Children’s Rights Corner

Marco Blanco

GC Europe (EMA cohort 2010/ 2011)

Bio

Marco Blanco is an industry leader & child safeguarding authority, regular keynote speaker, and media commentator. He is the founder and managing director of Child Safeguard.

I was born and raised in Sydney, Australia to a Maori New Zealander mother and a father from Galicia, Spain. My diverse background ingrained in me a strong sense of social justice from a young age which evolved into a passion for human rights.

I studied law and political science at University and practiced as a litigation lawyer for close to 10 years prior to attending the EMA Master’s course in Venice.

What motivates you to work on children’s rights?

I strongly believe that society’s true test of decency is measured by how well it treats children and young people. After I completed the EMA degree I worked for an International Foundation specializing in the promotion of child rights. I opened a regional office in Bangkok that oversaw social development projects and was responsible for the implementation of child protection frameworks. We developed projects that aimed to empower extremely vulnerable groups of children and youth that were victims of sex tourism, HIV, homelessness, and discrimination and provide opportunities for a better life.

My experience reinforced my view of how critically important it is to promote the realization of child rights, prevent harm and create safe environments.

What gives you hope regarding the current developments and the future of children’s rights?

After working in Europe and in Asia in the area of ​​child rights and child protection for some years I moved back to Australia. In 2013 the Australian Government initiated a comprehensive inquiry into the sexual abuse of children in institutional settings. The inquiry created a monumental shift in how society views child rights and led to significant legal reforms. I identified a growing need to provide organizations with tailored consultancy and legal advice in the implementation of child safe policies, procedures and practices.

I founded Child Safeguard in 2015. Child Safeguard is an award-winning firm that helps organizations prevent harm to children and keep them safer. Our experts advise organizations how to build a Child Safe Organization and how to implement Best Practice in Child Safety. We provide consultancy, training and legal services to child-related organizations and our core services include Child Safe Audits, Design of Child Safe Policies and Procedures, delivery of Child Safe Training and Child Safe Certification. We also provide expert reports in child abuse litigation.

Accordingly, our work gives us an incredible sense of hope that child safeguarding is becoming more embedded throughout society, as legal reforms have driven organizations to become more child focussed.

Which skill/knowledge that you acquired during the master are you currently using in your work?

On reflection, I was enormously enriched by my EMA experience. I met new like minded friends, enjoyed the multi-disciplinary approach, and was fortunate to live in Venice, such a beautiful city.

However, my most cherished experience was meeting my partner, Elettra. We now have a baby son who is almost 1 year old. Now that I have my own son, my passion is stronger than ever to protect children and give them the opportunity to thrive.

Erika Bernacchi

GC Europe (EMA cohort 1997/ 1998)

Bio

Erika is researcher at the Istituto degli Innocenti of Florence where she carries out research and training activities on children’s rights, gender equality and interculturalism in the framework of national, international and EU funded projects. She was coordinator of the Secretariat of the European Network of National Observatories on Childhood and contributed to the Italian research in the Multi Country Study on the Drivers of Violence affecting Children coordinated by Unicef Office of Research.

She has a B.A. in Political Sciences, a European Masters in Human Rights and Democratization and a Ph.D in Women’s Studies from University College of Dublin. She has published in Italian and international reviews on issues related to children’s and women’s rights, violence against women and migration. Her last publication is Femminismo interculturale: una sfida possibile? L’esperienza delle associazioni interculturali di donne in Italia (“Intercultural feminism: a feasible challenge? The experience of women’s intercultural associations in Italy”), 2018, Aracne.

What motivates you to work on children’s rights?

Working on children’s rights allows me to focus on the rights of one of the most neglected groups of population ever. At the same time, the children’s rights movement has been one of the most active in the last period and it gained enormous momentum, and this permits me to be part of one of the most vibrant human rights community. Working on children’s rights means both expanding the opportunities of children’s today and influencing the future of our societies, hopefully in the direction of more democratic, inclusive, and less violent societies.

