Visit from the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children (SRSG-VAC), 5th April 2022

On the 5th April colleagues from the Global Study Team met with the UN-SRSG on Violence against Children, Ms. Najat Maalla and her team. Some of the main aspects discussed where the need to stop migration-related detention of all children and to ensure their procedural rights, including access to child-friendly information and in a language they understand, being supported by social workers, as well as having access to education and health care. Another priority to both teams is supporting child participation. Ms Maalla and her team published in 2020 a report on child participation and child-led actions and collects further child participation actions (see the call further beneath). The Global Campus is also working to increase and support child participation and recently organised its first child-led and child-designed Global Campus International Conference. The theme of the Conference was mental health, a topic decided by the children themselves during numerous previous regional consultations. Children shared their perspectives on the challenges and ways forward were discussed among the participants.