In early February 2023, 6 of our volunteers from Young Wales went on a trip to Geneva, to meet with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Alongside young people from across the UK and Jersey, they had two meetings with the Committee, where they were able to express their views on the state of children’s rights in Wales and were able to give recommendations for what they think should be done to improve things.
Alongside Young Wales staff and Rocio Cifuentes, Children’s Commissioner for Wales, each of the young people had an opportunity to have their say on issues that matter to them, from mental health and wellbeing to equality, diversity and inclusion. The cost of living crisis was referenced throughout the meetings, both by the Young Wales volunteers and other children’s rights defenders from across the UK.
The UN Committee will now take these recommendations to the Welsh Governments and other devolved governments in the UK and Jersey, so that they can ensure that children and young people are accessing the rights in the way that they should under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Young Wales team would like to thank all of the young people who took part in this work, especially since this trip represented months of work behind the scenes on surveys and a report that was presented to the Committee – this can be found here. Well done everyone!
To find out more information about the trip to Geneva, please read the report below.
If you would like to join Young Wales as a volunteer so that you can be involved in exciting activities like this, check out the volunteer recruitment page. Here you can find out more information and discover how to sign up.