AI research for child rights Founding / pre-launch
The world’s evidence engine for children’s rights.
CIJ brings together a peer-reviewed academic journal, an AI research assistant and the Global Child Index — one evidence infrastructure for everyone working to advance the rights of the child under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
Contribute Research Open AI Researcher
- Grounded in UNCRC & UN treaty bodies
- Safeguarding-first design
- Cited, structured answers
Article 3, UNCRC
“In all actions concerning children … the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.”
Built for every discipline that works for children
Children’s lives do not divide neatly by faculty. CIJ is built for researchers, reviewers and readers across all of the disciplines that study, treat, teach, protect and provide for children — and for the practitioners and policymakers who act on their evidence.
- Law & children’s rights
- Public health & medicine
- Education
- Social work & social policy
- Psychology & child development
- Economics
- Development studies
- NGOs & practitioners
- Policymakers & funders
Our mission
Children’s rights research is scattered across journals, institutions and countries. CIJ exists to connect it: rigorous peer-reviewed publishing, transparent country evidence, and research tools that help good evidence travel further — while keeping human editorial judgement at the centre of every decision.
Why CIJ
One evidence infrastructure for children’s rights
Human-led peer review
AI-assisted screening supports the editorial team, but every assessment and decision rests with human Academic Editors.
Transparent country evidence
The Global Child Index shows the source for every figure and states data gaps honestly, rather than ranking countries on partial evidence.
Grounded in the UNCRC
Everything CIJ publishes is anchored in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the work of the UN treaty bodies.
Open to researchers everywhere
Publication fees are waived for the first 100 accepted manuscripts in the Founding Research Collection — good evidence should travel, whoever produces it.
Research areas
What CIJ publishes
Child Health & Development
Peer-reviewed research and evidence synthesis in this area.
Education & Learning
Peer-reviewed research and evidence synthesis in this area.
Child Protection & Safeguarding
Peer-reviewed research and evidence synthesis in this area.
Children & the Law
Peer-reviewed research and evidence synthesis in this area.
Poverty & Social Policy
Peer-reviewed research and evidence synthesis in this area.
Climate & Environment
Peer-reviewed research and evidence synthesis in this area.
Digital Childhood & AI
Peer-reviewed research and evidence synthesis in this area.
Adolescent Wellbeing
Peer-reviewed research and evidence synthesis in this area.
The Founding Programme
How founding researchers join
Join the founding waitlist
Researchers register their interest and areas of expertise.
Verification & invitation
Founding researchers are invited in phases as the editorial structure is appointed.
Submit to the Founding Research Collection
Manuscripts are submitted through the CIJ journal system.
AI-assisted screening
Automated checks support — never replace — editorial judgement.
Human editorial peer review
Every assessment remains subject to human Academic Editor oversight.
Publication
Publication fees are waived for the first 100 accepted manuscripts.
Submit research
Send a manuscript to the Founding Research Collection through the CIJ journal.
Join the founding waitlist
Register your interest and areas of expertise as a founding researcher, reviewer or adviser — from law, public health and education to social work, psychology, economics and beyond.
Founding Council
Founding Council
Founding appointments to CIJ’s advisory and editorial bodies are in progress. CIJ does not list members who have not been formally appointed, and no institutional partnerships have been formally confirmed at this stage. The bodies below are being formed; appointed members will be named here once appointments are made.
Advisory Council
Guides CIJ’s mission, strategy and long-term direction.
Being formed
Editorial Board
Leads the journal’s scholarly direction, standards and appointments.
Being formed
Peer Reviewer
Independent experts who assess manuscripts in their own field.
Being formed
Research Contributor
Researchers contributing work to the Founding Research Collection.
Being formed
Methodology Working Group
Shapes the Global Child Index methodology, indicators and data standards.
Being formed
CIJ Research Alerts
Occasional alerts when new research, index updates or founding opportunities are published. No newsletter engine — just alerts.