The pressing challenges of today's young generation

Those who closely follow United Nations activities should commend the delegations of Cabo Verde, Germany, Kazakhstan, Portugal, and Saint Kitts and Nevis for their initiative in submitting the draft resolutionPolicies and Programmes Involving Youth at the recent 63rd session of the Commission for Social Development. This comprehensive and truly programmatic document, adopted by consensus on 14 February 2025, is a promising step forward in preparing for the Summit on Youth, set to take place during the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in the autumn of 2025.

For statistical purposes, the UN defines youth as individuals between the ages of 15 and 24. However, this classification is not universally accepted, as the experience of youth varies significantly across cultures, countries, and regions. Rather than a rigid category, youth should be seen as a fluid and evolving concept.In its resolution 2250 (2015) the UN Security Council noted that the term youth is defined in the context of this resolution as persons of the age of 18-29 years old, and further noted the variations of definition of the term that may exist on the national and international levels.

By 2025, the global youth population is projected to reach 1.8 billion. Notably, between 2000 and 2025, Africa will witness a 7% increase in its youth population, while Asia and Europe will experience declines of 4% and 3%, respectively. Overall, young people will constitute 25% of the world's population, with 86% of them residing in developing nations. The most significant growth in the 15–24 age group has occurred in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Today's generation of youth is the largest the world has ever known and young people often form the majority of the population of countries affected by armed conflict.

Youth represent both the promise and the challenge of the future. Their well-being is crucial in shaping a more equitable, sustainable, and prosperous world. The issues they face are not merely obstacles but also opportunities-opportunities for innovation, progress, and transformative change on a global scale. In the 21st century, young people stand at the forefront of technology, activism, and social movements, driving the world toward a future defined by their vision and determination.

Fundamental aspects

The resolution entitled Policies and programmes involving youth to be analysed in this short chronique has a long motivational Preamble and an operational section composed of 30 paragraphs.

An important element stressed in the Preamble is that the implementation of the World Programme of Action for Youth and the achievement of all of the internationally agreed development goals, in particular the UN Sustainable Development Goals, require the full and effective participation of youth, youth-led and youth-focused organizations and other civil society organizations at the local, national, regional and international levels.

The Commission for Social Development welcomed the work of the Envoys of the Secretary-General on Youth in addressing the needs of and placing young people as a cross-cutting priority of the United Nations, ensuring that their perspectives are reflected across the United Nations work, as well as, inter alia, as a harmonizer with different United Nations entities, Governments and their youth delegates, civil society, youth organizations, academia and media towards enhancing, empowering and strengthening young people within and outside the United Nations system, and in this regard took note of the appointment of the first United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs.

In the same context, the Commission recognized the need to strengthen intergenerational partnerships and solidarity among generations by promoting opportunities for voluntary, constructive and regular interaction between young and older persons in their families, workplaces and in society at large.

Negative aspects are not ignored. On the contrary, the Commission stressed that high rates of youth unemployment persist, as do high rates of underemployment, vulnerable employment and informal employment, leaving many young people in situations of working poverty or in jobs that have limited access to social protection and that do not provide adequate labour standards.

It is relevant to note that in the Commission's opinion education, both formal and non-formal, and training promote equity and social inclusion, and it was recalled in that sense the need to substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship and to help ensure, by 2030, that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.

Sensitive to current realities, the Commission acknowledged the important link between migration and development, recognizing that migration brings both opportunities and challenges to countries of origin, transit and destination, to migrants and to the global community, and recognized the responsibility of States to promote and protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all migrants effectively, regardless of their migration status, especially those of women, young people and children.

Political aspects are not marginalized in the resolution under consideration. The Commission recognized expressis verbis " the important and positive contribution of youth in efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security." "The deepest definition of youth is life as yet untouched by tragedy." This quote from Alfred North Whitehead (1861 –1947), an English mathematician and philosopher,was revalidated by the UN Security Council in the resolution already mentioned 2250 (2015), unanimously adopted,in which it is affirmed that "young people often form the majority of the population of countries affected by armed conflict".