Failing young offenders: Juvenile justice in Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Zambia

The document argues that juvenile justice reforms in Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Zambia have been slow and inadequate since decolonisation. Despite being party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, these states fail to consistently apply principles of limited criminal liability for minors or prioritise rehabilitation over retribution, often treating children in ways that disregard their dignity.

• The juvenile justice systems in Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Zambia have not evolved at the same pace as British law since decolonisation, resulting in reforms that are slow and insufficient.
• These three states fail to consistently implement the principles of limited criminal liability for minors and the preference for rehabilitation over retribution, often violating children's rights and dignity despite being signatories to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

APA

Robins, S. (n.d.). Failing young offenders: Juvenile justice in Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Zambia. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/research/policy-brief/failing-young-offenders-juvenile-justice-in-sierra-leone-tanzania-and-zambia

Chicago

Robins, Simon. Failing young offenders: Juvenile justice in Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Zambia. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.org/research/policy-brief/failing-young-offenders-juvenile-justice-in-sierra-leone-tanzania-and-zambia.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Robins |first1=Simon |title=Failing young offenders: Juvenile justice in Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Zambia |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.org/research/policy-brief/failing-young-offenders-juvenile-justice-in-sierra-leone-tanzania-and-zambia |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{robinsndfailing, author = {Robins, Simon}, title = {{Failing young offenders: Juvenile justice in Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Zambia}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/policy-brief/failing-young-offenders-juvenile-justice-in-sierra-leone-tanzania-and-zambia}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }