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SECTION ONE: ABOUT THE UNCRC
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child ( UNCRC) (1989) is not binding, in the UK, in a legal sense; however it does serve to establish recognised standards that are often referred to by national and international courts and bodies in their conclusions, recommendations and decisions. All but two (The United States of America and Somalia) eligible countries have signed up to the Convention.
The UNCRC is a list of 54 Articles that cover all aspects of life for young people under the age of eighteen. 40 of the Articles describe the rights that the government must make sure you have.
When governments agree to put the UNCRC into practice, they must prepare a report for the Committee on the Rights of the Child after two years, and then every five years. The Committee on the Rights of the Child is a group of 18 adults from different countries who are experts on children's rights.
The UK's first report was submitted to Committee February 1994. The Committee examined the report in January 1995. A second report submitted August 1999 was examined by Committee in September 2002. The UK Government's next report is due to be submitted to Committee in July 2007.
Part of the reporting process is the Pre Session Hearing, this is an opportunity for NGO's (non governmental organisations) to present and discuss their Alternative Reports (reports which outline their views on the state of children's rights in their country and on the contents of the government report).
The Pre Session hearing is followed by the Session Hearing where the Committee on the Rights of the Child meet formally with representatives of governments to discuss the contents of their report and seek further clarification, if needed, on its content.
After the Session Hearing the Committee on the Rights of the Child publish a document called "Concluding Observations" this report outlines the views of the Committee as to how well a government is doing in terms of putting the UNCRC into practice and makes suggestions, if any, as to what a government should do to improve the situation for children and young people. The Committee published its most recent concluding observations on the UK in October 2002.
Click here for more information on the UNCRC
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