The African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) and Defence for Children International (DCI) are making preparations to host a global conference on child justice in Africa in Kampala, Uganda, 7-8 November 2011. Children come in contact with the justice system in many ways: they may be involved in civil proceedings; they may be dealt with by a Juvenile Justice System when they come in conflict with the law (and too often, even when they are not in conflict with the law since a child justice system intervenes while a child is in need of care); they may be witnesses of crimes or, and, this is even more common, they may be victims of crimes. They may also be involved in administrative, social and other kind of proceedings. The issue of managing or dealing with children coming in conflict with the law has historically haunted nations, and Africa is no exception. Although there have already been important headways, much remains to be done in ensuring child justice in Africa, including in laying down the law and policy framework in keeping with international human rights norms and in properly implementing the same, which is often plagued by attitudinal and awareness barriers. It is often the case that the basic rights of children are not respected by national legal, social welfare and justice systems and security institutions. Justice standards that are designed for adults seldom cater to their needs. In one word, their basic human rights of access to justice are footnoted in a predominately adult-oriented justice system. The Global Conference on Childrenās Access to Justice in Africa aims to: Conference Theme Call for AbstractsĀ Participants are welcomed to submit original abstracts, with emphasis on, but not limited to: Instructions for submitting abstractsĀ An abstract must be in English or French and contains the proposed title and a brief (200 to 250 words) summary of the argument/contribution of the paper. The text should be single spaced and written in font size 11, using Arial font. All abstracts must be original and should not have been published or presented at any conference prior to this one.Ā Abstracts must be submitted on or before 30 July 2011 by e-mail toĀ abstracts@kampalaconference.info All abstracts will be reviewed by the Organizers of conference, and authors will be notified of the results by email by 15 August 2011. The accepted abstracts will be presented at the Conference (by the authors) and published in the Abstract Book. Each presenter will have 15-20 minutes to present his or her paper. Presenters will b expected to rework their papers after the conference and resubmit final versions before or on 31 December 2011. The conference proceedings will be further peer-reviewed and published later in 2011. Ā To register for the event, click here.Ā
Africa: āDeprivation of Childrenās Liberty as the Last Resortā
Countries
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