recovery, social reintegration and social protection of children have taken on special importance as a result of worsening socio-economic and other problems in Russia. A comprehensive approach to the task is reflected, first and foremost, in the legislation on refugees and displaced persons, but also in the regulations on social protection for orphans and children deprived of parental support. Since the ratification of the Convention, the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR has adopted an order entitled "Measures for providing assistance to refugees and displaced persons on 22 November 1990, and the Government of the Russian Federation has also adopted one entitled "Measures for providing assistance to refugees and displaced persons on 3 March 1992. 168. In 1990-1991, a number of regions began to set up voluntary, temporary shelters for adolescents without parental, vocational or other social ties, without parental support or means of subsistence, and with nowhere to live. In the shelters, the adolescents are provided with food, bedding and medical care. They are helped to find school places or jobs and foster care (guardians or curators), and to resolve other problems. 169. Social and psychological centres for children and adolescents, helping to solve the socio-psychological, pedagogical, legal and moral problems connected with their education and upbringing and improve the situation in problem families, are being organized in Russia. These help the government education, health care and internal affairs authorities and other State and public organizations in their preventive work with adolescents. A decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated on 1 June 1992, entitled "Initial measures to give effect to the World Declaration on Ensuring the Survival, Protection and Development of Children in the 1990s", instructs the executive bodies of the republics, territories and regions to facilitate the creation and expansion of a territorial network of such institutions to provide social assistance to families and children. [Further information in State party report relating to the administration of juvenile justice](...) III. General principles (para. 13 of the general guidelines) Non-discrimination Article 2 (...) 49. The RSFSR Code of Criminal Procedure lays down rules whereby justice is administered in Russia on the basis of the equality of citizens before the law and the courts regardless of origin, social, official or property status, race, nationality, sex, education, language, attitude towards religion, type and character of employment, place of residence and other factors. (...) V. Family environment and alternative care (para. 16 of the general guidelines) Parental guidance Article 5 90. Russian law contains provisions designed to give parents legal guarantees as regards the upbringing of their children and to ensure responsible guidance during the formation of a child's personality. In ensuring the right of parents to bring up their own children, the RSFSR Code on Marriage and the Family stipulates that responsibility for protecting the rights and interests of minors lies with their parents. Parents are the legal represetatives of their children and are required to defend their rights and interests in dealings with all institutions, including courts of law. The Code also regulates the rights of parents, other relatives and guardians to be with children and participate in their upbringing. Restrictions may be placed on those rights through a court order or by decision of a child welfare authority on grounds strictly defined by law. Parents may demand the return of their children from any person holding them without legal justification or court authorization. 91. In recognition of the special role of parents in bringing up their children, Russia's criminal legislation permits juvenile offenders to be placed under the strict supervision of their parents or persons acting in loco parentis instead of being subjected to penal measures. (...) Separation from parents; Family reunification Articles 9 and 10 (...) 99. Female convicts more than four months pregnant or caring for children under three years of age are placed, for the appropriate portion of their sentence, in a corrective labour institution with an attached children's hostel where mothers can see and spend time with their children. If, when a child turns three, its mother has no more than one year of her sentence left to serve and is carrying out her maternal responsibilities conscientiously, the administrators of the institution may, at her request, allow the child to remain in the children's hostel until her release. Moreover, a female convict with a child in the children's home of a corrective labour colony may be granted parole for a brief period (during which she may correspond with and visit her child) in order to arrange for the child to stay with relations or guardians or to be placed in a children's home. 100. Measures have been taken to facilitate contacts between convicted adolescents and their parents. A federal law of 12 July 1992 amending and supplementing the RSFSR Corrective Labour Code, the RSFSR Penal Code and the RSFSR Code of Criminal Procedure provides for a number of improvements in conditions for minors serving sentences in educational labour colonies: visits lasting up to three days, telephone calls, and annual leave at the place of residence of the parents or persons acting in loco parentis are now permitted; there has been an increase in the number of parcels and the amount of printed matter which may be received, and the number of short visits permitted and a certain category of convicts may be allowed to live outside the guarded areas. Moreover, punishments such as withdrawal of a convicted adolescent's right to receive visits, to receive parcels and to purchase food have been abolished. Parents' committees have been established with a view to the more effective treatment of minors in educational labour colonies. 101. A still unresolved problem is the fact that convicted adolescents may serve their sentences far from their parents' place of residence. The Supreme Council of the Russian Federation is at present examining the draft of a new code of penal administration that would enable adolescents to serve their sentences closer to where their parents live. (...) Periodic review of placement Article 25 112. The legislation of the Russian Federation provides for measures to protect children after placement, guardians or curators and the staff of child care institutions being held liable under criminal law for violence towards children. The law on marriage and the family enables guardians (curators), the administrators of child care institutions, child welfare authorities and public prosecutors' offices to request the courts to examine property and accommodation questions relating to children in care. 113. The courts may decide to restore a child to its parents, whether previously stripped of parental rights or not. 114. Protecting the interests of children placed in care and periodically reviewing the conditions under which such children live are required under the regulations issued by the education, health care and social welfare authorities. The law provides for regular State inspections of the conditions under which children in care are brought up and maintained, and requires assistance in legal, educational, medical and social welfare matters to be rendered to the children and to those caring for them. If investigations reveal that a child's guardians (curators) are unable for any reason to fulfil their obligations, they are relieved of those obligations by order of a child welfare authority. If it is established that a child's guardian has been exploiting his or her position for personal gain or leaving the child unsupervised and not providing proper care, proceedings are brought against the culprit in accordance with the law. Responsibility for checking on the health of children placed in care and arranging treatment lies with health care institutions. When treatment is indicted, children in family and institutional care are given priority admission to hospitals, children's clinics, sanatoria etc. (...) ANNEX 1 TABLES (...) Table 29
|
|
Table 30
Table 31 Data on adolescents handed over to Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) authorities in the Russian Federation
Table 32 Data on adolescents with records on the files of youth affairs inspectorates in the Russian Federation
Table 33 Numbers of minors handed over to Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) authorities for different reasons in the Russian Federation
|
|
ANNEX 2 Laws and other regulatory instruments (1990-1992) implementing provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in the Russian Federation 1. USSR Act amending and supplementing certain USSR laws concerning
women, the family and children (22 May 1990) Source: Initial reports of States parties due in 1992: Russian Federation, UN Doc. CRC/C/3/Add.5, paras. 45, 49, 86-91, 99-101, 112-114, 155-169, Annexes I and II (22 October 1992) |