Jean Zermatten (born 2 March 1948 in

Sion Sion may refer to * an alternative transliteration of Zion People * Sion (name) or Siôn, a Welsh and other given name and surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Shion or Sion, a Japanese given name Plac ...

Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 ...

) is a specialist of

children's rights Children's rights are a subset of human rights with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to minors.

. He is the son of the Swiss writer

Maurice Zermatten Maurice Zermatten (22 October 1910, in Saint-Martin, Valais – 11 February 2001, in Sion) was a French-speaking Swiss writer. He was born in Saint-Martin, Valais, a small village situated in the Val d'Hérens, in the canton of Valais. He was fir ...

. He is Chairman of the UN

Committee on the Rights of the Child The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is a body of experts that monitor and report on the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Committee also monitors the Convention's three optional protoco ...

and is the first Swiss member of this Committee. After studying law at the

University of Fribourg The University of Fribourg (french: Université de Fribourg; german: Universität Freiburg) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisius ...

, he became clerk, and later "ad hoc" judge at the Criminal Court for Juveniles in

Fribourg , neighboring_municipalities= Düdingen, Givisiez, Granges-Paccot, Marly, Pierrafortscha, Sankt Ursen, Tafers, Villars-sur-Glâne , twintowns = Rueil-Malmaison (France) , website = www.ville-fribourg.ch , Location of , Location of () () o ...

. Then he's President and Dean of the

Juvenile Court A juvenile court, also known as young offender's court or children's court, is a tribunal having special authority to pass judgements for crimes that are committed by children who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal s ...

of the Canton of

during 25 years. Between 1989 and 1999, he held lectures at the

(Social Work, Arts and Law School). In 2005, he founded the International Institute for the Rights of the Child which he still leads today. He is active in the direction of academics programmes concerning children's rights and protection too. Jean Zermatten is a member of the UN Committee for the Rights of the Child, since 2005; he was elected as the Chairperson of this UN Treaty body in May 2011. In 2007, he received the title of

Doctor honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

from the

. Jean Zermatten also contributed to draft law projects: * charged by the Swiss Confederation to draft a Project for the 1st unified Law for the criminal Procedure for Minors * charged by the cantons from the Latin part of Switzerland to draft an inter-cantonal concordat on the implementation of measures for young offenders. This concordat has been accepted in October 2003 * collaborated to the creation of the first Swiss children's rights network, gathering more than 50 Swiss NGOs He was the President of the Swiss society for the criminal law for juveniles as well as the President of the International Association of Magistrates for Youth and Family (IAMYF).UN Database, J. Zermatten's CV
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Publications

* 2012: The Rights of the Child in Internationdal Law – Rights of the Child in a Nutshell and in Context: all about Children’s Rights (co-author with Nevena Vuckovic Sahovic and Jaap E. Doek), Stämpfli Publishers, Bern 2012 * 2007: Realizing the Rights of the Child (co-editor with Caroll Bellamy), Université de Zürich, Chair of Political Philosophy * 2007: 18 Candles. The Convention of the Child Reaches Majority (co-editor with Jane Connors and Anastasia Panayotidis (OHCHR), IDE, Sion * 2004 : 10 petits Contes pour ne pas s’endormir, Les droits de l’enfant, Éditions Saint-Augustin, Saint-Maurice * 2002 : Tribunal des mineurs : le petit tailleur et autres histoires de galère, collection Aire de famille, St. Augustin, Suisse

References

External links

International Institute for the Rights of the Child
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zermatten, Jean 1948 births Living people People from Sion, Switzerland United Nations experts Children's rights activists University of Fribourg alumni