Official Bodies and Their Timid Role in Juvenile Care in Yemen

Ahmed Bajoaim – Sawt Al-Amal (Voice of Hope)

The care of juvenile delinquents in Yemen is a pressing humanitarian and social issue that requires concerted efforts from both official and community entities. Yemen is experiencing difficult circumstances, significantly affected by political, economic, and social crises. This negatively impacts children, especially juvenile delinquents who need special care and intensive rehabilitation to properly reintegrate them into society.  They require psychological and social care to ensure they do not re-offend.

Official bodies, represented by juvenile institutions and other relevant authorities, play a pivotal role in providing the necessary care for these children. This is achieved through enacting laws and legislation that guarantee their rights and providing the infrastructure needed for care and rehabilitation services.

In addition to this, civil society organizations and international organizations play a significant role in assisting the competent authorities by providing psychological and social support and financial funding. This report will present the most important recommendations and solutions to improve the quality of care provided to juvenile delinquents, ensuring a better future for them and their communities.

Legal Actions

Article (124) of Chapter Four, concerning the care and rehabilitation of juveniles, from Law No. (45) of 2002 on the Rights of the Child, according to the official website of the Public Prosecution (Office of the Yemeni Attorney General), states: “A child under 12 years of age may not be detained in the departments of security agencies, and requires being handed over to his/her family. If this is not possible, he/she must be placed in a juvenile detention center.” Article (126) further emphasizes that juvenile detention centers and social care institutions should be properly equipped and guarantee their psychological and social rights.

Article (127) also states that the relevant official authorities must supervise and follow up on juvenile delinquents, educate and rehabilitate them in various stages of education, and enable them to work.  Furthermore, the trial of a juvenile is conducted in secret, and only his/her relatives may attend the trial. It is prohibited to publish the proceedings of the trial or anything related to the child, based on Article (131) of Chapter Five.

The Role of Official Entities

Hikmat Al-Shuaibi, Director of the Case Management Department at the Office of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor in Hadhramaut Coast, stated: “The office, represented by the Case Management Department, is the entity responsible for following up on juvenile delinquents or those at risk of delinquency, in collaboration with relevant authorities that possess integrated services for their care. The Social Affairs Office also works to overcome the difficulties and challenges faced by juvenile detention centers or institutions that work to rehabilitate and train juvenile delinquents, and coordinates between the delinquent child and the entities that provide services.”

She added that the Office of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor conducts annual studies and research on children at risk of delinquency, identifying the problems that cause child delinquency and attempting to provide solutions and recommendations to the community, relevant authorities, and schools. These entities can then act on these recommendations to limit the deviation or delinquency of children or their departure from the care of their families and relatives.

For his part, the Director of the Juvenile Detention Center, Muhammad Al-Arafi, indicated that the center works to receive children and understand the reasons for their escape from home or family. They then communicate with their families to inform them of their children’s whereabouts. After that, the center works to rehabilitate them through behavioral therapy, followed by sessions with the family to educate them. All of this is in the best interest of the child and their family, through education and the importance of studying, so that their situation improves positively. The Juvenile Detention Center coordinates with the Juvenile Court to release children who have committed crimes after obtaining the necessary guarantees.

Al-Arafi continued: “During their stay at the Juvenile Detention Center, the child undergoes several rehabilitation programs, including a community integration program, psychological and cognitive behavioral therapy, and an education program, which is one of the most important programs for children, as most of them have left school for one reason or another. If the Juvenile Detention Center discovers that the family is the cause of the child’s delinquency, it begins to search for an alternative family to care for the child. The role of the center is not limited to these programs; there are many other rehabilitation programs.”

The Director of the Social Guidance Center (Juvenile Detention Center) in Mukalla, Adnan bin Thabit, explained that the role played by the center is a collective one. All employees at the center participate in the administration, which is responsible for providing requests, implementing programs and activities, and handling the children’s daily routine, such as nutrition, maintenance, and care. The most prominent and important role is played by social specialists, which includes receiving juveniles from the Juvenile Prosecution or police stations, providing them with psychological support, reassuring them, and removing the fear and anxiety that may have arisen from the case or the police stations. The specialist also creates a social and health file for the case and develops treatment programs based on the type of case.

