Institut Universitaire Kurt Bösch (IUKB) and The University of Fribourg

Location: Switzerland

Department: The Institut Universitaire Kurt Bösch in association with the International Institute for the rights of the child (IDE), both in Sion, Switzerland, and the University of Fribourg (Law Faculty and Institute for Family Research and Counseling).

Description: Situated in the centre of Switzerland the University of Fribourg is bilingual (French and German), and offers numerous specialties in teaching and research. The Law Faculty of Fribourg founded in 1762 as a School of Law became a Law Faculty by the foundation of the University in 1889. The Institute for Family Research and Counseling at the University of Fribourg was founded in 1993 and offers a broad spectrum in the field of family-related issues. Its aim is to create an interdisciplinary forum targeting those issues that are of importance to the family as well as to promote postgraduate programmes, research and counselling in this area.

The Institut Universitaire Kurt Bösch (IUKB) is a private foundation, established in Sion, located 150 km from Geneva, in the Rhone River Valley (Valais). Education and research in the fields of social systems, environment and culture form the main objectives set up by the foundation. The Institut Universitaire Kurt Bösch is recognised by the Swiss Government and the Republic of Valais Switzerland for postgraduate level education. The mandate of the International Institute for the Rights of the Child (IDE), that has an overall partnership agreement with IUKB, includes offering information and training programmes on child rights implementation in specific countries and on particular issues.

Programme:

1. Master of Advanced Studies in Children's Rights
   
   This part-time 2-year postgraduate programme is intended for professionals who work with children's rights issues, such as lawyers, psychologists, sociologists, judges, social workers, government officials, staff of non-governmental organisations, academics and journalists. It combines residential teaching and distant learning, requiring participants to attend four week-long residential Modules per year.
   
   The overall objectives are to:
   
   • acquire extended and specialised knowledge on children’s rights in their theoretical as well as in their practical dimensions through the introduction of different concepts and approaches;
   • understand the role of international instruments on children’s rights with a particular focus on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), for the implementation and monitoring of children’s rights;
   • privilege both an international and an interdisciplinary approach to the study of children’s rights;
   • promote reflection on how concepts and principles underlying the CRC can be effectively applied in practice.

   
   Each mandatory module will consider a specific theme, including the following:
   

   • Children's rights in context - an interdisciplinary introduction to the background, sources and development of children's rights;
   • Children's rights and international law - a study of the principles and implementation mechanisms of international conventions and declarations on the rights of the child;
   • The general principles of the CRC - examination of the right to non-discrimination, the best interests of the child principle, the right to survival and development and participation rights;
   • Child labour - the debate on working children, child labour and international child labour norms and practices;
   • Violence against children - international norms and practice concerning the elimination of violence against children including; violence in the family, child trafficking, children and armed conflict and child sexual exploitation;
   • Juvenile justice - a study of different models and practices of intervention towards children and youngsters accused of having committed an offence;
   • Child protection - approaches to child protection in different contexts including; child poverty, internally displaced people (IDP) and refugee children, children deprived of parental care, indigenous children, international adoptions, illicit transfers and kidnapping, the right to information concerning one’s origins, children living with HIV/AIDS, child abuse, and disabled children; and
   • Implementation and monitoring strategies - a study of models and practices aimed at the protection and promotion of children’s rights, including child rights education, child-advocacy and ombudswork.

   
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Contact:
Institut Universitaire Kurt Bösch (IUKB)
MAS in Children's Rights
P.O. Box 4176
CH - 1950 Sion Switzerland
Tel. +41 (27) 205 73 00
Fax +41 (27) 205 73 01
mcr@iukb.ch
MCR page on the IUKB website