Putting Children at the Centre of Justice: Lessons from Ibero-America

In this expert blog for PRI,  Dr Nicolás Espejo Yaksic argues why putting children at the centre of justice systems in Ibero‑America is essential for any real project of rights, democracy and sustainable development. Drawing on a new regional report, the blog explains how children face unique barriers that make justice hard to reach and often ineffective, and why access to justice should be understood as a process that supports them from the moment something unfair happens until their situation truly improves. There is a deep need for institutional change and genuine participation of children in co-creating policies that include their voice, while also pointing to promising innovations already emerging across the region.

Access to justice for children in Ibero-America is not a niche or “specialised” concern. It is a basic condition for any credible project of rights, democracy, and sustainable development in the region. A new regional report, A Child-Centered Approach to Justice: Ibero-American Insights for a Regional Agenda, shows that putting children at the centre of justice systems is both a moral imperative and a realistic path for reform. 

Why justice for children is justice for all 

The report links justice for children to global commitments such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Pact for the Future. If we want to reduce poverty, curb violence, and tackle inequality, children must have real ways to get help and solutions that really work when their rights are violated. Otherwise, “leave no one behind” becomes an empty promise. 

In Ibero-America, children experience poverty and exclusion more often and more severely than adults. When they cannot understand their rights, find support, or trust institutions, these difficult situations become even worse. The report invites us to think of access to justice as a process, not a single moment in court: it starts when a child realises that something unfair is happening, continues through the search for help and the way institutions respond, and ends only when the outcome is fair, protective, and truly changes their situation. 

Seen this way, justice is not just about procedures and laws. It becomes a tool for children to be heard, to repair harm and to participate in decisions that affect their lives. 

From people‑centred to child‑centered justice 

Over the last few years, the idea of “people-centred justice” has gained ground around the world. The report argues that this vision must clearly include children and adolescents, and not simply assume that what works for adults will also work for them. 

A child-centered approach means that children can actually use their rights in real life: they can ask questions, seek advice, file complaints, and participate in decisions in ways that are safe and appropriate for their age and circumstances. It is about recognising their real ability to use their rights and speak up, instead of treating them only as passive recipients of protection. 

The report highlights three kinds of obstacles that stand in the way:

-First, there are big obstacles like poverty, violence, discrimination, and social exclusion, which make it hard for children even to reach services.

-Second, there are rules or steps in the system that make things hard, such as difficult forms, complicated legal language, or deadlines that do not fit with children’s needs or emotional realities.

-Third, there are challenges that affect certain groups of children in particular: girls, Indigenous children, children with disabilities, those who have to move to another country, LGBTQI youth, children in institutions or detention, and those without parental care.

Put together, these different barriers often turn justice systems into places where children feel afraid, confused, or ignored—exactly the opposite of what they should experience.

What needs to change inside justice systems

Instead of making small adjustments to adult systems, the report calls for a deeper transformation. It proposes several key directions that can be easily understood in everyday language.

First, institutions need to change from the inside. Laws, buildings, procedures and professional cultures must adapt to children’s rights and needs, not the other way around.

Second, justice work should not start when a crisis explodes. It should begin with prevention: helping children and families understand their rights, creating safe spaces to talk about problems early and supporting community‑level solutions that avoid more serious harm.

Third, children must be seen as people who have rights and are growing and learning. As they get older and gain experience, they can and should take part in decisions more and more. This means listening to them in a genuine way, not treating their opinions as symbolic or irrelevant.

Fourth, there must be clear rules that make sure children are treated fairly and listened to and that their cases are handled with care. This includes things like child‑friendly hearings, support persons, adapted questioning methods and real options for restorative justice.

Fifth, the justice system cannot act alone. It needs to work together with schools, hospitals, social services, child protection authorities, and migration services so that children receive coordinated support rather than being sent from office to office.

Finally, countries need to collect information and check how things are going so they know whether children are actually getting the help they need. Without data and feedback, it is impossible to know what is working and where reforms are failing.

Ibero-America: a diverse region that is already innovating 

One of the most hopeful aspects of the report is that it does not stop at diagnosing problems. It shows that, while Ibero-America is highly diverse and faces serious challenges, it is also a laboratory of innovation.

Across the region, there are promising practices. Restorative juvenile justice initiatives seek to repair harm, involve victims and communities, and make deprivation of liberty a true last resort. Intersectoral systems for children in conflict with the law connect justice with education, health, and social programmes so that responses focus on inclusion rather than punishment alone.

Other innovations include child‑friendly models for responding to violence, which avoid repeated interviews and bring services together under one roof, and special protocols for unaccompanied or separated children on the move, which prioritise best interests and avoid unnecessary institutionalisation. These experiences are not perfect, and many children still fall through the cracks, but they show that a different way of doing justice is possible.

Listening to children and building justice with them 

Perhaps the clearest message of the report is that we will not achieve child‑centred justice if children remain invisible in our data and in our decisions. Many justice systems do not even know how many children they serve, what happens to them, or how they feel about the process. This lack of information hides the true impact of injustice in children’s lives.

But numbers alone are not enough. We also need to listen to children’s own stories, fears, and ideas. Children know when a process feels fair or unfair, when they feel respected or humiliated, and when professionals help them feel safe or make them feel guilty. Their voices are essential for designing and improving the services that are supposed to protect them.

The report calls on states, justice institutions, civil society and international partners to create spaces where children are not just consulted once but are involved in the design, implementation and evaluation of justice policies, programmes and institutions. In simple terms, we need to build justice systems with children, not only for them.

If the promise of “justice for all” is to be real, it must start with justice for children. Putting children at the center of justice in Ibero-America is not just about repairing harm; it is about shaping more peaceful, equal, and democratic societies—or today’s children and for the generations to come.

The Report here (English and Spanish): https://www.sdg16.plus/resources/a-child-centered-approach-justice-ibero-america/