The Commissioner, Chris Quinn, is participating in a major panel discussion at the prestigious MacGill Summer School 2025 in Glenties, County Donegal. The panel will focus on the advancement and protection of children’s rights across Ireland, north and south.
Chris will speak alongside Dr. Niall Muldoon, Ombudsman for Children, Ireland, with a shared emphasis on the urgent need to incorporate the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into respective domestic legislation.
Chris said: “I will highlight how incorporation of the UNCRC is not just a legal technicality, but a critical step towards making children’s rights real and enforceable in Northern Ireland. Incorporation ensures children can access justice when their rights are breached and that government policies are built on a child-rights foundation.
“My office and I have already held two major ‘Incorporation Conversations’, bringing together the children’s and legal professions, which included a keynote from the Right Honourable Lady Chief Justice, Dame Siobhan Keegan, to explore what Incorporation could look like in practice.
“I also continue to have frequent, ongoing dialogue with children and young people, who have made it clear that they want the law to be stronger and better enforced to protect their rights.
“My appearance at MacGill provides an opportunity to push forward the case for a child rights-based legal system, where children are not afterthoughts in policy, but are recognised as rights-holders in law. The summer school allows for another strong platform for critical dialogue in our journey toward Incorporation.”
More info: https://www.macgillsummerschool.com/
