International Conference: Right to a Future, Rights of a Child

The Institute of Social Ethics ISE and the Center for Comparative Constitutional Law and Religion of the University of Lucerne are organizing in collaboration with the Loyola University Chicago a 2-day international conference on the topic of rights of the child.

Datum: 12. – 13. März 2024
Ort: Hotel Schweizerhof Luzern, Schweizerhofquai 3a, 6002 Lucerne

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child will celebrate its 35th anniversary in 2024. Due to the ratification of the Convention by almost all UN member states, children today are better off than ever before. On the other hand, there are still numerous problems with the implementation of rights of the child.

In 2021, an estimated 5 million children under the age of five died. Most of them, according to UNICEF, for reasons that could be avoided nowadays. Many children suffer from malnutrition, have no access to electricity, running water or education. Even in countries with well-developed social systems such as Switzerland and Germany, serious violations of rights of the child occur on a daily basis. In 2021, 145 children were killed by violence in Germany and five children in Switzerland. In the same year, 4’465 cases of physical abuse were registered in Germany and 1’656 in Switzerland. The number of unreported cases is high.

Interdisciplinary Research and Perspectives on Rights of the Child

This two-day conference is dedicated to explore the current state of rights of the child and prospects for the future. The international conference examines this issue from the perspective of various disciplines and aims to bring together international scholars and professionals of disparate fields.

Experts from the fields of ethics, law, medicine, philosophy and theology will contribute to the dialogue. Topics such as the ethics of rights of the child, rights of the child and (sexual) violence, rights of the child and digital transformation, and rights of the child and the climate destruction will be discussed. This plurality of approaches is expected to result in a differentiated and in-depth analysis of the situation of rights of the child.

In addition, a panel discussion is also aimed at the general public. In an open discussion round, the public will be given the opportunity to discuss this socially highly relevant topic with globally leading experts.

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (20 November 1989)

Guiding Questions & Speakers

  • How is the status quo of the realization of rights of the child worldwide?
  • Who is responsible to respect, protect, implement, and realize rights of the child?
  • What can rights of the child contribute to a sustainable future?

Confirmed keynote speakers include Professors Philipp Jaffé, Mary Patricia McAleese, Cristina Traina, Susan Linn, Emily Buss, Katherine Kaufka Walts, and Mary Anne Case.

Program

8.30hRegistration & Coffee
9.00hDoor opening
­9.15h

Opening Ceremony
Prof. Dr. Bruno Staffelbach, President of the University of Lucerne
Prof. Dr. Margit Wasmaier-Sailer, Dean of the Department of Theology, University of Lucerne
Prof. Dr. Robert A. Di Vito, Chair of the Department of Theology, Loyola University Chicago

Moderation:
Prof. Dr. Peter G. Kirchschlaeger, Director of the Institute of Social Ethics ISE, University of Lucerne
Prof. Dr. Zalman Rothschild, Center for Comparative Constitutional Law and Religion, University of Lucerne

9.50hOpening Keynote: The Status Quo of the Realization of the Rights of the Child
Prof. Dr. Philipp Jaffé, Member of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child
10.10hDiscussion
10.30hKeynote: A Right to a Future
Prof. Dr. Hille Haker, Richard McCormick S.J. Endowed Chair of Catholic Moral Theology at Loyola University Chicago
10.50hDiscussion (Q&A)
11.10hBreak
11.40hKeynote: Ethics of Rights of the Child
Prof. Dr. Peter G. Kirchschlaeger, Director of the Institute of Social Ethics ISE, University of Lucerne
12.00hDiscussion
12.20hOrganizational Information
12.30hLunch Break
14.00hKeynote: Religious Communities and a Child’s Right to Education
Prof. Dr. Zalman Rothschild, Center for Comparative Constitutional Law and Religion, University of Lucerne
14.20hDiscussion
14.40hOrganizational Information
14.50h

Parallel Sessions:
Presentation and discussion

Session I: Climate and Rights of the Child
Dr. Gonca Kuru, Maltepe University, Faculty of Law

Session II: Sports-Ethics and Rights of the Child
Dr. Ana Laura Edelhoff, Institute of Social Ethics ISE, University of Lucerne

Session III: The Child’s Right to an Open Future
Dr. Sule Sahin Ceylan, Department of Public Law, Marmara University, Turkey
 

16.20hBreak
16.50hÖffentliche Diskussion* (Public Discussion): Sexuelle Gewalt an Kindern
 
  • Dr. Doris Reisinger, University of Frankfurt**
  • Prof. Dr. Astrid Kaptijn, University of Fribourg
  • Dr. Nora Scheidegger, Max Planck Institute

Moderation: Prof. Dr. Adrian Loretan, Director of the Center for Comparative Constitutional Law and Religion, University of Lucerne

* The public discussion will be held in German. / Die öffentliche Diskussion wird auf Deutsch geführt.

