Write a brief critique of the response of UK governments to the UN Essay

Write a brief critique of the response of UK governments to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child - Essay Example The UK government’s first report declared that no change was required in the active legislation in the UK since the provisions of the convention are already covered (UK First Report to UN, 1994). The UK Government has achieved a high standard in some of the areas of work that the convention recommended. The UN has recognized that the Human Rights Act of 1998 had included some of the aspects of the children in it and this is in line with the needs of the convention. Some of the other legislative steps such as Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, race relations legislation did move the country legislatively forward in this area. The Children and Young People’s Unit in England, the abolition of corporal punishment in the UK and the promotion of children’s rights in all those countries where the UK provides aid, all add to the implementation of the convention directions successfully. The standard of these implementations have been found to be substantially good and recommended by the UN. There are areas where the UK government steps were satisfactory though improvement has to be done. In the legislative front, the changes done in the Human rights Act is not covering all the needs of the children explicitly. The legislation for children and youth is not prioritizing the needs of the children correctly and therefore, is losing focus. The resources spent for the purpose of the children should be clearly specified and allocated for the purpose. A wide and sweeping allocation that maximum resources are allocated would not serve the purpose, says the UN report on the UK. Apart from this, structuring the entire process and therefore, making an effective ‘delivery’ of the program is very important. This includes providing appropriate training and education. There are number of areas which the UN felt that the UK government is yet to meet satisfactorily level. Some of the