« Intern with a mission – The Youth 2030 Agenda: Empowering Youth and the Sustainable Development Goals »

On April 18th IIMA attended the event « Intern with a mission – The Youth 2030 Agenda: Empowering Youth and the Sustainable Development Goals » in Palais des Nations, organized by UNOG with the support of the Permanent Missions of Switzerland and Belgium.

This year the event was an initiative to promote dialogue between UN officials, diplomats and UN interns about the topic of Youth empowerment through the Sustainable Development Goals: the scope was to underline the contribution that young people can give in shaping the world’s future.

The event was twofold: the first part, consisting of four panellists, considered what SDGs can do for young people and what youth can do for the implementations of SDGs.

The second part of the event asked panellists and the audience to consider the following motion: « The current SDG framework provides enough opportunities for youth involvement and empowerment ». In this case, two panellists opposed the motion and the other two defended it.

Preparing for the 3rd Cycle of the UPR : A Question and Answer Session with the Chief of the UPR Branch(OHCHR)

On April 4th, 2016, the International Catholic Center of Geneva (CCIG) organized a meeting between the UPR platform members with the Chief, Ms. Shahrzad Tadjbakhsh, and other OHCHR representatives from the UPR Branch.

 

The goal of the meeting was to provide information  in preparation of the 3rd cycle of the UPR, which will start in 2017.

Youth have rights too ! 68 States address youth empowerment at the Human Rights Council

On March 21st, 2016 the Ambassador of El Salvador delivered a cross-regional statement regarding youth and human rights under Item 8 of the Human Rights Council . The statement was promoted by a core group of 9 States, namely El Salvador, Egypt, Cote d’Ivoire, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Phillipines and Tunisia, and co-sponsored by 59 States from 6 continents.

Nowadays, the number of youth is the largest the world has known, with a record number of 1.2 billion in 2015, and continues to increase according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division. Youth are often marginialized in society simply for the fact that they are young and therefore disregarded by existing human rights policies.  They are not recognized as a key resource and driving force, but are rather portrayed in many instances as part of the problem, both locally and globally.   The UN Security Council Resolution 2250 (2015), recognized  that « the rise of radicalization to violence and violent extremism, especially among youth …can be conducive to terrorism » and can only be prevented by educating youth in human rights and giving them the chance to realize their full potential.