“Today marks the opening of Module 8 of the UK Covid Inquiry, a module that examines the impact of the pandemic on children and young people in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
NICCY has been granted Core Participant status for Module 8 by the Chair Baroness Hallett and will be playing an active role in the Inquiry’s hearings over the next four weeks. This afternoon, we will make our opening submissions and are highlighting the voice of the child.
Throughout the Covid period and beyond, we have repeatedly heard how children’s rights were violated. Young people have spoken about the lack of reliable information, how they were scapegoated, and at times feared for their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Young people have highlighted how lonely and isolated they felt, and the impact this has had on mental health, education, and, indeed, their trust in Government. Overwhelmingly, children and young people have told us how decisions have been made about them – impacting their lives, and their futures – and that their views were not sought, listened to or considered.
It is our hope that the recommendations arising from this Module will ensure that the omissions of duty – where government failed to consider children’s rights during the crisis – do not happen again.
As the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People, I have a statutory duty to safeguard and promote the rights and best interests of children, including reviewing the adequacy and effectiveness of laws and practices affecting them. While the Inquiry is UK-wide and will hear evidence from across the four nations, NICCY is committed to ensuring that the right questions are asked and that the voices and experiences of children and young people in Northern Ireland are properly represented.
The pandemic had and continues to have a devastating impact on the lives of children and young people, and it is crucial that lessons are learned. Governments and authorities need to ensure that young people’s rights are fully protected in law, and they need to ensure that a child-rights approach is taken to decision making. The mistakes made during Covid, and the disastrous long-term impacts of the pandemic, cannot be allowed to happen again.”
