Children's Rights Bill [HL]

The purpose of the Children’s Rights Bill is to enshrine the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in UK law. The UNCRC is an international human rights treaty that grants all children and young people a comprehensive set of rights.

Issues included in the convention’s articles are: the right to be free from all forms of violence; the right to play, rest and leisure; and the right to be protected from harmful work and economic exploitation.

The UK signed the convention on 19 April 1990, and it came into force on 15 January 1992.

Some articles of the convention are already given effect through existing legislation, for example though the Children Act 2004, and through a range of legislation on the right to education. This Bill would make the UNCRC part of UK law.

Key areas

• The Bill would create a duty to ensure all new legislation is compatible with the convention and is “children’s rights proofed”.

• The interpretation of convention rights would be determined by a court or tribunal.

• The optional protocols on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography , and on the involvement of children in armed conflict would also be incorporated into UK law.