This year has been an important one for the advancement of children’s rights. This week (20th November 2014) we have marked the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most widely-ratified human rights treaty in the world. In April we celebrated the entry into force of the Third Optional Protocol to the Convention, which allows children to file direct complaints to the Committee on the Rights of the Child for alleged violations of their rights. In October we witnessed the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to two children’s rights activists, Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzay. So, are children’s rights really at the forefront of international academic and policy agendas? While increasing attention is being given to the rights of children, the sad reality is that children’s rights are far from fully implemented in many parts of today’s globalised world.

A commitment to academic research and outreach on children’s rights has inspired the creation of the Oxford Children’s Rights Network: http://oxfordchildrensrights.org. We are a group of researchers, students and practitioners primarily based in Oxford, working on a broad range of issues related to children’s rights. We created this platform in order to share information, exchange ideas, and collaborate on research and outreach. Please do not hesitate to contact us through our website (http://oxfordchildrensrights.org/contact-us/) if you have any questions, queries or ideas for collaboration.

If you wish to join our mailing list, please send an email to elena.butti@law.ox.ac.uk. We look forward to learning more about you, your research and your suggestions.