He added: “Also, the specialists affiliated with the center develop daily programs and activities, including education and vocational training, sports, awareness, and religious and cultural guidance, and all programs that work to correct the behavior of the juvenile. The most important and greatest role played by the center is protecting juveniles from the victim’s family and society.”

Cooperation and Partnerships

Al-Shuaibi said: “The most prominent partnerships that the Office of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor on Hadhramaut Coast has worked on were with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which began in early 2016 and continued until the end of 2023. This partnership included child protection and the provision of health, social, psychological, and educational care. Many diverse programs and activities were also implemented, along with the rehabilitation and training of juvenile delinquents or those at risk of delinquency.”

Al-Shuaibi added in her statement: “Another partnership brought together the Social Affairs Office and Save the Children International, which signed a cooperation agreement in early 2023. The partnership between the two sides is still ongoing, and it aims to provide the necessary care for juvenile delinquents on Hadhramaut Coast, with funding from the organization.”

In the same context, bin Thabit said: “The most prominent entities that participated in the establishment of the Juvenile Detention Center were the Social Fund for Development, which played a major role in building the center, furnishing it, and providing transportation. Also, the local authority in the governorate approved the operational budget and activated all activities at the center. As for the new building of the center in Falak area (east of Mukalla city), Esnad Foundation intervened in the maintenance of the building and some other equipment, but the Juvenile Detention Center could not start working directly due to the presence of many shortcomings. There are also contributions from some local charities and emerging civil society organizations.”

He added: “The Juvenile Detention Center hopes that organizations and charities will play a major role in supporting the center and protecting juvenile delinquents, and intervene in strengthening various programs and activities in a way that contributes to enhancing the role that the Juvenile Detention Center provides in serving children and society as a whole.

Challenges and Proposals

Hikmat Al-Shuaibi believes that the most prominent challenges facing the entities concerned with the care of juvenile delinquents are the lack of support and funding. Despite the availability of a vast number of civil society organizations and development institutions, their focus on caring for and rehabilitating children remains a persistent challenge that requires directing the activities of these organizations toward this age group. In addition to the lack of necessary support for Safe Childhood Centre, which has ceased operations to this day due to lack of funding, the Juvenile Detention Center on Hadhramaut Coast has also ceased operations since the beginning of the conflict. It was then handed over to the Office of the Ministry of Health with the COVID-19 pandemic and has not yet been handed over to the Office of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor.

For his part, bin Thabit said: “The Juvenile Detention Center in Mukalla, despite not being handed over to the Juvenile Administration, faces some challenges that the administration will face if it is handed over in the coming period. These challenges include weak infrastructure and necessary equipment, the need to build some facilities within the center, and the lack of recreational facilities for children, such as sports fields, landscaping, and the absence of games. There is also a lack of vocational workshops that provide children with vocational rehabilitation.”

Recommendations

Hikmat Al-Shuaibi emphasized the need to urge international organizations and civil society organizations to pay attention to juvenile delinquents and intensify their activities and support to serve this group. This includes providing training, rehabilitation, healthcare, social, and psychological care, and improving the salaries of employees and contractors at the Juvenile Detention Center. These efforts would positively impact the children and encourage partnerships between donor agencies and entities specializing in child care.

Similarly, bin Thabit mentioned several recommendations to enhance the quality of work within the Juvenile Detention Center: governmental authorities should prioritize the Juvenile Detention Center, which has been neglected for nearly nine years since the outbreak of the armed conflict. They should expedite the provision of transportation and work on training and qualifying the center’s staff locally and internationally. Encourage the center’s employees to address the long distances and difficulties they face. These recommendations are urgent and essential at present.

In conclusion, the challenges facing this group require collaborative efforts and sustained support from all stakeholders to ensure the provision of necessary support and effective programs that empower them and protect their rights.