Theme:

Children are generally considered exempt from criminal liability for obvious reasons such as lacking maturity, competence, and as a result, a criminal mind in the exact sense of the term. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) provides that “a child means every human being below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.” For example, Iran is a party to the convention; however, its commitment is made under a reservation. In practice, several perpetrators under the age of 18 have been kept in custody until they reach the age of eighteen and were then executed by the Iranian State. This session explores the problem of execution concerning minor offenders, providing an argumentative framework for abolishing the death penalty for children in light of, i.a., a trauma-informed practice. This session also explores how children are affected by the death penalty in various contexts.