Children suffered immeasurably in war and conflict in 20th century Europe, an experience which forged the modern child rights movement and organisations like Save the Children. Now, many children facing similar horror are fleeing to Europe from conflict zones in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The harm done to these children, and how we respond to try and protect them, could come to define the future of global child rights as we know it.
CEO of Save the Children International, Helle Thorning-Schmidt (@HelleThorning_S) joined the organisation after a formidable political career. Formerly the Prime Minister of Denmark, Helle led a coalition government from 2011 until 2015. Throughout her career Helle has tackled significant national and global issues, specifically with regards to children’s rights.
Jennifer Jackson Preece holds a DPhil in International Relations from Oxford University, and an MA and BA (Hons) in Political Science from the University of British Columbia, Canada. She is the author of two books – National Minorities and the European Nation-States System (OUP, 1998) and Minority Rights: Between Diversity and Community (Polity, 2005) and various articles and edited book chapters. In addition to her academic research, Dr Jackson-Preece acts as a consultant for various international and non-governmental organisations in the area of human and minority rights protection and ethnic conflict regulation.
The LSE European Institute (@LSEEI) is a centre for research and graduate teaching on the processes of integration and fragmentation within Europe. In the most recent national Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014) the Institute was ranked first for research in its sector.
Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSEchildren
Podcast
A podcast of this event is available to download from Protecting Children in War and Conflict: European and global implications for child rights.
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Transcipt
A transcript of Helle Thorning-Schmidt's speech is available to download here.