Integrating Sustainable Development and Children’s Rights: A Case Study on Wales

Rhian Croke, Helen Dale, Ally Dunhill, Arwyn Roberts, Malvika Unnithan and Jane Williams
Additional contact information
Rhian Croke: Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
Helen Dale: Lleisiau Bach/Little Voices, National Lottery People and Places Fund 2012-2020, Swansea and Bangor University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
Ally Dunhill: Independent Consultant and Researcher, Kingston Upon Hull HU6 8TA, UK
Arwyn Roberts: Lleisiau Bach/Little Voices, National Lottery People and Places Fund 2012-2020, Swansea and Bangor University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
Malvika Unnithan: Northumbria University Law School, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK
Jane Williams: Observatory on the Human Rights of Children, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK

Social Sciences, 2021, vol. 10, issue 3, 1-22

Abstract: The global disconnect between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), has been described as ‘a missed opportunity’. Since devolution, the Welsh Government has actively pursued a ‘sustainable development’ and a ‘children’s rights’ agenda. However, until recently, these separate agendas also did not contribute to each other, although they culminated in two radical and innovative pieces of legislation; the Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure (2013) and the Well-being and Future Generations (Wales) Act (2015). This article offers a case study that draws upon the SDGs and the CRC and considers how recent guidance to Welsh public bodies for implementation attempts to contribute to a more integrated approach. It suggests that successful integration requires recognition of the importance of including children in deliberative processes, using both formal mechanisms, such as local authority youth forums, pupil councils and a national youth parliament, and informal mechanisms, such as child-led research, that enable children to initiate and influence sustainable change.

Keywords: children’s rights; sustainable development; children’s participation in decision making; Wales; devolution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/3/100/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/3/100/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:10:y:2021:i:3:p:100-:d:514986

Access Statistics for this article

Social Sciences is currently edited by Ms. Yvonne Chu

More articles in Social Sciences from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().