In their Annual Report 2024, the Chilean Ombudsperson for Children studies the state of children’s rights in the country in different areas, dedicating a specific section to child-friendly justice.
The report begins with a description of the Ombudsperson’s actions between July 2023 and June 2024 to defend, promote and strengthen these rights, from its head office in Santiago and its regional offices in Arica y Parinacota, Tarapacá, Antofagasta, Coquimbo, Valparaíso, O'Higgins, Biobío, La Araucanía and Aysén.
The report then offers an overview of statistics concerning children’s rights, based on data gathered by the Rights Observatory of the Ombudsperson for Children. The publication dedicates specific sections to subjects that have been chosen after a consultation with children from their Advisory Council and from different regions of the country.
One of these subjects is child-friendly justice. The report begins by describing the principles and elements that form this type of justice, as well as its importance in protecting and fulfilling children’s rights. It then highlights parts of national legislation that work towards making justice child-friendly.
The report then examines the shortcomings that prevent the practical application of child-friendly justice. It highlights aspects like the lack of information given in a child-friendly language, which hinders children’s understanding and ability to actively participate in judicial proceedings. Likewise, it criticises the lack of specialisation of some professionals working in child-related judicial proceedings, as well as the lack of coordination between different institutions, which endangers the protection of children’s rights. Finally, the report includes testimonies from children reflecting on these shortcomings, and offers recommendations to professionals regarding how to tackle them and promote child-friendly justice.