EGM on “Youth, Peace and Security: Social Issues and Social Policies”
The Division for Social Policy and Development in the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) organized an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) under the theme “Youth, Peace and Security: Social Issues and Social Policies”, which took place in Rome on 30-31 October 2017. The meeting brought together experts from academia, representatives of Member States, United Nations entities, youth organisations and intergovernmental bodies to examine current challenges regarding youth, peace and security issues, and discussed ways to promote and enhance young people’s positive engagement in conflict prevention, peacebuilding and sustaining peace.
These topics were considered under the framework of Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security, as well as in the context of the World Programme of Action for Youth and the UN System-Wide Action Plan on Youth. The meeting addressed issues of youth marginalisation and socio-economic exclusion that contributed to their vulnerability to engage in violence, conflict and social unrest, particularly their susceptibility to radicalisation and violent extremism.
The meeting discussed young people’s social and political engagement in their communities; their role in promoting social well-being, in consolidating the social fabric, as well as in conflict prevention and sustaining peace. The discussion also included an examination of critical social and economic issues that hindered youth development and inclusive political participation at all levels. The meeting provided a forum for the exchange of ideas, experiences and substantive knowledge on these issues, and offered recommendations aimed at strengthening the implementation of the UN youth, peace and security agenda, and more broadly, the implementation of the Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development.