Scotland has become the first nation in the UK to fully incorporate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into domestic law following a unanimous vote by MSPs yesterday, making children’s rights directly enforceable in law.
The change marks a victory for Humanists UK’s sister charity, Humanist Society Scotland (HSS), which was part of the campaign that led to the result. Humanists UK – which has long campaigned for just this change in the rest of the UK – welcomed the news, and said the governments of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland should now follow suit.
The European Convention on Human Rights is enforceable in UK law through the Human Rights Act 1998. But UN treaties are not enforceable in domestic courts, nor are public authorities bound to follow them. This means that although the UK has signed up to the treaties, some of the provisions they contain are not legal protections that citizens can actually access. This gap between international and domestically enforceable law is most significant with respect to the UNCRC and its specific protections for children. These include the right to education, and the child’s own right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, or belief, which is distinct from that of their parents.
HSS said the passing of the law was ‘fantastic news’ and applauded the work of all the children, young people, and organisations that have campaigned for it over the last decade. It added that the change ‘will make rights a reality for all’.
Humanists UK Education Campaigns Manager Dr Ruth Wareham commented:
‘The move to enshrine the UNCRC into law marks a great step toward realising children’s rights in Scotland.
‘Unfortunately, elsewhere in the UK children’s rights are still not directly enforceable. This means they are rarely given the prominence they deserve in policy-making decisions affecting the lives of children, and are all too often treated as secondary to the rights of parents.
‘Wherever they live in the UK, children should be legally entitled to the same rights and protections. We urge the governments of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland to follow Scotland’s lead and fully incorporate the UNCRC in all the nations of the UK.’
Scotland had previously passed legislation requiring ministers to have regard to the UNCRC in their policy-making, and similar legislation exists in Wales. In England, the Children’s Commissioner is required to have regard to and monitor the implementation of the Convention. However, none of these measures make children’s rights directly enforceable and they give governments the option to implement policies which may negatively impact on children’s rights if they consider there is good reason to do so.
By incorporating the UNCRC, Scotland has become the first country in the UK to take proper legal account of children’s rights. Full incorporation has been specifically recommended by the UK Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights, the Children’s Commissioners for England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, and many other countries have already taken this step.
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For further comment or information, please contact Humanists UK Education Campaigns Manager at ruth@humanists.uk or phone 020 7324 3000 or 07725 110 860.
Read our most recent article on Welsh Senedd voting to require schools to promote children’s rights.
Read our previous article on the Scottish Bill to incorporate the UNCRC.
Read our piece on the education law reforms urgently needed to protect children’s rights in England and Wales.
Read our piece on the education law reforms needed to protect children’s rights in Northern Ireland.
Read more about our work on strengthening children’s rights.
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