Pivotal new guidance from UN for governments on protecting youngsters from climate crisis
 Landmark new guidance from the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child is demanding that governments take action to protect children in the face of the deepening climate crisis.Read more
European Union – policies for child participation in political and democratic life
Article 24 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union states: “Children(…) may express their views freely. Such views shall be taken into consideration on matters which concern them in accordance with their...Read more
UN: Countries ‘can be held responsible for impact of carbon emissions on children’
In a historic ruling on the harmful effects of climate change on children’s rights, the UN Child Rights Committee has said that an individual country can be held responsible for the negative impact of its...Read more
New youth protection law in Germany: ‘Participation of children is a top priority’
Jutta Croll, Chairwoman of the Board of the German Digital Opportunities Foundation and a Senior Manager on the”Child Protection and Children’s Rights in the Digital World“ project (funded by the German Federal Ministry on Family Affairs),...Read more
Beyond multi-stakeholder tokenism: promoting children’s rights in a digital age
‘About one in three internet users today are children. These are the lucky ones: the children whose parents or guardians can afford devices and data that allow them to continue their schooling at a time when...Read more
Pandemic has had ‘a major impact’ on children’s experiences and rights
A global survey of children’s views and experiences of life under COVID-19 has found that the pandemic had wide-ranging impacts on youngsters’ experiences and rights.Read more
Scotland’s Children Bill: Why the law needs to protect the right of the child when parents separate
Divorce and separation affects many families, and following a breakup, most make their own arrangements about where children will live and how their relationships with each parent will work. But some families struggle with this,...Read more
Urban planning is failing children and breaching their human rights
Children are being left out of decisions about the environments created around them, when really, their needs should be at the heart of them. In the UK, children are becoming less healthy – physically and mentally...Read more
Children’s play is central to their human rights
In this third part of his keynote presentation to the Child in the City international seminar on children’s play, held in November 2017 in London, Adrian Voce outlined the legal framework for children’s right to...Read more
UN criticises UK’s lack of support for disabled children
The United Nations has strongly criticised the treatment of disabled children in the UK and calls on the government to take action to provide better support. The United Nations committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has published...Read more
“Change our story” – UN calls for action on street children
No-one is more dependent on how the built environment and the public realm in general responds to children than those who are forced to live on city streets. The UN Committee on the Rights of the...Read more
Parties for Play?
The UN (2016) has been clear – and a range of evidence confirms – that the UK government needs to commit to doing more for children’s play. This should include: protecting play space through a...Read more
UN links child-friendliness to environment
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s report of its General Discussion Day on children and the environment makes links between children’s freedom to play, and their ability to enjoy a healthy, sustainable environment....Read more
Portugal heads children’s rights index, while UK plummets
The KidsRights Index for 2017, published yesterday, has Portugal as the global frontrunner for recognising and protecting children’s rights, while the UK is among the seriously underperforming countries, falling from 11th to 156th place in just one year.  The international...Read more