NGO ALTERNATIVE
REPORT
ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION ON
THE
RIGHTS OF THE
CHILD IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
SUBMITTED TO
THE UN COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF
THE CHILD ON 15TH MARCH 2002
BY
CHILDREN IN WALES (PLANT YNG
NGHYMRU)AND SAVE THE
CHILDREN (ACHUB Y
PLANT CYMRU)
CHILDREN’S LAW CENTRE AND SAVE THE CHILDREN IN
NORTHERN IRELAND
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS ALLIANCE FOR ENGLAND
SCOTTISH ALLIANCE FOR CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
THIS REPORT WAS
COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY DR URSULA KILKELLY ON
BEHALF OF THE AGENCIES LISTED ABOVE
2
Scotland: Scottish Alliance for Children's Rights
(SACR)
SACR has wide membership of both organisations and
individuals concerned with children’s
rights. It works to promote the full implementation of
the Convention on the Rights of the
Child in Scotland.
Contact: Alison
Davies, Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights, 7th Floor Haymarket House, 8
Clifton Terrace, Edinburgh. Telephone 0044 131 527
8200 Fax 0044 131 527 8201.
E Mail: A.Davies@scfuk.org.uk
Northern Ireland: The Children’s Law Centre and Save
the Children
The Children’s Law Centre is an NGO that was established in 1997, which aims to help
young people, their parents and professionals work
with and understand the domestic and
international laws which affect children and their
rights.
Contact: Paddy
Kelly and Teresa Geraghty, The Children’s Law Centre, Philip House, 123-
137 York St, Belfast, BT15 1AB. Telephone 0044 28 902
45704 Fax 0044 28 902 45679
E Mail paddy.kelly@childrenslawcentre.org
and teresa.geraghty@childrenslawcentre.org
Save the Children is the UK’s leading international children’s charity, working to create
a
better future for children.
Contact: Sheri
Chamberlain, Save the Children, Popper House, 15 Richmond Park, Belfast,
BT10 0HB. Telephone 0044 28 90431123. Fax 0044 28
90431314.
E Mail s.chamberlain@scfuk.org.uk
England: Children’s Rights Alliance for England (CRAE)
CRAE is a coalition with over 180 members drawn mainly
from the voluntary sector whose
objective is to promote the fullest implementation of
the Convention on the Rights of the
Child.
Contact: Carolyne
Willow/Veronica Plowden, Joint National Co-ordinators, Children's Rights
Alliance for England, 319 City Road, London EC1V 1LJ
Tel 00 44 20 7278 8222; Fax 00 44 20 7278 9552
E Mail: cwillow@primex.co.uk
and veronica@plowden.demon.co.uk
Wales: Children in Wales and Save the Children
Children in Wales/ Plant yng Nghymru
Children in Wales is the national umbrella
organisation for 225 individuals and organisations
working to promote the interests of children and young
people in Wales.
Contact: Catriona
Williams, Children in Wales, 25 Windsor Place, Cardiff CF10 3BZ
Telephone 0044 2920 342434 Fax: 0044 2920 343134
E Mail catriona.williams@childreninwales.fsnet.co.uk
Save the Children (Wales)/ Achub y Plant (Cymru)
Contact: Richard
Powell, Save the Children, Phoenix House, 8 Cathedral Road, Cardiff CF1
9LF Telephone 00 44 2920396838 Fax 0044 2920 227797
E Mail R.Powell@scfuk.org.uk
3
Introduction
1. The aim of this report is to present
to the Committee on the Rights of the Child NGO
concerns regarding implementation of the Convention
throughout the four UK
jurisdictions of Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and
England. It is based on the four
alternative reports submitted by the NGO coalition in
each jurisdiction and references is
made to these reports throughout. 1
I. General Measures of Implementation
Reservations
2. Despite the Committee's concern
about the compatibility with the Convention's object and
purpose of the UK's wide-ranging reservation on
immigration and citizenship,2 the
Government refuses to remove its reservation.3
3. The reservation to article 37(c) on
young offenders4 allows children in custody to be
housed with adult prisoners for reasons other than the
child’s best interests. Although the
Government has pledged to take children out of the
adult prison system, this still
happens.5
Recommendation
4. The Government should commit itself
to the withdrawal of its reservations within a definite
time frame.
Ratification of related international instruments
5. The two optional protocols to the
Convention on the Involvement of Children in Armed
Conflict and on the Sale of Children, Child
Prostitution and Child Pornography, have been
signed but not yet ratified by the UK. The
Government's declaration relating to the former
Protocol dilutes children's right to protection from
direct involvement in hostilities.
6. In March 2000 the UK ratified ILO
Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child
Labour.
Recommendation
7. The UK should ratify the two
Optional Protocols to the Convention without reservation.
International development aid
8. The current level of UK overseas
development assistance is 0.32% of GNP (0.3% in
1990). Although the Government has committed to raising
this to 0.33% in 2003-2004, it
still falls far short of the UN target of 0.7% of GNP
to be spent on international
development assistance and is currently below the
European average.6
Recommendation
9. The UK Government should commit
itself to more than doubling its current level of
overseas development aid, to the UN target of 0.7% of
GNP, by 2003-2004.
Review of Legislation
10. The Government has not carried out
any systematic or continuous review of the
compatibility of domestic legislation, policy and
practice with the Convention.
Recommendation
11. Government should undertake a
detailed and ongoing review, with an independent
element, of the compatibility with the CRC of all
legislation affecting children.
4
Status of Convention in Domestic Law
12. The Convention on the Rights of the
Child has no legal status in the law of the United
Kingdom and there is currently no commitment to
incorporating either its principles or
provisions.
13. The Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA),
which came into force on 2nd October 2000,
incorporates the rights of the European Convention on
Human Rights (ECHR) into
domestic law. In particular, the HRA requires all
public authorities to act in a manner
consistent with ECHR rights, requires courts to take
the case law of the European
Commission and Court of Human Rights into account in
relevant cases and, insofar as it
is possible to do so, read legislation in a manner
compatible with ECHR rights. All
legislation passed by Parliament must be accompanied
by a statement setting out that in
the view of the Minister it is compatible with ECHR
rights or alternatively, that the
government nevertheless wishes to proceed with the
legislation.
14. Despite the gaps in the protection
which the ECHR offers children's rights, the HRA is
welcome. However, the Government does not appear to be
committed to ensuring that
children’s rights under the ECHR or otherwise are
fully protected in law. For example,
there is evidence that proposed legislation dealing
with the right of adopted adults to
access information and child curfew legislation may be
incompatible with the ECHR.7
15. A Bill of Rights drafted by the
Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC)
pursuant to the Belfast Agreement proposes the
recognition of the rights of children and
young people. In particular, it enshrines the
principles in Articles 2 and 12 CRC and also
contains provisions relating to the rights of children
in the family and in the care, justice
and education systems. While public consultation on
the Bill of Rights is still on-going it is
the Government which will eventually determine whether
the proposals are adopted and
what legal status, if any, the Bill of Rights will
have.
Recommendations
16. Government should commit itself to
incorporating into domestic law the principles and
provisions of the CRC.
17. Guidance should be issued to all
courts, tribunals and public authorities to consider the
CRC and other relevant international human rights
treaties whenever decisions are made
that affect children.
National Strategies for Children
18. While there has been some progress
in the development of strategies for children at
national level, the Convention has not been used as a
framework except in Wales.
19. The Scottish Minister for Education
and Young People has issued a Child Strategy
Statement requiring government departments to consider
how legislation impacts on
children. This analysis is not based on the framework
of the Convention, however, and
NGOs are concerned that it has not worked as an
effective tool for child-proofing policy
and legislation.8
20. In England, the Children and Young
People’s Unit has launched a consultation on the
development of a children’s strategy. However,
although the Convention is briefly
mentioned in the consultation document, it is not
being used as the framework for the
process.
21. Northern Ireland is currently
developing a Children’s Strategy, which is being coordinated
by the Children and Young People’s Unit within the
Office of First and Deputy
First Minister. A consultation on the strategy will
take place over the next twelve months.
5
22. More positively, the National
Assembly for Wales has developed a Strategy for Children
and Young People, which provides that the Convention
'should provide the foundation of
principle for all dealings with children'. Although it
has shown a commitment to
introducing the Convention in its policy documents, it
has not formally adopted it.
Recommendation
23. In the four UK jurisdictions and at
all levels of government, policy development,
overarching children’s strategies and planning
mechanisms should be rights-based, and
use the CRC as their framework.
Responsibility for and Co-ordination of Implementation
24. NGOs have serious concerns about the
lack of strategic UK wide and national coordination
and monitoring of the implementation of the Convention
and co-ordinated
protection of children’s rights generally.
25. Major constitutional change has recently
taken place in the United Kingdom. In
accordance with the Scotland Act 1998, the Government
of Wales Act 1998 and the
Northern Ireland Act 1998, varying degrees of power have been devolved to Assemblies
in Northern Ireland and Wales, and a Parliament has
been established in Scotland.
26. While devolution is welcome in
principle, it has lead to greater divergence in efforts to
implement the Convention and protect children’s
rights. Concerns about the coordination
of such efforts are heightened by the fact that power
has not been distributed
evenly and, for example, the Scottish parliament
enjoys greater control over its domestic
affairs than Assemblies in Northern Ireland and Wales.
27. On a positive note, however, these
regional governments have developed important
initiatives in the protection of children’s rights and
in some areas, detailed below, they are
showing the way. It is important, therefore, that any
good practice is identified and
shared so that positive approaches can be implemented
by other national authorities and
on a UK wide basis, as appropriate.
28. Pursuant to the Belfast Agreement, a
North-South Ministerial Council has been
established to bring together ministers from Northern
Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
to develop consultation, co-operation and action
within the island of Ireland on matters of
mutual interest. The potential of this body to enhance
the protection and promotion of the
rights of children on the island of Ireland should be
maximised. The similar potential of
the British-Irish Council, whose membership includes
representatives of the British and
Irish Governments and of the devolved institutions in
Northern Ireland, Scotland and
Wales and whose function is to exchange information,
consult and reach agreement on
the co-operation of matters of mutual interest should
also be used to promote children's
rights.
29. The UK Government retains ultimate
and overall responsibility for ensuring full
implementation of the Convention and securing the
rights of its 13.5 million children.
30. Despite the Committee's concern that
a national mechanism was needed to co-ordinate
the implementation of the Convention,9 the Government
has failed to put such a
mechanism in place. While the Children and Young
People’s Unit in England has
responsibility for coordinating the reporting process,
it is not specifically charged with
monitoring implementation of the CRC and has no
cross-UK authority. Similarly, the
Children and Young People’s Unit in Northern Ireland
has responsibility for observing and
implementing the Convention, but has no monitoring
function.
