Reading Time: 3 minutes Children are undoubtedly one of the most vulnerable groups in society, often highly reliant on public services and the most likely to suffer from reductions in public spending. It is therefore particularly important to monitor the realisation of children’s human rights through public authorities reporting and carry out impact assessments of the decisions they make. Meaningful and effective children’s rights reporting is essential for monitoring duty bearers’ accountability and compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in Scotland.

Reading Time: 5 minutes The Scottish Law Commission has been consulting on a range of new proposals to improve civil remedies for domestic abuse, including in cases of child contact and domestic abuse. While the need for enhanced civil justice responses is well-evidenced in their work, our research[1] on child contact and domestic abuse shows that effective change demands much more than new, or minor amendments to, legislation.

Reading Time: 2 minutes For those of us involved in childhood research, the suffering of children, the taking of children as hostages, the deaths of children– and there are so many children impacted in these and other ways, in Israel and Palestine – is inexcusable.

Reading Time: 4 minutes The Observatory of Children’s Human Rights Scotland is pleased to launch a ground-breaking new project to develop a Theory of Change for implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in Scotland.

Reading Time: 3 minutes The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill (UNCRC Bill) passed through Scottish Parliament by a unanimous vote on 16 March 2021. The highly anticipated legislation represented the culmination of a long-running campaign by children’s rights advocates to legalize the full schedule of children’s rights outlined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

Reading Time: 3 minutes Authors: Fiona Morrison, Centre for Child Wellbeing and Protection, University of Stirling Máire McCormack, Childhood and Youth Studies Research Group, University of Edinburgh Kay Tisdall, Childhood and Youth Studies Research Group, University of Edinburgh How can a child access justice, should one of their human rights not be upheld? We reflect on how to create […]

Reading Time: 3 minutes Authors: Fiona Morrison, Máire McCormack and Kay Tisdall The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill marks a major milestone for children’s human rights in Scotland. The legislation is the result of hard and effective advocacy by children and young people and by members of civil society. It is the […]

Reading Time: 3 minutes Author: Dr Patricio Cuevas-Parra In my professional experience in international development, I have observed that in large humanitarian disasters, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2006 war in Lebanon, the Haiti earthquake in 2010, and the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leona in 2014, children and young people’s participation rights have often been breached. […]

Reading Time: 3 minutes We are all trying our best to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, be it from governments seeking to protect public health and livelihoods, to key workers trying to ensure essential services are maintained, to many of us trying to maintain social distancing and self-isolating as individuals and for our families. But in the immediacy of responding to the crisis, adults can focus on protection and overlook the part children can and do play in the fightback to the crisis.