Real Rights ; Using the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to Make a Reality of Children's Rights in Northern Ireland.

CONTENTS



Foreword 2


Contents 3


Introduction 4-6


Aims and Structure of Briefing Paper 7


Jargon Buster 8-9


The Convention and the reporting process 10-12


Implementation of the concluding observations 13-14


The UN Committee’s Concluding Observations 15-44


Using the Convention and the Concluding Observations 45-46


Appendices






Written by Sara Boyce, Children’s Human Rights Advisor, Children’s Law Centre and Save the Children. For more information e-mail saraboyce@childrenslawcentre.org
October 2003




ISSUE PAGES
Immigration 16
Incorporation 17-18
Resources 19
Co-ordination 20
Plan of action 21
Commissioner for children and young people 22
Data Collection 23
Awareness Raising or Training 24
Non-discrimination 25
Best interests principle 26
Right to life 27
Respect for the views of the child 28
Right to name, nationality and identity 29
Torture, cruel inhuman or degrading treatment 26, 30
Physical punishment 26, 28, 31-32
Violence, abuse, neglect and maltreatment 26, 33
Health and access to health services 25, 26, 28, 34
Child Poverty 25, 35
Education 25, 26, 28, 36-37
Refugee and asylum seeking children 23, 25, 26, 28, 38
Travellers 23, 25, 26, 28, 39
Children in Armed Conflict 33, 40
Minimum Wage 25, 26, 28,41
Child prostitution 23, 25, 26, 28, 42
Juvenile Justice 16, 23,25, 26, 28 30,
43-44

GROUP/ORGANISATION WORKING ON PAGES
Bill of Rights 17-18, 25-28
Care issues 25, 26, 2830,33,36-37
Child poverty 25,35, 36-37
Child protection 31-32,33, 42
Child soldiers issue 10, 40
Children’s Rights 17-18, 22, 24, 25-28
Children’s Strategy 17-21, 23-28
Disability issues 25, 36-37
Education 24, 28,36-37, 43,44
Employment issues 26,28, 41
Equality 23, 25, 34, 41,
Ethnic minority issues 25, 39
Juvenile Justice issues 25, 26, 28,30,34,36,
37, 43-44
Physical punishment 31-32
Refugee and Asylum seeker issues 25,26, 36-37,38
Sexual Orientation issues 23, 25, 34
Traveller issues 23, 25, 26, 28, 34, 39
Gender Issues 16, 23,25, 26, 34, 42
Young people’s health 23, 34,

INTRODUCTION

For anyone interested in protecting and promoting the rights of Northern Ireland’s approximately half a million children and young people, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (hereafter ‘the Convention’) offers one of the most powerful tools available. It works not only in ‘creating a vision for all our children’ as the aspiration of the Northern Ireland Children’s Strategy but also at the level of practical action to realise children’s rights in everyday situations. The Convention is the most highly ratified international human rights treaty in the world. It also contains the broadest range of rights of all the UN treaties (CEDAW and the Convention on Migrant Workers for example also contain such a broad range of rights), civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights. It applies to all children, defined by the Convention as “every human being below the age of eighteen years unless, under the law applicable to the child, the majority is attained earlier”. The UK government ratified the Convention in December 1991. In doing so the government committed itself to a set of non-negotiable and legally binding minimum standards and obligations in respect of all aspects of children’s lives, from respecting and promoting fundamental principles such as the best interests of the child and the child’s right to be heard, to rights in areas such as standard of living, education, care and protection, health, juvenile justice and play.

It also made a commitment to recognise and respond to the specific needs of particular groups of children and young people who may suffer discrimination, such as Travellers and other ethnic minorities, children and young people with disabilities, asylum seeking children, children in care, children in the juvenile justice system and others.

Since its ratification by the UK the Convention has continued to gain greater prominence in all matters concerning children and young people in Northern Ireland. While regrettably the Convention has not as yet been incorporated* into domestic law in the way in which the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms has , there is an increasing imperative to recognise it as a central consideration in the development of legislation, policy and service provision to children and young people in Northern Ireland and across the UK. The European Court on Human Rights has increasingly invoked the Convention to enhance interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights in relation to children.

The influential UK Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights in its recent report on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child described the obligations the Convention places on government as follows “It should function as a set of child-centred considerations to be used by all departments of Government when evaluating legislation and policy-making”. Courts in this jurisdiction are drawing on the Convention as an interpretive tool more frequently. The Convention has been clearly fixed as the starting point for the Northern Ireland Children’s Strategy. The Commissioner for Children and Young People is also legally obliged to have regard to the provisions of the Convention in carrying out his duties. Indeed the Commissioner will play a crucial role in ensuring there is independent scrutiny of government’s compliance with the Convention and the recommendations issued by its monitoring body.

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission for its part should also continue to ensure that government complies with all international human rights standards in relation to children, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is worth noting that while the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as the only child specific human rights treaty, holds the most potential for realising children’s rights, all of the other international human rights treaties also apply equally to children and young people. The challenge is to ensure that this is fully recognised by government. This means that government must include a child rights dimension in all reports it submits to the other treaty monitoring bodies as well as ensuring that these rights are afforded to children and young people through all relevant legislation and policies.

In September 2002 the monitoring body for the Convention, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (herein onwards the Committee) examined the UK government’s second periodic report on progress made in implementing the Convention. As stated by Sheri Chamberlain, Director Save the Children in Northern Ireland, the Committee’s concluding observations, issued in October 2002 “illustrates clearly that the UK government is in breach of its international obligations to ensure that children's and
young people's rights are upheld. There are many examples of rights being
violated on a daily basis and children in the youth justice system and Traveler
children are just some of the groups who are at particular risk”.

The Committee does acknowledge those legislative and policy developments with positive implications for children’s rights protections including some specific to Northern Ireland such as the enactment of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and the introduction of the Race Relations (NI) Order 1997. However the bulk of its report is taken up with identifying and analysing government’s shortcomings in delivering on children’s rights and with making recommendations that, taken together, form the basis for a strategy and comprehensive action plan on children’s rights.