6
Recommendation
31. There should be explicit
responsibility across government and at all levels of government
throughout the UK for monitoring implementation of the
CRC and a built-in system of
children's rights impact evaluation and assessment.
Preparation of the Second UK Report
32. The Department of Health
co-ordinated the preparation of the Second UK Report to the
Committee and organised a conference in February 1998
announcing its intention to
consult widely. Varying levels of consultation with
NGOs occurred in fact. The Scottish
Office gave financial support to an NGO seminar giving
NGOs the opportunity to
comment on the draft.10 A half day consultation meeting on
the draft report was held with
Northern Ireland’s NGOs although they did not get to
see the redrafted document and
considered that the consultation period was too short.11 There was also
little evidence of
consultation within departments with respect to the
compiling of the UK report and,
although the Welsh Office and the Department of Health
in England funded some
consultations with children, neither are reflected in
the Second UK Report. Overall, while
NGOs welcome the fact that a greater level of
consultation took place in the preparation
of the Second than the First UK Report to the
Committee, we have serious concerns
about the Report’s structure and context (with
particular regard to Northern Ireland and
Scotland) and its overwhelming failure to adequately
report on the state of children's
rights across the UK.12 Inaccuracies, including
misrepresentation of law and policy and of
NGO concerns, are highlighted throughout this report.
Ministerial Responsibility for Children’s Rights
33. Three of the 4 UK jurisdictions have
appointed ministers for children or established
parliamentary children's committees to co-ordinate
policy making and service delivery.
34. Scotland has a Minister for
Education and Young People, and is setting up a Cabinet
Committee on Children.13
35. England has a Minister for Children
and Young People, which is not a cabinet position,
and which also has responsibility for prisons,
community safety and domestic violence
between adults. England also has a Cabinet Committee
on Children and Young People’s
Services chaired by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.14
36. The National Assembly for Wales has
a Cabinet Children's Committee, which brings
together the First Minister and Minister for Health
and Social Services and Youth Justice,
Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning, and the
Minister for Culture and Sport. 15
This Committee is committed to producing an annual
report.
37. Northern Ireland does not have
either a minister with special responsibility for children or
a cabinet children's committee. However, an
Interdepartmental Group has been
established to co-ordinate the development of the
office of Children’s Commissioner and
the Children’s Strategy.
38. These developments are welcome.
However, none is aimed specifically at ensuring full
implementation of the Convention. Thus, none of the
Ministers has specific responsibility
for implementation of the Convention and none of the
Committees has yet reviewed or
considered Government’s responsibilities under the
Convention.
7
Recommendations
39. A Cabinet-level Minister for
Children should be established in each UK jurisdiction.
Government bodies, ministers and officials with responsibility
for children’s matters in
each jurisdiction should co-ordinate effectively with
each other to ensure that the best
practices, structures, policies and procedures are
identified and implemented for all
children across the UK. In this regard, there should
be regular – at least quarterly –
meetings between those with ministerial responsibility
for children in England, Northern
Ireland, Scotland and Wales, with communication and
joint action serviced by a
permanent secretariat.
Monitoring and reporting progress
40. Apart from the commitment of the
Children and Young People’s Unit to presenting to
Parliament an annual report on the state of England’s
children, there is no obligation,
either at UK or national level, to present a periodic
report to Parliaments or National
Assemblies on the state of children's rights in the
UK. There is no commitment to the
systematic gathering of data on children and their
rights and no strategy at UK or national
level to conduct research into the trends in this
area.
41. No comprehensive analysis exists of
government spending on children and thus, it is
almost impossible to determine whether children’s
economic and social rights are being
implemented to the maximum extent of available
resources.
Recommendations
42. A comprehensive report on the state
of children’s rights, using the Convention as a
framework, should be published and presented to
Parliament and local assemblies
annually. Information should be collected and
indicators developed in each jurisdiction to
enable constructive comparisons to be made between
them.
43. Transparent budget analysis should
provide a comprehensive picture of government
spending on children to enable implementation of
children’s economic, social and cultural
rights to be monitored. This information should be
disaggregated across all 4
jurisdictions.
Independent Human Rights Institutions for Children
44. Wales is the first jurisdiction in
the UK to have an independent Children’s Commissioner.
Its remit extends to any matter affecting the rights
and welfare of children in Wales.
However, as its powers with regard to non-devolved
matters are limited to passing
comments to the UK Government via the National
Assembly, its potential to ensure full
respect for children's rights in primary legislation
is limited. There are also other
unsatisfactory limitations on the Commissioner’s
powers.16
45. A consultation document on a
Children’s Commissioner for Northern Ireland was
published by the Human Rights Unit of the office of
First Minister and Deputy First
Minister in August 2001.17 Following public consultation, which
revealed overwhelming
support for the post, legislation is being drafted
with a view to having a Commissioner for
Children and Young People in place by the end of 2002.
If the legislation grants the
Commissioner all the powers proposed, Northern Ireland
will have one of the most
powerful models in the world.
46. Northern Ireland also has a
statutory Human Rights Commission, whose duty it is to
review the adequacy and effectiveness in Northern
Ireland of law and practice relating to
the protection of human rights and to raise awareness
about human rights issues.18 The
Commission also undertakes research and monitoring
work in the area of children’s
rights and in its proposals for a Bill of Rights for
Northern Ireland, it has recommended
the inclusion of a separate children's rights clause,
which incorporates a number of the
Convention’s principles and provisions.
8
47. The Education, Culture and Sport
Committee of the Scottish Parliament has
recommended the establishment of an office of
Commissioner for Children and legislation
is expected to be introduced to parliament in
September 2002. NGOs are concerned,
however, that such an appointment may result in the
Scottish Executive abdicating its
responsibility to monitor implementation of the
Convention.19
48. The Government has as yet failed to
establish a Children’s Rights Commissioner in
England. Although a Children’s Rights Director has
been appointed, this position only
relates to the inspection and regulation of
residential provision for children living way from
home and certain other services.20 Draft
regulations for this post, issued in January
2002, have been criticised by NGOs as being extremely
limiting and there is concern also
about the lack of resources available to the Director
to carry out his functions.
Recommendation
49. An independent, statutory office of
Children’s Rights Commissioner, with powers
consistent with the Paris Principles, should be
developed or established in each
jurisdiction of the UK. Each office should have
sufficient resources and wide-ranging
powers and duties to enable it to conduct effective
investigations in individual cases,
research general areas of non-compliance and guarantee
to children the right to an
effective remedy for breaches of their rights.
Co-operation and Consultation with NGOs
50. Consultation and co-operation
between Government in all four UK jurisdictions and the
non-governmental sector on the implementation of the Convention
is piecemeal and ad
hoc.
51. No public consultation has taken
place in any of the four jurisdictions or across the UK on
ensuring effective implementation of children's rights
under the Convention.
52. Consultation has taken place in
particular policy areas, for example in relation to physical
punishment and Children's Commissioners, and there is
some evidence of positive
collaboration between the NGO sector and the devolved
administrations in seeking to
develop policy that is compatible with children’s
rights under the Convention. The
development of the Standards in Scotland's Schools Act
2000, for example, shows the
benefits of NGO involvement, particularly insofar as
the legislation grants pupils rights to
participate and reflects the aims of education under
Article 29 of the Convention. 21
Consultation on physical punishment in Northern
Ireland was also considered a positive
experience.22 In Wales, there is a formal Partnership Council with
the Voluntary Sector
and Children in Wales is one representative network.
Biannual meetings take place with
each Minister and Children in Wales is core funded to
provide a representational
mechanism for policy development.23 Evidence is
also regularly given to Assembly
Committees. In England and more generally elsewhere,
however, consultation on
children's policy issues continue as mere paper
exercises with little opportunity for
informed debate and dialogue between policy makers and
children's rights advocates.
Recommendation
53. Effective formal structures for
co-operation and collaboration with children’s rights NGOs,
including organisations of children, should be
established in England, Scotland and
Northern Ireland.
Raising Awareness about Convention Rights – Article 42
54. Awareness about Convention rights is
extremely poor among both children and adults.24
The Convention is not a compulsory part of the school
curriculum and is thus not taught
systematically in schools. Professionals and others
working with children receive no
9
compulsory training on its provisions or its
implications for work with children. Information
on the Convention is not disseminated to parents,
families or the general public.
Recommendations
55. Education on the Convention should
be included in the mainstream school curriculum for
all ages.
56. Training curricula – both initial
and in-service - for all those working with and for children
should promote knowledge of and respect for children’s
rights under the Convention.
Making CRC Reports Widely Available
57. The Second UK Report was published
in 1999 and is available on sale, with the
Concluding Observations of the Committee on the
Initial Report included as an Annex.
There has been no other dissemination, public debate
of, or consultation on the
Committee’s conclusions.
Recommendations
58. Government throughout the UK should
promote a public debate involving children, and
parliamentary debate in the Parliaments and National
Assemblies, on the reporting
process under the Convention and the Committee’s
concluding observations.
59. The UK Government should plan now to
develop its third report in line with the
Committee’s guidelines and in such a way as to
encourage the widest possible
participation and public – including children’s –
scrutiny of relevant government policies.
II. Definition of the Child
60. Age-based legislation across the UK
continues to be muddled and inconsistent, with the
following issues raising particular concern.
Age of Criminal Responsibility
61. The age of criminal responsibility
is 8 in Scotland despite existing procedures in civil
proceedings which presume maturity at 12 years. The
Scottish Law Commission has
recommended the introduction of an absolute ban
against prosecuting children under the
age of 12 and the conceptualisation of the age of
criminal responsibility as setting limits
on prosecuting children, rather than the capacity to
commit crimes.25
62. In Northern Ireland, the age of
criminal responsibility remains at ten years and the Justice
(Northern Ireland) Bill fails to raise it. Seventeen
year olds are treated as adults in the
criminal justice system.26
63. The age of criminal responsibility
remains at ten in England and Wales also and children
as young as 10 can be tried and sentenced to custody
in an adult Crown Court.
