Child-Friendly Version

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is a special set of rules that helps to make sure that children are treated fairly and have the same rights as everyone else. The UNCRC has four special rules, called the general principles, which help people make decisions that affect children:

1. Non-discrimination (Article 2): Everyone should be treated equally and not be treated unfairly because of who they are.
2. Best interests of the child (Article 3): When making decisions about children, people should think about what is best for the child.
3. Right to life, survival and development (Article 6): Children have the right to grow up and be healthy.
4. Right to be heard (Article 12): Children have the right to share their thoughts and ideas.

Children and young people in Scotland have been talking about these rules and what they want to see happen to make sure that they are being followed. They think that more needs to be done to make sure that all children have the chance to share their ideas and that no one is left out in places like schools. They also want to see more done to stop discrimination against certain groups of children, like disabled children and children from minority ethnic groups.

We hope to see the UN Committee pick up on these issues next week, particularly those issues raised by children and young people such as gender equality and anti-racism. Make sure you follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn to keep up-to-date with the review.

Stay tuned for our next article on civil rights and freedoms coming out at 08:00am tomorrow!