The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child :1



If you are UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is about YOU.

UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE - The law in Scotland treats us differently depending on our age.

It describes the commitment that your Government have made to recognise YOUR Rights. The Convention is not a law but a code that recognises that young people in Scotland have rights.



The Convention has 54 articles. We have not included all the articles here as some of them may not be of direct interest to you. If you wish you can read all of the articles in a full copy of the Convention which you can get from the Stationery Office, price Ł5.90. (See back of this booklet for more information).

There are sometimes changes to the law in Scotland. Each time a new law is being made, the Government ought to look at the Convention to check that each change is in line with it.



*The Government of the United Kingdom signed up to the Convention in December 1991.*

*Information contained in this booklet is only about Scotland.*



Scottish law can be changed by an Act of Parliament or through the courts. After the first of July 1999, the Scottish Parliament will make a lot of the laws that affect young people in Scotland. Get to know who your Members of the Scottish Parliament are and go and talk to them! They will be the ones with most influence over the new laws as they affect you.



As you are growing up you will hear people talk about how you should act more responsibly. The Convention recognises that people have to grow up in order to become fully responsible but exercising the rights within the Convention as they are growing up will help young people to become responsible adults. Recognising that young people have rights can be difficult for some people. The Convention recognises that and it tells people exactly what kind of rights young people should have. For example, the right to be heard and to participate in decisions which affect them, as well as the right to protection from harm.

*It is an international standard against which life in Scotland for young people can be measured.*



International standard

There are standards all over the world which are agreed and help to protect young people. The Convention is one that the majority of countries in the world can agree upon. Other standards you may have heard of come from Europe, like the CE mark you see on toys and clothing which says that they have achieved a certain safety and quality standard.

*The information in this booklet describes the "Articles" contained in the Convention that are important to you and links them with life in Scotland for young people.*