Children’s rights in the Bailiwick covered by UN Convention

Thursday 10 December 2020

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has now been formally extended to Guernsey and Alderney.

The convention covers all aspects of a child’s life and getting it extended to the Bailiwick has been a high priority for the States of Guernsey since 2016.

Pictured: The UNCRC is the most widely ratified piece of human rights legislation in the world.

“Putting children’s rights at the centre of everything we do as a government and island community is naturally essential,” said Vice-President of the Policy & Resources Committee, Deputy Heidi Soulsby.

“This convention ensures a legally binding undertaking exists to keep our children safe and secure.”

There are 54 articles in the Convention which include social and cultural rights all children should be entitled to.

“Guernsey now joins nations across the world,” said Youth Commission CEO, Charlie Cox, “as having this convention as the foundation for the rights our children are entitled to. It means that if you’re born here or move here, you know there is a set of globally accepted standards applied locally for all children.”

Pictured top: The UNCRC was formally extended to us last month.