Written by Carly Elliott-Scott, Assistant Director at Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights)

Please note: this blog contains reference to alcohol use, self-harm and detention. Please read with caution.

It’s been one week since I attended the 2026 Eurochild conference in Cyprus. The conference brought together Eurochild members from countries across Europe to explore social protection systems. There was something really energising about spending two days (and evenings) with people from across Europe, all working towards the same goal: making children’s rights real day to day.

Many people at the conference were eager to hear about and celebrate the work going on in Scotland post-incorporation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into Scots law. I found myself often saying, “but, our work isn’t finished yet”. Since returning, I’ve been reflecting on what it is that drives many of us in Scotland to respond this way.

At the conference, I had the opportunity to host a ‘book’ in the Human Library and I think the answer lies in the story I told.

The Human Library was a unique and creative engagement format where 15 people from Eurochild’s membership hosted 30 minute conversations on something related to child protection systems, before participants were encouraged to choose another book from the library. My book was called “Do children’s rights change systems? Or do systems change children’s rights?”. It told Scotland’s children’s rights story by reflecting on my experiences of working with girls whose rights have been most at risk in social protection systems.

When rights and systems shape each other

In my book, I repeatedly returned to one idea: that children’s rights don’t exist in isolation. They shape systems and in turn, those systems shape how children experience rights day to day.

It’s easy to think of rights as something fixed – promises in policy or law alone. But their meaning is ultimately defined by how they are understood and experienced by children in everyday decisions and systems. A child’s right to privacy, for example, only becomes real if it is recognised by their teacher, prioritised by decision-makers and if the systems around them are designed to deliver it.

Yet when systems are under pressure, under resourced or not fully equipped to understand children’s rights, they risk remaining on paper. This tension is probably why I felt it necessary to punctuate celebrations about Scotland’s progress with, “but, our work isn’t finished yet”.

Scotland’s journey to incorporation

For a long time in Scotland, we’ve spoken about the gap between progressive policy intent and children’s day to day reality. For years it felt like we spoke the language of children’s rights, but children were still being restrained, being placed in solitary confinement and held in adult prisons.

As part of my book, I told the story of a young woman I used to work with – someone I often think of when it comes to how systems can adapt to better protect the rights of children.

When she felt overwhelmed, she would use alcohol and self-harm. The police were often the first to respond in these moments and they would try hard to get her immediate mental health support. Unfortunately, because alcohol was involved, she was frequently turned away until she was sober.

Faced with immediate risk to her safety and with limited alternatives, the police would sometimes charge her with possession of an offensive weapon so they could detain her and keep her safe overnight.

What began as an attempt to protect her, gradually became a pattern that drew her further into the criminal justice system, rather than towards the support that she needed. Eventually this pathway led to her imprisonment.

The police involved were often acting with good intentions, focusing on her right to be safe and protected from harm (Article 19, UNCRC). But what about her right to be protected from unnecessary punishment (Article 37, UNCRC)? Or her right to be heard (Article 12, UNCRC)? Or a fair trial (Article 40, UNCRC)? These decisions were made by a system under pressure and without the right tools or processes to respond differently.

This story raises a question I often come back to. In a Scotland where children’s rights are embraced and embedded in law, policy and practice, would her experience be different?

That’s the real test for incorporation.

We’re at the beginning of something transformative

It was in response to stories like this that the broad coalition of children, civil society organisations, academics and international partners came together to push for change. In 2024, that coalition led to incorporation of the UNCRC into Scots law.

Since then, Scotland has undoubtedly made significant progress. Incorporation of the UNCRC signals a shift – alongside wider rights-respecting policy developments like the move to end the use of adult prisons for children. And there’s also growing evidence of change happening all across Scotland.

Through Together’s State of Children’s Rights Report 2026, we see examples of organisations actively embedding children’s rights into their work. Local authorities are integrating children’s rights into budgeting decisions, organisations are developing meaningful participation models and systems are collaborating to deliver rights-respecting support services.

One that sticks in my mind is the work of Falkirk Council in developing ‘Breathing Space’ – a trauma-informed place that children and families can use when in crisis. This environment can also be used as a ‘place of safety’ to avoid holding children in police stations.

For the young woman I worked with, an approach like this could have been the intervention needed to take her down a different path.

Opportunities for shared reflection

One of the most valuable aspects of the Human Library was the space it created for honest conversations. Across discussions with colleagues from different countries, it was clear that while we might be in different places when it comes to implementation of children’s rights, the challenges we face follow similar themes: resource constraints, political change and increasing polarisation.

Because of this, there was something unifying about being able to explore these issues in a safe space with people who share the same commitment to children’s rights.

If there is one thing I took away from the Eurochild conference, it’s the importance of safe, shared reflection on what it takes to implement children’s rights meaningfully.

With this in mind, Together will be hosting webinars throughout 2026, reflecting on Scotland’s incorporation journey. Join us at our first webinar on 16 July 2026 to celebrate the 2^nd anniversary of commencement of the UNCRC Act. With inputs from friends around the world, and reflections from those close to Scotland’s incorporation journey, its set to be a space that helps us consider what it takes for systems to truly shape how children’s rights are realised day to day. Register online.

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