Valeriia Cherednichenko, originally from Kyiv, Ukraine, has been working on issues related to statelessness since 2011. She joined UNHCR in 2014 and currently serves as a Statelessness Officer in the Statelessness Section, Division of International Protection, UNHCR. Valeriia holds a Master’s degree in International Law from the Institute of International Relations at Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University (Ukraine) and an LLM in Human Rights from Tilburg University (the Netherlands). She previously worked for seven years at the UNHCR Regional Bureau for Europe, initially as an Associate Protection Officer and later as a Protection Officer, where she led strategic efforts on statelessness across 49 countries in Europe. Since 2017, Valeriia has also been a guest trainer on statelessness at the Sanremo International Institute of Humanitarian Law.

Kirsten has over 25 years of experience in human rights, child rights and child protection programme leadership and management, including over 20 years of experience with UNICEF in Kosovo, Moldova, China, Lao PDR and Germany where she led UNICEF’s Refugee and Migrant Response from 2016-2018. Since 2018 she is the global lead for Child Protection Systems Strengthening, including social welfare and justice systems, in UNICEF Headquarters. Kirsten has extensive experience in child protection, including policy and legislative reform, successfully leading, and supporting reforms at the national level to better protect children, including on prevention and response to violence against children, justice for children, trafficking, migration, social welfare/social work, care reform/alternative care and birth registration. Prior to UNICEF, Kirsten worked with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the European Commission, Defense for Children International, and the International Social Service. She holds a Master of Laws (LLM) in International Human Rights Law.

Terry Kiarie is a dedicated young lawyer and certified child protection officer with extensive experience in advocating for children’s rights and safety. She is currently working at ATD Fourth World, an international nonprofit organization that has been actively involved in various community programs aimed at improving the lives of children. Terry Kiarie worked with children in Kibera slums in Kenya for several years. She is in an Advocacy group together with other young volunteers of ATD FW from Tanzania, DRC, Burkina Faso, central Africa, Cameroon, and Senegal who have been working closely with children and their families especially those from impoverished neighborhoods both in urban and rural setting advocating on children rights including the right to Birth cerficates. Her passion lies in ensuring the well-being and protection of vulnerable children and youth. she is committed to making an impact in their lives through legal advocacy and community engagement.

Terry is focused on bringing forward the voices of children and families living in extreme poverty who are often forgotten and miss enjoying their basic human rights such as access to justice. Through the legal rights advocacy, championing administration processes, removing barriers in accessing birth certificates, conducting case studies and consulting on good.

Terry is currently working as an advocacy officer at the ATD FW international advocacy office at its headquarters in Paris

Armando Augello Cupi is a stateless young professional with a good knowledge experience in the governance management of NGOs and with a strong expertise on humanitarian crises, conflict management and statelessness. Armando has an advanced master’s degree in Conflict Management and Humanitarian Action and a bachelor’s degree in Global Humanities. He pursed an Internship as Researcher at Princeton University investigating about on-going situation in Myanmar with the possibility to interview several Rohingya’s people. In 2022, Armando created the first stateless-led organization based in Italy, named Unione Italiana Apolidi (Italian Stateless Union), which provide legal support to stateless and stateless refugees. In addition to this, UNIA provides information and awareness campaign regarding statelessness and activities of capacity building dedicated to stateless individuals and students. At the moment Armando is working as Associative Coordination Intern at Doctors Without Borders.

Aleksandra Semeriak Gavrilenok, graduated in Political Science and with a master’s degree in Migration Studies from the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, has developed her professional career in the non-profit sector, working on asylum, statelessness, migration, and human rights. She serves as European Network on Statelessness Trustee and Secretary of the Board of Directors of the United Nations Association of Spain. She is an Associate Lecturer at Esade Ramon Llull University and currently manages an AMIF-funded project on complementary pathways for persons in need of international protection at the Catalan Fund for Development Cooperation.

Aleksandra was born in Latvia and grew up as a stateless person in Spain. Her personal experience and professional expertise motivated her to actively contribute to awareness raising, advocacy, capacity building and community engagement activities on statelessness in Europe and Spain, in collaboration with the European Network on Statelessness and as a member of the stateless-led organisations Apatride Network and Statefree e.V..

Velina Todorova is a Bulgarian lawyer (1981) and Ph.D. in Sociology of Law (1989), Associate Professor on Civil and Family Law at the Law Faculty, Plovdiv University and Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. She has an extensive experience in research and in law making in the areas of child rights protection, social protection and family law (1997 to date). Publishes nationally and internationally and is both expert (2001) and a member (2014-2019) to the Commission on the European Family Law. Member to the European Family Law Academic Network (FLEUR) since 2019. A founder of the Governmental Agency for Child Protection (2001). She has always combined her academic career with a strong activism as a member and supporter of various human rights initiatives and NGOs. A Deputy Minister of Justice (2011-13). Member to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2017-2021, 2021-2025).

