Anton de Kom University (Suriname) Children’s rights activities at the Faculty of Legal Sciences

On November 20, the existence of the Convention on the Rights of the Child will be commemorated worldwide. It is now 33 years since this treaty was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.

In 2002, the University Institute for Children’s Rights (UK) was set up at the Anton de Kom University of Suriname. The pater intellectualis of this project is mr. dr. Y Baal with the support of mr. dr. W. Pherai, mr. E. Rudge, mr. S. Headley and mr. J. Kasdipowidjojo.

The University Institute for Children’s Rights aims to:

  1. promoting or practicing (scientific) research in the field of children’s rights;
  2. increasing scientific knowledge with regard to children’s rights;
  3. providing specialized training that mainly promotes the development of children’s rights in Suriname;
  4. developing activities in support of the national youth policy.
  5. Promoting the legal position and legal protection of children in Suriname

There have been several research and training projects organized by this institute in the past. After a silent period, this institute has been reactivated.

A management team for the UK was set up by the Dean’s Office of the Faculty of Legal Sciences in October 2022 consisting of:

  1. Dr. M. Manohar (Chairman)
  2. R. Djokarto MPA (member)
  3. S. De Vries (member)

The importance of the reactivation of the UK is to implement the objective. Awareness of children’s rights among students is important, with students working with children’s rights issues within their studies. Writing a paper, thesis, doing research, debates, etc. are all activities that the UK will undertake together with students in the coming period. Together with other institutes and organizations, activities will also be developed that fit within our objectives. The UK is an institute where students will be given as much space as possible to actively engage in research and study in this area. The cooperation will also be interfaculty. Today, a thesis by student N. Caupain of the Interfaculty Institute for Graduate Studies and Research entitled “child poverty in Suriname” has been presented to the UK.

The first activity of the current management team is a student debate on children’s rights. Thanks to the support of Unicef ​​and the efforts of the students, we succeeded in carrying out this project.

 

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