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In 1990, Sydney solicitor Stuart Fowler and Adelaide solicitor, Rod Burr, (now both Judges of the Family Court of Australia) were invited to Hong Kong to address the Council of LawAsia, an organisation which represents lawyers and lawyers’ organizations in some 24 countries in the Asia and Pacific Region from as far west as Pakistan to as far North as Russia to as far east as Fiji and to as far south as New Zealand.
 

Both Stuart and Rod are former Chairs of the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia and were told that they would be asked to form a similar body for LawAsia. The then Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia, the Hon. Alastair Nicholson agreed to accompany them.
 

The Council of LawAsia not only asked assistance in forming a “Family Law and Family Rights” Section of LawAsia but also asked if they would take a brief for the human rights of families and children not only in the region but elsewhere. In fact, their request for assistance from LawAsia was four fold namely:-
 

• To provide a means whereby the evolving developments in the law and policy in the developed world could be brought to the attention of lawmakers in the region so that in their changing societies they might craft law having regard to the experience of law and policy makers of the developed world;
• To provide a forum in which the role of judges as persons who might administer justice independent of the other arms of government and without fear, favour, affection or ill will, might be encouraged and fostered;
• To provide means whereby the voice of the developing world might be heard in the Councils of the World developing internationally effective laws and treaties so that the product of that development might suit the needs of the developing and changing societies of the region;
• To provide a means whereby the human rights of families as the fundamental group unit of society might be strengthened and the rights of the most vulnerable and powerless of our societies, their children, might be protected and advanced and their welfare promoted.

When meeting with Members of the Council individually and collectively, reports were given of the parlous lot of many children and their deliberate abuse including:-
 

• The plight of some 140,000 children under the age of 14 years sold into prostitution in Taiwan;
• The potential decimation of several generations in Thailand by the spread of AIDS through child prostitution; The appalling conditions in child labor camps and factories in several countries in the region; The mutilation of children in order to enable them to be exploited as beggars;
• The removal of children’s organs for sale in the organ transplant trade; The abduction for adoption, both real and alleged, of many children and their subsequent maltreatment;
• The appalling poverty and health problems of millions of children.

In response to LawAsia requests and after three years of work, the First World Congress on Family Law and Children’s Rights was convened in Sydney, Australia in July 1993.
 

From its inception, the World Congress was designed and promoted to be “result orientated”. It was to achieve outcomes. It was not simply to be a “talk fest” or a gathering for the exchange of views and ideas which would be quickly forgotten.
 

Over 850 delegates from 54 countries came to Sydney. The World Congress brought together practicing lawyers, Judges, academics, politicians, and those in the caring professions who shared a common concern for family and the present and future generations of children and a concern for the maintenance and protection of human rights, particularly rights of children.
 

These groups have supported our subsequent Congresses.
 

In its final communiqué, the Congress called for:-

• The universal ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child a task which but for ratification by the United States is now complete;
• The protection of those rights by the implementation and enforcement of metropolitan laws which give recognition and protection to children’s rights. This task still has much to be done before it can be said to be completed but some progress is being made;
• For effective international action to eliminate child labour and trafficking for prostitution and enacting metropolitan laws against child prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation and all other forms of abuse of children;
• For the strengthening and extension of international conventions for the child abduction and the Convention on the Recovery of Maintenance.
• Finally, it called for the creation of effective machinery to monitor and ensure that the rights recognized in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child were protected.

This Congress was a promoter of laws subsequently enacted by the Australian Parliament which operated extraterritorially and which rendered justiciable and punishable before Australian Courts, offences committed by its residents in abusing children overseas. This model of legislation has now been echoed in legislation passed in many countries throughout the world.
 

The Congress sponsored the creation of the LawAsia Children’s Trust and contributed the sum in the order of $160,000 towards the Trust to be administered by LawAsia’s Family Law & Family Rights Section. It has been used for a number of child orientated purposes including the support of Asian prosecutors of offences against children.
 

Importantly this Congress as with each subsequent Congress has attracted publicity and been a tool for public education. The Congress has been a catalyst for change in its condemnation and, where appropriate, commendation of actions and policies of States which uphold the rights of children. This voice is an important part of the process since the generation of political will to act can only be achieved when societies are informed and aware.
 

The process of public education too has created somewhat of a sea change in some exploitative societies particularly in the developed world where exploitative conduct previously not talked about is now publicly and privately reviled and eschewed.
 

The Second World Congress was held in San Francisco in June 1997.
 

It was held in conjunction with the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts.
 

It was honoured by having as its Honorary Chair, Hillary Rodham Clinton, the then First Lady of the United States and an ardent campaigner and advocate for the rights of children.
 

