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01 making rights happen
There are just over 1 million children and young people under the age of 18 in Scotland.
The Government tried in the past 5 years to think about how to do things and how to make new laws so that the promises made to children in the UNCRC could be kept. So, for example:
The Government made a new law that says that school education should help you develop to your full potential.
The Government made a new law that banned smoking in public places so that children are protected from passive smoking.
The Government said that it wants young people in Scotland to be confident, to be successful learners and to make contributions to their school and community by being responsible citizens.
The Government also said that young people need to be safe and properly looked after, healthy, active, respected and included if they are to do their best.
Rights belong to everyone. But the Government knows that life can be tougher for some children and families and so the Government has a responsibility to do better to help them have their rights.
To help keep the promises made to young people about their rights the Government set up Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People; called SCCYP.
The Children's Commissioner is Kathleen Marshall. Kathleen and her team are independent of the Government. They want children to tell them about what's happening when it comes to their rights. There's more about SCCYP at www.sccyp.org.uk
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