How equal are young people? The Right Year For Children launch
No children allowed?
On 15th December, an exhibition showcasing photographs and messages from young people across the country opened at Matrix Chambers, one of the elite barristers’ organization specializing in liberties and human rights. It was followed by an equality workshop for young (under 18 year-olds) child activists and with attendance of some great experts on law, equality and children’s rights.
Carolyne Willow, National Co-ordinator of the Children’s Rights Alliance for England started off by posing a fundamental question - How equal are the children and young people in England today?
Two of the country’s leading discrimination barristers, Karon Monaghan QC of Matrix Chambers and Ulele Burnham of Doughty Street Chambers, stressed the importance of the Equality Act and how it applies to young people’s lives: Karon in her talk on Why we have an Equality Act and why it’s relevant to children and young people, and Ulele in her discussion on Challenging discrimination: real-life stories.
All the participants were asked to bring one object, photograph or picture that they feel symbolizes how children and young people are treated in the UK today. A dice, a wooden box with a sticker on it saying “No children allowed”, a school trophy, a candle and more - all gathered at the workshop table reflecting young people’s personal view on the matter.
Footprints to No. 10 Downing Street
On 16th December, a group of 19 children and young people marched to the Prime Minister HQ to deliver messages from thousands of children all over the country, marking the 20th anniversary of the UK signing up to the UNCRC. They were accompanied by the representatives of four organizations that form the steering Committee of the Right Year For Children celebrations: Alicia Jones of UNICEF, Carolyne Willow of CRAE, Matt Daw and Clare Struthers of PhotoVoice, and Kate Parish of Pupil Voice & Participation England.
Children sent their messages on paper footprints, each footprint symbolizing one signature on this unusual petition, aiming to remind the government to remember young people’s rights when creating new laws and policies.
One of the participants, 18 year-old Rory Murray from Bracknell, told Children&Young People Now:
“It’s an important moment to mark the 20th anniversary. A lot has been achieved in 20 years, especially around giving children the special protection they need, but much more needs to be done. In the next 20 years I hope to see the UNCRC brought into our domestic law. The government is getting there on listening to children but they still have a long way to go.”
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child gives children everywhere over 40 major rights, including the right to education, family support, an adequate standard of living, to health, to play and recreation, to protection from all forms of violence, and the right to be heard and taken seriously. The Convention requires that all children be respected as human beings with views, feelings and ideas of their own.
Unlike many countries, the UK still hasn’t made the Convention part of its domestic law.