Workshop on Equal Access to Justice for Children in Child Welfare & Justice Systems
Oct 8, 2024 | 9:00 AM - 12:00 PMQuebec Room
Oct 8, 2024 | 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Quebec Room
Description
Child-friendly justice is a critical component of global efforts to ensure equal access to justice for all, with increasing recognition that children's perspectives must be directly embedded into legal and policy frameworks. This shift is driven by the understanding that children require tailored response from public institutions to ensure their rights are fully realised and needs are met. In many countries, children from marginalised, Indigenous, or socio-economically disadvantaged communities are disproportionately represented in child welfare and justice systems. This overrepresentation is often a reflection of systemic and structural inequalities, including poverty, discrimination, and a lack of age- and culturally appropriate services.
In response to these challenges, the OECD introduced the Child-Friendly Justice Framework in 2023, offering countries a comprehensive strategy to enhance child-friendly practices across justice systems. This initiative aligns with the OECD Recommendation on Access to Justice and People-Centred Justice Systems and the OECD Framework and Good Practice Principles for People-Centred Justice. A central element of these initiatives is focusing on the legal and justice needs and experiences of particular groups of people in vulnerable situations, including children.
This workshop will focus on practical steps to achieve child-friendly justice, with particular emphasis on mechanisms for integrating child-centred considerations into policy development processes. The session will provide a safe and constructive environment to share the challenges, promising practices and lessons learned from various approaches to designing and implementing a children’s rights lens. Special attention will be given to the situations where children from marginalised communities are overrepresented in child welfare and justice systems. An interactive format will encourage dialogue among participants. Contributions will explore the strategic importance of data and evidence, and building new partnerships.
The workshop will focus on Canada’s experiences in child welfare, featuring an Indigenous perspective on children’s rights, particularly the overrepresentation of Indigenous children in the child and family welfare system and its impact on their communities. A government perspective will address Canadian legislation that recognises jurisdiction over child and family services as a fundamental aspect of Indigenous self-governance, aiming to protect the well-being of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children through culturally appropriate services. Additionally, the workshop will highlight tools for integrating children's rights into policy development, including Justice Canada’s voluntary Child Rights Impact Assessment Tool, created in collaboration with child rights advocates and supported by an online training course.
The workshop will hear reflections and learning from 2-3 other countries that will explore the learning and next steps in advanced children’s rights and child-centred justice and child welfare.
This pre-conference Workshop session builds on the OECD Child-Friendly Justice Framework, is framed by the SDG 16 Working Group’s Justice for Children, Justice for All: Agenda for Action; and is informed by the development of a new CRC General Comment No. 27 to ensure children have equal access to justice. This event is led by OECD and Canada’s Department of Justice, and organised in collaboration with the University of Strathclyde - a Justice Action Coalition partner and host of the Working Group on SDG16 Justice for Children Secretariat.
