Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that child rights and well-being are embedded across its policies; and if she will make training on child rights, developed and delivered by UK NGOs, mandatory for all staff in her Department, both in the UK and overseas.

The UK Government is fully committed to the promotion, protection, and realisation of children's rights, and to the principles laid out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Children are a central part of the FCDO's work, whether through ensuring access to quality education and healthcare, or through protecting them from violence, and working to end child marriage.

The FCDO recently collaborated with the Bond Child Rights Working Group to hold a learning session on child rights, and specifically the international child rights framework. We are considering further capability development sessions on child rights issues in 2022 based on knowledge needs across the department, and will continue to work closely with the BOND Child Rights Working Group as we develop these plans.