Jarvarus Gresham
  • Law
  • Class of 2019
  • Atlanta, GA

Jarvarus Gresham Explores Children's Rights in Costa Rica

2017 Mar 28

Jarvarus Gresham of Atlanta, a student of the Georgia State University College of Law, spent nine days in Costa Rica to explore children's rights issues, including child migration, education and how children's rights law is implemented in practice.

Jonathan Todres, professor of law, led the study abroad program, sponsored by Center for Law, Health & Society. The Global Perspectives on Children and the Law course was a partnership with the United Nations-mandated University for Peace (UPEACE) and its Centre for Executive Education and included a mixture of classroom time and site visits.

Lecturers in the classroom included UPEACE faculty members Olivia Sylvester, whose work focuses on cultural rights that arise in the context of food and food procurement among indigenous populations, and Miriam Estrada-Castillo, who spoke about human rights law and the Costa Rican experience, as well as Lindsay Fendt, a journalist who has covered migration issues in Costa Rica and the region.

Students were introduced to how social innovation can be applied to humanitarian challenges that are the focus of human rights law, Todres said.

Through the site visits, students met with representatives from government agencies as well as both international organizations-including UNICEF and the International Organization for Migration-and local nongovernmental organizations working to advance children's rights and well-being.

In addition, they visited the Inter-American Court of Human Rights; Tecnologico de Costa Rica, a major university which has a program aimed at increasing access to higher education for indigenous students in Costa Rica; and met with an immigration attorney who provided insights on Costa Rican law and the practice of immigration law.