On 7 December 2021, ACRiSL held its second network event on the topic of Overcoming the Challenge of standing in Child Rights Strategic Litigation– Mechanisms and Strategies.
The first part of the event consisted on a public panel discussion in which the speakers outlined some key issues and lessons drawn from their experience with the challenge of standing in the context of child rights strategic litigation decisions, both at the national and international level. Speakers included:
Karolina Babicka, Legal Adviser, International Commission of Jurists, European and Central Asia Programme – speaking on standing issues in the context of CRSL before the European Social Charter collective complaints mechanism.
Karabo Ozah, Centre for Child Law, University of Pretoria, South Africa / ACRiSL – speaking on overcoming CRSL-related standing obstacles before the South African courts, including in the ground-breaking decision of Centre for Child Law v Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development (2009).
Edmund Amarkwei Foley, Director of Programs, Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa, the Gambia – speaking on tackling standing challenges in the context of CRSL before the Economic Community of Western African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice
Francisco Rodríguez, Coordinador del programa Derechos Sociales de la Niñez (Coordinator of the Social Rights of the Child Programme), Asociación Civil por la Igualdad y la Justicia (ACIJ), Argentina – speaking on using collective actions to enforce children’s rights in Argentina
During the second part of the event, network members from Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas joined a closed session where standing-related obstacles to CRLSL, as well as strategies that have been (or might be) used to overcome these challenges, were discussed. The discussion brought different practical examples to the table, contributing to knowledge exchange about past, current and planned litigation.
Follow this link to watch the video recording of the event.