Moreover, the introduction of the Child Safety Order,
a criminal justice order aimed at
protecting children from criminal activity,
effectively means England and Wales now have
no minimum age of criminal responsibility.27
Sex Offenders Register
64. In England, Scotland and Wales,
there is no minimum age at which children can be
placed on the Sex Offenders Register, which was
introduced in September 1997 to
address public concern that paedophiles and other
adult sex offenders were living
unsupervised in local communities. Children as young
as 11 have been placed on the
Register and a consultation document on the Sex
Offenders Register issued by the
Home Office and the Scottish Executive in July 2001
proposes inter alia the use of a
Detention and Training Order for children breaching
the terms of their registration, with a
suggested maximum imprisonment of two years.28
10
Protection of Children in Employment
65. Although 13 year-old children are
entitled to work part-time, they are not eligible for the
minimum wage until 18 years and even then it is at a
reduced rate until they reach 22.29
Access to Benefits
66. Full benefit entitlement is not
available to anyone under 25 years. Even when they are
parents, children are not entitled to full benefit
rates.30
Civil Rights
67. Sixteen and 17 year-olds can work
full-time, pay income tax, get married, change their
name by deed poll, ask the state to look after them
and claim social security benefits in
certain restricted circumstances. The right to vote
cannot be exercised by those under
18 years.31
Recommendation
68. The Government should undertake a
UK-wide review of all age-based legislation to
ensure it is fully compliant with the Convention and
offers children maximum protection of
their rights.
III. General principles
Non-discrimination (art. 2)
69. The Committee expressed concern in
1995 at the insufficient measures taken by the UK
Government to ensure the implementation in domestic
law, policy and practice of the
principle of non-discrimination.32
70. Section 75 of the Northern Ireland
Act 1998 creates a statutory duty on public authorities
to ‘have due regard to the need to promote equality of
opportunity’ between persons of
different religious belief, political opinion, racial
group, age, marital status or sexual
orientation, between men and women, between persons
with a disability and persons
without and between persons with dependants and
persons without. It is too early to say
whether this welcome statutory provision can have a
real impact on the lives of all
children in Northern Ireland.
71. Both the Scottish Parliament and the
National Assembly for Wales have established
Equal Opportunities Committees.
72. Despite these developments, equal
treatment has not yet formed the cornerstone of
service provision in the UK. Particular concern
remains regarding the access to and
quality of health care and education with respect to
children with disabilities, children in
the justice system and children from minority,
Traveller or ethnic communities.33
Disability
73. In Scotland, NGOs have expressed
serious concerns about the protection of the
educational and social rights of children with
disabilities. Amendments to the Disability
Strategy in Education Bill should be made to ensure
that providers of educational
services both ensure and are accountable for equality
of access to opportunities.34
74. Although the Disability
Discrimination Act was introduced to Northern Ireland in 1995, its
provisions are limited mainly to employment and the
provision of goods and services. It
has had little if any impact on the lives of children
with disabilities as it does not apply to
areas of education, health or justice. Moreover,
although the Children (Northern Ireland)
Order 1995 defines children in need to include
children with disabilities, there is concern
about discrimination against such children,
particularly with regard to accessing
mainstream education.35
11
75. Following the enactment of
disability discrimination legislation, the Disability Rights
Commission came into existence in England and Wales in
April 2000. The Commission
can take on individual cases, and is actively
promoting new legislative requirements on
schools and local education authorities to provide
inclusive education. From September
2002, it will be able to deal with cases of disability
discrimination in education. This
initiative should be extended to all jurisdictions of
the UK.
76. In England and Wales, the Special
Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001, which
comes into effect in September 2002, recognises the
right of disabled children to attend
mainstream school, but permits their exclusion on the
grounds of limited resources or the
perceived needs of other children. In addition, the
choice of mainstream education is
granted solely to parents, with no requirement on
schools or educational authorities to
seek the views of children themselves.36
77. More generally, disabled children
have restricted access to cultural and leisure
opportunities, with few inclusive playgrounds. Public
transport is not covered by
legislation on disability equality – except by s 75
Northern Ireland Act 1998 - and there
are ongoing concerns about disabled children's access
to health care.37
Economic, Social and Geographical Disparities
78. In 1995 the Committee recommended
that the UK take measures to address, as a matter
of priority, problems affecting the health status of
children of different socio-economic
groups and of children belonging to ethnic minorities.38 Despite this,
there remain serious
concerns about the extent to which access to health,
education and other services
depends on social, economic and geographical factors.
Children's enjoyment of their
Convention rights is hugely dependent on their
parents' status and background and
poverty continues to act as a cause of discrimination
in this regard. For example, in
England, babies of unskilled fathers are 70% more
likely to die in their first year
compared to babies of professional fathers.39 In Northern
Ireland, there is differential
access to health services depending on where one lives
and/or one’s ethnic
background40 and in Scotland, black and minority/ethnic children
experience difficulties
having their needs met by statutory service providers.41
Rights of Gypsy/Travellers
79. Gypsy/Travellers suffer frequently
from racism, bullying and harassment.42 They also
experience persistent discrimination in access to
education, health and accommodation
services43 and are disproportionately excluded from school, have
lower academic
success and limited access to health care.44 The report of
the Equal Opportunities
Committee of the Scottish Parliament into public
sector policies and Gypsy/Travellers
acknowledged the extent of the discrimination they
face. However, the response of the
Scottish Executive has failed to reflect the need for
a coherent strategy to address the
issues. The decision of the National Assembly for
Wales to conduct a year long enquiry
surveying health, education, accommodation and
policing services in order to establish a
new policy on Gypsies and Travellers is welcome.
Despite the introduction of the Race
Relations (NI) Order 1997 and the equality provisions
of the Northern Ireland Act 1998,
Traveller children continue to experience
discrimination in relation to education, health,
social services and housing.45
Asylum Seekers
80. Many aspects of the treatment of
asylum seeker and refugee children fails to respect
their right to enjoy Convention rights without
discrimination. There are concerns about
the poor levels and nature of state financial support
that they receive, their access to
adequate accommodation, the use of detention and the
policy of compulsory dispersal to
other parts of the UK.46
12
Children in Custody
81. Despite poor numeracy and literacy
levels among children in custody, these children do
not enjoy access to education equally with those in
the community. In England, Wales
and Northern Ireland children in custody have no
statutory right to education, cannot
access the full curriculum, and limited teaching staff
struggle to meet the diverse
educational needs of all the children.47
School Exclusions
82. There is serious concern that school
exclusions are used disproportionately against boys,
children with disabilities and other special needs and
children from ethnic minorities.
Figures suggest that boys are excluded permanently 5
times more than girls; black
children are 3 times more likely to be excluded
permanently as pupils of other ethnic
groups and children with special needs are represented
disproportionately in the figures
of children excluded.48
Social Security benefits
83. Sixteen and 17 year olds are only
entitled to income support in certain restricted
circumstances, and full benefit entitlement is not
available to anyone under 25, even to
teenagers who are parents. Under the Children (Leaving
Care) Act 2001, children leaving
care will be provided with financial support only on a
discretionary basis.49
Strategic Approach
84. There is little evidence that
government has begun to acknowledge or systematically
address the discrimination faced by children because
of their age or other factors. The
impact of the equality duty in section 75 of the
Northern Ireland Act 1998 should be
monitored closely.
Recommendations
85. Government across the UK should take
urgent action to ensure that all children in all
jurisdictions enjoy all rights in the Convention
without discrimination.
86. A rights-based approach to
children's policy is required to ensure that government at all
levels across the UK systematically identifies and
challenges discrimination, working
collaboratively with children and with NGOs.
Best Interests of the Child (art. 3)
87. In 1995, the Committee recommended
that greater priority be given to incorporating
Article 3 into legislation and administrative measures
and policies regarding children. 50
However, although enshrined in child protection and
care legislation, the best interests
principle does not form a fundamental part of the
decision making process in relation to
the treatment of children in the juvenile justice
system, or in the education, health, social
welfare or immigration systems. For example,
authorities deciding to impose a custodial
sentence, to exclude children permanently from school,
to stop or reduce benefits for
failure to comply with social security rules or to
address the needs of homeless 16 and 17
year olds are not required to consider the best
interests of children. A good example was
set by the decision to accept a proposed amendment to
housing legislation in Scotland,
and England and Wales, which obliges local authorities
to have regard to the best
interests of any dependent children regarding a
housing matter and to consider the needs
of children more generally in the preparation of
homeless strategies.51
88. Current policies and proposed
legislation in a whole range of areas fails to consider the
best interests of the child as a fundamental and
guiding principle. For example, new
criminal justice legislation in Northern Ireland (The
Justice (NI) Bill) does not enshrine the
best interests principle; the low age of criminal
responsibility throughout the UK is clearly
not in the best interests of children; nor does UK
policy regarding the dispersal and
treatment of refugees and asylum seekers give priority
to what is in such children's best
13
interests. Further examples of the Government's
failure to treat the article 3 standard as
guiding and fundamental are evident throughout this
Report.
89. Although evolving government
structures are giving more attention to children in all four
jurisdictions, Article 3 does not yet guide government
action at UK or regional levels.
Budgets or resources are not allocated or utilised
with any reference to this principle.
Recommendations
90. Children's best interests should be
established as a paramount consideration in all
legislation and policy affecting children and
consistently applied across all decisionmaking
processes.
91. Central and local government across
the UK should prepare annual reports on levels of
social expenditure on children.
Right to Life, Survival and Development (art. 6)
Poverty
92. The Committee expressed serious
concern in 1995 about the increasing number of
children living in poverty.52 The UK has the highest levels of
child poverty in Europe – one
in three children live in poverty.53
93. Despite the Government's commitment
to eradicate child poverty by 2019 and the
introduction of various measures to meet this target,
not all UK jurisdictions have a
dedicated anti-child-poverty strategy.54
94. Society across the UK is profoundly
unequal55 with the poorest tenth of the population
receiving 3% of the UK's total income, compared with
the richest tenth receiving 25% of
income.56 Benefit levels for families and independent young
people (16 and 17 year olds)
remain inadequate and unemployment in this category is
acute. Differentiating access to
health care on the grounds of socio-economic and
geographical factors is highlighted
above and means that the link between poverty and
ill-health endures. Mortality rates
remain highest among poor children.
95. There is serious concern about the
impact of poverty on children’s enjoyment of their
rights under the Convention. Poverty remains
associated with a number of indicators of a
child's wellbeing which are a cause for concern
including mortality, accidents, neglect
and abuse, teenage pregnancy, poor housing,
homelessness, educational attainment,
smoking, suicide and self-esteem.57
Recommendations
96. The Government should undertake all
necessary measures to accelerate the elimination
of child poverty.
97. Urgent action is needed to reduce
children’s health inequalities associated with income
levels, ethnicity and neighbourhood.
98. The Government should invest the
necessary resources to ensure an end to child and
family homelessness and provide adequate financial
support to independent young
people.
