Creating Space for Child Participation in Local Governance in Tanzania: Save the Children and Children's Councils

Children’s right to be heard – or the right to participate – is one of the core rights of children. It is internationally and nationally recognised and protected. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (AC) both protect the right of children to be heard, and Tanzania has ratified these two important international instruments. At the national level, the Tanzanian Law of the Child Act 2009 recognises that children have the right to participate in all decisions concerning them. Thus, the right applies to all contexts of a child’s life, including family, school and the wider community. Children, therefore, possess the right to participate in their communities are governed by local authorities. Making the right to participate effective, however, is challenging because of the deep-seated views held by adults with regards to the low or limited status and capacity of children.