PRESS RELEASE FROM THE CHILDREN'S RIGHTS ALLIANCE FOR ENGLAND

The Children’s Rights Alliance for England (CRAE) welcomes Gordon Brown's continuing determination to end child poverty but urges him to be the first British Prime Minister to make fulfilling the detailed obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child a priority right across government.

Carolyne Willow, National co-ordinator of the Children’s Rights Alliance, says:

“Five years ago the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child set out the actions required by Government to protect children's rights in our country. After years of neglect, we are looking to the new Prime Minister for strong leadership on children's rights and social justice. Every Minister that makes policy affecting children should be required to use the Convention and the UN Committee's recommendations as their framework for action.”

This Sunday the Government is due to send its five-year progress report to the United Nations on implementing children’s rights in England and the other UK countries. Though there have been some improvements, such as steps taken to increase the child’s voice in decision-making, there are many areas in which children’s rights continue to be ignored. CRAE anticipates progress will fall far short of the measures expected by the UN Committee. The Children’s Rights Alliance has identified over 40 breaches of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which the UK has been signed up to since 1991.

Kate Bratt-Farrar, Save the Children England Programme, adds:

“This Convention sets the international standard for children's rights but the Government is currently failing on many counts. There is now an opportunity to reverse this, and to put children's rights firmly at the heart of the Government’s policies.”

Millions of children in England face discrimination and deprivation. The recent UNICEF study on children’s well-being ranks the UK at the bottom of the world’s richest countries. What is more the most vulnerable children like child refugees, children subject to violence, trafficked children and children in trouble with the law are not receiving the standard of protection demanded by international law. Sandra Horley OBE, Chief executive of Refuge, says:

“The Convention is clear that all children in all settings have the right to protection from all forms of violence. The Government still has time to act on the strong recommendations of the UN Committee before the formal examination takes place next year.”

The Children’s Rights Alliance for England calls on Brown's Government to remove its reservations relating to child refugees and children in custody with adults. A similar reservation relating to women refugees was removed three years ago, and the Government promised two years ago to stop holding girls in prison with women.

The creation of the first Department for Children, Schools and Families gives children a much higher profile in government because it brings together responsibility for the main aspects of children’s policy. CRAE welcomes the new crosscutting role of the Children's Minister Beverley Hughes.

As a first step it should ensure that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is fully applied in schools. This means, for instance, giving children genuine consultation rights in the running of their school and including the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the national curriculum.

Anita Tiessen, Deputy Executive Director at UNICEF UK, says:

“The Convention provides a set of values and principles that are empowering for both adults and children; it shows the way in building a culture that puts child well-being centre-stage, where it belongs.”

Notes:

1. The Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the United Nations in 1989. All but two states (the USA and Somalia) have ratified it. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child examines periodic reports by states parties to ascertain the success of the states party in meeting its treaty obligations.

2. The UK entered reservations when it ratified the Convention. The UK has not ratified the optional protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

3. The third report by the UK to the Committee on the Rights of the Child is due to reach the UN Committee no later than Sunday 15 July 2007. The Department for Children, Families and Schools is co-ordinating the Government's report. The formal examination in Geneva is expected to take place in 2008.

4. The Government's draft children's rights report to the UN was criticised strongly by children's charities, penal reform organisations and groups working with refugee families. The draft report contained little information about how the Convention on the Rights of the Child had been implemented across the UK, and the impact for children.

5. The Children’s Rights Alliance for England is a coalition of over 380 non-governmental organisations which work together to secure the full implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in England. The coalition will submit its evidence to the UN Committee at the end of the year.

Media contacts (different agencies):

Children’s Rights Alliance for England (CRAE) – Carolyne Willow (National co-ordinator) mobile 07949 434 787
Howard League for Penal Reform – Frances Crook (Director) 0207 312 7685 and mobile 0777 874 0653
NSPCC – Katie Canning 0207 825 2604 and mobile 07976 206 625
Refuge – Catherine Cullen 020 7395 7744 and mobile 07970 894 240
Save the Children – Sophie Elmhirst 0207 012 6403 and mobile 07779 012 934
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health – Claire Brunert 0207 307 8004
UNICEF UK – Anna France-Williams 0207 312 7685 and mobile 07814 676567