Deneisha Moss is the Programme Lead for ISI Children’s Programme where she holds responsibility for coordinating activities and implementing initiatives that focus on addressing childhood statelessness. She also supports other ISI programmes including the Discrimination Programme, Deprivation of Nationality and Capacity Building and Resource Development. Deneisha is based out of the Tilburg Office. Prior to joining ISI, Deneisha spent more than 12 years in the humanitarian sector where she worked with the UN Refugee Agency predominantly in Southeast Asia and the Americas. There, she specialised in refugee protection, with an emphasis on child protection and statelessness. Deneisha is a non-practising Barrister, admitted to the Bar of England and Wales (2002), The Bahamas (2002), Turks and Caicos Islands (2006). She holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Leeds in England, and a Master of Laws in International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law from the University of Lund in Sweden.

Bhaskar Mishra works as the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics and Legal Identity Specialist with UNICEF HQ, New York. He also supports UNICEF’s work on the UN Legal Identity Agenda. From 2016 to 2021, Bhaskar worked with the UNICEF Tanzania CO as the Child Protection Specialist for Birth & Death Registration, supporting the Government of Tanzania in scaling up the simplified birth and death registration system. Previously, Bhaskar worked as the Deputy Registrar General responsible for implementing India’s birth and death registration system.

Biography will be added as soon as it becomes available.

Dr. Mikiko Otani is a member and former Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The areas of her focus include children and armed conflict, girl child, human trafficking, children’s access to justice and right to remedies. She has been particularly active in strengthening the work of the CRC concerning children and armed conflict. She is an international human rights lawyer and a practicing lawyer of family law in Japan since 1990, with a focus on women’s and children’s rights. She is a Commissioner and a Member of the Executive Committee of the International Commission of Jurists, a Vice-President of the Asian Society of International Law, and a former Chair of the Committee on International Human Rights of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations. She holds Doctor of Law (Public International Law) from Aoyamagakuin University in Japan, M.I.A. (Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs) from Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs in USA, LL.M. (Public International Law) from University of Tokyo in Japan, and B.A. in Law from Sophia University in Japan.

Bina Ramanand currently leads Family Frontiers, an organization that champions the rights of Malaysian binational families. With over 17 years of advocacy experience, Bina has been instrumental in advancing gender equality, particularly in securing the citizenship and identity rights of children born to Malaysian mothers. The work of Family Frontiers has led to significant governmental commitments towards law reforms, impacting countless Malaysian binational families.

Bina actively engages with national and international forums, UN agencies, and various coalitions to push for legal reforms and access to justice, focusing on marginalized groups such as migrant women and stateless populations. She has played a crucial role in advocating for overseas-born children of Malaysian women, seeking to ensure their rights to nationality and identity.

Bina is a member of the UNHCR Global Alliance Task force to end statelessness and is on the steering committee of the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights and the steering committee of the Asia Pacific Statelessness and Dignified Citizenship Coalition.

Biography will be added as soon as it becomes available.

Zoé Bertrand is a senior advocacy and policy officer for the Global Survivors Fund (GSF), with a focus on advocating for children affected by conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). Part of her current work centres on ensuring access to legal identity for children born of CRSV. She previously worked for the Office of the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (SRSG CAAC), the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations, and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). Zoé holds a degree in law for the University Panthéon Assas (France) and a MA in international crime and justice from the City University of New York (USA).

Biography will be added as soon as it becomes available.

Laura Echeverri Montes, Colombian, has worked in UNHCR Colombia for over 11 years.

Her professional career focuses on her work on Human Rights, mainly concerning the right to land for internally displaced persons. She has worked not only for UNHCR but also with public institutions such as the Land Restitution Unit and civil society organizations, like Cáritas.

Laura is a lawyer with a master’s degree in human rights. She speaks Spanish, English and French.

Amongst others, she is currently the focal point on statelessness and civil registration.

Benoit Van Keirsbilck is the Director of the Belgian section of Defence for Children – International (DCI). He is Chief Editor of the Journal of Children’s Law (Belgium) and member of the Advisory board of the UN Global Study on children deprived of liberty. He is a member of the Interdisciplinary Center for the Rights of the Child, which organises academic courses and develops research. He has been elected as a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2021-2024 and 2025-2029).

