James Kane responds to the post by young person, Brooke, Mental Health Officer of the Secondary Students’ Union of Northern Ireland (SSUNI). In doing so, he discusses the School Uniforms (Guidelines and Allowances) Act (Northern Ireland) 2026. He places the Act in the context of ongoing campaigns by children and […]
In this post, Brooke, Mental Health Officer of the Secondary Students’ Union of Northern Ireland (SSUNI) argues that all girls should be allowed to wear trousers in school. She highlights the work of SSUNI, campaigning for equality in schools and for better school uniform policies. James Kane responds (here) Students […]
Young person, Sarah Martin, writes about her dream for the UNCRC to be incorporated into domestic law in Northern Ireland. She discusses the importance of the UNCRC in articulating children’s rights, supporting her work as a children’s rights defender, and facilitating productive conversations with adults. She emphasises that any attempt […]
Professor Bronagh Byrne responds to a post by young person, Sarah Martin. In doing so, she highlights how the conversation about incorporating the UNCRC is not new in Northern Ireland. However, incorporation in Scotland, contemporary challenges, the clear benefits from incorporation, and a background of children’s rights failures, are all […]
Dr Siobhán McAlister and Dr Gail Neill respond to a post by young person, Rebecca Deane McCann. In doing so, they highlight the relationship between children’s rights and youth work. They argue that funding cuts, short-term funding cycles, and policy delays not only put youth work at jeopardy but also […]
Young person, Rebecca Deane McCann writes about fundings cuts to youth work. She discusses her own experience and questions whether funding cuts ignore children’s rights. Dr Siobhán McAlister and Dr Gail Neill respond (found here). Youth Clubs are only guaranteed funding until June. Does this mean children are only guaranteed […]
I have been a children’s rights defender in various guises for over 30 years, although I only discovered the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1998. This came as a revelation to me; it provided a framework to measure the extent by which we realise […]
James Kane introduces the Children’s Rights Blog and its mission. He does so through his own journey from a children’s rights holder to a child, and now adult, rights defender. He traces his journey from the Youth Panel of the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY), to […]