By MILDRED KATONGO –
MORE than 400 children are held in prison facilities awaiting trial, the latest Human Rights Commission (HRC)’s Child Justice report has revealed.
The report says during the monitoring visits to prison detention facilities conducted between 2013-2014, 469 children, mostly aged between 13 and 18 years, were detained in prison and child correctional facilities for reasons such as awaiting trial.
The report also revealed that other reasons for the detention included confirmation of orders and conveyance to appropriate facilities, or undergoing reformation.
Another category of children classified as circumstantial children were equally found in prison facilities with their mothers.
“Children alleged or found in conflict with the law were 304, while children undergoing reformation were 139. Further, circumstantial children were 26, bringing the total number of children to 469.
“It should also be noted that out of 304 children found in prison detention facilities, 292 were boys, while 12 were girls,” the report said.
The Commission and the Child Justice Forum (CJF) observed during the monitoring visits that children in prison detention facilities were facing allegations or found in conflict with the law on mostly theft related offences like housebreaking, burglary, aggravated robbery, breaking into a building and committing a felony.
Others were allegations of sexual offences, such as defilement and rape.
The report revealed with concern that there was an urgent need for Zambia to address, among other things, children’s right to physical and moral integrity, right to adequate  standards of living, safety and security of children in detention and contact with the outside world.
The HRC and CJF recommended that new structures with separate holding facilities for children be built and that measures be put in place to address the current dilapidated, unsanitary and unhealthy facilities.
The move would help promote the highest attainable standard of health for persons in detention and prison facilities.
The report further said that the police facilities should not be used for holding children and adults on remand as there are no special services provided for them.