Child discrimination condemned

The UK Children's Commissioners condemned the "punitive" youth justice system and warned that children feel increasingly unsafe, drink more alcohol and face more pressure at school than elsewhere in Europe.

In a damning report to the United Nations, the commissioners found that millions of children were being denied their rights. The commissioners' verdict formed part of the regular monitoring of how different countries have implemented the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

It said: "The fact that we exist is evidence of some progress since the UN's second periodic report was considered in 2002, when only Wales had a Children's Commissioner.

"However, unfortunately, we have to report that, not only do some of the committee's concluding observations of 2002 still lack any effective implementation, but some things have actually got worse. We would cite developments in juvenile justice and public attitudes towards children and young people as examples of this."

The joint document from the commissioners of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland highlighted a string of failures that undermined the quality of children's lives.

It said: "Compared to other European countries, England has a very low age of criminal responsibility and high numbers of children are locked up. Too many children are being criminalised and brought into the youth justice system at an increasingly young age."

Crime committed by children fell between 2002 and 2006 but the number of children prosecuted and criminalised soared by an estimated 26%.

The commissioners condemned the "discrimination" against children enshrined in some laws and prevailing public attitudes. They called for a total ban on smacking and attacked the Westminster Government for ignoring the views of children and professionals in refusing to outlaw such "violence".

The commissioners also criticised the "target driven" education system in England and academic selection in Northern Ireland, saying that, in England, children's mental health has "deteriorated" over the past 30 years. And they called for "much more" to be done across the UK to combat child poverty.