UNITED KINGDOM: Government ‘flouts promise on children's rights’

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[22 January 2013] - Government is failing to deliver on a promise of checking how policies affect children’s rights, a report has claimed. 

The Children’s Rights Alliance for England (Crae) annual State of Children’s Rights in England report asserts that all but one of 17 government departments gave “inadequate” responses when asked to justify how the pledge was being implemented.

Crae said only the Department for Education was able to give evidence of meaningful analysis of its policies, conducting detailed assessments of four proposals including reform of the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, and changes to the family justice system.

Despite this, Crae warned that the department focused on evidence that supported its policy positions in each case.

The report also found things have got worse for children in relation to nearly a third (31 per cent) of 118 recommendations made by the United Nations (UN) in 2008 to improve children’s rights.

It pointed to the fact that government has made statements maintaining policies previously highlighted by the UN as breaching children’s rights.

This includes the government’s refusal to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility, legislate to prohibit parents and other carers from hitting their children; and a decision to not make changes to ensure that 17-year-olds are treated as juveniles by the police.

“There is a massive question mark over the government’s commitment to children’s rights,” Paola Uccellari, director of Crae, said. “Children are facing destitution, going missing from care and it’s still okay to deliberately hurt children in England.

“The UN criticised the UK’s record on children’s rights four years ago – but we keep moving backwards on many of these issues. The government’s lack of progress is not surprising when we find out that it is flouting its own promise to check whether its policies breach children’s rights.”

Within the next year, the government will be required to report to the UN on its progress on improving children’s rights.

Lisa Nandy, shadow children’s minister, said the findings of the report are “especially concerning” following calculations that 200,000 more children could be pushed into poverty because of the benefits policies.

“It is also worrying that when a small number of government departments do consider the impacts of their policies, they tend to cherry-pick evidence which supports their already established position.

“Michael Gove must take some responsibility for this. By focusing on his pet projects and ignoring the wider children's agenda, he is enabling policies to be pushed through without any thought as to the impact on children. As a result children's needs are often invisible, and their rights are undermined.”

The DfE has been contacted for comment.


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