Right to Life
99. Accidental injuries continue to be
the greatest cause of childhood death, with 423 UK
children under 14 dying in this way in 1999. House
fires are the single biggest cause of
death in the home, and yet there are no child safety
checks in public sector and private
rented accommodation.58
100. The rate of suicide among young
people, including in custody, is cause for concern.59
14
101. The rate of workplace deaths and
numbers of serious injuries across the UK raises
critical questions about the regulation of children's
employment.60
102. In the UK, 60 -80 children are
killed every year in the family.61
103. Many children do not have a safe
place to play endangering their health, life and
development and there is little attempt being made to
integrate the child's right to play
safely into planning law and policy.62
Accommodation for Travellers
104. Children's right to life, survival
and development is also threatened by poor planning
of housing areas and failure to put in place adequate
high quality accommodation for
Travellers. In Northern Ireland, for example, such
children have very few safe places to
play63 and in Wales, the limited number of available sites
for Traveller families means that
the health and safety of children at road sites is of
concern.64
Children in conflict
105. Despite the advances of the peace
process in Northern Ireland, unresolved conflict
issues mean that sectarianism and other factors
threaten the life, survival and
development of children there. It is widely recognised
that children have been particularly
affected by the violence and face marked difficulties.
Olara A Otunnu, Special
Representative of the UN Secretary General for
Children and Armed Conflict, has visited
Northern Ireland and expressed these concerns to the
Secretary General.65
Recommendations
106. A statutory obligation to review all
child deaths should be introduced to determine
how they might have been prevented. Annual reports
should be presented to the
Parliaments and Assemblies depicting the causes of
death, the scale of infant and child
homicide and accidental fatalities, including in the
workplace, and preventive action
required.
107. A UK-wide review should be carried
out, involving NGOs and the public, on the
prevalence of and factors affecting infant and child
homicide and other violence that
threatens children's life and development in the
family.
108. Planning authorities should take
account of the child’s right to play and be safe in
their own neighbourhoods.
109. The Government should make available
adequate resources for services designed to
specifically address the traumatic impact of the
conflict on children in Northern Ireland.
Respect for the Views of the Child (art. 12)
110. Attempts to involve children in
decision-making processes at government level and
throughout their lives remain piecemeal. Respect for
the views of the child is not built into
legislation and policy concerning children. In Wales
however, the development of Llais
Ifanc - Young Voice - supported financially by the
Assembly, as an independent national
organisation of children and young people is extremely
welcome.
111. Children in care are the only group
in all UK jurisdictions to have a legal entitlement to
be consulted and to have their wishes taken into
account when decisions are made that
affect them. However, the extent to which this
participation is meaningful and effective is
uncertain.66
112. In education, Scottish legislation
grants school children the right to be consulted in
matters that affect them, and the National Assembly
for Wales is in the process of
requiring all schools to establish school councils.
There is also a requirement for youth
forums in each local authority area. No similar
progress has been made in England or
Northern Ireland, however, and, in all parts of the UK
except Scotland, legislation
15
continues to exclude children from the exclusion
appeal process, despite the
Committee's recommendation for change in 1995.67
113. The right of the child to
independent representation in legal proceedings is not
widespread and is particularly rare in private law
proceedings.68 Use of independent
advocates is not yet uniformly applied in Wales69 and there have
been difficulties
providing independent and confidential advocacy
services to children in need in
England.70 There is serious concern about children’s lack of
representation in ‘youth
offending panels’ in England and Wales and the risk of
panels making contracts with the
children which are disproportionate and restrictive of
their liberty.71 Concerns exist in
Scotland also over the extent to which children can
participate in Child Welfare
Hearings.72
114. Children continue to be excluded
from divorce proceedings and research shows that
they are rarely fully involved in informal discussions
between separating parents.73
115. While there is still no visible
strategy either at UK or regional level to systematically
integrate Article 12 in legislation and policy, some
positive initiatives are being developed
which show signs that the UK Government and the
devolved administrations are taking
children's participation rights more seriously.74
116. There is growing demand for
electoral reform to enable 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in
general and local elections.
117. Section 75 of the Northern Ireland
Act 1998 requires all public bodies to consult with
a number of different categories of people with regard
to their equality duty - people of all
ages, and consequently children, is one of these
categories. However, it is too early to
determine whether the effect of this duty will be to
integrate consultation with children in
all relevant public authority decision making.
Recommendations
118. Relevant legislation across the UK
should be amended to reflect children's right to
express their views and have them taken into account
in all matters affecting them. Areas
requiring urgent action include decision-making
processes in the family, education
(affecting children as individuals and collectively),
children's representation in family
proceedings and democratic participation in central
and local government.
119. The provision of independent advice
and advocacy should be extended to all children
involved in judicial or administrative proceedings.
Legal reform should ensure that
children have a statutory right to representation in
divorce and separation proceedings.
IV. Civil rights and freedoms
Name and Nationality (art. 7)
Right to know and be cared for by his/her parents
120. In England and Wales the Adoption
and Children Bill 2002 gives unmarried fathers
automatic parental responsibility if their name is on
a child's birth certificate. However,
there is no guarantee that this law will secure the
child's right under the Convention to
know both parents.75
121. The right to access birth
information in the context of adoption and IVF continues to
be severely limited: for example, in England and Wales
only adults have the right to seek
information and contact with their birth family and
adoptive parents are under no duty to
inform children of their status. The Government is
currently consulting on issues relating
to children born as a result of donor insemination.76
16
The right to nationality
122. The British Nationality Act 1981,
which removed the automatic right of British
nationality to all children born in the UK, remains in
place.77
Recommendations
123. The law on birth registration should
be reviewed to ensure that the child’s right to
know his/her parents is guaranteed.
124. The British Nationality Act 1981
should be amended to restore the right of children
born in the UK to British Nationality and/or the
nationality of their parent(s).
Right to freedom of expression (art. 13)
125. Children can be excluded from
full-time education on the basis of persistent refusal to
conform to school uniform policy, yet schools are
under no obligation to consult pupils
about such policies.78
Recommendations
126. School policies should be reviewed,
in consultation with children, to ensure that no
child is excluded, or threatened with exclusion as a
result of his or her preferred clothing
and general appearance. Guidance to schools should
require an end to gender-based
restrictions on clothing.
Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (art. 14)
127. While parents in England and Wales
are entitled to remove children from religious
education and acts of worship in schools, children
cannot themselves request
exemption.79
128. There is concern that the
Government's decision to increase the number of single
faith schools in England runs counter to the child's
right to freedom of thought, culture
and religion.80 Concern also exists that the emphasis on Christianity
in the provisions
controlling religious education in schools in England,
Wales and Scotland discriminates
against the equal rights of children of other faiths.81
Recommendations
129. Legislation covering religious
education and collective worship should be reformed so
that children with sufficient understanding have the
right to request withdrawal and are
consulted and their views given due weight when their
parents make such a request.
130. Appropriate departments should
review their policies, including funding policies, to
ensure that they respect without discrimination and
promote the freedom of thought,
conscience and religion of children of all faiths and
no faith, and respect for diversity and
inclusive learning.
Freedom of association and peaceful assembly (art. 15)
131. In England and Wales, the Criminal
Justice and Police Act 2001 contains the power
to impose blanket curfews restricting the movement of
children under 16 in specified
areas.82 A similar 'child safety initiative', widely perceived
as a curfew, has been running
in Scotland for a number of years.83
Recommendation
132. Legislation permitting local child
curfews should be repealed.
Protection of Privacy (art. 16)
Stop and Search Legislation
133. Under the Emergency legislation in
Northern Ireland, children and young people can
be stopped and searched on the street by the police
and army.84
17
Legal Proceedings
134. There is concern that children tried
in the crown (adult) court may not have their right
to privacy sufficiently protected. In this context, the
judiciary’s discretion to make orders
protecting the identity of the young accused applies
only where a case may attract
widespread public or media interest. This is despite
the judgments of the European
Court of Human Rights in 199985 and the fact that in 2001, a court
had to order that
details of appearance and custody in relation to two
boys about to be released on licence
be withheld from the media in order to protect their
right to life.86
135. There is concern also with regard to
the failure to protect the identity of children and
young people involved in other proceedings, including
Children's Hearings in Scotland, in
school exclusion proceedings and anti-social behaviour
order proceedings.87
Asylum seekers
136. Children in the UK can be subjected
to physical examination designed to establish
their age, and fingerprinting as part of the process
of applying for asylum. New ID cards
have been introduced for all asylum-seekers including
children raising concerns about
their stigmatising effects.88
Government databases
137. The use of databases as a means of
monitoring and tracking children and young
people is increasing and has recently expanded into
the area of education. A database
has been established to record centrally the details
of each individual pupil in England
and schools are not required to inform pupils or
parents about the database. Nor is there
any opportunity to correct inaccurate information. A
further database – the Connexions
service - contains personal information about children
which can be shared among the
police, social services, education and youth services.89
138. The Metropolitan Police in London
have recently announced plans to engage nursery
schools and care groups in identifying children
(under-fives) who may in the future
become involved in criminal activities. The young
children's details will be included on
local databases.
Privacy in Custody
139. There are concerns, particularly in
Northern Ireland regarding the protection of the
right to privacy in custody with regard to letters,
telephone calls, and family visits.90
Recommendations
140. As a matter of urgency, legislative
reform should be undertaken to protect the right of
all children to anonymity in all criminal, civil and
administrative proceedings.
141. Appropriate departments across the
UK should carry out comprehensive reviews in
order to ensure that children's privacy rights are
respected in the care system, the asylum
system, in residential schools, in hospitals and in
juvenile justice institutions.
142. The extent to which children have
access to confidential counselling, including the
provision of advice and information on their rights
should be reviewed in order to protect
their rights under the Convention.
143. Systems for data collection on
children should be urgently reviewed to ensure
compliance with the Convention.
144. Emergency legislation should be
repealed immediately insofar as it applies to children
and young people.
Access to appropriate information (art. 17)
145. Children and young people express
frustration and difficulty accessing information
about their entitlements, and general advice and
information on subjects relating to health
information and training opportunities.91
18
146. Parents experience difficulty
balancing the right of the child to access information on
the internet and protecting them from its harmful
effects.92
Recommendations
147. The UK Government and appropriate
departments should ensure children are
effectively protected from exposure to the risk of
abuse through the internet and other
mass media.
148. Greater attention should be given to
securing the right of young people to access to
appropriate information. Appropriate information
should be given to all children of
compulsory school age on the child protection system
and other sources of advice and
assistance, including of a confidential nature.
Positive initiatives should be monitored
closely and mainstreamed where appropriate.93
Protection from torture or other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment (art. 37(a))
149. There are major concerns about the
frequent use and types of physical restraint used
on children in residential institutions and in
custody. The placement of children in solitary
confinement is also a matter of serious concern. 94
Recommendation
150. An urgent review of the use of
restraint and solitary confinement in custody,
education, health and welfare institutions throughout
the UK should be carried out to
ensure compliance with the Convention.
