Center Hosts National Briefing Day for Children's Rights, organized by Professor Jonathan Todres

The Center for Law, Health & Society at the Georgia State University College of Law was the host site in Atlanta for the National Briefing Day on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on Friday, November 16, 2007.

Podcast Introduction - Dean Steven Kaminshine Jonathan Todres Tom Rawlings Karen Baynes Q & A All segments

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution editorial by Maureen Downey on November 23, 2007 highlighted the issues addressed at the National Briefing Day, which was organized by Professor Jonathan Todres.

The U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the most comprehensive international treaty aimed at ensuring the rights and well-being of children. It covers a broad range of issues ranging from health and education of children to the prevention of exploitation, abuse and neglect.

The U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child has been ratified by every country in the world except two: the United States and Somalia (which does not have an internationally recognized government that can ratify the CRC). The program examined why the CRC has such widespread support globally, and why the U.S. is a holdout. The event focused also on how this international treaty is relevant to the lives of children in Georgia and elsewhere in the United States.

The speakers discussed key features of the CRC and its importance to children in Georgia, with a special focus on children's health and juvenile justice. 

Children's rights experts speaking at the CRC National Briefing Day included:

Karen Baynes
Associate Director, Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia
Baynes oversees the Vinson Institute's child and family policy initiative and has extensive experience working in the Fulton County juvenile court system, including as an associate judge.

Tom Rawlings
Director, Office of the Child Advocate, State of Georgia
Rawlings, Georgia's Child Advocate, serves as the state's child welfare ombudsman and as a senior policy advisor to Gov. Sonny Perdue on juvenile justice and child welfare matters. He previously served as a juvenile court judge.

Jonathan Todres
Associate Professor of Law, Georgia State University College of Law
Professor Todres has published numerous articles on children's rights and is co-editor of the book, The U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child: An Analysis of Treaty Provisions and Implications of U.S. Ratification (2006).

Printable Postcard (pdf)