UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL, 63rd session. 30 September 2026. General Debate on Item 8
Joint Statement on meaningful Child Participation in Decision and Policymaking
Mr. President,
I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of 34 States, and my own country Estonia.
In today’s rapidly changing world, children and youth are disproportionately affected by current challenges, including those posed in the digital environment, climate change and environmental degradation, mental health issues, social polarisation and armed conflict.
Meaningful child participation is grounded in the rights and obligations set out in Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child; and contributes to better, more legitimate and future-oriented decision and policymaking. Children are rights-holders and should participate in decisions affecting them.
While children’s rights relating to participation are well established, the challenge is how to translate existing commitments into consistent and meaningful practice.
Consultation alone is not sufficient. Children should have meaningful opportunities to influence decisions, throughout the whole decision and policymaking process.
Participation must be safe, meaningful, inclusive and accessible to children of different ages and backgrounds, particularly those whose voices are least heard and adapted to their evolving capacities and communication needs.
Children should receive clear and child-friendly information about how their views were considered and, where appropriate, how they influenced the outcome. Such feedback strengthens accountability and children’s trust in public institutions.
Civil society organisations play an important role in enabling safe, meaningful and inclusive child participation, particularly for children facing additional barriers. Sustainable support is essential to ensure meaningful children’s participation.
Experiences from different countries demonstrate the value of meaningful opportunities for children to contribute to decision and policymaking, as well as to international human rights processes. We encourage States to follow good practices, including enabling children to prepare and submit their own reports to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, complementing the State report and giving children a direct voice in the process.
Recent child-led “Include Us!” standards, which are supported by the OHCHR, highlight the importance of involving children throughout international processes, from planning to follow-up. We encourage States and the UN to build on such initiatives and ensure that children’s participation is safe, inclusive, accessible and genuinely influential and meaningful.
I thank you.
Co-sponsors:
1. Albania
2. Andorra
3. Austria
4. Bolivia
5. Brazil
6. Cyprus
7. Denmark
8. Ecuador
9. Estonia
10. Finland
11. France
12. Germany
13. Guatemala
14. Hungary
15. Iceland
16. Ireland
17. Lesotho
18. Liechtenstein
19. Lithuania
20. Mexico
21. Moldova
22. Montenegro
23. Morocco
24. North Macedonia
25. Norway
26. Portugal
27. Romania
28. Serbia
29. Slovenia
30. Spain
31. Switzerland
32. Ukraine
33. United Kingdom
34. Uruguay
35. Zambia