Over 1600 registrants from more than 50 nations around the world attended.
 

Associated with it was a Youth Forum which contributed to the discussions.
 

In its final communiqué it reiterated steps to be taken to protect children from armed conflict and organized violence, access by children to health facilities and representation for the enforced removal of children from indigenous communities. The Youth Forum called for action against the exploitation of children.
 

The Congress noted that a number of steps had been taken to seek to redress the evil of exploitative child labor. There had however been, regrettably at that time, little action on the part of States in ratifying the ILO convention on children in work. It proposed that a new convention be established to deal with the worst forms of child exploitative labour. It was thought that such a convention would attract a greater enthusiasm for adoption and implementation particularly in countries where children worked in familial undertakings such as agrarian labour. The move was controversial but a convention was subsequently drawn and has been signed.
 

More needs to be done to create an international accord on the adoption and implementation of that convention.
 

As an initiative, the Congress raised with multi-national corporations the issue of adoption of voluntary codes of conduct in the employment and treatment of children not only in their respective enterprises, but in enterprises supplying their manufacturing. The Congress sought to encourage this form of self-regulation and its work continues on this task.
 

In our subsequent the Fourth World Congress in Cape Town, it was reported that substantial progress was being made in this field.
 

The Second Congress was able to devote certain funds towards the building of two schools in Central America and a community farming plot for Central American women whose husbands were some thousands of kilometers away, working in mines.
 

The Congress also urged individual States within the United States of America to consider adopting in principle UNCROC, as their country had not done so at a Federal level.
 

The 2001 World Congress was held in September of that year in Bath in England and even though it was held a few days after the dreadful events of September 11 and some registrants from the North Americas were unable to travel to it, it was an overwhelming success with over 850 attendees.
 

The Congress was honoured in having as its Honorary Chair Her Excellency Mary Robinson, then the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the former President of Ireland.
 

A major outcome of the Bath Congress was the inauguration of an International Children’s Rights Protection Network, now known as Children’s Rights International.
 

The organizers were asked to form this body and direct it to the promotion of action to support the rights of children in the period between congresses.
 

The Congress also acted as an effective voice decrying the imposition in certain countries of capital punishment on children. It particularly noted the campaign in the United States for the abolition of this practice and added its own condemnation to it.
 

After the Bath Congress, the Board of WC faced a difficulty in its choice of where the 2005 Congress was to be held. We committed to holding the Conference in Cape Town knowing that we could possibly face a loss.
 

However, such were the problems of African and its children that we had no difficulty in recognizing and giving effect to the need to direct the world’s attention to the plight of those African children.
 

Thus, the Fourth World Congress was held in March 2005 in Cape Town, South Africa and yet again over 850 delegates attended. The Congress theme was to evaluate the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC), the most ratified of all UN Human Rights Conventions, on its 15th Anniversary.
 

Now honoured by the patronage of Mme Graça Machel Mandela as its Honorary Chair, this Congress reflected on whether UNCROC was addressing the correct issues in the light of concerns with nationalism, identity and globalisation, and whether new approaches to protecting children’s rights were needed.
 

It specifically directed its attention to specific issues such as children in war, refugee children, the rights of indigenous children, HIV/AIDS and religious/cultural freedoms, legal practice and legal process affecting children’s rights and issues relating to the enforcement of Convention Provisions.
 

The opening of this convention headlined women of power and influence throughout the world. Such persons were well known. Mme Machel Mandala, Mary Robinson, Carol Bellamy Director of UNICEF, and Baroness Hale of Richmond, the first female Lord of Appeal in Ordinary in the United Kingdom’s history. In addition it attracted many female delegates of power and influence in Africa including judges and lawyers but also women who in their largely patriarchal societies had had their voices of protest muted.

The Congress was able to provide for them a platform for effective communication through television to audiences of millions throughout the continent of Africa and Europe hopefully encouraging others to speak on issues such as child abuse, domestic violence, juvenile crime and the dangers of the spread of HIV aids through heterosexual sexual intercourse.
 

The organizers were thanked particularly by the delegates for giving them the opportunity to speak loudly, widely and effectively.
 

The Congress echoing the achievements of the first in its line, continued its work on child sexual exploitation and provided a venue for an international meeting of law enforcement authorities who met to consider ways in which they might more effectively co-operate in the protection of children and the punishment of exploitation. Focus was directed to developing “best practices” in attacking child sex tourism in the various regions. Since the Cape Town Congress, there has been a positive increase in communications between these law enforcement authorities to fight crimes against children and to develop ongoing projects.
 

