Towards a 2025 UN summit on youth

The power of youth is the common wealth for the entire world. The faces of young people are the faces of our past, our present and our future. No segment in the society can match with the power, idealism, enthusiasm and courage of the young people. Kailash Satyarthi, Indian social reformer and 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Defining Youth

There is no universally agreed definition of the youth age group. For statistical purposes, the United Nations defines "youth" as individuals between the ages of 15 and 24. This definition emerged during preparations for the International Youth Year, celebrated in 1985 under the motto Participation, Development, Peace.

Today, there are approximately 1.2 billion young people aged 15 to 24, accounting for 16% of the global population. By 2030-the target year for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals outlined in the 2030 Agenda-the global youth population is projected to rise to nearly 1.3 billion.

In Asia, youth represent about 19% of the total population, with over 60% of the world's young people residing in the Asia-Pacific region. This equates to more than 750 million young women and men aged 15 to 24.

Recent developments

The most recent UN document on youth, Youth and Human Rights, was adopted by consensus in the Human Rights Council on 11 October 2024. This resolution was negotiated within the Council, which comprises 47 member states, each serving a specific term. Below is the current composition of the Council by regional groupings, with the year of term expiry in parentheses:

• African States: Algeria (2025); Benin (2024); Burundi (2026); Cameroon (2024); Côte d'Ivoire (2026); Eritrea (2024); Gambia (2024); Ghana (2026); Malawi (2026); Morocco (2025); Somalia (2024); South Africa (2025); Sudan (2025)
• Asia-Pacific States: Bangladesh (2025); China (2026); India (2024); Indonesia (2026); Japan (2026); Kazakhstan (2024); Kuwait (2026); Kyrgyzstan (2025); Malaysia (2024); Maldives (2025); Qatar (2024); United Arab Emirates (2024); Vietnam (2025)
• Eastern European States: Albania (2026); Bulgaria (2026); Georgia (2025); Lithuania (2024); Montenegro (2024); Romania (2025)
• Latin American & Caribbean States: Argentina (2024); Brazil (2026); Chile (2025); Costa Rica (2025); Cuba (2026); Dominican Republic (2026); Honduras (2024); Paraguay (2024)
• Western European & Other States: Belgium (2025); Finland (2024); France (2026); Germany (2025); Luxembourg (2024); Netherlands (Kingdom of the) (2026); United States of America (2024).

It is worth noting that Australia served on the Council from 2018 to 2020. On 9 October 2024, Thailand was elected to the Council for a three-year term, starting on 1 January 2025.

The 2025 UN Summit on Youth announced in the resolution under consideration represents a vital opportunity to harness the energy and potential of young people worldwide. It seeks to reaffirm their role in driving sustainable development and promoting human rights on a global scale. For authenticity we reproduce in toto the paragraph by which the Human Rights Council "Welcomes the decision of the General Assembly to convene a one-day high-level plenary meeting of the Assembly, at the level of Heads of State and Government and with the full and effective participation of youth, during the general debate of the eightieth session of the Assembly, in 2025, to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the

World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond, with a view to addressing the challenges still faced by young people in the realization of their full potential and human rights."

An inspiring synthesis

The resolution Youth and Human Rights stands out as a comprehensive synthesis of the UN's current stance on youth issues. Through its extensive preamble and 19 operative paragraphs, the resolution encapsulates the most pressing concerns and actionable recommendations, offering a blueprint for continuity in the organization's work on youth matters. This diplomatic document provides timely guidance to all 193 UN Member States, setting a global agenda for empowering young people.

The preamble references major UN legal instruments on human rights, alongside relevant resolutions on youth adopted in the 21st century. Notably, it highlights the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond, which offers a robust policy framework and practical guidelines for improving the lives of young people through national and international efforts.

Particular attention is given to the World Conferences of Ministers Responsible for Youth, held in Lisbon in August 1998 and June 2019. These conferences produced relevant declarations emphasizing youth empowerment and the commitment to uphold the human rights of all young people, especially those in vulnerable situations. They also underscored the importance of creating indicators to assess the impact of youth policies and programs.