The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and why it is important in the context of health and social care

The UNCRC is an international human rights treaty which sets out the rights every child has.

What is the UNCRC and who is it for?

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is an international human rights treaty which sets out the rights every child has. 

All children under the age of 18 have the same rights as all other people as well as additional rights that recognise childhood as a special time that requires additional protection. The UNCRC is about what children need to grow up happy, healthy and safe and ensure their views taken into account in decisions that affect them.

Every child has 42 substantive rights under the UNCRC. All of these rights are connected to each other and equally important. The UNCRC will make a difference for every single child and young person, but in particular those children, young people and their families whose rights are most at risk: disabled children, care-experienced children, and those who are experiencing poverty.

There are several Articles which relate directly to the experiences of disabled children and children with a long-term conditions. These include the following:

Article 23- support for children with a disability

Article 24- right to good quality health care

General Comment No.15: The right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest standard of health (2013) states that:

“children’s right to health as defined in article 24 as an inclusive right, extending not only to timely and appropriate prevention, health promotion, curative, rehabilitative and palliative services, but also to a right to grow and develop to their full potential and live in conditions that enable them to attain the highest standard of health through the implementation of programmes that address the underlying determinants of health.”

Where are we now with UNCRC Incorporation?

The UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 1st September 2020 with its main purpose is to bring the UNCRC into Scots law.

The Bill is a milestone on Scotland’s journey towards making rights real for every child. It follows a decade of developments that have been furthering children’s rights across legislation, policy and practice in Scotland – including GIRFEC, the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, Scottish Government’s 2018-21 Action Plan, and most recently the Children (Scotland) Act 2020.

The UNCRC Bill was debated in Parliament on Thursday 7^th December 2023. The Scottish Parliament unanimously voted Yes to incorporate children’s rights into Scots Law.  

Wider action to Incorporate International Human Rights Treaties

The Scottish Government has also been consulting on a new Human Rights (Scotland) Bill, which will incorporate four more international human rights treaties into Scots law. This Bill will embed our full range of economic, social, and cultural rights alongside the civil and political rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights. This would enhance human rights for marginalised groups including women, disabled people, and minority ethnic communities. This Bill will complement and enhance children’s rights by providing wider protections for children embedded in other human rights treaties. For more information on human rights incorporation, you can read the ALLIANCE response to the consultation.

Making rights real for children

Incorporation of UNCRC means that children and young people have more power to act when their rights haven’t been respected. It means that there is greater accountability when things do go wrong, and ways to ensure that children, young people and their families get an effective remedy.

All professionals working with children and young people and those making decisions that affect children must have a good understanding of children’s human rights and are supported to put these into practice. To fully embed children’s rights into the core of planning and service delivery requires leadership and a coordinated approach across services and partners and a commitment to meaningful empowerment and participation of children and young people; integrating children and young people’s rights into every aspect of decision making, policy and practice.

“The UNCRC provides a framework that equalises the imbalance of power that otherwise exists between children and adults…Incorporation redresses that imbalance of power so that is gives children the space at the centre of decision making that they’re entitled to” Nick Hobbs, Head of Advice and Investigations, Children and Young People Commissioner’s Office (Being Human Event, August 2023)

UNCRC in practice

Third sector organisations have embraced child-rights respecting ways of working, some examples are included below:

• Voice of the Child

Starcatchers together with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland have started research of an arts-based methodology for participation with pre and non-verbal children. Enabling the youngest children to access their rights, particularly around Article 12 of the UNCRC, enabling children to have their views heard and taken seriously.

The project recognises the rights of babies, as soon as they arrive in the world and how to provide a sense of agency, how they build on that, and then begin to understand that with that comes the fulfilment of the rights they have as human beings, as children.

• Dignity in Schools

Children’s Parliament is working with partners to build the capacity of primary schools to take a children’s rights-based approach and become hubs of human rights practice. By adopting a rights-based approach, schools help to make rights real for children by ensuring that their dignity is upheld.  

The Dignity in School Hub is a home for resources, prompts and inspirational stories that will help you join the momentum behind the shared commitment to making rights real for children.

To celebrate Human Rights Day the Children and Young People and Academy programmes have published a recording of their event ‘UNCRC: Beyond Incorporation’ which was delivered in partnership with Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights). The event provided an opportunity for participants to hear more about recent developments in children’s rights and to hear from a panel of experts about innovative examples of how organisations are already championing children’s rights in health and social are.

For more information about current developments related to UNCRC Incorporation please see Together’s website: www.togetherscotland.org.uk 

End of page.