Appendix 1. List of sources interviewed and participants in focus groups

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Appendix 1. List of sources interviewed and participants in focus groups Governmental counterparts

Murodzoda Dustmurod – Head, Legal Department of the Presidency Mavlyuda Kalandarova - Deputy Chair, Council of Justice

Mahmadova Tojiniso – Deputy Minister, Ministry of Education and Science Shabolov Said – Deputy Head, Republican Centre for Additional Education Karaev Giesiddin – Specialist, Republican Centre for Additional Education

Zebo Kholdorbekova- Deputy Head, Service for prevention of delinquency among juveniles and youth, Ministry of Interior

Umeda Munovarova - Deputy Head, Center for Social Innovations (Chorbogh), Ministry of Health and Social Protection

Husrav Nozifov – Head of Child Rights/Juvenile Justice department, Ministry of Justice Ombudsman office

Guljahon Umarova – Head, Child Rights Department

Nizomov Abdughalim – Deputy Head, Child Rights Department Majidov Parviz – Senior Specialist

Judges

Marziya Saidova – juvenile judge, Ismoili Somoni district court (Dushanbe) Azamatzoda Munirahon – juvenile judge, Bobojon Gafurov district court Prosecutors

Mahina Sharifzoda – assistant prosecutor of Shohmansur Ahmedova Firuza – assistant prosecutor, Dushanbe

Khasanov Kurbonali –senior prosecutor, Department on Observance of Legislation on Juveniles and Youth, and Master Trainer

Boboev Gulmahmad – prosecutor, Dept. on Observance of Legislation on Juveniles and Youth Community-based prevention centres

Ergasheva M. – Director, Khujand Rehabilitation Center

Komil Kholov – Director, Dushanbe Center for Additional Education 3 social workers, Dushanbe Center for Additional Education Local government

Muhabat Khomidova – Head, Child Rights Unit of Sughd Province

Umeda Murodova – Deputy Mayor of Khujand City and Head, Commission on Child Rights Madina Salimova – Head, Child Rights Unit of Khujand City

National NGOs

Lyubov Fedotova – Director, Sarchashma

Gulya Rahmanova – lawyer, former project coordinator, Child Right Centre¹ Zulfia Musaeva- former project social worker, Child Right Centre

UNICEF

Arthur van Diesen – acting Representative

Syima Bakrin Kuzmin – Chief, Child Protection Section Nargis Karimova – Protection Officer

Marja Tallen – Social Work Specialist

1 A meeting with the current Director was requested, but she was unavailable

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Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Shakarbek Niyatbekov – Programme Coordinator Natalie Barbancho – Deputy Director of Cooperation International organisations/donors

Alisher Karimov, UNDP Rule of Law Programme

Akvile Normantiene – political and economic officer, European Union

Elena Wasylew – Rule of Law and Human Rights Officer, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe

Barter, Zachary - United States Embassy, Deputy Director, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau

International NGOs

Alisher Majidov – attorney, American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative

Azamat Shambilov – Penal Reform International, Project Coordinator for Central Asia Focus group (untrained professionals)

Aliev Habibullo – juvenile judge, Rudaki district court Abdulozoda Orzu – juvenile judge. Rudaki district court

Haidarova Mijgona – secretary of the Commission on Child Rights of Rudaki district

Zafar Saifullo – senior assistant prosecutor, Observance of Legislation on Juveniles and Youth, Rudaki district

Focus group (master trainers)

Pulod Nasurov – master trainer, Police Academy

Khasanov Kurbonali – master trainer, General Prosecutor’s Office Bozorov Abdumone – master trainer, judge

Focus group (trained professionals)

Sharifzoda Mahina – prosecutor, Shohmansur

Mirzozoda Azizahon – prosecutor, Ismoili Somoni district

Nuralizoda Safarbek – juvenile judge, Ismoili Somoni district court

Alisher Saidov – criminal investigator, Board of Investigations on Juveniles Fathuloev Sami –criminal Investigator

Other

Mumin Pulatov, psychologist formerly employed by the Juvenile Prison Colony Geoff Wright, Director, Social Work Training and Consultancy Ltd.^*

* Replied to questions by email

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Appendix 2. List of documents consulted Government documents

National Plan of Action on Juvenile Justice, Commission on Child Rights, 2009

National Strategy of Education Development of the Republic of Tajikistan till 2020, Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, 2012

Report of the Institute of the Human Rights Commissioner Activities in 2013

Update on Juvenile Justice Reform in Tajikistan, B. Khudoyorov, Minister of Justice, Central Asian Forum on Child Protection, Ashgabat, 2011

UNICEF documents

Juvenile Justice Alternative Project: A proposal to Swiss Development and Cooperation Agency, Nov. 2009

Final Report to SIDA on Supporting Social Welfare and Child Protection Reform with Innovative Approaches in Tajikistan, March 2010

Brief Project Report, June 2010 Second Progress Report, Dec. 2010 Third Progress Report, June 2011 Fourth Progress Report, June 2012 Fifth Progress Report, June 2013

Results Management Module Performance Monitoring System, Annual Reviews 2013 Results Management Module Performance Monitoring System, Mid-Year Reviews 2014

Mid-Term Evaluation, D. O’Donnell, 2011

Results of Survey of Children’s Experiences, G. Gulmirzoeva (annex to Mid-Term Evaluation)

Report on Meeting and Internal Study Tour, Khujand, Oct.2011

Assessment of Juvenile Justice in Tajikistan, D. O’Donnell and G. Derevenchenko, UNICEF Regional Office for CEE-CIS, Geneva, 2012

Guide to the Establishment and Implementation of the Juvenile Justice Alternatives Project, 2010

Guide for Alternatives in Juvenile Justice System, 2014

Juvenile Justice in Tajikistan: Factsheet, Central Asian Forum on Juvenile Justice, Ashgabat, 2012

Juvenile Justice in Tajikistan: Examples of Practice, Central Asian Forum on Juvenile Justice, Ashgabat, 2012

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Mission report, Ingrid van Welzenis, 31 March 2014 – 4 April 2014 Mission Report, I. van Welzenis, 9-14 December 2013

