Restorative Juvenile Justice Program

Allies: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

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Place of Execution: Santander de Quilichao, Miranda, Caldono, Buenos Aires, Jambalo, Santabárbara de Iscuandé, El Charco, La tola, Tumaco, Roberto Payán, Montería, Tierralta, Puerto Libertador, san José de Uré, Montelibano, Carepa, Nechí, Valle del Guamuez, San Miguel. Orito, PUerto Caicedo, Puerto Guzmán, Mocoa, Bojayá, Unguía, Nóvita, Condoto. Year: 2011-2012

We participated in the Local and Rural Justice Models project as implementing partners of UNODC. The project has 4 components, one of which involves the implementation of the Restorative Juvenile Justice Program designed by the Ministry of Justice and Law and IOM. Its main objective is to build capacity and provide services in the territory, promote and support care processes, and change perceptions about punitive justice. The program was implemented in 22 prioritized PDET municipalities.

The main objective was to generate installed capacity and supply in the territory, promote and provide support for attention processes, and modify perceptions of justice from a punitive approach to a restorative one.

The program was implemented in 25 PDET municipalities across the departments of Chocó, Córdoba, Cauca, Nariño, Antioquia, and Putumayo.

652

Individuals participated in the methodological transfer among indigenous authorities, teachers, students, social leaders, police officials, ICBF officials, and legal positions.

114

People are part of the triads of the prioritized municipalities that are leading sustainability efforts.

The project successfully transformed perceptions about justice. 77% of the participants increased their knowledge about justice and restorative practices after receiving the training.
The restorative approach as a different possibility from the retributive, the reconstruction of the personal, interpersonal, and familial aspects, and the avoidance of stigmatization were evident.
The adolescents participating in the process from the school context perceived the benefits of the restorative approach and actions, especially regarding the restoration of relationships.

Testimonials

"The most valuable thing is having planted this restorative approach, to face the conflicts that may arise from now on in the tasks of teachers, family commissioners, people working with the mayor's office, etc. This restorative philosophy provides very interesting tools for conflict resolution."

"We leave the project feeling stronger. It's a very beautiful project, amidst the difficulty of displacements. It's very hopeful that restorative justice is coming, which we know is a way to build peace."

"I believe it's an achievement of Dunna. The design of this guide is a commitment to prevention. (...) Before situations of type III occur, there can be these kinds of situations that, if addressed early on, we are preventing children from emphasizing a mistaken perception of their life projects, their place in the world, and encouraging them to redefine and build."

"In a rural area, they didn't have the school coexistence committee, and they activated it thanks to the training they received. The component went to the Bijagual rural area, which allowed teachers to learn about the process... Truth be told, we worked hard, and we are all very happy here with the work that Dunna did in the territory because we cannot overlook the beautiful work they did... they provided us with all those concepts, all that knowledge. They let us know how we can activate the process, from the commissioner's office, from the ICBF, and from the institutions when a child or adolescent displays behavior within Restorative Juvenile Justice."