A step in the (human) right
direction for children being deprived of liberty
worldwide
Today, the United Nations General
Assembly (UNGA) officially requested for the Global
Study on Children Deprived of Liberty to be
carried out. In its Child Rights Resolution,
the UNGA explicitly invites for the commission of “an
in-depth global study on children deprived of liberty”. This
marks the success of the campaign calling for such Study and
the commencement of its concrete implementation.
Defence for Children International (DCI) is proud to
announce the success of its campaign calling
for a Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty, which
was officially launched in March of this year, with the
support of over sixty non-governmental organisations (NGOs),
States and United Nations human rights agencies and experts.
read the full press release
in
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Advocating for the
inclusion of violence against children into the UN
post-2015 agenda
DCI as part of the
Working Group disseminating the recommendations
discussed during the High Level Panel on Violence
Against Children, held in September 2014 during the
27th Session of the Human Rights Council
spread the word using hashtags: #endViolenceAgainstChildren
#endVACpost2015 ; #endviolence ; #post2015
DCI-Netherlands to
Co-Host the Side-Event “Monitoring Conditions in
Detention for Children and Young People" in Leiden,
Netherlands
During
the “International Conference 25 Years CRC”, DCI-Netherlands
will co-host and moderate the side event “Monitoring
conditions in detention for children and young people”, on
18 November 2022 at the Children’s Rights House in Leiden.
It will examine the situation of children and young people
in detention – an especially vulnerable group whose rights
are often overlooked. The panel discussion will provide an
overview of the particular risks faced by children in
detention and explore why independent monitoring of
conditions in detention is important to ensure that the
rights of detained children are upheld. Prof Anton van
Kalmthout, European Committee for the Prevention of Torture
(CPT), Mr Nikhil Roy, Penal Reform International (PRI), and
Dr Ann Skelton, Director of the Centre for Child Law at the
University of Pretoria will serve as panel speakers and
provide concrete examples of how places of child detention
are monitored at regional and international levels, and will
outline the challenges faced by the bodies carrying out this
work.
For more information on the
International Conference "25 Years CRC” (programme,
venue and registration, events and parallel sessions,
contact), please click here.
DCI to Co-Sponsor the Event
“Moving forward together…for children” at Palais
Wilson in Geneva on 20 November
DCI will co-sponsor the event
“Moving forward together…for children” at Palais Wilson on
20 November in Geneva in the wake of the 25th anniversary of
the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Participants
will include distinguished speakers, such as Ms. Flavia
Pansieri, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr.
Jorge Cardona Llorens, Member of the UN Committee on the
Rights of the Child, and Mr. Nigel Cantwell, Expert and CRC
Drafting Participant. The objective is to assess the
progress made since the adoption of the CRC and discuss
continuing challenges and the impact of collaboration on the
rights of children. There will also be video presentations
on achievements over the past 25 years made through
collaboration and how children’s views have a real impact on
UN human rights system. Important note: to enter Palais
Wilson you must RSVP here by 10 November. More
information is available on the website of Child Rights
Connect.
Gender Sensitive
approach: key to the fight against the Ebola Virus
Disease (EVD)
 From the outset of the Ebola
crisis in Sierra Leone, Defence for Children International -
Sierra Leone (DCI-SL) has observed that women and girls are
at greater risk of contracting the disease than men and
boys. Though the official statistics released to the public
are not usually disaggregated by age and sex, these
observations have been echoed by UN bodies, humanitarian and
human rights organisations monitoring the crisis, as well as
health workers. UNICEF in particular has reported that women
across the three most affected countries account for 55 to
60 percent of deaths in the epidemic.
learn more about DCI-Sierra
Leone's response to the Ebola virus outbreak
Maa’n for
Adala-Together for Justice: Regional Workshop, Cairo
(Egypt), 20-22 October 2014
 DCI regional desk for the
MENA region (DCI Palestine) in collaboration with the
International Secretariat organised a three day workshop in
Cairo, Egypt, from the 20th to the 22nd of October to
discuss about the strengthening of the relationship with the
League of Arab States (LAS). The meeting took place in the
amazing premises of the LAS and was officially opened by
H.E. Ms. Inas Mekkawy, Minister Plenipotentiary, Head of the
Department for Family, Childhood and Women of the LAS.
