In 2023, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child issued almost 200 recommendations to the UK and Scottish Government. These  ‘Concluding Observations’, effectively set out a ‘to do’ list to better uphold children’s rights.

They cover a wide range of issues from justice to education to play to climate change.

The UN’s recommendations don’t cover every issue that’s important to children, however, so it’s very important that we work with our members to draw attention to all the things that need to change–whether they’re on the UN’s list or not.

Together coordinated #TeamScotlandUN – a delegation of children and young people from across Scotland - to influence the recommendations. This work was led in partnership with Children’s Parliament, Scottish Youth Parliament and the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland.

Together also supported evidence from our members through our State of Children’s Rights Report 2023.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child looked at all this evidence – as well as evidence from other parts of the UK and government officials – before making its list of recommendations.

Children and young people said that everyone should know about the UN’s recommendations and each person should understand what they need to do to put them into practice.

They also said that it might help if people had a guide to the UN Committee's recommendations as if they were on a journey.

This is why we chose the name #RightsOnTrack, symbolising a train journey through these recommendations and the progress we make toward safeguarding children's rights.

The first step of our campaign was to make sure that children and young people could understand what was on the UN’s ‘to do’ list.

We worked with #TeamScotlandUN to create a child-friendly a child-friendly resource to explore the UN’s recommendations. 

Together’s 2024 State of Children’s Rights Report presents babies’, children and young people’s experiences of their rights through their own words, artwork and other means of expression.

Working closely with 14 partner organisations, we gathered stories from over 200 babies, children and young people aged nine months to 17 years old. Their stories explore what life is like at home, at nursery, school, college, in their local communities, online and in Scotland as a whole.

• Access the full report, child-friendly version and Easy Read version here.
• Access the story-gathering resources here.

Building on our 2024 State of Children's Rights Report, Together is continuing to gather evidence from children, young people, parents, carers, professionals and organisations about the extent to which children's rights are being upheld. 

Please contact info@togetherscotland.org.uk using the subject line "Rights on Track" if you have a story or experience that you would like to share.

Rail Mail is our dedicated #RightsOnTrack mailing list.

Subscribe here and catch up on past editions below:

• Issue 1: January 2024 – UNCRC (Scotland) Incorporation Bill has been granted royal assent and how #RightsOnTrack can help monitor it’s implementation
• Issue 2: February 2024 – What are the Concluding Observations and how to use them in your work
• Issue 3: April 2024 – Scottish Government’s official response to the Concluding Observations and the launch of Together’s Strategic Plan 2024-2032
• Issue 4: June 2024 - Together seeks children and young people's stories and NEW resources

If you would like to stay updated on the progress of the campaign, then please join our #RightsOnTrack community by signing up to our mailing list.

Please share the #RightsOnTrack campaign and our sign-up link to anyone you think might be interested.

Feel free to share on twitter and social media and don’t forget to use #RightsOnTrack tag!

The Concluding Observations can help bring the weight of the UN and international human rights law into your work in Scotland. They can help provide evidence and support for your campaigns as well as help you to prioritise advocacy efforts, zone in on areas where government efforts are lacking or where improvements are needed according to the UN Committee. You can also use them as a tool for engaging with government, policy-makers and other duty bearers to hold them accountable for putting the recommendations into practice.

Share our child-friendly Concluding Observations with children and young people to inform them of Scotland’s to-do list and empower them to actively participate in holding their government to account.

Do you know of an issue affecting babies, children and young people? Is there a story or experience that you would like to share?

Get in touch with info@togetherscotland.org.uk using the subject line "Rights On Track"