Several serious concerns have been expressed by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in its most recent round of feedback for the UK. The Committee is the body of 18 independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in all countries and, following each examination, it publishes its Concluding Observations. The Committee has carried out five examinations of the UK since the Convention was ratified in 1991 and on each occasion has urged the UK to create systems of inclusion and belonging for all children. The most recent examination of the UK took place in May 2023 and, in its Concluding Observations(please link to https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CRC%2FC%2FGBR%2FCO%2F6-7&Lang=en) published on 2 June, the Committee once again expressed similar concerns.
Children have the right to education.
The Committee has said that the UK must “strengthen measures to address inequalities in educational attainment and improve educational outcomes for children in disadvantaged situations.” This includes children from socioeconomic disadvantage, ethnic minority groups, children who have asylum-seeking, refugee, or migrant status, children with impairments, children who identify as trans- or gender-questioning, and children with caring responsibilities.
The report states the UK Government should “Ensure inclusive education in mainstream schools for all [disabled children], by adapting curricula and training and assigning specialised teachers and professionals in integrated classes, so that children with disabilities and learning difficulties receive individual support and due attention.” Proactive steps for inclusion must be made in the face of budget shortfalls, as it appears there have not been many gains on this conclusion since the UK’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Children have the right to be treated equally.
Persistent discrimination remains a deep concern, specifically, “expressions of racism and bullying against children in disadvantaged situations, including children belonging to minority groups and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender children” and that there is “insufficient progress in ensuring protection of all children under 18 years of age against discrimination” not to mention the overrepresentation of marginalised children who are in the criminal justice system and who are living in poverty. Discriminatory practices disproportionately affect children from minority groups, such as; exclusions, colonised curricula, access to digital devices and assistive technology, academic selection and testing, use of restraint and seclusion, and unnecessary stop-and-search checks.
The report urges the educational and legislative sectors to “Ensure the teaching of children’s rights and the principles of the Convention within the mandatory school curricula in all educational settings and in the training of teachers and education professionals” and to evaluate and publish data on the impact of the Prevent Strategy on children’s rights and discriminatory attitudes and practices that come by stigmatising specific minority groups regularly and routinely.
The report also states that the UK must “Increase efforts to eliminate discrimination and bullying, including cyberbullying, on the grounds of race, sexual orientation, gender identity or sex characteristics, disability, migration or other status in the school context, and ensure that such measures: (i) are adequately resourced and developed in consultation with children; (ii) address the root causes of bullying; and (iii) encompass prevention, early detection mechanisms, awareness-raising on its harmful effects, the empowerment of children, mandatory training for teachers, intervention protocols and consistent and robust recording and monitoring of bullying behaviour.”
Children have a right to be heard.
The historical embedding of the trop, ‘children should be seen and not heard,’ has led to a societal stigma that ignores and oppresses the voices of children. The committee specifically points out the need to ensure that disabled children’s voices are heard in all decisions that affect them.
The Committee calls on the UK to “Ensure the right of all children, including younger children, [disabled children] and children in care, to express their views and to have them taken into account in all decisions affecting them, including in courts and relevant judicial proceedings and regarding domestic violence, custody, placement in alternative care, health, including mental health treatment, education, justice, migration and asylum.”
To support an increased and meaningful participation of children in society, the Committee suggests that the UK “develop mechanisms to ensure that the outcomes of children’s and youth parliaments are systematically fed into public decision-making” and “Ensure that all relevant professionals working with and for children systematically receive appropriate training on the right of the child to be heard and to have his or her opinions taken into account.”
They recommend that pupil voice be recognised as valid and that it is amplified in decision making to ensure a more equitable approach to developing policies and procedures involving children.
Children have a right to receive adequate and timely health care.
The Committee emphasises the need for stronger systems and reduced wait times for early detection and intervention for disabled children to improve access to education, health care, and social services. It calls for “improvement in the social integration and individual development” of disabled children centred on the rights of the child and based on the specific needs of each child.
Sharing its deep concern “about long waiting lists for children seeking mental health services and the large number of children with mental health issues, learning disabilities and autism placed in detention and adult psychiatric wards under the Mental Health Act 1983”, the Committee also highlights the need to address the overrepresentation of children belonging to minority groups in inpatient mental health care, specifically naming children with autism and disabled children.
The Committee suggests that the UK “Develop adequately funded mental health services that are tailored to the specific needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children, migrant children, [disabled children] and “young carers”, including through sufficient investments in specialist services; screening for mental health issues and early intervention services in schools” and that this work is supported across the social sector.
Sadly, most of this feedback is a repetition of earlier Concluding Observation reports. It is essential that the UK takes action to further the equality work needed to embed children’s rights in our society.
The Committee recommends that the UK Government: a) ensure that action plans include a special focus on children in disadvantaged situations, b) adopt a national strategy for awareness-raising of children’s rights among the public and promote the active involvement of children in public outreach activities, and c) develop the systematic training on children’s rights, the Convention, and the Optional Protocols thereto for all professionals working for and with children.
CSIE will continue to champion equality until every child has equitable access to reach their fullest potential.
