Our International Advisory Board

Professor Ann Skelton is an elected member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, a Professor of Law at the University of Pretoria, where she holds the UNESCO Chair in Education Law in Africa, and has an established track record as a children’s rights lawyer in South Africa for over 25 years. 

Ann is a respected global figure in academia and across international children’s rights practice, in the areas of youth justice and alternative care in both research and legal practice. Ann is also one of our Visiting Scholars.  

Ann is now Chair of CRC and at Leiden as well as Pretoria.

Esther Chebijira, an award-winning Ugandan educator, holds a master’s degree in Inclusive Education from the University of Glasgow as a Chevening Scholar, and a bachelor’s degree in Arts with Education from Makerere University. She is currently pursuing another master’s in Education: Advanced Teaching from the University of the People. With expertise in education, inclusion, disability rights, gender equality, and policy development, Chebijira has worked in teaching, project management, research, and community management.

Working in local government for 20 years developing, managing and delivering services to the public in both England and Scotland, Leslie joined the UK civil service in 2000.

In 2015 she became the first woman to be appointed Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government, Scotland’s most senior civil servant and principal policy adviser to the First Minister and her Cabinet, representing Scotland and Scotland’s interests at the highest level in the UK and internationally.

Leslie left the civil service in 2022 and is now a qualified Executive Coach, working with leaders in the public, private and third sectors. She is an Associate Coach for several agencies and volunteers for the UK charity Smart Works, helping women back into work. Leslie chairs the Action for Children's Scottish Committee.

Professor Andrew Goudie is Special Adviser to the Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of Strathclyde.  He is also a Visiting Professor at the University.  He was educated at Queens’ College, University of Cambridge, UK (BA Econ., MA; PhD); and the Open University, UK (BA Maths and Stats).  He was awarded an Hon. D.Litt. by the University of Strathclyde and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Andrew’s career has included a wide range of roles in national and international public service including Research Officer, University of Cambridge; Senior Economist at the World Bank, Washington; Principal Economist at the OECD Development Centre, Paris; Chief Economist at the Department for International Development, UK and most recently, Chief Economic Adviser and Director-General Economy in the Scottish Government.

Prathit Singh is a youth advocate, working for the past four years with UN Agencies and international NGOs in areas of violence against children, child protection, meaningful child participation and justice. He is a student of International Development at the Geneva Graduate Institute, specialising in Human Rights and Humanitarianism and has been passionately promoting meaningful child and youth participation in decisions concerning their well-being and intergenerational partnerships between children, young people and adults. Prathit is passionate about working to uphold children's rights and to ensure that every child around the world gets the future they deserve.

Murilo Vieira Komniski is a Brazilian career Diplomat (Counselor), with experience in multilateral and bilateral affairs in the areas of human rights, international, trilateral and South-South cooperation, defense, public security, combat of transnational illicit activities, internet governance and ITC. He is currently advisor to the Director of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency of the Ministry of External Relations (ABC/MRE). Murilo played a key role in securing Brazil’s steady leadership to ensure the UN General Assembly’s adoption of the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children in 2009.

He is a member of Gacint - Analysis Group on International Affairs at the University of São Paulo (USP), the GR-RI - Reflection Group on International Relations (São Paulo), the CRC - Conflict Resolution Center (USP) and several "Think Do Tanks" on politics, international affairs and culture.