Our Children’s Rights approach

All children and young people have human rights as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention is a list of rights that all children and young people have, wherever they live in the world. Anyone who is 18 or under, has the right to be safe, to play, to have an education, to be healthy and to be happy.

The Welsh Government has led the way in promoting children’s rights and is committed to the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Wales was the first country in the UK to establish a Children’s Commissioner, who acts as an independent children’s human rights champion.

At Natural Resources Wales, we believe that it is every child’s right to live, learn, play and grow up in a healthy and sustainably managed natural environment. All of our staff work together, and with our partners, to ensure that all of our children have clean air and water, beautiful landscapes, healthy soil to grow our food in and a rich diversity of plants and wildlife to enjoy.

Our Children’s Rights Charter shows how we will uphold and promote children’s rights in our work and deliver better services for children and young people in Wales.

On our behalf, the Children’s Commissioner for Wales’ Office held conversations with children and young people from Bryn Tirion Hall School in Wrexham, Stacey Road Primary in Cardiff and a Young Carers Group in Merthyr Tydfil, to help us identify which rights they wanted our organisation to prioritise. They identified:

• Article 6 - Right to life, to grow up and reach your full potential
• Article 12 - Right to be listened to and taken seriously
• Article 13 - Right to freedom of expression
• Article 16 - Right to privacy
• Article 17 - Right to information
• Article 19 - Right to be kept safe from harm
• Article 24 - Right to clean air
• Article 28 – Right to learn
• Article 29 - Right to be the best you can be
• Article 31 – Right to relax and play

It was clear the children and young people involved understood that looking after nature is very important to our everyday lives and in turn, they said they would:

• Help keep nature healthy
• Play with their friends in local nature spots
• Care about and look after nature
• Talk openly to us
• Learn about environmental jobs and careers

Find out more, including the responsibilities the participants felt they had, to help care for nature on the Children's Right Charter poster.

To find out more about children’s rights, check out the Children’s Commissioner for Wales website.

Contact Us

If you can’t find what you are looking for or would like any help or information, please contact us at:

• Email: education@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk
• Phone: 0300 065 3000

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