Concluding Observations

Every five years, the UN Committee checks up on countries' action to implement children's human rights. It makes recommendations telling the country what it should do to improve the protection of children’s human rights.

These recommendations are called Concluding Observations.

Scroll down to find out more about the review cycle and recommendations the UN Committee has made to the UK and Scotland.

The UN Committee creates guidance setting out what UNCRC rights mean in more detail. 

These guidance documents are called General Comments.

Find out more about the Committee’s General Comments.

The UN Committee can hear complaints from individual children who think their rights have been breached.

Children can only submit a complaint to the UN Committee if their government has signed up to the “individual complaints mechanism”. The UK Governments has not done this yet. The Scottish Government does not have the power to do this.

Find out more about the individual complaints mechanism.

The reporting process begins with the UN Committee sending the UK and devolved governments a list of questions. This is known as the List of Issues Prior to Reporting (LOIPR).

The UN Committee typically asks about recent developments, actions that the governments have taken and their future plans to implement the UNCRC and optional protocols.

Children's charities, NGOs, national human rights institutions and individuals can send reports to the UN Committee to help it identify what questions it should ask. Together worked with its members to submit a report to the UN Committee in December 2020. We also submitted a joint report alongside our sister organisations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

• Read Together's 2020 report to the UN Committee.
• Read our joint report with organisations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The UN Committee published its list of questions in February 2021.

• Read the UN Committee's questions.

UK Government report

The UK Government has one year to reply to the UN Committee's list of questions. It prepares a formal report drawing on input from the devolved governments.

• Read the UK Government's 2022 report.

Position statements

The UK Government must follow a strict word limit when submitting its official report. Accordingly, the devolved governments sometimes choose to publish a separate position statement so they can set out their position in more detail. 

• Read the Scottish Government's 2022 position statement.

Shadow reports

Once the UK Government report has been submitted, stakeholders such as children's charities and NGOs can submit their own reports about how well children's human rights are being implemented and what further action they think is needed.

These reports are essential as they provide the UN Committee with an independent, non-governmental account of what life is like for children in Scotland. They help the UN Committee understand areas of concern and what recommendations would help address these.

Together works closely with its members to prepare its shadow report. Engagement usually includes a series of surveys, webinars and peer review. Together works with its members to support children to prepare their own report.

These shadow reports must be submitted one month before the UN Committee holds its pre-sessional working group.

• Read Together's 2023 State of Children's Rights Report.
• Read the children and young people's 2023 report to the UN Committee.

After reviewing all the reports, the UN Committee invites a group of government officials to a formal meeting in Geneva. 

During this meeting, the UN Committee and government officials discuss the key issues that have been raised in the reports and at the pre-session. This is an opportunity for the UN Committee to ask questions and for the government officials to clarify any points.

The findings from this meeting form the basis of the UN Committee's recommendations (known as "Concluding Observations").

The UK's most recent review took place on 18-19th May 2023.

A few weeks after the dialogue, the UN Committee publishes its Concluding Observations.

The Concluding Observations set out the UN Committee's assessment of how well the country is implementing the UNCRC, any areas of concern and recommendations to address these.

The Concluding Observations are the main outcome of the review process. They are a very useful tool for children's rights defenders to use in their advocacy and to monitor government progress.

The most recent Concluding Observations were published on 2nd June 2023.

• Read the 2023 Concluding Observations.
• Our child-friendly version.

Following the Concluding Observations, there is a period of follow-up activity where countries are encouraged to implement the UN Committee's recommendations ahead of the next reporting cycle. The Concluding Observations are a very useful tool for children's rights defenders to use in their advocacy and to monitor government progress and push for change.