Government has a duty under the Convention (Articles 42 and 44) to make both the provisions of the Convention and the reporting process widely known. It has clearly failed in its duty to do this. The absence of a Northern Ireland Assembly at present also means that no political scrutiny of the Committee’s report has taken place in Northern Ireland. Despite the lack of action from government or of political leadership on this issue the Children’s Law Centre and Save the Children believe that it is vitally important for all groups and organisations working with or for children and young people to be familiar with both the Convention itself and the Committee’s recent concluding observations. To that end we have produced this summary of the UN Committee’s concluding observations on their examination of the UK government which we hope non-governmental organisations (NGOs)* will find useful in their work to improve the lives of all our children.































AIMS OF THE BRIEFING PAPER

This briefing paper aims to:

• Provide a summary of the Committee’s 2002 concluding observations in an accessible format and language
• Identify the lead department/s or agency/agencies with responsibility for implementation of specific Committee recommendations ( both Northern Ireland and UK)
• Identify the relevance of various recommendations to work on specific issues
• Assist groups/organisations in determining how best they can use those recommendations to lend weight to their work on specific issues.
• Raise awareness of the overall UN human rights system, reporting procedures and monitoring mechanisms


Target Audience
It is primarily aimed at those NGOs engaged in policy or advocacy work on specific children’s rights issues. It is also aimed at contributing to work at a sectoral level on broader legislative or policy initiatives such as the Children's Strategy.


Structure of the briefing paper
The paper commences by providing information on the Convention itself, the reporting process to the UN Committee including NGO participation in this process followed by an outline of how government intends to respond to the Committee’s concluding observations.

The bulk of the report deals directly with the UN Committee’s concluding observations. The ‘highlights’ and ‘lowlights’ of government’s action on implementation in the period 1995 to 2002 as assessed by the UN Committee are presented. A summary of each recommendation is then provided, accompanied by a comment that attempts to draw out the specific relevance of the recommendation to Northern Ireland. The lead department/s or agency/agencies responsible for its implementation is/are identified as well as those NGO’s for whom the recommendation would be particularly relevant and useful. Some recommendations have a broad relevance for all those organisations working with or for children and young people (categorised as ‘All’) while others have more particular relevance for organisations working on specific issues or with specific groups of children and young people. For ease of reference the concluding observations have been indexed both by issue and by the group/organisation that specific concluding observations might be most useful for; however other concluding observations may also be useful or relevant and should be checked.




JARGON BUSTER

This ‘Jargon Buster’ gives the full version of acronyms used as well as explanations for some of the technical terms related to the UN Human Rights system which are used. Terms explained in the jargon buster are marked with an asterix * where they first appear in the text.

CYPU: Children and Young People’s Unit
DE: Department of Education
DECAL: Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure
NIO: Northern Ireland Office
OFMDFM: Office of the First and Deputy First Minister
DFP: Department of Finance and Personnel
DTI: Department of Trade and Industry
DHSSPS: Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
EQIA: Equality Impact Assessment
MoD: Ministry of Defence
NDPB: Non-Departmental Public Body
NGO: Non-governmental organisation. This term is used here to include community and voluntary sector organisations
OLR: Office of Law Reform
PBR: Plastic Baton Round
PSI: Promoting Social Inclusion
PSNI: Police Service of Northern Ireland

General Comment: A General Comments is issued by a treaty monitoring body and is meant to clarify, elaborate and interpret an article, principle, or working procedure set forth in the specified human rights treaty that it relates to. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has issued 5 General Comments to date, the most recent one, issued in September 2003, being on General Measures of Implementation.

Incorporation: Incorporation of a human rights treaty means bringing the rights in the treaty into domestic law. This can be done in a number of ways: by making the entire treaty directly enforceable in the domestic courts of a country, so that, for example, you can sue the state for violating a right that you have under the treaty; or by legislating
at national level to give effect to all or most of the substance of the treaty obligations (as was done in the UK with the European Convention).

Optional Protocol: A legal addition to an existing treaty that either adds a new provision, or amends an earlier one. A State cannot ratify a Protocol without first ratifying the treaty to which it refers.

Reservation: A reservation to the Convention is a statement made by a state on signing or ratifying the Convention to indicate that it will exclude or limit the legal effect of certain provisions of the treaty in its application within that State. The UK government has entered two reservations to the Convention, one in relation to Article 37 (separation of children from adults in detention) and the other in relation to Article 22 (immigration and nationality).



UK Country Rapporteur for the UN Committee: The Committee usually appoints one or two of its members to act as Country Rapporteur for the country being examined. This Rapporteur will make a particular study of the government’s report and any NGO submissions. He or she, or sometimes the whole Committee or a working party made up of Committee members, will then draw up a list of questions to put to the government. The UK Country Rapporteur for the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2002 was Mrs. Judith Karp.


































THE CONVENTION AND THE REPORTING PROCESS

What the Convention contains
There are 54 articles in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 40 of which that spell out the virtually universally agreed basic human rights to which all children and young people are entitled. These articles guarantee a full range of rights from survival and development, to protection from exploitation and abuse and participation in family, social and cultural life. The remaining 14 relate to dissemination, monitoring and reporting procedures. For reporting purposes, the rights in the Convention have been grouped by the Committee under a number of clusters as follows: General measures of implementation; general principles; civil rights and freedoms; family environment and alternative care; basic health and welfare; education, leisure and cultural activities and special measures of protection. The general principles include the right to non-discrimination, the best interests of the child, the right to life and respect for the views of the child and taken together they form the corner-stone of the Convention.

The rights under the Convention are indivisible, interdependent and inter-related. The Convention recognises that without a right to a basic standard of living a child living in poverty cannot exercise their right to health, their right to education or their right to participate. The rights are universal in that each and every child enjoys the rights regardless of gender, ethnicity, cultural or religious background, economic status or any other ground.

There are two Optional Protocols to the Convention*: one on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict and the other on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography. The UK government is in the process of ratifying the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict.


