The Children’s Law Centre has expressed grave concern at the latest PSNI use of force statistics for the period April 2023 to March 2024. The statistics highlight how spit hoods have been used on children, including at least once on a child under the age of 13.

There has also been a sharp increase in the use of plastic bullets, with child rights experts highlighting the severe risk they pose to children and young people.

The Children’s Law Centre has pointed to the latest concluding observations and recommendations from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child that call for measures to ‘explicitly prohibit, without exception, the use of harmful devices including spit hoods, plastic bullets, attenuating energy projectiles and other electrical discharge weapons against children.

Fergal McFerran, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at the Children’s Law Centre said: “These latest figures from the PSNI continue to leave us very concerned about significant rights breaches on children and young people who have been in contact with the police.

“The increased use of spit hoods on children is particularly worrying, especially as explicit guidance exists which sets out a presumption they should not be used on children at all.

“While there appears to be a lower number of individual children subject to force by the PSNI compared to last year, it is worrying that the figures seem to indicate that more children have been subject to multiple types of force.”

Mr McFerran continued: “It is also important to note what is missing from the statistics. They have not been fully disaggregated by the characteristics protected by Northern Ireland’s equality laws, such as community background and disability.

“The Children’s Law Centre has long-held concerns that uses of force disproportionately impacts children with additional needs, care experienced children and children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

“These latest statistics represent clear breaches of children’s rights and we will continue to raise our concerns with the NI Policing Board.”

Paddy Kelly, Director at the Children’s Law Centre said: “The sharp increase in the use of plastic bullets is shocking. The dangers posed to children by the use of plastic bullets has been clear for a very long time. Indeed, the tragic death of eight children due to plastic bullets is evidence enough.

“The Northern Ireland Policing Board should, as a matter of urgency, ensure the PSNI end the use of Plastic Bullets against children in compliance with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s repeated recommendations.”

Claire Kemp, Policy Officer at the Children’s Law Centre added: “The overuse of Stop and Search powers on children and young people also continues, with 2089 children stopped and searched in the last reporting year, including 56 children aged 12 or under. Of the 2089 children stopped, 74 were subsequently arrested – equating to just 3.7% of an outcome rate.”

The latest use of force statistics can be found at https://www.psni.police.uk/about-us/our-publications-and-reports/official-statistics/statistics-police-use-force

In January 2023, the NI Policing Board published a Human Rights Review of the PSNI’s Use of Force following calls from the Children’s Law Centre and human rights organisations.

The most recent stop and search statistics can be found at https://www.psni.police.uk/about-us/our-publications-and-reports/official-statistics/stop-and-search-statistics

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s concluding observations can be found at https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CRC%2FC%2FGBR%2FCO%2F6-7&Lang=en (the recommendation on the use of spit hoods and plastic bullets is at 30(a) on page 9 of the report.

Ahead of a visit to Belfast, Mr Bragi Guðbrandsson, Vice Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, has said children in Northern Ireland are facing crisis. Mr Guðbrandsson served as the UN Committee’s taskforce coordinator during the recent examination of the UK.

During his visit, Mr Guðbrandsson will meet children and young people, child rights experts and senior government officials, before delivering the Children’s Law Centre Annual Lecture 2023.

Speaking ahead of his visit, Mr Guðbrandsson said: “The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child completed extensive research over the past number of years to understand the challenges faced by children in Northern Ireland. While there has no doubt been progress in some areas, we have regrettably concluded that a vast number of children are being let down because of the continued failure to implement key measures and protections as laid out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

“Decades of delay in implementing international best practice standards to protect and support children and young people has left them facing a huge number of challenges. In recent years, this has been made dramatically worse by the lack of local decision making and the recent Northern Ireland budget.

“Children and young people are facing crisis.”

Fergal McFerran, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at the Children’s Law Centre, said: “We are pleased to host Mr Guðbrandsson for World Children’s Day and to deliver our 2023 Annual Lecture. We are particularly pleased he will be meeting with the children and young people who presented evidence to the UN Committee in Geneva. As UN Committee’s taskforce coordinator for the UK’s recent examination he is well placed to advise on what needs to be done urgently in Northern Ireland to ensure we comply with our obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

“The message during Mr Guðbrandsson’s visit is crystal clear, our children are facing crisis. We need to see immediate action to start tackling the challenges and undoing the harm that is being caused. That work must start by addressing the immediate damage being done by budget cuts, then tackling the backlog of unaddressed issues over the past decade.”

