[hr-education-na] Congressional briefing on Convention on Rights of the Child (Washington, D.C., April 16, 2007)

Below is information on a briefing on the UN Convention on the Rights of
the Child to be held 11:00 a.m. to 12:00.p.m. on Monday, April 16th, in
Senate Russell Building room 485. The briefing is designed for
Congressional staffers but other interested people are welcome to attend.

Jenni Gainsborough 
Director, Washington Office 
Penal Reform International 

www.penalreform.org 

1025 Vermont Ave., N.W., 3rd Floor 
Washington, D.C. 20005 
Phone (202) 580-6940 


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Staff Briefing on the U. N. Convention on the Rights of the Child 

Please join us for a briefing on the U.N. Convention on the Rights of
the Child (CRC) from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00.p.m. on Monday, April 16th,
in Russell 485. 

The Convention on the Rights of the Child was undertaken as part of
the celebration of the1979 United Nations International Year of the
Child. Over a 10-year drafting period, the CRC developed into a
comprehensive human rights treaty for children. The Convention on the
Rights of the Child is the first legally binding international
instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights -- civil and
political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights. In
2002, United States has ratified the optional protocols to the 
Convention, but the United States remains one of only two countries
--Somalia is the other-- that has not ratified the Convention. 

The National Juvenile Justice Network, The Campaign for the U.S.
Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Georgetown
University’s Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, the Juvenile
Justice Initiative of Illinois, and the Children and Family Justice
Center at Northwestern University School of Law all support the
Convention and encourage you to attend this timely briefing with
these distinguished speakers: 

* Jaap Doek, Law Professor at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam and
Chairperson of the United Nation’s Committee on the Rights of
the Child from 2001-2006. Professor Doek will provide an overview of
the key principles and articles of the Convention and explain how
ratification could strengthen efforts to improve the welfare of
children in the US. 

* Mark Soler, Executive Director of the Center for Children’s
Law and Policy, who will address the relevance of the CRC to issues
concerning the treatment of children in juvenile justice
institutional settings. Randolph Stone, Professor of Law at the
University of Chicago will present information on the
over-representation of children of color in the juvenile justice
system and how the CRC would help us better address their needs and
reduce their presence in that system. 

Shay Bilchik, Director of Georgetown University’s Center for
Juvenile Justice Reform and Systems Integration, will moderate the
briefing. 






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