Director-General Mr. Joseph Borghese has selected Professor Jane Williams of the Observatory on Human Rights of Children in Wales for holding the Chair of CRC Policy Center. The Chair is designed for Universities and Research Centers’ work towards the protection and promotion of children’s rights. It is initiated by “Hope For Children” CRC Policy Center, an International Independent Humanitarian Institution based in Nicosia, Cyprus, whose mission is to advocate and to protect children’s rights based on the standards and principles of the Conventions on the Rights of the Child and European Union Law. The establishment of the Chair of the "Hope For Children" CRC Policy Center seeks to nurture cooperation and collaborative action between organizations and agencies around the world.
The Observatory on Human Rights of Children in Wales is a collaborative forum for research, advocacy and expertise on the human rights of children and young people, working for the realisation of human rights through public policy, practice, advocacy and law reform.
Professor Jane Williams is co-founder of the Observatory on Human Rights of Children, an initiative dedicated to giving practical effect to the human rights of children. Her focus on the real-world impact is reflected in her co-edited volume with Dr Antonella Invernizzi, The Human Rights of Children, From Visions to implementation (Ashgate, 2011). Jane leads a team, Lleisiau Bach Little Voices, which supports and empowers children and researchers and co-producers of change within the values and normative framework of the UNCRC. Amongst other achievements, this work produced in 2015 the first ever child-led submission to the UN committee on the Rights of the Child by children under 11. In 2016, Jane led the establishment of Wales’ first and only Children’s Legal Centre, based at Swansea University. From 2018, Jane is working with Swansea University, Welsh Government and the Office of Hillary Rodham Clinton to establish the Hillary Rodham Clinton Research Programme in Children’s Human Rights, dedicated to supporting academic activism through research collaborations with universities in the USA and scholars across the globe.
The Chair will act as an agent of knowledge on children’s rights within the academic community through policy and practice, by teaching, conducting research and providing services to the community, such as specialized courses and training for professionals. This is in the hope and expectation that the collaboration between "Hope For Children" CRC Policy Center and the Observatory on Human Rights of Children will promote the more effective implementation of the Conventions on the Rights of the Child and the enjoyment of children’s rights to the fullest extent.