ABSTRACT
Child Rights Impact Assessment (CRIA) is used to assess systematically the Impact on children of laws, policies or budgetary allocations as measured against the Articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and domestic human rights/child wellbeing frameworks. Internationally, a small number of governments at central, regional and local level have Introduced or attempted CRIA. However, where available, documentary analysis of the assessments and published evaluations of these existing models raise questions about the quality of the Impact assessments being produced. This paper examines the use of CRIA with a particular focus on the UK and Its devolved governments, looks at Issues that can limit its effectiveness, and suggests what should be In place to support the potential of CRIA. These Include: a clear mandate for CRIA with sustained political commitment, children's rights training and access to expert advice, tools to guide and shape the process, access to relevant data sets, and a clear expectation of involving children. Many of the practice findings draw on research conducted for UNICEF UK on CRIA practice in the UK.
