The health of children deprived of liberty: a human rights issue

Abstract

The UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty launched its final report on Nov 19, 2019, in Geneva, estimating that between 3·5 and 5·5 million children worldwide are living in institutions for reasons related to care, administration of justice, migration, armed conflict, or national security.1 As part of the Global Study, we reviewed literature on the health of children in each of these settings. We found that children deprived of liberty are distinguished by a high prevalence of physical and mental health problems. These conditions are often co-occurring, undiagnosed and un(der)treated, and frequently occur in the context of entrenched disadvantage and trauma. We also found evidence that deprivation of liberty can compound these problems and contribute to the development of new ones, particularly related to mental health and developmental disability. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) recommends that deprivation of liberty should be used only “as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time”.2 The picture painted by the Global Study is one of excessive and often harmful deprivation of liberty in diverse settings. There is much work to be done.