Pre-event presser cum Invite for the Satellite Event of the 5th World Congress on Access to Justice hosted by CCR-NLUO and CRY
03 Jun 2025
Centre for Child Rights (CCR), National Law University Odisha (NLUO) and Child Rights and You (CRY) are deliberating on Child-Centred Justice in the official satellite event of the 5th World Congress on Justice with Children
Cuttack, 28th May 2025, The Centre for Child Rights (CCR), National Law University Odisha (NLUO) in partnership with Child Rights and You (CRY) is organising one of the official satellite events of the 5th World Congress on Justice With Children. This is scheduled on 3rd June 2025 in the NLUO campus at 2.00pm IST, and will be live-streamed across the world via 5th World Congress platform.
The World Congress on Justice With Children is a global platform that convenes every five years to further the policy, practice and discourse on child-centred justice. It comprises of organizations and individuals championing children’s right to access justice around the world. Notably, the members are institutions and individuals championing the cause of children’s access to justice and child rights, i.e. the United Nations’ nodal agencies like UNICEF, UNODC etc, global, regional and national civil society organisations like Terre Des Hommes, Penal Reforms International etc, academics, members of the judiciary around the world and national governments and most importantly the children and youth, who are at the centre of this global conversation.
The theme of the 2025 Congress is: “Advancing Child-Centred Justice: Preventing and Responding to Violence Affecting Children in Justice Systems.” This year’s Congress aims to highlight both entrenched and systemic issues and solutions that can enable and create an inclusive, rehabilitative and compassionate justice system for children.
The Global Initiative on Justice With Children was first launched in 2019 at the United Nations’ Head Quarters’ Geneva during the 30th anniversary of passing of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). It was born out of the recognition of the ongoing plight of millions of children who were detained and experienced violence, neglect and trauma within the justice systems worldwide.
The satellite event at National Law University Odisha (NLUO) is dedicated to pushing the discourse on child-centred justice at a very crucial moment. Children’s access to justice is not only a key part of the legal and court proceedings in India and the world, but the very definition of justice is being expanded as this report is being written, so that the life chances, determinants are also given due importance and made justiciable. Universal accessibility of justice to every child everywhere is being foregrounded over just penning justice as a concept. This is the shared position of the NLUO, CCR and CRY.
In spotlight, is the General Comment 27 of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. In the UN human rights’ treaty system, a general comment (GC) is a non-binding interpretation of guidance provided by a treaty body on the obligations of the state parties. It is essentially comprising of expert opinions that help clarify the meaning and guide the states in implementing their commitments as signatories to a treaty, in this case, the UNCRC. General Comment 27 is a key provision that guides states’ and their instruments on implementing the rights of children in the context of access to justice, and the CCR-NLUO’s contribution will further unpack and interpret on why and how to make children’s access to justice a reality. The institutional position will be presented by Prof. Ved Kumari, Vice Chancellor of NLUO and Patron-in-Chief of the Centre for Child Rights. Prof Kumari is a credentialed global legal educator and one of the foremost names in juvenile justice in the world.
The satellite event will be graced by a distinguished panel of eminent practitioners with credentialed work in child rights, justice systems, and public administration. Hon’ble Justice Madan Bhimarao Lokur, Chairperson of the United Nations’ Internal Justice Council and former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, Hon’ble Justice Savitri Ratho, Judge of Orissa High Court and also the Chair of the Juvenile Justice Committee of the Orissa High Court, Hon’ble Justice K Chandru, a retired Judge of the Madras High Court, public intellectual and life-long advocate for making justice accessible to everyone, Smt. Shubha Sarma, IAS, the Principal Secretary of Department of Women and Child Development, Government of Odisha and Ms Sonal Kapoor, founder-CEO of Protsahan India Foundation, will be deliberating on various aspects of children’s access to justice in the legal systems and in their everyday lives.
The CCR, since its inception in 2015, has played a significant role in shaping discourse, policy and practice around child rights in India. It is the oldest research, teaching and advocacy centre of its kind at the National Law University Odisha (NLUO), and the second oldest child rights’ centre across all National Law Universities (NLUs) in India. Additionally CCR also holds the distinction of being home to the only Chair Professorship on Child Rights in India. This establishes the Centre not only as a hub for rigorous scholarship but also as a leader in thought, practice and innovation in the field of child rights. CCR is now working to ensure that economic, social, and cultural rights—such as access to quality education, healthcare, adequate nutrition, and a safe environment—are recognized as enforceable, justiciable rights for every child, rather than aspirational goals. By doing so, the Centre seeks to influence both policy and legal frameworks, ensuring that every child, regardless of socio-economic background, enjoys the full spectrum of rights that contribute to their dignity, development and better life opportunities.
The co-host, CRY is one of the most credentialed non-profit organisations, in the “child rights” space in India with a legacy of almost five decades. Founded in 1979, CRY has consistently worked to ensure that every child enjoys their right to survival, protection, development and participation. With more than 144 active projects across 20 Indian states, CRY has impacted the lives of over 4.7 million children through strategic interventions in education, health care, child protection and community mobilization. CRY’s collaboration in this event aligns with its longstanding mission to build a just and equitable society where all children can achieve their full potential. Its current presence is in 20 states in India with direct intervention projects, research, public engagement and knowledge exchange work. It was instrumental in making child rights an everyday conversation in Indian households and institutions through its iconic CRY cards for every occasion, the proceeds of which went to child welfare.
The satellite event organized by CCR-NLUO in partnership with CRY is more than just a formal gathering (on the world-wide-web and in the NLUO campus)—it is a call to action for every stakeholder in the child justice system. It represents a collective acknowledgment that justice systems, as they stand today, often fall short of protecting the best interests of the child. It calls upon every actor—from judiciary to executive, from NGOs to academia—to pause, introspect, innovate, and implement child-centred justice. In the spirit of the 5th World Congress on Justice With Children, the event aims to generate actionable dialogue, inspire collaborative partnerships and ultimately contribute toward building justice systems where every child feels safe, heard and empowered.
The CCR, NLUO and CRY invite all stakeholders and interested members of the public to join this important global conversation and help shape a justice system that truly serves its youngest and most vulnerable members.
For more information, please contact:
- Kallola K Patanaik, Assistant Registrar, NLUO kkp@nluo.ac.in +91 9437730455
- Durbadala Mantry, Advocate, Legal Aid, KUTUMB, NLUO mantry@nluo.ac.in +91 9692004909
- Dr Swagatika Samal, Researcher, CM Chair Prof Team, Centre for Child Rights, NLUO swagatika@nluo.ac.in +91 9439872656
- Abhik Bhattacharya, Associate General Manager, Research and Knowledge Exchange, CRY bhattacharya@crymail.org +91 9051668304
- Subhendu Bhattacharya: Director, Research and Knowledge Exchange, CRY: bhattacharjee@crymail.org , +91 9899110837
