Submitted by crinadmin on
Summary: The UK Government ratified the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child
in 1991. One of the obligations it
undertook on ratification was to report
initially after two years and
thereafter every five years to the
Committee on the Rights of the Child,
the international monitoring body, on
its progress in implementing standards
of the Convention. BACKGROUND TO THE PAPER
The UK Government ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child in 1991. One of the obligations it undertook on ratification
was to report initially after two years and thereafter every five
years to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the international
monitoring body, on its progress in implementing standards of the
Convention. The Government's initial report was examined by the
Committee in January 1995 at which time the Committee raised a number
of issues of concern and made recommendations accordingly.
The Government was due to present its next reports (known as the
first periodic report) to the Committee in January 1999. Accordingly,
in January 1998, the Department of Health convened a conference to
launch its process of preparing the report. At the conference, to
which a wide range of non-governmental organisations were invited,
Paul Boateng, then Under Secretary of State for Health, made a clear
commitment that, in producing the report, the Government wanted to
consult with children and young people. Following the conference, the
Department of Health established an Advisory Group comprising
representatives from all relevant Government departments together
with non-governmental representatives from England, Wales, Scotland
and Northern Ireland. Its terms of reference included a role in
advising the Department of Health on the involvement of children
during the preparation of the report. The Children's Rights Office,
as a member of the Group, produced a proposal for consulting with
children and young people in England.
The proposal was designed to consult with children of all ages in
around 40 different settings - schools, youth projects, community
groups - to find out how far they felt their rights were respected.
These findings would be fed back by delegates of children and young
people to relevant ministers at a national conference. They would
then be written up as a report which the Government would submit as
part of its report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child. As
the Department of Health considered that it lacked the experience or
skills to undertake the consultation exercise itself, it agreed,
jointly with the Department for Education and Employment, to
commission Save the Children Fund to undertake the work on their
behalf.
Save the Children has been committed to making a reality of
children's rights since 1919, when Eglantyne Jebb, the founder of
SCF, began pioneering work with children. SCF's work is underpinned
by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
SCF believes that the UNCRC:
- provides an internationally agreed set of minimum standards against
which to test law, policy and practice as it affects all children.
- provides for a monitoring mechanism through a committee on Geneva
which enables governments to be hels to account for their actions
concerning children and gives NGOs and others a strong role in
validating or challenging governments' claims.
- encourages a positive and optimistic image of children, as active
holders of rights.
This report documents the findings from the children and young
people. It details the issues they want to draw to the Government's
attention and their recommendations for future action.
This work has been jointly funded by SCF, the Department of Health
and the Department for Education and Employment and has been
supported by the Children's Rights Office.
Owner: Christine Pandrich