Dr McCall-Smith takes part in advisory group for Children and Young People's Commissioner for Scotland

Following the 2018 commitment by the Scottish Government to incorporate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), Dr Kasey McCall-Smith was invited to join an Independent Advisory Group convened by the Children and Young People's Commissioner for Scotland and Together with the aim of developing a draft bill that would realise the Government's political commitment.

For several years Dr McCall-Smith has worked with various civil society organisations in Scotland to promote incorporation of human rights, including children's rights. On 12 June, Dr McCall-Smith presented the draft Children's Rights (Scotland) Bill to the Cross Party Group on Children and Young People at the Scottish Parliament. The Government is currently conducting a consultation on the possible models for incorporating children's rights. Speaking to a room of around fifty government, parliamentary and children's rights professionals, as well as a number of children, Dr McCall-Smith explained why the UNCRC framework is a trusted reference point across the world with an established, identifiable body of interpretive jurisprudence not only in the UK but across the 196 states that are party to the Convention. The presentation made clear that the UNCRC is a floor, not a ceiling, and that the UNCRC language confirms that governments must do more than pay lip-service to the Convention if they are to fully deliver a legal landscape that promotes, protects and fulfils children’s rights and an environment where all children thrive.

In April 2019, the First Minister claimed she would like Scotland to meet ‘the UN’s gold standard on children’s rights'. Dr McCall-Smith reinforced that full and direct incorporation of the UNCRC is the only way to ensure that Scotland meets this 'gold standard' and becomes the best place in the world for children to grow up. All interested are encouraged to respond to the consultation.