WC intends to make this cooperative arrangement between law enforcement agencies and associated non-government organizations an ongoing feature of our future Congresses.
 

A child friendly questionnaire on the merits of UNCROC was produced by our Board member Sally Nicholes and was settled by an Australian child psychologist (Wendy Reid). Targeted at young children to provide them with a voice and commentary on their assessment of their countries compliance with the Convention. Kidshelpline Australia posted the questionnaire on the Kidshelpline website. Groups of Primary School children in Africa also completed the questionnaire and the results from both samples of children were presented at the World Congress.
 

A youth forum of university students around the world presented their critique on their countries' adherence to UNCROC along with their resolutions and quests for change. Many of these young people had either founded or participated in youth driven NGO's seeking to better the position of young people in their country.
 

A "new frontiers forum" canvassed developing social issues that impact on children in our modern world including children of same sex couples, children with gender confusion and surrogacy. “New frontiers” compared and assessed the laws in many countries which have vastly conflicting attitudes and associated laws.

A small profit was made from the Congress and donations were made to certain charities in South Africa. Though its arrangements with Children’s Rights International (CRI), it also made other contributions to various groups in the African Continent. Particulars of this assistance is set out under the heading “Children’s Rights International (CRI)” in this document.
 

The 5th World Congress will be held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada from 23rd to 26th August 2009. The year 2009 celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the inauguration of the United Nations Convention on the Rights on the Child (UNCROC). The Board of WC is supported by a strong and vibrant local organising committee based in Halifax and headed by the Hon. Justice Jim Williams of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia (Family Division).
 

The Directorate of Studies, headed by the Hon. Chief Justice Diana Bryant QC, Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia and the Hon. Joseph Kay formerly a Judge of the Family Court of Australia (Appellate Division) as Co-Chairs, is currently developing the theme “Children Caught in Conflict”.
 

Chief Justice Bryant and the Hon. Joseph Kay have taken over the role of Co-Directors of the Directorate of Studies in place of the late Hon. Peter Nygh (the Director for the first, second and third World Congress’) and Professor John Dewar, Griffith University, Queensland (Director of the fourth World Congress).
 

Sub-themes of the Congress will include:-
 

Children’s Rights & Family Conflict

The topics in this stream will be of particular interest to legal practitioners. It will include: interdisciplinary approaches to parenting matters; shared parenting; collaborative law and international relocation and relocation cases involving very young children among other issues specifically related to the practice of family law in all its aspects.
 

Child Protection

This stream will explore compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international treaties and conventions that promote the rights of children. It will focus on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, The Hague Conventions on Child Abduction, Inter-country Adoption and Protection of Children and the conventions on child labour. This stream will also focus on the welfare jurisdiction of the State and the Children’s Court, child labour, child prostitution, pornography and trafficking and domestic child abuse.
 

Responding to Difference

This stream will explore and debate the issues surrounding children of same sex couples and the role of non-biological parents in same sex couples; the science debate: reproductive technology and its impact - children conceived by surrogacy; family law and religion.
 

Children of War

The topic in this stream will explore the issues of the impact of war and the need to protect and provide assistance to war-affected children around the world particularly focusing on child soldiers and the radicalisation of children into terrorism as well as child refugees from areas of conflict.
 

The Board of World Congress has always received the support of Governments including the Australian Government, the Canadian Government, the New Zealand Government, the United Kingdom, and the Government of Ireland. It has also received worldwide support from legal bodies such as the Family Law Section of the ABA, the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Bar Associations and Law Societies of Australia, New Zealand, England and Scotland, South Africa and Canada, from the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and from firms of solicitors and Bar Associations through the world. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police through its Missing Children’s Registry has also supported our Congresses.
 

Our Congresses have traditionally been a major media event throughout the world and has therefore been an organ for major public education as well as the education of its delegates. WC has received recognition from the United Nations for its work and its two founders Justices Burr & Fowler have been honoured by their sovereign country for their work. Board Member Mr Broun OAM QC has been a leader in the field of continuing education of the legal profession and his contributions in that regard have been monumental. He has been honoured by his sovereign country with a Medal of the Order of Australia for his services to its people.
 

