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UN announces high-level youth meeting in July

On 15th March, the UN General Assembly decided to hold a two-day high-level meeting on youth on 25-26th July at its headquarters in New York. The event will be based on the overarching theme of dialogue and mutual understanding, and will aim to result in a concise action-orientated outcome document.

Plenary meetings and roundtables will focus on strengthening youth cooperation on issues such as social integration, poverty eradication and sustainable development. The Assembly also recognised that the International Year of Youth, which began in August, represented an important opportunity to bolster government investment in youth and the international community's commitment to address youth-related challenges.

The resolution adopted by the Assembly also called on Member States to "pay due attention" to the Millennium Development Goals, the World Programme of Action for Youth and other relevant programmes, as well as to consider including young people in their delegations for the event. Speaking on behalf of the European Union, Krisztina Anita Kovacs (Hungary), said youth - including from non-governmental organisations and youth-led organisations - should be adequately represented during the meeting, and governments should transparently select and include youth representatives in their delegations. She urged that youth be given adequate time to speak in order to draw attention to their concerns, problems, and challenges.

The European Youth Forum is encouraged by the UN's willingness to address youth issues and involve young people, but remains disappointed at the weak language used in the resolution. Essentially, the General Assembly has only advised Member States to involve youth delegations for the event - there is no binding obligation to do so. Governments need to go beyond positive-sounding rhetoric and give young people genuine power in decision-making on issues that directly affect them.

 

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