What gives you hope regarding the current developments and the future of children’s rights?

There have been recently great developments in children’s rights both from the point of view of international law (with the approval of 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child which is the most ratified human rights convention and additional protocols including the recent Optional Protocol on a communication procedure), of national legislation (the majority of countries have adopted national action plans and created specific bodies to implement and monitor the CRC) and of practical implementation. In particular, much effort has been put in recognising children’s right to participation and to be heard in all matters that concern them. This means shifting from a concept of (only) protecting children’s to one based on recognizing children as active subjects of rights. Much work has also been done in the fight and prevention of violence against children in all its forms although this human rights violation is far from being extinguished.

Which skill/knowledge that you acquired during the master are you currently using in your work?

First of all the specific knowledge about international legislation on children’s rights and the overall functioning of human rights bodies and international organization. For instance in my work at the Istituto degli Innocenti we have the task of writing the draft of the national report on the state of implementation of the CRC convention. I have also been technical coordinator a European Network of National Observatories on Children (ChildOnEurope) which promoted the exchange of knowledge and best practices on children’s rights among EU States and I participated in committees dedicated to children’s rights within the Council of Europe and the European Commission.

The master was very useful also in enlarging my knowledge in women’s rights and gender studies (especially during the second semester at University College of Dublin) as some projects that we carry out adopt a gender perspective. During the master, I also acquired some general skills about working in an international and multicultural environment which are very useful in the work we carry out in the framework of European funded projects.

Timisha Dadhich

GC Europe (EMA cohort 2017/ 2018)

Bio

Timisha is a passionate human rights professional with experience in legal research, casework management, and project management. She currently works with the American India Foundation for STEM education for girls in India. She previously worked to provide psycho-social support to survivors of child sexual abuse at a national child rights NGO HAQ: Centre for Child Rights. Timisha has engaged effectively with criminal justice social work in different specializations in India such as child rights (children in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection), tribal rights, and persons falsely accused of terrorism.

What motivates you to work on children’s rights?

Children’s experiences impact their understanding and perception of life as an adult. I work with children to ensure that they grow up as responsible citizens with non-discriminatory memories of childhood.

What gives you hope regarding the current developments and the future of children’s rights?

With more organizations engaging with the participatory approach while working with children, I believe it is possible to build a child-friendly future.

Which skill/knowledge that you acquired during the master are you currently using in your work?

EMA really helped me to grow as an efficient human rights professional! I learned international human rights law and mechanisms that gave me the skills to analyze local issues in the global context.

Maria Dolores Picot

GC Europe (EMA cohort 2013/ 2014)

I work as a consultant for the child protection team at UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office. I have previously worked for several UN agencies on diverse human rights issues and was the Human Rights Fellow at the EUDEL in Geneva in 2016.

What motivates you to work on children’s rights?

Children are very vulnerable and it is our responsibility to offer them all the protection they need and to build a better future for them.

What gives you hope regarding the current developments and the future of children’s rights?

Since the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 30 years ago, children in the Asia Pacific Region have better access to healthcare, education, and nutrition; enjoy stronger legal protections; have access to social protection support and expect to live longer than previous generations.

Which skill/knowledge that you acquired during the master are you currently using in your work?

So many! But with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) being at the core of our mandate at UNICEF, I use a lot the tools learned about human rights treaty bodies.

Mariam Muradyan

GC Caucasus (CES cohort 2012/ 2014)

Bio

Since October 2019, Mariam has been working as Children’s Rights Officer / Researcher for the Center for European Studies, Yerevan State University Global Campus in partnership with the Right Livelihood Award Foundation.

What motivates you to work on children’s rights?

I come from a small town in Armenia where many children are challenged for a better future where the environment encourages the girls to get married and boys to start earning to provide their families as soon as possible. It took me several professions and educational experiences to understand what is the change I want to bring in children’s life. I started as a teacher where I understood that teaching a subject is just one part. I worked as a social worker for several years. This helped me to dive deep into the root causes of child poverty, school dropouts, and deprivation of many rights for children with disabilities, child exploitation, and domestic violence. Therefore I dedicated my MA studies to the children’s rights to be better of impacting the policies, laws, systems, and practices in my region thus making the environment more enabling for better education, increasing the creativity and making children participants in shaping their life.

