Commissioner’s Covid Blog
Scroll down to read the Commissioner's blog on Covid 19.
15 May 2020
Commissioner's Blog
Scroll down to read the Commissioner's blog on Covid 19.
Nearly two months into the Covid crisis, we are all experiencing the changing situation differently. It is also difficult to imagine what the “new normal” will be. This piece is intended to give an overview of the areas that NICCY has been focussing on since the lockdown began and as we, and especially children, continue to endure it. It is apparent that Covid-19 will have an impact on the lives of all of children and young people for some time and therefore NICCY will continue to monitor this situation.
It is apparent that it is not business as usual but that does not mean that the rights of our children and young people are in lockdown. It does, however, mean that they may be experiencing them differently. Domestic (such as the Human Rights Act) and International Human Rights Legislation and instruments like the United Nations Convention 
on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) are just as important now as they ever were, if not more so in some cases. The Covid-19 guidance recently issued by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child covers a broad range of issues and serves as a clear reminder of the core activities and services necessary to safeguard the rights and best interests of children and young people. NICCY will be using it to inform our work during the crisis and in the months afterwards to identify relevant learning, realisation and breaches of children’s rights.
I made a statement on the 1st of April highlighting that we must not ignore “vulnerable” children. In the intervening weeks, I am thankful that I have seen no evidence that the system is “ignoring” these children but I continue to be concerned that there is still a lot to do and children are struggling in ways that we may not know about.
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