On 13th November, 2024, the Caribbean Regional Conference of the International Society of Family Law took place at the Trinidad Hilton, under the theme: “The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) at 35 years—A Promise Kept or ‘A Dream Deferred’?” Convened by Senator Hazel Thompson-Ahye, Vice President of the Society of Family Law, this significant gathering brought together jurists, doctors, social workers, researchers, and other professionals from over 50 countries to examine the progress and challenges in advancing children’s rights.

Her Excellency Christine Carla Kangaloo O.R.T.T., President of Trinidad and Tobago, urged delegates to not only exchange best practices and innovative ideas but also to generate fresh insights and strategies for addressing today’s urgent issues in child welfare. Her Excellency emphasised that the goal of a world where children’s rights are upheld is achievable—but it requires unwavering commitment and action. “We cannot give up on our children’s right to grow up in a spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality, and solidarity,” she stated, stressing the need to create conditions where these rights are not only upheld but actively nurtured.

Mrs. Faith Marshall-Harris, the Caribbean Representative for the UN Child Rights Committee, presented her findings on the region’s efforts to implement the CRC. She called on signatories to focus on data-driven strategies and reporting to ensure meaningful progress.

Her Excellency closed with an inspiring vision, wishing the conference would yield “fruit in due season” like a tree nourished by streams, with leaves that “do not wither.” This powerful reminder underscores the importance of resilience and dedication as we work toward making children’s rights a realised promise, not a deferred dream.

See full speech below:

Good evening.

I am delighted to be here with you this evening, on this, the opening day of the 4th Caribbean Regional Conference of the International Society of Family Law. I thank Senator Thompson-Ahye for her kind invitation to address you today and also for convening this important and timely forum. I also extend a warm welcome to all delegates, especially our regional and international visitors who have travelled to Trinidad and Tobago for this conference. I hope that you are able to take some time from your busy schedule to explore and enjoy the natural beauty and attractions that both Trinidad and Tobago have to offer.

Having just listened to the instructive feature address delivered by Mrs Faith Marshall-Harris on the theme of this year’s Conference, “The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) at 35 years. A Promise Kept or ‘A Dream Deferred’?”, and having taken a glance around the room, I must say that I feel an overwhelming sense of optimism. I am optimistic because it is clear to me that every single person in this room possesses a profound commitment to securing the wellbeing of our children, our most precious resource. Every single one of you comes from a nation which has signalled its commitment in this regard by signing or ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child. And, despite the diversity in our legal systems, cultures, and social contexts, you are united today by a common cause: to protect and promote the rights of children.

I am also optimistic because this Conference, with its gathering of jurists, legal practitioners, doctors, social workers, researchers and other professionals from over 50 countries, is the perfect setting, for not only the ventilation and exchange of best practices and innovative ideas, but also for the generation of new insights and strategies for addressing the most pressing issues confronting children’s rights today. And I am optimistic that, as you engage in these important discussions, you will gain clearer sight of the finish line, which is a world in which the rights of all children are universally respected and protected. A world in which the rights of children are no longer “a dream deferred,” but rather, “a promise kept.” The timeline for realising this vision may still be uncertain; but what I am certain about, is that the work that you will be doing over the next few days will bring us all closer to that goal.

If there is one thing that is needed in terms of advancing the universal, inalienable and indivisible rights of children, it is optimism. The alternative is to despair and descend into desperation, neither of which is helpful. That is not to say that one should be optimistic for optimism’s sake. But it does mean that one should try to search for the light when one feels, as all of us do from time to time, that all that there is, is the darkness. We can’t ever give up on our children’s right to grow up in a spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and solidarity. We have to find ways and means to secure for them the right to do so, and we have to go further and create the conditions in which that right can be fully exercised.

That is what all of you at this Conference are committed to doing. All of you acknowledge the challenges in advancing the rights of the child in a meaningful way; but all of you are here, because you refuse to give up the struggle to do so. And so, this Conference and indeed, all of you, are the bearers of the region’s collective torch, as together, we pierce the darkness and hold high the lamp on the path to our children’s fullest self-actualization. This Conference, and all of you, are a source of justifiable optimism that we will get there, sooner than later.

Having listened carefully to our feature speaker, I imagine that it fair to say that the journey to “a promise kept” is certainly still underway, and that the danger of a “dream deferred” still looms. Yours is the challenge, over the next few days, to contribute to our region inching further away from “a dream deferred”, and closer towards “a promise kept”. I wish you the best of luck in grappling with the issues and the institutional challenges that face the region as we try, collectively, to move closer to the latter. I wish you a productive, insightful Conference that, like a tree planted by streams of water, yields fruit in due season, and whose leaves do not wither.

It is my pleasure and my privilege to wish you best of luck and to declare open, this 4th Caribbean Regional Conference of the International Society of Family Law.

Thank you.