Reporting to the UN Committee
The Committee on the Rights of the Child is the body that monitors how well states are meeting their obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The membership of the Committee consists of 18 independent experts nominated by state parties to the Convention.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child requires governments ( known as State Parties) to submit an initial report to the UN Committee two years after ratification and a periodic report every five years thereafter. The Committee invites government to send representatives to the country examination during which the Committee engages in what they call a ‘constructive dialogue’ with the government delegation. The Committee then issues its ‘concluding observations’. This reporting and examination process is the only accountability mechanism that exists on government in respect of its obligations under the treaty so its importance cannot be overstated. NGOs acting as independent advocates or champions for children can play an extremely valuable role in monitoring and challenging government progress on its compliance with the Convention both during the examination but more importantly between examinations.

The UK government delegation for the 2002 examination was headed up by Ms. Althea Enfushile Director of the Children and Young People’s Unit in Westminster and her team included both Mr. Chris Stewart from the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister and Mr. Tony Kavanagh from the Northern Ireland Office. The UK government submitted a 200 plus page report in 1999, supplemented by a short follow-up report in 2002. It also provided written replies to a list of questions from the Committee in advance of the examination.

Due to a backlog of countries to be examined by the Committee, coupled with the significant delay between the date of submission of the government’s report and its consideration by the Committee, the Committee has invited the government to combine its next two reports and to submit its consolidated report in January 2006.


NGO participation in the reporting process
In addition to receiving reports from governments the Committee also invites NGOs to contribute to the process. There is an NGO Group on the Convention based in Geneva which co-ordinates the collaboration between NGOs and the Committee including the flow of non –governmental information to be used by Committee members in its sessions. NGOs can submit a ‘shadow’ or ‘alternative’ report highlighting aspects of situations on children’s rights overlooked in the State reports, provide additional information and suggest actions for the Committee to recommend. Objective, contextualised and accurate NGO reports are invaluable to Committee members in assisting them to develop a more informed analysis of the situation for children and young people in a particular country. NGOs also participate in meetings with the Committee members three months prior to the examination (pre-sessional working group meetings).

The Children’s Law Centre and Save the Children co-ordinated NGO participation from Northern Ireland in the 2002 examination of the UK second periodic report. We made a written submission in February 2002 endorsed by over 60 community, voluntary, professional, academic and other organisations and institutions in Northern Ireland (see Appendix 2) This submission built on a major research project undertaken by the two organisations that assessed government compliance with the Convention from 1994 to 1999. We also worked with other NGOs from England, Scotland and Wales to ensure that the alternative UK NGO report being submitted to the UN Committee presented a comprehensive and representative picture from across the four jurisdictions.

We participated in the pre-sesssional working group meeting held in Geneva in June 2002; as part of this we facilitated three young people to participate. We attended the public session with the UK government in Geneva in September 2002 as NGO observers and again facilitated the attendance of five young people. Prior to the session we hosted a visit to Northern Ireland by Mrs. Judith Karp, UK Country Rapporteur for the UN Committee*, where she met directly with children and young people from various groups and organisations as well as with government officials, NDPBs and others. Earlier in 2002 the Children’s Law Centre and Save the Children also facilitated young people in meeting with the Chairperson of the UN Committee, Professor Jaep Doek while he was in Northern Ireland at the invitation of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.

































IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONLCUDING OBSERVATIONS

The Children and Young People’s Unit (CYPU) in London has the lead responsibility for co-ordinating the UK government’s implementation of the Convention and chairs a group which consists of government departments from the four jurisdictions along with NGOs. The Unit has stated that the purpose of this group is to discuss the way forward on how best the standards can be implemented.

The Children and Young People’s Unit in the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) is responsible for monitoring the work of the Northern Ireland departments in relation to children’s issues and in particular the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Unit is currently developing proposals for a ten year, overarching children’s strategy for children and young people living in Northern Ireland. The Unit has indicated that this strategy will be the implementation plan for the Convention and will help to meet the standards set out in the Convention.

Since the publication of the Committee’s concluding observations in October 2002 the Children’s Law Centre and Save the Children have been lobbying the relevant government departments and agencies on how they intend to give effect to the concluding observations as they affect children and young people in Northern Ireland. Some of the issues addressed by the Committee e.g. asylum seekers or child soldiers are reserved matters under the Northern Ireland Act 1998. Others issues such as education and health that normally fall within the responsibility of the devolved administration, were at the time of writing in August 2003, the responsibility of Direct Rule Ministers since the suspension of the Assembly in October 2002. Indeed, given the current governmental and administrative arrangements, identifying the specific department or agency with responsibility for implementing a particular recommendation can involve considerable sleuthing skills. However the Committee, in a General Comment on General Measures of Implementation* has emphasised that decentralisation of power, through devolution and delegation of government does not in any way “reduce the direct responsibility of government to fulfil its obligations to all children throughout its jurisdiction”.

Human rights and equality monitoring bodies have a crucial role to play in independently monitoring government compliance with international human rights and equality standards, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In this regard there are duties to varying degrees on the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, the Equality Commission, the Office of the Commissioner for Children and Young People and the Police Ombudsman’s Office to monitor both government compliance with the relevant Convention standards and its implementation of the UN Committee’s concluding observations.








































THE UN COMMITTEE’S CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS

Progress Made
The Committee welcomed a number of developments with positive implications for the protection and promotion of children’s rights. UK wide developments include the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights through the Human Rights Act 1998 and the creation of ‘child-focused’ government structures including the Children and Young People’s Units in the various jurisdictions. In Northern Ireland the Committee pointed to several developments arising out of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and the peace process, including the enactment of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, the establishment of both the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Police Ombudsman’s Office and the introduction of the Race Relations (NI) Order 1997.


Lack of action
The Committee was disappointed however to see that many of the recommendations it made in 1999 had not been acted on by the Government, including:
• recommendations made on dissemination of the Convention and the Committee’s concluding observations
• child rights awareness training among government personnel
• the need for a central mechanism to co-ordinate implementation of the Convention Traveller children
• child health
• physical punishment
• school expulsions.

It also drew attention to government inaction on a number of recommendations specific to Northern Ireland, including integrated education, the teaching of Irish language in schools and emergency legislation. The Committee urged the government to revisit these recommendations and to address them alongside any recommendations it would make in 2002.















