Child participation

Children have the right to be heard and have a say in all decisions affecting them, be that at home, in the community, at school or in individual legal and administrative matters. The Council of Europe places participation of children at the core of its children’s rights agenda. Child participation is a key strategic objective in the promotion of children’s rights and also a cross cutting approach that is mainstreamed into the organisation’s standard-setting, monitoring and sector specific work.

The Council of Europe Recommendation on participation of children and young people under the age of 18 was developed following comprehensive reviews of the reality of child participation in a number of member states and with the direct involvement of children in the work of the drafting Committee. The recommendation covers the rights of children and young people to be heard in all settings, including in schools, in communities and in the family as well as at the national and European level. It also contains guidelines member states are encouraged to follow in implementing the Recommendation such as protecting children and young people’s right to participate, promoting and informing children and young people about participation, and creating spaces for participation.

The Recommendation recognises Article 12 (respect for the views of the child) both as a fundamental right and as a general principle of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It further recognises that Article 12 is linked to all other articles of the UNCRC.

The Council of Europe Child Participation Assessment Tool provides specific and measurable indicators to measure progress in implementing the Recommendation on the participation of children and young people under the age of 18.

With the help of this tool, which was successfully tested in Estonia, Ireland and Romania, governments can ensure that children and young people within their countries can exercise their right to be heard, to be taken seriously and to participate in decision making in all matters affecting them.

States that are interested in using the Assessment Tool are invited to contact the Children’s Rights Division to express their interest.

Child Participation Assessment Tool

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Back “Strengthening civil society participation in the implementation and monitoring of the Lanzarote Convention” conference report

On 8-9 April 2019, an international conference on “Strengthening civil society participation in the implementation and monitoring of the Lanzarote Convention” gathered representatives from over 35 civil society organisations (CSOs), active in 20 member states of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France.

Growing resistance in society to discuss sensitive issues and uphold the rights of the child, insufficient co-operation resulting in re-traumatisation of child-victims and a general lack of awareness and understanding of online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA), were among the common challenges identified by participants. The conference concluded by recommending that:

Co-operation between CSOs within and across countries should be further encouraged;
Child-friendly tools and accessible materials on the Lanzarote Convention should be developed;
Awareness raising materials should be evidence-based and developed through child participation;
Action should be taken to strengthen safeguards, ensure confidentiality of a victim’s identity and that children can report abuse even in the absence of parents or legal guardians;
Harmful sexual behaviour among children should be dealt with through educational and public health responses, not criminal procedures requiring prosecution;
Child participation in the implementation and monitoring of the Lanzarote Convention should be further encouraged and facilitated.

The full meeting report identifies also promising practices and lessons learned.

The conference was organised in the framework of the Council of Europe projects on Protecting children from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse in the Republic of Moldova; Responding to Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Georgia-phase I; Protecting children against violence, including sexual exploitation and sexual abuse; and to End Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse@Europe.

The Council of Europe gratefully acknowledges the financial support provided for this programme by the Fund to End Violence Against Children.

Conference report