Article 12 should be taken into account when governments pass laws. New laws should take into account the right of children and young people to have opinions in any and all areas of their lives.
As well as this, one of the Commissioner’s jobs is to make sure children and young people can have their voices heard.
He does this by:
- telling children and young people about Article 12 and the rights that it gives them
- telling adults to think about article 12
- finding out what stops children and young people from having a say, and thinking about how things can be changed.