Reservations
The Committee raised two continuing reservations* to the Convention by the UK government; one in relation to Article 37 on the detention of children in prisons with adults and the other in relation to Article 22 immigration and nationality and urged the government to take the necessary steps in order to allow it to withdraw both reservations.

Comment: The fact that the right of children to be detained separately from adults is the subject of a derogation from Article 37 of the Convention reflects the incompatibility with international law of this practice. The continued detention or potential detention of young women in Maghaberry Prison, however small in numbers, also breaches the universal principle of non-discrimination. The government should move to end the practice of detaining young women in adult prisons throughout the UK, including in Northern Ireland, thus allowing them to withdraw this reservation from the Convention.

The ongoing practice of detaining asylum seekers in prison in Northern Ireland, thereby potentially separating children from their parents or carers is a breach of a child’s right to family life. The Joint Committee on Human Rights examined the government’s reasoning for retention of this reservation and concluded that the government’s stated fear that the Convention would compel acceptance of asylum seeker children and their families without regard to their entitlement or otherwise under the Refugee Convention was far-fetched. In fact the Joint Committee expressed its doubts as to whether a reservation so wide was compatible with the object and purpose of the Convention, as required under Article 51.2. It reiterated the UN Committee’s recommendation that this reservation be withdrawn by the government so as to demonstrate its commitment to the equal treatment of all children.


Lead responsibility Home Office
Northern Ireland Office (NIO)
Particular relevance Groups working on juvenile justice issues
Groups working on women’s issues
Groups working on refugee and asylum seeker issues




Legislation Article 4
The Committee expressed concern that the principles and provisions of the Convention have not yet been incorporated* into domestic law. The Committee encouraged the government to incorporate the Convention into domestic law, to ensure that all legislation was compatible with the Convention and that the provisions and principles of the Convention were widely applied in legal and administrative proceedings.

Comment: A central element of the draft children’s section in the Bill of Rights is
the incorporation into domestic law of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It
is crucial that the principles and rights enshrined in the UN Convention are included in
the Bill of Rights. The Joint Committee on Human Rights, in considering this issue, strongly refuted any suggestion by government that the provisions of the Convention could be viewed as purely “aspirational”. They expressed a firm belief that “children will be better protected by incorporation of at least some of the rights, principles and provisions of the Convention into UK law”


Lead responsibility Department for Constitutional Affairs
Office of Law Reform (OLR) in Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP)
Each government department drafting legislation
Particular relevance Children’s rights organizations lobbying in respect of legislation
Groups campaigning on the Bill of Rights


The Committee also expressed concern at the lack of impact of the Convention on domestic law and policies.

Comment: Short of incorporation the Convention should function more effectively as a child rights proofing mechanism by which to evaluate the mainstreaming of children’s rights into all policy and legislative activity. In its General Comment No 5 on General Measures of Implementation the Committee stated that there is an obligation on governments to carry out a comprehensive review of all domestic legislation and related administrative guidance to ensure full compliance with the Convention. It added that this review needs to be continuous rather than once off, reviewing proposed as well as existing legislation.

The Joint Committee on Human Rights noted that at present in the UK there is no formal process to ensure that new legislation fully complies with the Convention. They drew attention to the fact that draft legislation in the UK is already subject to a number of assessments, including its human rights compliance and its potential implications for public finance and public service manpower and found no good reason why child impact assessments should not be included in explanatory notes to government bills.

Government departments, under duties imposed by Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 are already obligated to conduct such child impact assessments in relation to new policies. While it is questionable to what extent children’s rights considerations have figured in any Equality Impact Assessments (EQIA) carried out by public authorities to date, Section 75 if properly implemented does provide a model for carrying such child impact assessments.


Lead responsibility Children and Young People’s Unit in OFMDFM
All government departments in relation to their Section 75 duty
Particular relevance Children’s rights organizations
Groups campaigning on the Bill of Rights

































Resources Article 4
While acknowledging that some progress had been made on the allocation of resources to children, the Committee remained concerned that that Convention was not being implemented to the “maximum extent of…available resources” in line with Article 4 of the Convention. It recommended that the government analyse both sectoral and total budgets in order to show the proportion spent on children with a view to identifying priorities and allocating resources.

Comment: In its General Comment No 5 on General Measures of Implementation the Committee observed that “no state can tell whether it is fulfilling children’s economic, social and cultural rights…as required under Article 4, unless it can identify the proportion of national and other budgets devoted to the social sector and within that, to children, both directly and indirectly”. According to the Joint Committee on Human Rights in practice this would mean separate identification of public expenditure on children in relation to education, school meals, residential care, some areas of health care and social services provision, as well as child benefits and tax credits.

At present it is not possible to establish from budgetary information to what extent children and young people will be better or worse off as a result of the cumulative impact of all policies contained in the budget (or similarly from the Programme for Government). Such information would be invaluable to all organisations working with or delivering services to children in lobbying for the adequate allocation of resources within both child-specific and mainstream budgets. In addition proper execution of an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) requires the availability of this information. For example, an equality assessment of the draft Programme for Government and Budget 2002 indicated that spending on children’s services is over 25% less per head in Northern Ireland than in England. With such disparities being identified the government needs to clearly demonstrate how it will use the budget to redress this anomaly.


Lead responsibility Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP)
Particular relevance Groups working on child poverty issues
Equality groups












Co-ordination Article 4
The Committee’s view was that despite the development of Children and Young People’s Units throughout the four jurisdictions there still wasn’t a central mechanism to co-ordinate the implementation of the Convention. It noted that the process of devolution made the issue of effective co-ordination of an implementation strategy all the more urgent. The Committee recommended that co-ordination, throughout the four jurisdictions, be given to a “highly visible and easily identifiable permanent body with an adequate mandate and sufficient resources”.

Comment: The Children and Young People’s Unit in Westminster has the lead responsibility for co-coordinating the UK’s implementation of the Convention and chairs a group which consists of government departments from the four jurisdictions along with non-governmental organizations.


