Putting Children First: Release of Gall 2014 Report

News Release
IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Protecting Children’s Rights in Times of Uncertainty

May 7, 2015 (Edmonton) – As Canada marks the 33rd anniversary of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms today, the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights is proud to release recommendations from the 2014 Gall Conference focused on advancing children’s rights in Alberta.

Putting Children First provides an overview of the key policy and program recommendations created on International Human Rights Day. The report will be forwarded to elected officials and policy-makers to consider in our efforts to protect our children. These recommendations are a result of deliberations with over sixty community leaders and members including the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate, UNICEF Canada, youth and other community members.

In honour of the late Gerald L. Gall, former University of Alberta law professor and founding member of the John Humphrey Centre, the Gall Conference offers a forum for critical discussion and debate on the state of human rights. The event seeks to advance Professor Gall’s commitment to make the John Humphrey Centre a catalyst of conversation and action.

“We here in Alberta continue to struggle to fulfill our responsibilities to children, protect them from harm and provide them a space for participating in the decisions that affect them,” says Joan Cowling, President of the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights and former Edmonton Public School Board Chair. “The Gall Conference challenged us to reconsider our obligations to children and build commitments for change.”

Key recommendations and themes coming from the Conference include, for example:

concerns over the availability and accessibility of drugs for children and youth;

suggestions for the improvement of accessing services among families and children;

calls to all levels of government to embed children’s rights as business practise;

a call to the Federal government to reaffirm a commitment to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and set national standards and guidelines for all levels of government to work towards; and,

concerns over the accessibilty and relevance of sexual health education in schools.

Putting Children First: 2014 Gall Conference Summary of Recommendations can be found online here: 

Putting Children First - Gall Conference 2014 Summary of Recommendations by John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights