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    Children’s Rights International
    Justice is Hope
    An Initiative of World Congress on Family Law and Children’s Rights Inc.

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    About the Children's Rights International

    The establishment of the Children’s Rights International (CRI) at the 2001 Bath Congress signals a significant development for the Congress.

    CRI highlights the evolution of the World Congress from a unique, academic exchange and ideas forum to one that also embraces the capacity of professional bodies and individuals to contribute their expertise to furthering in a very practical way the issues and concerns of the Congress.

    CRI will take its place among other civil society based, non-government organisations. It brings together lawyers, lawyer educators and associated professional groups in a co-operative effort to provide assistance to children through its twofold focus on education and legal advocacy.

    In both its education and legal advocacy functions the Congress will be seeking the active support of professionals able to contribute time, expertise and other resources. The success of CRI will be dependent upon your active support and participation, ideas and expertise.

    Structure

    The Children’s Rights International, is currently a division of the World Congress on Family Law and Children’s Rights Inc.

    A Foundation Committee of international experts led by The Hon. Alastair Nicholson AO RFD QC will oversee the establishment of CRI, taking it through to becoming a truly independent international non-government human rights agency. CRI is managed by an establishing Chief Executive Officer who reports to the Board of the World Congress and the Foundation Committee.

    The World Congress on Family Law and Children’s Rights Inc. is a not for profit association incorporated under the laws of the State of New South Wales, Australia. It is currently seeking tax deducible status and exemption for income taxation.

    Children’s Rights International Mission is:

      a. To promote, protect and advance across the world, the human rights of children and without limiting that aim, in particular to promote the meaningful implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (“the Convention”).

      b. By bringing together eminent judges, lawyers, psychologists, medical practitioners, mediators, counsellors, mental health workers, media representatives, child carers, teachers & allied professionals to contribute their specialised expertise in a practical manner through education, legal and other advocacy to, promote, protect and advance the interests of children.

      c. To monitor and encourage the application of the principles of the Convention by relevant laws, policies, treaties, judicial decision-making, legal practice, and by service-delivery, immigration and law enforcement agencies

      d. To train and assist relevant persons in children’s rights advovacy and in the promotion, protection and advancement of those rights at a regional level.

      e .To defend where possible pro bono the right of children in particular instances where they might otherwise go unrepresented or where the action may set standards that will protect other children’s rights and promote legal reform .

    And to do all as may be necessary to achieve these objects or objects that may present themselves at a future time pertaining to the rights of children by establishing a truly international organisation with regional reporting networks.

    Principal Activities of the CRI

    Education

    Under its education function CRI has specific training goals as well as general education objectives: It will:

      1. assist the education of lawyers and the judiciary in the recognition of the importance and enforcement of the rights guaranteed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and for that purpose develop and present judicial education programmes and seminars for the training of lawyers in these matters.

      2. co-ordinate the use of lawyers’ organisations to encourage, where appropriate, those in government to adjust laws (both national and international) and policy to support and encourage laws, practices and institutions which promote and protect the rights of children by, among other things, promoting the adoption of resolutions of the World Congress.

      3. by the use of the media and selected spokespersons create climates for change by generating public desire and political will for change.

      4. assist in partnership with others the training of journalists and other media representatives to better and more appropriately and sensitively report on the rights of children and related issues.

      5. The Network will also actively seek to become involved in international forums providing its perspective and expertise as appropriate.

    Legal advocacy

    CRI aims to provide very practical support through the practice of law and the provision of peer support by legal practitioners and allied professionals to those engaging in action – particularly through the courts – and in the area of legislative development. Practitioners and others will be sourced through Congress networks in every continent particularly via Bar Associations, Law Societies and other professional bodies allied to the Congress.

    This work will be supported by a strong complementary media advocacy policy.

    Under its legal functions CRI will:

      1. represent children or assist in the representation of children in landmark cases where the outcome is likely to be important to the protection and preservation of not only the children the subject of the process but children generally.

      2. provide systems of pro bono representation of children in cases where serious injustice would result to a particular child or children absent that representation, or where the case represents a watershed in the promotion of rights or the prevention of their abuse.

      3. provide training in the art of advocacy (in a legal sense) for a child, including the use of expert evaluation techniques.

    Opportunities for participation

    CRI recognises the unique cultural, demographic, economic, legal, communications and related environments of regions and countries already participants of the World Congress.

    As a lean electronically organised agency, CRI will be reliant on its regional and international linkages to ensure that issues and concerns that will benefit from international support and scrutiny are brought to the attention of CRI .

    A web-based registration in which interested professionals can nominate areas of expertise and availability for education or legal participation is available online. A Journal and talk room is also available and we encourage your papers and ideas.

    CRI is currently developing an international contact data base of agencies concerned with the rights and welfare of the young. This data base is country specific. Your input to this developing data base through CRI’s webmaster is encouraged.

    Registration on the CRI’s on-line mailing will ensure you receive all information on activities, legal advocacy and education initiatives, conferences and seminars.

    CRI will also be collecting significant academic resources to be made available through its resources pages on the www if you wish to submit a paper or recommend another please do.

    Accountability

    CRI will operate in an accountable and transparent manner reporting on a regular basis to its donor bodies and to World Congress meetings.

    Funding

    Initial funding for CRI is modest and it is incumbent upon the organisation to establish a degree of self-sustainability through the sourcing of ongoing funding and project development. Initail funding comes from World Congress Inc. and the Harbinger Foundation without whom the website would not be possible.

    Your practical support will be invaluable.

    How can you help?

    To be effective, CRI is looking to its supporters for help in a number of ways including as regional representatives and as volunteers for legal advocacy and education activities.

    CRI intends to provide experts in various fields to support education initiatives. Sustainable development, dependent as it is on the rule of law, requires the input of expertise in seminars, conferences, workshops and other training initiatives. The CRI will be exploring ways in which the professional expertise of its members can assist international donor agency and other programmes in this area.

    The advocacy role will, where appropriate, be accompanied by high level domestic and international media and other public information support from CRI itself which will be designed to raise the profile in international debate and consideration of the issues under scrutiny in the action itself.

    If you want to be involved click here for more information.