Lead responsibility Children and Young Persons Unit Westminster
Children and Young Person’s Unit in OFMDFM
Particular relevance Human Rights organizations
Child rights policy organizations
Children’s organizations involved in the Children’s Strategy

























Plan of Action Article 4
While the Committee acknowledged that during the course of the examination the UK delegation had made a commitment to develop an overarching strategy plan nonetheless it expressed concern that the Convention hadn’t been recognised as the appropriate framework for the development of strategies with relevance to children and young people at all levels of government. It noted that the Convention had been used a framework for the Welsh Children’s Strategy but that this wasn’t the case throughout the State party.

Comment: This recommendation points up the need for the principles and the provisions of the Convention to be mainstreamed into all relevant government policies and strategies including the planned Children’s Strategy. The central importance of having a comprehensive children’s strategy was underlined by the Committee in its General Comment No 5 “if government as a whole and at all levels of government is to promote and respect the rights of the child, it needs to work on the basis of a unifying, comprehensive and rights based national strategy, rooted in the Convention”. We welcome the decision by the Children and Young People’s Unit to establish the Convention as the starting point for the Children’s Strategy. The Children’s Strategy will also need to clearly respond to the concluding observations across all government departments and non-departmental public bodies in Northern Ireland. The Convention should also be used as a tool to children’s rights impact proof the broadest range of government policies and strategies and not only those with immediately obvious relevance to children and young people such as the Children’s Strategy or areas such as education and health. e.g. planning policies or transport policies.

Lead responsibility Children and Young People’s Unit in OFMDFM
Relevance for Organisations working on policy issues and the Children’s Strategy

















Commissioner for Children Article 4
It is of particular interest to note that while welcoming the plans to establish an independent human rights institution for children in Northern Ireland (the Office of Commissioner for Children and Young People) the Committee at the same time criticised the limited powers of the Children’s Commissioner in Wales, particularly in relation to non-devolved matters. It recommended that such institutions be given appropriate powers and resources, in line with the Paris Principles, to effectively monitor, protect and promote all the Convention rights for all children.

Comment: It will be imperative that the government fully respects the role of the Commissioner for Children and Young People and that it actively seeks and acts on the advice of the Commissioner in relation to the compliance of any legislative or policy initiatives with the Convention and other international human rights standards as they apply to children and young people. It will also be imperative that organizations working with or for children and young people take immediate steps to share their concerns in relation to children’s rights with the Commissioner and that they quickly establish mutual information sharing procedures.


Lead responsibility OFMDFM
Northern Ireland Office (NIO)
Relevance for All




















Data Collection
The Committee highlighted the lack of a UK wide mechanism to collect and analyse data on areas covered by the Convention. It called for such a system to be established that would provide disaggregated data on the lives and circumstances of all under 18s, particularly the most vulnerable groups. This data should be used to assess progress and design policies to implement the Convention.

Comment: This recommendation has particular relevance in Northern Ireland where it is widely recognised that there is a serious lack of data on many aspects of children and young people’s lives. This very lack of data is often in fact used to infer that certain policies have no adverse impact on children and young people when Equality Impact Assessments (EQIAs) are being carried out by public bodies. Yet it is impossible to carry out an EQIA or Child Impact Assessment if data is not available. While the Social Services Inspectorate is one agency which does produce and maintain data on certain key areas of children’s lives, and is taking steps to expand its statistical database, there is a need for much more to be done in this regard across all departments including


Lead responsibility Children and Young People’s Unit in OFMDFM
Particular relevance All

























Awareness raising and training Articles 42 and 44
The starting point in ensuring that children secure their rights is the development of a societal awareness of the Convention. The Committee was seriously concerned at the lack of awareness among most children of their rights under the Convention. It pointed to the need for the government to carry out awareness raising and training among all sectors of society ranging from children to law enforcement personnel.

Comment: We welcome the citizenship programme being piloted at present in second level schools in Northern Ireland as a result of the curriculum review. This pilot programme should be mainstreamed throughout all second level schools in Northern Ireland. An equivalent programme should be developed for all primary schools without delay and should include an introduction to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The government should also ensure that training on the Convention is mandatory for all government officials in all departments and personnel working with or delivering a service to children and young people. In its General Comment No 5 the Committee has indicated that the overall purpose of such training should be “to emphasise the status of the child as a holder of human rights, to increase knowledge and understanding of the Convention and to encourage active respect for all its provisions”.


Lead responsibility Children and Young People’s Unit in OFMDFM
Particular relevance Organisations engaged in development education
Children’s rights organisations













Non-discrimination –Article 2
The Committee expressed concern that not all children were being protected from discrimination and highlighted the “unequal enjoyment of economic, social and cultural, civil and political rights for children with disabilities, children from poor families, Irish Travellers and Roma, asylum-seeker and refugee children, children belonging to minority groups, children in care, detained children and children aged between 16 and 18 years of age”. It advised the government to both monitor discrimination against these children and to develop comprehensive strategies to eliminate it.

Comment: A strategy already exists in the form of Section 75 to monitor and address discrimination against children on the grounds of disability and racial group. However as mentioned earlier the lack of data on children’s lives, combined with a lack of appropriate consultation with children and young people generally, has meant that it hasn’t been possible to effectively assess whether government policies have an adverse impact on children within these groups. It will be important for the Children’s Strategy to identify particular groups of disadvantaged and vulnerable children and young people, including those listed above, and then develop appropriate priorities and targets to tackle the discrimination they face. According to the Committee’s General Comment No 5 such priorities may necessitate “changes in legislation, administration and resource allocation as well as educational measures to change attitudes”.


Lead responsibility Human Rights and Equality Unit in OFMDFM
Particular relevance Organisations working with vulnerable children and young people


















Best Interests of the Child – Article 3
The Committee noted that the fundamental principle of ‘best interests of the child’ “is not consistently reflected in legislation and policies affecting children, notably in the juvenile justice and immigration systems”. It recommended that the government adopt this principle as “a paramount consideration in all legislation and policy affecting children”.

