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Kirsten Sandberg, 56, from Norway, teaches child law at the University of Oslo. Prior to her work as a university professor, Kirsten served as a judge in a Norwegian county court. She has cooperated extensively with NGOs and given a number of lectures on the Convention on the Rights of the Child to NGOs and other professionals. Click here to read Kirsten's full CV. Could you tell us a bit about your experience in children's rights? Why do you want to serve on the Committee? What do you think you can contribute to the Committee's work? Which issue in children's rights do you think needs more attention? I am also very interested in children's right to be heard. I attended the Committee's Day of General Discussion on the subject in 2006 because I run a research project on children's right to be heard in court and how this works in practice. I see a great need for increased compliance with the right of the child to be heard in legal decisions concerning their own lives, for example, decisions about contact when parents separate and child care decisions. This is a topic that I have worked on in Norway and with researchers from other countries. What is your vision for the Committee? What is the biggest challenge facing the Committee? I think it is also a challenge to do the best possible job with every single State and make sure that all the views of both governments and NGOs presented in the oral exchange are taken into account in the recommendations. How do you think the Committee could work more effectively with NGOs? What is the biggest achievement of your career? If you were not working in children's rights, what would you be doing? Sum up children's rights in one word
I have taught child law at a university for 25 years. Initially I was covering mainly Norwegian Acts, but since the CRC came into force, I have taught international children's rights law. I have also written widely on children's rights, most recently contributing an article on how the prohibition on corporal punishment in Norway is being enforced to a book on international experiences of corporal punishment. I have also co-edited a book on children's rights under Norwegian law.
I have always followed the work of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. It's extremely important to influence how children's rights are interpreted and understood and I would really like to take part in this. It is also a wonderful opportunity to gain a closer insight into children's rights in other countries.
Being a lawyer, I think I can help to interpret the Convention in a right-based way and recommend best practice in terms of what is required by the wording of the Convention. I am also from one of the Nordic countries which are very engaged in children's rights and welfare so I hope I can provide some inspiration from our experiences.
Violence against children is a very important issue. I think a lot is already being done on this, but I think we need to focus more on enforcement of laws and making them work in practice.
I think the idea of having an Optional Protocol to allow the Committee to examine individual complaints is very interesting and will give force to the Committee's work. I have participated in discussions between the Norwegian Children's Ombudsperson, NGOs and the government about the principles and content of a complaints procedure.
The workload seems to be a problem, although the Committee seems to be resolving this to a certain extent by working in two chambers to examine the backlog of reports. I think when the Optional Protocol reports are integrated into the general report, that will make a big difference.
We had an interesting experience in Norway last time we reported to the Committee. On the initiative of various NGOs, some Committee members came to meet children here in Norway as well as with NGOs. I think it would be interesting to formalise this kind of link between the Committee and NGOs.
To be nominated for the Committee! I think it would be a real honour. I am also happy about the book I wrote on children's rights under Norwegian law.
I can't really imagine doing anything else. I would probably still be a professor of law, although perhaps I would become a practising lawyer as this is something I have never done.
I would say dignity, as a basic value that should be realised for each child through children's rights. Children should not just be seen and treated as a group. I am very focused on the interests and rights of individual children.