More work needed to protect children’s rights in Scotland, Commission tells UN

The Scottish Human Rights Commission will today tell the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva that more work is needed to protect human rights in everyday life for children in Scotland.

The Commission will deliver a statement highlighting the continued impact of austerity measures on children and young people. It will call for public sector budgets and decision making to be focused on addressing human rights concerns such as the eradication of poverty and tackling inequalities.

The Commission will repeat its long-standing call for the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to be fully incorporated into Scotland’s legal system and will point to commitments to improving children’s rights contained in Scotland’s National Action Plan for Human Rights (SNAP).

While welcoming the “additional duties to promote public awareness and understanding of the rights of children” established by the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act, the Commission will raise concerns over the lack of funding provided for this purpose.  

Notes                       

1. The Scottish Human Rights Commission is an independent public body with a remit to promote and protect human rights for everyone in Scotland. It is accredited as an “A status” national human rights institution within the UN system.
2. The 28th session of the Human Rights Council takes place from 2 to 27 March at the UN headquarters in Geneva.
3. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is an international human rights treaty that grants all children (everyone below the age of eighteen years) a comprehensive set of rights. Read more here.
4. Scotland's National Action Plan for Human Rights (SNAP) was launched on 10 December 2013 and sets out a roadmap to realising human rights for everyone in Scotland.
5. You can watch Legal Officer Bruce Adamson deliver the statement here (begins 1:15:46).