Call for Papers: International Conference on Children’s Rights Date: 8 Septemeber 2026, Stellenbosch University
International Conference on Children’s Rights
Date: 8 Septemeber 2026
Venue: Stellenbosch University Faculty of Law
Children’s Rights in a Polycrisis
Across the globe, children are growing up in an era of overlapping and mutually reinforcing crises. Climate change, armed conflict, displacement, economic instability, public health emergencies, digital transformation and deepening inequality shape their everyday lives. These intersecting dynamics, often described as a polycrisis, compound vulnerability and test the adequacy of existing legal and institutional frameworks.
Yet international children’s rights law affirms children as rights-holders entitled to protection. participation, dignity and care, even in times of profound uncertainty. This conference invites critical engagement with how children’s rights should be interpreted, implemented and re- imagined in an age of polycrisis.
We welcome abstracts from scholars, practitioners, policymakers and interdisciplinary researchers working in children’s rights and related fields, adopting doctrinal, empirical. socio- legal. comparative, critical or practice-based approaches.
Indicative themes include (but are not limited to):
Climate change, environmental degradation. and children’s rights
Conflict, insecurity, and post-conflict recovery for children
Forced displacement, migration, and statelessness
Poverty, inequality, and social protection in times of crisis
Children’s rights, public health, and mental wellbeing
Digitalisation, technology, and emerging risks to children
Participation, voice, and evolving capacities in crisis contexts
Accountability, governance, and the role of international and regional institutions
Children’s rights in the Global South and decolonial perspectives
Local. urban. and community-based responses to global crises
The conference aims to foster dialogue across disciplines and regions, and to centre both normative analysis and lived experience. Contributions that foreground children’s agency, examine intersectional impacts, or bridge international norms with local practice are particularly encouraged.
Submission guidelines:
- Abstracts of 250-300 words
- Please include a title, author name(s), institutional affiliation(s). and contact details
- Submissions should clearly indicate the relevance of the proposed paper to the conference theme
- Abstract submission deadline: 1 May 2026
- Notification of acceptance: 29 May 2026
- All abstracts and queries to be sent to: ICCR@Sun.ac.za
For more details, refer here
