Ha Ryong Jung (Michael)

Michael Jung is a human rights lawyer specializing in children’s rights and child protection, particularly in the field of justice for and with children. He has worked in partnership with governments and civil society to achieve legal and systemic reform, mainstream human rights in policies and procedures, support child and youth participation and empowerment, and address the needs of marginalized groups. His experiences encompass the UN System, local and international CSOs, domestic and internationalized courts, government agencies, coalitions, and legal clinics at the global, regional, and national levels.

Valerie Khan

Valerie Khan is a rule of law, gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI), and child rights expert with over 20 years of experience designing and delivering human rights–focused interventions in humanitarian and development contexts. She specialises in evidence-based legal and policy reform, capacity building, programme design, MEAL, and strategic communication, and has worked extensively on democratic governance, ending gender-based violence and violence against children, and strengthening gender justice and child protection across Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa. She has advised governments, UN agencies, the EU, INGOs, and regional institutions at senior level, contributed to landmark women’s and children’s rights legislation in Pakistan, and currently serves as CEO of Great Dreams Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

Nicolás Espejo-Yaksic

Dr Nicolás Espejo-Yaksic is a legal scholar and policy advisor with extensive expertise in children’s rights, family law, access to justice and constitutional law. He has been Senior Researcher at the Centre for Constitutional Studies of the Supreme Court of Mexico and holds academic positions at several leading institutions, including Exeter College at the University of Oxford, Leiden University and University College Cork.  He is also President of the Iberoamerican Network on Access to Child-Friendly Justice, Member of the Advisory Council of Penal Reform International and the Advisory Board of The International Journal of Children’s Rights. Nicolás has conducted extensive research and published widely on topics such as child rights, disability and law, social rights, and legal theory. His work combines academic insight with policy relevance, having advised the United Nations in Latin America through UNICEF, the Office of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Violence Against Children and other organisations.

Lucy Opoka 

Lucy Opoka is a researcher at the Department of Child Law and Health Law at Leiden University. She holds an Advance Master in International Children’s Rights from Leiden University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. Her PhD research examines the role that children and young people play in the Post-Conflict peacebuilding process. Lucy also has teaching experience at Master Level having taught on African Human and Children’s Rights systems, Children’s Rights in Armed Conflict Situations as well as the International and Regional Monitoring and Evaluating of Children’s Rights through the relevant children’s rights treaty bodies. Prior to her PhD Lucy has had work experience as a law intern as well as in International Human Rights, Transitional Justice and Children’s Access to Justice and Child Participation Initiatives

Marine Braun 

Marine Braun is an international lawyer and child rights expert with extensive experience as a multi-country project coordinator and independent consultant. She has worked with a wide range of international organisations, including the Council of Europe (Children’s Rights Division), United Nations agencies such as IOM, UNDP, UNICEF and UNODC, as well as civil society organisations like Child Identity Protection, Defence for Children International, Penal Reform International and Terre des Hommes, and academic institutions including the Universities of Geneva, Strathclyde and Ottawa.

Her work focuses on advancing access to child-friendly justice within a broader social justice framework, covering areas such as child identity, participation, protection, climate justice and juvenile justice, including in complex contexts such as terrorism-related cases. She has supported governments and institutions across Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe in implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, through research, policy development and practical tools, contributing to reforms in countries such as Argentina, Belgium, Indonesia, Iraq, Morocco, Nigeria and Senegal.