From March – May, CCIG partnered with the Marist Foundation for International Solidarity (FMSI) to offer a training program on UN advocacy for child rights defenders from over 15 countries, including Greece, Haiti, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Samoa, Tanzania, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. The program was attended by Marist Brothers and human rights activists working in Marist schools, centers, and projects in areas where children’s living conditions are of particular concern. The goal of the course was to train participants in the promotion and protection of children’s rights at the local and international level through intensive training on UN human rights mechanisms and effective advocacy around the UPR process. 

As part of this training, CCIG’s Secretary General, Maria D’Onofrio, led four training sessions (three of which were online and one in-person in Geneva). Module I consisted of an overview of human rights and civil society participation in the UN Human Rights Council. In Module II, participants learned about the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), along with different approaches for engagement. Training Module III focused on drafting UPR submissions. Moreover, some human rights defenders travelled to Geneva last week to participate in Module IV and attend the 52nd UPR session. The final training module centered on human rights advocacy prior to the UPR session, explained how to give visibility to local human rights challenges by reaching out to targeted states, and presented strategies for assessing the advocacy impact on the UPR session concerned. Not only did participants become informed on the UPR process, they also learned how to maximize the impact of their human rights work through this specific UN mechanism. 

We are glad to have helped local actors enhance their ability to defend the rights of children in vulnerable situations. CCIG looks forward to continuing its collaboration with FMSI and partner organizations to empower local human rights activists to successfully advocate within the UN system.