ABSTRACT
In 1990, the ‘World Summit on Children’ assembled in New York, constituting the largest gathering of state leaders in history. This chapter is ultimately located within a global context in which chil-dren’s human rights are often severely compromised and their claims to dignity and integrity are systematically violated. From their earliest inception, and irrespective of their officially stated purpose and rationale, institutions for children have essentially comprised repositories for managing the unwanted. The state’s power to punish and claim legitimacy for various applications of violence has become an increasingly conspicuous feature of the Anglo-American ‘special relationship’ in the modern era, both at home and abroad. Informed global estimates suggest that 8 million children are held in institutions and, at any given time, 1 million children are incarcerated in penal custody across the world.
