A report said that the government had failed to follow United Nations recommendations made in 2002 to improve children's rights. The United Kingdom had only made significant progress in 10 of the 78 areas where the UN had said the country needed to do more to meet the requirements of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Source: State of Children's Rights in England, Children's Rights Alliance for England (020 7278 8222)
Links: Liberal Democrats press release | Guardian report | Children Now report
Date: 2007-Nov
A think-tank report examined how government, families, and communities could nurture a healthy, well-educated, ambitious, and socially cohesive population. The essays looked at a range of issues: the need to fully implement the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the right of the child to be protected from assault in the home; how to improve the tax and welfare system to lift children out of poverty; how social care could meet the needs of children from various backgrounds; and how to improve the environment in which children interacted and played.
Source: Carolyne Willow (ed.), Advancing Opportunity: Children, Human Rights and Social Justice, Smith Institute (020 7592 3618)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Nov
The children's rights watchdog in Wales published its annual report for 2006-07.
Source: Annual Review 2006-07, Children's Commissioner for Wales (01792 765600)
Links: Report | CCW press release
Date: 2007-Nov
A report examined the implementation of the United Nations convention on the rights of the child in Scotland during the period 1999-2007.
Source: A Report on Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Scotland 1999-2007, Scottish Executive, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Aug
The United Kingdom Government submitted its consolidated third and fourth report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, setting out how it was fulfilling its obligations under the relevant convention.
Source: The Consolidated 3rd and 4th Periodic Report to UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report | Summary | CRAE press release
Date: 2007-Jul
The children's watchdog for England published its annual report for 2006-07. Children and young people felt that adults did not respect them, that they were not asked for their opinions on matters that affected them, or that their views were simply not heard. There was an increasing intolerance for adolescents in society, and a 'creeping criminalization' of young people.
Source: Annual Report 2006/07, Office of the Children?s Commissioner (0844 8009113)
Links: Report | OCC press release | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Jul
An article examined developments in policy and practice affecting children in Wales since the establishment of the National Assembly in 1999. Despite signs of improvement, on some key indicators Welsh children lagged behind their peers in the rest of the United Kingdom; and there was a serious need for better information in the form of a 'state of Wales's children' report. Distinctive policies were being developed in Wales that in important respects put children at the heart of policy-making; and the 'participation agenda' promised real change.
Source: Nigel Thomas and Anne Crowley, 'Children's rights and well-being in Wales in 2006', Contemporary Wales, Volume 19 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Jun
Campaigners said that the treatment of children in custody amounted to child abuse, and in some cases might actually be criminal.
Source: Children in Prison: An independent submission to United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, Howard League for Penal Reform (020 7249 7373)
Links: HLPR press release
Date: 2007-Jun
Campaigners said that at least 100,000 children and young people (aged 10-17) who had not been convicted of any criminal offence had their details recorded on the national DNA database.
Source: Press release 23 May 2007, GeneWatch UK (01298 871898) and ARCH
Links: GeneWatch press release | Briefing | Community Care report
Date: 2007-May
The government published a draft version of its third report to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, for consultation. It said that the United Kingdom?s commitment to the principles of the Convention remained 'unwavering'. Since 1999 there had been a programme of unprecedented investment in publicly funded services for children throughout the UK, and development of new child-centred approaches to planning and delivering national and local policy.
Source: 3rd Quinquennial Report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-May
The children's watchdog for England launched a new five-year plan for improving the lives of England?s 11 million children and young people. It identified six fundamental areas of concern: youth justice and anti-social behaviour; asylum and trafficking; a 'fair life'; mental health; enjoying education and leisure; and 'staying safe'.
Source: Five-year Plan: April 2007 ? March 2012, Office of the Children?s Commissioner (0844 8009113)
Links: Plan | OCC press release | Guardian report
Date: 2007-May
A report outlined the contribution the Welsh Assembly Government had made, in partnership with other statutory agencies and the voluntary sector, to furthering children?s and young people?s rights as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Source: Implementing Children and Young People?s Rights in Wales, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Apr