What gives you hope regarding the current developments and the future of children’s rights?

I see great partnership efforts among people who share the same aspirations and values for a better life for children in Armenia and throughout the world. I observe that the state, society and professional environment in Armenia acknowledges the challenges and is eager to trust the changes that I and my friends pursue. After joining the Global Campus I want to help the students interested in child rights to grow professionally and I observe their desire for it. It inspires me to see the demand for contributing to the child protection entities, raising the voices of children facing societal, education and equality issues and making them participants in making decisions about the greatest plans we build for them.

Which skill/knowledge that you acquired during the master are you currently using in your work?

My education at the MA in Human Rights and Democratization helped me think wider, contrast and compare the application of universal human rights to the smallest places which are not seen on the map (E. Roosevelt’s speech). Human rights education built my capacity to understand the limitlessness of equality, taught mechanisms of implementation of law based on human rights values and sharpened my critical thinking for reshaping existing systems for legal and social protection of children.

Rocío Comas

GC Latin America-Caribbean (LATMA cohort 2014/2015)

I am conducting a Ph.D. at the Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen, Germany and as a fellow scholar for the German Academic Exchange Service – DAAD. I have recently been assigned as a Children´s Rights Regional Officer at the Global Campus Latin American and the Caribbean Master Programme. I obtained a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina and a master’s in Human Rights and Democratization at the University of San Martin (Cohorte 2014-15). During my master studies, I was awarded to publish the thesis in “Gender and the best interests of the child in the administration of justice: Case Analysis in Argentina”. I also gained experience as a human rights consultant at the Regional Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Chile working specifically on the promotion and protection of human rights through the Universal Periodic Review-UPR- mechanism. I have published articles in the field of migration, children´s rights, enforced disappearances, economic, social and cultural rights, the UN Agenda 2030 and the Right to Food.

What motivates you to work on children’s rights?

Throughout my education becoming a lawyer I’ve had numerous experiences working in the field with groups in situation of vulnerability and, in various ways, they motivated me to pursue my specialization on children´s rights. My activity has been devoted to social science research and direct human rights advocacy. Going back a bit in time as a last-year-law-student, I did my practical studies in Penal Enforcement that worked on human rights with incarcerated people in federal prisons that allowed me to visit a Federal Prison (31st Unit of Ezeiza) where mothers with their children and migrant women cohabitated. Within that experience, while doing my practices at the Office of the Procurator, we supported house arrest applications with amicus curiae. That is to say, when a mother is deprived of her freedom, two types of scenarios could take place (while also aggravating the situation of vulnerability of children): the separation or partial rupture of the bond of the mother and her child, or the child having to stay in a prison unit with her. In particular, I came across the case of a child and his mother who were deprived of their liberty. The story goes back to 2012 when Ana María was in prison with her seven-month-old son and applied at that time for house arrest due to the fact that she was a mother with a child under five years of age. The Court rejected it because there was “another mother” who could look after him. The “other mother” was her female partner. Because of the discriminatory treatment from the Judicative Power in regard to her sexual orientation and gender identity, the decision was appealed. After Ana María and her son spent one year and eight months in prison, they finally were released in August 2014 and stayed free since then. This is one of many cases where an international instrument such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, plays a key role in the decisions of the respective courts. In that respect, childhood needs special care and assistance, particularly in those parts of the world where children live in exceptionally difficult conditions. This experience was one of many helping me acquire a certain sensibility and interest in children´s rights and still nowadays motivates me in my day to day work.

What gives you hope regarding the current developments and the future of children’s rights?

