Welfare-Based Model

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Pages: 5

Introduction In September 2015, I was authorized to examine and report upon Canada’s International Obligations with the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child. Precisely, I believe that changes to the youth justice system should follow the UN Convention to ensure that the best interests of young people are given primary consideration based on the welfare-based approach. In addition to examining Canada’s compliance with the Convention, I will do a comparative analysis and explore how Canada compares to Scotland’s implementation of the Convention with their welfare-based model. Based on this approach, I will end the paper by explaining recommendations aimed to create a more effective system for Canada.
Reasons for this Analysis
The youth justice
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The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was unanimously approved by the UN General Assembly. It then was signed and sanctioned by nearly all the world’s countries throughout the 1990s, (Howe & Covell, 2007). The Convention serves as a new international standard on the treatment of young children. The Convention has three guiding principles: “(1) non-discrimination, where children are to be protected from all forms of discrimination, (2) the best interests of the child, where a primary consideration in all actions concerning children is their best interests, and (3) participation, where children have the right to be heard and their views given weight in accord with their age and maturity,” (Howe & Covell, …show more content…
It ensures that such rights and responsibilities apply specifically to children under the age of eighteen by taking into account their needs and situations, (UNCRC, 1989). Comparing the Convention compliance between Canada and Scotland, I will describe some of the rights children have pertaining to Articles 3, 37 & 40 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, 1989). These will be the Articles that I will be distinguishing between the two countries.
First, Article 3 of the UNCRC (1989) states “in all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.”
Secondly, Article 37 of the UNCRC (1989) explains that any arrest, detention or imprisonment should follow the law and should only be used as the last measure and shortest amount of time. Also, if a child is deprived of their liberty, then they should be treated with respect and dignity, particularly when being sentenced. For the best interest of the child, they should be separated from