Ahead of the forthcoming General Election, we are calling for the next UK Government to take urgent action on children's rights.
The UK ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1991, which means all areas of government and the state - including local government, schools and health services - must adhere to its principles and standards and do all they can to realise these rights.
However, many children’s rights have worsened across the country, with devastating cuts to children’s services, rising child poverty, worsening mental health, widening education gaps, increasing violence, abuse and neglect, including at the hands of the state, and persistent and increased discrimination and structural inequality.
Our Children's Rights Charter calls on the next UK Government to take six concrete steps to put children’s rights at the centre of decision-making: Develop a children's rights strategy; appoint a Cabinet Minister for Children; introduce mandatory child rights impact assessments; increase budget allocations for children; develop a strategy for increasing awareness, knowledge and understanding of children's rights; incorporate the CRC into domestic law.
Read the full Children's Rights Charter below: