ISFL 4th CARIBBEAN REGIONAL CONFERENCE
Hilton Trinidad & Conference Centre
THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD AT 35 YEARS:
THE PROMISE KEPT OR “A DREAM DEFERRED?”
November 13- 15, 2024
Day 1: Wednesday, November 13, 2024
SOCIAL PROGRAMME: TOUR – 10:00 a.m.- 12:00 noon. (Port of Spain and Environs)
FORMAL PROGRAMME
OPENING CEREMONY: & COCKTAIL RECEPTION: 6:00 p.m. – 9.00 p.m.
NATIONAL ANTHEM
WELCOME
GREETINGS
A Child Rights Acrostic: St. Monica’s Preparatory School.
Introduction of Featured Speaker by: Mrs. Natasha Lamy- Ramsden.
FEATURE ADDRESS: “The Convention on the Rights of the Child at 35 years: The Promise Kept or ‘A Dream Deferred?’” – Mrs. Faith Marshall-Harris, Member, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
Pan Medley: St. Margaret Boys E. C. School. (Twelve times Panorama Champions.)
SPECIAL ADDRESS & Declaration to Open the Conference: Her Excellency, Christine Kangaloo O.R.T.T., President of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago.
Vote of Thanks: Senator Hazel Thompson-Ahye, Vice-President & Conference Convener.
Day 2: Thursday, November 14, 2024
Welcome & Conference Overview: Senator Hazel Thompson-Ahye, HBM, ISFL Vice-President & Conference Convener
Session 1: Children’s Right to Protection from Abuse – 9:00 a.m-10:15 a.m.
Moderator: Senator Hazel Thompson-Ahye, ISFL Vice-President & Conference Convener
Dr. Christine H. Descartes: Safeguarding the Rights of Caribbean Children: A Review of the Evolution of Child Maltreatment and the Corresponding Legal Implications (Trinidad and Tobago)
Hanif E. A. Benjamin: Addressing Trauma, Child Abuse and Neglect in Trinidad and Tobago. (Trinidad and Tobago)
Dr. Alfredo E. Walker: The Forensic Pathology Investigative Approach to Suspected Fatal Child Abuse. (Canada)
Dr. Merel Griffith-Lendering & Ms. Tamara Salsbach: Family Relationships, Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment in the Caribbean Netherlands (Curacao)
Day 3: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2024.
Session 5: Protecting the Vulnerable Child – 9:00 a.m. – 10.30 a.m.
Moderator: Ms. Denyse Gouveia
Mr. Garth St. Clair: Pipeline from School to Prison (Trinidad and Tobago)
Mrs. Leah Paddier Harvey: Paraprofessional Training for Professionals Working with Children. (Trinidad and Tobago)
Ms. Coreen Jackman and Ms. Gemma Murray: Permanency Planning in the Child Welfare System: Children in Institutional Care in Trinidad and Tobago. (Trinidad and Tobago)
COFFEE BREAK 10: 30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
Session 6: Children’s Rights, Law and the Justice System 10:45 a.m.- 12:00 noon.
Moderator: Mr. Dorwin Manzano
The Honourable Madam Justice Paula Blake Powell: Children’s Rights to Incarcerated Parents (Jamaica)
Ms. Namrata Mishra: Efficacy and Loopholes of India’s Child Protection Legislation (India)
Ms. Krystle Ahye: How Ready are We for the Voice of the Child in Criminal Proceedings from Arrest to Court? (Trinidad and Tobago).
LUNCH 12:00 NOON – 1:00 p.m.
Session 7: The Child Justice System and Law Reform. 1: 00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Moderator: Master Sharlene Jaggernauth
Ms. Mala Ramesar: Deconstructing the Nature of Adolescent Offending: Exploring Adolescents’ Potential for Rehabilitation and the Legislative Support Required. (Trinidad and Tobago.)
Magistrate Ngaio Dominique Emanuel: The U.N Convention on the Rights of the Child in the Context of Child Justice Reform in Antigua and Barbuda (Antigua and Barbuda)
Ms. Althea Deanie Mc Bean: The Incarceration of Children in the Caribbean: Pathways to Correction or Re-offending. (Jamaica)
Session 8: Law Reform in the Context of the CRC. 2: 15 p.m.- 3.15 p.m.
Moderator: Mrs. Barbara Lodge-Johnson
Dr. Margaret Burgess: The Impact of the UNCRC on Child Protection Laws in the Commonwealth Caribbean. (Trinidad and Tobago)
Dr. Anwuli Irene Ofani-Sokolo & Dr. Hadiza Omoyemhe Okunrobo: Assessing the Impact of the Convention on The Rights of the Child on Nigeria’s Child Justice Administration: Progress and Challenges. (Nigeria)
Ms. Candace Alexander: The Legislative Mechanisms in Place in Trinidad and Tobago to Give Effect to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and a Critical Analysis of the Effectiveness of the Law. (Trinidad and Tobago)
COFFEE BREAK 3:15 p.m.- 3:30 p.m.
Session 9: Keeping the Promise: A Paradigm Shift from Law to ADR? 3:30 p.m.- 4:30 p.m.
Moderator: The Honourable Madam Justice Halcyon Yorke-Young
Dr. Chinwe Egbunike-Umegbolu: Domestic Violence in Mediation- To Mediate or Not to Mediate? (Nigeria/Trinidad and Tobago)
Ms Julie Malloy and Ms. Nikki Chamblee: From Hostility to Harmony: Developing Effective Communication for Difficult Situations. (USA)
Senator Hazel Thompson-Ahye: Implementing Restorative Practices from a Child Rights Perspective. (Trinidad and Tobago)
Session 10:The Courts and the Convention:An Interpretive Tool? 4:30 p.m.-5:15p.m.
Moderators: The Honourable Madam Justice Paula Blake Powell & Justice Patrick Thompson
Mr. Ankit Malhotra: A Preliminary Reading of International Child Law in English and Indian Courts. (India) (Virtual):
GENERAL DISCUSSION on the CRC as an Interpretive Tool.
CONFERENCE RESOLUTIONS 5:15 – 6:00 p.m.
TRINI LIME 7:45 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. Panyard Jam.
Day 4: Saturday, November 17, 2024.
Beach Lime 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
(Swimming, bake and shark/Doubles)
“Goodbye, farewell, I hate to see you go….”
“Parting is such sweet sorrow…”