Mr Guðbrandsson’s visit forms part of the Children’s Law Centre’s work to ensure decision makers in Northern Ireland implement the recommendations laid out by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. He will be engaged in a series of meetings with senior officials, key decision makers and duty bearers on Monday 20^th and Tuesday 21^st November. He will then deliver the Children’s Law Centre’s Annual Lecture 2023 at the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast.

Key decision makers and politicians were warned, at an event organised by the Children’s Law Centre, that a generation of children and young people will be harmed unless a reformed Executive and Assembly delivers key children’s rights recommendations.

You can watch the full event on YouTube.

Delegates heard from leading children’s rights experts, as well as children and young people themselves, during a briefing event on the recent UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s concluding observations and recommendations – a report previously described as “damning”.

The UN report raises concern around the treatment and protection of children and young people, as well as a long list of recommendations. These include a recommendation to withdraw the harmful 2023-24 budget for Northern Ireland.

Speaking at the event, Paddy Kelly, Director at the Children’s Law Centre said:

“There is a real and serious risk of long-term damage to our children and young people. The list of challenges facing them today is growing and becoming endless.

“There can be no doubt that decision makers are failing to look after their best interests. The proof is in the report from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, and in the endless stream of cuts to children’s services.

“It is past time for change. A restored Assembly and Executive should be working to implement these recommendations but instead we are seeing decisions being made at Westminster that are compounding the problems.

“We need a return to local decision making, followed by urgent Executive action, before the long-term damage to our children and young people becomes even more severe.”

The event also heard from Dr Deena Haydon, an independent research and policy consultant, Chris Quinn, the new Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People, Fergal McFerran, Policy and Advocacy Manager at CLC, and Youth@CLC member Ruby Campbell. The event was attended by MLAs, leading departmental officials, the NI Children’s Commissioner, leading children’s charities and human rights organisations.

At the event, Ruby Campbell addressed delegates as a young rapporteur from the Rights Here, Right Now children and young people’s conference held in September.

02 June 2023

Concluding observations include wide range of recommendations including a call to scrap the NI budget and start again

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child produced concluding observations following examination of the UK government and devolved regions.

The Children’s Law Centre has said the scale of non-compliance with human rights obligations is alarming and called for immediate action to implement the recommendations.

Fergal McFerran, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at the Children’s Law Centre said:

“This is a damning set of recommendations from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. It reflects the grim picture facing children and young people in this jurisdiction today. The gap in children’s rights has grown significantly over the last decade and children and young people are suffering every day because of it, whether that’s facing discrimination, failure to access services or simply not being allowed to have a say on decisions affecting them.

“We now need to see swift action to address the many failings identified throughout the examination process. There can be no excuses or delay. The scale of non-compliance with human rights obligations is alarming.

“Some major recommendations like raising the age of criminal responsibility, legislation to protect under 18s from age discrimination, and the introduction of a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland have been outstanding for years and have now been included in successive concluding observations. Other recommendations like scrapping the Northern Ireland budget, ending PSNI strip-searches of children and ending the use of contingency accommodation for asylum seeking children are new and add to a growing list of children’s rights breaches.

“Children and young people are being seriously failed. The gap in children’s rights has dramatically increased over the last decade due to the lack of action. The situation has become even worse due to the attacks on human rights by the UK government, the collapse of local decision making, the impact of Brexit and the failure to properly resource services.”

Fergal McFerran continued:

“We carried out an extensive piece of work with sector experts and children and young people themselves to identify the issues in this jurisdiction. We’re reassured that the Committee has reflected that work in their recommendations. We thank them, and in particular their UK taskforce, for their diligent work.

“We would also like to thank everyone who took part in the research, including NGOs, Dr Deena Haydon, Jerome Finnegan from Save the Children and of course the children and young people who either told us their views or presented to Committee members themselves. Their work has had a direct impact on the outcome of the reporting process.

“We now owe it to them all to see major change.”

