The UK Government ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991. This not only placed a moral obligation on the Government to protect and respect child rights, but required the Government, under international law, to do all it can to put child rights into practice in the UK.
However, almost 20 years later, child rights are still not a reality for many children living in the UK. UNICEF UK believes that this is partly a result of the gradual approach that has been taken to implementing child rights – focusing on particular children in particular places, rather than looking at all aspects of every child’s life.
Incorporation into law
In its last examination of the UK in 2008, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child urged the UK Government to bring all its laws and policies in line with the Convention. Making child rights part of the law in the UK would allow the Government to achieve this goal.
UNICEF UK believes that incorporating the Convention into UK law would give powerful protection to children. It would ensure that all children living in the UK, no matter who they are or where they’re from, have their rights realised in all aspects of their lives. It would require decision-makers to actively promote and protect child rights, and take them into account in every decision that affects children.
