Child rights priorities raised at UN by Welsh youngsters

Jamie Scriven says speaking at the UN is one of the 'biggest opportunities' he has ever had

Young people from Wales have travelled to the United Nations in Geneva to speak about child rights.

The three youngsters were part of a UK delegation addressing the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Jamie Scriven, 18, from Merthyr Tydfil, said it was a great opportunity to talk about his attempts to raise awareness of child trafficking in Wales.

Mental health support and bullying are among the other topics covered in the contingent's Young Wales report.

Jamie, who has been a youth mayor in his home town, said he was concerned youngsters were not being warned about the dangers of sexual exploitation.

"A high percentage of young people that were both victims and perpetrators were actually unaware that they were doing anything wrong," he said.

Views of children across Wales were gathered for the report

He told the committee about a DVD he had made about the issue, which he said was now used as a training aid by the Crown Prosecution Service.

"It's one of the biggest opportunities I've ever had," he said.

"I hope it strikes a lot of chords."

Lynne Hill, policy director for the charity Children in Wales, said it was a valuable experience.

"It's a real opportunity, about understanding the process of why rights are important and how there are people that monitor and check that," she said.

"These young people do a lot of good work locally raising these issues and are very good ambassadors for Wales."