“Do Your Promises and Tell the Truth. Treat us with Respect”: Realizing the Rights of Children and Young People in Northern Ireland

Abstract

In 1991, the UK Government, incorporating the jurisdiction of Northern Ireland, ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Reports about progress in implementation of the Convention are submitted to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UN Committee) at regular intervals. Because the Convention is not incorporated into domestic law there is no redress for breach of its Articles. But when the UK Government reported in 1994 and 1999, the UN Committee responded critically, raising a number of serious concerns and making a range of recommendations. In 2007, the UK Government submitted its third and fourth consolidated report. Based on consultations with 132 children and young people in Northern Ireland, this article reflects their understanding and expectations regarding rights, specifically: participation, religion and culture, protection from harm, health care, standard of living, education, age-appropriate play and leisure. Discussion of the relevance of a rights-based perspective to understanding about childhood and youth explores social constructions of ‘children’ and ‘childhood’, the centrality of participation, current promotion and protection of children’s rights. How children and young people define rights, and their lived experiences, provide an insight into the realization of children’s rights in contemporary Northern Ireland. The final words are key messages for Government from the children and young people who participated.