An Introduction to the Members of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (March 2005)

Summary: Background information on the current
members of the Committee on the Rights of
the Child, including new members elected in
February 2005.

Ms. Mary Alison Anderson, Jamaica, 2005-2007
- Chief Executive Officer, Child Development Agency. Ministry of Health
- Member of Board of the Early Childhood Commission. Ministry of Education
- Member of the Youth Policy Coordinating Committee
- Member of the Adolescent Health Policy Group
- Member of the National Working Group on Children and Violence
- Chairperson of the Programme Review Group, Policy, Advocacy, Special
Care and Protection Programme

Ms. Ghalia Mohd Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Qatar, 2001-2009
- Chairperson of Paediatrics Department
- Chairperson of the Organising Committee, 1st and 2nd Qatari
International Paediatric Conferences
- Fellow of the Royal College for Paediatrics and Child Health
- Chairperson of the Committee for Special Needs
- Member of the Advisory Committee Supreme Council for Family Affairs

Ms. Joyce Aluoch, Kenya, 2003-2009
- Justice, High Court, Head of the Family Division
- Chairperson of Kenya Women Judges Association
- First Chairperson of Committee of African Experts on the Rights and
Welfare of the Child
- Judge of International Tribunal for Children's Rights, working for war-
affected children
- Board member of Olave Baden Powell Society, raising funds world-wide
for Girl Guides, which include HIV/AIDS prevention programs

Mr. Jacob Egbert Doek, The Netherlands, 2003-2007
- Retired Professor of Family and Juvenile Law, Vrije Universiteit
- Retired Professor of Law, juvenile justice, University of Leiden
- Deputy judge at Amsterdam Court of Appeal
- Founding Member, Defence for Children International

Mr. Kamel Filali, Algeria, 2003-2007
- Professor of International Law and of International Human Rights Law,
University of Constantine
- Professor of International Human Rights Law, Strasbourg Institute
- Professor at the Algerian National Institute of Magistrates
- Member of the National Consultative Commission for the Promotion and
Protection of Human Rights
- Children's defence attorney before the Tribunal of Minors
- Lawyer before the Supreme Court of Algeria
- Active participant in the movement for the protection of youth and
handicapped children
- Member of working group on education on human rights in Algerian
schools

Ms. Moushira Khattab, Egypt, 2003-2007
- Secretary General, National Council for Childhood and Motherhood
- Personal representative of children to the President
- Chairperson of the Committee on Family and Children
- Member of Egyptian Supreme Council of Pre-University Education
- Board member of Institute for Higher Studies on Childhood, University of
Ein-Shams
- Board member of General Federation of Non-Governmental Organizations
- Former Ambassador to South Africa (Botswana and Lesotho), Czech
Republic, Czech and Slovak Republics

Mr. Hatem Kotrane, Tunisia, 2003-2007
- Professor and director of Department of Private Law in the Faculty of
Judicial Sciences
- Independent expert to the Commission on Human Rights, focusing on the
question of a draft optional protocol to the International Covenant on
Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights
- Expert to UNICEF, specifically on the support and elaboration of Tunisia's
State Report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Expert to ILO for the revision of the Work Code in Yemen, Lebanon, and
Kuwait; for the elaboration of the Work Code in Palestine
- Scientific and judicial advisor at the Arab Institute of Human Rights
- Member of Superior Committee of Human Rights and Fundamental
Liberties
- Executive member of International Society of Labour Rights and Social
Security

Mr. Lothar Friedrich Krappmann, Germany, 2003-2007
- Professor of Sociology of Education at the Freie University, Berlin
- Guest researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and
Education
- Principle investigator for a study of inequality among children
- Member of advisory boards in field of child development and education
- Chairman of the expert commission that prepared the 10th German
Report on Children and Youth (published 1998)
- Active member of Society for Research on Child Development, the
International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development

Ms. Yanghee Lee, Republic of Korea, 2003-2009
- Dean of School of Human Life Sciences, director of Graduate Studies of
School of Human Life Sciences, Sungkyunkwan University
- Professor of Department of Child Psychology and Education,
Sungkyunkwan University
- Governing Director of Korean Association for Prevention of Child Abuse
and Neglect
- Governing Director of Korean Council for Children's Rights
- Member of Committee on Child and Social Welfare for City of Seoul
- Advisor to Korean Safety Education Association
- Member of Council for Exceptional Children
- Active in Citizen's Coalition for Economic Justice Committee on Children's
Welfare
- Monitor of child safety in play environment

