YouSaid · the spoken record

Jayathma Wickramanayake

lines on the record
16
first
2020-04-27
most recent
2020-04-27
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1
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un-security-council

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  1. “I therefore urge the Council to put young people at the heart of its efforts to bring about global peace and security. Young people are ready and up for the challenge. The question is whether national, regional and international actors are ready to bridge the intergenerational divide.”

    2020-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/346 (2020) · source

  2. “Shifting to a meaningful, partnership- based approach, especially with civil society and youth-led organizations, is critical not only for this agenda but for youth engagement and participation in all aspects of life, as outlined in Youth 2030: The United Nations Strategy on Youth. In conclusion, if the United Nations, including the Security Council, fails to translate agreed resolutions into action, in a nutshell, if this agenda is not brought down from a global policy level to a regional and country level with programmatic action, young people will lose opportunities to meaningfully participate and their trust in institutions and multilateralism will further erode. We cannot afford to lose the trust of young people, who are the greatest asset and greatest hope that we have for a better future.”

    2020-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/346 (2020) · source

  3. “These recommendations cannot be implemented without sufficient funding and accountability from the United Nations system and its Member States. Flexible and easily accessible funding for youth-led and youth-focused organizations and for the United Nations and other civil society partners is urgently needed to further advance the youth, peace and security agenda. I strongly recommend the Security Council to consider regular and systematic reporting on the implementation of resolutions 2250 (2015) and 2419 (2018) in order to ensure the sustainability and continuity of these important agendas. Tracking progress is vital to ensuring accountability.”

    2020-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/346 (2020) · source

  4. “To date, no data are systematically collected on human rights violations against young peacebuilders and human rights defenders throughout the world and, in most cases, such violations remain undocumented or uninvestigated. I therefore call on the support of Member States to facilitate an inclusive, safe, enabling and gender-responsive environment in which young peacebuilders and young human rights defenders are recognized and provided with adequate support and protection to carry out their work independently and without undue interference. What do we see as the collective way forward? As Security Council members are aware, operationalizing the youth, peace and security agenda requires coordination, coherence and integration, as well as political will and commitment.”

    2020-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/346 (2020) · source

  5. “As acknowledged by the policy paper We Are Here: An integrated approach to youth- inclusive peace processes, which I presented to the Security Council last year (see S/PV.8577), that can be inside, around and beyond negotiation rooms. Finally, young people believe that strong mechanisms should be developed to protect young activists and peacebuilders. Young activists face various threats from State and non-State actors for building peace in their communities, and reprisals for cooperating with the United Nations. Those threats include physical, legal, political, sociocultural, digital and financial threats. In the times of COVID-19, with lockdowns, curfews and increased surveillance offline and online, civic space has continued to shrink worldwide, risking stalling progress.”

    2020-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/346 (2020) · source

  6. “Enabling spaces where they are seen and respected as citizens with equal rights, equal voices and equal influence should be created for young people. Although inclusion has shown to positively impact the sustainability of peace agreements, young people continue to be excluded from decisions that directly impact their present and future prospects for peace. The key outcome of the first International Symposium on Youth Participation in Peace Processes, hosted in S/2020/346 Helsinki in March 2019, demonstrated that young people will inherit either the long- term benefits or the long-term consequences of a peace agreement. I therefore call on all Member States to create meaningful opportunities for young people to participate in peace processes both informally and formally.”

    2020-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/346 (2020) · source

  7. “I encourage all Member States to establish multi-stakeholder mechanisms to meaningfully engage young people in the planning and decision-making on peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction, as well as in discussions on resource allocations. Secondly, the meaningful participation of all young people towards building sustainable peace should be ensured. Participation is recognized as a human right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. All young people have the right to participate in the conduct of public affairs, and therefore are entitled to rights and freedoms. Such participation encompasses a wide range of actions, from formal participation in political, electoral or peace processes to informal participation at the community level and in digital spaces.”

    2020-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/346 (2020) · source

  8. “First, young people believe that there is a need to create more meaningful partnerships among youth, civil society organizations and Government institutions that work on the youth, peace and security agenda. To date, there are no national action plans on youth, peace and security, but I am pleased to note that they are being developed in some countries. For a national road map to be successful, a participatory, transparent and youth-led process and adequate resources are needed. Since resolution 2250 (2015) was adopted, we have seen an increase in the creation of national coalitions on youth, peace and security.”

