A/HRC/28/34 respect the right of children to express their views, as individuals and as a group, in all matters of concern to them, and to take their views seriously. In many regions of the world, however, children had traditionally not been deemed to have the experience, knowledge or understanding necessary to be directly involved in contributing to major decisions affecting their lives. Since the Convention was adopted 25 years earlier, thousands of initiatives in all regions of the world had created space for children and young people to begin to influence the laws, policies, services and decisions that affected their lives. They demonstrated that they had their own unique perspectives and expertise regarding the challenges they faced and the best strategies for resolving them, and that when provided with the opportunity, information and support, could and did make a significant contribution to decisions affecting their lives. The participation of children could therefore enhance the quality of decision-making and have positive outcomes for the realization of their rights. Although adults commonly underestimated children’s capacities, children wanted greater control over the issues that affect them. Reports suggested that participation improved children’s skills, confidence and self-esteem. 21. Ms. Khondkar emphasized that participation led to better protection. Passive children could be abused by adults with impunity more easily. Providing children with information, encouraging them to articulate their concerns and introducing safe and accessible mechanisms for challenging violence and abuse were key strategies for providing effective protection. Participation continued, however, to be impeded by longstanding practices and attitudes, as well as by political and economic barriers. In addition, while many children found it difficult to make their voices heard, some groups of children, including younger children, girls, children with disabilities, working children or those out of school, children from indigenous or minority communities, and poorer children, faced additional hurdles. States had enact legislation that recognized, promoted and respected the right of girls and boys to express themselves freely and to ensure that their views were given due weight, in accordance with their age and maturity. They had to establish and resource permanent structures at the national and local levels to consult with children when developing, implementing and monitoring laws, policies and programmes that affected them. States should ensure that professionals, parents and teachers know how to involve children meaningfully, and that this was done within a permanent structure, not on an ad hoc basis. IV. Summary of the discussion 22. During the plenary discussion, delegations from Algeria, Austria, Burkina Faso, Costa Rica (on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States), Croatia, Ethiopia (on behalf of the African Group), the European Union, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Lithuania, Mexico, Montenegro, Paraguay, the Philippines (on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations), Spain, Sweden (on behalf of the Nordic States), the Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Timor-Leste (on behalf of Portuguese-speaking countries), Togo, Tunisia, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates (on behalf of the Arab Group), the National Human Rights Institution of Ukraine, Save the Children International (in a joint statement), the British Humanist Association, the World Organisation against Torture (in a joint statement with Defence for Children International) and the International Institute for Non-Aligned Studies took the floor. A. General remarks on violence against children 23. Several delegations stressed the fact that violence was both a cause and consequence of social exclusion and discrimination: it marked children’s inequality and powerlessness. It 7