Joint statement by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the United Nations Children’s Fund on life imprisonment for children and adolescents in El Salvador

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NEW YORK, 27 March 2026 - The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) express their deep concern regarding the reforms to the Juvenile Criminal Law in El Salvador, which allow life imprisonment sentences for children under 18 years of age.

It is critical that El Salvador continue to strengthen its juvenile justice system to ensure accountability for acts committed, access to effective remedy for victims while also guaranteeing real opportunities for development, learning, rehabilitation, and social reintegration.

The imposition of life sentences and excessively long detention measures on children and adolescents constitute a contradiction of the standards enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. These minimum standards require that children in conflict with the law be treated in a manner that prioritizes their rehabilitation and reintegration, and that deprivation of liberty be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest, appropriate time.

Detention is not only harmful to children, but also highly costly and ineffective in preventing crime. It generates severe negative impacts on the physical and mental health of children and adolescents, and it undermines their education and future livelihood opportunities.

We recognize El Salvador's willingness to collaborate on implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the progress achieved to date. This commitment provides a strong foundation for deepening dialogue and advancing the Convention's implementation. This can help to ensure that children and adolescents in conflict with the law can successfully reintegrate into their communities and rebuild their lives after completing their sentences. In this way, they can benefit from the new opportunities the country provides.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child and UNICEF call on all relevant authorities to ensure that any reforms preserve the specialized nature of the juvenile justice system and fully uphold the rights of all children.

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