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Recommendation 1864 (2009)
Promoting the participation by children in decisions affecting them
1. The Parliamentary
Assembly considers that the process of taking part in decisions
that affect the lives of individuals and the communities in which
they live is a means of constructing and gauging democracy in a given
country; participation is a fundamental right of the citizen, and
children are citizens.
2. Children’s right to participation is recognised in the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 12) and in
some Council of Europe instruments such as the European Convention
on the Exercise of Children’s Rights (ETS No. 160). The Assembly
sees an urgent need to alert all those who live and work with children
and who take decisions affecting them to the twofold requirement
set out in Article 12 of the United Nations convention, which all
member states have ratified.
3. Under the said Article 12, whenever a decision which affects
a child is taken, his or her opinions, wishes and feelings must
be ascertained, whatever his or her age, gender, religion, social
status or situation. Article 12 establishes a general principle
which is relevant for all children, including children with disabilities,
and in the implementation of all the rights enshrined in the above-mentioned
convention.
4. Whenever a decision which affects a child is taken, his or
her opinions, wishes and feelings have to be duly taken into account,
having due regard to his or her age and degree of maturity. Age
and maturity must be considered together, and these two factors
do not solely concern the child’s intellectual capacity. The way
in which children express their feelings, the development of their
personality, their evolving capacities and their ability to confront
various emotions and possibilities are just as important.
5. The Assembly calls on all decision makers to consider seriously
the opinions, wishes and feelings of children, including very young
children. The influence wielded by the child over the decision-making
process will depend on his or her age and maturity. Participation
should always be relevant and voluntary and be facilitated. Adults
have a duty not to expose children to risks or to overburden them
with responsibilities that they are not able to take on. Children
have unique knowledge about their own lives, needs and concerns.
The Assembly is convinced that their participation should be a major
factor in any decisions directly affecting them.
6. The Assembly notes that the debate on participation is geared
not merely to ensuring that adults listen to children, but that
they take into consideration and act upon the views and opinions
expressed by children: the emphasis nowadays is on the fact that
children are supposed to be capable of effective action. It is necessary
to ensure that whatever they say or do leads to changes which are
positive for them.
7. Children must therefore be listened to and allowed to participate
in decisions in all fields, especially in family life, health care,
adoption issues and procedures, education, community life, access
to justice and the administration of justice. Additional efforts
are needed to ensure that children are allowed to express their opinions
freely during judicial and administrative proceedings in a climate
of respect, trust and mutual understanding. When promoting a meaningful
participation by children, special attention should be paid to avoid
putting them at risk in any way, and to avoid harming, pressurising,
coercing or manipulating them; children should have access to child-friendly
information, appropriate to their age and to their situation.
8. The Assembly invites the Committee of Ministers to urge governments
of member states to:
8.1. examine
their legislation, policies and practices with regard to children
in all their decision-making processes in order to assess the extent
to which children’s opinions are heeded and taken seriously. The child’s
opinions and experiences should be central to this examination.
Where the child’s consent is required before a public authority
can act, for example in the field of adoption or health care, the consequences
of setting a minimum age limit should be examined and corrected,
if necessary, taking the best interests of the child into consideration;
8.2. develop a national strategy setting out the actions to
be taken by each member state to increase participation by children
in decisions affecting them. The specific needs of children with
disabilities, underprivileged children, very young children, children
in prison or other hazardous environments and under-age migrants
or asylum seekers should also be taken into account, and the right
of all children to participation, should be promoted and guaranteed
without discrimination;
8.3. provide the greatest possible legal protection for children’s
right to participation, including in their national constitutions,
legislation on human rights and other relevant sectors (including
education, administration of justice and immigration), taking into
account the best interests of the child and the evolving capacities
of the child. The right of the child to express opinions and to
participation should be relevant, voluntary, adapted and facilitated.
In general, there should be no minimum age for children to be entitled
to express their opinions. Children should also be provided with
child-friendly information, in regional languages, on issues relating
to children’s rights and their protection and on how they can access
various services available to them;
8.4. implement these children’s rights and ensure that all
their public authorities and public services also implement them
in all walks of life. There should be no exemptions for specific
areas or professions. Children and young people should also be consulted
on the quality of existing services and on how these services can
become more accessible to all children.
9. The Assembly urges the Committee of Ministers to invite governments
of member states to launch public education programmes for children
and parents:
9.1. informing them
of the right of children to express their opinions freely;
9.2. presenting the child as a human being with feelings, opinions,
aspirations and rights;
9.3. including the development of child-friendly materials
and services.
10. The Assembly invites the Committee of Ministers to ask governments
of member states to:
10.1. ensure
that civil codes and legislation on the rights, duties and responsibilities
of parents highlight respect for the child’s human dignity, feelings
and opinions and comprise the obligation to take due account of
the child’s opinions in the light of the development of his or her
capacities;
10.2. make available training on children’s rights and participation
for the benefit of all persons involved in decision-making processes,
in particular judges, prosecutors, lawyers, educators and medical
staff, and to develop the capacity of professionals working with
children to consult and work with children of various age groups.
11. The Assembly considers that the continued existence of violence
sanctioned by legislation in a variety of contexts, including the
family circle, harms children as individuals and as a social group,
and that the commitment to child participation necessitates the
elimination of laws which denigrate children as human beings. It
supports the Europe-wide initiative to eliminate corporal punishment
of children launched within the Council of Europe programme “Building
a Europe for and with children”. The Assembly therefore strongly
urges the Committee of Ministers to require governments of all member
states to impose an explicit ban on corporal punishment and degrading
treatment of children, even within the family, and also to address
other forms of abuse and exploitation which prevent the child from
participating and developing according to his or her potential.
12. The Assembly invites the Committee of Ministers to encourage
the governments of member states to reconsider the age-related restrictions
placed on voting rights in order to encourage young people’s participation
in political life.
13. The Assembly invites the Committee of Ministers to urge governments
of member states to:
13.1. set up
– with respect for their individual legal systems – the office of
independent national, or even local, children’s ombudsperson, with
the responsibility of ensuring the promotion and protection of children’s
rights and empowered to deal with individual complaints and applications
from children;
13.2. ensure that abandoned and/or disabled children placed
in institutions also have access to an independent body responsible
for defending their rights (an ombudsperson or at least a special magistrate)
who would regularly monitor the safeguard of children’s rights by
the institutions.
14. The Assembly backs the initiative and conclusions of the Conference
of European Ministers of Justice held in Lanzarote in October 2007
to the effect that participation by children in any judicial proceedings
affecting them is an important element of a modern and fair justice
system, and invites the Committee of Ministers, via its competent
organs, to prepare European guidelines for child-friendly justice.
15. The Assembly welcomes the progress achieved within the programme
“Building a Europe for and with children” and invites the Committee
of Ministers to support and develop, in the member states and within
the Council of Europe, the current project aimed at promoting children’s
participation, including the development of child-friendly information
on the Organisation’s instruments.
16. Lastly, the Assembly invites the Committee of Ministers to
ask governments of member states to:
16.1. invest in the development and proper functioning of organisations
directed by children and adolescents, ensuring that there are no
obstacles to the self-promotion of children;
16.2. involve these organisations in the continued monitoring
of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in all
member states, as well as of the implementation of the relevant
Council of Europe treaties and other commitments undertaken by member
states for the realisation of the rights of the child.