Children's Rights
Children's rights have always been a core focus of the Global Campus's education, training, and advocacy initiatives. Since establishing a long-term partnership with Right Livelihood in 2019, these efforts have been significantly strengthened, reflecting a shared commitment to advancing children’s rights globally.
A partnership to advance the rights of children
This collaboration with Right Livelihood aims to raise awareness and build expertise in child rights, while actively promoting meaningful child participation in issues that affect their lives. As a result, the Global Campus has expanded its child rights focus across various programmes, launching new research, training, and advocacy projects in partnership with regional hubs, international experts, and local organisations. Many of these projects are co-designed with young people, enhancing their roles as current and future child activists, and fostering connections between children and academia. Dedicated to promoting education, research, and advocacy in this field, the Global Campus strives to encourage global responsibility and create sustainable, positive change for children worldwide.
Read the vision statement for the cooperation of Right Livelihood and the Global Campus.
Child Participation and Leadership
Starting with our online International Conference on Mental Health in January 2022, co-designed by and implemented with over 100 children from 9 countries spread across 5 regions, we have established ‘Child Leadership Teams’: these child-led teams, supported by the Global Campus, are working across various regions of the world to champion children’s rights. These young leaders participate to ensure their opinions are heard and children’s rights are elevated on higher platforms among adult decision-makers.
Child-centred Justice
The UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty, led by Global Campus Secretary General and former UN independent expert Manfred Nowak, was a collaborative effort among governments, UN agencies, civil society organisations, the academic community, and children. Its goal was to confront the fact that millions of children are held in various forms of detention, often in violation of international law. This five-year project delivered detailed recommendations for legal, policy, and practical reforms aimed at drastically reducing the number of children deprived of liberty. It marked the starting point for numerous subsequent initiatives and resources focused on justice that supports and protects children’s rights.
Climate Justice and Child Rights
Climate change poses a substantial threat to the fundamental rights of children. The Global Campus explores how climate change affects children, and how children themselves take initiative to advocate for urgently needed changes.
We will post updates soon!
Artificial Intelligence and Child Rights
The Global Campus is implementing a range of projects exploring a human rights and child rights based approach to AI, examining the risks and opportunities AI presents for children and their rights.
We will post updates soon! In the meantime, read the concept note The AI Revolution and Its Implications for Human Rights by Łukasz Szoszkiewicz, Assistant Professor at Adam Mickiewicz University (Poland), GC Europe member university.
Featured Resources and Projects
From advancing child rights strategic litigation globally, to regionally-focused initiatives—such as addressing issues around children in migration in the Balkans and integrating development frameworks in Africa—the Global Campus has supported the implementation of a range of impactful projects worldwide. Together, these projects aim to advance research, advocacy, and practical solutions that empower children and address the complex challenges they face in diverse contexts, driving a global movement for children’s rights.
Team
Barbara Strasser
Children’s Rights Manager
Barbara Strasser oversees the development and implementation of children’s rights projects under the Global Campus – Right Livelihood cooperation, in close coordination with Child Rights Specialists in the 8 regional hubs of the Global Campus.
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John Paul P. A. Amah
Children’s Rights Officer
John Paul P. A. Amah, an alumnus of the GC Europe / EMA programme, contributes to the Children’s Rights Team, focusing particularly on child participation. He joined the Global Campus as an intern in 2021.
Manu Krishan
Global Study Programme Manager
Manu Krishan is responsible for coordinating all activities related to the dissemination and follow-up of the UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty.
Dr. Chiara Altafin
GC Europe & Research Manager
Chiara Altafin leads various research-based activities and projects, with a primary focus on strengthening research, education, training, network-building, and advocacy for children’s rights.
Rocío Comas
GC Latin America & the Caribbean
Rocío is responsible for integrating children’s rights into the activities of the LATMA programme. She is currently pursuing a PhD at Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen, Germany, as a DAAD fellow. Rocío holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a Master’s in Human Rights and Democratization from the University of San Martín (Cohort 2014-15).
Her Master’s thesis, Gender and the Best Interests of the Child in the Administration of Justice: Case Analysis in Argentina, was subsequently published. Rocío also worked as a human rights consultant for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Chile, focusing on the promotion and protection of rights through the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism.
