Human Rights Watch honoree to speak at Fairfield University on the rights of children in the U.S. judicial system

October 24, 2003

Javier Stauring, director of Detention Ministry for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and policy director of Faith Communities for Families and Children, will speak about the increasing number of children in the American adult legal system. His lecture, "Jailing Juveniles as Adults: America's Failure to Protect the Human Rights of Children," will take place on Monday November 10 at 4 p.m. in the Loyola Hall Commons. It is free and open to the public and no reservations are required.

Mark McGregor, S.J., assistant professor in Fairfield University's Visual and Performing Arts Department and former juvenile hall chaplain with Stuaring in Los Angeles, frames Stauring's talk with this question, "Why is it only in the United States that our justice system increasingly places children in adult categories?" Fr. McGregor said that Stauring will address the "adultification" of children in the judicial system and the protection of legal and human rights of minors. Stauring will illustrate the issues with scenes from a new documentary film, "Juvies," by Leslie Neale.

"Treating juveniles as adults in our legal system is a sign of failure, not a solution," Mr. Stauring said. "The dignity of children and safeguarding their rights is a matter of defending human rights, not a political issue."

Mr. Stauring will travel from Los Angeles to receive an award from Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a 25th Anniversary Event on November 12. The internationally recognized human rights organization will honor him and two other HRW honorees from Egypt and Liberia in New York City.

"The Human Rights Watch Annual Dinner celebrates the valor of ordinary people who put their lives on the line to defend the rights of others," according to the HRW website. Students from Fairfield University will attend that event, honoring Stauring for his work on behalf of young people, incarcerated children and their families.

Mr. Stauring's talk is sponsored by the Ignatian Residential College, the Jesuit Community and the International Studies Program at Fairfield University. Media inquiries can be made to Dana Ambrosini, assistant director of Media Relations at Fairfield University, at (203) 254-4000, ext. 2726.

Fairfield University is a comprehensive Jesuit university that prepares undergraduate, graduate and continuing education students for leadership and service in a constantly changing world. U.S.News and World Report's 2003 "America's Best Colleges" ranks Fairfield third among universities with master's programs in the North. Approximately 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students from 37 states, 43 countries, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are enrolled at the University's six schools. The University was founded in 1942 in the scenic shoreline community of Fairfield, Connecticut.