Legal professionals, academic researchers and other key stakeholders will discuss how best to incorporate the UNCRC, first adopted in 1989 and ratified by the UK Government in 1992.

In the UK, only Scotland has so far fully and directly incorporated the UNCRC, which it did in 2024. The former Children and Young People’s Commissioner for Scotland, Bruce Adamson, will address the Queen’s event to share learnings from that process.

In Northern Ireland, incorporation of the UNCRC has been outlined as a key priority for the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People’s (NICCY). The NICCY Commissioner, Chris Quinn, will also address the Queen’s discussion.

Conversation series

The event is the second in a series of four planned ‘incorporation conversations’. The first ‘conversation’ consulted with the children’s-rights sector; today’s event focuses on the legal aspect; while an upcoming conversation in the Autumn will engage with faith-based organisations. The fourth and final, scheduled for January 2026, will gather all feedback and determine next steps towards implementation.

Other speakers at today's event include young people from the NICCY youth panel and children's-rights expert, Professor Laura Lundy from Queen's University.

The session will be facilitated by Prof Bronagh Byrne and Prof Laura Lundy, Co-Directors of the Centre for Children’s Rights at Queen’s; and Joanne McGurk, Head of Legal at NICCY.

Prof Byrne from Queen’s said the purpose of the event was:

"To explore how we can better protect children’s rights at a time of great uncertainty and precarity. Legal professionals have a key role to play in identifying both the opportunities – and challenges – in making the UNCRC part of domestic law."

NICCY Commissioner Chris Quinn said:

"I am thankful for the advice and input from the professionals from the legal and academic sectors who have come today to discuss and share their experiences of children’s rights in Northern Ireland’s legal system.

"Enshrining children’s rights into domestic law is not a solitary mission. We trust in the partnership of our advocates, from Queen’s and the legal profession. They play a crucial role in providing feedback and actively advising NICCY in achieving our goal. We will continue to provide advice to Government, that the full and direct incorporation of the UNCRC into domestic law is the best solution for our children and young people."

The conversation events are being funded by the ESRC Impact Fund.

Media

Media inquiries to Una Bradley u.bradley@qub.ac.uk