The review process aimed to identify how the Recommendation has impacted on youth policy-making and on young people’s access to rights in member states (including in and through the activities of youth organisations and other stakeholders). This process combined various sources of information and was based on dialogue aiming to exchange experiences and examples of good practices. The process had a transparent and consistent youth participation dimension. The guidelines for the implementation of the Recommendation outline the key approaches for conducting the review process.

THE RECOMMENDATION

The Council of Europe youth sector aims at enabling young people across Europe to actively uphold, defend, promote and benefit from the Council of Europe’s core values of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, notably by strengthening young people’s access to rights, deepening knowledge about youth and broadening youth participation.

The Committee of Ministers adopted in 2016 the Recommendation CM/Rec(2016)7 on Young People’s Access to Rights to improve young people’s access to rights by taking steps to promote awareness of the rights that young people should be able to enjoy and what they can do if their rights are violated, and by removing legal, political and social barriers. The Recommendation recognises the unhindered and full access of young people to rights as an essential element of a culture of human rights, democracy and rule of law. It stresses that young people are entitled to fully enjoy human and all other rights under national and international law, except where justified legal exceptions are made for the protection of minors.

In the Recommendation, the Committee of Ministers also “agrees to examine the follow-up given by member States to this Recommendation five years after its adoption”. This means that the Recommendation was reviewed in 2021.

At national or local level

The guidelines propose that public authorities and youth organisations, in a process of open dialogue, should agree on a set of monitoring and evaluation indicators to be used at national, regional or local levels. Disaggregated data should be analysed systematically in order to identify the impact on young people with fewer opportunities. Furthermore, a mechanism or process to review and evaluate young people’s access to rights should be set up at local, regional or national level. Depending on the context, this review mechanism should meet every two to three years. The mechanisms could also analyse the impact on young people of new or updated legislation or policies.

For youth organisations working both locally, nationally and on international level, it is encouraged to create coalitions with different stakeholders who research and review policy implementation, such as researchers from the youth, human rights and legal fields. Furthermore, the guidelines propose developing of standard surveys to review implementation of the Recommendation and use these surveys as a basis for the review process.

At Council of Europe level

The guidelines propose that the Council of Europe gathers information and feedback both from the public authorities and from youth organisations, and produces a synthesised report based on the research and surveys available. This synthesised report should be used as a basis to identify potential implementation gaps.

Thematic focus of the review

According to the guidelines the first review should focus on:

  • Addressing discriminatory practices faced by young people on the grounds explicitly outlined in Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights or any other form identified in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (article I. of the Recommendation);
  • Removing legal, administrative and practical obstacles to the right of young people to assemble peacefully and to freely form, join and be active in associations and trade unions (article I. of the Recommendation).

The Monitoring group

The Monitoring group for the 2021 review of the Recommendation CM/Rec(2016)7 brought together a group of experts with the following profiles:

  • Representatives of the Advisory Council on Youth and the European Steering Committee for Youth;
  • European Youth Forum
  • Consultants from the Pool of European Youth Researchers
  • Council of Europe secretariat

The monitoring group’s role was to guide the process of data collection, research, review of the conclusions and final outcomes from the process. It presented the outcomes of this process to the Joint Council on Youth at its meeting in October 2021.

Fostering the further implementation of the recommendation

Following the review, the Joint Council on Youth, at its meeting in October 2023, debated ways to promote the further implementation of Recommendation CM/Rec(2016)7 on young people’s access rights. Various stakeholders came together to raise awareness of the suggestions outlined in the review process and to discuss examples of implementation by member States, (international) youth organisations, and youth councils.

 Read the report

Endorsement of the review’s results

The Joint Council on Youth (CMJ) endorsed the conclusions and recommendations of the review process of the implementation of Recommendation on young people’s access rights at its meeting in October 2021.

 Read the conclusions

Consultative meeting to prepare the review

A consultative meeting with various target groups and stakeholders was organised in October 2021 to prepare the review process. It concluded with a proposal for the approaches, measures and calendar for the review of the implementation of the Recommendation on the young people’s access to rights.