ABSTRACT
Human rights have a long philosophical history, and are increasingly important on the world stage. The key aim of human rights instruments is to reduce domination by one group over another, and equalise the power relations between the advantaged and disadvantaged, giving primacy to human dignity as a universal minimum standard. The narrative of human rights is dominated by the UN, but has been adopted by other organisations, and acts as a guiding principle for much academic research into the lives of children. The narrative of children's play in Scotland is dominated by Scottish Government legislation and policy, with some input from third sector organisations, particularly Play Scotland. The Scottish Government supports children's play through their 'health and wellbeing' social policy agenda, and focuses on the earliest years of a child's life. This chapter draws on international human rights commitments in the context of de-centred theory.
