The right to be heard – Child participation: a foundation for democratic societies
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 24 January 2022 (2nd sitting) (see Doc. 15435, report of the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and
Sustainable Development, rapporteur: Baroness Doreen E. Massey). Text adopted by the Assembly on 24 January
2022 (2nd sitting).See also Recommendation 2218 (2022).
1. Every child has the right to speak
and to be heard. Their experiences, thoughts and feelings must be taken
into account when decisions are made about their lives. Children
are knowledgeable, resourceful, enthusiastic, daring and creative.
Listening to children can help us make our societies a better place
for everyone.
2. While climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent
social crisis are putting children’s futures at risk, decisions
on these issues continue to be made with little or no regard for
children’s concerns. It is time for governments and parliaments
to consider children’s views whenever decisions affecting their
lives are made and put into practice.
3. Traditionally, policy makers focus on topics related to childcare
and child protection – be it the right to family life, to health
or to education. Child protection is certainly of huge importance,
but so is the development of children’s capacities to think and
act with confidence. Indeed, when done with due care for the age
and maturity of the child, such empowerment may enhance levels of
protection. In many contexts, children themselves can inform policy
makers about their needs, with the help of well-tried child-friendly
approaches and methodologies.
4. Truly democratic societies cannot be built unless we listen
to children (those under the age of 18). Child participation in
political decision making strengthens their understanding of democracy
and their skills in dialogue, their understanding of their rights
and their capability to resolve conflicts without violence. It enables them
to respect themselves and others and increases confidence and self-esteem.
It is also an essential building block of democratic security and
the stability of our societies.
5. In the past decade, child participation has gained unprecedented
levels of attention and has become a must for many organisations.
Nevertheless, while there exists a wealth of examples of successful
practice, too often child participation is not given sufficient
priority and resources, and remains tokenistic, sporadic or limited to
the privileged and articulate minority.
6. The Parliamentary Assembly recalls that child participation
is enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child and is therefore an international legal obligation. The UN
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development acknowledges children’s
right to participation as an essential part of achieving the Sustainable
Development Goals. Child participation is also included in the Charter
of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The Council of Europe’s
Committee of Ministers, Parliamentary Assembly and other bodies
have adopted texts on child participation, which provide a comprehensive
framework and useful guidance, remain valid and need to be better
known and used.
7. The Assembly thus calls on the Council of Europe member States
and on national parliaments to support effective and sustainable
child participation, and to this effect to:
7.1 review the progress achieved, in accordance with the above-mentioned
standards and guidance, identify gaps and take measures to support
effective child participation;
7.2 ensure that child participation is systematic and inclusive,
with a particular focus on children in vulnerable situations; that
it is well prepared and evaluated; that children’s views are duly
reflected when decisions are made; and that children are provided
with feedback on how their views were taken into account;
7.3 support systematic capacity building for promoting child
participation among all professionals dealing with children, as
well as among parliamentarians and public-service officials, through
initial and in-service training, and education and public awareness
campaigns;
7.4 support the development of and ensure due respect for
relevant safeguarding provisions, with special attention paid to
the needs of children in vulnerable situations;
7.5 support local and regional authorities and civil society
organisations in promoting child participation;
7.6 consider lowering the voting age to 16;
7.7 make full use of Council of Europe tools, such as the
Handbook on children’s participation “Listen – Act – Change”, the
Child Participation Assessment Tool, the Reference Framework of
Competences for Democratic Culture and the “Compasito” manual on
human rights education for children;
7.8 support international co-operation in the area of child
participation, including with other regional and international organisations.
8. The Assembly undertakes to put child participation into practice
in its own work as follows:
8.1 consult
children, who, with their range of different backgrounds, are representative
of our societies, in the preparation of the Assembly reports that
concern them, in an appropriate way and with due respect for child
safeguarding procedures, for example through written consultations,
participation in hearings, focus groups and parliamentary networks;
give children a voice in the debates on Assembly reports that concern
them, for example by inviting a child representative to take the
floor during debates on reports in plenary or in the Standing Committee;
and provide children with feedback on how their contributions were
used and what impact they might have had;
8.2 monitor Assembly reports for compliance with the rights
of the child and child participation;
8.3 pay particular attention to the participation of children
in vulnerable situations;
8.4 support systematic information sharing and synergies with
other Council of Europe bodies, international and European institutions,
such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Inter-Parliamentary
Union (IPU), the European Commission, the European Committee of
the Regions, the European Parliament and with the voluntary sector;
8.5 consider facilitating annual reviews of child participation
in parliaments, with the support of the European Centre for Parliamentary
Research and Documentation (ECPRD) and with Eurochild.
9. The Assembly welcomes the adoption of the EU Strategy on the
Rights of the Child in 2021 and the Council of Europe Strategy for
the Rights of the Child in 2022, as well as the European Commission’s
European Child Guarantee, and expresses its support for the plans
to set up the EU Children’s Participation Platform and a space for
children to become active participants in the European Climate Pact
through pledges or by becoming Pact Ambassadors.
