Unicef UK responds to UN Special Rapporteur’s UK poverty report
Alastair Harper, Director of Advocacy, Unicef UK, said:
‘We are concerned that the UN Special Rapporteur’s findings show that the fifth wealthiest country is failing to fully comply with its obligations under the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) – to provide children and families with enough to eat and a safe place to live.
‘Children who are hungry, tired and worried do not learn well. Poverty is a trap that jeopardises their right to a happy, healthy and fulfilled future and locks children into a cycle of deprivation.
‘In 2019, the year of the 30th anniversary of the CRC, it is vital that the government acts now and recommits to ending child poverty as a national priority, and sets out a new, ambitious strategy to achieve this.’
Notes to editors:
For more information, please contact:
Unicef UK Media Team, 0207 375 6030, [email protected]
Clare Quarrell, 0207 017 1747, [email protected]
About Unicef
Unicef is the world’s leading organisation for children, promoting the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.
Unicef UK raises funds to protect children in danger, transform their lives and build a safer world for tomorrow’s children. As a registered charity we raise funds through donations from individuals, organisations and companies and we lobby and campaign to keep children safe. Unicef UK also runs programmes in schools, hospitals and with local authorities in the UK.
For more information please visit unicef.org.uk