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (the year 2019 marked its 30th anniversary) is considered to be the most widely and rapidly adopted international instrument of all times, not only with almost universal acceptance but also with the biggest participation of civil society. Since 1990, achievements in the field of children´s rights can be seen for instance in a reduction of more than 50% in children´s death under 5 and with a view to reducing it to less than 25 per 1000 by 2030, and almost halved the proportion of undernourished children. Despite the mentioned progress, it can be said that around 262 million children and youth are not in schools, 650 million girls and women were married before the 18th years of age, 149 million children under 5 are stunting and almost 50 million are wasting (UNICEF, 2019). Nevertheless, clear accomplishments could also be seen as widespread law reforms in order to protect children while also reaching their full potential. International law understands that childhood needs special care and assistance and at the same time, considers children as right holders. That is to say that they should be able to seek redress if their rights are violated within their jurisdiction and regardless of the children or their parents, legal guardians or family members race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinions, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or another status. Significant challenges remain in order to promote, protect and realize the human rights of children, especially those who are in the most vulnerable situations and with urgent needs.

Which skill/knowledge that you acquired during the master are you currently using in your work?

By providing an intercultural and interdisciplinary atmosphere, the master’s in Human Rights and Democratization for Latin America and the Caribbean allowed me to acquire the necessary tools, both professionally and academically, to be able to deepen certain frameworks of international human rights law such as children’s rights, human mobility, and gender. Currently, I’m conducting a Ph.D. investigation that aims to analyze the model of protection of the rights of the child in light of the phenomenon of disappearances of unaccompanied migrant children in Europe. The research focuses not only on the universal and regional systems for the international protection of Human Rights law but also on a social sciences perspective. The study also concentrates on the rights of unaccompanied migrant children in the jurisprudence of the Interamerican System in comparison with the European System of Human Rights with the objective of complementing the development of the model for the integral protection of children’s rights to prevent the disappearance of unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents in Europe.

Quim Genís

GC Europe (EMA cohort 2016/ 2017)

I’m a Lawyer specialized in human rights and civil mediation. Within the field of human rights, my experience and research have been focussed on migration and children’s rights. After being graduated from EMA I worked at Terre des Hommes International Federation where I was focused on campaigning for children on the move. Following my experience in Brussels, I then worked under the Migration Program for the Catalan Red Cross, giving legal advice to migrants and refugees. Nowadays, I am a legal adviser at the Child Protection Authority in Catalonia. However, I can’t be away from the NGO sector, and I contribute as much as I can in some projects at the local level. Hasta la victoria siempre!!

What motivates you to work on children’s rights?

I do believe I’m working for making life better for children. When I started working in the field of children’s rights, I was attracted by the idea that any advance made concerning the rights of the child would mean a global achievement for today’s society and the future one (today I still have hope, but I’m a bit less idealistic).

Children’s and adolescents’ empowerment was, and still is, my main motivation when working on children’s rights. I like the idea that by empowering them, I can contribute to making a difference in their lives. Making children more visible and giving them a voice in any space of their life is not only the key to empower children, but also the most important tool to protect their rights.

What gives you hope regarding the current developments and the future of children’s rights?

It seems to me that the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, has been the perfect time to rethink the rights of the child and how to implement them. Even though the UNCRC has played a major role to improve a child’s life, there are many gaps to cover and new challenges to be faced. Hence, this anniversary was the perfect time for all actors working for the rights of the child to take a step further and search on how to implement the Convention more efficiently. Child participation appears to be one of the cornerstones of the UNCRC but at the same time, it has been one of the pillars less respected. I have the impression that child participation will play a significant role in the new understanding of the rights of the child, and Greta Thunberg is a great example of it.

Which skill/knowledge that you acquired during the master are you currently using in your work?

My master’s thesis was based on the right of the child to be heard in any legal proceeding concerning them. Today, as I’m working as a legal adviser for the child protection authority in Catalonia, I can put in practice what I learned during the masters. Hence, in my day-to-day job, I give primary importance to children’s opinions and their views. Moreover, I also work through a human rights-based approach when it comes to implementing any proceeding concerning children under public protection, and I can clearly say that this is thanks to EMA.