Mia Dambach is a human rights advocate with 20 years’ experience of working on children’s rights, starting her career as a children’s lawyer in Australia. As the Executive Director she brings with her leadership, project management and research skills to ensure that children’s identity rights are better protected worldwide. She has provided technical support, mostly on behalf of UNICEF, through evaluation missions in over 20 countries focusing on alternative care, adoption, and surrogacy. With many years of further experience and a family background from Australia, the Philippines, and Switzerland, she understands the importance of children having access to their origins.

Lynelle Long is a Vietnamese adoptee born in the early 70s, Founder of InterCountry Adoptee Voices (ICAV). ICA is one of the largest platforms worldwide to bring together the leaders of intercountry adoptee led groups around the globe. Her network is a critical thinking space that advocates for the needs and rights of intercountry adoptees. She has been a consultant to central authorities in intercountry adoption, is an author and contributor to books on intercountry adoption, initiates and coordinates meetings with adult intercountry adoptees and government authorities, is an Observer in The Hague Working Group on Addressing & Preventing Illicit Practices in Adoption, guest speaker at training sessions and conferences for various Central Authorities and post adoption organisations worldwide.

Biography will be added as soon as it becomes available.

Biography will be added as soon as it becomes available.

• Conçu grâce à un don de gamètes, ce qu’il a toujours su.
• Fondateur et président de l’association ORIGINES.
• Auteur d’un livre de témoignage “Né de spermatozoïde inconnu”, sous le nom d’Arthur Kermalvezen, préface de Serge Tisseron, éd. Presse de la Renaissance 2008 et  éd. J’ai lu, 2010.
• Porte-parole depuis 2006 des personnes conçues par don de gamètes.

Premier français à avoir retrouvé le donneur à l’origine de sa   conception grâce à un test ADN récréatif en septembre 2017

• Audrey Kermalvezen-Fournis est avocate de formation et s’est spécialisée en droit de la bioéthique avant de découvrir qu’elle devait sa conception à un don de gamètes, ce qu’elle a appris à l’âge de 29 ans.
• Elle milite activement pour la reconnaissance du droit pour toute personne de connaître ses origines depuis une quinzaine d’années.
• Elle a co-fondé, avec Arthur Kelmavezen-Fournis l’association ORIGINES.
  Auteure d’un essai-document « Mes origines : une affaire d’État », sous le nom d’Audrey Kermalvezen, préface du professeur Israël Nisand, éd. Max Milo, 2014.

Première personne conçue par don de gamètes à avoir saisi la justice française en 2010 pour accéder à ses origines personnelles. Après avoir été déboutée en 2015 par le Conseil d’État, elle a saisi la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme en 2016.

Le législateur français a inscrit dans la loi de bioéthique du 2 août 2021 un droit pour les personnes issues d’un don de gamètes de connaître l’identité du donneur sous de nombreuses conditions.

La requête d’Audrey a été rejetée par 4 voix contre 3 dans un arrêt Gauvin-Fournis contre France le 7 septembre 2023.

Sa demande de renvoi de l’affaire devant la Grande chambre a été rejetée.

Natalie is fiercely committed to progressing a transformational reform agenda to strengthen Queensland’s focus on children’s rights. Her passion for children’s rights is inspired by the experiences of children and young people disadvantaged by the systems designed to protect them, especially those in statutory child and youth justice systems.

Natalie has dedicated her career to improving life outcomes for First Nations Peoples across Australia and is deeply committed to addressing the systemic and structural issues that disproportionately affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families. She has led significant national reform across Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child protection and family services sectors, playing an instrumental role in the implementation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle in Australian child protection legislation. She is a strong advocate for protecting the right of First Nations People to exercise self-determination and to remain meaningfully connected to kin, culture and Country.

Natalie has held senior executive roles in the Queensland Government, the advocacy sector and been appointed to numerous national boards and councils.

Ann Skelton is an international expert on children’s rights. She is a Law Professor at the University of Pretoria, where she holds the UNESCO Chair in Education Law, and is also appointed part time at the University of Leiden where she holds the Chair in Children’s Rights in a Sustainable World. She also teaches international children’s rights at the Universities of Oxford and Strathclyde. She has worked as a children’s rights lawyer in South Africa for 30 years where she played a leading role in child law reform. She pioneered strategic litigation on children’s rights from the Centre for Child Law (where she was Director from 2008 to 2018) and appeared as legal counsel arguing many landmark cases in the South African courts, including cases enforcing the right to education. Her global influence has been recognised through several awards, including the Honorary Worlds Children’s Prize and the Juvenile Justice Without Borders Award. She has chaired several international drafting bodies, including the Global Study on Children Deprived of their Liberty, and the expert committee that drafted the Abidjan Principles on state’s obligations regarding public education and the regulation of private of education.