Children’s rights

We have recently established a partnership with Great Ormond Street Hospital to deliver some free Continuing Professional Development (CPD) sessions to healthcare professionals at Alder Hey, Great Ormond Street, Leeds Children’s Hospital and beyond. The sessions are designed for any healthcare professionals working with children or having an interest in children’s rights.

Our approach to children’s rights is grounded in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (UN, 1989). The UNCRC is an international document which outlines rights which apply specifically to children. It presents 54 articles aimed at protecting children’s civil, political, social economic and cultural rights and applies to all children from birth to 18 years. The UNCRC has been ratified by all countries across the world apart from the United States of America. The UNCRC was ratified by the United Kingdom government in 1991.

We promote adopting a child rights-based approach for all professionals working with or for children through using the UNCRC as a practical framework to ensure children’s rights are met, protected and promoted. We are particularly concerned with promoting the requirements of Article 12 of the UNCRC. This article sets out children’s right to express their views freely on all matters that affect them and for their views to be listened to and taken seriously. In relation to this article, we adopt the stance that children are fully capable beings who have a mind of their own and are able to form and express their own views.

To find out more, contact Professor Carol Robinson: [email protected]

Carol is delivering a range of free CPD sessions based on Children’s Rights, see the latest sessions.