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8241st Security Council Meeting: Maintenance of International Peace and Security Part 2
Contrary to common perception, young people were not a nagging problem, but rather, powerful agents for resolving and preventing conflict throughout the world, the Security Council heard today during an open debate on youth, peace and security that featured the first‑ever United Nations report on the topic.
Titled “Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security”, the 23‑page report —reflecting the views of 4,000 young people — was mandated by Council resolution 2250 (2015). Its lead author, Graeme Simpson, emphasizing that nearly a quarter of the world’s 1.8 billion people aged 18 to 29 lived in situations of violence, spoke of a growing trust gap between young people and their Governments, multilateral organizations and civil society.
Stereotypes of youth as a “young man with a gun” or of young women as passive victims were pervasive, he said, while policymakers wrongly assumed that young refugees posed new threats. “There is little or no evidence to support this ‘policy panic’,” he said. He proposed a “bold reorientation”, pressing Member States and the multilateral system to move away from remedial responses to genuine prevention efforts, alongside new social norms that did not demonize, romanticize or patronize youth.
Jayathma Wickramanayake, the Secretary‑General’s Envoy on Youth, said today was an opportunity for the Council to redress that mistrust. Young people must be key stakeholders in peacebuilding strategies and action plans, and feel that their votes counted. She recalled meeting youth in Iraq, Somalia and Colombia who described how resolution 2250 (2015) was helping to close the trust deficit. “We need to build up on this momentum,” she said, calling for youth to be put atop the United Nations agenda.
With that in mind, Sophia Pierre‑Antoine, Member of the Advisory Council of the World Young Women’s Christian Association, said Haitian youth toiled daily to ensure security in their streets, peace in their homes and justice in their communities. Warning against a toxic masculinity that allowed people to view young men in a negative light, she recommended investing in young people and the fight against racism, and ensuring that both age and gender remained integral to peace and security discussions.
Kessy Ekomo-Soignet, Executive Director of Organisation URU, said 72 per cent of the population in the Central African Republic — among the most dangerous places to be a young person — was under age 35. Many strove tirelessly to end violence and promote social cohesion. “We are there with you to build the peace that we all want to see,” she said, proposing that $1.8 billion — one dollar for every young person on the planet — be invested in youth to underscore their role in building peace.
Ministers, senior officials and representatives from many of the 69 Member States emphasized the value of education and employment to undermine the corrosive effects of terrorism and violent extremism. Several also emphasized the role of young people in making the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development an effective tool for conflict prevention and mitigation.
“We have to turn away from the myopic perspective that focuses on youth as a problem that needs to be solved or pinpoints only the small number of those who are involved in violence,” said the Deputy Minister and Minister for Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia. She recommended raising the visibility of the Council’s youth, peace and security agenda, stressing that young people should be recognized as partners in building peace, and as leaders in addressing their own marginalization.
In the same vein, Brazil’s delegate said the international community must address the socioeconomic, cultural and political factors that led young people to violence. His Government had prioritized youth in efforts related to conflict and post‑conflict contexts, including in its role as chair of the Peacebuilding Commission Guinea‑Bissau configuration.
Jordan’s representative said her Government had launched a youth, peace and security agenda with a view to realizing young people’s potential. To counter terrorism, investments must be made, beyond policies, through measures to address inequalities and boost opportunities for youth.
Côte d’Ivoire’s delegate described young people as “dynamic forces” capable of strengthening the foundation of societies. Citing national efforts, he said the “Enable Youth” programme supported young entrepreneurs, while a National Council of Young People acted as a “General Assembly” for Ivorian youth. He called for the creation of viable platforms that allowed young people to engage in peace and security decisions at the national, regional and global levels.
Japan’s speaker echoed the call to overcome negative stereotypes of young people, and at the same time, increase efforts to empower them. In some cases, young women and sexual minorities had been deprived access to power, resources, and political participation. Drawing attention to mental health care — an issue that often was not a priority — he said psychosocial support for young people was imperative for peacebuilding and reconstruction.
The representative of the Russian Federation said young people — with an unformed worldview — were an extremely vulnerable layer of society. It was up to States to counter the influence of terrorists, radicals and “political evil‑doers” by bolstering young people’s resilience, notably by strengthening family values. The Council had neither the right nor the knowledge to wrest such discussions from the experts. Issues not directly related to international peace and security should be considered by other platforms.
Also speaking today were representatives of Poland, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, United States, France, Ethiopia, United Kingdom, Sweden, Netherlands, China, Equatorial Guinea, Bolivia, Peru, Belgium, Maldives, Iceland, Turkey, Kenya, Estonia, Montenegro, Ukraine, Switzerland, Finland, Norway, Italy, Pakistan, Slovakia, Iraq, Denmark, Argentina, Iran, Bulgaria, Germany, Mexico, Spain, Colombia, Ireland, Chile, South Africa, Yemen, Qatar, Israel, Indonesia, Panama, Sri Lanka, El Salvador, Guatemala, Lebanon, Botswana, Canada, Uzbekistan, Luxembourg, Georgia, Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates, Monaco, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Portugal, Morocco, Azerbaijan, Tunisia and Bahrain, as well as the European Union.
The Permanent Observer of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie also spoke, as did the Chair of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission, and the High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations.
The meeting began at 10:10 a.m. and ended at 6:30 p.m.