AYJ joins call for social care review to protect and promote children’s rights

Today (21st May) a coalition of coalitions, working with and for children and young people in England, called on the Children’s Social Care Review to publicly commit to upholding the principles and provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

The coalition includes representative bodies with over 150 member organisations and tens of thousands of individual social workers and lawyers across the sector.

Since the Care Review was announced almost six months ago, none of its publications have mentioned ‘rights’ when discussing children and young people.

While separately calling on the UK Government to accelerate the process of fully incorporating the UNCRC into domestic law, the coalition has specifically requested that:

• The review promotes and strengthens children’s rights; a Child Rights Impact Assessment of its own proposals and recommendations would provide an assurance mechanism for this.

• Children’s rights standards (as expressed in domestic and international law) form the framework of the review.

• The review refrains from making any recommendations which dilute or delete existing legal protections which children, young people (including care leavers) and families rely upon.

• Children’s meaningful and effective participation is at heart of the review, informed by the Committee on the Rights of the Child’s comprehensive guidance on implementing Article 12 of the Convention, the child’s right to be heard and taken seriously. This applies to both the review’s working methods and to the recommendations it makes for strengthening children’s rights: all children have the right to express their views freely, to have these given due weight and to be heard and represented in all administrative and judicial proceedings when decisions are being made about them.

• Children and families benefit from increased legal entitlements and social protection, because of this review; and

• The review champions government systems and structures which work for children and their families, and all those who care for, protect and support children and young people.

The coalition of coalitions, co-chaired by Ben Twomey (NYAS) and Carolyne Willow (Article 39), will continue to meet to coordinate sector-wide responses to the care review.