Trip report, Valerie Wattenberg, November 10-18, 2013 Trip report, V. Wattenberg, February 16-28, 2014 Trip report, V. Wattenberg. June 1-15, 2014

Report on a Juvenile Justice Seminar… 26 March - 2 April 2012, Renate Winter Final Report concerning the Juvenile Justice Alternative Project… Oct.26 to Nov.14, 2012, R. Winter

Justice for Children: Final Report, R. Winter, April 2014

International Consultancy on Technical Support to the Ombudsperson Office in strengthening the Capacity of the Newly Established Child Rights Department, Xavier Bonal, Trip report 23-30 May, 2013

Normative Framework Regarding Children’s Rights in the Republic of Tajikistan, proposed amendments to some legal acts, X. Bonal, Oct. 2013

Promoting and Monitoring Children’s Rights in Tajikistan: Recommendations and Strategies to enhance children’s rights in Tajikistan, X. Bonal, Feb. 2013.

Improving the work of the Child Rights Department of the Ombudsman Office in the Republic of Tajikistan, Final recommendations, X. Bonal, Dec. 2013.

Other documents and on-line sources

Torture and Ill-Treatment in the Context of Juvenile Justice in Tajikistan: Report on the results of legislation and practice review, Dushanbe, Centre for Child Rights, undated mimeo

TransMonee Country Profiles 2014, Tajikistan, Juvenile Justice and Crime Indicators, available at www.transmonee.org

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Appendix 3. Questionnaire for juvenile justice professionals Nature and purpose of this questionnaire

This questionnaire has 4 purposes:

1. to assess the knowledge of juvenile justice professionals who have received training organized as part of the above mentioned project, on subjects covered by training activities;

2. to document the attitudes of juvenile justice professionals who have participated in training activities, on questions related to child rights and the administration of justice;

3. to document the opinions of professionals who participated in training activities regarding the usefulness of the training;

4. to provide juvenile justice professionals with an opportunity to make

recommendations regarding juvenile justice in Tajikistan, which will taken into account in the evaluation.

The questionnaire is designed in part to document your opinions and views. There are no correct or incorrect answers to the questions asked in parts 2 and 4. After the questions in these two parts, there is a space where you can add any explanation or comment regarding your answer, if you wish to do so.

Some of you have not participated in any training sponsored by the project. Your replies will be compared to the replies of professionals who have participated in training, to identify the differences, if any, in the knowledge and views of those who participated in project training events and those who did not.

The questionnaire is administered anonymously. You are asked to indicate your current profession and whether or not you have participated in training activities, but please do not indicate your name or other identifying information, name of the district where you work). The completed questionnaires will remain in the possession of UNICEF.

After the completed questionnaires have been collected, you will have an opportunity to ask any questions or make any statements or recommendations you wish.

Part One

I am:

☐ a judge

☐ a prosecutor

☐ a police officer/inspector

☐ a master trainer

☐ other profession ………

I have:

☐ not participated in any training activity organized as part of the project

☐ participated in one training activity organized as part of the project

☐ participated in more than one project training activity

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Part Two: (These questions ask for your opinion.)

1. Persons under the age of 18 who commit crimes always deserve to be treated differently than adults, regardless the gravity of the crime, the reason for it, and the number of crimes they have committed.

☐ agree completely

☐ agree

☐ no opinion

☐ disagree

☐ strongly disagree

Explanation or comment (if any)

2. The main causes of offending by children in Tajikistan are:

☐ poverty

☐ broken home, absent parent

☐ erosion of positive cultural values/negative foreign influences

☐ poor education or weak attendance in school

☐ abuse and neglect in the home

☐ weakness of social programmes to help children and families

☐ other

3. Sentencing a juvenile offender to prison

☐ helps to prevent re-offending because of the education and other services provided to prisoners

☐ helps to prevent re-offending because it removes the prisoner from an environment that encouraged anti-social behaviour

☐ helps to prevent re-offending because it makes the offender realize that society does not tolerate crime

☐ in most cases does not help to prevent reoffending

☐ sometimes pushes a child further into a criminal life-style Explanation or comment (if any)

4. A juvenile accused of an offence should be detained before trial

☐ only if the crime was a serious one

☐ only if there is a risk that the juvenile will run away to avoid trial or will commit more crimes before trial

☐ if the child comes from a negative home environment, regardless of the gravity of the crime or the risk to society

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5. It is acceptable to use psychological pressure or make false promises to obtain information from a juvenile suspected of participation in serious crime, as long as physical violence is not used.

☐ agree

☐ no opinion

☐ disagree

6. It is acceptable to use moderate force or threats of force to obtain information from a juvenile suspected of participation in serious crime, as long as no injury is caused.

☐ agree

☐ no opinion

☐ disagree

7. A juvenile who has committed an offence should not be prosecuted if he or she admits the offence, and his or her personal situation and family environment suggest that the risk of reoffending is small.

☐ agree

☐ no opinion

☐ disagree

8. Conducting medical examining of girls in conflict with the law to determine whether they are virgins is

☐ necessary to protect the police against false accusations of sexual abuse

☐ should be done to determine whether the girl has been victim of a crime

☐ an invasion of privacy and discrimination

☐ a valid measure to assess the personality of the girl

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9. Sometimes, behaviour such as running away from home is a normal response to a situation beyond the child’s control, and does not mean that the child is ‘bad’ or needs to be rehabilitated.

☐ agree

☐ no opinion

☐ disagree

10. Children who behave violently in school or in the community most often are children who have not received a proper education in their home.

☐ agree

☐ no opinion

☐ disagree

Part Three: Questions about national and international norms

11. According to the national legislation of Tajikistan, pre-trial detention of a minor suspect or minor accused shall be used

 only if violent crime is committed

 only in exceptional cases for committing a very severe crime

 only in exceptional cases for committing many crimes

 only in cases for committing relapsed crimes

12. According to the Criminal Procedure Code, the maximum period for pre-trial detention of a juvenile during the preliminary investigation

 Up to 2 months

 Up to 6 months

 Up to 3 months

 Up to 4 months

13. What is the time for questioning juvenile according to the national legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan?

