A new book by Dr. Ziba Vaghri, an associate professor and Research Chair in Child Development & Child Rights at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) in Saint John, will be officially launched on June 3, during the International Forum on the Rights of the Child. Those interested in attending the virtual event are invited to join via Teams on June 3 from 1 to 1:30 p.m.
Children's Rights-Based Indicators is a reference guide for the indicators developed as part of the GlobalChild platform project. The book provides scholars, human rights professionals and others with an inventory of what these indicators are, how to calculate them, and what they reflect. These indicators are used in monitoring, assessing and reporting on how jurisdictions around the world are respecting the promises made under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
Children's Rights-Based Indicators is published by Springer, and is available as a free, open access eBook or for purchase in print.
Vaghri is an internationally-recognized expert in her field. She joined UNB in October 2020 as a senior research associate and brought more than 20 years of research and experience in the areas of child health, development and rights, with a strong emphasis on the social determinants of health and improving the conditions for children's lives and learning. After her arrival, she was appointed as a research chair as part of UNB's Integrated Health Initiative, thanks to funding from the New Brunswick Health Research Foundation and the Sir James Dunn Foundation.
When she came to UNB, she brought with her the nascent GlobalChild program.
Over the past ten years Vaghri has been working on the creation of this international monitoring tool thanks to initial funding support from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) and the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, and subsequent funding from other organizations. In that time, she assembled a research team, and working under the guidance of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, has created the world's first comprehensive child rights monitoring tool.
The GlobalChild platform was officially launched on Dec. 13, 2021 - the 30th anniversary of Canada's ratification of the UNCRC. The platform incorporates indicators that were reviewed by more than 150 child rights experts, including six former chairs of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, and more than 2,000 children from around the world.
In 2023, the first pilot of the GlobalChild platform was launched in our own backyard, right here in New Brunswick. Working with the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate, as well as provincial government departments coordinated through the Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour, New Brunswick became the first province to trial the platform, collect provincial data and populate the platform with this data. Further funding for the project then grew to include support from the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation and the New Brunswick Health Research Foundation.
Over the course of the GlobalChild development project, Vaghri's team also launched the InspiRights collaboration in 2021, with additional financial support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the New Brunswick Health Research Foundation. This global collaboration seeks to document good practices that further children's rights, with a consortium of seven other universities and other institutions around the globe leading regional efforts. The project also involves other researchers at UNB including the New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data and Training, and external partner NB Social Pediatrics.
Vaghri's first book originating from the GlobalChild project, Monitoring State Compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (published by Springer as an open access book in 2022) has been accessed around 830,000 times. It was co-edited with Jean Zermatten, former chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, and scholars Gerison Lansdown and Roberta Ruggiero (University of Geneva).
Vaghri's latest book brings back co-editors Lansdown and Ruggiero. It represents a culmination of her CIHR grant-funded work on GlobalChild.
"This book brings more than a decade of hard work full circle, and brings it to a close in a most effective manner," said Vaghri.
"To me, it is a strong finale to the CIHR's generous support support that enabled us to build a stellar global team of experts in all areas of children's lives, assemble an international network of experts to steer the work, and together conduct this needed and important research.
"It is an honour and privilege to be in a position to make this contribution and add such a resource to the field of children's rights."
While this CIHR grant is ending, Vaghri and her team continue their work on GlobalChild and its related projects. In early 2024, Vaghri received financial support from the Sir James Dunn Foundation, and her team is currently working on securing new funding and planning the next phase of work. The team's final report of the grant was submitted to the CIHR in March 2025.
"With all these milestones having been reached, I am eager and restless to continue moving the project forward," said Vaghri.
"We are ready to get phase II on the road: we have the plan, we have the vision, and we are committed to improving children's rights and lives."