    2020-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/346 (2020) · source

  9. “I am pleased to note that the Secretary-General’s report on youth, peace and security is grounded in the five pillars of resolution 2250 (2015) and draws on the comprehensive strategic recommendations formulated in “The missing peace: independent progress study on youth and peace and security” (see S/2018/86), presented to the Council in April 2018. Therefore, my key recommendations today echo the voices of the young people I have interacted with during my country missions around the world and of those who participated in the survey I carried out online just before this briefing. They also echo the wider consultations carried out by United Nations partners, Member States and civil society in preparation of the Secretary-General’s report.”

    2020-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/346 (2020) · source

  10. “While the report documents important practices, lessons and commitments that have emerged from the implementation of the youth, peace and security agenda, a clear strategy co-led by young people and Member States, especially at the country level, is needed. Since 2015, the Secretary-General’s reports to the Security Council have increasingly discussed the situation of young people, from 21 per cent of reports in 2016 to 39 per cent in 2019. However, we still have a lot to do to mainstream and embed youth, peace and security across United Nations efforts. For example, of the 253 resolutions adopted by the Security Council since 2015, only 16 per cent include meaningful references to youth.”

    2020-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/346 (2020) · source

  11. “Therefore, allow me to thank the Government of the Dominican Republic for its leadership in convening this Security Council briefing. I am pleased to join the Secretary-General and two young peacebuilders, Olla from Yemen and Gatwal from S/2020/346 South Sudan, as we reflect on the key messages and recommendations of the first- ever Secretary-General’s report on youth, peace and security (S/2020/167). The report was published at a vital time when the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic were emerging. In order to adjust to the current realities, innovative and new approaches to translate youth, peace and security policy into practice are needed.”

    2020-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/346 (2020) · source

  12. “With unprecedented global challenges surrounding us all, the United Nations is getting ready to celebrate its seventy-fifth birthday, reflecting on its past but, most important, looking to its future. This is an opportune moment to take stock of the youth, peace and security agenda, its progress and successes, its challenges and gaps. I am sure we all agree that the future of our communities, countries and the entire world depend on building peaceful and resilient generations. This is also a strategic moment to further increase synergies among those various agendas so that young people in all their diversity can contribute as equal partners and stakeholders in deciding what kind of a future they will inherit.”

    2020-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/346 (2020) · source

  13. “But contrary to those popular narratives, if we care to take a closer look at the communities most affected, what conflicts, disasters and crises teach us over and over again is that young people are not only the most resilient but also the most innovative and resourceful during turbulent times. Born into and growing up in an exceedingly interconnected world, young people understand very well that solidarity is the name of the game. They understand that, just like the COVID-19 pandemic, conflict, violence, inequality and climate change do not stop at national boundaries. They understand that none of us is safe unless we all are. This year, we mark the fifth anniversary of the adoption of the resolution 2250 (2015). We are also marking the 20 years of resolution 1325 (2000), on women and peace and security.”

    2020-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/346 (2020) · source

  14. “The headlines did not recognize young people 3D-printing face masks and fundraising in support of charities here in the United States. Therefore, allow me to dedicate my statement today to all the young people who are putting their communities ahead of themselves in war zones, refugee camps, favelas and settlements, showing grit and leadership that we sometimes fail to see in our own political leaders. Public discourse often portrays young people as an irresponsible, self- interested group. We quickly categorize young men as easily attracted to violence and as part of gangs and extremist groups, and young women always as victims in such scenarios.”

    2020-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/346 (2020) · source

  15. “As usual, we have seen a focus on the small minority of young people who disregard guidelines and instructions, risking their own health and the safety of others, while the thousands of young people who were already fighting on the front lines of the crisis have been completely sidelined. Nowhere in the news did we hear about young peacebuilders in Kenya and Cameroon who immediately adapted their peacebuilding organizations and networks to prepare their communities to face COVID-19. The news did not focus on the many young health workers and medical students attending to patients in China and Italy. The news did not tell us about the Scouts, Girl Guides and Red Cross volunteers running awareness and handwashing campaigns in Haiti and Jordan.”

    2020-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/346 (2020) · source

  16. “We are in the midst of an unprecedented global challenge. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has swept through our world, leaving everyday life as we know it at a standstill, schools, businesses, markets and bus stations deserted and entire cities transformed into ghost towns overnight. While decision-makers are trying to navigate unchartered waters, we have seen an image grow from the media of the worlds’ young people acting irresponsibly and recklessly, not understanding the gravity of the situation, putting the lives of others’ in danger by going to beaches, pubs and parties.”

    2020-04-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/346 (2020) · source