Guidelines for Written Evidence to the Civil Society Alternative Report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child 2022

Your evidence should outline what has changed within the key children’s rights issues/areas you work on since we published our submission to inform the LOIPR in November 2020 (500 words per issue) and include:

  • An assessment/analysis of where the Government has made/not made progress under the CRC and the 2016 Concluding Observations on your top children’s rights issues.
  • You can refer to the UN Committee’s List of Issues Prior to Reporting for the UK published in February 22 as this covers the UN’s areas of focus for the UK, you can also include issues not raised in there.
  • Highlight any glaring inaccuracies or omissions in the Government’s State Party report published in June 22.
  • References to new studies, data or reports that have come out since November 2020 to evidence your points, illustrate an issue or highlight progress or regression since our submission to the LOIPR or inaccuracies and omissions in the State Party Report.
  • In particular, we are keen to receive information drawing on direct participation work with children so we can include their voices in the report.
  • Specific recommendations that the UN Committee should make to the UK Government (these will be the 2023 Concluding Observations on the UK). The recommendations should be precise so the action required from Government is clear and it is easier for civil society to hold them to account. For example:
  1. The Government should not replace the Human Rights Act with a Bill of Rights.
  2. The Government should re-establish cross-government long and short-term child poverty targets and poverty reduction strategies, in-line with the Child Poverty Act 2010.
  3. The Government should introduce a cross-departmental national strategy with specific targets to address growing health inequality and the specific needs of children with protected characteristics and vulnerable children.
  • Information on issues of special concern to specific or minority groups of children and young people e.g. children in care, LGBT+ children, children with SEND or migrant children.
  • Any other concise information you believe will be helpful on trends you are seeing in your work affecting children’s rights (e.g. information on how the criminal justice system is working for children, how disabled children are being affected by welfare cuts or how children in care have their voices listened to).
  • Please do not forward publications without clearly indicating for what sections should be used. Try and refer to this evidence in your submission.
  • Please try and limit each issue to 500 words.

Contact:  Please send your evidence marked for the attention of Elsa Corry-Roake Elsacorry-roake@justforkidslaw.org by Cop Monday 5th September 2022.