 Not more than half an hour a day

 Not more than 1 hour without recess, and altogether it may not continue longer that 3 hours a day

 Not more than 2 hours without a recess, and altogether it may not continue longer than 4 hours a day

 Not more than 4 hours

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14. According to the Criminal Procedure Code, the circumstances in which informal correctional measures may be applied to a juvenile are:

 Juvenile is second time offender, but the crime he/she committed is a petty crime

 juvenile is a first time offender (minor crime) and he/she can be appropriately corrected without applying criminal punishment

 Juvenile is a first time offender

 Juvenile committed minor crime

15. The Convention on the Rights of the Child is part of legal order of Tajikistan.

☐ true

☐ false

☐ do not know /do not understand the question

16. According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, every child deprived of liberty, whatever the reason, has the right to legal assistance.

☐ true

☐ false

☐ do not know/do not understand the question

17. International law contains no norms regarding the length of prison sentences that can be imposed on juveniles convicted of a crime.

☐ true

☐ false

☐ do not know/don’t understand the question

18. International norms allow the use of solitary confinement to punish juvenile prisoners, if they have committed serious violations of prison rules.

☐ true

☐ false

☐ do not know/don’t understand the question

19. Under international law, the State may be responsible for the ill-treatment of a vulnerable prisoner by other prisoners.

☐ true

☐ false

☐ do not know/don’t understand the question Part Four

20. What is the single most important thing that needs to be done at this point, to improve the juvenile justice system in Tajikistan?

21. What is the single most important thing that needs to be done to reduce offending by juveniles in Tajikistan?

22. Should the problem of juvenile justice and prevention of offending be given priority by the government of Tajikistan, or are other social problems more urgent?

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23. How would you evaluate UNICEF’s work on juvenile justice in Tajikistan, especially from 2010 to 2014?

☐ very helpful

☐ helpful

☐ not useful, will not have any lasting impact

☐ on balance, more negative than positive

☐ no opinion

25. Should UNICEF continue to support activities concerning juvenile justice in Tajikistan, or should it turn its attention to more urgent social or legal issues?

Part Five: Only for professionals who have participated in one or more training activity

26. In my opinion, the quality of the training provided was:

☐ poor

☐ average

☐ good

☐ excellent

27. The training and the knowledge or skills I learned:

☐ made no difference in the way I perform my professional duties

☐ made some difference in the way I perform my professional duties

☐ made a significant difference in the way I perform my professional duties Explanation or comment (if any)

28. What factors, if any, limited your ability to put into practice knowledge, skills or ideas learned during training?

☐ opposition of my superiors or colleagues

☐ the laws or regulations that apply to my role and duties

☐ lack of resources in my office or place of work

☐ lack of necessary programmes, services or resources in another part of the juvenile justice system

☐ none of the above - no factors limited my ability to put into practice what I learned in training

29. Would you appreciate the opportunity to participate in additional training, and, if so, on what subject?

☐ no

☐ yes, on subject(s) ….

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Appendix 4. Results of questionnaire concerning training

The effectiveness and impact of training was not monitored regularly throughout the project. The Evaluation Team therefore prepared a questionnaire designed primarily to assess the results of training. The tool (reproduced in Appendix 3) prepared for this purpose was designed to obtain information on the attitudes and values of juvenile justice personnel on issues relevant to juvenile justice and child rights, and their knowledge of basic information concerning national and international norms and child development. It also asked for their views on the value and practical usefulness of the training received, and their views on the project.² Fourteen persons responded to the questionnaire, including 4 judges, 5 prosecutors, 2 criminal investigators, 2 social workers and the Secretary of a Commission on Child Rights. Three of the persons who answered the questionnaire had attended one training event, 8 had attended more than one, and 3 had not attended any. Four of the 8 persons who had attended more than 1 training were “Master trainers”, including 1 judge, 1 criminal investigator and 2 prosecutors. The Evaluation Team would have preferred to administer this questionnaire to a larger number of persons working in the juvenile justice system, but the UNICEF staff considered that it would not be feasible to get permission to do so.

The questionnaire was administered anonymously; respondents were asked to indicate their profession and the number of training activities in which they participated, but not their name.

1. Attitudes and values related to child rights and juvenile justice

There were 9 questions in this part of the questionnaire: one on whether children who commit offences should be treated differently than adult offenders, one on the main causes of offending by children in Tajikistan, one on the impact of prison sentences on children who commit offences, one on detention before trial, two on interrogation, one on diversion, one on respect for the intimacy of girls, and two on the reasons for anti-social and violent behaviour in children.

Most of the professionals tested (10) agreed with the statement that “Persons under the age of 18 who commit crimes always deserve to be treated differently than adults, regardless the gravity of the crime, the reason for it, and the number of crimes they have committed.” This is a positive result, although the fact that 3 trained persons disagreed (one of them strongly) is reason for concern.

Almost all the respondents (11) identified poverty as being one of the main factors contributing to offending by children. “Broken home, absent parent” and poor education or weak school attendance were considered main factors by 6

respondents each, and the weakness of social programmes to help children and families, and abuse and neglect in the home, were considered main factors by 5 respondents each. Only one person identified the erosion of positive cultural

values/negative foreign influences as a main factor. It is interesting to note that none of the untrained professionals identified poor education, weak school attendance, the

2 see Appendix 4

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weakness of social programmes or abuse and neglect in the home as main factors contributing to offending. These results are, on balance, quite positive.

Eleven of the respondents agreed, or agreed completely, with the statement

“Children who behave violently in school or in the community most often are children who have not received a proper education in their home.” The three who disagreed included a trainer, a trained judge, and an untrained respondent. The replies to this question confirm that most trained respondents empathize with children.

Most replies to the question regarding the causes of “anti-social behaviour” also were positive. Five persons agreed, and 5 more agreed completely, with the statement

“Sometimes, behaviour such as running away from home or theft is a normal

response to a situation beyond the child's control, and does not mean that the child is 'bad' or needs to be rehabilitated.” Two trained professionals disagreed, and 1

disagreed strongly. This indicates that the impact of training was limited, but it is difficult to know how much importance to give to this result because of the small size of the sample.

