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The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) establishes provisions and protections to which under-18s are entitled; establishing state obligations to ensure the realisation of children's rights for all, including 'disadvantaged' or 'vulnerable' groups. This article focuses on children in England and Wales deprived of their liberty in secure care for their own or others' protection or in custody as a result of criminal justice proceedings. It explores the proposition that secure care and custody exacerbate the existing vulnerabilities of detained children, especially in custodial settings where violence is institutionalised. Demonstrating consistent breaches of international standards, it considers the actions required to ensure the implementation of rights and effective accountability through policy and practice grounded in social justice priorities.

In 1991, the UK Government, incorporating the jurisdiction of Northern Ireland, ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Reports about progress in implementation of the Convention are submitted to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UN Committee) at regular intervals. Because the Convention is not incorporated into domestic law there is no redress for breach of its Articles. But when the UK Government reported in 1994 and 1999, the UN Committee responded critically, raising a number of serious concerns and making a range of recommendations. In 2007, the UK Government submitted its third and fourth consolidated report. Based on consultations with 132 children and young people in Northern Ireland, this article reflects their understanding and expectations regarding rights, specifically: participation, religion and culture, protection from harm, health care, standard of living, education, age-appropriate play and leisure. Discussion of the relevance of a rights-based perspective to understanding about childhood and youth explores social constructions of 'children' and 'childhood', the centrality of participation, current promotion and protection of children's rights. How children and young people define rights, and their lived experiences, provide an insight into the realization of children's rights in contemporary Northern Ireland. The final words are key messages for Government from the children and young people who participated.

Northern Ireland is in the early stages of transition from conflict, but progress is regularly affected by political and public discontent. A divided landscape, segregated and under-resourced communities are enduring legacies of 'the Conflict'. Yet the political will to tackle social and community division, consult with and support communities has been lacking. Grounded in six communities most affected by poverty and the Conflict this paper illustrates the difficulties, tensions and contradictions experienced during transition and how, in the process of 'change', children and young people have been silenced, marginalised and demonised.

While Northern Ireland experiences relative peace and political stability, its violent past is normalized in murals and commemorations, the language and posturing of opposition politics, segregated communities and social life. In "post-conflict" Northern Ireland, children and youth disproportionately experience paramilitary-style attacks and routine sectarian violence. The violence of poverty and restricted opportunities within communities debilitated by three decades of conflict is masked by a discourse of social, economic and political progress. Drawing on qualitative research, this paper illustrates the continued legacy and impacts of violence on the lives of children and youth living in post-ceasefire Northern Ireland. It discusses the prominence of violence—sectarian, racist, political, "everyday," domestic, "informal"—in young people's accounts and the impacts on their safety, sense of belonging, identity formation, use of space and emotional well-being. The paper concludes by challenging narrow and reductionist explanations of violence, arguing the need to contextualize these within local, historical, political, cultural and material contexts.

AbstractSet against the progress claimed since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, this article reflects the reality of life for children and young people as they negotiate the aftermath of the Conflict in Northern Ireland. Their experiences of informal and formal policing, community and State control, demonstrate the need to understand the lasting impacts of the Conflict when developing policies and practices affecting their lives. At a crucial defining period in the devolution of justice and policing, and based on primary research conducted by the authors, the article establishes key rights‐compliant principles central to reform of youth justice.