Researcher: Children’s rights Project

Just because they’re children, it doesn’t mean they’re not entitled to human rights. This is the core belief held by researcher Lorenzo Wakefield. Working for the Children’s Rights Project at the University of Western Cape’s (UWC) Community Law Centre, Wakefield has focused

his research on the civil and political rights of children, concentrating on legislative reform; the rights to education for children with disabilities; and child justice. At 27, Wakefield has established himself as an expert on children’s rights nationally and internationally and is working on revising the juvenile justice system in Kenya on behalf of the United Nations Children’s Fund. While completing

his PhD in law at UWC, Wakefield is a board member of the Active Schools Initiative (an organisation that promotes children’s right to play), sits on the research advocacy and policy advisory council of Child Helpline International and co-edits a lay journal called Article 40, which focuses on child justice issues in South Africa.

— Lu Larche

Website: communitylawcentre.org.za