Skelton the undisputed champion for child rights
“SHE is my mother and my brother’s, but I think she really is a mother to all children in the world who deserve the best possible life ever.”
This is how Dominic Skelton, son of Professor Ann Skelton, described his mother in a recent Facebook post sent on Mother’s Day earlier this month.
Skelton, a well-known champion for children’s rights and who is part of the University of Pretoria’s faculty of law, was elected to chair the UN committee on the rights of the child. This is the foremost children’s protection body in the world.
Skelton’s new role will see her actively participating in holding states accountable for failures to protect the rights of children globally.
Speaking to the Pretoria News from Geneva, where she lives at the moment, Skelton said she was extremely excited to be part of making life a bit easier for children globally.
“It’s an awesome responsibility – and I don’t use that word lightly. Children’s rights are violated globally through war, natural disasters, and the effects of environmental degradation.”
Skelton said these are the high-line issues that engage the attention of UN bodies. “Less visible, but equally inexorable, is the slow undermining of the gains that have been made – partly caused by setbacks through global stress caused by the pandemic, but also because of lack of political will.”
Skelton said more children are living in poverty, and this affects many of their rights. “At the same time, there is a pushback on children’s rights in some parts of the world, because it is seen as threatening family values. So the Committee on the Rights of the Child has serious work to do in calling states to account.”
Skelton commented that it was a challenging moment to be leading a committee that took that on.
She has played a leading role in child law reform over the years and has argued many landmark cases in the Constitutional Court.
One of her biggest attributes in fighting for the vulnerable is that she is not afraid to call out injustice when she sees it, as she has proven.
Skelton was voted in by the UN for her first term of office in May 2017. She was re-elected for a second term, until February 2025.
The committee consists of 18 independent experts nominated by their countries.
They are voted in by a majority of the 196 states that ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
It oversees the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Its members review the progress of the 196 states and issue recommendations. It also drafts authoritative statements on children’s rights known as general comments and holds discussion days with stakeholders and children.
Since 2014 the committee has also been receiving individual complaints and requests for inquiries under its communications procedure.
Skelton, who has headed the Centre for Child Law at the University of Pretoria, racked up several notable achievements during her first years of office, which included leading the
drafting of General Comment 24 on the rights of children in the child justice system.
She was also instrumental in a historical carbon emissions ruling made in 2021 by the UN Child Rights Committee. It was ruled at the time that a state can be found responsible for the negative impact of its carbon emissions on the rights of children both within and outside its territory.
This was after 16 children from around the world – including Ayakha Melithafa from South Africa – filed a petition against Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany and Türkiye. They claimed that these five countries had failed to take necessary preventive measures to protect and fulfil children’s
rights to life, health and culture.
Skelton enjoys the challenge of dealing with complex legal issues such as extra-territorial jurisdiction – which the committee earlier grappled with in a case regarding a complaint against France for refusing to repatriate the children of foreign fighters in camps in northern Syria.
Skelton’s new role will see her actively participating in holding states accountable for failures to protect the rights of children globally.
While she is globally recognised for her work, one of her biggest champions remains Dominic, who lives in Japan.
He said: “She has the best work ethic of anyone I have ever met. Her steadfast dedication to her life’s pursuit – children’s rights law – has pushed her to the absolute apex of her career.”
Dominic said it filled him with pride and respect to think of the impact she has had over the years on the lives of countless children.
“Winning the position at the UN committee was no easy feat and by no means guaranteed.
“This means that the other members of the committee around the world trusted her enough to place her at the helm.”
In his post to his mother, Dominic concluded that while he is extremely proud of her, he knows that children across the globe are in the best possible hands.