Equality and Human Rights Commission

The UK is not doing enough to protect children’s privacy or to uphold the ‘best interests of the child’ when new policy and law is developed, according to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child  (UN CRC)following their examination of the UK Government at its 49th session on 23/24 September.

‘The retention of DNA data from children whether the child is ultimately charged or found guilty; naming and shaming of children subject to ASBOs and children’s appearances in TV reality shows may constitute an unlawful interference with their privacy’

The Committee also expressed regret that the principle of the best interests of the child is still not reflected as a primary consideration in all legislative and policy matters affecting children and called for the development of a British Bill of Rights, which incorporates the principles and provisions of the Convention,for example by having a special section in these Bills devoted to child rights.

The Committee acknowledged that there is a substantial amount of legislation to strengthen and protect children's rights and important developments have occurred such as the creation of the Children's Commissioners; the creation of the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the appointment of a Cabinet Minister for Children. However, failure to implement fully the Convention rights, especially the best interests of the child principle, in all policy areas remains a concern of the Committee.

In particular, the Committee were highly critical about the treatment of children in the criminal justice system, in care, education and in immigration, and responded to the evidence provided by the Equality and Human Rights Commission and children’s organisations by making a number of recommendations in these areas.

Read our shadow report to the Committee

Some of the key observations made by the Committee, and raised by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in its shadow report, include the following:

Discrimination and social stigmatisation

Discrimination and social stigmatisation continues to be experienced by certain groups of children: Roma and Irish Travellers’ children; migrant, asylum-seeking and refugee children; lesbian, bisexual, gay, and transgender children (LBGT); and children belonging to minority groups.

The Committee’s recommends ‘strengthening awareness-raising and other preventative activities against discrimination and, if necessary, take affirmative actions for the benefit of vulnerable groups; invest considerable additional resources in order to ensure the right of all children to a truly inclusive education which ensures the full enjoyment to children from all disadvantaged, marginalized and school-distant groups and teach human rights, peace and tolerance in schools.’

The low age of criminal responsibility

The Committee recommends raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility.

Use of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) for children

ASBOs are issued ‘too easily, a broad range of behaviour is prohibited and breach of an order is a criminal offence with potentially serious consequences. Instead of being a measure in the best interests of children, ASBOs may in practice contribute to their entry into contact with the criminal justice system and most children subject to them are from disadvantaged backgrounds.’ The Committee also found that 'naming and shaming' children subject to an ASBO is in direct conflict with the Convention rights to privacy. The Committee recommends an independent review of ASBOs with a view to abolishing their application to children.

Physical restraint

Physical restraint on children is still used in places of deprivation of liberty. The Committee urges the Government to ensure that restraint against children is used only as a last resort and exclusively to prevent harm to the child or others and that all methods of physical restraint for disciplinary purposes be abolished. In relation to this issue, the Commission intervened in a successful legal challenge to the rules on restraint to argue that the Government failed in its statutory obligations to carry out an equality impact assessment before introducing the new rules.

Children with special educational needs

Regarding special educational needs and looked after children, a key concern of our Commission, the Committee found that ‘the right to complain regarding educational provisions is restricted to parents, which represents problem especially for looked after children for whom local authorities have, though mostly do not use, parental authority.’ The Committee recommends that children without parental care have a representative who actively defends their best interests and that that children who are able to express their views have an independent right to appeal to the special educational need tribunals.

School exclusions

Permanent and temporary schools exclusions are still high and affect in particular children from groups which in general are low on school achievement. The Committee recommends the use the disciplinary measure of permanent or temporary exclusion as a means of last resort only, reduce the number of exclusions and get social workers and educational psychologists in school in order to help children in conflict with school.

Detention of asylum seeking children

Asylum seeking children continue to be detained, including those undergoing an age assessment who may be kept in detention for weeks until the assessment is completed; data is inadequate and there is no independent oversight of reception conditions for unaccompanied children who have to be returned. Key recommendations include intensifying efforts to ensure that detention of asylum-seeking and migrant children is always used as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time; the appointment of guardians to unaccompanied asylum-seekers and migrant children; ensuring that returns of unaccompanied asylum seeker children happen with adequate safeguards, including an independent assessment of the conditions upon return, including family environment.

The report follows an examination by the Committee of the Government’s compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), an international human rights treaty that grants all children and young people (aged 17 and under) a comprehensive set of rights. The UK signed the convention on 19 April 1990, ratified it on 16 December 1991 and it came into force in the UK on 15 January 1992. When a country ratifies the convention it agrees to do everything it can to implement it.

To read the report in full follow this link to the UN website

Find out more about the Commission's shadow report to the Committee