Jo Becker

Children's Rights Advocacy Director at Human Rights Watch @hrw; author of Campaigning for Children, a book on effective campaigns for children's rights.

[Jo Becker @jobeckerhrw]

Liberia has lifted school registration fees for kindergarten through grade 6. This will help remove a major barrier to schooling and enable children to enter and stay in school, regardless of their financial circumstances.

[Human Rights Watch @hrw]

Good news! Liberia will remove all school registration fees from kindergarten through grade 6, effective September 7, 2026.

Human Rights Watch research showed that registration fees had kept many low-income and rural children from school. If fully implemented, this reform could benefit nearly half a million Liberian families.

Read more: https://t.co/MbLiATgjG5

[Jo Becker @jobeckerhrw]

Liberia has abolished school registration fees from kindergarten through grade 6, removing a significant barrier to schooling for hundreds of thousands of children.
https://t.co/yAl8X5JC5X

[Zama Neff @ZamaHRW]

With record-level abuses against children in war, many countries are working together to hold abusers to account. Still a long way to go for an effective crimes against humanity treaty, but growing support to include justice for crimes against children
https://t.co/TFn8wYG7ql

[Jo Becker @jobeckerhrw]

Today is #WorldDayAgainstChildLabour and 138 million children are still in child labor worldwide. What is one of the most important things governments can do? Ensure free education for every child. More: https://t.co/MSJij6nQU2

[Jo Becker @jobeckerhrw]

Free education is one of the most powerful tools to combat child labor. As we mark #WorldDayAgainstChildLabour, governments should back a new global education treaty that would guarantee free education for every child. My new piece in @passblue: https://t.co/MSJij6nQU2

[Jo Becker @jobeckerhrw]

1 in 3 Liberian children never attend school, and only 17% complete grade 9. A big reason why: registration fees. Our new report shows how fees cause children to start school years late, drop out, and resort to child labor.

[Jo Becker @jobeckerhrw]

Great news! Oklahoma just became the 17th US state to ban all child marriage. Previously, the state's minimum age for marriage was ZERO. Congrats to @UnchainedAtLast and other advocates for this victory! More here: https://t.co/d41nzmT0hy

[Juliane Kippenberg @KippenbergJ]

Toxic lead from a Zambian mine has poisoned generations of children. This week @IHRDAfrica @hrw will spotlight the case & call for justice:

PANEL: Spotlight on Kabwe
🗓 16 April 09h00 – 10h40 with @likemike0077 @justrutz & Kabwe resident

Join online https://t.co/q6JxcVgQLy

[Jo Becker @jobeckerhrw]

The number of out-of-school children has risen for 7 years in a row, reaching 273 million. A proposed free education treaty could push countries to act. My new dispatch:
https://t.co/NfCOCJSfwf

[Jo Becker @jobeckerhrw]

Recruitment of children by Haitian criminal groups tripled last year. With a near total absence of the state, criminal groups use threats and material incentives to force children into criminal activity, sexual abuse, and sexual slavery
https://t.co/yS0SvuoSFY

[Jo Becker @jobeckerhrw]

10 years after a landmark US Supreme Court case limiting extreme sentences for children, a new report from @theCFSY assesses progress and gaps.

The plaintiff, Henry Montgomery, says, "Men who have done 20, 30, 40 years, it's time for them to come home."
https://t.co/RDkVfY6WSO

[Jo Becker @jobeckerhrw]

At the end of a rough year, @hrw takes stock of good news for kids from 2025. Countries banned child marriage, prohibited corporal punishment, expanded free education and protections in armed conflict, showing that progress is possible.
https://t.co/vDfOAhFsB5

[Jo Becker @jobeckerhrw]

The International Children's Peace Prize for 2025 was just awarded to 15-year-old Bana Alabed, recognizing her remarkable work to highlight the impact of armed conflict on the children of Syria.
https://t.co/FBnEHwTlZC

[Jo Becker @jobeckerhrw]

US state laws requiring healthcare providers to notify a parent about a young person’s abortion are causing harm. A new @hrw & @ifwhenhow report shows how these laws threaten young people’s health and safety and can push abortion out of reach.

[Jo Becker @jobeckerhrw]

This compelling article highlights Malawi's new free secondary education policy and why it might be "the single most transformative policy the country could ever take for its future." https://t.co/n4iCpg4ZpO

[Jo Becker @jobeckerhrw]

On Monday, governments will debate a possible new UN treaty to make education free from pre-primary through secondary. More than 8,000 children from 40 countries have weighed in. My colleague @BedeOnKidRights shares their views: https://t.co/ww0dMDtqDe

[Jo Becker @jobeckerhrw]

Last week the UN reported the highest number ever of grave violations against children in armed conflict. Today, the UN Security Council will discuss how to respond. Tune in live at 10 a.m. ET: https://t.co/FMQ82wLWfr

[Laetitia Bader @LaetitiaBader]

Annual report by @antonioguterres on children in armed conflict reveals soaring violence against children but also highlights weakness of UN data in countries like #Sudan where warring parties have deliberately hampered aid orgs access writes @jobeckerhrw https://t.co/NMJuO27IFL

[Jo Becker @jobeckerhrw]

Since Myanmar's 2021 military coup, the UN has verified > 1,800 cases of child recruitment, including children as young as 12. The junta is the sole state actor listed on the UN SG's "list of shame" for grave violations against children. More from @hrw:
https://t.co/URXw8FhVev