Implementing Children's Rights

The 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which has been ratified by most governments across the world, upholds the basic human rights of children and encompasses their civil, cultural, political and economic rights. Implementation of the Convention is having a major effect on policy-making for children and is helping to move children's interest up the political agenda. This text includes examples of how children's rights have been implemented around the world, and it highlights the key issues of particular concern to the UN Committee, which periodically reviews the political action of governments in relation to the Convention. By considering successful models used in other countries, this study focuses on what could be achieved in the UK through a more ambitious approach. It concludes with a series of recommendations. Issues explored include: the legal status of the Convention; reviewing and harmonizing domestic legislation; national action plans; economic policy; and dissemination of the Convention.
The publication should be of interest to both policy-makers and practitioners working in the field of child rights, as well as academics and research institutes concerned with the UN Convention.