Government backs UN on the Rights of the Child
Friday, September 19, 2008
The UK government today endorsed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in full after deciding to end its opt-outs on juvenile justice and immigration policy.
When the UK signed the convention it refused to accept sections prohibiting the imprisonment of children with adults and putting the human rights of child asylum seekers before immigration concerns.
But reports today suggest Foreign Secretary David Miliband is now set to inform the UN that the UK has decided to abandon both opt-outs and endorse the convention in its entirety.
The move comes just days before UK ministers face a grilling from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, which is currently reviewing the UK’s progress on meeting the convention.
This is the news we’ve been waiting for, said Carolyne Willow, national coordinator of the Children’s Rights Alliance for England.
This must be the start of considerable changes in juvenile justice and immigration policy. Ministers must not stop here – after removing the reservations, they must remove harmful laws and policy.
However a spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said the department had no information about the decision.