Since 2016, the Government of Egypt (GoE) embarked on an ambitious reform process to achieve key strategic objectives for the country’s sustainable economic development and growth through the adoption of the Egypt Vision 2030. This strategic framework is the first of its kind to place sustainable development at the front and centre of cross-sector policies to promote economic growth, social inclusion and prosperity for future generations in Egypt. Egypt’s Sustainable Development Strategy, Egypt Vision 2030, highlights the importance of strengthening the rule of law and ensuring equal access to justice, in line with United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16.3, which commits all member states to “promote the rule of law at the national and international levels, and ensure equal access to justice for all.”

Egypt has embarked on an ambitious plan to implement the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relating to children, as illustrated by Egypt’s National Childhood and Motherhood Strategy, its National Human Rights Strategy, and its Sustainable Development Strategy: Egypt Vision 2030. For children and young people, access to appropriate legal support is crucial not only for successfully resolving their legal problems, but also for combating poverty and exclusion by securing their rights to social protection, education, and health care. The pragmatic and forward-thinking nature of Egypt’s recent efforts, all of which underscore the specificity of children’s needs and rights, provide a strong impetus for the modernisation of public policies and legal frameworks. Building on these high-level commitments, Egypt is in a position to significantly advance access to justice for children, improve the quality of life of Egyptian children and secure inclusive and sustainable development for future generations.

This chapter outlines the main takeaways of the OECD assessment and summarises key policy recommendations aimed at supporting ongoing efforts to enhance the child-friendliness of Egypt’s justice system. OECD recommendations have been designed to support the country’s justice actors in leveraging the experience of other OECD countries and relevant international standards to achieve their strategic objectives.

This chapter provides an introduction to the concept of child-friendly access to justice in Egypt and the need to make progress in this field in light of the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda, as well as Egyptian national strategies to achieve child well-being and development, such as Vision 2030, the National Childhood and Motherhood Strategy and the Human Rights Strategy. It provides an overview and analysis of the legal framework applicable to children in Egypt at both the international and national levels. It also describes the project and the methodology followed in compiling this strategic review.

This chapter presents and assesses existing governance mechanisms for child justice in Egypt. It maps the key stakeholders involved and their co-ordination mechanisms by describing hypothetical child pathways across criminal, civil and administrative cases, highlighting potential co-ordination gaps. It provides policy recommendations to strengthen the clarity of roles and co-operation among the main institutional actors, promote service integration and increase alignment with international standards and child-friendliness throughout each pathway.

This chapter focuses on the design of child-friendly justice pathways and services in Egypt. It provides a succinct account of the legal needs experienced by children across different legal spheres and maps existing services by type of service, including access to legal information and representation, psychosocial assistance, specialised child justice institutions, care institutions and medical referrals. It formulates policy recommendations to expand and improve the ability of these services to address the key legal needs of children.

This chapter provides a cross-cutting analysis of the Egyptian child justice system and services from the standpoint of the OECD Criteria for People-centred Design and Delivery of Justice Services, focusing on the criteria that hold the most relevance in the Egyptian context. It provides recommendations and good practice examples to help Egyptian services fully achieve these guiding principles, including accessibility, inclusion, empowerment and appropriateness. It also provides evidence-based guidance to strengthen the capacity and resources in the child justice system.