Children's Rights and Alternative Care: What next for Scotland?
Learning from the UNCRC Day of General Discussion
This webinar focused on the themes and recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s Day of General Discussion (DGD) about the rights of children and young people in alternative care.
We heard from guest speakers:
- Professor Ann Skelton, Member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Bruce Adamson, Scotland’s Children and Young People's Commissioner
- Megan Moffat, Human Rights Policy Officer at Who Cares? Scotland
We also heard reflections from a young person who contributed to the Day of General Discussion, as well as themes raised by children and young people throughout the DGD.
Attendees were able to:
- Hear about some of the themes children, young people and stakeholders raised through a global consultation.
- Consider how the recommendations may help support our work in Scotland, in the context of the incorporation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and The Promise implementation plan.
- Submit questions to help shape a discussion between our guest speakers, where they will consider key concerns for the sector.
Download the webinar transcript
Useful resources
The 2021 Day of General Discussion was convened by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and focused on children’s rights and alternative care. It offered an opportunity to consider specific issues of relevance for children in or at the edges of care, and to consider how best their rights can be promoted and protected.
Find out more about the 2021 Day of General Discussion
In Summer 2021, CELCIS published an article in the Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care, 'Why engaging on children’s rights internationally matters at the local level: 2021 Days of General Discussion on Children’s Rights and Alternative Care', which explains the purpose and ambition of the 2021 DGD, and makes the case for active participation and involvement in international policy and legal work in order to support the work at the local level, and in countries and communities around the world.
The conversations and reflections before and during the DGD were shaped by the many inputs that were shared from right across the world – including Scotland – from children and young people, individuals, NGOs, States, human rights institutions, practitioners and academia.
In a blog post for CELCIS in November 2021, Tiegan Boyens, who is adopted and lives in England, discusses her experience at the 2021 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s Day of General Discussion on Children’s Rights and Alternative Care, held in September, and reflects on how we can all do more to help children and young people realise their rights.
An outcomes document, summarising and analysing the submissions to the CRC Committee, presentations, discussions, and contributions during the DGD, with recommendations, was published in June 2022.