Usman Ali, from King Cross, Halifax, travelled to Geneva, Switzerland, to put forward the views of young people to the panel.

Thousands of children contributed to online research which was used by the Children's Rights Alliance for England to write a report as part of a four-year Big Lottery-funded project.

Usman, a Crossley Heath School pupil, was one of 12 delegates from England who were invited to present the report to officials.

The children's recommendations included introducing laws to ban unfair age discrimination, media guidelines requiring fair representation of children and less negative stereotyping, making smoking illegal and making the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child part of the curriculum for children of all ages.

Usman said the trip was a valuable and exciting experience.

"You can't stand up for your rights if you don't know what they are."

"I urged the committee to try to get the convention taught in citizenship lessons so people know that they have rights and can stick up for them.

"Everything else comes after that," he said.

The 15-year-old won his place in the delegation by entering a competition to write an essay on children's rights.

During his trip he also had dinner with the UK children's commissioner Prof Sir Al Aynsley-Green.

Crossley Heath head teacher Helen Gaunt said: "Usman is a very self-assured young man and is an avid supporter of human rights.

"He shows a real interest in politics and, through his work on the Youth Parliament, has become a keen supporter and campaigner for the rights of young people.

"We are very proud of Usman and of the contribution he has made so far."

Usman's next trip is to the Houses of Parliament to give a presentation to MPs and heads of children's charities about his experiences in Geneva.



Usman's Geneva diary
Tuesday, June 10
The journey to Geneva was tiring, four hours and three trains to Gatwick and then a further two hours to Geneva.
We discussed the planning and organisation of the UN meeting with the Scottish and Welsh delegates at the hotel. However, even more interesting was some of the Welsh delegates were 19! What happened to "children" being aged 17 or under?
I remember sitting in my room and being quite eager about the meeting as it was only several hours away. Then, after a final look at the report being presented to the UN, I was off to bed.

Wednesday, June 11
We were on our way to UNICEF. A room was given to us to prepare for the meeting with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
A change of environment was needed after two hours so we had lunch at the botanic gardens.
We arrived outside Palais Wilson, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, promptly at 1.30pm.
The usual security checks and badges were given, and into the conference room we went. The committee arrived 15 minutes late, shortening the time we had. We were quite disappointed, especially as we all had all put hard work into this.
An elegant Korean lady sat opposite me. Not knowing who she was, I introduced myself. I was surprised; the chair of the committee was sat opposite me!
However, even more astonishing was that we only got to speak about the subject once. On the dot at 3pm the meeting ended with Yanghee Lee, chair of the committee, saying thank you to all of us.
I managed to speak to some of the committee members and urged them to take all of the recommendations forward.
After a few spare hours spent near the lake and in the affluent shopping area in Geneva, we had dinner with the children's commissioner, Professor Sir Al Aynsley Green.
The final full day in Geneva eventually came to an end. An unforgettable yet nerve-wracking experience.

Thursday, June 12
The big day was over. We arrived at Geneva International Airport and flew to Heathrow Terminal 5.
In the international arrivals hall we met a photographer from a national magazine. We were all told to stand near the International Arrivals sign so he could click away.
From there we got the Heathrow Express to Paddington. Goodbyes were said and we left for our destinations.
And so meeting the UN, something I had looked forward to for months, was over.