Brexit: Children and Young People’s Panel on Europe launch report

Date: 28th February 2019
Category: Civil Rights and Freedoms, General measures of implementation

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The Children and Young People’s Panel on Europe launched its report last week. The report sets out Panel members’ views and priorities around Brexit, including recommendations for decision-makers.

The report is the culmination of seven months’ work by the Panel, a group of 19 children and young people from across Scotland. All members were too young to vote in the 2016 EU referendum and are clear that politicians must listen to the views of children and young people, in line with Article 12 UNCRC on the right to be heard.
The Panel’s key recommendations include:

• On EU funding: Continued contribution to Erasmus+ by the UK and Scottish governments, allowing young people to study, volunteer and participate in youth work projects in the EU and young people from the EU to study, volunteer and participate in youth work projects in the UK.
• On opportunities to work, study and travel abroad: Visas should not be required for travel between the UK and the EU after Brexit; this must be supported by continued co-operation on security to ensure that young people are safe from crime.
• On the economy, trade and jobs: UK Government should keep all workers’ rights that the EU gives to workers – the Panel wants Scotland to be a world leader in the way workers are treated.
• On children and young people’s rights: Panel members want all children, young people and their families to learn more about their human rights. They want the UK and Scottish governments to listen to children and young people’s views around Brexit and take these seriously.

Panel member Oscar, aged 8, said: "One of our rights is to be heard and respected and we want to exercise that!”  Read the Panel’s full report here.