The Rights of the Child in Wales:
The Equality and Human Rights Commission in Wales (EHRC Wales) have commissioned the Observatory on Human Rights of Children and Children in Wales to evaluate the impact of legislation to embed the UNCRC in law and policy in Wales. This will contribute toward the Commission’s strategic thinking about future approaches to human rights in Wales.
Wales was the first devolved administration of the UK to incorporate the UNCRC in legislation through the ‘Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011. This seeks to strengthen and build on the rights-based approach of the Welsh Government to policy making for children and young people. The Measure places a duty on the Welsh Ministers to have due regard to specified rights under the UNCRC and its optional protocols.
There has been a great deal of interest in pursuing a similar approach in Wales for other UN Conventions, in particular, the UNCRPD. The EHRC Wales believe that UN Conventions are a strong lever for change in Wales.
This research will employ a variety of methods to gather evidence on:
- The impact of the Measure on the implementation of the UNCRC in Wales.
- Aspects of the Measure which have worked well, and what might need to change/stay the same.
- Opportunities for enhancing the status of further treaty rights under Welsh legislation.
The research will be completed by the end of March 2018
The researchers will engage with stakeholders and will be supported by an Advisory Group with representatives from the Wales UNCRC Monitoring Group.
Further information will follow.
For any initial inquiries, please contact Sean O’Neill on sean.o’neill@childreninwales.org.uk or 02920342434.
