Thank you Chair,

I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

Madam/Mister Chair,

The European Union is a steadfast supporter of young people’s rights and the meaningful participation of youth in decision making. For this reason we welcome the opportunity to discuss young people and their role within the UN system today.

At the outset, we would like to express our gratitude for the work of the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, which has championed young people around the world since its inception in 2013, and allowed them to flourish at the UN and make their impact on the organisation, laying the foundation for the UN Youth Office today. In particular we wish to commend Ms. Jayathma Wickramanayake for her leadership, service and dedication.

Allow us to also thank the Secretary-General for his report, particularly for the updates on the establishment of the new UN Youth Office. The EU strongly supports the UN’s youth agenda and the formation of the Office, which will give youth voices their rightful place at the heart of the UN system.

We are pleased to hear of the progress made and the milestones achieved so far. We welcome, in particular, the focus on consultations with youth, youth-led and youth-serving civil society organizations and networks.

In addition, we would like to echo the need for accountability within the UN system to ensure the meaningful participation of youth. We are pleased to see the UN Youth Strategy permeating the UN’s work across the world, and UN country teams taking up meaningful youth engagement. We look forward to the role that the new Youth Office will play in strengthening policies, and coordinating processes and platforms on youth engagement across the UN system.

Madam/Mister Chair,

At the High Level Political Forum last week, EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Ms. Urpilainen, stated that “empowering young people is the single greatest investment we can make in the future.”

When it comes to youth affairs, the EU is walking the talk. Indeed, the EU external action’s first Youth Action Plan aims to foster strong partnerships with young people worldwide, in order to empower and enable them to shape solutions for the problems that affect them. This includes our Youth and Women in Democracy Initiative, which is growing the engagement and impact of young people and women in democratic processes. It also includes the Youth Empowerment Fund, to support and finance youth-led initiatives on the SDGs; and the Africa-Europe Youth Academy, which aims at advancing learning opportunities and exchange between young people in Africa and the EU.

To conclude, we look forward to our continued work together on youth affairs. As the work continues to operationalize the UN Youth Office, and ultimately to enable meaningful youth engagement across the world, we should be guided by this simple principle: nothing should be about young people without young people.

I thank you Madam/Mister Chair.