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full screen The differences are large when it comes to municipalities’ work with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, shows a survey from Bris. Archive image. Photo: Janerik Henriksson/TT
Many Swedish municipalities are lacking in the work of implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child in their operations, shows a report from Bris.
– We see big differences between and within municipalities, says Sofia Walan at Bris.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child has been law in Sweden since 2020. But in Bri’s survey, to which 183 of the country’s 260 municipalities have responded, half of the municipalities state that they lack a strategy to implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child in their operations.
There are also large differences within the municipalities. When it comes to, for example, schools and social services, many municipalities are good at looking after children’s rights – but in other activities it looks worse.
– For example, when it comes to crisis preparedness or community planning, sufficient adaptations have not been made to ensure children’s rights, says Sofia Walan, head of Bri’s regional unit.
In a time of economic unrest, a wave of violence in Sweden and several high-profile wars in the world, it becomes especially important, she emphasizes.
– It affects children’s well-being and sense of security. Then we see risks when municipalities do not include children’s right to information in, for example, their crisis preparedness planning, says Sofia Walan.
FACT
The survey
183 of Sweden’s 290 municipalities have responded to Bri’s survey “What space are children given?”.
About half state that they have a strategy for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in all operations, and that they have a designated person or group with special responsibility for the work.
Many municipalities state that they only have methods for the activities that clearly affect children, for example preschool and social services. In matters such as disability care and urban planning, on the other hand, just over half of the municipalities answer that they have methods to ensure children’s rights in their operations.
Just under 20 percent of the municipalities that responded state that they analyze the consequences of the municipality’s budget for children.
The municipalities themselves state that the most challenging thing is getting sufficient resources, routines and practices.
Source: Bris municipal survey “What space are children given?” for 2023
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