All of the respondents, whether trained or not, gave acceptable answers to the question on detention before trial.

All of the ‘Master Trainers” agreed that a juvenile who has committed an offence should not be prosecuted if he or she admits the offence and his or her personal situation and family environment suggest that the risk of reoffending is small.

However, only 2 of the 7 professionals who participated in one or more training activities took this position. This result is consistent with the finding that doubts about the legality or appropriateness of diversion persisted throughout the project, and indicates that training had limited impact on them.

The replies on the utility of prison sentences are interesting. No respondent agreed that education or other services provided by the juvenile prison help to prevent reoffending. One, a trained judge, indicated the juvenile prison can help to prevent re-offending by removing a juvenile offender from an environment that encourage anti-social behaviour. Six (3 trained and 3 untrained) think that prison sentences help to prevent re-offending because they makes the offender realize that society does not tolerate crime. On the other hand, 5 respondents – all trained - agreed that prison sentences sometimes push a child further into a criminal life-style. The replies to this question indicate that trained professionals have reasonable and thoughtful positions on this question.

Ten respondents disagreed with the statement “It is acceptable to use psychological pressure or make false promises to obtain information from a juvenile suspected of participation in serious crime, as long as physical violence is not used.” However, only 2 of them disagreed strongly. Seven respondents disagreed with the statement

“It is acceptable to use moderate force or threats of force to obtain information from a juvenile suspected of participation in serious crime, as long as no injury is caused”, and 3 more disagreed strongly. Two of the 3 untrained respondents agreed or agreed strongly with both statement, that is, they indicated that they believe psychological pressure, false promises, threats or moderate violence are acceptable during the interrogation of a suspect who is a child. The replies to these two questions suggest

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that training has had a positive impact on recognition that all forms of ill-treatment are unacceptable.

A large majority of the respondents (10, including 3 of the trainers) believe that

“Conducting medical examinations of girls in conflict with the law to determine whether they are virgins” … “should be done to determine whether the girl has been victim of a crime.” Only one trainer and two trained respondents considered this practice “an invasion of privacy and discrimination.” This is the most negative result of this part of the questionnaire, and suggests that training did not give enough attention to issues concerning girls and juvenile justice.

2. Knowledge and understanding of national law

The questionnaire contained 4 questions on national law: one on the circumstances that allow detention before trial, one on the maximum length of pre-trial detention, one on the amount of time a juvenile suspect may be questioned, and one on the circumstances in which diversion is permitted. Two-thirds of the respondents gave correct replies to all of the questions, except the one on the maximum duration of pre-trial detention. Most of the persons who gave incorrect answers to this question were trainers or respondents who had been trained, and most of them thought that the law imposed stricter limits than it does. Similarly, half of all trained persons thought that the maximum length of interrogation of a juvenile was shorter than it actually is. In general, the replies to these questions indicate that training on the relevant national law is relatively effective, but should be improved.

3. Knowledge and understanding of international standards

This part of the questionnaire contained 5 questions on international standards concerning the rights of children: one on the status of the Convention on the Rights of the Convention in the national legal order, one on the right to legal assistance, one on the length of prison sentences, one of solitary confinement, and one on State responsibility for ill-treatment. The replies to most questions on international standards were largely correct. Every respondent, including those who had not attended any project training activity, knew that “Every child deprived of liberty, whatever the reason, has the right to legal assistance, according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.”

Ten of the respondents knew that international norms do not allow the use of solitary confinement to punish juvenile prisoners, even if they have committed serious

violations of prison rules. The three respondents who thought that it did were all untrained. Twelve of the respondents knew that “Under international law, the State may be responsible for the ill-treatment of a vulnerable prisoner by other prisoners.”

No respondent gave an incorrect answer to this question, although two replied that they did not know or did not understand the question.

Answers to the question whether international law contains any norms regarding the length of prison sentences imposed on juveniles were almost evenly divided: 6 replied that it does, and 5 that it doesn’t. The negative replies reveal ignorance of the

‘shortest period of time’ principle recognized by Article 37 of the Convention, although it is possible that respondents interpreted the question as referring to a specific

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concrete standard rather than a principle. More surprising and serious is the fact that 2 trainers replied that the Convention on the Rights of the Child is not part of the legal order of Tajikistan, and 2 other trained respondents indicated that they did not know or didn’t understand the question.

In conclusion, the replies indicate that training was effective on some basic questions regarding international standards, but not others.

4. Opinions regarding the usefulness of the training

Four of the respondents considered the training they received good, and considered it excellent; only two considered it average, and none considered it poor. All indicated that they would appreciate the opportunity to participate in additional training.

(Subjects mentioned in this regard include the rights of the child, the prevention of juvenile delinquency, up-bringing juvenile in the family and society, informing of juveniles about their rights, using alternatives for juveniles, international standards on juvenile justice, and the practice of other countries on handling criminal cases

involving juveniles.)

Six persons indicated that the training in which they participated made a significant difference in the way they perform their professional duties, and 4 others reported that it made some difference in the way they perform their professional duties. One replied that he or she had no opinion.

Four persons indicated that no factors limited their ability to put into practice the knowledge, skills or ideas learned during training. One respondent each indicated that the following factors did limit their ability to do so: the opposition of superiors or colleagues, the laws or regulations that apply to the respondent’s role and duties, lack of resources in the respondent’s office or workplace, and the lack of necessary programmes, services or resources in another part of the juvenile justice system.

More generally, 4 respondents indicated that they considered UNICEF’s work on juvenile justice in Tajikistan, especially from 2010 to 2014, helpful, and 6 more indicated that they found it very helpful. One had no opinion.

In response to the question on what needs to be done to improve juvenile justice in Tajikistan, one respondent mentioned law reform (amending the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code) and three suggested continuing training or increasing the knowledge and skill of professionals working with juveniles. In response to the

question on what needs to be done to reduce offending by children, two respondents mentioned offering more access to after-school activities. One other suggested the improvement of children’s awareness of the law, and one suggested improvement of the knowledge of juvenile justice professionals.

