An introduction to children’s rights Note: this is a generic training aimed at all the people who form YOT teams. There are also available separate courses tailored to the individual professions – social workers, police, youth workers, health workers, mental health workers, parenting workers etc

Group activity

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

Core Principles of Human Rights Universal Inalienable Indivisible Accountable Key learning points: Human rights are Universal: All individuals are equal as human beings and by virtue of the inherent dignity of each human person. Human rights are Inalienable: All people everywhere in the world are entitled to human rights. Human rights apply regardless of anything else. You do not need to have done anything for them to apply, they cannot be taken away from you and you cannot give them up. Rights should not be linked to responsibilities. This refers to children's rights as well as adult rights. Human rights are Indivisible: Rights are completely interdependent and depend on each other for their effectiveness. So for example children have the right to relax and play and they also have the right of free assembly. They need to exercise both these rights for either one to work properly Human rights are Accountable: Both individuals and governments have certain duties and obligations to respect, protect and fulfill the rights of others.

FREDA principles Fairness and freedom Respect Equality Dignity Autonomy Key learning points: Fairness refers to the fair allocation of resources and power within society – making sure that no one loses out because they don’t have enough money and public resources are shared fairly Freedom means that people should be free to exercise their rights and governments should not restrict people from exercising their human rights Respect is about listening to, trying to understand and take account of the needs, feelings and wishes of other people Equality is the belief that every human being has equal worth, just by being alive Dignity should always be respected regardless of a person’s circumstances or behaviour – so you don’t treat a person differently because they’re poor, or disabled, or young Autonomy is the capacity to make decisions and choices about your life. For children and young people this is something that’s constantly changing, as they mature both physically and intellectually. All human beings, from birth, are capable of making decisions

Why do children need separate rights? Maturity Voiceless and invisible Possessions Key learning points: Children’s rights are human rights. Everyone, including children and young people, have the human rights set out in the UK Human Rights Act. Children have certain human rights in addition. Why do children need additional rights? Children are relatively more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation compared to adults. Why? Maturity Because of their particular physical and developmental needs and immaturity, children need special protection – in other words it’s much easier for adults to hurt children than to hurt other adults, which is why some adults think it’s ok to hit children when they’ve been cheeky, when they wouldn’t dream of hitting an adult who was rude to them Voiceless and invisible Children can be voiceless and invisible without explicit mechanisms and pathways to hear them – in other words children and young people don’t have the same ability as adults to make themselves heard without specific rights Possessions Because children have not always been accepted as holders of rights – they are sometimes seen as “possessions” of their parents, something that parents decide for and about rather than being people in their own right

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 Key learning points: Wants refers to something you don’t need but would like to have. A need is an aspiration that can be quite legitimate, but it is not necessarily associated with an obligation on the part of the government to cater for it; satisfaction of a need cannot be enforced. Rights come from needs but not all needs have rights associated with them. A right is something to which someone is entitled solely by virtue of being alive. It is something which enables a person to live with dignity. A right can be enforced before the government and entails an obligation on the part of the government. Looking at something from a position of wants can make the person wanting something appear greedy Looking at something from a perspective of need puts the person in need in a position of weakness Looking at something from a perspective of rights puts the person with that right in a position of strength

The 4 Components of a Right The Rights Holder (a human being ) The Object (the thing they have a right to) The Obligated (people or institutions - “duty bearers”) The Justification (greater human dignity, societal development, a peaceful society) Key learning points: Rights need 4 components in order to work: You need a right holder, someone who is entitled to the right – in the case of the UNCRC this refers to all children and young people up to the age of 17 You need the object of the right, such as the right to education, healthcare, to play You need someone or a group of people who are obligated to deliver that right – often referred to as duty bearers. This refers to people who develop policy or deliver services affecting children and young people. And finally you need the justification for the right – for every human right there will be a justification. In other words a group of people, be that the UN or others before them, will have decided that this right is necessary for everyone in the world – or in the case of the UNCRC for every child and young person in the world

