Ministry of Justice launches project to test the Child Participation Assessment Tool
A pilot project coordinated by the Ministry of Justice will use the Child Participation Assessment Tool, developed by the Council of Europe, to evaluate how the rights of children and young people to participate have been realised in Finland. The project launch takes place today in Helsinki in a seminar, introducing the Assessment Tool and the pilot project’s timetable and implementation plan and discussing the indicators for measuring how the rights to participate have been exercised in Finland.
In 2016, the Council of Europe introduced an assessment tool to help member states measure their progress in implementing the Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation on participation of children and young people under the age of 18. Its aim is to ensure that the right, determined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), of children and young people to participate in decision-making that affects them is exercised.
In 2019, the pilot project will discover how well the right of children and young people to be heard and participate in matters that affect them has been realised.
“The Assessment will look at areas such as national legislation, structures and systems for ensuring the participation of children and young people. It will also provide information on how well children and young people themselves are aware of their rights and whether they think the channels for their participation are working. The project will be implemented jointly with the authorities and non-governmental organisations working with children and young people,” said Liisa Männistö, Senior Specialist, Ministry of Justice.
The Assessment Tool, which has ten indicators, has already been piloted in six Council of Europe member states.
Finland will hold the Presidency of the Council of Europe from 21 November 2018 to 17 May 2019. The pilot project for the Assessment Tool facilitating the rights of children and young people to participate is linked to the themes and objectives of Finland’s EU Presidency.
The pilot will be carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Ministry of Education and Culture, Ministry of the Interior, Office of the Ombudsman for Children, Advisory Board for Ethnic Relations, Central Union for Child Welfare and Mannerheim League for Child Welfare. The Ministry of Justice will coordinate the project.
Inquiries:
Liisa Männistö, Senior Specialist, [email protected], tel. +358 295 150231
Read more about the Assessment Tool on the Council of Europe's website
Read more about the project (in Finnish)