Replies to the question of whether juvenile justice should be a priority for the government were few, but one trainer observed “juvenile justice is an important question and work on it will give positive results in the future” and a judge indicated that the prevention of offending by juveniles should be a priority.

Appendix 5. Methodology for survey of children’s experiences and views

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The main aim of psychosocial monitoring is to assess activity of open and closed institutions through comparative analysis of their activity based on survey of children and parents; study of opinions of children and parents regarding conditions in these institutions, and activities conducted in the institutions.

The methodology of the psychosocial monitoring included semi-structured interview with children and their parents.

A method of random sample was used for survey of children and parents. The Centers of Dushanbe and Khujand cities, as well as the Child Rights Center and Prevention Service under the Ministry of Interior of RT prepared lists of children with addresses based on the following criteria:

 Children that passed through justice system, but who were not imprisoned and sent to the Centers of Dushanbe and Khujand cities, as well as their parents;

 Children that passed through justice system, but who were not imprisoned and are included in the record list of the Prevention Service under the Ministry of Interior of RT, as well as their parents;

 Children released from juvenile colony and their parents and persons replacing them;

 Children, who graduated from special schools and their parents and persons replacing them;

To conduct interview with every category of the abovementioned respondents questionnaires were prepared and tested that were developed by international consultant with support of a local consultant.

It was planned to conduct a survey of 50 children in the framework of the monitoring, however, 34 children were surveyed. It was planned to survey 50 parents, but actually 24 parents were surveyed (see Table 1).

The reasons, why the children and parents who were planned to be surveyed, but were not surveyed, are the following:

 they were not found in the place of residence (the provided addresses were not correct or were changed; the respondents were either away or in the army)

 refused from survey (did not give consent)

 place of residence is too far from the city

 parents or replacing persons were absent (were away or the child is orphan) Table 1.

Khujand

Dushanbe

COLONY

SPECIAL SCHOOL

PREVENTION SERVICE

(center) (center)

С[i] А[ii] С А С А С А С А

1 + - + +m + - + + + +m

2 + + m[iii] + +m + - + + + +m

3 + +m + G + Gr, G[iv] + +m + - + -

4 + - + G +Gr, G + +m - + + -

5 +G[v] + husband + +m + - + +An + +

6 + +Gr[vi] + +f[vii] + - + +An[viii] + -

7 + - - +f,m - +m + -

8 + G orphan - +f,m

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9 + - + +f

10

TOTAL Family-9 Family-9 Family -7 Family -7 Family -6 Children-9 Children -7 Children -6 Children -6 Children -6 Adults -4 Adults -9 Adults -3 Adults -5 Adults -3

Legend

[i] C-child [ii] A-adult [iii] M-mother [iv] grandpa [v] G-girl [vi] Gr-grandma [vii] F-father [viii] An-aunt

It should be noted that with the aim of ensuring access to family, the survey was conducted jointly with social workers of the Centers (while surveying children of the Centers) and social workers of the Child Rights Center (while surveying children of the colony and special school). The survey was conducted only based on written consent of parents (if the child is minor) and consent of the child himself. The received data were processed by hand due to small volume of content of the questionnaires.

A questionnaire was prepared for the semi-structured interviews in Russian and Tajik. This is the Russian version:

Вопросы для полу-структурированного интервью с детьми в рамках проекта альтернатив ювенальной юстиции

1. Справочная информация.

Возраст в настоящее время_____

Пол ______________

Год направления в проект, школу, колонию_____

Причины направления______

Как часто посещал центр?

(Количество дней в неделю) _____

Как долго посещал центр (количество месяцев)____

2. В какой деятельности ты участвовал?

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3. Какая деятельность тебе понравилась? Что не понравилось?

4. Твои родители участвовали в деятельности центра?

5. Нравился ли тебе кто-нибудь из сотрудников центра?

Да Нет

Если да, то почему?

a) Имя, профессия:

b) Причина:

a) Имя, профессия:

b) Причина:

6. Как ты ладил с другими детьми?

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7. Тебе нравилось туда ходить?

a. Да b. Нет a. Если да, то почему?

b. Если нет, то почему?

8. Повлияло ли посещение центра на тебя, либо на твою жизнь?

a. Да b. Нет Если да, то почему?

9. Думаешь ли ты, что другие дети тоже должны быть направлены в проект?

Кто и почему?

10. Что случилось после того, как ты посещал центр?

Вернулся ли ты в школу?

Устроился ли на работу/все еще работаешь?

До сих пор живешь дома?

Были ли у тебя проблемы с милицией? [Если да, то уточните детали]

11. Есть ли что-нибудь о чем мы не спросил, но должны знать?

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Мусоҳиба бо кӯдакон дар робита бо фиристодани онҳо ба Марказҳои БААН, мактаби махсус ва волидайн ва ё шахсони парастори кӯдакон

Варақа барои додани розигӣ [consent form in Tajik]

1. Варақаи мазкур барои гузаронидани мусоҳиба дар робита бо баҳогузории Барномаи Алтернативии Адлияи Ноболиғони ташкилоти ЮНИСЕФ мавриди истифода қарор мегирад. Мақсадҳоии гузаронидани мусоҳиба чунинанд:

- Арзёбӣ намудани дараҷаи фаъолияти марказҳо дар робита расонидани кӯмак ба кӯдакони фиристонидашуда ҷиҳати рушди инфиродӣ ва иҷтимоии онҳо; ва

- Арзёбӣ намудани дараҷаи фаъолияти марказҳо дар робита кӯмак ба волидайн ва парасторони кӯдакон ҷиҳати раҳоӣ ёфтан аз мушкилиҳое, ки боиси ба фиристодани кӯдакон ба Марказ шудаанд;

- Расонидани кӯмак барои беҳтар намудани фаъолияти Марказҳо; ва - Расонидани кӯмак ба ташкилоти ЮНИСЕФ ва Ҳукумати Ҷумҳурии

Тоҷикистон дар масъалаи баровардани қарор оид ба давом додан ва ё надодани фаъолияти Марказҳо ва агар фаъолият идома дода шавад, кадом шакли дастгирӣ бояд пешниҳод гардад.

