Reading Time: 2 minutes Thanks to funding from the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Observatory of Children’s Human Rights Scotland is developing a new Research Network on children’s human rights.

Reading Time: 4 minutes Once, many years ago, I was told by a colleague that my privilege puts me at an advantage over others. I was offended by this statement; I genuinely assumed that I did not hold any special privilege and everything I had in life had been earned.

Reading Time: 3 minutes Children and young people have the right to be involved in decisions that affect them. This is a basic human right, underlined by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). It is thus morally the right thing to do. But, further, we also have ever increasing evidence that it leads to better decision-making and better outcomes for children and young people, whether that is in family law when contact between parents and children are contested or in designing policy on domestic abuse.

Reading Time: 5 minutes Author: Thalia Thereza Assan The experiences and perspectives of children and young people are generally missing from coverage and discussions of the Covid-19 pandemic and its effects. This is not a unique situation, as children’s status in society positions them as a marginalised group. In this blog post, I will focus on what children and […]

Reading Time: 3 minutes The Justice Committee of the Scottish Parliament have just issued their Stage 1 Report on the Children (Scotland) Bill. The Bill will reform family law in Scotland, and particularly promises to improve the participation rights of children within family law proceedings. While the Committee approved of this promise, it felt substantial changes and additions were needed to achieve this. We agree.

Reading Time: 3 minutes Research has shown that 9 out of 10 countries with the highest child marriage rates are fragile or extremely fragile states. In countries like Afghanistan and Bangladesh (Cox’s Bazar), child marriage is illegal – but all too often these laws are not implemented, particularly in places where children have been displaced.