Lib Dems vow to bolster children's rights if elected

The Liberal Democrats are the only major UK political party to make such a pledge, which is part of a raft of promises to bolster human rights legislation.

This includes protecting the Human Rights Act and promising a Freedoms Act, which would feature a ban on high-frequency Mosquito dispersal devices, which the party said “discriminate against young people”.

Key articles in the UNCRC are to only detain or imprison young people as a last resort and a guarantee for children to a right to privacy.

In a joint statement Carla Garnelas and Louise King, co-directors of The Children’s Rights Alliance for England (Crae) said: “Crae has been calling for incorporation of the UNCRC into domestic law for many years. It would ensure all children, regardless of circumstances or background can have a good childhood, develop fully and reach their full potential.  

“It would act as a crucial safeguard so minimum standards for children are respected when governments make tough decisions – for example about child poverty and the treatment of children in the criminal justice or immigration systems. Enshrining the UNCRC in UK law will also increase access to justice for children where their rights are breached – giving them a means of redress.”

Crae also backed a ban on Mosquito devices, with Garnelas and King adding: “Children and young people have frequently raised concerns about these devices with us and in 2008, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child called on the UK government to reconsider their use.”
 
Refugee Council policy manager Judith Dennis said: “It’s encouraging to hear of the Liberal Democrats’ commitment to putting children’s rights first by enshrining them in law.”

She also urged the Liberal Democrats to “truly commit to the promise they made in 2010 to end the detention of children for immigration purposes”.

While the Lib Dem manifesto claims that detaining asylum seeking children ended under the coalition government, latest Home Office figures for February this year show that 11 children were officially detained.

Refugee groups have estimated that the figures are likely to be higher due to young people being wrongly detained as adults where their age is not known.   

Dennis added: “Any child who is imprisoned for administrative convenience is one too many; children should be treated as children first, regardless of their immigration status.”