A petition submitted to the Scottish Parliament urged the Scottish Government to investigate, among other things, the legal status and appropriateness of professional SFA (Scottish Football Association) clubs entering into contracts with children under 16 years of age, as well as payments between SFA member clubs for the transfer of young players under the age of 16 ‘compensation’ years. In particular, the petition argued the market’ breaches the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Public ‘transfer Petitions Committee consulted with a wide-range of stakeholders, including the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland (CYPCS), to review the current registration process from a rights perspective. In undertaking a child rights impact assessment (CRIA), the CYPCS recommended that football clubs need to take greater account of children’s rights “professional within youth football” and called for changes in the registration process. In March 2016, the Public Petitions Committee agreed to include the petition in its legacy paper for consideration by the Session 5 Public Petitions Committee and agreed to write to the Scottish Government regarding regulation. Non-Judicial Grievance Mechanisms See Principle 1.2 - OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises: Amnesty International has noted the high rejection and referral of cases by the UK NCP and the high evidential threshold that the UK NCP imposes on complainants that goes beyond the requirements of the OECD’s Procedural Guidance. GUIDING PRINCIPLE 2 States should set out clearly the expectation that all business enterprises domiciled in their territory and/or jurisdiction respect human rights throughout their operations. Commentary to Guiding Principle 2
A petition submitted to the Scottish Parliament urged the Scottish Government to investigate, among other things, the legal status and appropriateness of professional SFA (Scottish Football Association) clubs entering into contracts with children under 16 years of age, as well as ‘compensation’ payments between SFA member clubs for the transfer of young players under the age of 16 years. In particular, the petition argued the ‘transfer market’ breaches the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Public Petitions Committee consulted with a wide-range of stakeholders, including the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland (CYPCS), to review the current registration process from a rights perspective. In undertaking a child rights impact assessment (CRIA), the CYPCS recommended that “professional football clubs need to take greater account of children’s rights within youth football” and called for changes in the registration process. In March 2016, the Public Petitions Committee agreed to include the petition in its legacy paper for consideration by the Session 5 Public Petitions Committee and agreed to write to the Scottish Government regarding regulation. Non-Judicial Grievance Mechanisms See Principle 1.2 - OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises: Amnesty International has noted the high rejection and referral of cases by the UK NCP and the high evidential threshold that the UK NCP imposes on complainants that goes beyond the requirements of the OECD’s Procedural Guidance. GUIDING PRINCIPLE 2 States should set out clearly the expectation that all business enterprises domiciled in their territory and/or jurisdiction respect human rights throughout their operations. Commentary to Guiding Principle 2
BHR-NBA-Annex.docx