She has authored articles on migration, children’s rights, enforced disappearances, economic, social, and cultural rights, the UN Agenda 2030, and the right to food.
Dr. Elvis Fokala
GC Africa
Elvis is the Manager of the Children’s Rights Unit at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria. Previously, Elvis worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Stellenbosch as well as a substitute university teacher at the Institute for Human Rights, Åbo Akademi University.
Elvis completed his PhD at the Institute for Human Rights, Åbo Akademi University, with a focus on child participation in family decision-making processes in Africa. He writes and publishes predominantly on children’s rights within the African context. His research interests include: International Children’s Rights, Public International Law, (relating to Africa), African Human Rights System, Constitutionalism in Africa (relating to vulnerable groups).
Nejira Pasic
GC South East Europe
Collaborating closely with the ERMA programme, Nejira is responsible for integrating children’s rights projects and activities into its framework. A dedicated children’s rights activist, she has worked through local labour unions and NGOs to combat illegal child labour, educate youth about human and workers’ rights, and promote child participation.
An alumna of the ERMA programme, Nejira is currently pursuing a PhD in Political Economy at the University of Buckingham, focusing on labour migration. In addition, she teaches Research Methods and Thesis Writing at the Sarajevo School of Science and Technology.
Her primary research interests include labour migration, children’s rights, and political economy.
Mariam Muradyan
GC Caucasus
Mariam is in charge of coordinating the children’s rights activities in the Caucasus region based at the Center for European Studies in Yerevan State University (Armenia). Part of these activities include the follow up on the Global Study recommendations and implementation of grant projects on children’s rights.
Mariam’s background is in social work and for several years she worked as a child protection coordinator at World Vision Armenia (2010-2015). She also worked with the Ministry of Healthcare and Global Fund (HIV/AIDs and TB), the Ombudsman Office of Artsakh and in local CSOs in Armenia in the field of human rights, with a special focus on children’s rights.
Mariam is an alumna of the Master’s programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in the Caucasus (2012-2014) and an alumna of College of Europe, Natolin (MA) in 2016-2017. She holds a bachelor degree in philology and social work.
Mst Umme Habiba Fahmina Karim (PhD)
GC Asia-Pacific
Fahmina is a community-based child protection specialist. She is a human rights academics and activist on children’s rights with specific focus on migration with over fifteen years of experience. She led socio-legal research projects focusing on rights mapping of children on the move (forced migration and labor migration) through reviewing domestic legal framework of various countries; projects on research ethics and academic research with and for children.
Fahmina has hands-on field experience working directly with displaced children while serving with United Nations, INGOs and NGOs and academia in varies countries in Asia. She also has programming experience of implementing child rights projects, monitoring and coordinating local NGOs and Civil Society Organizations. Fahmina has specialized training on Best Intertest Assessment (BIA) and Best Interest Determination (BID), gender-based violence and protection need assessment for children in migration. She has received profession training on counseling and interviewing children in distresses. She had served as trainer in various child protection projects.
Fahmina holds a PhD in Human Rights and Peace Studies and also serves as a Lecturer at the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies, Mahidol University Thailand.
Karlygach Nurmanbetova
GC Central Asia
Karlygach works as a specialist for the MA Programme in Human Rights and Sustainability and is responsible for assisting in the coordination of children’s rights activities in the Central Asian region. She is based at the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Her experience working with children began during her student years at the American University of Central Asia, where she participated in the organization and implementation of educational and recreational activities for children from vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds. Later, while working at the American Councils for International Education as a FLEX Programme Alumni Coordinator, she initiated and participated in various impactful projects.
Karlygach is an alumna of the Master’s Programme in Public Policy at the Central European University in Budapest. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in International Comparative Politics. Her primary research interests include children’s access to education, women’s rights (particularly women’s empowerment and gender-based violence), and good governance.
WHAT TO READ
Study on Child participation in Development Frameworks in Africa
Global Study Toolkit. Ending Deprivation of Liberty of Children: a Review of Promising Practices. ARMED CONFLICT AND NATIONAL SECURITY
Advancing Child Rights-Consistent Strategic Litigation Practice
