EU Statement: General Assembly Informal Meeting on “Identifying ways and means of more meaningful engagement of youth in the work of the General Assembly”

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States. The Candidate Countries North Macedonia*, Montenegro*, Serbia*, Albania*, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as, Andorra, Monaco and San Marino align themselves with this statement.

The EU welcomes this opportunity to discuss ways and means to ensure the meaningful, diverse and effective participation of youth in the work of the General Assembly.

We are convinced that mobilising young persons’ innovative contributions for sustainable development and for more democratic, inclusive and peaceful societies, while working to protect, promote and realize their human rights, is key to implementing the 2030 Agenda and renewing solidarity between generations.

Our leaders made a clear commitment in the UN75 Declaration to “listen to and work with youth”. This translated into a series of transformative proposals in Our Common Agenda, for which Member States expressed strong support.

We welcome the efforts undertaken to implement these proposals, notably the on-going discussions to create a UN Youth Office as well as the preparations for the Transforming Education Summit, the Summit of the Future, and the Declaration on Future Generations. We commend the Youth Envoy and her team for their leadership.

In addition to these efforts, we believe that there is room for further action by the General Assembly:

• First, we need to strengthen the participation of civil society in the General Assembly. Youth leaders and youth organisations play a crucial role as part of civil society, and they should be meaningfully included in our discussions. The General Assembly and ECOSOC have recently reaffirmed their commitment in this regard, by respectively voting for the open participation of civil society in the modalities of several high-level events, and by more systematically reviewing the NGO Committee’s status determination of NGOs, reversing decisions when misjudgements are identified. We need to go further, and that is why the EU supports the urgent reform of the ill-functioning NGO Committee. We also call for the UN to set up a concrete mechanism to ensure the safety of civil society briefers and to protect them from any form of reprisals. This mechanism should include specific measures targeting youth.

• Second, we need to include more young persons, from all horizons, in our structures and in the UN. Many EU Member States and the EU Delegation take part in the UN Youth Delegates programme, which provides an opportunity for young persons to contribute directly to the work of the General Assembly and ECOSOC. We call on UN DESA and other responsible offices to further support the programme, strengthen information sharing as well as capacity building for all youth delegates, and ensure a more equal geographical representation. We welcome in this regard the launch by the President of the General Assembly of the Hope Fellowship programme. The EU is proud to be the main contributor of the initiative.

• Third, we must mainstream youth voices, initiatives and actions across the work and outcomes of the General Assembly and its Committees. There is not one issue that does not affect youth and on which youth do not have a contribution to make. Resolution 76/137 on Policies and programmes involving youth provides useful recommendations in this regard. For the past two years, the EU has together with the Youth Envoy hosted a Youth dialogue in the margins of the Third Committee to allow youth representatives to contribute to the work of the Committee. The Commission on the Status of Women decided to establish a similar dialogue at its last session in March. We call on all GA committees to do the same.

In carrying out these actions, we must take effective measures to ensure the meaningful and inclusive participation of all young persons, without any discrimination, including on grounds of sex, race, ethnic or social origin, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, disability, age, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Youth are not a homogenous group and should not be seen as such.

A stronger and more inclusive voice for youth, especially for young women and girls, in global decision-making is key to contributing to more sustainable policies,  promoting human rights, restoring trust in public institutions and building a better future for all – greener, more inclusive and digital.

The EU is ready to do its part. As part of the European year of youth, we are contributing to youth empowerment within and outside of the UN by strengthening youth capacities, addressing inequalities and offering opportunities to drive sustainable development in their communities, countries and globally.

* North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.