International Exchanges

The Burns Institute plans to foster international juvenile justice exchanges. The BI will facilitate exchanges between community-based organizations in the United States and internationally involving human rights groups by sponsoring symposia, conferences and dialogues to strengthen advocacy regarding human rights for youth. The BI will also provide technical assistance to other countries on the work BI is doing to reduce disproportionate minority confinement in the U.S. In addition, the BI will study model juvenile justice systems abroad, with the goal of informing juvenile justice reform and reducing disproportionate minority confinement at home.

Burns Institute Director James Bell has extensive experience in the international juvenile justice arena. Mr. Bell assisted the African National Congress in the administration of the juvenile justice system in South Africa. Similarly, he has been engaged in work with Palestinians and Israelis on alternatives to juvenile incarceration, and trained government officials and activists on the human rights of children in Cambodia, Kenya, Brazil and France. He has also worked closely on restorative justice issues with officials in New Zealand and Australia.

Below are links to leading international human rights groups involved in this important work:

Amnesty International

Human Rights Watch