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".

The struggle for peace with the participation of the younger generation , like the struggle for human rights and humanity, is not one in which, having reached the peak of the mountain, the final goal comes into view. Rather, it should be thought of as the permanent work of generating an uninterrupted and unstoppable flow of strong commitments that connect and are passed on from one generation to the next.

In the operative part of the Commission for Social Development resolution under review, a most significant paragraph reiterates that the primary responsibility for implementing the World Programme of Action for Youth lies with Member States, and, consequently, the Commission urges Governments, in consultation with youth, youth-led and youth-focused organizations and other relevant stakeholders, to develop holistic and integrated youth policies, programmes and action plans, including for those who are poor, vulnerable or marginalized, and to address all aspects of youth development, in line with the World Programme of Action and all the internationally agreed development frameworks, in particular the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

At the same time, the Commission reaffirms that the strengthening of international cooperation regarding youth, capacity-building, the enhancement of dialogue, mutual understanding and the active participation of young people are crucial elements in efforts towards achieving the eradication of poverty, full employment and social inclusion, and in this regard stresses the importance of promoting access to health-care services, nationally owned social protection and social services as an important instrument for empowering youth.

A special call is addressed to Member States to promote innovation among youth by ensuring that information and communications technologies are fully and appropriately integrated into education and training at all levels, including in the development of curricula, teacher training and institutional administration and management, and in support of the concept of lifelong learning.

In a more specific manner , the Commission recalls that access to quality formal and non-formal education, at all levels, including, as appropriate, catch-up and literacy education, including in assessing information and in information and communications technologies for those who did not receive formal education, information and communications technologies, extracurricular activities and volunteerism are important factors that enable young people to acquire the relevant skills and to build their capacities, including for employability and entrepreneurial development, and to gain decent and productive work, and calls upon Member States to take the action necessary to ensure that young people have access to such services and opportunities.

For its topicality, it is relevant to remind Commission's clear recognition that substantial digital divides and data inequalities exist in all regions, and between developed and developing countries, and that many developing countries lack affordable access to information and communications technologies. Therefore, the Commission urges Member States to take concerted action to further digital governance and economy, scientific research, emerging technologies and new data sources and to build resilient, inclusive and integrated data and statistical systems, under the leadership of national statistical offices, that can respond to the increased and urgent data demands in times of disaster, and ensure a path towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Conclusion

The recommendations formulated by the Commission for Social Development are future-oriented. That's the reason for which they encourage the UN Secretary-General to continue to bring the voices of young people to the United Nations system in the areas of participation, advocacy, partnerships and harmonization, inter alia, by considering appointing special representatives, envoys or advisers, while working closely with Governments, United Nations entities, civil society, youth organizations, academia and the media, to empower and strengthen the position of young people within and outside the United Nations system, including by conducting country visits, at the request of the Member States concerned.

Young people themselves at the global level should be encouraged by the request addressed to Member States to consider including youth representatives in their delegations at all relevant discussions in the General Assembly, in the Economic and Social Council and its subsidiary bodies and at relevant United Nations conferences, as appropriate, bearing in mind the principle of gender balance and non-discrimination, and, inter alia, to consider establishing a national youth delegate programme. In this regard, it is emphasized that youth representatives should be selected through a transparent process that ensures that they have a suitable mandate to represent young people in their countries.

Finally, given its organizational significance, we reproduce in toto the paragraph by which another important UN body, 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."

Beyond any future anniversary, the recognition of primordiality of young generation's problematique must be treated as an imperative duty at the local, national, regional, inter-regional and planetary levels.

Educational factors should be inspired by the Security Council resolution 2250 (2015) by which Member States are urged to consider ways to increase inclusive representation of youth in decision-making at all levels in local, national, regional and international institutions and mechanisms for the prevention and resolution of conflicts, including institutions and mechanisms to counter violent extremism, which can be conducive to terrorism, and, as appropriate, to consider establishing integrated mechanisms for meaningful participation of youth in peace processes and dispute-resolution.

Readers should not minimize a powerful topical quote on youth participation in peace processes:"There is no age limit on changing the world." – UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who has frequently emphasized the role of young people in building peace, advocating for their inclusion in decision-making and conflict resolution efforts. This quote highlights the transformative power of youth engagement in shaping a more peaceful and just world.