By working in collaboration with Together, members can contribute their experience and expertise to influence developments in children’s rights at a local, national and international level.

Contribute to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child reporting cycle

Every state that has ratified the UNCRC is required to report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child on how it is fulfilling its obligations under the Convention. This allows the Committee to assess what progress a state is making.

The UN Committee sends the government a request for specific information, known as the List of Issues Prior to Reporting (LOIPR). This asks the government about measures and developments relating to the implementation of the UNCRC. Non-state party stakeholders (including NGO alliances like Together) can highlight key issues to be included in the LOIPR through written reports submitted to the Committee.
               • Read Together's 2020 LOIPR report here.

The government must reply to the LOIPR within one year. The UN Committee then produces Concluding Observations which civil society organisations can use as leverage to press for changes in policy, legislation, and practice. Read more about the reporting procedure here.

We encourage Together members to contribute their expertise about issues that affect children’s rights to inform this report.

Inform our State of Children's Rights Report

Every year, Together publishes a State of Children’s Rights in Scotland report (SOCRR) which aims to monitor implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in Scotland. Each report highlights areas of progress, good practice and what more needs to be done to fulfill the human rights of children living in Scotland.

Our SOCRR reports are shared with all levels of government, NGOs and professionals. Read our 2019 report here.

Every year we use a survey and interviews to collect evidence drawing on members’ work in policy and practice

Join a working group

Member organisations can keep updated on developments related to the UNCRC Scotland bill, contribute their expertise to plans for implementation and network with organisations in Scotland’s children’s sector by joining Together’s working groups.

The Children’s scheme is the Scottish Government’s plan for the implementation of the UNCRC Scotland Bill, setting out how they will comply with children’s rights and report on progress annually. Together members have informed and continue to influence aspects of the Children’s Scheme through our Implementation Strategy Group and ad-hoc Task Groups. 

• Implementation Strategy Group.

Members are encouraged to join any working groups which are relevant to their interests and/or expertise.

Consultation Responses

Together submits responses to consultations by the Scottish and UK Governments. In responding to proposed policies, laws, strategies and regulations, Together inputs a child rights perspective using the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), its 24 General Comments and 3 Optional Protocols.

We try to publish consultation responses for key consultations 2 weeks before the deadline for members to support. We would like to hear from member organisations about important upcoming consultations that they think we should a prepare a response on.

Participate in or host a webinar with us!

Is there a key children's rights issue that you think Together members should know more about? We can support you to organise an online event and promote it through our networks. To discuss further, please get in touch! 

To find out more about any of the above, please contact info@togetherscotland.org.uk.