Including Children in Global Politics

According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), ‘a child means every human being below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.’ Approximately 2.2 billion people in the world today are under 18 years of age. As of 2004 children accounted for 49 per cent of the population in least developed countries, 37 per cent in developing countries, and 21 per cent in industrialized countries.

Although children constitute a third of humanity, they face widespread exclusion in global politics. Relative to adults, children have been much less visible, less heard and less influential in global decision-making processes. Especially marginalized are children in developing and least developed countries, whose exclusion from essential services and goods threatens their ability to participate fully in society as adults. Heightened exclusion also faces children in poverty, girl children, children from minority groups, rural children, migrant children, street children, child workers, children living with disability, and children infected with HIV.

There are three major reasons why children’s participation in global politics is very important. First, in law (under the CRC as ratified by 193 states) children’s participation is a fundamental right. Second, in practice children’s participation can promote improved policy and progressive change, not only for children themselves, but also for society as a whole. Third, children’s participation prepares them to play a future role in democratic society.

The UNCommittee on the Rights of the Child has urged governments to put in place mechanisms to ensure the systematic participation of young people throughout society. At the international level the main channel is children’s participation in regional and global gatherings. Most international conferences on issues specific to children now seek to involve children.

However, children’s participation in global politics needs to be meaningful. Mere ‘appearance’ and ‘performance’ in international meetings is not enough. Sometimes so-called ‘participation’ entails little more than manipulation by adults. Veritable participation occurs when children’s own experiences and voices are visible, recognized, heard and considered. In these cases children participate directly in shaping the rules under which they live.

Various steps can promote meaningful children’s involvement in international forums. For example, the children’s representatives should be drawn from all sectors of society. Pre-conference preparations can raise children’s awareness and confidence to participate, as well as build their solidarity and cooperation. At the forum itself procedures should be adapted to children. A child-friendly manual for forum involvement can help, as can ethical guidelines for children’s participation. Meaningful participation is also advanced by maintaining a network of children’s representatives after the forum.

Including children in international forums must build on children’s meaningful involvement elsewhere: in family, school, community and national affairs. The development of children’s popular organizations is key. A good example is the recent National Strategy on Child Participation by the Government of Mongolia. Formulation of the strategy involved extensive consultations with young people at local, provincial and national levels. Youth leaders were selected by their peer group, so that they represent their interests. Selection by adults would bring in children with views acceptable to adults. Training workshops for children’s representatives are absolutely essential to raise awareness of rights, to develop skills to voice views, and to promote collective actions among children.

This is not to say that children should have complete freedom to run their involvement in international conferences, without any adult guidance. Adult consultants play key roles as facilitators and coordinators. The adult involvement is adjusted according to the age and maturity of the children. Adult facilitators promote children’s participation by pushing conference sponsors and organizers to make the proceedings accessible to children. But adults are obliged to do this facilitation and coordination in consultation with the children, always listening to their opinions.

Many challenges remain in order to obtain meaningful children’s participation in global politics. More work is needed to develop global networks of children, by children and for children. All groups of children – particularly those in disadvantaged positions – need to have access to these networks. But the biggest challenge is to alter the culture that regards children as the property of parents rather than as the holder of rights. So there is still a long way to go in building a global democracy that starts from childhood.

Watch video footage of Bu Wei introducing her paper on 'including children in global poltics' at our international workshop in Rio de Janeiro.  

The workshop brought together academics, activitists and policymakers from around the world and generated lively debates and new understanding on how to understand and overcome exclusion.

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including the exluded | rio workshop |   workshop findings

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