Mandate

The Laboratory was created following an international conference on the rights of the child in March 2007, organized by the Faculty of Law and the Human Rights Research and Education Centre (HRREC). The conference brought together many experts from various backgrounds and nationalities. The creation of the Laboratory has allowed the continuation of the work that was initiated there and the realization of the projects that were outlined at the meeting.

The purpose of the IRLRC is to foster interdisciplinary research on issues related to children's rights and well-being. The range of research initiatives conducted by members and promoted by the Laboratory is vast and rich. A general framework for understanding the research conducted at IRLRC is to recognize the individual identity of the child when it comes to his or her rights. The framework also emphasizes the different systems that influence children and the study of children's rights, including families, schools, neighborhoods, the legal system, the child welfare system, and societies more generally.

In order to foster the development of research partnerships and to encourage the initiatives of its members, the Laboratory has grouped the research axes it favours under four complementary themes: The Child and the Law; The Child and the Family; The Child, the State and Society; and Reflections on Child-Focused Research Methodologies.

Research

A general framework for understanding the research done at the IRLRC is to recognize children’s unique personhood when considering their rights and emphasizing that children and study of child rights are influenced by the different systems in which they are nested including families, schools, neighbourhoods, legal and child welfare systems, and societies more generally. In order to encourage partnerships and joint projects as much as possible, the Laboratory’s Research program is organized under four complementary themes:

1) The Child and the Law

  • Childhood, education rights and privacy.
  • Childhood, vulnerability and marginalized groups.

2) The Child and the Family

  • Filiation and identity.
  • "Circulation" of the child.

3) The Child, the State and Society

  • Protection and delinquency.
  • Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

4) Reflections on Child-Centred Research Methodologies

  • Participatory research with children.
  • Human Rights/Child rights-based approaches.

Steering committee

Mona PARÉ | Full Professor & Director of the IRLRC
Faculty of Law | Civil Law Section | University of Ottawa
[email protected]

Clémence BENSA | Professor
Law Department | Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO)
[email protected]

Nathalie MONDAIN | Associate Professor
School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies | Faculty of Social Sciences | University of Ottawa
[email protected]

Student Member Representative
Ana Karen ESPINOSA BECERRA | Ph.D. Candidate
School of Psychology | Faculty of Social Sciences | University of Ottawa
[email protected]