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xUpdate on UNCRC Bill: young people share their views
Date: 17th July 2023
Category:
General measures of implementation, General principles
The recent Ministerial update on the UNCRC Incorporation (Scotland) Bill revealed that it will not stretch to Acts of the UK Parliament. The Bill is expected to return to the Scottish Parliaments soon after the summer recess. Read on to find out what young people have said about the Cabinet Secretary’s announcement.
In response to the update on the Bill, Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament are calling on the Scottish Government to adhere to fundamental principles when delivering the Bill to ensure it delivers on its ambition. These principles include
- a culture change to respect children’s rights,
- youth and child-friendly communications,
- incorporating rights to the maximum extent possible,
- urgency to bring the UNCRC into law.
Here’s what some of the MSYPs have said:
“Despite the challenges the bill has faced over the last two years, we cannot lose sight of its core purpose – to protect children’s rights to the fullest extent possible. As a next step and even with limitations in place, the Scottish Government must seize every opportunity and do everything within their power to maintain that the UNCRC is upheld in all corners of society.” - Olivia Brown MSYP, Trustee for the Scottish Youth Parliament.
“A culture change is an essential component of UNCRC Incorporation, and we as a nation must make a collective effort to reflect on the way we treat children to ensure that they are given the respect that they deserve at all times if we truly want to uphold children’s rights. However, a culture change is a difficult thing to measure, and even harder to enforce; it has to come hand-in-hand with firm legislation through the UNCRC (Scotland) Bill, and will be a gradual, generational process – that process must start now.” - Daisy Stewart Henderson MSYP, Convener of SYP’s External Affairs, UK and International Relations Committee.
“It is essential that children and young people are communicated with in a child and youth friendly way to ensure they understand the protections this bill will give them, especially given the changes between this and the previous bill. When we say “in a child and youth friendly way” we mean that it is designed with children and young people. It also must be communicated in spaces that children and young people visit frequently whether that be schools and youth clubs or social media. Finally, the communications should be accessible to all children and young people, making sure it is clear, easy to understand, and in multiple formats so everyone can access the information.” - Beau Johnston MSYP, Trustee for the Scottish Youth Parliament.
Daisy and Beau recently gave evidence to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child alongside Arden and Omima, Members of the Children’s Parliament. As a result, the UN Committee urged the Scottish Government to “expeditiously bring forward the amendments necessary” so that the UNCRC Bill could become law.
- Read the full story from the Scottish Youth Parliament here.
- Find out more about the Ministerial update and what it means for children’s rights in our blogpost.
- Find out more about the UN Committee’s recommendations here.
We've joined Human Rights Consortium Scotland and other supporting organisations in writing a letter to Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Shirley-Anne Somerville, raising concerns about the delay in the UNCRC Scotland Bill and requesting the publication of proposed amendments to the UNCRC Bill before the conclusion of the Human Rights Bill consultation period.