Scotland's first Children�s Commissioner received strong praise yesterday as she revealed she is to step down. Professor Kathleen Marshall revealed that she will quit next April.
Scotland's first Children's Commissioner received strong praise yesterday as she revealed she is to step down.
Professor Kathleen Marshall revealed that she will quit next April instead of completing another five-year term because she felt that 10 years was "too long" to stay in the same role.
Since becoming the first Scottish Commissioner for Children and Young People in 2004, she has campaigned against dawn raids to remove the families of failed asylum seekers and opposed the detention of youngsters at the Dungavel immigration centre in Lanarkshire - which still occurs although the current Scottish Government has pledged to improve family accommodation at the site.
More successful crusades have included persuading several councils and police forces to oppose or stop using so-called mosquito devices - which emit high pitch noise that only young people can hear and have been employed to stop them congregating in town centres.
A report which Professor Marshall wrote on the rights of children of prisoners was applauded by the European Commissioner for Human Rights and is currently being considered by the Scottish Prison Service.
She also sparked controversy, however, by calling for parents who smack their children to be jailed or fined, prompting critics to accuse her of wasting time on "politically correct nonsense".
Giving her own view of her achievements yesterday, the commissioner said she hoped she had made a particular difference to the lives of children whose rights were most under threat, "such as asylum seekers, children with disabilities and those in care".
She stressed that her remaining months in the job would be dominated by the UN's scrutiny of the UK's record in implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
She said: "I was in Geneva in June to tell the UN how I saw the situation. I will be there again on September 23 to watch the government being questioned. And I will be working after that to ensure the UN's recommendations are monitored and translated into reality."
Tom Roberts, head of public affairs at Children 1st, said Professor Marshall had convinced those who initially doubted the need for a children's "czar" that the role was necessary.
He said: "She showed that the post has a lot of value for children in Scotland. I think she set herself up as a champion of children's rights and their interests in the political system and I think she has largely achieved that."
Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop thanked Prof Marshall for helping to "improve Scottish society". She added: "Kathleen has been very effective in representing the interests of children and young people as Children's Commissioner."
John Wilkes, chief executive, Scottish Refugee Council, said: "Kathleen Marshall has been a committed and passionate champion of the rights of asylum-seeking children, especially around the detention and forced removal of children of asylum seekers. Her work has had an effect on many of their lives."
