The role and impact of independent children's rights institutions in the UK and Europe

The growth of independent children's rights institutions (usually known as Children's Commissioners and Ombudsmen) has been dramatic in recent years, in the British Isles and in Europe more generally. This article reviews some of the key characteristics of such institutions, and some of the key differences between them. It focuses in particular on two issues: independence, in the sense of independence from government and also independence from broader human rights institutions, and impact. A discussion of the methodological and practical difficulties in assessing impact is followed by a case study of a recent attempt to evaluate the impact of one national institution. The article concludes by suggesting that the demand for evidence of impact is likely to grow, reflecting the growing ambitions of independent children's rights institutions and the pressures on public funding.