Children's Rights International (CRI)

Children’s Rights International (CRI) was an outcome of the 2001 Bath World Congress where it was inaugurated. We were honoured that the Hon. Alastair Nicholson AO RFD QC accepted the role of Patron of CRI. CRI is intended to be a permanent, professionally managed organization established under the auspices of the World Congress. It will bring together lawyers, lawyer educators, lawyer organizations and associated professional groups in a co-operative effort to provide assistance for children through legal advocacy, advocacy of policy and legislative change and education. CRI operates though its own Board. It has a Chief Executive Officer(CEO) whose particulars are as follows:-
 

Mr Bill Jackson
Chief Executive Officer
Postal Address: PO Box 163 NEWTOWN NSW 2042
Tel: +61 2 9519 9506 Fax: +61 2 9565 1628
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

See web site at: www.childjustice.org

An Advisory Board of Members of Children’s Rights International has been created. CRI regularly provides advice and research and also works to establish professional networks where the human rights of children are infringed. The objectives of CRI can be viewed on the CRI web site.
 

For example:-
 

• In South Africa, CRI has provided professional support for lawyers working on a case that challenges the constitutionality of life imprisonment for young people aged less than 18 years at the time of the commission of the offence;
• In Cambodia, CRI has provided professional support to Legal Aid Cambodia in preparing a successful submission to the European Commission to fund a juvenile justice programme in Battanbang Province. The funding was successful and the Commission gave Є110,000 over a three year period which is being used to provide legal advice to child and juvenile offenders held in adult prisons in Cambodia;
• CRI has provided and will continue to provide training and experience for international professionals working in the field of Children’s Rights. For instance, CRI recently facilitated an internship with the Victorian Children’s Court and Victorian Legal Aid for Cambodian legal aid lawyers to provide them with training and experience in alternative sentencing techniques in relation to child and juvenile offenders. Cambodian children are held in adult prisons before trial and can wait up to 12 months for a hearing.
• In Tamil Nadu, India, CRI partnered with the Lasallian Foundation and produced a film on the plight of the very pool and the impact of extreme poverty and social disenfranchisement on the children, aids orphans, children ravaged by the effect of the tsunami, providing the very poor with basic human rights such as a right to education and a safe place to live and medical treatment and the advocacy within that region coupled with outside support to address those issues were touched on by the production.
• In Zimbabwe, CRI recently distributed articles, photos and video clips world wide to raise awareness of that country’s “urban renewal campaign” and its disastrous impact on children. These publications draw attention to Zimbabwe’s increasing drought, widespread HIV/AIDS, corruption and economic mismanagement. In Zimbabwe, an estimated 1 million people are now homeless as a result of the governments “urban renewal campaign”. These homeless families are increasingly leaving their children abandoned.
• In South Africa, CRI has assisted in raising funds for the Christal House School, Cape Town. This school works in the townships with the poorest and most disadvantaged children and families in South Africa and attempts to help children break the cycle of poverty and cope with violence, neglect, HIV/AIDS and other diseases as well as unemployment, illiteracy, substance abuse and gangsterism in order to help them become self-sufficient members of their society. The school works with 400 children and their parents in 10 different communities.
• In Kenya, CRI has supported the Nyankongo Youth Group. This Group engages in the production of low cost coffins for the victims of AIDS and educates the community as to the risk of female genital mutilation. The small profits from the manufacture of coffins are returned to the Group members by way of a “revolving fund” as the members of the Group are from poor backgrounds and use their share of any profits to feed their families, the Group is unable to expand its projects. CRI has arranged with the cooperation of World Congress to purchase vacant land on which the Group intends to construct a factor/workshop and has additionally provided a grant for some of the initial construction work.

CRI has established an interactive website which publishes, promotes and facilitates communication with the ambit of UNCROC. Through this website, CRI publishes:-
 

• an electronic journal;
• academic papers;
• a professional contact database for those working with children and juveniles worldwide.

CRI is organizing an International Conference on Child Labour and Exploitation to be held at the Cairns Convention Centre, Queensland, Australia from the 3rd to the 5th August 2008. This international conference will evaluate the progress and achievements made in relation to the eradication of the worst forms of child labour and will explore the challenges ahead in securing rights for children in the 21st century and meeting the UN Millennium Goals by 2015.
 

The voice of children will also be heard, as their wants and needs are often overlooked.
 

The conference will reflect on whether the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPECL) as defined by the ILO in Forms of Child Labour Convention No. 182 (see 182) and its associated Recommendation (R190), address the right issues in the light of 21st century concerns with nationalism, identify, and globalization, or whether the new approach in protecting children’s rights are needed. The conference will focus on the role of the organizations representing employers and workers, non-government organizations as well as governments. The Conference will engage the corporate sector with a view to bringing a concrete reality to the much vaunted concept of responsible corporate citizenship. It will highlight steps taken by some companies and organizations operating internationally to address the worst forms of exploitation in their labour obligations and their attempts to try to set higher standards.
 

A Selection of Speakers from Our Previous World Congresses

(Titles of individuals noted at the date of delivery of their Congress papers)