Comment: The ‘best interests’ principle should be incorporated in a visible way into all legislation affecting children and young people. The best interests of the child as a paramount consideration needs to be expressly stated in legislation impacting on children and young people and legislation amended accordingly. At present it is noticeably absent from our education legislation and from our youth justice legislation. Furthermore the Justice (NI) Act 2002 did not expressly incorporate the best interests principle, despite recommendations from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Criminal Justice Review that it should do so.


Lead responsibility All government departments drafting legislation
Office of Law Reform (OLR) in Dept. of Finance and Personnel (DFP)
Particular relevance All






















Right to Life Article 6
The Committee focused on the continued use of plastic baton rounds in Northern Ireland and their potential to cause injury and death among children. It recommended, in line with the recommendations of the UN Committee Against Torture that the government “abolish the use of plastic baton rounds as a means of riot control”.

Comment: The government indicated in April 2003 that it intends, as recommended by the Patten Commission in 1999, to phase out the use of plastic baton rounds and to conduct research into finding “an acceptable, effective and less potentially lethal alternative to PBRs”. However grave concern exists regarding the delay in the withdrawal of plastic baton rounds and the introduction of non-lethal alternatives. The government now needs to commit itself to an immediate and binding timescale for the withdrawal of these weapons as well as for the completion of research into alternatives. It is also critical that when testing alternatives to PBRs the specific impact of these alternatives on children is fully assessed.


Lead responsibility Northern Ireland Office (NIO)
Ministry of Defence (MoD)
Particular relevance Human Rights and Justice groups


























Respect for the views of the Child – Article 12
Despite evidence of increasing consultation with and participation of young people in various levels of government and in civic society the Committee was nonetheless forced to conclude that “the obligations of Article 12 have not been consistently incorporated into legislation, for example in private law proceedings concerning divorce, in adoption, in education and in protection throughout the State party”. It criticised the lack of consultation with children within the education system and the failure to provide for the independent representation of children in legal proceedings under the Children (NI) Order 1995 as two examples of where government is in breach of Article 12. The Committee recommended that the government “take further steps to promote, facilitate and monitor systematic, meaningful and effective participation of all groups of children in society” and to reflect the obligations of Article 12 in administrative and court proceedings.

Comment: One positive example of how Article 12 has been given practical effect is the provision in the Education and Libraries (NI) Order 2003 for school pupils to be consulted about anti-bullying policies. It is disappointing however to learn from the Department of Education that it has no plans to issue guidance to schools on consultation with pupils. Schools, and other public bodies, most certainly will need guidance and training in how to engage in meaningful consultation with children and young people.


Lead responsibility Obligation on all government departments
Relevance for All




















Right to name, nationality and identity Articles 7 and 8
The Committee noted that under the Convention all children, including adopted children, children born to unmarried parents or children born in the context of medically assisted fertilisation have the right to know the identity of their parents and urged the state to ensure that this happens.

Comment: The provision of this right is an issue for children who are fostered or adopted in Northern Ireland. However it should be noted that this right is qualified by the words ‘as far as possible’ as it may not be possible to identify the parents or it may not be in the child’s best interest to do so.

Lead responsibility Home Office
Particular relevance Various

































Torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment Article 37
The use of physical restraint on children in detention and in residential institutions is criticised by the Committee as is the use of solitary confinement within the youth justice system. The state was requested to review these procedures to ensure their compliance with the Convention.

Comment: It is essential that the government is urged to review the legislative and policy/practice framework for the use of restraint and isolation in relation to children in all settings having regard to international children’s rights standards, with a view to issuing appropriate guidance.


Lead responsibility Northern Ireland Office (NIO)
Dept. of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS)
Dept of Education (DE)
Particular relevance Organisations working with young people in conflict with the law
Organisations working with children in care
Organisations working with children in an educational setting
Juvenile justice lobby groups























Physical Punishment Article 19
The continued use of physical punishment within the context of private schools in Northern Ireland was specifically highlighted by the Committee. The Committee also expressed “deep regret” that the UK government continues to retain the defence of ‘reasonable chastisement’ and noted that physical punishment still hasn’t been outlawed within families or in all forms of day care including childminding. The Committee noted that any steps by government to limit rather than remove the ‘reasonable chastisement’ defence would not comply with the “the principles and provisions of the Convention…since they constitute a serious violation of the dignity of the child”.

The Committee recommended that the government “with urgency adopt legislation…to remove the ‘reasonable chastisement’ defence and prohibit all corporal punishment in the family and in other contexts not covered by existing legislation”. Hand in hand with this it also urged the development of “positive, participatory and non-violent forms of discipline and respect for children’s equal right to human dignity and physical integrity (and) public education programmes on the negative consequences of corporal punishment”.

Comment: We are still awaiting the publication of the results of consultation carried out by the Office of Law Reform on proposals to outlaw physical punishment in the home in Northern Ireland. The Education and Libraries (NI) Order 2003 outlaws corporal punishment in private schools. From September 2003 the smacking of children by childminders, regardless of parental consent will be outlawed in England. The Children Are Unbeatable campaign, with approximately 200 member organizations in Northern Ireland continues to lobby for the removal of the defence of reasonable chastisement and for positive parenting programmes to be properly funded.

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights has recently concluded that the UK government’s refusal to repeal or replace the defence of reasonable chastisement is not compatible with its obligations under the Convention. The Joint Committee noted that the case for change in the law was reinforced by recommendations of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the European Committee on Social Rights and by the observations of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers on the steps required for the proper execution of the judgment in the case of A v. UK.


Lead responsibility Office of Law Reform (OLR) in Dept. of Finance and Personnel (DFP)
Particular relevance Ban physical punishment lobby groups







































Violence, abuse, neglect and maltreatment of children Articles 6 and 19
The Committee acknowledged a number of government initiatives but expressed deep concern at the levels of violence, abuses and child deaths occurring on an everyday basis in all settings. It made a whole series of recommendations in this area. These included a system of statutory child death inquiries, a co-coordinated strategy for reduction of violent child deaths, legislative safeguards for children in alternative care including private fostering, public education campaigns, effective monitoring, investigative and prosecution procedures and the provision of support for victims.

