Advancing Child-Friendly Justice Through Dialogue and Exchange in Santiago, Chile
From 12 to 16 January 2025, Professor Ton Liefaard, UNICEF Chair in Children’s Rights and Head of the Department of Child Law and Health Law visited Santiago, Chile, taking part in a wide range of academic and professional activities focused on child-friendly justice, accountability, and stronger cooperation to protect children’s rights.
Meeting with the Office of the Children’s Ombudsperson
During the visit, Prof. Liefaard met with the team at the Office of the Children’s Ombudsperson (Defensoría de la Niñez), where he learned more about their work to promote and defend the rights of children and adolescents in Chile. The meeting provided an opportunity to exchange experiences, discuss current challenges, and reflect on key priorities for advancing children’s rights in practice.
Academic exchange at Diego Portales University
At Diego Portales University, Prof. Liefaard engaged with students and staff through a series of activities hosted by the Faculty of Law. The programme included a visit to the Legal Clinic, as well as his participation in the presentation of the Childhood Diploma Programme. It concluded with the International Roundtable “Access to Justice for Children and Adolescents: Emerging Standards and Due Process Guarantees,” convened by the UDP Faculty of Law and the Diploma in Children’s and Adolescents’ Rights: Current Issues and Challenges.
The activities brought together a diverse audience and fostered dialogue on how evolving children’s rights standards can be strengthened through legal education and professional practice, particularly in justice systems where child-sensitive approaches and due process guarantees are essential.
Meeting with UNICEF Chile
Prof. Liefaard also met UNICEF, upon invitation by Violet Speek-Warnery, Representative of the Office for Chile, for an exchange concerning children’s rights in Chile and the Latin American region. This meeting highlighted the importance of cross-sectoral collaboration in addressing the various challenges children and their families encounter, including poverty, inequalities and the lack of access to justice and effective remedies for rights violations. The meeting also focused on the collaboration with academia, not only as knowledge partners but also as partners in education for the upcoming generation of children’s rights professionals.
Meeting with the Intersectoral Task Force on Child and Adolescent Homicides
Prof. Liefaard also met with the Intersectoral Task Force on Homicides of Children and Adolescents, where participants exchanged reflections on the main challenges Chile faces in prevention, investigation, and accountability. He highlighted the importance of coordinated action across institutions, noting: “Having an intersectoral group like this represents a great opportunity to invest in collaboration and coordination, which is key to the comprehensive protection of the rights of children and adolescents.”
Legal Clinic visit and book launch at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Prof. Liefaard visited the Legal Clinic at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, where he met with the children’s rights team and learned more about their work linking legal education with access to justice. The programme continued with the launch of the book Sexual Offenses Against Children: A Decade of Learning, presented by Fundación Amparo y Justicia together with Ediciones UC.
The book brings together contributions from 38 national and international authors and systematises a decade of research, training, and intervention in this field and offers an in-depth analysis of how Chile’s justice system has evolved in addressing sexual offenses affecting children and adolescents. The event brought together more than 200 participants, reflecting strong interest in strengthening responses through research, professional learning, and institutional engagement.
As part of the programme, Prof. Liefaard delivered a keynote lecture titled “Child-friendly justice at a crossroads: how to ensure accountability in children’s rights.” Drawing on international experience, he emphasised the urgency of ensuring that child-friendly justice systems not only protect children, but also deliver meaningful accountability when children’s rights have been violated.
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Photo credit: Fundacion Amparo y Justicia, Chile -
Photo credit: Fundacion Amparo y Justicia, Chile
Reconnecting with Chilean alumni
The visit also offered a meaningful opportunity to reconnect with the Leiden community in Chile. Prof. Liefaard met with three Chilean alumni of the Advanced LL.M. in International Children’s Rights – Karla Medina Sánchez, Maurizio Sovino Meléndez, and Javiera Schweitzer González – highlighting the importance of global alumni networks in strengthening children’s rights work across regions and generations.
Overall, the visit underscored the value of combining academic expertise, institutional dialogue, and cross-sector collaboration to support children’s rights in practice. By engaging with public institutions, universities, and professional networks in Santiago, Prof. Liefaard’s visit contributed to building shared momentum toward more child-sensitive justice systems and stronger accountability for children’s rights.