Special Course Announced on Children’s Human Rights

A collaboration between Strathclyde's Institute for Inspiring Children's Futures (IICF) and the Centre for the Study of Human Rights Law (CSHRL) will see a special course being offered in the 2021-2022 academic year. The course, 'Human Rights Law in Comparative Perspective: A Focus on Children's Human Rights', will be guest taught by Professor Ann Skelton, Visiting Professor at the Institute for Inspiring Children's Futures.

Professor Skelton is an elected member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, and a Professor of Law at the University of Pretoria, where she holds the UNESCO Chair in Education Law in Africa. Having worked as a children’s rights lawyer in South Africa for over 25 years, Prof Skelton is a respected global figure in academia and across international children’s rights practice, with an established track record in the areas of youth justice and alternative care in both research and legal practice. 

Beginning Jan 2022, the course will be an opportunity for Strathclyde postgraduate students, as well as practitioners and policy-makers interested in children’s human rights, to study alongside one another. The course, which will be taught during semester 2, will explore international and national approaches to the protection of children's human rights through a comparative lens.  It will incorporate an intensive week-long (7-11 March 2022) CPD course for a wider group of learners, which can stand alone as professional development and learning.

Commenting on the opportunity, Professor Jennifer Davidson, IICF Executive Director, said:

‘This is an exciting time as we incorporate the UNCRC in Scotland, with lessons we can learn globally. To make a real impact for children in their day-to-day lives, it is important to have a good understanding about how human rights can play a role in making a real difference for children, and how do these rights sit within wider human rights contexts and institutions. We think this is a tremendous opportunity to learn directly from Professor Ann Skelton, a highly respected global children’s rights leader, as she joins us in Scotland to lead this course. 

To make this learning as accessible as possible, we are incorporating an intensive CPD course within the module for those not wishing to pursue university credit, so that practitioners and policy-makers working for the greater good in Scotland and internationally, also have the chance to learn alongside postgraduate students; this will create a rich environment for everyone in which to stretch, learn and grow—and ultimately, have a greater impact for children.’

Dr Elaine Webster, CSHRL Director, said:

‘To reach better outcomes for children, we know that international and national law, policy, and implementation practices need to be aligned. To further support this process, the IICF and CSHRL are embarking on a number of collaborations and we're really pleased that this special course on children's human rights has come to fruition. It really is a unique opportunity for students and practitioners in Scotland to deepen knowledge and reflection. It supports our collaborative aim of understanding connections between UNCRC incorporation and the broader plans for an ambitious new human rights framework for Scotland.  

The following year, the CSHRL will also be introducing a new module, 'Human Rights in Practice', which will focus, not only on the 'know what' needed to understand this new framework but also the 'know how' of its implementation, and I hope that both of these modules can support capacity building and improved implementation.’

For further information on the intensive CPD course 7-11 March 2022, taken without university credit, contact: iicf-hello@strath.ac.uk