Rights of the child: get back to basics, Faculty tells ministers
Guidance from ministers for public authorities about the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) needs to get back to basics, according to the Faculty of Advocates.
In a response to draft guidance to be issued under the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, which places a duty on bodies such as local authorities and health boards to publish a report every three years on steps taken in relation to the Convention, Faculty says the guidance could be made more effective by focusing on the actual text of the Convention.
The Scottish Government proposes that implementation of the UNCRC should to some extent be measured in a Civil Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA), based on the constructed notion of "wellbeing" and the criteria of SHANARRI (safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible and included).
In response, Faculty comments: “These are all worthy aspirations for children, but the point of this part of the legislation is to direct attention to the requirements of the UNCRC. If the Scottish Government is aiming to implement the UNCRC, then the Faculty submits that it is necessary to start with the articles of the UNCRC, rather than wellbeing and SHANARRI.”
If the purpose of the document is to assist public authorities to give better or further effect to the UNCRC, it states, "The first and most helpful step towards achieving the statutory aim must be to inform the relevant authorities what the UNCRC actually says”.
Faculty also believes the document could be strengthened by including a reflective analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of Scottish implementation of the UNCRC. If the aim of the legislation is to promote the effect of the UNCRC, it would be logical to draw attention to areas where some deficit has been identified.
“For example, the need to take the views of children into account over ‘all matters affecting the child’ in accordance with article 12 has been a weakness in Scotland. There would be positive benefit in identifying this and exploring the ways in which public authorities should be taking account of the views of children,” Faculty states.