Body of Rights Body of rights 15 mins Split into teams of 3-6 flip chart sheets Get half the teams to draw an adult on one and the other half a child Give them 2 different colours of post-its One colour for needs, one for wants put wants on outside, needs on inside Feedback plus talk about the differences between adult and child Did they have any disagreements about what was a need or a want 10 mins Back in groups - Which needs would they turn into a right Key learning points: Wants and needs Understanding the difference between wants and needs and how difficult it can be to decide whether something is a need or a want eg Young people often consider fashionable clothes or mobile phones as needs rather than wants because the lack of them can cause bullying by other young people For adults, is sex and procreation a want or a need? Children have as many, and often more, needs than adults Are there are needs that are unique to either children or adults? Rights The majority of wants cannot, or should not, be turned into rights. Rights are about basic principles – life, healthcare, education, housing, food

The UNCRC 54 articles 41 substantive articles 3 domains Key learning points: The UNCRC has 54 articles in total. Articles 1 to 41 are substantive articles describing specific rights, the majority of which impact on services provided by Local Authorities. Articles 42-54 talk about how the UN and National Governments work to ensure those rights. The rights can be organised around 3 domains, often referred to as the 3 Ps. provision of services, such as education or healthcare protection of children and young people such as protection for abuse or from dangerous drugs And the right to participate and be heard. The UK ratified the convention in 1991.

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 Key learning points: Article 2 covers the principle of Universality. Article 3 puts the best interest of the child first – before any other consideration – in all actions concerning children Article 6 recognises that every child has the inherent right to life and that States must ensure ‘to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child’ Article 12, the right to be heard, is seen as a gateway right. Without Article 12 it is very difficult for children and young people to exercise their other rights. Participation therefore is often the first step to raising awareness of rights. Although every Article is important these 4 support everything else in the UNCRC. An example: when you look at article 9 for instance, which says you should not separated from your parents unless it is for your own good, you have to remember that this applies to all children, without discrimination, that any decision about taking a child away from it’s parents has to be in the best interests of the child, that all children have the right to life and to survive and develop healthily and that children and young people have the right to be heard and express their views about any decision to separate them from their parents. You can go through this exercise for each of the 41 substantive rights, demonstrating the underpinning nature of these rights.

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 Key learning points: Article 12 is also described as a gateway right: without the right to be heard children and young people will often find it impossible to access their other rights There are 7 National Standards that Organisations working with children and young people should aim to meet which support Article 12. These promote the participation of children and young people in making decisions, planning and reviewing any action that will affect them. The National Children and Young People's Participation Standards help organisations measure and improve the quality of the process of children and young people's participation. By filling in a self-assessment form online it can help them ascertain how well their current participatory practice is doing against the National Children and Young People's Participation Standards for Wales. This in turn will help them to: Plan strategically Be more accountable to children and young people Provide evidence of the participation that is already happening in their organisation Plan for improvement where there are gaps Provide services which are more effective and efficient

Implementing the right to education - an example Government Has 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 Teachers Have an obligation to teach well, to encourage parents, to support all children Parents Should support their children’s learning Children and young people Should respect other children in order to support their peers to exercise their rights Key learning points: The right to education is shown as an example Governments, service delivery organisations and those involved in the front line of service delivery all have duties or obligations placed upon them to deliver the rights in the UNCRC Parents should support their children to exercise their rights Children and young people should respect the rights of other children and not prevent them exercising their rights. However, there is no duty on children and young people to do this, and if their actions impede other children eg bullying other children, this does not weaken or remove that child’s 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 Key learning points: Countries have to report back to the UN on their progress in implementing the UNCRC every 5 years. The last time the UK had to report on progress was in 2007. The review process involves input from a range of bodies. In 2007 the following organisations/ groups produced reports to the UN: The Welsh Assembly Government - this became part of a joint report from the governments of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The charity sector (NGOs – non-governmental organisations) in Wales produced a joint report to the UN. This was led by Save the Children Children and young people from Wales: this was managed by Funky Dragon, the young people’s parliament in Wales The Children’s Commissioner for Wales wrote a joint report with the 3 Commissioners from the other Home Nations Following this the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child produced their ‘Concluding Observations’. These tell the UK government and WAG where they are not doing enough to allow children to exercise their rights. In 2008 the UN made 124 concluding observations to the UK. Many of the Concluding Observations from this reporting round focussed on inequalities in access to rights. Following on from the Concluding Observations, States are required to produce an Action Plan setting out how it was going to address each of these observations. In Wales, WAG, in partnership with NGOs and the Children’s Commissioner, produced an action plan called Getting it Right. The content of the action plan and progress on implementing it is monitored by the UNCRC monitoring group in Wales, a group made up of children’s charities (NGOs). This group is chaired by Save the Children. It’s role is to monitor the actions of WAG and try and make sure it fulfils it’s obligations under the UNCRC. The UNCRC is the only UN convention where the charity sector are given the role of monitoring it’s implementation. This system is replicated amongst all countries of the world who have ratified the UNCRC. The UK will report again in 2014