The Concluding Observations contains a wide range of recommendations. Other key recommendations cover issues such as the right to withdraw from religious worship in schools, relationship and sexuality education, restraint and seclusion, abortion, stop and search, plastic bullets, protecting children from paramilitaries, and ending the hostile environment for refugee and asylum seekers.

The Children’s Law Centre led the Northern Ireland NGO sector in reporting to the UN Committee, including the submission of three major reports and leading two delegations of experts and young people to present evidence to Committee members.

The Centre will now work to ensure the recommendations are implemented by those responsible.

The Concluding Observations can be found at: https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CRC%2FC%2FGBR%2FCO%2F6-7&Lang=en

As we reflect on the 25^th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, Paddy Kelly, Director at the Children’s Law Centre, has spoken of her disappointment that Attenuating Energy Projectiles (AEPs), commonly referred to as plastic bullets are still being used on children.

The ‘Patten Report’, provided for in the Good Friday Agreement, reported in 1999 as part of the programme of reform of policing. The report recognised the lethal nature of plastic bullets and recommended that an ‘immediate and substantial investment should be made in a research programme to find an acceptable, effective and less potentially lethal alternative to the Plastic Baton Round’.

Despite this recommendation, and the fact that 17 people including eight children were killed by plastic and rubber bullets during the conflict, AEPs are still used by the PSNI. Northern Ireland is the only jurisdiction in the UK where AEPs are used during public order policing, despite recommendations from international human rights bodies calling on a total ban.

The Children’s Law Centre submitted evidence to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in December 2022 and presented to the Committee in February 2023, once again highlighting the continued use of AEPs in Northern Ireland and the dangers they present to children and young people. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child is due to publish fresh recommendations this year.

Paddy Kelly, Director at the Children’s Law Centre, said:

“The Good Friday Agreement has left us all in a far better place, but when we look at the progress achieved around policing, the continued use of plastic bullets, including against children, remains a cause of serious concern and is not compliant with the recommendations of international human rights bodies.

“The ‘Patten Report’, which flowed from the Good Friday Agreement, recommended investment to find an acceptable, effective and less potentially lethal alternative to the Plastic Baton Round. That has not happened. AEPs of their very nature pose a significant and potentially lethal threat to children and young people.

“It is hard to comprehend why the use of AEPs continues in Northern Ireland, while they are deemed far too dangerous for use in the rest of the UK. Indeed, in 2011, following riots in England, a Home Affairs Committee Report concluded that it would be ‘inappropriate as well as dangerous’ to use baton rounds to police public order disturbances. Yet they continue to be used in Northern Ireland, with the most recent statistics showing they were used on at least one child in the last reporting year.

“We cannot continue to ignore the evidence that the use of AEPs can be lethal. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child have twice issued strong recommendations, in 2008 and 2016, calling for a complete ban and highlighting the dangers. Twenty-five years after the Good Friday Agreement, the Children’s Law Centre, yet again, have had to raise at the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child the continued use on children of these potentially lethal weapons.

“It is beyond time that we deliver on the Good Friday Agreement, underpinned by rights and equal protection, by finally banning the use of AEPs in Northern Ireland.”

The Northern Ireland Policing Board’s Human Rights adviser will investigate and review PSNI strip searches of children and young people in custody. The investigation follows work by the Children’s Law Centre to raise concerns around the practice.

In announcing the Terms of Reference, the Policing Board highlighted two key concerns, including the evidential basis for conducting strip searches and the lack of an appropriate adult being present in most cases.

In January 2023, the Children’s Law Centre uncovered a number of concerning statistics highlighting the absence of items found in most cases of a strip search and concern around the threshold being used to justify strip searches, the overwhelming majority of which took place without an appropriate adult present.

Following the announcement of the Terms of Reference for the investigation and review, Fergal McFerran, of the Children’s Law Centre, said:

“The Children’s Law Centre welcomes this investigation. We have consistently raised our concerns around the strip-searching of children and young people by the PSNI. We are pleased that Policing Board members and the Human Rights Adviser have taken our concerns seriously.

“We believe the commissioning of this investigation is itself a sign that serious concerns in relation to the practice of strip-searching children remain unanswered. We hope the investigation will bring the appropriate levels of scrutiny and we have no doubt there will be serious failings identified. It is right that the actions of the PSNI on this issue are carefully examined.

