Seminars

The seminar, co-organized by the International Institute for the Rights of the Child and the Terre des hommes Foundation, is part of the Global Initiative for Justice with Children, which is organizing the Fifth World Congress on Justice with Children from June 2 to 4, 2025 in Madrid. The seminar, entitled “The all-encompassing assault on juvenile criminal law”, is seen as a preparatory event for this congress, with the themes presented and ideas debated feeding into the agenda and final declaration of the world congress. As such, it benefits from a financial contribution from Baker McKenzie.

Partners: Terre des hommes – Children’s Aid, Global Initiative on Justice with Children.

Supporters: Swiss Society for Juvenile Criminal Law (SSPDM), Latin Association of Juvenile Judges (ALJM), Interfaculty Center for Children’s Rights (CIDE-UNIGE), HES-SO Valais-Wallis Social Work Department, HEP Valais

Target audience: Professionals in the field: magistrates and juvenile justice staff, lawyers and jurists, family judges, mediators, members of the police force, psychologists, psychiatrists, doctors, social workers, sociologists, educationalists, representatives of associations; it is also of interest to politicians, advanced students and doctoral candidates. Journalists welcome.

Partner(s): Centre interfacultaire en droits de l’enfant de l’UNIGE, Terre des hommes – child relief

Target audience: Professionals working with children and adolescents in conflict or in contact with the law: police officers, public prosecutors, judges, lawyers, staff of public and penal institutions, educators, psychologists, doctors (pediatricians, child psychiatrists, etc.), criminologists, migration professionals, members of non-governmental and international organizations, researchers, etc.

Objectives:

• Train professionals to understand and implement a restorative and reparative approach to juvenile justice;
• Know the different tools and methods of intervention focused on children’s rights;
• Develop projects and interventions with children in conflict or in contact with the law, while respecting children’s rights.

Partner(s): UNIGE Interfaculty Center for Children’s Rights

Target audience: Professionals working in the judiciary (members of civil and juvenile criminal courts, specialized prosecutors’ offices, specialized registry staff), bar (lawyers and trainee lawyers), police (members of police forces, especially juvenile brigades), child protection (child protection workers, psychologists attached to protection services, protection service lawyers, mediators).

Objectives:

• Strengthen professionals’ skills in working with children and adolescents, especially those who for various reasons are involved in the judicial or protection system;
• Understand and assess the impact of children’s rights on professional practices and judicial/administrative intervention;
• Acquire new knowledge in the field of children’s hearing, based on progress made, protocols put in place and multidisciplinary research;
• Create a network of expertise.

Partner(s): Direction de la Sécurité Humaine du Département Fédéral des Affaires Etrangères Suisse through the Embassy of Switzerland Embassy of Switzerland in Dakar and Centre de Formation Judiciaire in Dakar (Senegal)

Target audience: 64 juvenile justice professionals (magistrates, police officers, prison officers, specialized educators, lawyers) from all regions of Senegal.

Objectives: The general objective of the program is to improve the training of professionals, taking into account their needs. The specific objectives are:

• Professional specialization;
• Learning to work better together;
• Enhancing the value of juvenile justice professions.

Partner(s): Swiss-Bulgarian Cooperation Program and Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Bulgaria

Target audience: Criminal justice professionals (magistrates, mediators, lawyers, police officers, social workers, psychologists).

Objectives:

• Strengthening the skills of juvenile justice professionals ;
• Develop knowledge in the field of children’s rights and juvenile justice;
• Propose tools for professionals.

Partner(s): UNIGE Centre interfacultaire en droits de l’enfant and UCAD Institut des droits de l’homme et de la paix, Dakar (Senegal)

Target audience: West African professionals working with and for children, or involved in the defense of children’s rights.

Objectives:

• Acquire interdisciplinary, scientifically-based theoretical and practical knowledge of children’s rights in the fields of law, sociology, pedagogy, psychology, social work, education, public health and ethics;
• Learn how to assess the child’s best interests and take his or her views into account;
• Develop skills for dealing with difficult situations using a rights-based approach that takes into account the economic and socio-cultural context;
• Develop critical thinking about one’s own practice, ethics and professional duties, and acquire a work methodology;
• Acquire new skills, in particular networking with an interdisciplinary and interprofessional approach.

Partner(s): International Institute for the Rights of the Child

Target audience: Professionals working in the field of children’s rights (lawyers, psychologists, sociologists, judges, social workers, government representatives, journalists, researchers).

Partner(s): Terre des Hommes – Aide à l’Enfance

Target audience: Traditional chiefs of Ouagadougou and Bobo Dioulasso

Objectives:

• Further training in juvenile criminal mediation ;
• Crossing perspectives and practices between prosecutors and mediators in the referral of mediation cases;
• Analyze, exchange and discuss the implementation of the collaboration scheme between judicial and community actors as an opportunity to improve juvenile justice.

Partner(s): Groupement Pro Médiation, Astural, Fédération Genevoise MédiationS, Geneva School of Social Work

Target audience: Judicial authorities and child protection professionals

Objectives:

• To present court-led interdisciplinary programs for families experiencing separation;
• Reflect on the benefits of interdisciplinary management of family situations involving child protection measures;
• Analyze the different professional postures involved in interdisciplinary projects;
• Reinforce professionals’ skills in the place and well-being of children at the heart of family separations.

Partner(s): Terre des Hommes – Aide à l’Enfance, aide à l’enfance and the Mediator of the Republic of Côte-d’Ivoire

Target audience: Judiciary and traditional justice actors in West Africa

Objectives:

• Identify, in the national legislation of the participating countries, the mechanisms for implementing criminal and family mediation measures for minors;
• Share experiences and identify good practices in mediation carried out by traditional justice actors (such as traditional chiefdoms, customary chiefs, religious leaders, heads of families or neighbourhood chiefs) as well as official justice actors, and discuss the relevance of strengthening collaboration between official and traditional mechanisms;
• Identify the limits faced by justice stakeholders in implementing mediation measures;
• Foster a “children’s rights” reflex, in particular the right to be heard and to have one’s opinion duly taken into account, in the implementation of mediation processes;
• Discuss strategies that support improved coordination between formal and traditional justice system actors in juvenile mediation;
• Consider setting up a monitoring mechanism for this new regional community of practice, and encourage regular exchanges between the players present at this round table.