Human rights’ monitoring and implementation: how to make rights ‘real’ in children’s lives

ABSTRACT

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is the most ratified international human rights treaty. Yet problems continue about ensuring that children’s rights are recognised and supported in their daily lives. To this end, informal and formal efforts have been made for greater incorporation of the UNCRC into national law and policies. This special journal issue learns from these latest efforts, for the benefit of all human rights advocates in policy, practice and academia. The editorial outlines the contributions from eight articles, which were written by young people, practitioners who are directly influencing policy and practice, and academics from across the UK, Canada and Ireland with both national and international expertise. Written from different disciplines (including law, public policy and education), the special journal issue aims to enhance the critical evidence and strategic approach to implementing human rights in practice.

KEYWORDS:

• Children’s rights
• UN convention on the rights of the child
• implementation
• monitoring
• incorporation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributors

Andressa M. Gadda has worked as a researcher in the field of child care and protection for over 10 years. Most recently she was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Child Wellbeing and Protection (CCWP) at the University of Stirling. She is currently the Head of Policy and Research at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI).

Juliet Harris is the Director of Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights) and leads the organisation in promoting and monitoring the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) across Scotland. This includes working with Together’s membership of over 380 children’s organisations and professionals to produce an annual State of Children’s Rights report, as well as liaising with government and parliamentarians to further children’s rights in legislation, policy and practice. Juliet’s previous experience includes six years tackling the destitution and poverty of refugees and asylum seekers, alongside a number of roles with charities working in the field of health and homelessness.

E. Kay M. Tisdall is Professor of Childhood Policy at the University of Edinburgh. She has a long-standing interest in children and young people’s participation, from her policy and research work.

Elizabeth Millership has held various children’s rights roles in policy, research and consultancy including a long-standing association with Together.

Ursula Kilkelly is a professor of law working in the field of children’s rights. She has published in the leading journals on the area of children’s rights implementation and undertaken funded research for the Council of Europe, national bodies like the Ombudsman for Children and UNICEF UK. She is currently co-editor of Youth Justice: An International Journal.

Notes

1 UN Committee, General Comment No. 5, General Measures of Implementation for the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Geneva: 3 October, 2003).

2 For further information about the seminar series and its outputs, see https://www.togetherscotland.org.uk/resources-and-networks/uncrc-in-scotland-seminar-series/.

3 For further information about this campaign, see https://www.syp.org.uk/right_here_right_now.

4 Scottish Government, A nation with ambition (2017): 14, http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2017/09/8468.

5 For further information, see https://yoyp2018.scot/.

6 Scottish Government, Delivering for Today, Investing for Tomorrow (2018): 83, https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/publication/2018/09/delivering-today-investing-tomorrow-governments-programme-scotland-2018-19/documents/00539972-.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Scottish Universities Insight Institute seminar series.