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Children’s Commissioners highlight failures to protect children’s rights

  • Area of Work: The ALLIANCE
  • Type: News Item
  • Published: 30th November 2022
Papers

A joint report by the Children's Commissioners for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland raises areas of grave concern.

Ahead of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s assessment of the UK’s performance on children’s rights, the Children’s Commissioners for Scotland (Bruce Adamson), Wales (Rocío Cifuentes) and Northern Ireland (Koulla Yiasouma) have published a joint report (this link will take you away from our website), expressing particular concerns about poverty, mental health, and the UK Government’s plans for a Rights Removal Bill.

Although each Commissioner has unique statutory functions, all pay particular attention to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and are informed by children’s own views and experiences. Reflecting on Scotland in particular, the report expresses concerns at the ongoing delay to the implementation of the UNCRC Bill, passed in 2021 by the Scottish Parliament.

The report also draws attention to the impacts of the UK Government’s austerity policies and welfare reforms, which have had a significant detrimental impact on children, yet no comprehensive assessment has been made by the UK Government of their impacts. It also calls on the Scottish Government to take further action on social security using the powers devolved to it.

Strong opposition is expressed to the proposed repeal of the Human Rights Act 1998 by the UK Government, with the Commissioners urging them to abandon the Bill of Rights Bill. Should that bill be passed, the Commissioners call on devolved governments to legislate to preserve human rights to the maximum extent possible.

You can read the full report here (this link will take you away from our website).

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