Barriers to the realisation of children’s rights in Ireland
| dc.contributor.author | Kilkelly, Ursula | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2014-05-01T13:53:38Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2014-05-01T13:53:38Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2007-08 | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Kilkelly, Ursula Barriers to the realisation of children’s rights in Ireland. Office for the Ombudsman for Children. 2007 | en_GB |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10147/316400 | |
| dc.description | This research was commissioned in 2006 by the Ombudsman for Children as a baseline research study concerning children’s rights in Ireland. Its objective is to identify the principal obstacles children and young people face with regard to the realisation of their rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is a comprehensive internationallybinding treaty which sets out the rights of children and young people in a variety of settings and contexts. As well as being the most highly ratified instrument in international law, it is unique in encompassing civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights and humanitarian provisions in a single human rights instrument.1 Moreover, its comprehensive nature means that the CRC contains standards applicable in all areas of the child’s life including: family life (Arts 3, 5, 18, 20, 21); school (Arts 28 and 29); and health and material welfare (Arts 6, 24, 27). It contains provisions on vulnerable children and those in particularly difficult circumstances such as: children whose parents have separated (Arts 3, 9); children who have been subjected to abuse and exploitation (Arts 19, 30-34, 37); children with disabilities (Art 23); refugee children (Arts 7, 8, 10 and 22); and children in conflict with the law (Arts 37, 40). It contains rights of relevance to very young children (such as Arts 7 and 18) as well as those more important to older children (Arts 13, 14 and 17). It refers to the right of families to financial and other support from the State (Arts 5, 18) and specifies the duties on the State to respect and vindicate the rights of children individually as well as members of a group (for example Arts 24 and 29). Overall, the CRC is unrivalled insofar as it recognises the rights of children and young people and it details how they are to be promoted and protected in all areas and at all stages of the child’s life. As a result, it is widely regarded as the 'touchstone for children's rights throughout the world'.2 Guiding Principles Fundamental to the Convention is that it recognises the rights of children as autonomous rights holders, and recognises the State as the principal duty bearer. Its provisions represent and reflect the meaning of a rights-based approach to children’s issues and services.3 The Convention has four general principles, so denoted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the body given responsibility for monitoring the Convention’s implementation.4 These principles are contained in: Article 2, which provides for the right of every child to enjoy CRC rights without discrimination of any kind; Article 3, which requires that the best interests of the child are a primary consideration in all actions taken concerning children; Article 6, which recognises the right of the child to life, survival and development; and Article 12, which provides that the State shall assure to every child capable of forming a view the right to express those views freely in all matters concerning him/her and to have those views given due weight in accordance with the child’s age and maturity. More than any other, Article 12 is a defining principle of children’s rights; it has both substantive and procedural effect and is both fundamentally important in its own right and as a provision that enables children’s exercise of their rights in other areas.5 It applies to children of all ages and, more than any other provision, encapsulates the true meaning of children’s rights as a recognition of the respect and equal treatment to which all children and their views are entitled. According to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Article 12 represents a ‘new social contract’, one by which children are ‘fully recognised as rights-holders who are not only entitled to receive protection but also have the right to participate in all matters affecting them, a right which can be considered as the symbol for their recognition as rights holders’.6 Monitoring the CRC Most commentators agree that, despite its content, issues of enforcement and implementation are key to maximising the CRC's potential to improve the lives of children and young people at national level.7 According to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, ensuring that all the provisions of the CRC are respected in law and policy, and in the delivery of services, demands a continuous process of child impact assessment and evaluation. In addition to self-monitoring by Government, however, the Committee also considers independent monitoring of progress towards implementation to be essential.8 Academic research has a particular role to play in this regard, as do national human rights institutions like the Ombudsman for Children, whose specific mandate includes keeping under review the adequacy and effectiveness of law and practice relating to the protection of children’s rights.9 Under the Ombudsman for Children Act, 2002, Section 7(1), the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) has a number of duties that mandate independent research into the extent to which children enjoy their rights in law and practice and how the CRC can be better enforced. For example, the OCO has duties:to collect and disseminate information on matters relating to the rights and welfare of children; to highlight issues relating to children’s rights and welfare of children that are of concern; and to monitor and review generally the operation of legislation concerning matters that relate to the rights and welfare of children. Ireland ratified the CRC on 28 September 1992 and its progress in the implementation of the CRC has been reviewed on two occasions, in 1998 and 2006, by the Committee on the Rights of the Child. On both occasions, the Committee identified a wide range of concerns regarding implementation and enforcement of the CRC and, in its recent conclusions, highlighted how far Ireland has come in implementing the CRC, and how far it must still travel in this respect.10 This research aims to build on these evaluations by auditing law, policy and practice in Ireland against the Convention. It identifies the principal barriers that prevent children and young people in Ireland from realising fully their rights and makes recommendations both to the Ombudsman for Children and, generally, as to how this situation might be improved. | en_GB |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.publisher | Ombudsman for Children Office (OCO) | en_GB |
| dc.subject | CHILD HEALTH | |
| dc.subject.other | CHILDREN'S RIGHTS | |
| dc.title | Barriers to the realisation of children’s rights in Ireland | en_GB |
| dc.type | Report | en |
| dc.contributor.department | Faculty of Law, University College Cork | en_GB |
| refterms.dateFOA | 2018-08-30T10:26:48Z |
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