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News and Resources

• Children routinely strip-searched at the police station This week CRAE and Just for Kids Law are intervening in a Court of Appeal case about a 14 year-old girl who was stripped at the police station without her mother, or any other "appropriate adult", present. 23 organisations have published a letter in The Guardian, calling for a review of the strip-searching of children at the police station. CRAE and Just for Kids Law have written to Mike Penning MP, the Minister of State for Policing, asking for him to review this issue. Read more
• Learn about what children's human rights and the UNCRC mean for your work This year the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child will be looking at how well the UK is protecting children's human rights. Last time this happened, CRAE coordinated a broad coalition of NGOs to tell our side of the story to the UN. We want to do so again - and this is your chance to get involved. To start the process off, we are holding a series of training and evidence-gathering sessions on
  
  - the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
  - what it says about the issues you work on, and how you can use it in your work
  - the main human rights issues affecting children in your area.
  
  We are delighted the country's leading academics and policy experts have agreed to deliver these sessions.
  
  These events are free. If you'd like to come along please write to nschiffrin@crae.org.uk and puccellari@crae.org.uk. Read more
• Blog: Children’s human rights in the “small places, close to home” Some of the UK’s biggest defenders of children’s human rights – NSPCC, Barnardo’s, Save the Children, NCB, The Children’s Society, Just for Kids Law and others – are using Human Rights Day to highlight some of the human rights issues still affecting children in England. This year, Human Rights Day has an added significance for children as it coincides with the 25th Anniversary year of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). And next year, UK government’s track record on children’s rights will be scrutinised by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Read more
• UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the digital world On the 25th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) the House of Lords will debate the impact of the digital and online world on children and young people's Convention rights. Baroness Kidron will lead a debate about how children's rights can be protected and promoted in the digital age. Our joint briefing with NCB provides an overview of the key issues and evidence. Read more
• Legal advice on use of force in secure colleges CRAE sought legal advice on proposals for the use of force in secure colleges. We instructed solicitors at Bindmans LLP to seek independent legal advice from Martin Chamberlain QC and Max Schaefer on the lawfulness of allowing guards in secure colleges to use force in order to maintain "good order and discipline" in secure colleges. Read more
• House of Lords Report Stage Briefing on Criminal Justice and Courts Bill Briefing for the House of Lords during Report Stage of the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill. The briefing focuses on Part 2 of the Bill, which contains proposals to introduce secure colleges as a form of youth custody. Read more