New Bill of Rights Resource for Young People

The Children and Young People’s Sector Bill of Rights Group has been working hard since autumn 2002 to build the capacity of children and young people’s organisations to participate fully and effectively in what are often quite legalistic and technical debates around the Bill of Rights. The group has actively engaged with the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, the political parties, the two governments and other relevant bodies in promoting the inclusion of the maximum children’s rights protections in the Bill of Rights. Its position on children’s rights in the Bill of Rights is supported by over 180 organisations.

However, a major concern for this group has been the neglect of children and young people in the Bill of Rights process. Apart from dedicating some limited resources towards facilitating the involvement of children and young people in the early stages of its consultation process, the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission has failed to demonstrate a real commitment to including children and young people on an ongoing basis in its Bill of Rights process. The obvious difficulties in maintaining momentum around the Bill of Rights, in part a result of the Commission’s failure to secure widespread ownership of the Bill of Rights project, are only exacerbated by the lack of reflection of children and young peoples’ collective view in the Commission’s revised proposals.

It is critical that the voices of children and young people, who represent over a quarter of the population in Northern Ireland and whose concerns were largely ignored throughout the conflict, are heard and listened to, whether this is by the Commission or those who will be involved in the proposed round table forum. In light of the above concerns the Children and Young People’s Sector Bill of Rights group decided to produce a resource aimed at facilitating young people’s involvement in the debates and discussions around the Bill of Rights.

The resource ‘Making a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland: Issues for Young People’ is aimed at Key Stage 3 (aged 11-14) and Key Stage 4 (15-18) students and comprises a 16 page booklet for young people, accompanying lesson plans and a teachers resource pack. The initial section of the booklet provides background information on the Bill of Rights including a definition of a Bill of Rights, its origins in the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, the existing lack of rights protections for children and young people and the remit of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission in advising on a Bill of Rights. It then addresses a number of key issues in relation to the Bill of Rights from a children’s rights perspective including:
• The views of children and young people on a Bill of Rights
• How the Bill of Rights should reflect ‘the particular circumstances of Northern Ireland’
• Identity and community rights
• Where children and young people’s rights should be placed in the Bill of Rights
• Enforcement of the Bill of Rights.

A handy ‘jargon buster’ providing plain English explanations for key terms and phrases used is included at the back. The booklet is greatly enhanced by a series of bold photographs taken by young journalists from Children’s Express. It has also benefited from input by youth@clc, a young people’s advisory group in Children’s Law Centre.

The accompanying lesson plans are designed to be completed within the normal class period. The resource pack includes materials on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, children’s rights in the context of Northern Ireland as well as a list of additional resources on children’s rights and the Bill of Rights.

Very few of the citizenship resources on offer to schools have been tailored to the particular circumstances of Northern Ireland. In addition to facilitating young people to ‘get up to speed’ with and participate in the Bill of Rights debate, this resource also aims to fill a significant gap in the market and to act as a practical resource for teachers who are interested in developing the Bill of Rights as a specific theme within the Local and Global Citizenship curriculum. In this context the Bill of Rights in Schools resource for post-primary schools, currently being produced by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, is set to represent a significant and comprehensive educational resource for schools.

While ‘Making a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland: Issues for Young People’ will be available to all schools and to all organisations working with young people, the ‘roll out’ strategy will concentrate on those schools currently delivering the pilot citizenship education curriculum, as well as those youth organisations with a focus on children and young people’s rights.


For more information contact Sara Boyce Children and Young People’s Sector Bill of Rights Group Tel: 90 245704 or saraboyce@childrenslawcentre.org