“From the information we have been able to uncover, we know that in almost all cases, nothing is found as a result of a strip-search. It is our view that this demonstrates the lack of justification for using such an invasive use of force on children, some of whom have been as young as 14.”

The Northern Ireland Policing Board’s Terms of Reference for the review can be found here.

The Children’s Law Centre has been leading the NGO sector in Northern Ireland in contributing to the examination of the UK Government by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Having submitted a Stakeholder Report in December 2020 which influenced the List of Issues Prior to Reporting, the UK Government has since submitted a response by way of its State Party Report.

We now have the opportunity to submit a further report to the Committee, identifying key issues to be discussed during the UK Government’s examination in May 2023, taking account of any significant and relevant changes since December 2020.

CLC has asked Dr Deena Haydon to prepare an updated Stakeholder Report for submission in December 2022. We are keen to ensure that this is an accurate overview of key issues concerning implementation of the UNCRC in this jurisdiction.

This is an important mechanism to raise gaps and concerns around the implementation of international children’s rights standards. It is an opportunity to identify the current challenges facing our children and young people and how the failure to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child impacts them. It is important we gain your expert input.

If you wish to contribute to the report, please download and use the template we have provided and return it by no later than 5pm on Friday 30^th September. Please ensure you have read the previous report, as well as the State Party Report before submitting further evidence.

Speaking out on ‘World Refugee Day’ the Children’s Law Centre (CLC) and South Tyrone Empowerment Programme (STEP) have said the treatment of asylum-seeking children and their families in ‘contingency accommodation’ settings is “cruel, unnecessary and avoidable”.

The two organisations had recently published a report highlighting the lived circumstances of asylum-seeking children and their families being accommodated in ‘contingency accommodation’.

The report, jointly submitted upon request to the Council of Europe Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, highlights a number of potential rights breaches. The report was also endorsed by four other organisations – Conway Education Centre, Participation and Practice of Rights (PPR), Barnardo’s Northern Ireland and South Belfast Sure Start.

Fergal McFerran, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at CLC, said: “We are deeply concerned about the reports coming from residents who are living in ‘contingency accommodation’ settings and the community and voluntary sector organisations providing emergency support to them. The experiences of vulnerable children in particular are very worrying. We believe there are significant children’s rights breaches occurring and urgent, joined-up action is required to prevent these from continuing.

“We have been working alongside a number of organisations to call for action. This must include duty bearers working together urgently to address any rights breaches, and listening to those affected, namely residents, to co-ordinate an effective response.

“Beyond that, the ‘hostile environment’ created by the UK Home Office must end. It is driving refugees and asylum seekers into destitution and ill health, rather than allowing them to contribute positively to society. However, in the meantime, duty bearers cannot hide behind the Home Office and must continue to uphold key rights.”

Bernadette McAliskey, CEO at STEP, added: “The treatment of residents living in ‘contingency accommodation’ settings is cruel, unnecessary and avoidable. Asylum seeking children have rights that must be upheld. Yet, it is deeply worrying to hear reports of new mothers who cannot get access to basic goods and equipment to care for their babies, or families who have had their access to recreational activities severely curtailed. It is also clear that access to education has been severely limited, with no effective overarching strategy evident to address this.

“We will continue to work alongside other organisations to raise these issues and give a voice to asylum-seeking children and their families. We need to see urgent and co-ordinated action to address the failures and uphold the rights of those affected.”

Human rights and children’s organisations in Northern Ireland are calling on the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to stop the use of controversial spit hoods, also known as spit and bite guards, ahead of an expected move to make their use permanent.

Amnesty International, Children’s Law Centre, the Committee on the Administration of Justice and Include Youth say the continued use of spit and bite guards may be in breach of equality legislation and therefore be unlawful.

The mesh hoods, designed to be placed over detainees’ heads, were ‘temporarily’ introduced in March 2020 as an emergency Covid measure. But subsequently the chief constable backtracked, accepting there is no medical evidence that the hoods prevent the virus’s spread.

The joint call comes a year after a public consultation on the spit hoods’ equality impact – the PSNI has so far refused to publish the findings. Previous equality screening data from the police shows a disproportionate use of spit hoods on people with disabilities and on people from a Catholic community background and also revealed their use on children.

