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WQ.10/2019
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE CHIEF MINISTER
BY DEPUTY L.M.C. DOUBLET OF ST. SAVIOUR ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 15th JANUARY 2019
Question
Further to the statement made by the then Chief Minister on 9th April 2018, what progress, if any, has been made in planning for full incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into Jersey law; and when does the Chief Minister expect to lodge the "proposition requiring Ministers to assess the impact on children's rights of every law and regulation", referred to by the previous Chief Minister and arising from the Assembly's adoption of United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: Compliance of Draft Laws and Training of States of Jersey Employees' (P.63/2017)?
Answer
On 19 September 2018 the Council of Ministers considered a proposal, jointly developed by Children's Policy Officers and the Children's Commissioner's Office, to directly incorporate the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into domestic legislation. After careful consideration of the proposal, Ministers decided to progress with indirect incorporation in the first instance; their preferred position was to follow an incremental path towards full incorporation.
On 2 October 2018, the Minister for Children and Housing issued a Ministerial Decision[1] for law drafting instructions to commence in order to incorporate the convention by introducing, among other things, a statutory duty on the States of Jersey to have due regard to the UNCRC in legislation and policy. This duty will be supported by the introduction of a Children's Rights Impact Assessment. This new legislation will be brought forward during 2019 as part of the programme of work to ensure children's rights are protected and promoted in line with the priority to "put children first" as identified in the Common Strategic Policy and the States Pledge to Jersey's Children and Young People.
In parallel with the development of due regard' legislation, Ministers have requested that an assessment should be undertaken to further scope the benefits and risks associated with direct incorporation of the UNCRC into domestic legislation. This assessment will inform a subsequent report to Council which will be brought forward during the term of the current Assembly.