On Thursday June 30th, during the 50th session of the Human Rights Council, Defence for Children – International Secretariat and Defence for Children – Greece held the UN Side Event on Institutional Violence against Children on the Move. Following the issue of the Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on migration, we wanted to take the opportunity to put the spotlight on this topic and go over the forms it can take in cross border situations, as well as, in reception contexts, in times of emergency.
The panel was moderated by Alex Kamarotos, Director of DCI – International Secretariat, and it featured experts and child-survivors of institutional violence in the context of migration, mental health of children, and child-friendly justice. Moreover, the UN special Rapporteur, Felipe Gonzales Morales honored us with his intervention. Other featured speakers include:
- H.E. Ambassador Marc Bichler Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Opening remarks).
- Dr. Najat Maalla M’jid, Special Representative of the Secretary- General on Violence against Children (Keynote speaker).
- Mr. Rahmat Amiri, former child on the move from Afghanistan, youth representative.
- Ms. Nantina Tsekeri, Director of Defence for Children International – Greece.
- Mr. Vassiliy Yuzhanin, Head, International Migration Law – IOM.
- Prof. Tinia Apergi, Clinical Psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychology, American College of Greece.
- Prof. Philip Jaffé, Member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
The event took place in Room Lausanne at the Varembé Conference Centre, from 13:00 to 14:30 CEST. This event was held entirely in English, in person and also online.
Click here to check out the official flyer and click here to watch the whole recording of the event.