V Family Environment and Alternative Care
Parental Guidance and Responsibilities (art. 5 and
art. 18)
151. While parents in England receive
high quality information from the Health
Development Agency, both before and after the birth of
their children, none of this
material refers to the Convention.95 Most of the
parenting courses on offer are run by
NGOs, with little funding or regulation of quality
from Government.96
152. Despite the increasing scale of
family breakdown and its consequences for children,
services which offer counselling and support in this
area are greater inadequate priority.97
Recommendations
153. Statutory agencies and NGOs should
disseminate information to all parents of newborns
on children's rights and parenting skills.
154. Government should provide greater
funding and regulate NGOs and other agencies
providing support for children and parents in the
event of family breakdown.
Separation from Parents (art. 9)
155. NGOs throughout the UK have concerns
about the access by children in custody to
their family and friends and adults in custody
maintaining contact with their children. In
England, there is provision for mothers to have their
babies with them in prison to a
certain age, but there are concerns about the harmful
effects on babies of living in prison
and the devastating effect when separation occurs.98
156. Children visiting their parents in
prison do not always enjoy family-friendly conditions
and in Northern Ireland in particular, there are no
facilities for child-only visits.99
Moreover, families find it difficult to visit their
children in secure custody in Northern
Ireland due to the location of the Juvenile Justice
Centres.100
Family Reunification (art. 10)
157. Under UK immigration rules, asylum
seekers have no right to family reunification.
Even if parents or primary carers are granted
Exceptional Leave to Remain, on
19
humanitarian grounds, they are not normally allowed to
be joined by their immediate
family for a further four years.101
Recommendations
158. Legislation should be amended to
ensure that no children – including those in
homeless families and those seeking asylum – are ever
separated from their parents
unless it is in their best interests.
159. Courts should be required to make
the best interests of affected children a primary
consideration when considering a custodial sentence
for anyone with parental
responsibility.
160. Government should undertake to
secure to all children, particularly those in custody
or with parents in custody, the right to frequent and
direct contact with their families.
Children deprived of their Family Environment (art.
20)
161. Children in care form one of the
most socially excluded and poorly educated groups
of children in the UK. On average between 70 and 75%
of such children leave school
with no formal qualification.102
162. NGOs are concerned about the access
by children in foster care and children with
special needs to advocacy services. Following the North
Wales Child Abuse Tribunal of
Inquiry, the
Waterhouse Report made 72 recommendations with regard to protecting the
rights of children in care, including the appointment
of an independent Children's
Complaints Officer and making the failure of staff to
report suspected abuse of a child by
anyone else a disciplinary offence.103 The National
Assembly for Wales has begun to
implement these recommendations.
163. In England, a ‘Children's Rights
Director’ was appointed in September 2001 but
NGOs are concerned about the Director’s lack of
appropriate statutory powers, narrow
remit and inadequate funding.104
164. In 1999 the torture and murder of
eight year-old Victoria Climbie by her aunt and
aunt's partner in London exposed serious shortcomings
in the protection of children who
are separated from their parents but living with other
relatives or family
friends/acquaintances. While those intending to foster
privately are required to notify the
local authority under the Children Ac t 1989 in
England and Wales, there is no duty to
approve or register private foster carers.105
Recommendations
165. All children cared for away from
home should have a legal right to independent
advice and advocacy.
166. Accessible, well-publicised,
independent and effective complaints procedures should
be guaranteed to all children living away from home.
167. Exit interviews should be routinely
carried out with children leaving care to seek
information about their care and experiences and to
offer advice and information.
168. The Government should confirm an end
to the practice of placing children in care and
leaving care in “bed and breakfast” and other
unsuitable accommodation.
169. The law should be reformed to require
that private foster care be regulated and
inspected by the appropriate inspection bodies in each
jurisdiction of the UK on the same
basis as other placements.
Adoption (art. 21)
170. The Adoption and Children Bill,
intended to reform adoption law in England and
Wales, fails to give children party status or a right
to give or refuse consent in adoption
proceedings. Moreover, children's right of access to
information – about their adoption
20
and their origins - is not addressed in the Bill or in
existing legislation in any UK
jurisdiction.106
171. Concern exists that the process of
obtaining a freeing order for adoption takes a
significantly long period of time - 4 years in
Northern Ireland and 3.5 in England for
example.107
Recommendation
172. Existing and proposed adoption law
and practice should be revised to bring it into line
with the Convention, including its requirement that
the best interests of the child shall be
the paramount consideration.
Periodic review (art. 25)
173. Children in care have no right to
independent representation in local authority
decision-making processes. There is no routine support
for participation in meetings –
through training or independent advocacy and there is
no independent mechanism that
can review their care and treatment at set intervals
throughout the time they are
separated from their parents.108
Recommendations
174. The right of all children living
away from home to a statutory review of their
placement, including in private foster care and in
health and custodial settings, should be
enshrined in law and policy.
175. Guidance and inspection should
ensure that reviews are held regularly,
independently chaired, and that children are fully
included and offered access to
independent advocates.
Abuse and Neglect (art 19), including physical and
psychological recovery and social
reintegration (art 39)
176. In 1995 the Committee expressed the
view that additional efforts were required to
overcome the problem of violence in society and
recommended that physical punishment
of children in families be prohibited.109 Despite this
recommendation and judgment
against the UK in the European Court of Human Rights110 the Government
has not acted
to protect children from corporal punishment by
parents and certain other carers and the
law continues to condone “reasonable chastisement”. In
addition, the child protection
system lacks an adequate legislative base and
continues to fail many children despite an
endless succession of high-profile inquiries and
further ECHR judgments.111
177. The Government maintains that the
Human Rights Act 1998, which brings ECHR
rights into domestic law, provides adequate protection
for children even though it
provides no effective deterrence. The Court of Appeal
has ruled that the defence of
“reasonable chastisement” remains available despite
the European Court's judgment
finding that its application provided children with
insufficient legal protection from abuse
and ill-treatment, and courts continue to acquit
parents who have admitted beating their
children causing injuries.112
178. The Government announced in 2001
following public consultations that no further
change to the law in England and Wales was appropriate
or necessary at this time.113
179. In Wales, however, secondary
legislation is being introduced to prevent childminders
from smacking children in their care.
180. Consultation has also been carried
out on the issue by the devolved government in
Northern Ireland.114 Although proposals for legislative
change are expected in 2002,
there is serious concern, derived from Assembly
debates on the issue, that the abolition
21
of physical punishment within the family may not
occur.115 Moreover, legislation
abolishing corporal punishment in schools in Northern
Ireland does not apply to
independent schools and although the Minister for
Education has stated his commitment
to abolish physical punishment in all schools, this
has yet to happen.
181. In October 2001, the Scottish
Executive announced its proposal to ban the use of all
forms of physical punishment on children below the age
of 3 years and to ban the use of
implements on those over 3 years. While welcome, the
current proposals do not secure
all children’s fundamental rights to respect for their
human dignity, physical integrity and
equal protection under the law. In addition to
complete prohibition, other measures,
including education, are required to change attitudes
over time on the use of violence
against children.116
182. There are also serious concerns
about the levels of violence endured and witnessed
by children including babies in the UK.117 Of particular
concern is the number of children
living with domestic violence, a situation which is
heightened by the absence of safe
refuges and the failure to give adequate weight to
children's views and their best interests
when determining contact arrangements. Bullying in
schools and other institutions also
remains a serious problem.118
Recommendations
183. Legislation should be introduced
throughout the UK to remove the defence of
“reasonable chastisement” and give children the same
protection as adults under the law
on assault.
184. Existing legislation in all UK
jurisdictions should be used to regulate all forms of day
care including childminding and private fostering and
to prohibit corporal punishment.
185. Child care legislation should be
amended to guarantee that orders for unsupervised
contact or residence are not granted to parents who
are found to be violent and without
consideration of the best interests and the views of
the child.
186. Comprehensive public education
should be developed across the UK to inform
children and adults about the child’s right to
protection from violence in the home and
elsewhere, and to promote positive, non-violent forms
of discipline.
187. Compulsory anti-bullying strategies
for schools and all other institutions should be
developed, implemented and reviewed in partnership
with children.
VI. Basic Health and Welfare
Disabled Children (art. 23)
188. Despite legislative developments and
some positive policy initiatives, all disabled
children in the UK do not receive the care, education
and training they require to ensure
dignity, promote self-reliance and facilitate their
active participation in the community, as
required by Article 23.119
189. Different definitions of disability
and poor coordination between departments of health
and education have serious implications for the extent
to which children with disabilities
enjoy their rights to support and other services.
These factors also make it difficult for
children and parents to find out about and claim all
their entitlements and means that
there is a high degree of variation in the
availability and quality of support and services
for children and their families. Consultation with
young people with disabilities and other
research has raised a number of persistent concerns of
this nature and have also
highlighted their vulnerability, particularly in the
residential setting, and the impact of
bullying on their lives.120 Research has found that children are
not routinely involved in
decisions regarding their care and education and
legislation does not as yet require
respect for their views.121
22
190. Concerns have been expressed above
about the extent to which children with
disabilities have the right to attend inclusive
education.122
Health and Health Services (art. 24)
191. The Government's National Health
Service (NHS) Plan published in July 2000 gave
scant attention to children and failed to mention the
CRC. In November 2000 the
Government set up a "Children's Taskforce"
to take forward the NHS Plan in relation to
children and its National Service Framework for
Children is to be published in 2002. 123
The National Assembly for Wales published Too
Serious a Thing - the Carlile Review into
children and the NHS in Wales in March 2002. Among its
150 recommendations are that
all staff with access to children be trained to a full
understanding of the rights and needs
of children and that they as a matter of specific
contractual obligation respect and apply
those rights rigourously. The Scottish Executive has
yet to develop the Towards a
Healthier Scotland strategy to apply specific targets to key areas of children's health.124
192. Government at UK and national levels
has not yet made a commitment to using the
CRC to inform health policy and practice in relation
to children or to proofing all new
legislative and policy initiatives regarding their
impact on children's health.
193. Regional health strategies are
designed to tackle some of the major symptoms of
child poverty. However, currently these strategies
lack specific time scales and
targets,125 child-specific anti-poverty goals, or control over the
necessary budgetary
provision at UK level126 and it is questionable, therefore,
whether they can achieve any
real progress.
