The event served as the launch of a new Small Media report entitled Wasted Youth: Children’s Rights in Iran. This timely report identifies a number of areas in which Iran is failing to live up to its obligations to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, including guaranteeing the rights of children to health, education, and protection from violence. The findings of the report were presented by Small Media’s Research Manager James Marchant, followed by a Persia panel discussion about key children’s rights challenges in Iran today, including:

• Zarin Hainsworth OBE, an internationally recognised expert and an advocate for the rights of women and girls. She is well known for her work throughout the MENA region as well as her strong role in advocacy and policy advice within the UK, EU and the UN mechanisms.
• Diana Nammi, author, Founder and Executive Director of IKWRO. She is an internationally known figure involved in defence of the rights of minorities, in particular women and girls.
• Nazee Akbari, an established therapist, an academic and the Executive Director of Barnet Refugee Services. She travels to Iran often and works with children and young people.
• Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC, a public law specialist at the prestigious Doughty Street Chambers with particular expertise in children’s rights and human rights-related judicial review. She is recognised as a Leading Junior in Public Law, Human Rights and Civil Liberties by the Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners.

The event accompanied the launch of Persia’s Wristband Campaign in support of its Girls’ Scholarship Fund. The campaign challenges citizens around the globe to take action and provide the means to provide education for those with the highest impact on our future.

Earlier in 2017 Persia published ‘A Legal Study on Children’s Rights and Iran’s Laws‘, following a series of articles on the state of girl children in Iran marking the 5th anniversary of the International Day of the Girl Child in October 2016.

Small Media is a London-based action lab, providing digital research, training and advocacy solutions to support the work of civil society actors that provides assistance to at-risk communities globally.

Persia Educational Foundation is a UK-based charity advancing education among 110 million Persian speakers of all backgrounds.

In addition to the above, please see the National Alliance of Women’s Organisations’ report on the event.