Periodic Reporting to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

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2008 Northern Ireland NGO Alternative Report and Additional Information (Save the Children NI/ Children’s Law Centre) 2008

During 2008 I was part-time ‘Children’s Human Rights Adviser: UNCRC’ to develop the Save the Children NI/ Children’s Law Centre partnership’s contribution to the process of periodic reporting to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child about implementation of the UNCRC in Northern Ireland. This included: liaising with relevant government departments, NGOs and NICCY in Northern Ireland; liaising with child rights alliances in England, Scotland and Wales; gathering and analysing information from NGOs throughout Northern Ireland; writing the 2008 NI NGO Alternative Report and Additional Information submitted to the UN Committee; attending and presenting to the Committee at the pre-sessional meeting; planning and organising the visit of the UN Committee Country Rapporteur to Northern Ireland; attending the UK Government examination as an observer. Subsequent teaching and conference presentations focused on the reporting process and state accountability.

  • Report: Haydon, D. (2008) Northern Ireland NGO Alternative Report. Submission to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child for consideration during the Committee’s scrutiny of the UK Government Report, March 2008, Belfast: Save the Children NI and Children’s Law Centre Link to document
  • Additional Information: Haydon, D. (2008) Additional Information from Northern Ireland in Response to the List of Issues Relating to Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the UK, August 2008, Belfast: Save the Children NI and Children’s Law Centre Link to document
  • Public Seminar: Calling States to Account: the experience of reporting on children’s rights in Northern Ireland, Social Justice Social Change Research Centre Public Seminar, University of Western Sydney, Australia (2009)
  • Presentation: ‘The Reporting Process and State Accountability’, Implementing the UNCRC Seminar, Research Forum for the Child, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland (2011)

2015 Northern Ireland NGO Alternative Report (Children’s Law Centre) 2015-2016

My contributions to the 2015 Northern Ireland NGO Alternative Report submitted to the UN Committee included chairing a preparatory session at the ‘Why Children’s Rights Matter’ Conference, Queen’s University Belfast (2013) and being contracted by the Children’s Law Centre to provide information about Relationship and Sexuality Education, Child Sexual Exploitation, and Care Placements. I was also commissioned to conduct consultations with Roma children in Belfast, and young people in Northern Ireland’s Secure Care Centre. In addition to producing detailed reports, I provided briefings and facilitated meetings between Roma children/ a group of young people in secure care and UN Committee members during their Task Force visit to the UK in September 2015. Key consultation findings were presented at an event in Stormont and in seminars with relevant stakeholders.

  • Presentation: ‘Key Issues Raised by Roma Children in Northern Ireland and Young People in Secure Accommodation’, UNCRC – A Tool for Change Event to launch the Northern Ireland NGO Alternative Report and Young People’s Report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Parliament Buildings, Stormont, Northern Ireland (2015)
  • Report: Haydon, D. (2015) Promoting and protecting the rights of Roma children and young people in Northern Ireland, Belfast: Children’s Law Centre Link to document
  • Report: Haydon, D. (2016) Promoting and protecting the rights of young people who experience secure accommodation in Northern Ireland, Belfast: Children’s Law Centre Link to document
  • Seminar: Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Roma Children and Young People in Northern Ireland, Children’s Law Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland (2016)
  • Seminar: Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Young People Who Experience Secure Care in Northern Ireland, Children’s Law Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland (2016)

2020 Northern Ireland NGO Stakeholder Report to Inform the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s ‘List of Issues Prior to Reporting’ and Supporting Evidence (Children’s Law Centre) 2020

Commission by the Children’s Law Centre to gather information from organisations working with children and young people across Northern Ireland to develop a Northern Ireland NGO Stakeholder Report to inform the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s ‘List of Issues Prior to Reporting’. The Stakeholder Report plus extensive Supporting Evidence were submitted to the Committee in December 2020 and the Committee issued its ‘List of Issues’ to the UK Government in February 2021.

2022 Northern Ireland Children and Young People’s Report (Children’s Law Centre) 2021-2022

Commission by the Children’s Law Centre to develop an online survey for 12-17 year olds across Northern Ireland and conduct workshops with specific groups of marginalised/ vulnerable children and young people, in collaboration with CLC staff and its youth advisory group: Youth@CLC. Information gathered during the survey and workshops provided the basis for the Rights Here, Right Now: Children and Young People’s Report submitted to the UN Committee in December 2022, before the UK Government’s next examination by the Committee scheduled for May 2023.

2022 Northern Ireland NGO Stakeholder Report 2 and associated Evidence (Children’s Law Centre) 2022
This commission by the Children’s Law Centre involved updating the Northern Ireland NGO Stakeholder Report submitted to the UN Committee in December 2020 to provide evidence about the situation concerning children’s rights in Northern Ireland 2016-2022. As requested in Committee guidance, it draws on information from NGOs working with children and young people to identify ongoing and new rights violations, proposes questions for the Committee’s dialogue with the UK Government and devolved administrations in May 2023, and suggests recommendations to inform the Committee’s subsequent Concluding Observations. The Northern Ireland NGO Stakeholder Report 2 is limited to 20,000 words. An additional Evidence Report therefore provides further details, including legislative and policy developments, research, consultations, statistics, illustrative legal cases. Both Reports were submitted to the Committee in December 2022.