Youth Power

Recognizing that today’s generation of youth is the largest the world has ever known and that young people often form the majority of the population of countries affected by armed conflict,

Expressing concern that among civilians, youth account for many of those adversely affected by armed conflict, including as refugees and internally displaced persons, and that the disruption of youth’s access to education and economic opportunities has a dramatic impact on durable peace and reconciliation.

Recognizing the important and positive contribution of youth in efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security,

Affirming the important role youth can play in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and as a key aspect of the sustainability, inclusiveness and success of peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts.

Recognizing that youth should actively be engaged in shaping lasting peace and contributing to justice and reconciliation, and that a large youth population presents a unique demographic dividend that can contribute to lasting peace and economic prosperity if inclusive policies are in place,

Recognizing that the rise of radicalization to violence and violent extremism, especially among youth, threatens stability and development, and can often derail peacebuilding efforts and foment conflict, and stressing the importance of addressing conditions and factors leading to the rise of radicalization to violence and violent extremism among youth, which can be conducive to terrorism.

Expressing concern over the increased use, in a globalized society, by terrorists and their supporters of new information and communication technologies, in particular the Internet, for the purposes of recruitment and incitement of youth to commit terrorist acts, as well as for the financing, planning and preparation of their activities, and underlining the need for Member States to act cooperatively to prevent terrorists from exploiting technology, communications and resources to incite support for terrorist acts, while respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms and in compliance with other obligations under international law.

Noting the important role youth can play further as positive role models in preventing and countering violent extremism, which can be conducive to terrorism, and fuels conflict, inhibits socioeconomic development and fosters regional and international insecurity,

Noting that the Secretary-General is finalizing a Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism to integrate youth’s participation, leadership and empowerment as core to the United Nations strategy and responses.

Noting the World Programme of Action for Youth, the Guiding Principles on Young People’s Participation in Peacebuilding, the August 2015 Global Forum on Youth, Peace and Security, the Amman Declaration on Youth, Peace and Security, the September 2015 Global Youth Summit against Violent Extremism and the Action Agenda to Prevent Violent Extremism and Promote Peace, and acknowledging their role in creating a foundation that promotes young people ’s inclusive participation and positive contribution to building peace in conflict and post-conflict situations,

Acknowledging the on-going work of national governments and regional and international organisations to engage youth in building and maintaining peace.

Encouraging Member States to consider developing a UN common approach to inclusive development as a key for preventing conflict and enabling long-term stability and sustainable peace, and highlighting in this regard the importance of identifying and addressing social, economic, political, cultural and religious exclusion, intolerance, as well as violent extremism, which can be conducive to terrorism, as drivers of conflict,

Recognizing that the protection of youth during conflict and post-conflict and their participation in peace processes can significantly contribute to the maintenance and promotion of international peace and security, and being convinced that the protection of civilians, including youth, in armed conflict should be an important aspect of any comprehensive strategy to resolve conflict and build peace,

Noting relevant provisions of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Tackling stereotypes and policy myths

Youth, unlike many other “unchanging” forms of identity (such as ethnicity or race), is a transitional phase of life. The idea of youth as a transitionary period is sometimes taken to imply that the formal markers of chronological age might be the most consistent signposts for defining young people. Although young people share many of the same peace and security challenges as society at large, there are unique dimensions to being young that expose young people to distinct challenges and opportunities. Over the course of our research, many young men and women asserted that their interests, identities and experiences as young people were inseparable from their stake in development, exercise of human rights, gender-differentiated needs, and experiences of conflict and violence. In an increasingly globalized world shaped by pervasive concerns about terrorism, organized transnational crime and extremist violence, perspectives on youth are distorted by contagious stereotypes that associate young people with violence. The overarching consequence of these negative stereotypes is that they contribute to the marginalization and stigmatization of youth by framing young people as a problem to be solved and a threat to be contained. Moreover, these myths and assumptions have fueled “policy panic”, particularly as it relates to the “youth bulge”, youth migration and violent extremism. This detrimentally skews youth, peace and security programmatic responses and priorities towards hard security approaches and away from prevention, ignoring the fact that most young people are in fact not involved in violence.

Youth for peace

In the absence of meaningful opportunities to participate socially, politically and economically, marginalized young people are strikingly creative in forging alternative places of belonging and meaning through which to express themselves. Our research revealed how young people are actively engaged within their communities, from simple acts of community service and civic engagement, to advocating for the needs of their communities or participating in formal institutions. Young women and men also play active roles in organizing and mobilizing their peers at national, regional and global levels to address different forms of violence. In the descriptions of their peacebuilding work, some young people narrated survivalist or adaptive responses to intractable and ongoing conflict; others described transformative ambitions and processes of change. Through these descriptions, it is clear that the resilience of young people manifests not only in their agency, but also in their ownership and leadership in building peace. The initiatives undertaken by young people reflect the core approaches to sustaining peace – by taking into consideration the changing nature of violent conflict and the manifestations of exclusion of young people that remain unresolved.