Date: 26th October 2013
Category: Civil Rights and Freedoms

As a follow-up to the 2006 UN Study on Violence against Children, the International NGO Council on Violence Against Children has launched its latest report, "Creating a non-violent juvenile justice system".

Date: 23rd October 2013
Category: Civil Rights and Freedoms, General measures of implementation

Violence against children, the 'scourge' of armed conflicts and children's right to be heard were some of the children's rights issues raised at the 68th session of the General Assembly in New York.

Date: 8th August 2013
Category: Civil Rights and Freedoms

Child health experts from Australia and New Zealand have launched a campaign to overturn laws allowing parents to use physical punishment against children in the name of discipline.

Date: 8th August 2013
Category: Civil Rights and Freedoms

The UN has launched a 12-month public education campaign designed to raise awareness of homophobic and transphobic violence and discrimination, and to foster respect for the human rights of LGBT people.

Date: 1st July 2013
Category: Civil Rights and Freedoms

The Scottish Parliament's Equal Opportunities Committee is seeking views on the provisions set out in the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill, such as allowing the religious and belief registration of civil partnerships and enabling civil partnerships to change to marriage.

Date: 24th May 2013
Category: Civil Rights and Freedoms

The UK has been criticised by the Human Rights Council for its low minimum age of criminal responsibility; the high numbers of children in prison; the increase in the use of restraints against children in detention and a lack of willingness by the Government to protect children from physical punishment in the home.

Date: 8th May 2013
Category: Civil Rights and Freedoms

The Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children has published its latest newsletter, which covers a new report on corporal punishment legislation in the European Union, a new review of research on the effects of corporal punishment and new laws towards prohibition in schools, among other features.

Date: 24th April 2013
Category: Civil Rights and Freedoms

The United Kingdom's Border Agency separated 200 children from their parents between 2009 and 2012, which caused them adverse effects such as emotional distress, nightmares, insomnia, weight loss and feelings of "extreme isolation".

Date: 19th April 2013
Category: Civil Rights and Freedoms

There has been an update from the Information Commissioner's office of guidance on information sharing between services under existing law where a child's wellbeing is at risk.

Date: 2nd April 2013
Category: Civil Rights and Freedoms

Next year's Human Rights Council's Annual Day on the Rights of the Child will be on access to justice for children. This is terrific news as it is an important issue so often ignored.

Date: 2nd April 2013
Category: Civil Rights and Freedoms

MSP for South Scotland, Jim Hume, has announced his intention to consult on a proposal for a Member's Bill which would ban passive smoking in cars with children.

Date: 4th February 2013
Category: Civil Rights and Freedoms

UK Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, has defended parents' 'right' to smack. A spokesperson for the children's charity, NSPCC, said: "There are more positive ways to discipline children and a clear message that hitting anyone is not right would benefit all of society."

Date: 7th January 2013
Category: Civil Rights and Freedoms

The Children Rights International Network (CRIN) has launched a new collaborative project which seeks to establish "the legal status of the child" in national law in every country in the world, and has taken this opportunity to update their Legal Assistance Toolkit.

Date: 5th November 2012
Category: Disability, Basic Health and Welfare, Civil Rights and Freedoms

While there are an estimate 120,000 children living in the United Kingdom without legal immigration status, there are no concrete figures for the number of children with no nationality, precisely because there is no official record of them.

Date: 18th May 2011
Category: Access to appropriate information, Non-discrimination, Civil Rights and Freedoms, Disability, Basic Health and Welfare

Engender would like to work with members of Together (individuals or organisations) to hold workshops on child poverty and its relation to gender inequality.

Date: 18th March 2011
Category: General measures of implementation, Civil Rights and Freedoms

The UK Government has launched an independent commission to investigate the case for a UK Bill of Rights to 'forms part of the Government's strategy to ensure that ... rights, freedoms and liberties are protected in a way that properly reflects our traditions.'

Date: 14th March 2011
Category: General measures of implementation, Civil Rights and Freedoms

The International Children's Peace Prize is an initiative of KidsRights and is presented annually to a child for his or her devotion to children's rights, anywhere in the world.

Date: 7th February 2011
Category: Civil Rights and Freedoms, General measures of implementation

In October 2010, Edinburgh hosted the 10th International Conference of National Human Rights Institutions. At the end of the event, the 'Edinburgh Declaration' was launched to call for action to address the corporate abuse of human rights. As a result, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on transnational corporations and other business enterprises, Professor John Ruggie, proposed draft "Guiding Principles for the Implementation of the United Nations 'Protect, Respect and Remedy' Framework".

Date: 24th January 2011
Category: General measures of implementation, Civil Rights and Freedoms

The briefings build on the 'Guide to Getting it right for every child' and provide a wealth of useful detail on various aspects of the programme.

Date: 16th December 2010
Category: General measures of implementation, UK 1st periodic review, Civil Rights and Freedoms

We would like to invite you to our 'Winter Seminars' which will draw on the findings of the State of Children's Rights (2010) report and will explore how progress could be made to improve children's rights across Scotland.