The 7th December 2023 was a momentous day for children in Scotland, with Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) at Holyrood passing unanimously the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill at the Reconsideration Stage.
The Path to the Present
Onlookers may be forgiven for feeling a sense of déjà vu – after all, the Bill was initially introduced on 1st September 2020 and then passed unanimously on 16th March 2021. The intervening period has however been far from straightforward, with a referral to the Supreme Court being made soon afterwards by the UK Government, on the basis that certain provisions would fall out with the legislative competence of Holyrood. Subsequently the Supreme Court in their October 2021 judgement went on to find that certain provisions fell out with the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament.
Alongside an early commitment from the Scottish Government, following on from the Supreme Court judgement, that ‘work on the landmark legislation would continue’, the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland, Together– along with others within Scotland’s children’s rights sector - continued to take every opportunity to highlight the detrimental impacts being made by the delay. Importantly, these national voices were reinforced by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in June 2023 (para. 8), who recommended that the State Party: ‘Expeditiously bring forward the amendments necessary to enact the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill in Scotland.’
Part of a Bigger Children’s Rights Picture?
The bringing forth of the necessary amendments by the Scottish Government and subsequent passing of the Bill has not come a moment too soon for children - and with the news in early January 2024 that the UK Government will not challenge the Bill - it will now finally go for Royal Assent.
The potential of this specific piece of legislation and what it has taken to get to this point cannot be underestimated - but as my own research area relating to children in conflict with the law reveals (see: CYCJ Practice Guide for more detail on key features of Scottish youth justice) - it is part of a much bigger picture in respect of advancing children’s rights in Scotland. The vital and ongoing work of The Promise, the recent launch of the Bairns’ Hoose Pathfinder phase, along with the potential for significant changes to be made to the youth justice landscape via the Children (Care and Justice ) (Scotland) Bill, are just a handful of current examples which can complement incorporation of the UNCRC and help bring about rights-based, transformative and positive change in children’s lives. Highlighting these examples, in no way, however, seeks to minimise or overlook those rights-based shortcomings that we know still exist within Scottish youth justice and which continue to require urgent attention.
Incorporation and its Implementation in Scotland
As we move into a fresh new year, a challenging but exciting prospect awaits, ensuring that Incorporation of the UNCRC is implemented effectively for children in Scotland. As Clan Childlaw have identified in a recent blog, the legislation now also ‘… creates the foundation upon which the Scottish Government can build’. Reflecting this point, my own experience of working within the areas of youth justice and children’s rights in Scotland suggests to me that whilst organisations over the coming months and years will strive to ensure incorporation of the UNCRC is a success, importantly they will also not shy away from critically reflecting on developments to take place along the way – this will of course be crucial if children’s rights in Scotland are to be met comprehensively.
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