Advanced Human Rights Course: Children’s Rights in Africa

Deadline: 7-Jun-22

The Centre for Human Rights is accepting applications for Advanced Human Rights Course: Children’s Rights in Africa.

The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, in partnership with the Centre for Child Law (CCL), University of Pretoria and Dullah Omar Institute for Constitutional Law, Governance and Human Rights, University of the Western Cape will host a one-week intensive short course on Children's Rights in Africa from 20 to 24 June 2022.

The course is an initiative intended to build the technical capacity of diverse professionals working for and with children across the African continent. During the course, participants are equipped with the necessary knowledge and practical skills that will enable them to meaningfully contribute to the realisation of children’s rights in Africa.

Despite African governments’ commitment to the protection and promotion of the rights and welfare of children under their respective jurisdictions, a majority of children in Africa are still left behind with regards to the realisation of their basic human rights and access to basic services such as adequate nutrition, adequate housing, quality education, and healthcare. One of the reasons identified as being responsible for this dire situation is the lack, among key stakeholders, of adequate knowledge of the relevant standards pertaining to the rights of children, as well as the processes and procedures through which the standards can be enforced. This gap leads to ineffective implementation of existing legal and policy frameworks at the domestic level, with severe repercussions on the quality of life lived by large numbers of children on the continent.

Course Objectives

• The primary goal of the course is to provide participants with theoretical and practical knowledge in the area of children’s rights and to equip them with skills for promoting and monitoring the implementation of the rights and welfare of children. The course shines a spotlight on the African context and contextualises the universal children’s rights discourse to the region.
• The course has also proved to be an excellent platform for networking and collaboration towards the advancement of children’s rights in Africa.

Topics

Topics may include:

• The history of children’s rights
• Concepts and philosophies underlying children’s rights
• Normative frameworks and standards on children’s rights
• Implementation of children’s rights
• Enforcement of children’s rights
• Contemporary and emerging issues in children’s rights
• Intersectionality in children’s rights
• Advocacy and children’s rights

Eligibility Criteria

• The course is open to individuals whose work affects, directly or indirectly, the lives of children. Participants may therefore include government officials, representatives of civil society, legal practitioners, members of the judiciary, national human rights institutions, social workers, or academics with an interest in children’s rights.
• A maximum of 35 participants are admitted to the course per year.
• The course is facilitated by renowned experts in the field of children’s rights in Africa, including academics, researchers, advocates and other professionals working with and for children in Africa, and beyond.

For more information, visit Centre for Human Rights.

For more information, visit https://www.chr.up.ac.za/courses-presented/childrens-rights-in-africa