2. Ташкилоти ЮНИСЕФ ва шахси мусоҳиб ваъда медиҳад, ки:

- Ному насаби шахси дар мусоҳиба иштироккунанда интишор намешавад;

- Изҳороти пешҳниҳодгардидаи шахси дар мусоҳиба иштироккунанда ба иҷозати ӯ ашр карда намешавад;

- Изҳороти пешҳниҳодгардидаи дилхоҳ шахси дар мусоҳиба

иштироккунанда ба ягон корманди давлатӣ пешниҳод намегардад, бо истиснои ҳолатҳое, ки шахси дар мусоҳиба ширкаткунанда мехоҳад, ки иттилои мавҷуда ба шахсони марбутаи давлатӣ расонида шавад.

3. Шахс ва ё ашхосе, ки дар зер имзо мегузоранд

- Сабабҳои гузаронидани мусоҳиба ва роҳҳои дилхоҳ иттилоеро ки онҳо пешниҳод менамоянд мавриди истифода қарор мегирад, дарк менамоянд;

- Ба ташкилоти ЮНИСЕФ тавассути додани иттилоъ оид ба таҷрибаи худ кӯмак мерасонанд;

- Созиш менамоянд, ки дилхоҳ иттилое, ки дода мешавад, дуруст аст;

- Дарк менамоянд, ки онҳо ба саволҳое, ки намехоҳанд ҷавоб диҳанд, шарт нест, ки посух пешниҳод намоянд.

Барои кӯмаки Шумо самимона изҳори сипос менамоем.

_____________ , ЮНИСЕФ Ному насаб ва имзои шахси мусоҳиб__________

Ному насаб ва имзои шахсе, ки барои гузаронидани мусоҳиба розӣ аст_________

Ному насаби волидайн ва ё парасторе, ки дар боло имзо гузоштааст ва ҳамчунин барои гузаронидани сӯҳбат розӣ аст (агар чунин маврид ҷой дошта бошад)

_____________ _____________

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Appendix 6. Report on the survey of children and parents

1. Experience of the community-based centers in Dushanbe and Khujand

According to children and their parents general assessment of activity of the Centers is positive. The parents and children are very satisfied of attending Centers, and happy that they got such opportunity, as some of their acquaintances or those who passed through children’s case did not get into centers and were deprived of opportunity “to visit such useful activities”. Involvement of children in active club activity, additional classes on increasing legal awareness and motivation of children, learning languages, without doubt, influences living style and relations in the family and with others.

Implementation of a project on juvenile justice in Dushanbe city has started recently as compared to the Center of Khujand city, therefore, majority of children were still visiting the Center at the moment of survey.

The monitoring revealed significant differences in working approaches, attitude of personnel to children, and conditions of stay of children in the Centers of Dushanbe and Khujand cities. We would like to highlight specifically the activity of the Center of Khujand city and its director Ergasheva as competent specialist in the process of rehabilitation and reintegration of children. The main funding of the Center comes from the state, and thanks to project support of UNICEF, different clubs function on regular basis, activities are conducted and working units of a psychologist and night educators got paid.

The director personally resolves all problems related to children’s documents (for example, reissuance of birth certificates, residence record, court proceedings), process of education at school (expelling children from school), and in several cases she served as a mediator in conflict situations in the children’s families, right up to organization of their personal life (one of students of the center married an educator).

This is precisely why visit to a family was accompanied with positive emotions of children and parents alike, pleasant memories, and most importantly, interest of both family and director in child’s fate at given moment.

Unlike the Center in Khujand, the Center of Dushanbe city has limited choice of clubs (only English and Russian languages); a psychologist is lacking, even though there is urgent need for psychologist taking into consideration increased emotionality and anxiety of children of this group.

«I do not have opportunity to pay for additional education at school (for learning

languages), but everything is free and interesting in this Center»

«If not this Center, I would, probably, have got into any other story again»

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To the question “whether such Centers are needed and who should be sent there”

almost all children answered that of course they are needed, and especially for those children who have problems in the family, school, with friends and relatives. The parents of the Center of Khujand mentioned that they were invited regularly to attend

all events celebrated in the Center, and parents’

meetings.

In general, conversations with children and parents showed the importance and necessity of involvement of children in different types of activities, events during extracurricular time that open hidden potential of children, on which you may rely for correction of their behavior.

2. Training at school

The majority of surveyed children of the Centers attended schools, however, there are cases (the Center of Dushanbe city), when children were expelled from school or they were set such conditions so that they leave school themselves.

For example, a conversation with a boy that visited the Center of Dushanbe city and his mother revealed that after grade 9 a director refused to accept him to grade 10 saying that “she has already paid enough for problems caused by him” (the child was making money on the side after school with a neighbor, adult man, and was drawn to debts that the neighbor took from people, but the neighbor ran away and the boy was considered an accomplice). The boy suffers a lot from this situation, he refuses to attend evening school, and according to mother “he cries often seeing his former classmates returning from classes”. During conversation the child was unsociable and answered questions reluctantly. During conversation with another child and his father it was revealed that a school director asked the parents to take documents and

“I even did not know that my son is such capable, his entire talent was opened, he was constantly scolded at school for bad marks, and I did not even hope for better times, but thanks to

participation in different activities, clubs, now he became more confident and even better that other boys” (a mother of 14-years old boy, the Center of Khujand city)

“In the beginning my son did not want to come here, it was even shameful for him, but then he liked it so much that he was running to the Center after school himself, they are not so many people in the group, and everyone may tell his opinion, and everyone is heard” (a father of 16-years old boy, Dushanbe)

“She was like a mother for me, she was always worried about my problems, tried to help me in all issues”

“Now I am at a boarding school for orphans and I miss my teacher very much, I could share everything to her, she always supported me, it is pity that it is impossible to stay there forever”

“The teacher was always caring, we, my sister and I, regularly come to the Center together, and we participate in clubs jointly with other children, as there are no such clubs in the school”.

