The Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People has joined fellow children’s rights watchdogs from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Jersey to urge governments to fully incorporate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into domestic law.

Incorporation would give children’s rights legal force, making them enforceable rather than merely aspirational. The UNCRC, ratified by the UK in 1991, requires states to take all appropriate legislative measures to implement its provisions.

Scotland has passed legislation to incorporate the UNCRC to the maximum extent possible under devolution. Wales has built on its 2011 Rights of Children and Young Persons Measure, and Jersey enacted the Children (Convention Rights) Law in 2022. The commissioners noted these steps as positive examples.

The joint statement described incorporation as transformative, particularly for children facing adversity such as those with disabilities, in care, living in poverty, or from minority communities. It cited evidence from Norway and Sweden that incorporation leads to more transparent and accountable policy-making and more efficient use of public funds by addressing root causes of inequality.

The commissioners called on their respective administrations to act with urgency to enshrine children’s rights in law, describing it as a legal and moral obligation to build a society where all children are valued and heard.