Mental Health Problems
194. The Second UK Report details the
high incidence of mental health problems among
children in the UK 127 and concern is expressed above about
the level of child suicide. 128
Despite this, mental health provision is inadequate,
and concerns exist about the lack of
specialised in-patient facilities as well as community
based preventive services, ranging
from accessible and child-friendly information about
emotional well being to child-centred
services offering confidential advice, support or
counselling.129 In this regard, the Child
and Adolescent Mental Health Strategy produced by the
National Assembly for Wales is
welcome.
MMR vaccine
195. Government policy is that babies
have one combined rather than separate measles,
mumps and rubella injections. Parental concern about
negative side-effects, and possible
links with autism, has led to falling rates of
immunisation.130
Teenage pregnancy and teenage parents
196. In 1995 the Committee expressed
concerned about the exceptionally high rate of
teenage pregnancy in the UK.131 The UK still has the highest teenage
birth rate in
Europe.132
197. While the Second UK Report set out the
initiatives it is taking to reduce the number of
teenage mothers in the UK,133 there is concern that parents are
still legally entitled in law
to withdraw children from sex education in schools,
and primary schools are under no
obligation to provide such education. Moreover,
Government is still not acting on the
views of young people that they are getting sex
education too little too late and in a way
which fails to address the social or emotional
dimensions of sex and relationships.134
23
Recommendations
198. Each UK jurisdiction should produce
dedicated child health strategies, including a
commitment to using the Convention to inform health
law, policy and practice.
199. Urgent action is needed to
appropriately address the mental health problems of
children in the UK.
200. The law relating to sex education in
schools should be reformed so that all children
have access to adequate and appropriate information in
a manner consistent with their
evolving capacities.
Standard of living (art. 27, paras 1-3)
Poverty, Housing and Homelessness
201. Concerns about the UK’s
extraordinarily high rate of child poverty and its serious
consequences for the right of every child to enjoy
their Convention rights are set out
above.135
202. Government estimates show that nearly
three million households live in poor housing,
and much of this is concentrated in declining
neighbourhoods with high unemployment,
with damaging effects on children’s health and
welfare.136
203. In 1995 the Committee expressed
concern about young people begging and sleeping
on the street.137 Nevertheless, a growing number of
asylum seekers are forced to beg
with babies and small children, and increasing numbers
of children and young people live
on the streets across the UK.138 There is evidence that these
children are fleeing from
violence and a number of them have backgrounds in the
care system.139 With limited
access to social security, many 16 and 17 year olds
end up on the street and are
exposed to exploitation and abuse.140
Recommendation
204. Government should undertake all
necessary measures to accelerate the elimination
of child poverty.
205. Government departments in all four
jurisdictions should work together to urgently
address the causes of youth homelessness and its
consequences.
VII. Education, Leisure and Cultural Activities
The right to education (art 28)
206. Certain groups of children
experience significant problems accessing education per
se and of the same
quality as their peers. In particular, the significant difficulties faced by
children from poor families, ethnic groups, children
in state care and in custody,
Gypsy/Traveller children, children in residential care
and children with disabilities are
highlighted above.141 Concern is also expressed about the
disproportionate exclusion of
children from certain groups.142
207. There is a lack of systematic
collation and analysis of statistics in relation to children
excluded from school and incidents of temporary exclusion
- including where children are
unofficially excluded - are not recorded adequately if
at all.143
208. There is no appeal procedure for
short-term exclusions and the right to appeal a
permanent exclusion lies with the parents, not with
the child. Even where children are
heard, they feel that their views are not considered
important, or are used against
them.144 In this context, it is welcome that the Standards in
Scotland’s Schools Act 2000
gives children the right to appeal an exclusion.
209. Children who are excluded
immediately lose their entitlement to full-time education
and there is concern about the failure to provide
children with full-time education following
exclusion.145
24
Access to higher education
210. In 1997 the UK Government introduced
tuition fees for entry into higher education
and replaced the maintenance grant for students from
low-income families with loans.146
This has acted as a deterrent to those from less
affluent backgrounds seeking to attend
third level education. Although the Government
campaign to attract more young people
into higher education is welcome, it fails to address
the growing inequality of opportunity
in higher education for young people from less
affluent families.
211. Tuition fees were abolished by the Scottish
Executive in 1999 and in February 2002,
the Welsh Assembly announced its plans to reintroduce
grants for students from lowincome
families.147
Recommendations
212. Current legislation should be
amended to give all children in the UK the statutory right
to be consulted about their education and about
education policy.
213. Schools should be required to
consult widely with children on matters of school
discipline to develop strategies which respect the
rights of pupils.
214. The Government should act to remove
the disparities in educational achievement and
in exclusion rates between children from different
groups. All children should have the
right to be guaranteed an appropriate, effective and
high quality education.
215. Appropriate full-time education
should be provided for all children unable to attend
school for any reason.
216. The provision of free education
should include making freely available to pupils all
necessary equipment, books and stationery required to
fulfil the school curriculum.
217. In order to promote equal
opportunity, financial and other barriers restricting access
to further and higher education for children from
low-income families and disabled
children should be urgently addressed.
Aims of Education (art 29)
Narrow Curriculum
218. There are widespread concerns about
the narrow nature of the curriculum for children
of all ages derived from the Government's national
strategies in literacy and numeracy
and increased testing of children. In England,
children now undergo tests at various Key
Stages, Stage 1 of which involves children as young as
7-8 years.148 In Northern Ireland,
11 year olds undergoing Stage 2 testing may also be
taking the Transfer Test, which
determines access to second level education.149 This emphasis
on testing children at
such a young age and pressure on teachers to improve
performance in the national tests
in English and mathematics has resulted in a serious
narrowing of the curriculum.
Subjects like child care have been dropped, and others
such as art, music and religious
education receive less time. This narrowing of the
curriculum is also evident in secondary
schools where schools are spending less time on
spiritual development, personal and
social education and education about health and
parenting matters.150
Recommendations
219. The principles and provisions of the
Convention should inform the teaching,
structures and management of the school system.
220. Measures should be put in place to
ensure that the drive to improve standards does
not diminish opportunities for children to experience
a broad range of subjects and
activities.
Right to play, leisure, recreation and cultural
activities (art. 31)
221. There is no statutory recognition of
the child's right to play and no strategy on play
and leisure in any of the UK's jurisdictions.151
25
Recommendation
222. There should be a statutory duty on
local authorities to make adequate and
appropriate provision for children’s play and leisure
activities from birth to18, based on
the principles and values of the Convention and
established best practice, with children’s
full participation.
VIII. Special Protection Measures
Rights of refugee children and those seeking refugee
status (art 22)
Detention
223. There is serious concern about
legislation which permits the detention of asylum
seekers, including children alone and with their
families.152 Proposals to introduce
accommodation centres also cause concern.153
Financial Support
224. The Government’s decision to abolish
the voucher system whereby asylum seekers
receive vouchers instead of cash benefits is welcome.154 At the same
time, there is
serious concern about the inadequate levels of state
financial support, which such
families receive.155
Dispersal
225. Asylum seekers are dispersed
involuntarily to different parts of the UK, and this policy
can cause acute problems for asylum seekers and the
community to which they are
moved where there is inadequate planning, preparation
and integration into the
community. For example, in Glasgow alone the number of
refugee families from over 40
different nationalities increased from 300 to 5,000 in
2001. This has led to an escalation
in racially related incidents and the murder of a
young asylum seeker in Glasgow.156
226. Unaccompanied minors who can prove
their age are not subject to the dispersal
scheme and are cared for by social services. However,
they may be placed in bed and
breakfast accommodation, which is entirely
inappropriate.
Processing applications – Government claims
227. Although new applications are now
being decided more speedily, many families have
waited - and continue to wait - for years to have them
processed. Moreover, government
claims about the time now taken to process
applications are not entirely accurate as they
do not cover all of the periods families have to wait.157
Children's Panel of Advisers – Government claims
228. Although the introduction in England
in 1994 of a Children's Panel of Advisers for
unaccompanied minors was welcome,158 there is
concern that the system is now under
severe pressure due to the increase in the numbers of
children and inadequate
funding.159
New proposals
229. The Government set out its
"radical and fundamental reform" of the asylum and
immigration systems in its White Paper in February
2002. However, it fails to address the
particular needs of asylum seeker children and is not
child-friendly. For example,
¨ All asylum seekers are to be issued with ID cards with a photograph and
fingerprints;
¨ 3000 asylum seekers are to be placed immediately in an "induction
centre" and then
moved either to an accommodation centre or to a
removal centre (4 new centres are
planned, each with 750 beds); the dispersal system
will continue for most asylum
seekers;
26
¨ Accommodation centres will offer full board and lodging, education for
children and
"purposeful activity" for adults;
¨ The voucher scheme is to be replaced by a "less socially
divisive" scheme.160
Recommendations
230. The Government's reform of the
immigration and asylum system should be used to
bring it into line with the Convention's principles
and provisions. In particular, such
children should never be placed in detention.
231. Asylum seeker families should
receive at least the same benefits as other vulnerable
families and more investment in appropriate support
services for the children of these
families is needed.
232. The Government should carry out a
UK-wide review of the availability and
effectiveness of legal representation and other forms
of independent advocacy to
unaccompanied minors and other children in the
immigration and asylum systems.
233. Asylum seekers under 18 should be
accommodated as 'children in need' under the
child care legislation.
234. Law reform should ensure that young
refugees and asylum seekers who have settled
into a particular area are not dispersed when they
reach 18.
235. There is an overall need for more
thorough and sensitive planning, preparation and
integration of, as well as support for, refugee
families in communities.
Children in armed conflict (art. 38)
National recruitment
236. There is no conscription into the
armed forces of the UK. With parental consent, both
girls and boys may enlist at the age of 16 and the
Government has persistently objected
to raising the international minimum age for voluntary
recruitment and participation in
hostilities to 18.161
Use of Plastic Bullets
237. Police and army in Northern Ireland
continue to use plastic bullets, which have killed
children in the past. The power to use plastic bullets
has been extended to all police
forces elsewhere in the UK.162
Conflict in Northern Ireland
238. In 1995, the Committee recommended
that the emergency and other legislation in
force in Northern Ireland be reviewed to ensure its
consistency with the principles and
provisions of the Convention.163 This has not been done and the
emergency laws still
apply to children. Currently, for example, a child as
young as ten can be detained without
charge for 7 days, have access to a solicitor withheld
for up to 48 hours and have no right
to a solicitor present during interview. The right to
an appropriate adult is not
enforceable.164
239. In 2000, Olara A Otunnu, Special
Representative of the UN Secretary General for
Children and Armed Conflict, expressed concern about
the impact of the conflict on
children in Northern Ireland. The Special
Representative stressed the importance of
making children's concerns a priority, listening to
their voices through the building of the
peace process, and incorporating their rights into the
Bill of Rights.165
27
Recommendations
240. The Government should ratify the
Optional Protocol on Children in Armed Conflict
without delay and without reservation. It should
withdraw the sweeping declaration made
on signature.
