The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: a study of legal implementation in 12 countries

Study of legal and non-legal measures of implementing the CRC in 12 countries, and analysing the most effective, practical and impactful ways of embedding children’s rights into UK domestic law. UNICEF UK commissioned Queen’s University Belfast to study the legal and non-legal measures of implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 12 countries other than the UK. The aim is to analyse the most effective, practical and impactful ways of embedding children’s rights into UK domestic law. The research team selected the 12 countries (The 12 countries were: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden) to demonstrate the variety of ways in which countries with common or civil law legal systems have provided for children’s rights at national level by taking steps to implement the CRC. This study provides an international context to compare the current status in the United Kingdom, more specifically England, and the devolved jurisdictions of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales