The Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact, in Wales, the UK, in Europe and globally. While children may not have experienced such high rates of mortality due to the virus in comparison with adults, they have had to endure many restrictions on their human rights as governments across the UK and Europe have introduced laws and policies in response to the pandemic.
The Observatory carried out research on the impact of Covid-19 Emergency Measures on children’s rights for the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children (ENOC) and set out our findings in a report called: ‘Mapping the Impact of the Emergency Measures introduced in Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic on Children’s Rights in ENOC Member States’.
Our report discusses evidence provided by ENOC members (including the views of the four UK Children’s Commissioners) and highlights how Covid-19 Emergency Measures have had a negative impact on children’s rights across the UK and Europe. This was reinforced by research conducted by children and young people for ENOC.
Overall, our research demonstrates that Emergency Measures were introduced without appropriate consideration of children or children’s rights. Governments primarily responded to the pandemic in ways which led to negative impacts on children’s rights and failed to take into account children’s rights when introducing Emergency Measures. Children’s rights were not used as a guide to decision-making: and children and/or child specialist advisers were largely excluded from decisions about Emergency Measures.
However, in Wales (and in some other jurisdictions), as the pandemic progressed, the Children’s Commissioner for Wales, the Welsh Government, Welsh Youth Parliament and Children in Wales (NGO) consulted children across Wales for their views on the impact of the pandemic and carried out Children’s Rights Impact Assessments. Respondents to our ENOC researcher confirmed that these actions had a positive impact on some elements of policy for children during the pandemic. (For further information on the Wales based response please see here:)
The UK Government, however, did not undertake Children’s Rights Impact Assessments on the Emergency Measures, which is a process recommended by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child to ensure that laws and policies, respect protect and fulfil children’s rights. The UK Government also did not consult with children.
Given the negative impact on children’s rights, the fact that children were not fully considered in the development of Emergency Measures and children and their representatives were not appropriately consulted…
We recommend that the UK Covid Inquiry extends its remit to ensure:
- A child rights approach is undertaken. It fully considers the impact of the UK Covid-19 Emergency Measures on the full range of children’s rights and whether the UK Government, devolved administrations and public authorities respected, protected and fulfilled their international human rights obligations. In particular, it considers whether measures that were introduced, were based on robust evidence, necessary, proportionate, non-discriminatory and implemented for the appropriate amount of time?
- It presents child-friendly and accessible information about the Inquiry to children across the UK.
- It consults with and listens to the viewpoints of children (and children from diverse groups) across the UK and gives them due weight.
- It takes evidence from those who advocate and represent the interests and rights of children across the UK e.g., UK Children’s Commissioners and NGOs representing children, professionals across all sectors that work with children.
- It presents learning and recommendations for further pandemics and public emergencies so that children are not discriminated against, and their rights are not adversely affected in the future.
- It uses all this learning to makes clear child rights-based recommendations to the UK Government, devolved administrations and all public authorities, so that they do better when responding to public emergencies in the future and as part of the current recovery response, taking into account the European Network on Ombudspersons for Children position statement on a ‘Children’s Rights Approach to Public Emergencies’. You can read the ‘Position Statement on a Children’s Rights Approach to Public Emergencies 2021’here.
Authors:
Dr Rhian Croke is an Independent Children’s Rights Consultant and an affiliate of the Observatory on Human Rights of Children
Professor Simon Hoffman is an expert in human rights and a Joint Coordinator of the Observatory on Human Rights of Children