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 health planning and policy officers 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 Welsh Government) –NGO report –Young peoples report –Children’s Commisioners’ report (4 nations) Concluding observations Welsh Government action plan Monitoring group

Coffee break

UN Concluding Observations 2008 most relevant to health planning and policy officers Welsh Government/UK government must There must be training on UNCRC for all adults working with children, including health professionals Use all available resources to protect children’s right to life Make sure respect for children’s views is promoted, put into practice and becomes part of law Work out why so many disabled children are in long term care homes Develop new ways of finding out if children have disabilities early on in life Provide training for people (inc doctors and nurses) who work with disabled children Develop a government plan to give all children equal access to health services Do more to promote baby-friendly hospitals

Children’s Rights legislation & policy in Wales 2004 Children Act – Welsh Government 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 health planning and policy officers Article 6 – right to life and to survive and develop healthily Article 12 – right to be heard Article 14 – right to practice your religion Article 16 – right to privacy Article 23 – right to special care and support if you have a disability Article 24 – right to good quality healthcare Article 31 – right to play

Think of a child …

Putting learning into practice

Any final questions?