** Due to the announced strike of the Deutsche Bahn, Dr. Doris Reisinger had to cancel her participation last minute.

17.45hBreak
18.00hPublic Lecture (Öffentlicher Vortrag): The Rights of the Child in the Catholic Church
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Mary Patricia McAleese
18.45h

Discussion (Diskussion)

19.30hEnd
8.30hRegistration New Arrivals & Coffee
9.00hDoor opening
­9.15hKeynote: Rights of the Child as Human Rights

Prof. Dr. Katherine Kaufka Walts, Director of the Center for the Human Rights of Children, Loyola University Chicago

9.35hDiscussion
9.55h

Keynote: Children and Moral Agency
Prof. Dr. Cristina Traina, Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., Chair in Catholic Theology, Fordham University

10.15hDiscussion
10.35hBreak
11.05Keynote: Consuming Kids! Digital Transformation and the Rights of the Child
Dr. Susan Linn, Harvard Medical School
11.25h Discussion
11.45hOrganizational Information
12.00hLunch Break
13.30h

Keynote: How Do We Decide What is in the “Best Interest” of the Child?
Prof. Dr. Emily Buss, University of Chicago Law School

13.50hDiscussion
14.10hOrganizational Information
14.20h

Parallel Sessions:
Presentation and discussion

Session I: Identities and Education
Elizaveta Ebner, Institute of Social Ethics ISE, University of Lucerne
Stefanie Uhl, Institute of Social Ethics ISE, University of Lucerne

Session II: Digital Transformation and Rights of the Child
Prof. Dr. Sara Rubinelli, Professor of Health Sciences with a focus in Health Communication, University of Lucerne

Session III: Family Law, Children’s Rights, and Religion
Prof. Dr. Mary Anne Case, University of Chicago Law School

Session IV: Participation
Maria del Rocio Franch, University of Zurich, Media, Law and Children Rights

Session V: Against Parental Rights: Reconstructing the Constitutional Balance of Powers in Secondary Education
Roman Zinigrad, The American University of Paris

15.50h

Break

16.20h

Panel Discussion: The Duty-Bearers of the Rights of the Child

  • Dr. Guelcan Akkaya, University of Applied Sciences Lucerne – Social Work
  • Prof. Dr. Elena Namli, Uppsala University
  • Nicole Hinder, Director Child Rights Advocacy, UNICEF Switzerland and Liechtenstein

Moderation: Prof. Dr. Hille Haker, Richard McCormick S.J. Endowed Chair of Catholic Moral Theology at Loyola University Chicago*

17.20hEnd

 

Registration

The conference is aimed at

  • researchers from the fields of ethics, law, medicine, philosophy, and theology
  • experts and professionals who are in contact with rights of the child in their daily work
  • the general public.

The event is free of charge.
The conference language is English. There is no live stream available.
Registration requested via online form.

Registration

Organizers

The conference is organized by the Institute of Social Ethics ISE (Prof. Dr. Peter G. Kirchschlaeger), the inter-faculty Center for Comparative Constitutional Law and Religion (Prof. Dr. Adrian Loretan; Prof. Dr. Zalman Rothschild) of the University of Lucerne and the Richard McCormick Endowed Chair of Ethics at Loyola University Chicago (Hille Haker) Loyola University Chicago (Prof. Dr. Hille Haker).

Conference Venue

Hotel Schweizerhof Luzern (GPS Address: 6002 Luzern/Schweizerhofquai 3a)

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Contact

University of Lucerne
Institute of Social Ethics ISE
Frohburgstrasse 3
P.O. Box
6002 Luzern
T +41 41 229 52 26
ise@unilu.ch

Institut für Sozialethik (ISE) Professur für Theologische Ethik