Children and Young People's Sector Bill of Rights Group

Supporters of Children

Sheri Chamberlain's speech Bill of Rights Event 20 Aug 2003

THE NEED FOR STRONG AND ENFORCEABLE CHILDREN'S RIGHTS PROTECTIONS IN A BILL OF RIGHTS FOR NORTHERN IRELAND



A BRIEFING NOTE FOR POLITICAL PARTIES







Children's Sector Bill of Rights Group
March 2003










Contact: Sara Boyce, Children's Law Centre/Save the Children 90-245704 Teresa Geraghty, Save the Children 90 431123
"It is an ideal opportunity for Northern Ireland to put young people's rights on the map"


Introduction

There are almost half a million, 450,714, children living in Northern Ireland. This represents 26.6% of the total population, a higher percentage than anywhere else in the UK. Throughout the decades of conflict children in Northern Ireland have suffered immeasurably and many of them have grown up knowing only a violent and divided society. This is acknowledged in the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement where it is stated that 'the participants (to the Agreement) recognise that young people from areas affected by the Troubles face particular difficulties.' 557 children and young people under 20 years of age have been killed in the conflict. Thousands more have experienced trauma though the impact of the conflict on their families and communities.

The conflict has also had many less obvious impacts on the lives of children and young people. The education system remains largely a segregated one, with a mere 5% of all school children attending integrated education. Poverty levels are much higher in NI than in the rest of the UK. Recent research carried out for the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) found that the proportion of children living here in poverty despite having at least one parent employed (50%) compared badly with overall UK figures which show an average of 33% of all children living in poverty in similar working families. It is also recognised that in general legislative and policy developments lag behind the rest of the UK. All of this has resulted in the less equal treatment of children living in Northern Ireland than their counterparts in the rest of the UK.

A Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland represents a unique opportunity to ensure that everybody's rights, including those of children and young people, are protected and respected. It should be a blueprint for the future and as such should constitute a key element in the transition from conflict to a peaceful and democratic society. It is clear that children and young people need to be at the heart of this peace building. Olara Otunnu, the UN Special Representative on Children in Armed Conflict, speaking in respect of our peace process, stressed the centrality of this; "children's concerns must remain priority concerns throughout the building of peace and the voices of young people should be heard throughout the peace process." It is only through the active inclusion of children and young people that we can genuinely build a culture of children's rights, thereby creating a generation of children and young people who also respect and uphold rights.



Lack of children's rights protections

There is currently no comprehensive code of children's rights in Northern Ireland. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC), while ratified by the UK government, is not directly enforceable in Northern Ireland. The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), while recognised as a useful tool, provides only minimal express recognition of the rights of children. In addition it deals primarily with civil and political rights rather than socio-economic rights, the latter being vital for children's lives. It contains neither a dedicated children's rights provision nor any of the children's rights principles that form the backbone of the UN CRC.

The children's sector greatly welcomed the increased priority accorded to children's rights by the Assembly prior to its suspension. In particular we welcomed the introduction of the Office of the Commissioner for Children and Young People and the development of an overarching children's strategy. Both of these have the potential to significantly improve the lives of children and young people. However, the reality is that without a strong enforceable legal framework, which specifically deals with children's rights, there is no enforceable human rights benchmark by which the Commissioner can measure the promotion and protection of children's human rights.

Incorporation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is required as a starting point towards establishing such a human rights benchmark. However, in addition to the incorporation of the Convention, the Bill of Rights will need to provide additional protection for children and young people, as it is readily acknowledged that this Convention represents the minimum children's rights standards that states could agree on.


Children need rights protection as children and as individuals

In the past the needs of children, as well as many other communities, were overlooked, as the political emphasis was on the two main communities only. It is imperative that this mistake is not repeated. It seems obvious to state that children do not come from the two main communities only, but have many and diverse backgrounds and identities including Traveller children, Chinese children, asylum seeker children and disabled children. A narrow focus in a Bill of Rights on the two main communities only would result in the denial of equal rights to all children who do not identify as coming from one of the two main communities. As all children deserve equal protection the Bill of Rights needs to ensure parity of esteem between all communities and individuals.


Socio-economic rights

There is an absolute need for socio-economic rights such as the right to healthcare, accommodation and an adequate standard of living to be guaranteed to children. These rights are fundamental to a child's survival, development and participation in society. This is true for all members of society but particularly so for children, as the most vulnerable members of society. Without basic rights such as the right to accommodation, health care, social services and a healthy and sustainable environment a child's right to participate, to protection and to have their best interests respected becomes meaningless. The provision of socio-economic rights in a Bill of Rights would also reflect international trends and experience where all human rights are seen as indivisible and interdependent. This approach is epitomised by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which recognises in a comprehensive and non-discriminatory way all of the rights of the child.


Need for a separate section on children's rights

The inclusion of a separate section on children and young people's rights in a Bill of Rights is essential if it is to be accessible to children and young people themselves. Having a separate section would send out a powerful message to children and young people as well as to the rest of society that children are rights holders and as a vulnerable group are also especially deserving of protection. It would also ensure that core children's rights such as the right to participate and the child's best interests that cannot be placed elsewhere in the Bill are included. Furthermore it is standard international practice for treaties to include sections for particular groups such as children. Children and young people consulted by the Human Rights Commission on the question of where their rights should be placed in a Bill were unanimous in their support for a separate section; "if there is not a separate section then children and young people's rights will be overlooked and forgotten about"


Support for children's rights in a Bill of Rights

There is widespread civic and political support for children's rights protections. Almost 80 organisations to date have endorsed a statement of support for the inclusion of strong and enforceable children's rights protections in a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland. These groups and organisations are not confined to the children's sector alone but represent a very broad and diverse range of constituencies including NI Children's Hospice, Age Concern NI, Steer Mental Health and the Probation Board NI.

In addition the RES household survey conducted on behalf of the Human Rights Commission in October 2001 captured the widespread support for specific rights for children and young people in a Bill of Rights; 78% of Catholics and 67% of Protestants supported such rights.




Children's Sector Bill of Rights Group
March 2003