According to PSNI data, between 16 March and 31 December 2020, spit hoods were used 84 times: 81% against people with a disability, including a mental health disability, and 48% against people from a Catholic community background compared to 20% against people from a Protestant community background.

A response to a subsequent freedom of information request by the Children’s Law Centre revealed that from 16 March 2020 to 11 November 2021, spit hoods were used 16 times on under-18s, despite a policy against their use on children.

Even though the Northern Ireland Policing Board recommended their immediate phasing out in its November 2020 report, Review of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Response to Covid 19,  PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne has instead expanded their use, issuing spit hoods to 4,000 additional police officers. The Policing Board has now called for the devices only to be used under stringent conditions.

In February 2022, the Policing Board published a review of their use, issuing 21 recommendations for the PSNI to adopt and implement. To date, the Chief Constable has not made clear whether the PSNI will adopt and implement any of the Policing Board’s recommendations.

Patrick Corrigan, Northern Ireland Programme Director of Amnesty International, said: “The Chief Constable rushed to deploy spit hoods with zero evidence that they prevent the transmission of Covid-19. Then he doubled down on that flawed decision, in defiance of the Policing Board, issuing them to thousands more officers. Now we fear that he is about to attempt to make their use a permanent feature of policing in Northern Ireland, despite the Policing Board’s and civil society groups’ serious human rights concerns.

“The police have not met the threshold for the necessity and proportionality for this type of use of force. Given serious concerns around potentially dangerous physical and mental impacts, particularly on vulnerable groups, spit hoods need to be withdrawn from use.”

Paddy Kelly, Director of the Children’s Law Centre, said: “The Children’s Law Centre is extremely concerned that spit and bite guards have been regularly applied to children since their introduction.  We are further alarmed at how little care has been taken to adhere to the PSNI’s own equality duties throughout the past number of years regarding their use.

“The PSNI introduced spit hoods without undertaking an equality impact assessment and have now failed to publish the equality impact assessment results a full year on from it being conducted. We believe their ongoing use is unlawful as well as being in breach of human rights obligations.

“Their use on children is even more concerning given that children who come in contact with police are more likely to have a disability, mental ill-health or a learning disability.  It is unclear how a police officer using a spit hood on a child can know if a child has a learning disability or suffers from serious mental ill health. Indeed, early analysis shows that protected groups are more likely to be adversely impacted by the practice. Their use should cease immediately.”

The Children’s Law Centre (CLC) has welcomed a report by the Department of Education reviewing the use of restrictive practices in education settings. The report makes six recommendations, including repeal of Article 4 (1)(c) of the Education (NI) Order 1998 and outlines the need for statutory guidance.

Legal experts at CLC also welcomed the recognition of children’s rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) within the report, as well as the collaborative work undertaken to consult with stakeholders. A key issue at this stage is the extent of the legislative reform required to ensure compliance with human rights standards within education settings.

Special education needs and disability expert, Rachel Hogan, said: “I would like to pay tribute to the small group of committed individuals who have consistently built pressure to address this issue. That includes, most notably, children, young people and the parents and carers of the children and young people affected. This is what happens when the people affected have their voice heard by decision makers and should be an important lesson on how good, evidence-based, decisions can be made.

“There can be no doubt that the existing framework and guidance has led to instances where the human rights of vulnerable children have been seriously violated. The grievous impact this has had on the children affected, as well as their parents and carers, has now been brought into the public domain and acknowledged.

“There has been a notable lack of consistency in approach between education and health and social care settings and this must be fully addressed. Children should have equal protection from the unlawful and disproportionate use of restrictive practices regardless of the setting they find themselves in.

“The recommendations in the report reflect the direction of travel we need to take to protect children in education settings. This includes the urgent need for legislative reform, clear statutory guidance and monitoring practices. CLC is pleased to have had the opportunity to feed in to the report through the Department of Education’s reference group and the NI Commissioner for Children and Young People’s advisory group.

“Effective and timely implementation of the recommendations is now key. The young people affected, and the parents and carers who have fought for change, all deserve to see progress. We cannot continue to allow children’s rights to be breached in this way. The current framework has fallen well short of international human rights standards and this is the first step towards addressing that.

“CLC looks forward to ongoing engagement on the implementation of positive change to realise and protect the legal rights of children and young people in education settings.”

Read a report on the recommendations by thedetail.tv