58  February 2016
UN scrutinises
Children’s rights
Government shows improvements but must
address the Concluding Observations
F
or the first time in a decade, the Irish govern-
ment defended its record on children’s rights
before the United Nations in Geneva, on 14th
January 2016. Poverty and homelessness, the
rights of children in direct provision, the rights
of Traveller and Roma Children and education issues
were dominant themes, raised from different
perspectives.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child also
asked about the incorporation of children’s rights into
Irish law, the duty to hear children in legal proceedings,
complaints and monitoring mechanisms, and the
child’s right to identity in the context of surrogacy.
Child protection was an important focal point
throughout the discussions and the UN Committee
members asked a range of questions about the extent
of services and supports available to protect children
from harm and to support families. Children’s rights in
healthcare – obesity, smoking, alcohol and mental
health – were queried. The rights of children with dis-
abilities and in alternative care, in detention and in the
immigration system were all scrutinised.
The hearing was part of the process of monitoring
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, a treaty binding on Ireland since 1992. The gov-
ernment delegation was led by Minister for Children
and Youth Affairs, Dr James Reilly, TD.
It was a measure of the political importance of the
process that the Minister was accompanied by a large
delegation of civil servants and officials from all major
government departments.
The hearing is an important opportunity to put pres-
sure on Government in a public, international forum.
For many of the non-governmental organisations
POLITICS
by Ursula Kilkelly
  February 2016 59
Amendments
to protect school ethos
were welcomed, if with
surprise. The rapporteurs
sought clarity on child
poverty and questioned
why children in direct
provision could not
complain to the
Ombudsman
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present like the Children’s Rights Alliance, - and
for the Ombudsman for Children - this is the cul-
mination of a decade of advocacy. The Irish
Human Rights and Equality Commission partici-
pates in all UN treaty-monitoring hearings.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child is
a particularly wide-ranging treaty, making both
its implementation and its monitoring challeng-
ing. Mainstream issues of education and health
sit alongside the concerns of children who are
especially vulnerable or whose rights are
breached by their particular circumstances.
Guidelines ensure that all matters of impor
-
tance are covered in the six-hour dialogue with
the Government delegation.
The hearing is a probing, constructive dia-
logue, rather than an adversarial process. The
Government delegation is obliged to provide
information in almost immediate response to
detailed questioning from the Committee mem-
bers. Answers demonstrated that the
Government delegation was well prepared and
few questions threw them off guard. Responses
were generally succinct and direct although the
Committee regularly interrupted if answers
were too long-winded or off-point, creating gen-
uine accountability.
Civil society representatives were able to
clarify any issues with the responses given by
Government. They were able to point out that
the status of the School Admissions Bill 2015,
presented by Government, was at best uncer-
tain, for example. When the Committee asked
about the legislative amendments required to
address the issue of school discrimination to
protect school ethos, the Government’s com-
mitment to change the Equal Status Act was
welcomed, if with some surprise.
The Committee’s rapporteurs were clearly
well informed and able to convey with authority
their understanding of the Irish context. Their
probing questions sought clarity about the true
state of child poverty, questioned why children
in direct provision could complain to the Com-
mittee on the Rights of the Child but not to the
Ombudsman for Children and wondered why
many of the Government’s policies in this area
remained on the shelf, and why law reform
takes so long.
A contrasting style emerged between some
civil servants and the Minister, who on occasion
brought humility and humanity to issues like
child poverty and homelessness. Overall, with
the many advances made on constitutional
reform, the cabinet-level Ministry, family-law
reform and the removal of children from adult
prison, the Government can be satisfied that it
avoided the worst criticism.
At the same time, there is little doubt that the
impact of austerity on children and the particu-
lar suffering of very vulnerable children will
loom large when the Committee completes its
analysis of Ireland’s children’s rights record.
For those who work with and for children, the
Committee’s Concluding Observations will pro-
vide a blueprint for children’s rights advocacy
and activism in the years to come.
Given the impact that such Concluding Obser-
vations have had on Ireland’s children’s rights
record to date, this is clearly where children’s
rights advocacy can make a difference.
Ursula Kilkelly is Professor of Law in the
School of Law, University College Cork

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