Douglas Keillor, Juvenile Justice Advoates International (JJAI)

Originally from Minnesota, Douglas Keillor is the founder and executive director of Juvenile Justice Advocates International. Doug is a human rights attorney currently living and working primarily in Mexico. He holds a Juris Doctor and Master of Arts in International Politics from American University. In 2012 Doug was awarded a Fulbright-García Robles Fellowship to research excessive juvenile detention in Mexico City. As a result, the Mexico City Superior Court invited him to help implement a pretrial release program. Due to the lack of organizations working on international juvenile justice reform, in 2013 Doug founded the U.S.-based 501(c)(3) Juvenile Justice Advocates International (JJAI).

JJAI is dedicated to ensuring kids are detained only as a last resort and for the shortest time possible. While it is estimated over one million children are behind bars across the globe -- and the damage this does to kids is internationally recognized as a critical human rights issue -- the amount of time children spend in pretrial detention does not often receive much attention. Doug is working to change that. In May 2018, presenting before both the United Nations in Geneva and the World Congress on Justice for Children in Paris, Doug led the team briefing the international community on JJAI’s report “Children in Pretrial Detention: Promoting Stronger International Time Limits” which recommends children spend no more than 30 days in detention awaiting trial. If juvenile justice systems eliminated delays and implemented JJAI”s recommendations, then hundreds of thousands of children around the world could more quickly return home and reintegrate into their communities.