Comment: The report of Lord Laming’s inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie highlighted the serious deficits in child protection services and made a number of recommendations which the UK government is currently considering. While some of these recommendations relate to the particular arrangements for child protection in England many of the issues are relevant to the Northern Ireland context. The DHSSPS has recently revised its inter-agency guidance on child protection ‘Co-operating to Safeguard Children’ to reflect a number of the recommendations. The DHSSPS needs to put in place a comprehensive co-coordinated strategy that addresses all of the relevant recommendations from the Laming Inquiry.

The introduction of the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults (NI) Order 2003, which places the current PECS checking system on a statutory footing, is to be welcomed. However we have concerns in relation to the continued operation of a dual system between the DHPPSS and the DE.


Lead responsibility Dept. of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS)
NI Court Service as lead department for Coroners Service
Particular relevance Child protection organisations
















Health and Access to Health Services Articles 2 and 24
The Committee focused on inequalities in health and access to health services faced by particular groups of children including children living in poverty and ethnic minority children. It pointed to the high rates of infant mortality among Traveller children as one indicator of such inequality.
The Committee also expressed concern at the persistent high levels of teenage pregnancy, the rising incidence of sexually transmitted diseases, the prevalence of mental health problems among young people, high rates of teenage suicide and lack of provision of appropriate information and support to young gays, lesbians and transsexuals. It recommended that the state take the necessary measures to address all of these inequalities.

Comment: The DHSSPS’s statutory duty under Section 75 to monitor and redress any differential impact of its policies and service provision on a number of above grounds provides one mechanism to ensure that inequalities in health status and access to health services are addressed. The DHSSPS’s review of mental health and learning disability should give particular consideration to the current lack of mental health services for children and young people in Northern Ireland.

The Office of the First and Deputy First Minister published its strategic response to the PSI Working Group Report on Travellers in February 2003. Unlike for other key elements of the PSI Working Group report, the government clearly accepted the key recommendations in relation to health (Recommendations 10-13) and set out an action plan and timescale to implement these recommendations. Progress made on implementation of this action plan should be carefully monitored and reviewed regularly.


Lead responsibility Dept. of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS)
OFMDFM
Particular relevance for Anti-poverty organizations
Traveller organizations
Ethnic minority organizations
Young people’s health projects
Gay and lesbian organizations
Mental health organizations
Women’s organisations








Child Poverty Article 27
Recognising the link between child poverty and the denial of many of the Convention rights including right to life, health, accommodation and education, the Committee expressed extreme concern at the high proportion of children living in poverty. While welcoming the government’s commitment to end poverty within a generation it noted the lack of “an effective and coordinated poverty eradication strategy across the state” It pointed out to the state that it must take all necessary measures to the “maximum extent of…available resources” to eliminate child poverty.

Comment: Northern Ireland has a very high proportion of children living in poverty.
While the statistic of one in three children living in poverty in the UK is well known, the
Office of the First and Deputy First Minister’s own research indicates that every
second child in Northern Ireland is living in poverty, or at risk of poverty. Northern
Ireland also displays other significant differences in key statistics related to child
poverty. In addition the average household income here is 22% lower than the UK
average. 21% of average household income here is derived from social security
benefits, compared to 12% in the UK generally.


Lead responsibility All departments
Particular relevance for Anti-poverty organisations
Children’s rights/policy organisations





















Education Articles Articles 2, 28 and 29
The Committee addressed a large number of issues under the right to education. It congratulated the Scottish Parliament on its development of legislation to give effect to Article 12 but noted that similar legislation is required throughout the UK and that “guidelines are insufficient measures to implement article 12”.

It drew attention to the continued high rate of temporary and permanent school exclusions and noted the disproportionate numbers of excluded children from within certain groupings including ethnic minorities, children with disabilities and asylum seekers. It also noted the differential in attainment levels for these groups of children as well as for children in care and children living in poverty.

Measures to eliminate inequality in educational achievement between different groups were recommended and the government was directed to take appropriate measures to reduce school exclusions, to afford a right to be heard to all children before exclusion as well as a right to appeal against exclusion.

The government was also urged to do more to tackle bullying in schools including setting up “adequate measures and structures to prevent bullying… and the inclusion of children
in the development and implementation of these strategies”. The need to ensure that
children in detention have a statutory right to education was emphasised by the Committee and the government was urged to transfer responsibility for their education from the juvenile justice system to the Department of Education. Finally, the Committee expressed concern that only about 4% of schools in Northern Ireland are integrated and recommended that the Department of Education increase the budget and take other measures and initiatives to increase the number of places available in integrated education.

Comment: The Department of Education has indicated that a major review of the suspensions and expulsion procedures used in Northern Ireland is currently taking place. One outcome of this review, in order to give effect to the Department’s obligations under Article 12, should be the introduction of an independent right of appeal for students who are suspended or expelled. The Department also plans to apply its Section 75 monitoring responsibilities to suspensions and expulsions.

The DHSSPS’s Teenage Pregnancy and Parenthood Strategy and Action Plan 2002-2007
sets out an ambitious target of 100% of teenage mothers of compulsory school age to complete formal education. It also contains an inter-agency commitment to develop a
funding mechanism for childcare by September 2003. Adequate funding for childcare support is a crucial element of any strategy to support school age mothers in education. Budgetary funding for this initiative should be guaranteed year on year.

The Education and Libraries (NI) Order 2003 places a legal obligation on schools to involve students in the development of school discipline measures to prevent bullying. The Department of Education should issue guidance to schools on how they can give effect to this requirement to consult with pupils.

In relation to children with special educational needs it is hoped that the government’s consultation on the new Special Education Needs and Disability Act will ultimately result in greater rights protection for children and young people with special educational needs and guarantees of their Article 12 rights.

Statutory responsibility for educational provision for young people in Juvenile Justice Centres continues to lie with the Northern Ireland Office rather than the Department of Education. This situation is in contravention of international human rights standards which insist that education programmes for children in custody are part of the mainstream education system of the state. Education provision within the Juvenile Justice Centres should now be brought within the remit of the Department of Education.


