8th Ecosoc Youth Forum Interactive Dialogue on Youth, Peace and Security: Challenges Aad Prospects

– As delivered –

Statement by H.E. Mrs. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73^rd Session of the UN General Assembly

9 April 2019

1. E. Inga Rhonda King, President, ECOSOC

Your Excellencies,

Mr Mridul Upadhyay, our moderator today,

Distinguished panellists,

Youth representatives,

I am delighted to have this interactive dialogue on youth, peace and security as part of this year’s ECOSOC Youth Forum. I am grateful to President Inga Rhonda King for the opportunity to work together on this critical issue. My sincere thanks also to UNFPA, the Peacebuilding Support Office, UNDP, the United Network of Young Peacebuilders and my own office, of course, for putting together this event.

Let me start by stating unequivocally that I am fully committed to the youth, peace and security agenda. Youth are central to our efforts to sustain peace. To ensure that young people are actively involved in building peaceful and safe societies is one of my priorities for this session of the General Assembly.

I am also committed to youth inclusion and dialogue. I have sought to ensure that every event I convene has an intergenerational element, gender balance and strong youth representation. Indeed, sitting with me right now is a very accomplished 14-year-old from Canada, Noor Soliman, who is shadowing me for the day. Mentoring and empowering future leaders is one concrete way we can foster change.

Esto no debería ser una “tarea difícil” cuando sabemos que, aproximadamente 600 millones de jóvenes, – un tercio de toda la población joven – vive en Estados vulnerables o afectados por conflictos. Los legisladores muchas veces ven esto como un desafío. Y por supuesto que lo es. Sabemos que es más complejo garantizar educación y otros servicios esenciales en condiciones de conflicto.

Pero también es una enorme oportunidad para hacer las cosas de forma diferente. Al empoderar a actores jóvenes no solo estamos construyendo la paz desde el terreno, estamos sentando las bases para la paz en el futuro.

Como Ministra de Relaciones Exteriores y Ministra Defensa del Ecuador, y ahora como Presidenta de la Asamblea General, he sido testigo, de primera mano, de la habilidad de las y los jóvenes para lograr avances en los procesos de paz y en situaciones de conflicto. He sido testigo de cómo las y los jóvenes líderes promueven la cohesión social y la integración como estrategias para alcanzar una coexistencia pacífica y el desarrollo sostenible.

El mes pasado, en Helsinki, fue inspirador conocer y escuchar a jóvenes activistas por la paz, que formaron parte del primer Simposio Internacional sobre la Participación Juvenil en los Procesos de Paz. Estos jóvenes compartieron sus experiencias, por ejemplo, para fomentar el diálogo en Colombia; para consolidar la paz en Liberia; y para proporcionar apoyo humanitario en Siria.

Sus historias y sus logros refuerzan el sólido argumento a favor de la inclusión de los jóvenes que fue expuesto en el informe clave sobre “El elemento que falta para la paz” -en inglés “Missing Peace”-, dispuesto por el Consejo de Seguridad en el 2015 y publicado el año pasado.

Excellencies, youth representatives,

Today’s dialogue is an opportunity to put forward concrete recommendations on empowering young people so that they – you – can contribute to building a safer, fairer and more sustainable world. I know you have much to say, and we are here to listen to you.

So, I will pose just two questions for our discussion:

First, what steps can we take to change the narrative on youth? The “Missing Peace” report found that many policy-makers still associate youth with political violence, with criminal activity, with extremism – even though only a marginal proportion of young people are engaged in such activities.

Throughout my presidency, I have used every opportunity to challenge that narrative, and to shine a spotlight on the positive contributions of young people. But we need to do this at the local and national level too.

And second, what more can we do to ensure that young people are fully included in civic, political and economic activities? We cannot hope to make progress in conflict situations, if we have not put in place the structures, the funding, the mechanisms and the mindsets for meaningful youth inclusion during peace time.

Tomorrow, I will convene a High-Level Meeting on the Future of Work, which will include substantive discussion on youth economic inclusion – from addressing the high levels of youth unemployment to preparing for the so-called ‘fourth industrial revolution’.

But other forms of inclusion are also important. At the national level, we need to increase youth representation in parliaments. At present, less than 6 percent of parliamentarians are under 35.

At the UN, too, there is scope to strengthen coordination with young peacebuilders and youth groups, and to increase support and funding for their activities. This is one area where the General Assembly has a crucial role to play.

So, I hope that we can discuss today ways to create and improve mechanisms for ongoing youth participation. The UN’s 75^th anniversary next year could be one opportunity to enhance this Organization’s engagement with young people.

Excellences, représentants des jeunes,

Permettez-moi de vous assurer que les points de vue et les idées exprimés aujourd’hui seront pris très au sérieux. Ils feront l’objet d’un résumé préparé par la Présidence, reprenant les principaux messages et recommandations, que je continuerais à défendre dans l’avenir. 

Parce que les jeunes sont importants – non seulement pour la paix et la sécurité, mais pour tout ce que fait l’ONU, nous ne serons pas en mesure de rendre l’ONU plus efficace, plus responsable et plus pertinente sans votre contribution. 

Je vous remercie.