241. When making international financial
or military assistance conditional on the non-use
of child soldiers by government forces, the Government
should require a minimum
recruitment age of 18.
242. The Government should inform the
Committee on what action it is taking to protect
Muslim children living in the UK from any
repercussions of the ongoing "war on
terrorism".
243. A review of the application of emergency
legislation in Northern Ireland should be
undertaken without delay and a study of the effect of
the conflict on children undertaken
to inform future policy development.
244. Government should stop the use of
plastic bullets in all jurisdictions immediately.
The Administration of Juvenile Justice (art. 40)
245. In 1995, the Committee on the Rights
of the Child recommended that ‘law reform be
pursued in order to ensure that the system of
administration of justice is childorientated’.
166 Serious concerns
remain about the compatibility with the Convention of
existing law and practice.167
Age of criminal responsibility
246. In 1995 the Committee recommended
that serious consideration be given to 'raising
the age of criminal responsibility throughout the areas
of the UK'.168 The age of criminal
responsibility remains at ten years (8 in Scotland)
and the principle of doli incapax has
been abolished in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.169 17 year olds
are treated as
adults in the criminal justice system.170
Young children
247. In England and Wales, Child Safety
Orders can be made in respect of a child under
ten years if s/he has committed an act which would
have been an offence if committed
when over ten years old, or if s/he has breached a
curfew or is considered to be behaving
in an anti-social manner. Accordingly, there is no
lower age limit for children's
involvement in the juvenile justice system in this
jurisdiction.171
248. The introduction of Anti-Social
Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) in England and Wales also
raises concerns given that although the orders are
made in civil proceedings, their breach
can result in up to five years' imprisonment.172
The court system
249. The Government's Report refers to
the proposals in England and Wales to introduce
youth offending panels for first time offenders who
plead guilty (a referral order).173 There
is serious concern about children's lack of legal
representation and the risk of panels
making "contracts" with children that are
disproportionate and restrictive of children's
liberty (they are mandatory for the most minor of
offences).174
250. Other aspects of the current and
proposed operation of the courts also raise serious
concern. The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 replaced
informal actions (and cautions) with
a new system of reprimands and final warnings. These
are limited by legislation in
number for each individual. However, both may be cited
in court in addition to any
perceived (no requirement of proof) failure to comply with work programmes imposed
by
the new youth offending team staff and may therefore
influence decisions in court in the
same way as court convictions . There is no specific
means by which a child can
challenge a report of non-compliance with a final
warning when it is cited in court).
28
Further, a warning precludes the use of a conditional
discharge in court for two years
(except in exceptional circumstances).175
251. The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 has
extended the court's power to draw inferences
from the failure of an accused child to give evidence
or answer questions at trial to those
under 14 years.176 Concerns exist in Northern Ireland
in this context also.
252. Under legislation in England, Wales
and Northern Ireland, children can be tried in
adult courts where their co-defendant is an adult or
if the offence is sufficiently serious to
place it outside the jurisdiction of the Youth Court.177 Concerns also
exist about the
extent to which the child's right to privacy is
protected during criminal proceedings.178
Children deprived of their liberty (art. 37)
253. Detention of children in the UK is
not always used as a measure of last resort and for
the shortest period of time. In Scotland, children as
young as 14 may be held as
suspects in police cells and in Northern Ireland,
children are frequently held overnight in a
juvenile justice centre prior to their court
appearance and others are detained for longer
periods on remand. The population of detention centres
thus fluctuates constantly and in
2000, for example, only 15% of those admitted to
custody were there pursuant to
sentence by a court.179 In England, 12 year olds can be
remanded in secure
accommodation and upon release, children are subject
to more restrictions of liberty as
enforceable conditions of supervision in the community
than are adults serving an
equivalent sentence.180 Moreover, across the UK boys
and girls as young as 15 are being
detained in adult prisons, significant distances from
their families due to the lack of
appropriate, secure accommodation for children.181
254. The provisions of child care and
child protection legislation do not apply to children in
custody.182
255. Problems exist in relation to the
treatment of children in custody across the UK. In
Northern Ireland, juvenile justice centres fail to
secure the rights of children to adequate
health care, protection from abuse, individualised
treatment programmes, education and
vocational training and frequent contact with family
and friends in privacy.183 Similar
problems have been found to exist in England in
relation to the Medway and Hassockfield
Secure Training Centres.184 Overall, it is clear that secure
custodial provision for young
people in the UK is failing to prevent young people
from reoffending and failing to fulfil the
aims and objectives set out in the Convention and
other UN standards.
256. Provision for the mental health of
young people in detention is seriously lacking with
high incidents of self-harm.185 Anti-bullying strategies have so far
fail to tackle the
problem.186 The inadequacy of educational provision in the custody
setting has already
been highlighted above.187
257. There is concern about the extent to
which children and young people in custody
enjoy access to an independent complaints mechanism
and redress for alleged breaches
of their rights. The inadequacy of the complaints
system and difficulty accessing it are
cause for concern in juvenile justice systems in both
England and Northern Ireland.188
29
Recommendations
258. Legislation, policy and practice
relating to justice and detention should be reviewed
and revised to give full effect to the rights of
children under the Convention.
259. The principle of detention as a last
resort and for the shortest period of time must be
enshrined in legislation and inform all policy.
260. The Government should modernise its
approach to the detention and custody of
children in line with the Convention.
261. As a matter of urgency the
Government should prepare a national strategy on
removing children from the adult prison system in
order to ensure that children are
always separated from adults in detention unless it is
considered not to be in their best
interests.
262. The conditions in detention require
urgent Government action, with particular
attention to children's right to survival and
development, basic health and welfare,
education, right to protection from violence and the
right to periodic review.
263. All children in custody should have
access to independent advocacy services.
264. The custodial penalty for breach of
anti-social behaviour orders in England and Wales
should be repealed, and a review process instituted
for children subject to such orders,
taking into account their evolving capacities and
changing circumstances.
265. The Youth Justice Board in England
and Wales should be required to work within the
provisions of the Convention and to have a substantial
role in promoting positive public
attitudes towards children.
Economic Exploitation of Children (art. 32)
266. The national minimum wage does not
apply to child workers despite UK legislation
permitting children to work part-time from the age of
13 years. Moreover, a lower "youth
rate" applies to 18 to 21-year-olds.189
267. There is evidence that child workers
are exposed to dangerous conditions, work long
hours for little money and do not have access to trade
union membership.190
Recommendations
268. Government should ensure that
information on employment protection and the role of
trades unions is disseminated to all children of
working age, through schools, leisure and
sports facilities and other appropriate channels.
269. The minimum wage should be extended
to children.
Protection from drug abuse (art. 33)
270. Home Office research has shown that
rates of cocaine use were 12 times higher
among young offenders compared to non-offenders and
one in ten rough sleepers were
using a Class A drug at least monthly. Over 80% of
serial runaways had used illicit drugs
compared to 42% of young people who had never run away
from home.191
271. In Northern Ireland, evidence
suggests that strategies designed to prevent young
people from becoming involved in drug taking and
treating those that have, have so far,
been unsuccessful. In 2002, 45% of all 14 year olds
were reported to have been offered
drugs.192
Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse
272. Legislation in Northern Ireland does
not prohibit kerb crawling (where a person
solicits from a motor vehicle) so that child
prostitutes are even more at risk here than
elsewhere in the UK.193
Prevention of sale, trafficking and abduction (art.
35)
273. The law still criminalises children
involved in prostitution.194
30
274. The UK, having signed up to the
Stockholm Congress Declaration, recognises that
the commercial sexual exploitation of children is a
serious problem in the UK and
elsewhere. The UK Immigration service estimates that
up to 200 Nigerian girls as young
as 11 have recently been trafficked from West Africa
and unaccompanied asylum
seekers who have gone missing from local authority
care are known to have been
trafficked to Italy for sexual purposes.195
Recommendations
275. The Government produced a National
Plan in September 2001 and it should adopt
strategic planning and co-ordinated action across
government without delay.
276. Consideration should be given to
creating a specific offence of commercial sexual
exploitation of children as recommended by the Home
Office Sexual Offences review.196
277. The law making kerb crawling illegal
should be extended to Northern Ireland.
Children belonging to a minority or an indigenous
group (art. 30)
278. There are concerns about the extent
to which insufficient funding hampers the ability
of the Welsh Language Board to monitor and evaluate
the impact of the many initiatives
designed to promote the Welsh language, particularly
regarding Welsh medium
education. Moreover, the Welsh Language Act 1993,
designed to establish parity
between the English and Welsh languages, is limited in
scope to the public sector.
Recommendations
279. Children's right to enjoy their own
culture, religion and language should be enshrined
in education, health and juvenile justice legislation.
280. Effective measures should be adopted
to ensure that all children in Wales have the
right to learn and use the Welsh language.
Notes
1 See Scottish
Alliance for Children’s Rights, All Children All Ages: The NGO
Alternative Report
(Scotland) to the UN Committee on the Rights of the
Child, 2000 (hereinafter Scotland Shadow
Report) with an update at December 2001 and March 2002
(hereinafter Scotland Update); The
Children’s Law Centre & Save the Children
(Northern Ireland), Submission to the UN Committee on
the Rights of the Child for consideration during the
Committee’s scrutiny of the UK Government’s
Report,
February 2002 (hereinafter Northern Ireland Shadow Report) ; Children in Wales
& Save the
Children (Wales), Wales Alternative Report for the
Committee on the Rights of the Child, December
2001 (hereinafter Wales Shadow Report). Children’s
Rights Alliance (England), Report to the presessional
working group of the Committee on the Rights of the
Child, preparing for examination of the
UK’s Second Report under the Convention on the Rights
of the Child, March 2002 (hereinafter
England Shadow Report).
2 Consideration
of reports submitted by states parties under Article 44 of the Convention: UK
of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland, 15/2/95 (hereinafter
Concluding Observations) paras 7 and 22.
3 Second Report
to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child by the UK, 1999 (hereinafter Second
UK Report) paras 7.31.1 - 7.31.5, p 78. Its position
was reiterated in its supplementary report to the
UN Human Rights Committee in October 2001.
4 Second UK
Report, paras 10.45.1- 10.45.3, p 189.
5 See Sir David
Ramsbotham, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons (June 2001) Follow-up
to 1997
Thematic review 'Women in Prison', June 2001. See further below Section VIII Special
Protection
Measures.
6 England Shadow
Report, p 3.
