An introduction to children’s rights

Group activity

agenda What are human rights? Why children’s rights? The UNCRC Children’s rights in Wales Children’s rights for immigration, refugee and asylum workers Reflection and evaluation

Core Principles of Human Rights Universal Inalienable Indivisible Accountable

FREDA principles Fairness and freedom Respect Equality Dignity Autonomy

Why do children need separate rights? Maturity Voiceless and invisible Possessions

Wants, Needs and Rights Want - a desire for something Need - the state of requiring help, or of lacking basic necessities such as food Right - a moral or legal entitlement to have or do something

The 4 Components of a Right 1.The Rights Holder (a human being ) 2.The Object (the thing they have a right to) 3.The Obligated (people or institutions - “duty bearers”) 4.The Justification (greater human dignity, societal development, a peaceful society)

Body of Rights

The UNCRC 54 articles 41 substantive articles 3 domains

4 underpinning rights Article 2 - No discrimination Article 3 - Best interests of the child Article 6 - Right to life Article 12 - Right to be heard

National Children and Young People’s Participation Standards 1. Information- which is easy for children and young people to understand 2. It’s Your Choice – enough information and time to make an informed choice 3. No Discrimination - every young person has the same chance to participate. 4. Respect- Your opinion will be taken seriously 5. You get something out of it- You will enjoy the experience 6. Feedback- You will find out what difference your opinion has made 7. Improving how we work- Adults will ask you how they can improve how they work for the future

Implementing the right to education - an example GovernmentHas an obligation to find & allocate resources, define policy, achieve progress against targets Education institutions Have an obligation to train teachers, organise resources, create a child friendly environment TeachersHave an obligation to teach well, to encourage parents, to support all children ParentsShould support their children’s learning Children and young people Should respect other children in order to support their peers to exercise their rights

The reporting process Every 5 years Reports to the UN: –UK Government (inc section by WAG) –NGO report –Young peoples report –Children’s Commisioners’ report (4 nations) Concluding observations WAG action plan Monitoring group

Coffee break

UN Concluding Observations 2008 relevant to immigration, refugee & asylum workers 1 WAG/UK government must 1.Provide training on the UNCRC for all adults working with children, including immigration workers 2.Do more to raise awareness about and prevent discrimination against children. This might need to include work to help certain groups, including migrant children, young refugees and asylum seekers 3.Do everything it can to make sure that the best interests of the child are part of every law or policy that affects children, including in immigration 4.Promote the principle of respect for the child’s views in the courts and in any other proceedings affecting the child 5.Monitor children living in foster care, children’s homes and institutions, including regular visits to these children

UN Concluding Observations 2008 relevant to immigration, refugee & asylum workers 2 WAG/UK government must 6.Do more to make sure that asylum-seeking and migrant children are only ever locked up as a last resort and for the shortest time possible 7.Make sure that the UK Border Agency employs staff with special training to interview children 8.Think about giving unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee children guardians to look after their best interests 9.Provide figures on the numbers of children seeking asylum in the UK, including those whose age is disputed 10.Give the benefit of the doubt to unaccompanied asylum- seeking children in age disputed cases and treat them as children 11.Get guidance from experts on how to decide whether a person is under or over 18

UN Concluding Observations 2008 relevant to immigration, refugee & asylum workers 3 WAG/UK government must 12.Make sure that, if refugee or asylum-seeking children are sent back to the country where they come from, checks are done to make sure the child will be safe. 13.Change the law to stop the prosecution of children who enter the UK without valid documents 14.Provide enough money to put the Anti-trafficking Action Plan properly into practice 15.Ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings 16.Make sure that child protection rules for trafficked children meet international standards

Children’s Rights legislation & policy in Wales 2004 Children Act – WAG adopted UNCRC as basis for all policy for children Seven core aims – based on UNCRC National Action Plan – Getting it Right addressing 16 priorities for Wales Children and Families (Wales) Measure - passed in 2010 Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure - Ministers will have to pay due regard to the UNCRC in all decisions they take

Articles most relevant to immigration, refugee & asylum workers 1 Article 7 – right to a legally registered name and nationality Article 8 – Governments should respect children’s right to a name, a nationality and family ties Article 9 – you should not be separated from your parents unless it is for your own good Article 10 – Families who live in different countries should be allowed to move between those countries so parents and children can stay in contact Article 11 – Governments should take steps to stop children being taken out of their own country illegally

Articles most relevant to immigration, refugee & asylum workers 2 Article 13 – right to information Article 14 – right to think and believe what you want Article 20 – If you cannot be looked after by your own family, you must be looked after by people who respect your religion, culture and language Article 22 – refugee children have the same rights as children born in Wales Article 30 – right to learn and use the language and customs of your family Article 35 – The Government should ensure you are not abducted or sold

Think of a child …

Putting learning into practice

Any final questions?