Every year, we create a Report for the Scottish Parliament to tell the people of Scotland what we’ve done.
And every year we write a version for children and young people too.
This is our report for the year between April 2019 and March 2020, which ended around the same time lockdown began.
In the middle of the pandemic, that can seem like a long time ago— but our work for you then still matters now.
It was a year where we fought a lot for your rights, and in this report we’ll tell you about some of the most important things we did.
Seven word stories
With just seven words, we celebrate rights
#7WordStory
In November 2019, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) turned 30 years old. To celebrate, we asked people of all ages to send us stories about rights told in just seven words.
We got over a thousand responses from all over Scotland, from children, young people and adults. You’ll find some of the children and young people’s stories written throughout this report.
Introduction
Children don’t have the same economic or social power that adults do. But you do have Bruce: a fierce champion for your rights.
Involving you
Working directly with children and young people is essential to our work. It’s your right to be heard, and your voices help us.
Your voice round the world
Children and young people deserve to be heard in places of power, so we work to give you the chance to speak up at an international level.
Your rights in law
In Spring next year, Scotland will make the UNCRC part of our Scots law— a process which is called incorporation.
Equally Protected
After years of campaigning and a change in the law, from November 7 2020 children will be protected from physical punishment in Scotland.
Investigating
Our Advice and Investigations team help the Commissioner use a power which only he has to investigate issues impacting children’s human rights.
Developing our vision
We worked with children and young people including our young advisers to create and launch our new strategic plan for the next four years.
A new voice online
Over the last year we redeveloped our website, so it would be more accessible and informative for children, young people and adults.
The Future
There’s a lot to be excited about in the future, as Scotland gets ready to fully and directly incorporate the UNCRC into Scots law.