“It is hurting me to see how my son is suffering from the fact that he is not like all other people, as he does not have father, and he went to make money on the side not because of good life”

“We do not need problems;

therefore, we agreed to transfer to another school, of course we had to run for a while, but it is impossible to resolve a problem without it”

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transfer to another school, even though the boy wanted to continue his study in his own class. But not all schools react by “rejecting” children, depriving them from opportunity to continue their education thoroughly. Specifically we would like to

highlight school #1, whose director and teachers, in spite of all difficulties in children’s behavior, try to support both children and parents.

Unfortunately social workers of the Center of Dushanbe city are not actively involved in the process of parents’ awareness raising about their rights and many parents do not know about opportunities of applying to child rights units under district executive authorities and other legal organizations. Even though it is not directly included into terms of reference of the social workers, but, for example, in the Center of Khujand city the social workers under the leadership of the director perform the role of liaison between “child’s problem situation” and “solution of the problem itself”, and all

mechanisms for successful rehabilitation of children are utilized.

Besides, implementation of a monitoring system of child reintegration is weak in the Center of Dushanbe city, the success of which depends to a large extent on active involvement of the social worker in the life of the family. During conversation with children it was revealed that children do not attend school due to material problems (lack of money to pay for education, for normal clothes), or parents were refused to continue education of their children, whilst the social workers were not aware of all these developments.

Recommendations:

 To develop documented terms of reference of social workers and conduct training seminars based on these documents, it is desirable to include role playing with focus on importance of understanding the role of a social worker in the children’s life

 To develop professional criteria of selection of social workers for centers and document their assignment according to approved rules

 To develop a referral system

3. Experience of staying in the juvenile prison colony

Out of 10 planned children, who were released from colony, we managed to survey 7 children and 2 parents. Due to the fact that the main age of surveyed respondents of this group was 17-19 years old, all of them were already employed, and the survey was conducted in job places. The developed questionnaire differed from the

questionnaire intended for centers and was developed according to specifics of stay in the colony.

The main reasons, because of which the surveyed respondents got into the colony, were robbery and hooliganism, and as they mentioned themselves, before that they were not in the police record and had no any criminal past.

To questions on interaction of personnel of the colony and parents, the respondents answered that parents were invited to conversation with an educator or director of the colony only in case, when there were problems with a child’s behavior.

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The respondents had opportunity to often see their parents, some were visited by mothers even every day, there were not any specific time limitations, but due to fact that meetings take place in a general hall and under supervision of convoy,

consequently, the meetings were finishing quickly.

The daily regimen in the colony included attendance of training classes, “walking”, breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and watching TV. All respondents mentioned a big difference in changing their life style in the colony under a new director, “good, humane and aware person”.

To questions regarding education process in the colony, teachers and acquired

knowledge, absolutely all respondents answered that they are very satisfied with school and teachers, marking the difference between schools “before” and “after”.

Though larger part of the respondents mentioned that they did not like the colony, many of them mentioned that it became “a good life school”, “it is the right place, where you assess everything differently”, “while being in the liberty you do not understand many things, and now I am very afraid of offending my mother, she has already suffered a lot because of me”.

To questions on relationships with each other and staff of the colony, the

respondents answered that there was not a special friendship, they tried to refrain from this, “there cannot be any friendship in that place, you do not trust anybody, you just survive”, “everything depends on person himself, the way you position yourself, that way you will be treated”, “I tried not to ask for help from anybody, but if it was very much needed, I could ask Murod, the chief”.

“Murod (new director) connected new TV channels, before we used to watch only

“Bahoriston” whole day”.

“The new chief allowed us to exercise in a hall, play football, volleyball, chess, we went to workshops”.

“The former chief was cruel, he loved to punish for any small fault, even though I never was in a punishment cell, but some often were getting there, it is horrible there”.

“These are the best teachers, they do not only give knowledge, they teach about life, these are people of the Soviet period, now almost no such people are remained”.

“Surprisingly we were not treated as outcasts, we were ordinary children for them, even as their own, they approached our situation with understanding, cheered us up, these are the real teachers. When I returned from colony, my school did not even want to accept me, the director read my surname during line-up in front of everybody as if I am the last criminal, of course I felt hurt, as two younger sisters of mine study at this school, now they do not want to attend the school, they say that it is shameful for them, I hate this director. If I had a father, he would deal with him. I do not want to take on him because of my mother”.

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The respondents were asked questions about their plans for future and advices to others on how to prevent what they have passed through.

The main reasons of committing crimes by minors, according to children, are lack of money and problems in relationships with close people. During the process of conversation with respondents and their parents it was mentioned that an important factor of prevention of juvenile delinquencies is presence of mutual understanding between children and parents, namely this, to a large extent, could have influenced the improvement of situation as a whole. As a recommendation for prevention of juvenile delinquencies it was proposed to conduct awareness raising activities at schools, TV, Internet through demonstration of videos, anonymous interviews with children who were in colonies, parents that passed through this situation.

To question on need of a psychologist in the colony, the respondents gave various answers: “I don’t know, maybe it is necessary, but the psychologist, who was here, did not help me at all”, “perhaps, a psychologist is needed only for weak persons, those who got broken there, I am a psychologist for myself”, “the psychologist that came either from Russia or somewhere else, was really good, such psychologist could have helped many people”.

The results of the survey of children released from colony confirmed the priority of preventive activities on prevention of crimes, with a focus on involvement of schools, mass media; development of comprehensive recommendations for work with parents and children and their introduction through educational institutions, family centers or centers focusing on work with a family.

4. Experience of children at the special school

Six children from the special school were surveyed. The survey of children released from the special school showed positive experience of their stay, and as commented children themselves, “if there was an opportunity, they would return back, as it is boring at home, and for school money is always needed, which they do not have”.

From conversations with parents it was found out that children were always busy with

“I only want to work and earn normally so that my children would not envy others and strive for bad things”.

“I suggest enduring and enduring again, because at this age you want everything and now, you do not think what will be the consequences”.

