In preparation for the Justice With Children World Congress to be held in November 2021, a session was on march 25 for the MENA (Middle East North Africa) region under the theme “Access to justice for all children: towards non-discriminatory and inclusive child justice systems”. Our Executive Director Guillaume Landry participated as one of the moderators for this session which made recommendations and proposals for themes, agenda and activities for the World Congress.
The bilingual English and Arabic event brought together more than 189 participants who interacted with multiple speakers.
Several themes were addressed:
- Practices of justice for children without bars: diversion and alternatives to detention, building blocks and ways forward.
- Legal pluralism and legal responses in child justice for children and young people.
- Gender perspectives in child justice, with a focus on child victims/survivors of gender-based violence.
- Access to justice for children and young people in national security contexts.
This session was an excellent opportunity to identify key challenges, trends and advocacy priorities in the area of child justice in the region.
About the World Congress this fall :
The World Congresses on Justice with Children address the most current issues related to children in contact and in conflict with the law. World Congresses are a unique opportunity to bring together key actors in child justice and children’s rights to promote dialogue and cooperation in this field at the global level.
World Congresses are spaces for interaction and participation of policy-makers, academics, legal professionals and civil society representatives, aiming to
- Promote fair and appropriate justice for children worldwide, and develop a global agenda on justice for children,
- Encourage meetings between professionals to exchange promising practices, foster scientific cooperation, formulate policy recommendations, provide training and raise awareness on justice for children,
- To support the operationalisation of international laws and standards relating to the rights of children and young people in conflict with the law.
The last World Congress took place at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris-France, in May 2018, with a theme on “Strengthening Justice Systems for Children: Challenges, including disengagement from violent extremism”. During 3 days, almost 1000 people from 120 different nationalities participated in 28 workshops and more than 10 plenary sessions. This Congress resulted in the Paris Declaration.
The next World Congress will take place in Mexico City in 2021 and is co-organised with the Federal Supreme Court of Justice of Mexico.