Blog posts
On World Indigenous Day 2021, the world is coming together to shine a light on Indigenous peoples worldwide, calling for a new social contract that leaves no one behind. Young Indigenous peoples are at the forefront of that advocacy. Despite being some of the most impacted groups by the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and systems
Celebrating Youth Resilience & Creativity on International Human Rights Day By: The UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth & Amnesty International’s Global Youth Collective Youth-led human rights activism has never been an easy task. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the lives of people everywhere, many young human rights defenders faced multiple challenges to their
5 December 2020 Earlier this year, the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth said goodbye to unpaid internships, introducing a new fellowship programme — in collaboration with UN Volunteers (UNV) — designed specifically to provide more meaningful, paid employment opportunities for young people at the United Nations. Through the programme, we received thousands of applications from qualified, passionate candidates around the world, all eager to contribute
Twenty-five years after the Beijing Declaration to advance women’s rights, young women are still one of the most under-represented groups in political leadership positions. IPU figures show that only 2.2 per cent of MPs worldwide are under 30, of which women only make up a small proportion. On 18 November 2020, the IPU and the
30 October 2020 In the past few months, the world has witnessed an upsurge in protests against systemic inequality as well as racial and gender-based violence. Widespread violations of human rights, including limited freedoms and systematic exclusion in political decision-making processes have fuelled feelings of frustration and mistrust among young people who
By: Pablo Emiliano Reyes Galindo I am a different person than three months ago when the pandemic started. I guess no one though a tiny virus could change all the socio-economic structures of society, and yet, here we are, presented with a “new normal”. In my country, Mexico, the effects were belated, but now we
By: Jennifer Griggs The last few months have seen devastation on an unprecedented scale due to the COVID-19 crisis: over 500,000 lives have been lost, and even more livelihoods crippled. But perversely, that which takes away also gives. On a practical level, the need for unprecedented economic stimulus gives us the chance to throw away
Adapted from the statements delivered by the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth Jayathma Wickramanayake and Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed during the briefing to UN Member States, co-hosted by the Permanent Missions of Slovakia and Sri Lanka, on 16 September 2020 to mark the occasion of the second anniversary of the launch of the
By: Gabriel Tripura1, Anish Shrestha1, Ziwei Chen1, Caroline Lee1, Jennie Kim1, Julie Kim1, Victor A. Lopez-Carmen2, Brendan Eappen2 The Chittagong Hill Tracts Community The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) is located in Southeastern Bangladesh, a region that is very remote and inaccessible as it is surrounded by hilly and mountainous geography. The CHT region is composed
By: Jupta Itoewaki1, Casey Orozco-Poore1, Michelle Sunjoo Lee1, Gabriella Herrera1, Victor A. Lopez-Carmen2, Brendan Eappen2 The Wayana Peoples of the Amazon, Indigenous to Brazil, Suriname and French Guiana for 4,000 years, understand that water is essential to both life and spirit. As the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic rapidly spreads from North America down the Western hemisphere,
