Human Rights | Scotland.org

Children’s Rights

Scotland is dedicated to becoming the best place in the world for children to grow up in. We understand that parenting is one of the most important ‘jobs’ anyone can have and we have a number of initiatives in place, like our incredible Baby Box, to help families right across the country and ensure every child is given an equal start in life.

In April 2019, Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announced Scotland’s intention to incorporate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into domestic law during this parliamentary session. This is just one of the ways we continue to make positive progress on children’s rights. But we’re not stopping there and we consistently deal on an issue-by-issue basis with other matters of children’s rights, including in areas such as education, youth justice, child poverty and mental health.

Another example is The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, which places specific duties on Scottish Ministers in relation to the UNCRC. These duties include the consideration and delivery of appropriate actions, listening to the views of children, and promoting public awareness and understanding of children’s rights, including among children themselves. The Act also places a duty on a number of public authorities to report every three years on steps they have taken to secure better or further effect of the UNCRC requirements.

In line with the 2014 Act, an Action Plan was also published in December 2018, setting out the Scotland’s planned activity to promote children’s rights from June 2018 until June 2021. The Plan was informed by input from members of the public and by engagement with children and young people.

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