Mr. Norberto I. Liwski, Argentina, 2003-2007
- President of National Council of Childhood, Adolescence, and Family,
Ministry of Social Development
- Director of Programs: Adolescents and Juvenile Citizenship, Rights and
Contradictions, Faculty of Law, University of Buenos Aires
- President of Defence for Children International, Argentina
- Social Paediatrician

Ms. Awa N'Deye Ouedraogo, Burkina Faso, 2003-2007
- Technical advisor to the Minister of the Promotion of Human Rights
- Member of National Committee for the Implementation of the Convention
on the Rights of the Child
- Participant in UN Special Session on Children (2002), in the African
Conference on the Rights of the Child (2001), and in the 2d Conference on
the Education of the Rights of the Child (2001)
- Former Cultural Adviser, Embassy of Burkina Faso to the United States

Ms. Rosa Maria Ortiz, Paraguay, 2003-2007
- Joint director of Global…Infancia
- Co-ordinator of various programs: the rights of the child and local
government, municipal councils for the rights of the child, domestic child
labour, child organisation and participation in schools, and training of police
officers on the Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Participant in the fight against the trafficking of children
- Advisor to NGOs working for the rights of the child on behalf of the
Council of the Centre of Adoption

Mr. Brent Parfitt, Canada, 2005-2009
- Independent consultant in human rights and on the role of the
Ombudsperson, children’s rights, and the development of democratic
institutions
- Associate, Centre for Global Studies, University of Victoria
- Associate, International Institute for Child Rights and Development,
University of Victoria
- Advisor to the Canadian Coalition for the Rights of the Children
- Chairperson, International Institute for Child Rights and Development
- Former Deputy Ombudsman for Children and Youth in British Columbia

Mr. Awich Pollar, Uganda, 2005-2009
- Former child soldier and currently Captain in the National Army
- Chairman of Makerere University Counselling Group, to erase the social
stigma against child soldiers
- Engaged in establishing Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms (ADR)
in legal matters concerning child soldiers
- Organized, mobilized, and counselled former child soldiers
- Research assistant on child soldiers for many international organizations

Mr. Kamal Siddiqui, Bangladesh, 2005-2009
- Principal Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office
- Chairman, Independent South Asia Commission on Poverty Alleviation
(ISACPA)
- Chairman, National Steering Committee on Poverty Alleviation
- Chairman, Inter-Ministerial Standing Committee on Child Rights
- Chairman, National Committee to suggest organizational set-up of the
office of Independent Children Commissioner for Bangladesh
- Chairman, Board of Governors, Social Development Foundation (SDF)

Ms. Lucy Smith, Norway, 2003-2009
- Professor of Child Law, Human Rights Law, and Law of Contracts,
University of Oslo
- Chairperson of Norwegian Institute of Human Rights
- Vice-President of European University Association
- Advisor to Ombudsman for Children in Norway
- Advisor to UNICEF, Norway
- Member of Board and Council of SOS Children's Villages, Norway
- Member of Board of Red Cross Contact Telephone for Children, Norway

Ms. Nevena Vuckovic-Sahovic, Serbia and Montenegro,
2003-2007
- President of Child Rights Centre, Belgrade, whose primary focus is the
implementation of the CRC
- Special Advisor on the rights of the child to the Yugoslav Federal
Government Commission for Co-operation with UNICEF
- Advisor to the Ministry of Education on democratisation of education and
civic education
- Founding member of Governing Board of the Belgrade Centre for Human
Rights
- Member of the Council for Human Rights of the Centre for Anti-War Action
in Belgrade
- Co-ordinated establishment of SEECRAN (South-East European Child
Rights Action Network)

Mr. Jean Zermatten, Switzerland, 2005-2007
- President and dean of the juvenile court of the canton of Valais
(Switzerland)
- Co-founder and member of the Foundation Sarah Oberson
- Initiated and launched the Executive Master on Children’s Rights, in
collaboration with the University of Fribourg and the Institut Universitaire
Kurt Bösch
- President of the Swiss society for criminal law for juveniles
- Founder and director of the International Institute for the Rights of the
Child (IDE)
- Collaborated in the creation of the first Swiss children’s rights network
- President of the International Association of Magistrates for Youth and
Family (IAMYF)

Liaison Unit
NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child
Revised 9.3.2005

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