Date: 18th December 2018
Category: Other human rights treaties and mechanisms, General measures of implementation

Together took part in the Scottish Parliament’s Human Rights Day Takeover, a one-day conference to mark the 70th anniversary of the United Nations adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Throughout the day, there was a strong focus on the rights of children and young people and the role children and young people play in defending human rights across Scotland and internationally.  

Date: 18th December 2018
Category: Family Environment and Alternative Care

The UN General Assembly has announced it has selected ‘children without parental care’ as the theme for the 2019 ‘Rights of the Child’ resolution. Together welcomes this announcement, having been part of the global coalition of NGOs who called for UN Member States to adopt this resolution.  

Date: 18th December 2018
Category: Restraint, School exclusions

Following an investigation into ‘Restraint and Seclusion in Scotland's Schools’, the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland’s new report considers the existence and impact of local authority policies and recording mechanisms and highlights the rights issues at stake for children and young people.  

Date: 18th December 2018
Category: Incorporation

As part of their A-Z #CPYearinReview, Children’s Parliament has published an article capturing children’s views on and calls for incorporation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into Scots Law.  

Date: 18th December 2018
Category: Respect for the views of the child

Ms. Renate Winter, Chair of the Committee on the Rights of the Child has presented Child Rights Connect and the Children’s Advisory Team with a thank you letter for leading the design and delivery of the Day of General Discussion 2018.  

Date: 10th December 2018
Category: Civil Rights and Freedoms

To mark Human Rights Day on the 10th December 2018, Together has signed a joint letter to the Prime Minister calling for a commitment to safeguarding universal human rights as the UK prepares to exit the European Union.

Date: 4th December 2018
Category: Protection of privacy

Together’s Director, Juliet Harris, is one of ten individuals to be featured in a short film series sharing stories of people working to protect and promote human rights produced by the Scottish Human Rights Commission to mark the countdown to Human Rights Day.

Date: 4th December 2018
Category: Children of prisoners

At Families Outside’s National Conference last month, Juliet Harris gave a presentation on the significance of the Council of Europe’s Guidelines to protect children of imprisoned parents.

Date: 4th December 2018
Category: Civil Rights and Freedoms, Incorporation

Scottish Parliament’s Equalities and Human Rights Committee has published its report on Human Rights in Scotland which welcomes the Scottish Government’s commitment to incorporate the principles of the UNCRC into Scots Law.  The Committee calls for the commitment to be taken forward in this parliamentary session.

Date: 4th December 2018
Category: Child poverty

In their recommendations to Scottish Government, the Poverty and Inequality Commission highlight the pressures faced by children and families living in poverty across Scotland during school holidays.  As emphasised recently the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights following his 10-day visit to the UK, poverty is fundamentally a human rights violation and children are amongst those disproportionately impacted. As outlined in the Poverty and Inequality Commission’s new briefing, families face a range of pressures during the school holidays. These include food insecurity and childcare, but also relate to wider finances, play and activities, parenting, and social isolation. Such pressures have the strong potential to significantly compromise children’s rights to an adequate standard of living, care and play, to name a few, as outlined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Date: 4th December 2018
Category: Respect for the views of the child

To celebrate World Children's Day 2018, Eurochild, UNICEF, the European Parliament Intergroup on Children's Rights and 700 children and young people presented the results of the Europe Kids Want survey in the European Parliament.

Date: 4th December 2018
Category: Equal protection from violence

Closing date: 25th January 2019

Date: 21st November 2018
Category: Awareness-raising, Incorporation

Together joined members from across Scotland to celebrate Universal Children’s Day  on Tuesday 20th November at the Children’s Parliament’s National Sitting in Edinburgh and YouthLink Scotland’s National Conference in Glasgow.

Date: 21st November 2018
Category: Child poverty

“Great misery has been inflicted […] on millions of children who are being locked into a cycle of poverty from which most will have great difficulty escaping.”

Date: 16th November 2018
Category: General Comments, Age of criminal responsibility

The Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Bill - to raise the age from age 8 to 12 – was debated at Stage 1 by MSPs in Parliament on Tuesday 13th November 2018. 

Date: 16th November 2018
Category: Education, including vocational education

Scotland will become the first country in the world to have "LGBTI-inclusive education" embedded in the curriculum, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Deputy First Minister John Swinney has told the Scottish Parliament.

Date: 16th November 2018
Category: Respect for the views of the child

A new partnership agreement between the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Youth Parliament aims to ensure young people are involved at the heart of politics.

Date: 16th November 2018
Category: Equal protection from violence

A new article by Dr Louise Hill at Celcis presents international evidence supporting the proposed Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill and calls for regular public awareness campaigns to promote positive parenting and non-violent forms of discipline to ensure children’s equal right to human dignity and physical integrity is respected.

Date: 16th November 2018
Category: Basic Health and Welfare, Education, Leisure and Cultural Activities, Family Environment and Alternative Care

Sally Holland, Children’s Commissioner for Wales, has published a policy position statement in which she reflects on the potentials and pitfalls of Adverse Childhood Experiences, commonly referred to as ‘ACES’, being the driver of policy for children, concluding that a human-rights based approach is needed in order to ensure that every child gets an equal chance to fulfil their potential. Holland outlines five principles of a children’s human-rights based approach - embedding children’s rights, non-discrimination and equality, empowerment, participation and accountability – arguing that the positive awareness of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Wales can fit into a wider commitment to ensuring children’s human rights are at the heart of policy and practice:   

Date: 16th November 2018
Category: Mental health

Closing Date: 14th December 2018