Lead responsibility Department of Education (DE)
Dept. of Education, Culture and Leisure (DECAL)
Northern Ireland Office (NIO)
Particular relevance for Organisations working on the right to education





















Asylum seeking/refugee children Articles 2 and 22
The Committee expresses serious concern that government legislation, policies and procedures in relation to asylum seekers, including the use of detention, dispersal and placement in temporary accommodation directly contravenes the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child as far as asylum seeking children are concerned.

While some aspects of the legislation covering treatment of asylum seekers have not been operationalised in Northern Ireland to date, other elements certainly have and in that regard the Committee’s recommendations also apply to Northern Ireland.

The Committee advocated that government should ensure there is no discrimination in benefit entitlements for asylum-seeking families that could affect children. Other recommendations are grounded in the lack of attention paid to the particular situation of asylum seeking children to date and include the need to avoid placing children in temporary accommodation but rather to accommodate them as ‘children in need’ under the child care legislation.

Comment: The Committee’s recommendations raise a number of issues for the treatment of asylum seeking children and their families in Northern Ireland. The ongoing practice of detaining asylum seekers in prison in Northern Ireland, thereby potentially separating children from their parents or carers is a breach of a child’s right to family life. The government should indicate the steps it is taking to assess and meet the specific needs of children seeking asylum in Northern Ireland. Rather than treating the rights of asylum seeking children as a mere footnote to its overall asylum policy the government has an obligation to put in place procedures to safeguard the fundamental rights of the children involved, including the best interest principle and the right to family life. It should also increase the current level of benefit provision to asylum seeker families in Northern Ireland, in line with full Income Support and Child Tax Credit rates to ensure the rights of refugee and asylum seeker children to a decent standard of living.


Lead responsibility Home Office
Particular relevance for Refugee and asylum seeker support and advocacy organisations
Human rights organisations








Travellers Articles 2 and 30
The widespread discrimination against Irish Travellers in all aspects of their lives was highlighted by the Committee. The government was exhorted to draw up and implement a comprehensive plan of action, in consultation with Travellers and their children, to ensure that they rights are secured.

Comment: The appalling situation of Traveller children and their families has been well documented. Infant mortality rates for Traveller children are three times higher than the general population while Traveller children under 10 years of age are 10 times more likely to die than settled children. The government has recently issued its strategic response to the Promoting Social Inclusion (PSI) Working Group Report on Travellers. However Traveller organisations have expressed concern that the government’s piecemeal response falls significantly short of what would be required to ensure full enjoyment by Traveller children of their rights under the Convention.


Lead responsibility OFMDFM
Particular relevance for Traveller organizations
Equality organsiations
Children’s policy organisations

























Children in armed conflict Article 38
The Committee expressed its ongoing concern “at the negative impact of the conflict in Northern Ireland on children, including the use of emergency and other legislation in force in Northern Ireland”. It directed the government to review emergency and other legislation presently operating in Northern Ireland, including in relation to the system of administration of juvenile justice, to ensure its consistency with the principles and provisions of the Convention. It also addressed the issue of recruitment and deployment of under 18s in the British Army and the fact that there have been “widespread allegations that young recruits have been the victims of bullying”. It recommended that the government ratify the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict.

Comment: Despite the repeal of the Emergency Powers Act 1996 and the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1989 the situation in relation to the arrest and detention of young people remains largely unchanged. Part 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 has replaced the NI Emergency Provisions Act 1996 with very similar provisions.

The UK government has indicated that it is currently in the process of ratifying the Optional Protocol. While this is a welcome development concerns remain about the Declaration made by the UK on signing the Protocol which, with the ‘exceptional circumstances’ it cites, would appear to undermine the government’s commitment to keep under 18s in the armed forces out of combat zones.


Lead responsibility Recommendations on Emergency legislation – Northern Ireland Office (NIO)
Recommendation on Optional Protocol – Ministry of Defence (MoD)
Particular relevance for Juvenile Justice lobby groups
Groups campaigning on child soldier issue
Human Rights Organisations









Minimum Wage Article 2 and 32
While recognising that government policies on minimum wage may arise from its desire to encourage young people to continue in education, the Committee nonetheless expressed concern that its impact may be discriminatory towards children who must work. It advocated that government undertake a review of its policies on the minimum wage to ensure that the principle of non-discrimination is fully respected.

Comment: The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has carried out an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) of its minimum wage policy but the findings of this assessment are not available.


Lead responsibility Dept. of Trade and Industry (DTI)
Particular relevance for Trade Unions
































Child Prostitution Article 34
The lack of adequate attention paid to the issue of sexual trafficking and exploitation of children was recognised by the Committee when it recommended that government undertake a study “on the scope, causes and background of child prostitution” as well as ensuring that “adequate resources, both human and financial are allocated to policies and programmes in this area”. It also pointed to the need for government to review its legislation so as to no longer criminalise children who are sexually exploited.

Comment: The issue of sexual exploitation has been largely unaddressed to date in Northern Ireland. While there is considerable anecdotal and other evidence available about the individuals and organized groups involved in the sexual exploitation of children this intelligence is not being-coordinated across different sectors and agencies. The relevant authorities North and South of the border also need to put in place measures to tackle the cross-border manifestation of sexual exploitation. Unlike in England and Wales kerb crawling is not an offence in Northern Ireland and carries no sanction. This anomalous situation needs to be urgently addressed. In this regard we welcome the review of the law on sexual offences in Northern Ireland being planned by the Northern Ireland Office which should result in the enactment of new legislation along the lines of reforms in England and Wales.


Lead responsibility Dept. of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS)
Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)
Northern Ireland Office (NIO)
Particular relevance for Groups working with children at risk



















Juvenile Justice Articles 37 and 40
The Committee made more critical observations about children in the youth justice system than in any other area, noting that “the situation of children in conflict with the law has worsened since the consideration of the initial report”. A particular concern for the Committee is the low age of criminal responsibility. It also criticised the conditions that children experience in detention with specific concerns including the use of solitary confinement as a disciplinary measure or for protection, the lack of access to independent advocacy services and the fact that children are still not separated from adults in prison.

Amongst the Committee’s recommendations to government were the following : to considerably raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility; to