7 See Section IV
Civil Rights and Freedoms and Section VIII Special Protection Measures below.
8 Scotland
Update, p 3.
9 Concluding
Observations, paras 8 and 23.
10 See Scottish
Shadow Report, p 10.
11 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 6.
31
12 See Scottish
Shadow Report, p 10; Northern Ireland Shadow Report, p 6 and England Shadow
Report p 3.
13 Scottish Shadow
Report, p 9.
14 England Shadow
Report, p 2.
15 Wales Shadow
Report, para 2.2. 1, p 10.
16 Wales Shadow
Report, para 2.2.3, p 11.
17 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 12.
18 The Commission
has expressed its concern to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland about
the
inadequacy of its powers. See its Report to the
Secretary Of State Required by Section 69(2) of the
Northern Ireland Act 1998, February 2001 at www.nihrc.org
19 Scotland Shadow
Report, Update at 11 March 2002, p 4.
20 England Shadow
Report p 3.
21 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 20.
22 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 12.
23 Examples are
the Early Advisory Panel; the Childcare Strategy Taskforce; Young Voice - Llais
Ifanc;
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Strategy; Extending
Entitlement; Framework for Partnership for
Children and Young People.
24 See, for
example, Scotland Shadow Report, p 9 which highlights that in one survey 34% of
children
had heard of the Convention, and Northern Ireland
Shadow Report, p 6, which reports that 75% of
children and young people had never heard of it.
25 Scotland
Update, p 6.
26 See Northern
Ireland Human Rights Commission, In our Care: Promoting the Rights of Children
in
Custody, 2002.
27 See Section
VIII Special Protection Measures below.
28 England Shadow
Report, p 27.
29 England Shadow
Report, p 26.
30 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report; p 17; England Shadow Report, p 19 and Scotland Shadow
Report, p 19.
31 England Shadow
Report, p 5.
32 Concluding
Observations, paras 11 and 12.
33 See Section VI
Basic Health and Welfare below.
34 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 17 and 22 and Update, p 5.
35 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, pp 15-16.
36 England Shadow
Report, p 16.
37 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 17 and Wales Shadow Report, para 2.1.7. See Section VI Basic Health
and Welfare below.
38 Concluding
Observations, para 25.
39 England Shadow
Report p 20.
40 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 16.
41 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 3.
42 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 5 and Update p 2.
43 Scotland
Update, p 3 and Northern Ireland Shadow Report, pp 5, 17-19.
44 Wales Shadow
Report, para 2.1.3; Northern Ireland Shadow Report, p 19; Scotland Update, p 2
and
England Shadow Report p 20.
45 Northern Ireland
Shadow Report, pp 5, 17-19.
46 England Shadow
Report, p 6; Scotland Shadow Report, p 24 and Update, p 2. See further Section
VIII Special Protection Measures below.
47 England Shadow
Report, p 20. Northern Ireland Shadow Report, p 19.
48 England Shadow
Report, pp 20-21.
49 England Shadow
Report, p 19.
50 Concluding
Observations, para 27.
51 Scotland
Update, p 5.
52 Concluding
Observations, para 15.
53 England Shadow
Report pp 18-19; Scotland Shadow Report, p 6; Northern Ireland Shadow Report,
p 9 and Wales Shadow Report, para 2.1.2.
54 Wales Shadow
Report, para 2.1.2 and England Shadow Report p 18.
55 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 18; Wales Shadow Report para 2.1.2; Scotland Shadow
Report, pp 6-7.
56 England Shadow
Report pp 1 and 19.
57 See Section VI
Basic Health and Welfare and Section VII Education and Leisure Activities
below.
58 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 19. England Shadow Report, p 7.
32
59 See Section VI
Basic Health and Welfare below in relation to the child’s right to access mental
health services.
60 England Shadow
Report, p 7.
61 England Shadow
Report, p 7. See Section V Family Environment and Alternative Care below.
62 England Shadow
Report, p 23.
63 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 9.
64 Wales Shadow
Report, para 2.1.3.
65 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 4. The Special Representative visited Northern Ireland
again in
December 2001 and will report to the Secretary General
in 2002.
66 England Shadow
Report, p 15; Wales Shadow Report, para. 2.1.6 and Northern Ireland Shadow
Report, p 10.
67 Concluding
Observations, para 32.
68 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 10 and England Shadow Report, p 14.
69 Wales Shadow
Report, para 2.1.3.
70 England Shadow
Report, p 8.
71 England Shadow
Report, p 27.
72 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 15.
73 England Shadow
Report, p 14.
74 For further
details see Wales Shadow Report, para 2.2.1; Northern Ireland Shadow Report, p
10;
Scotland Shadow Report, p 7 and England Shadow Report,
p 8.
75 England Shadow
Report, p 9.
76 England Shadow
Report, p 9.
77 England Shadow
Report, p 9.
78 England Shadow
Report, p 9.
79 England Shadow
Report, p 10.
80 England Shadow
Report, p 10.
81 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 11.
82 Wales Shadow
Report, para 3.1.1, England Shadow Report, p 10.
83 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 11.
84 Northern
Ireland Shadow report, p 11.
85 T v UK and V v UK, judgments of the European Court of
Human Rights, 16 December 1999.
86 Venables and
Thompson v News Group Newspaper Limited, High Court, 8th January 2001.
87 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 11. England Shadow Report, pp 10-11.
88 England Shadow
Report, p 11.
89 England Shadow
Report, p 11.
90 Northern
Ireland Human Rights Commission, In Our Care: Promoting the Rights of
Children in
Custody (2002),
pp 122-133. England Shadow Report, p 10.
91 Northern Ireland
Shadow Report, pp 11-12; Wales Shadow Report, para 6.1.2 and England Shadow
Report, p 11.
92 England Shadow
Report, p 11.
93 See for example
the Extending Entitlement initiative of the National Assembly for Wales.
Wales
Shadow Report, para 6.1.2.
94 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, pp 12-13; Wales Shadow Report, para 2.2.2 and England
Shadow
Report, p 13.
95 England Shadow
Report, p 16.
96 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 13.
97 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 16.
98 England Shadow
Report, pp 14-15.
99 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 13.
100 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, pp 13-14
101 England Shadow
Report, p 14.
102 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 16. England Shadow Report, p 15.
103 Wales Shadow
Report, para 2.2.2.
104 England Shadow
Report, p 3.
105 England Shadow
Report, p 15.
106 England Shadow
Report, p 15.
107 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 14.
108 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 14. England Shadow Report, p 15.
109 Concluding
Observations, para 31.
110 A v UK,
judgment of the European Court of Human Rights, 23 September 1998.
33
111 TP and KM v UK and Z and Others v UK, judgments of the
European Court of Human Rights, 10th
May 2001.
112 England Shadow
Report, pp 12-13.
113 England Shadow
Report, pp 12-13.
114 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 12.
115 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 12.
116 Scotland
Update, p 4.
117 Scotland Shadow
Report, pp 13-14; England Shadow Report, p 12.
118 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 14; Northern Ireland Shadow Report, p 12; Wales Shadow Report,
para 6.1.1 and England Shadow Report, p 13.
119 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 17. England Shadow Report, pp 16-17.
120 Wales Shadow
Report, para 2.1.7; Scotland Shadow Report, pp 17 and 22 and England Shadow
Report, pp 16-17.
121 England Shadow
Report, p 17.
122 See Section III
General Principles above.
123 England Shadow
Report, p 17.
124 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 18.
125 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 7.
126 Wales Shadow
Report, para 2.1.2.
127 Second UK
Report, para 8.20.1.
128 See Section III
General principles above.
129 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 18; Northern Ireland Shadow Report, p 16. England Shadow Report, p
18.
130 England Shadow
Report, p 18.
131 Concluding
Observations, para 30.
132 England Shadow
Report, p 18.
133 Second UK
Report, paras 8.21 -8.24.
134 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 19. Northern Ireland Shadow Report, p 11.
135 See Section III
General Principles.
136 England Shadow
Report, p 19.
137 Concluding
Observations, para 15.
138 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 19; Northern Ireland Shadow Report p 9. England Shadow Report, p
19.
139 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 26; Northern Ireland Shadow Report p 9.
140 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 17.
141 Section III
General Principles above.
142 Section III
General Principles above
143 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 23. England Shadow Report, p 21.
144 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 23. Northern Ireland Shadow Report, p 20. See also Section III Basic
Principles above.
145 England Shadow
Report, p 21.
146 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 20. England Shadow Report, p 21.
147 England Shadow
Report, p 21.
148 England Shadow
Report, p 22.
149 Northern
Ireland shadow Report, p 21.
150 England Shadow
Report, p 22-23.
151 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 24; Northern Ireland Shadow Report, p 21 and England Shadow
Report, p 23.
152 England shadow
Report, p 24.
153 Scotland
Update, p 2.
154 England Shadow
Report, p 24.
155 See Section II
General Principles above.
156 Scotland Update
p 2; England Shadow Report, p 24.
157 England Shadow
Report, p 24.
158 Second UK
Report, para 10.10.
159 England Shadow
Report, p 25.
160 England Shadow
Report, p 25.
161 England Shadow
Report, pp 29-30.
162 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, pp 24-25.
163 Concluding
Observations, para 34.
164 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 24.
34
165 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 22.
166 Concluding
Observations, para 35.
167 England Shadow
Report, pp 26-29.
168 Concluding
Observations, para 36.
169 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 23; England Shadow Report, p 26. See Section II
Definition of
the Child above.
170 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 23.
171 England Shadow
Report, p 26.
172 England Shadow
Report, p 26.
173 Second UK
Report, para 10.2.9
174 England Shadow
Report, p 27.
175 England Shadow
Report, p 27.
176 Second UK
Report, para 10.24.1
177 See Section III
General Principles above.
178 See Section IV
Civil Rights and Freedoms above.
179 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 27 and Northern Ireland Report, p 25.
180 England Shadow
Report, p 27.
181 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 24. England Shadow Report, p 27.
182 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 25. England Shadow Report, p 28.
183 Northern
Ireland Human Rights Commission, In Our Care: Promoting the Rights of
Children in
Custody, 2002.
184 England Shadow
Report, pp 27-29.
185 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 25 and England Shadow Report, p 28.
186 England Shadow
Report, p 28.
187 Section III
General Principles.
188 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 25 and England Shadow Report, p 29.
189 England Shadow
Report, p 26.
190 Scotland Shadow
Report, p 25. England Shadow Report, p 26.
191 England Shadow
Report, p 26.
192 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 26.
193 Northern
Ireland Shadow Report, p 26.
194 England Shadow
Report, p 26.
195 England Shadow
Report, p 26.
196England Shadow
Report, p 26.