The Response of UK Government to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Report

I have decided to assess and analyze the Government’s UK report to UN on the children rights. I shall highlight some themes. I will refer to significant issues raised by various non-governmental organizations. Some concerns were raised in the observations made in 1995 and 2002 by the Committee of Save the child on the Rights of the Child on the Government’s First UK Reports.

Introduction

“The two Government’s Reports do not make explicit links to the UNCRC, which would seem to reflect a corresponding absence of any coherent focus on UNCRC in public policy. While we welcome the progress made by the UK and devolved governments since the Second Report, we have a number of concerns at the UK level, which we highlight in this report under the following headings: general measures of implementation; general principles; civil rights and freedoms; basic health and welfare; and special protection measures” save the children (2002).

There is no systematic approach to children’s participation in the decision making of various institutions affecting or involved in children matters. The government fails to highlight this important issue. This issue is raised in article 12 of United Nations children rights.

The two reports failed to highlight about physical integrity of children and “reasonable chastisement” in legislation within the society. Save the Children (2002) critique observed, “the legislative and other measures relating to the physical integrity of children were not compatible with the provision and principles of the Convention, including articles 3, 19 and 37 “.

The issue of child poverty in the United Kingdom was not properly addressed in both reports to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. The omission has also observed by the save the children report of 1995 to the government. The government has taken measures to address this problem, as was written by saving the children. “Since 1999, Second Report the Government has announced plans to eradicate child poverty by 2020 and to halve it within 10 years. There has already been significant progress, with early evidence suggesting that child poverty (measured as children living on less than half the average income) may be halved within 5 years rather than 10. Nevertheless, much more needs to be done. Even halving child poverty in 10 years will still leave child poverty higher than most industrial countries and higher than in 1979.” This is in line with articles 4 and 27 of the UN Convention, relating to the economic, social and cultural rights of children.

Article 17 of UN Children guarantees that young people have a right to appropriate information. However, when young children at the age of 16 are choosing the career option of the armed forces, they are not provided with information relating to other choices and the UN Children’s rights. Articles 3, 6, 17 and 32 of the Convention require children to be provided with full information relating to anything within their rights.

In their critique of the government report to UN CHILDRENS rights committee save the children concluded, “There clearly has been some progress made by the UK and devolved governments since 1994, particularly in terms of introducing mechanisms for children’s participation, beginning to address child poverty, and reviewing support arrangements and application procedures for asylum seekers.” This is in line with articles of United Nations Children rights. There are clearly some policy issues that remain particularly problematic at both the country and UK levels, including the reservations to the UNCRC that are still in place, physical punishment and Gypsy/Traveller children.

The evidence drawn on in this paper, together with the more detailed country-level child rights coalition reports submitted separately, demonstrate that the Government in the Second Report does not take a rights-based approach, nor does it adequately reflect the concerns expressed in the UN Committee’s observations in 1995. Instead, it is more concerned with documenting governmental policy rather than child rights. New policies that have been implemented since the Second Report, however, suggest that governments across the UK are beginning to take some steps in addressing the rights of children.”

From the conclusion made by the save the children critique, I conclude that the government of the UK is slowly improving on the UN children’s rights.

References

1. Bradshaw, J. (2001) Child Poverty under Labour, in Fimister, G. (ed) Tackling child poverty in the UK: an end in sight? London: Child Poverty Action Group
2. Children’s Law Centre and Save the Children, (1999) Getting it Right? The State of Children’s Rights in Northern Ireland at the end of the 20^th Century,
3. Children’s Law Centre and Save the Children, (2002) Submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child for consideration during the Committee’s scrutiny of the UK Governments report,
4. Christine Pandrich (ed), (1999) Children’s Views of the UNCRC, Save the Children UK,
5. Hill and Jenkins (1999) Poverty amongst British children: chronic or transitory? Working Paper 99-23, ESRC Research Centre on Micro-Social Change.
6. Kate Stanley, ( 2001) Cold Comfort: Young Separated Refugees in England, Save the Children UK with funding from The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, 2001.
7. Save the Children, (2001) Re: action consultation toolkit – a practical toolkit for consulting with children and young people on policy issue, Save the Children,.
8. Save the Children (2001) Denied a Future? The Right to Education of Roma/Gypsy and Traveller Children in Europe.
9. UNICEF (2000), A League Table of Child Poverty in Rich Nations, Innocenti Report Card No.1, Innocenti Research Centre, Florence;