Meaningful inclusion of young people is key to the commitment to “leave no one behind” which stands at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 16 specifically highlights the fundamental role young people play in advancing peaceful, just and inclusive societies.
- Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, A New Agenda For Peace
Key milestones on youth-inclusive peace processes
The unanimous adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250 (2015) on Youth, Peace and Security paved the way for youth-inclusive peace processes. It urges Member States to give youth a greater voice in decision-making at the local, national, regional and international levels and to consider setting up mechanisms that would enable young people to participate meaningfully in peace processes (see infographic).
Security Council resolution 2250 (2015) requested the Secretary-General to carry out a progress study on youth’s positive contribution to peace processes and conflict resolution. The Independent Progress Study: The Missing Peace (2018) was developed in collaboration with 21 scholars, practitioners and young leaders.
Based on the Progress Study, proposing concrete recommendations for the peace and security community to work with young people in new ways, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted its Resolution 2419 (2018). This second resolution on YPS particularly recognizes the positive role of young people in conflict prevention as well as in negotiating and implementing peace agreements.
In March 2019, the first International Symposium on Youth Participation in Peace Processes was held in Helsinki, Finland. The Symposium brought together over 100 experts on peace and mediation processes from 45 countries to address the question of how to effectively include youth and ensure their meaningful participation in peace processes. Read the Summary Report of the First International Symposium.
To serve as a foundation for discussion, the first global policy paper “We Are Here: An Integrated Approach to Youth-Inclusive Peace Processes” was developed. For the first time, it was articulated that inclusion and participation of youth in peace processes cuts across three interconnected layers of engagement: in the room, around the room and outside the room.
In 2020, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2535 (2020). As the third resolution on youth, peace and security, it underscores the critical role of youth in the prevention and resolution of conflicts. In addition, it requested the Secretary-General to submit a biennial report on the implementation of resolution 2250 (2015) and subsequent resolutions 2419 (2018) and 2535 (2020) on YPS.
The first report by the Secretary General was published in 2020 and is available here.
In January 2022 a virtual High-Level Global Conference on Youth-Inclusive Peace Processes was co-hosted by the State of Qatar, Governments of Finland and Colombia and co-organized with civil society and UN partners. The Global Conference built on the progress made since the adoption of Security Council resolutions 2250 (2015), 2419 (2018) and the latest UNSC resolution 2535 (2020). It aimed (1) to secure national commitments to advance country-level operationalization of the YPS agenda, and (2) to strengthen political will and commitment towards including youth into peace processes. One of the outcomes of the conference was the launch of a five-year Strategic Action Plan for youth-inclusive peace processes.
Also in 2022, the Secretary-General published his second report on YPS.
In 2024, the International Steering Group on the implementation of the Five-Year Strategy on Youth-Inclusive Peace Processes, which was established in 2023, published its first Year-in-Review Report to highlight initiatives of its members in advancing the strategy.
Also in 2024, the Secretary-General published his third report on YPS.
Why Youth?
Young people have created constructive and alternative channels for conflict resolution. Yet, despite their long-term mindsets on peace, and focus on just issues that underpin healthy, peaceful, and equitable societies, they are rarely engaged as key strategic partners in mediation processes. Recognizing that younger generations will ultimately inherit and face the lived realities, consequences, and implementation of peace agreements, it is crucial that they are also engaged as actors in peace processes. Diverse youth voices are key in raising the multifaceted and interconnected issues that need to be addressed to build sustainable peace.
Actors involved in peace processes must move beyond seeing youth as mere beneficiaries of these processes, but rather acknowledge them as necessary partners and co-leaders essential in conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and reconstruction of just and inclusive societies.
“Youth participation can increase the legitimacy and sustainability of peace processes. But to move from exclusion to meaningful inclusion, we must transform norms, practices, approaches and attitudes, and recognize young people as equal and powerful actors who can positively contribute to all steps and all aspects of peace processes.”
- Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Foreword of the “We Are Here” Report
Projects & Collaboration
Complementarities of the YPS and WPS agendas
The document outlines differences and complementarities between the women, peace and security (WPS) and youth, peace and security (YPS) agendas and offers recommendations on how to approach these two similar but distinct agendas. The document has been prepared by the Gender, Peace and Security and Mediation Support Units in the DPPA Policy and Mediation Division in consultation with the Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) and the Office of the Special Envoy for Youth (OSGEY, now United Nations Youth Office, UNYO).
‘We are in this together’: Operationalizing a five-year strategic action plan for youth-inclusive peace processes
The High-Level Global Conference on Youth-Inclusive Peace Processes in January 2022 led to the launch of the Five-Year Strategic Action Plan for Youth-Inclusive Peace Processes. The independent Strategic Action Plan was co-developed by the Office of the United Nations Secretary-general’s Envoy on Youth, the UN DPPA Mediation Support Unit and Search for Common Ground in collaboration with different stakeholders, including young peacebuilders, mediation support units of international, regional and sub-regional organizations as well as experienced peace process practitioners.
The document provides a framework for governments, non-state political actors, regional and international organizations, civil society, and young people to work together to move from youth-inclusive norms to youth-inclusive practices by 2026. It particularly calls on all institutions engaged in peace and mediation processes to design and implement peace processes that are youth-inclusive, respond to the needs and realities of young people, and are supported with relevant policy frameworks, organizational structures, and resources to sustain these efforts.
The strategic framework is built on four interconnected streams: Institutionalization and Policy, Capacity Strengthening, Knowledge Solutions as well as Community of Practice and Partnerships. In addition, the strategy seeks to mainstream key issues, such as protection, gender, resources, communication, and innovation across the strategy (see graph).
To guide the advancement of the Five-Year Strategy an International Steering Group (ISG) was created in February 2023. The ISG is co-chaired by the United Nations Youth Office (UNYO, previously OSGEY), DPPA and Search for Common Ground and serves as a platform for sharing best practices while supporting and guiding initiatives to implement the Five-Year Strategy. The ISG is composed of 23 members including youth organizations, civil society, representatives of regional and international organizations, UN entities, experts, and academia.