Coffee break

UN Concluding Observations 2008 most relevant to youth workers WAG/UK government must Make sure that the rights in the UNCRC are known and understood by adults and children There must be training on the UNCRC for all adults working with children Do more to raise awareness about and prevent discrimination against children Ensure respect for children’s views in the family, school, communities and institutions Support organisations that supprt children to get involved in decision-making Make sure adults working with children know about their duty to report and act on suspected cases of domestic violence affecting children Provide better sex and relationship services and education to teenagers Do more to make sure all children can enjoy their right to rest and play Key learning points: Go through each of these and talk about how they might impact on the participants.

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 2009 - 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 Key learning points: 2004 Children Act: The Welsh Assembly Government formally adopted the convention in 2004 as the foundation for all its dealings with children and young people. Seven core aims: are the basis for all planning of services and provision for children and young people in Wales National Action Plan: WAGs response to the 2008 concluding remarks. It focuses on 16 priority areas for Wales Children and Families (Wales) Measure passed in 2010: The Measure sets out the aim to eradicate child poverty in Wales. It also encourages the participation of children and young people in Local Authority decision making. Quote from the preamble to the Measure - “We are committed to ensuring that the new Child Poverty Strategy for Wales is founded on the basis of the UNCRC, and that delivering one is crucial to delivering the other.” WAG 2010 Rights Measure: passed 2011. Welsh Assembly ministers will have pay due regard to the UNCRC in all decisions they take. The law is being phased in between 2011 and 2014. One of the first parts to become law will be a requirement of WAG to promote knowledge and understanding of the UNCRC amongst the children, young people and adults alike.

Articles most relevant to youth workers 1 Article 2 – all rights apply to all children without discrimination Article 3 – best interests of the child Article 12 – right to be heard Article 13 – right to express an opinion Article 14 – governments should respect children’s rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion Article 15 – right to freedom of association Article 16 – right to privacy Key learning points: This slide is to support the next group activity. Just go through each Right briefly as participants will look at them in more detail during the activity.

Articles most relevant to youth workers 2 Article 17 – access to appropriate information Article 19 – protection from abuse and neglect Article 26 – right to benefit from social security Article 29 – education shall aim at developing the child’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to the fullest extent Article 31 – right to play Article 33 – protection from illegal drugs including appropriate education Key learning points: This slide is to support the next group activity. Just go through each Right briefly as participants will look at them in more detail during the activity.

Think of a child … Think of a child 20 mins Ask them to work as a group, looking at each of the rights they have and, thinking of children they come across, talk about how what they do helps that child to exercise their rights. Is there anything else they could do? 10 mins – feedback and discuss

Putting learning into practice Group activity Split into 2 or 3 groups. Give each group a different topic to prepare a short talk on (How they would explain children’s rights to someone; how they help children exercise their rights; what might stop children exercising their rights; 3 things they’ve learnt today and why) Each group to give short presentation (2 mins max)

Any final questions?