22 September 2008

Jacqui Smith, Jack Straw and Ed Balls today announced that the UK Government is removing two reservations, relating to immigration and children in custody with adults, on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

The Government will now also ratify the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography by the end of the year.

The news comes ahead of the UK's appearance at the UN this week (23/24 September) where it will set out its commitment to the Convention and update it on progress on children's wellbeing.

Following a public consultation earlier this year, the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, announced the decision to remove the immigration based reservation to Article 22 of the UNCRC.

Ms Smith said:

"We want every child to be as safe and secure as possible. While the lifting of the immigration reservation does not mean that every child who comes to the UK will be entitled to remain here, it does signal our commitment to treat children in the UK immigration system with compassion.

"We are absolutely clear that the UK Border Agency's (UKBA's) treatment of children must be as sensitive as possible. That's why we've transformed our children's policy, and even legislated to impose a duty on UKBA to keep children safe from harm."

Today the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls, and the Secretary of State for Justice, Jack Straw, also announced the decision to remove the children in custody based reservation to Article 37(c) of the UNCRC.

On the removal of the children-in-custody reservation, Justice Secretary, Jack Straw, said:

"We have conducted a review of the arrangements for accommodating young people who are remanded or sentenced to custody. It concluded that all custodial establishments for under-18s in England and Wales are now able to comply with the terms of Article 37(c). Scotland and Northern Ireland have confirmed that they too no longer need the reservation.

"This is a sign of the change that has occurred in the secure estate for children and young people, following my announcement as Home Secretary in 1999 that we intended to remove all girls under 17 from Prison Service establishments. Since then we have set up a separate estate for boys and transformed provision for girls, a process which involved building new units for 17-year-old girls and separate mother and baby facilities for under-18s. It is a major achievement."

Secretary of State for Children, Ed Balls, said:

"When we launched this new Department for Children last year we said that we would bring together all aspects of policy affecting children and young people. The lifting of these reservations is proof that the Government is delivering on its mission to improve the lives of all children, including the most vulnerable, such as asylum seeking children and children in custody.

"Our Children's Plan was very much informed by the UNCRC and we are rightly proud of the steady progress we have been making on improving children's lives and we look forward to doing even more in the forthcoming years."

The Government will use its appearance before the UNCRC to outline the work achieved by the Children's Plan in England, drafting of which was informed by the UNCRC. The delegation is made up of senior officials from across Whitehall, led by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Delegations from the Devolved Administrations will contribute information on how improving children's wellbeing is being taken forward in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This is the most senior delegation the UK has sent to the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Measures already taken forward following the launch of the Children's Plan in 2007 include:

- the launch of the Youth Crime Action Plan;
- an announcement of £235 million for children's play areas;
- a further £190 million for world class places for young people;
- a new Action Plan to keep children safe, including home safety; and
- a new strategy, led by Dr Tanya Byron, to keep children safe online.

Removing the UNCRC immigration reservation comes on top of child protection measures already adopted by the UKBA:

- in June 2008 the Home Secretary announced that the UKBA would adopt a s11-type duty to protect and safeguard the welfare of children via the Immigration Bill;
- the UK Borders Act 2007 puts the UK Border Agency's Code of Practice for Keeping Children Safe from Harm on a statutory footing; and
- the UKBA is piloting alternatives to immigration detention for families.

UNICEF UK Executive Director, David Bull, said:

"We applaud the Government's announcement which lifts these remaining UK reservations to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). This represents an unambiguous commitment to full implementation of the CRC.

"We are delighted that the Government has decided to withdraw the UK reservation on immigration and nationality matters and on keeping children deprived of liberty separated from adults. The Government has also committed to ratifying the Optional Protocol to the CRC on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. This will strengthen the Government's action against the exploitation of children.

"Article 45 of the CRC gives a special role to UNICEF in the implementation of the Convention. We look forward to working together with Government towards the realisation of the rights and wellbeing of all children in the UK."

The UK is also on track to deliver the commitment made by the Home Secretary in January to ratify by the end of this year the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.

All agencies dealing with children abide by the overriding principle that children in the Government's care deserve to be treated sensitively and with compassion.

Editor's Notes

This press notice relates to 'England' 1. The UNCRC is an international human rights treaty that contains a comprehensive set of rights for all children and young people (aged 17 and under). It sets out more than 40 substantive rights for children and young people.

2. The UK signed the Convention on 19 April 1990, ratified it on 16 December 1991 and it came into force on 15 January 1992.

3. The immigration reservation on Article 22 was entered when the UK ratified the UNCRC on 16 December 1991. It read: "The United Kingdom reserves the right to apply such legislation, in so far as it relates to the entry into, stay in and departure from the United Kingdom of those who do not have the right under the law of the United Kingdom to enter and remain in the United Kingdom, and to the acquisition and possession of citizenship, as it may deem necessary from time to time." It can only formally be lifted once the necessary arrangements have been made with the UN Secretary General, which will take place before the end of October.

4. Article 37 (c) reads: "Every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect......In particular, every child deprived of liberty shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in the best interests of the child not to do so..." The UK's reservation against that Article reads: "Where at any time there is a lack of suitable accommodation or adequate facilities for a particular individual in any institution in which young offenders are detained, or where the mixing of adults and children is deemed to be mutually beneficial, the United Kingdom reserves the right not to apply article 37(c) in so far as those provisions require children who are detained to be accommodated separately from adults."

5. There were originally four reservations for the UK - reservations relating to child hearings in Scotland and to employment legislation were withdrawn in 1997 (although the reservation relating to employment legislation remains for the Overseas Territories) leaving the two that have been announced today.

6. The Government is now in a position to ratify the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, by the end of the year, subject to Parliament. The Optional Protocol was adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution of 25 May 2000. Since signing the Optional Protocol the Government has strengthened the law, developed a range of practical measures to assist law enforcement agencies, children's services and other organisations, and strengthened mechanisms for international cooperation. This now puts us in a position to be compliant with the Protocol and therefore able to pursue ratification.

7. The UK also ratified the Optional Protocol on children in Armed Conflict in 2003 and the Government will report on how it has implemented it to the UN at Geneva this week.

8. The Children's Plan was launched by the Department of Children, Schools and Families in December 2007, and can be found on at www.dcsf.gov.uk.

Contact Details

Public Enquiries 0870 000 2288, info@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk

Press Notice 2008/0209