A/HRC/50/25 youth aged between 18 and 29 in their electoral lists. Some laws lay down the obligation to set up permanent mechanisms for the participation of children and adolescents that offer opportunities for the participation of girls and young women. 62. In other cases, dedicated programmes, policies and strategies have been adopted to promote the participation of children and young people in decision-making, such as a strategy in one country of Western Europe that sets out the objective of ensuring that children and young people have a voice in decisions concerning them and contemplates the creation of a supportive environment for their participation, including by providing the necessary skills training. A dedicated institutional framework accompanies the strategy and includes, for example, youth councils and youth parliaments, although these measures often do not have a specific focus on gender and girls and young women. 63. A study by the European Commission found that children’s and youth councils are among the most prevalent mechanisms directly involving children in political life. 48 For example, in one Western European country it is mandatory for all municipalities to have a youth council, which must have a representation of at least 40 per cent of girls and young women. Youth councils have also been established in African and Asia-Pacific countries. 64. A number of initiatives have also been taken to promote and support the engagement of children and young people, including girls, with State independent human rights mechanisms. For example, a National Human Rights Commission in one Latin American country has amended its internal regulations to allow children and adolescents to submit complaints directly about violations of their rights and has launched programmes for consultation and awareness-raising. 65. Among the frameworks put in place to promote girls’ and young women’s activism are also grant schemes and leadership and capacity-building programmes. For example, in one African country a number of ministries implement leadership skills development programmes for girls, which are aimed at encouraging their involvement in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of public policies on gender equality and women’s and girls’ rights. In one Eastern Europe country, a programme led by role models, called “Future Heroes”, was implemented to foster leadership and entrepreneurship skills for girls aged 14 to 17. Some countries have also set up grant schemes to support youth organizations. International level 66. International human rights bodies are also increasingly involving children. The Committee on the Rights of the Child may now receive communications from children regarding violations of their human rights and encourages their participation in various aspects of its work.49 The Committee has also adopted a child safeguarding procedure to ensure a safe and child-friendly environment for the children with whom it interacts. Similarly, at the regional level, the Inter-American human rights system involves girls and young women in public hearings and field visits and arranges special meetings with them. In the African system, the discussions that take place on the Day of the African Child offer a platform for engaging with girls and young activists. The Working Group has also been meeting with girls and young women during its country visits. 67. The participation of children and young people, including girls and young women, at the international level is also promoted through other mechanisms. For example, in Geneva, some permanent missions to the United Nations involve girls and young women in the drafting of reports or consult them before making recommendations to other States during the universal periodic review. Some countries in Eastern and Western Europe include young people in their delegations to the United Nations or the European Union. In one Latin American country, the National Council for Intergenerational Equality (Consejo Nacional 48 49 16 See European Commission, Study on Child Participation in EU Political and Democratic Life, (2021). See https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRC/Pages/ChildParticipation.aspx.