“I won’t create a family until I get on my feet and find that only one, with whom I will be for lifetime, because it is very important to have a good atmosphere in the family”.

“I only want to help my mother, to treat her, she lost her health because of me, I am not interested in friends, entertainment anymore, I only want to wash away guilt before my mother”.

“It is necessary to pray constantly, not to forget about namaz (prayer) ever, before I did not understand that, I thought a whole life is ahead and it is necessary to hope only on oneself, but it was wrong, the God gives

strength and faith”.

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something at school (sport, draughts, chess, computers, languages), preparation to activities, but now they have to sit at home whole days, as for these classes funds are needed, which the family does not have. Therefore parents tried to return children to schools through child rights unit, applied directly to director, wrote letters, but due to end of the term, they were all refused.

We would like to add that the desire of children and parents for returning back is also connected with attitude of the personnel and particularly that of director to these children, special approach, understanding, sympathy, absence of stigma in relation to them and a number of other positive qualities demonstrated during the period of stay in the special school.

Before getting there I thought that probably it would be like a prison, just the name “special school” causes such associations, but it proved out that it is better than the ordinary school. I did not see such caring director anywhere else. Every day I pray for him.

With the regard to system of education in the special school, attitude of teachers to children, all children mentioned that classes were conducted every day, and the director personally monitored that, conducted conversations with children after classes, discussed their problems, advised them and was like a close person for them. Appointments with children were held in separate rooms, the director tried to meet with parents every time and tell them about results achieved by children during the given period. Besides, parents were constantly invited to all activities that were conducted in the school (Navruz, New Year, 8^th of March, Teacher’s Day)

Analysis of the conducted survey of children and parents of the special school once again confirms the role of educational institution in the life of children, familiarization of children to community work, search of own resources through participation in different clubs, groups, activities.

Despite the barbed wire, parents agree to give their children to the closed school only because the extracurricular time of children is organized there, there is a competent attitude to the “problem child”, and in this situation the special school takes the leading role in the process of correction of child’s behavior and manages successfully.

The social situation of child’s development at this age is determined by his importance in the society, and the school may and should, with due regard to

“I still cannot understand why my child cannot be taken back, as he wants that so much, but I have no time to work with him” (a mother of 14 years old boy, Vahdat district)

“Our son runs away from home again, we don’t know where to look for him, while he was in the special school, we were calm, he studied, and now it has been 3 months that he does not attend school, and we have been taken with a probation period”.

“Because of problem with my son I had my sugar level increased, I lost weight for 16 kilograms, his father had a stroke, now he is paralyzed, both do not work, they constantly ask for money at school, if it was possible to return the child, it would be much easier for us”.

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psychological peculiarities of the “problem children”, give them an opportunity to demonstrate their positive qualities and to get out of the category of intractable children.

5. Children ‘registered’ with the preventive police

As it has been mentioned above, the survey of children being on the record list of the Prevention Service, unfortunately, was conducted spontaneously, based on

“underground list”, as an official letter for permission of the survey “got lost” among other letters.

The results of the survey showed that majority of children do not know at all that they are on the record list and do not have any imagination what does it mean “being on the list”. Some parents could not understand what we were asking about, as “in due time they resolved this problem “in certain way”, and nobody returned to that

problem”. To question “do they know whether their child is on the record list of the Prevention Service”, they replied that they do not know about this Service at all and nobody ever explained that to them.

The conducted survey of children and parents of this group showed complete lack of awareness about existence of the Prevention Service and its activity. Therefore, we could not collect any information for assessment of this Service.

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Appendix 7 List of Training Events 2012-2014 2012

Training for the staff of Ombudsman Child Rights Department and their Reception Centres on conducting monitoring of child rights and responding to violations, January 15-16

Training for specially assigned judges, March

Training of combined group, including visits to closed facilities (judges, police, prosecutors and lawyers), first group, July 10-13

Training of combined group, including visits to closed facilities (judges, police, prosecutors and lawyers), second group, July 16-19

Advanced training for judges and prosecutors, November 1-3 Training for appellate judges from all regions, November 5

Training of Trainers for Master Trainers and national team of trainers, November 8-10 Training of the Supreme Court judges, November 12

2013

Training for judges and prosecutors, July 8-9

Training for staff of Ombudsman Office on planning of activity and monitoring of institutions for children, November

Training for trainers from Police Academy, December

Training for trainers from Training Center for prosecutors, December Training for trainers from the Training Center for judges, December Training for lawyers (in cooperation with ABA ROLI), December

Continuous trainings for staff of closed facilities (Juvenile prison colony, Women’s prison colony, Dushanbe detention centre) by CRC, May-December

2014

Training for criminal investigators and inquiry officers, February 18-19, Dushanbe Training for police officers from department of prevention of Khatlon, February 21-22 Training for police officers from department of prevention in Dushanbe, February 25-26 Continuous trainings for staff of closed facilities (Juvenile prison colony, Women’s colony, Dushanbe detention centre) by CRC, January-April

Training for Social workers of CAE, March 4 Training for Social workers of CAE, April 1, 10, 16

Training for trainers (for instructors from Academy of Police, Police training centre, judges, prosecutors and Tajik National University), April 3-4

Training for prosecutors, April 10-11

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Training for lawyers (in cooperation with ABA ROLI), April 15 Training for Social Workers from all CAE in Khujand, May 6-8 Training for investigators and inquiry officers, Khujand, June 9-10

Training for police officers from department of prevention, Khujand, June 11-12 Training for staff of Reception and Referral Centre, Khujand, August 4-5 Training for staff of Reception and Referral Centre, Dushanbe, August 12-13

Training of trainer for social workers (in collaboration with Practical Training Unit on SW and Innovation), August 15-23

Training for Youth Committee activists, August 22-23

Training for investigators and inquiry officers in Khujand, August 26-27 Training for investigators and inquiry officers in Dushanbe, September 2

Training/consultation for police officers, prosecutors, judges, staff of CRU and CAE on use of child friendly investigation and courtrooms, September 18-19

Training for the staff of Ombudsman Child Rights Department and their Reception Centres, September 15, 17