Progressing the human rights of children in Scotland: update report 2021-2024

Introduction

The Scottish Government’s aspiration is for Scotland to be the best place for children to grow up. Our vision is a Scotland where children’s human rights are embedded in all aspects of society, and where policy, law and decision-making take account of children’s rights as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) – which has now been incorporated into Scotland’s domestic law.

Our National Performance Framework (NPF) sets out a number of National Outcomes that describe the kind of Scotland that we are all working towards. Children’s rights, within the broader context of human rights, are at the heart of the NPF, which includes a ‘Children and Young People’ Outcome:

• We grow up loved, safe and respected, so that we realise our full potential.
• We respect, protect and fulfil human rights and live free from discrimination.

However, none of the National Outcomes exist in isolation and all of the National Outcomes are relevant to promoting the rights and wellbeing of children and young people. For the ‘Children and Young People’ outcome to be realised, a children’s human rights approach must be embedded into the institutions which govern and deliver public services for the people of Scotland.

Purpose of report

This report provides an update on the delivery of commitments outlined in the Scottish Government’s Action Plan ‘Progressing the human rights of children in Scotland: Action Plan 2021 to 2024’. It is structured to align with the four strands of the Scottish Government's UNCRC Implementation Programme (described in further detail below) and provides an update on the progress we have made in relation to the priorities listed within each strand, as outlined in the 2021 Action Plan.

Scotland’s UNCRC Implementation Programme

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) sets out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights to which all children are entitled, regardless of their circumstances. We committed to a three-year implementation programme from 2021-2024 to further embed the UNCRC in the delivery of public services in Scotland.

The UNCRC implementation programme builds on a proud tradition of promoting children’s rights in Scotland. Children’s rights are embedded in how public services are delivered through specific pieces of legislation and policy, such as the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 (the 2014 Act) and ‘Getting it right for every child’ (GIRFEC), our national approach to improving outcomes and supporting the wellbeing of children and young people. These initiatives, among others, have been essential milestones in Scotland’s path to UNCRC incorporation.

The UNCRC Strategic Implementation Board, established in July 2021, has provided strategic vision and oversight of this comprehensive and joined-up implementation programme. The Board includes representation from leaders in the children’s rights sector, public authorities and the wider third sector. Across the range of members, are those who represent both the views of duty bearers and the views of rights holders. Minutes of the Board’s meeting are available on the Board’s website.

The UNCRC Implementation Programme has been led by the Children’s Rights Unit in the Scottish Government. However, responsibility for taking forward children’s rights is mainstreamed across all areas of the Scottish Government including Health, Education, Justice and Equalities. Further information on the progress we have made in embedding children’s rights across policy areas can be found in the Scottish Government’s Initial Response to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s Concluding Observations for the UK State party (March 2024). The Concluding Observations were published in June 2023 following the UN Committee’s interactive dialogue with the UK in May 2023. Our Initial Response to the Concluding Observations includes a range of actions relevant to the six priority areas identified by the UN Committee for action, which (in the Committee’s own words) are: non-discrimination; abuse, neglect, and sexual exploitation and abuse; children deprived of a family environment; mental health; asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children; and child justice.

Theory of Change

To support planning for implementation, we funded a project to develop a ‘Theory of Change for Making Children’s Rights Real in Scotland’. The development of this theory was led by the Observatory of Children’s Human Rights, Public Health Scotland and Matter of Focus, in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders.

The final report and summary report were published in June 2022 and set out key change processes for embedding a children’s human rights approach to public sector policy and delivery. Four broad themes of change were identified:

1. Policy: building a policy, administration and budgetary framework that helps children’s rights to be realised;

2. Capacity: building cross-sector capacity and capability to integrate rights-based ways of working;

3. Culture: building a culture of respect for children’s rights by changing attitudes, norms, values, and everyday actions; and

4. Empowerment: building a system of information, advocacy, complaints, redress, and effective remedy that empowers children and young people to claim their rights.

The Theory of Change describes the system change required to help ensure that children’s rights can be realised in Scotland. It will continue to guide and shape the Scottish Government’s approach to UNCRC implementation, delivery and monitoring.

The Scottish Government’s reporting duties

This is the third report that has been compiled on the Scottish Government’s progress in embedding children’s rights. Earlier reports were laid before the Scottish Parliament in accordance with the reporting duties on Scottish Ministers under section 1(4) of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. These duties required Ministers to keep under consideration how they could secure better or further effect for children’s rights and take account of children’s views, and to report to the Scottish Parliament every three years on relevant progress and their plans for the subsequent three-year period.

The first report – Progressing the Human Rights of Children in Scotland: A Report 2015-2018’ – was laid before the Scottish Parliament in December 2018, and the ‘Progressing the Human Rights of Children in Scotland: An Action Plan 2018-2021)’ was published alongside it.

The second report – 'Progressing the Human Rights of Children in Scotland 2018-2021' – was laid before the Scottish Parliament in November 2021, and alongside it the accompanying Action Plan on which this report is based.

The reporting duty under which the previous reports were laid before the Scottish Parliament is now supplanted with the requirement for a Children’s Rights Scheme under sections 14 to 16 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 (the Act). This requires the Scottish Ministers to make a scheme, to be known as the Children’s Rights Scheme (the Scheme), which sets out the arrangements that they have made, or propose to make, to ensure that they comply with the compatibility duty under section 6 of the Act and to secure better or further effect of the rights of children. The first Children’s Rights Scheme will be laid before the Scottish Parliament in early 2025.

The first Children’s Rights Scheme must specify the date by which the first report on its operation is to be published and laid before the Scottish Parliament. Following the end of the first reporting period, the Scheme must be reviewed at the end of each subsequent period of a year and a report laid before Parliament and published on the Scottish Ministers’ findings.