Eight national sections and
associated members from the DCI-MENA region participated to
the workshop: Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Mauritania, Yemen,
Egypt, Palestine and Sudan, while expert representatives
from DCI-Belgium and DCI-The Netherlands actively
contributed to the discussion and shared their experience.
read more
DCI
co-organizes event in New York to further
lobby for the Global Study on Children
Deprived of Liberty at the United Nations
General Assembly
(UNGA)
 In light of the 69th session
of the UNGA and in particular the Third Committee (which
considers Children’s Rights specifically), on behalf of the
NGO Panel for a Global Study on Children Deprived of
Liberty, DCI together with Human Rights Watch organized a
high-level event on Tuesday, 14th of October in New
York. This event saw the participation of expert
speakers, including: Marta Santos Pais (Special
Representative to the Secretary General on Violence against
Children), Kirsten Sandberg (Chairperson of the Committee on
the Rights of the Child) Susan Bissell (Chief, Child
Protection, UNICEF), as well as the introductory remarks of
the following permanent representatives: Sheikha Alya Bint
Ahmed Bin Saif Al Than (Qatar); May-Elin Stener (Norway) and
Cristina Carrion (Uruguay).
read the full article
read the written statement
of the NGO Panel for the Global Study on Children
Deprived of Liberty
For more information on the
Study, and background documents (advocacy brochure, Q&A,
report on the expert consultation), please visit the
official website. Be sure to like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ChildrenDeprivedOfLibertyCampaign?fref=ts
DCI Training Session:
TOGETHER FOR JUSTICE: capacity building and
awareness raising on advocacy and lobbying for
children’s rights advocates from the MENA
region
 From 18 to 24 September 2023 in Geneva,
Switzerland, the International Secretariat of Defence for
Children International (DCI-IS), in collaboration with
Defence for Children-Palestine section, organises a seminar
on advocacy and lobbying for children’s rights advocates
from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The
objective of the training is to strengthen the capacity of
DCI representatives from the region on existing
international human rights mechanisms and to demonstrate the
various ways to effectively advocate and lobby for the human
rights of children, and work towards concrete implementation
on the ground. This training is the second of this
kind in Geneva and forms part of the regional programme on
justice for children that DCI is implementing in some
countries in the Middle-East and North Africa.
Unprecedented Ebola
Virus Outbreak
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The
Executive Director of DCI-Liberia, Mr.
Foday M. Kawah, presenting Ebola
prevention materials to the Commissioner
of White Plains
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Since the first registered
case of the Ebola virus in March this year, West Africa has
been confronted with the largest and most severe outbreak of
the disease since the virus was first isolated in 1976. As
the outbreak is moving more rapidly than efforts to control
and prevent it, there is risk the infection may spread to
other regions.
Through its national
sections present in the affected countries, Defence for
Children International (DCI) has shown active
participation in undertaking standard measures of
restraining the proliferation of victims.
read the full press release in
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DEFENCE FOR CHILDREN
INTERNATIONAL (DCI) @35! Celebrating
Achievements & Recognising
Challenges
 Today, 5 July 2014, Defence
for Children International (DCI) celebrates its 35th
anniversary. Founded in 1979, the International Year of the
Child, DCI was one of the first international organisations
dedicated to a child centred approach and held a historical
role as drafter and advocate for the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). 2014 also
marks the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the UNCRC.
With now a comprehensive legal tool in hand, which codifies
in detail the rights of the child, we have much to
celebrate…but significant work remains in making these
rights a reality.
read the full press release in
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Launch of a Call
for a Global Study on Children
Deprived of Liberty
We call for a Global Study on
Children Deprived of Liberty to be carried out as there is a
clear lack of quantitative and qualitative data
(particularly disaggregated data), research and verified
information on the situation of children deprived of their
liberty worldwide.
This Study would aim to map
out – through monitoring and evaluation analysis – how
existing international laws and standards are being
implemented on the ground and assess the concrete
possibilities for States to improve their policies and
responses.
more info about the launch of
the Campaign
read the official Call for a
Global Study in EN
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| RU | CH | PT | IT
Be sure to like us on
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ChildrenDeprivedOfLibertyCampaign?fref=ts
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