International children’s rights law has established standards for the treatment of children in detention that are widely accepted. Yet, challenges in their implementation continue to persist around the world. Ireland has been undergoing significant reform in this area, in line with international standards, adopting a child-centred and rights-based model of detention for all children who come into conflict with the law. Drawing on theory and practice, this book analyses Ireland’s experience of translating children’s rights into the practice of detention, providing a model for international refo ... More

International children’s rights law has established standards for the treatment of children in detention that are widely accepted. Yet, challenges in their implementation continue to persist around the world. Ireland has been undergoing significant reform in this area, in line with international standards, adopting a child-centred and rights-based model of detention for all children who come into conflict with the law. Drawing on theory and practice, this book analyses Ireland’s experience of translating children’s rights into the practice of detention, providing a model for international reform. The book documents and analyses the changes to Irish law and policy and explains the steps taken and challenges faced in their implementation. Particular focus is placed on the development of Ireland’s national detention facility – Oberstown Children Detention Campus – and the journey it has taken towards a children’s rights approach to detention. The book presents an original model for advancing children’s rights in detention – encompassing children’s rights to Provision; Protection; Participation; Preparation and Partnership. It explores child detention from the international perspective, traces the development of the Irish youth justice and detention systems, tracks the process of change in developing a specialist model of child-centred detention, documents the learning of implementing children’s rights in practice and assessing the international and national influences on change. It considers that the reform of child detention is a gradual and collaborative process requiring a series of interconnected steps and measures. The book presents the learning from a challenging change process which is designed to inform and influence the international application of a rights-based model of child detention.