Strengthening the role of young people in the prevention and resolution of conflicts
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Text
adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of
the Assembly, on 28 May 2021 (see Doc. 15294, report of the Committee on Culture, Science, Education
and Media, rapporteur: Ms Inka Hopsu; and Doc. 15296, opinion of the Committee on Social Affairs, Health
and Sustainable Development, rapporteur: Ms Christiana Erotokritou).
1. Europe has several active and protracted
conflicts on its territory, which deprive generations of young people
of opportunities for a better future. At the same time, young people
remain one of the most vulnerable groups in the countries affected
by armed conflict. No lasting peace agreement can be reached without
the positive involvement of youth, yet their potential and contribution
to effective conflict regulation and peacebuilding has received
little attention and support.
2. Often simplistically stereotyped as villains or victims, young
people’s true potential as agents of peace is largely unused. Data
are scarce on how many young people are directly engaged in peacemaking, peacekeeping
or peacebuilding activities. Peace talks rarely focus on how to
channel youth into productive processes.
3. Many youth initiatives operate at the grass-roots level. However,
young people face multiple barriers when trying to reach out and
have an impact on policies: lack of recognition and meaningful inclusion,
limited funding and the shrinking civic space all hinder the work
and outreach of youth organisations, networks and initiatives.
4. Peace and security mean much more to young people than just
the absence of violence or the end of violent conflict: they require
positive visions of free and democratic societies that support development
and dignity and address social, political and structural inequalities.
Involving youth merely in peace processes is thus not enough. They
should be actively engaged in all political processes and decision
making that affect them and society at large, in particular when
it comes to global challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic, which
has hit them particularly hard; climate change; human rights or
achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Developments Goals
(SDGs) set for 2030.
5. In this context, the Parliamentary Assembly deplores that
the share of young people in legislatures has decreased over the
years. Only 3.9% of national parliamentarians in Europe are under
30 years old. This is partly linked to negative attitudes towards
the capabilities of young people but also to various structural, individual
and organisational barriers to getting into the system. Consequently,
young people are seeking alternatives to participation, such as
taking to the streets or engaging through social media. To promote
the participation of young people, political leaders should make
use of existing instruments, such as the revised European Charter
on the Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life
of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council
of Europe, and create structures with possibilities for young people
to have a real impact. Encouraging participation of younger generations
in local and regional decision making through youth councils and
parliaments is an important step towards their inclusion in mainstream
politics.
6. At the same time, the Assembly wishes to make sure that youth-led
organisations, networks and initiatives and young peacebuilders
are given the space and opportunity to be more active, claim greater ownership
and leadership roles and conduct more visible advocacy for greater
involvement in political processes. To this end, the establishment
of local, regional and global youth mediation networks to increase youth
participation and inclusion in peace processes should be supported.
7. The Assembly commends the active role played by the United
Nations Security Council (UNSC) in promoting the inclusion and participation
of youth in peace processes. Its successive
Resolutions 2250
(2015),
2419 (2018) and
2535 (2020) have set out international commitments on youth, peace
and security and offer a blueprint for meaningful youth inclusion,
while recognising that multilayered and integrated engagement should
be the main strategic approach.
8. However, the Assembly deeply regrets that nearly six years
after the adoption of the first UNSC landmark resolution concerning
youth, peace and security, little progress has been made, and young peacebuilders
find that their space for action is diminishing rather than growing.
Finland is currently the only European country to have introduced
an action plan for the implementation of UNSC Resolution 2250 (2015).
9. The Assembly therefore echoes the recent call of the Secretary-General
of the United Nations to urgently create conditions that would enable
young people to unleash their full potential and to set up institutions
to address their needs and expectations. The new era of youth participation
requires mechanisms to ensure their continuous and meaningful involvement
in making decisions, shaping policies, adopting strategies and implementing
actions.
10. It is essential to ensure that young people are not only consulted,
but also that they act as co-creators of the blueprints for youth,
peace and security. Their inclusion in the decision-making processes
within conflict prevention and resolution should be approached in
a multidimensional way and integrated and interconnected with other
inclusion agendas. It requires creating spaces for their involvement
in political processes and true recognition of their vision of peace,
but it is equally essential to ensure their access to rights and
dignified livelihoods and to facilitate intercommunity dialogue
and exchange.
11. The ultimate responsibility for preventing and resolving conflicts
lies with adults. However, considering the impact of conflicts on
the whole of society, the Assembly would also encourage taking into
account the views and experiences of older children and adolescents
in peacebuilding and conflict-prevention processes. Such practices
should involve due respect for relevant safeguarding principles
and a focus on the best interest of the child.
12. The Assembly is aware that it will take time to fully achieve
the in-depth changes required, but stresses that they must progress
speedily. It notes that the
UNSC Resolution
1325 (2000) on women, peace and security has taken over two decades
to become part of national agendas. The Assembly is particularly concerned
about the exclusion of young women from peace processes and insists
that their inclusion in all stages of conflict regulation should
be the focus of immediate attention.
13. Quality education and capacity building, notably with regard
to citizenship, conflict transformation and human rights, are essential
for developing peaceful societies. Young people must be provided
with useful and concrete educational tools, in both formal and non-formal
contexts, to fight violence, discrimination, hatred and extremism.
In this context, the Council of Europe Reference Framework of Competences
for Democratic Culture and its Charter on Education for Democratic
Citizenship and Human Rights Education, among others, provide good
guides to intercultural dialogue and learning reconciliatory skills
from an early age.
14. Young people are eager to keep learning, to advocate for peace
and to bring change to their conflict-ridden society, notably in
the current Covid-19 crisis. The active involvement of youth will
also be crucial for the achievement of the SDGs. Transparency, accountability,
inclusivity and co-operation are the cornerstones of successful
national action plans. Yet one size does not fit all; action plans
and policy programmes must be adapted to the circumstances and priorities
of each country.
15. In the light of the above, the Assembly calls upon the governments
of the Council of Europe member States as well as countries with
observer and partner for democracy status to:
15.1 accelerate implementation of UNSC
Resolutions 2250
(2015),
2419 (2018) and
2535 (2020) concerning youth, peace and security, by devising national
road maps and comprehensive dedicated policies and programmes at
local, national or regional levels, with sufficient resources, through
a participatory process, in particular with an emphasis on the constructive
involvement of youth as decision makers, the creation of safe spaces
for youth participation and the promotion of young people’s rights;
15.2 regard young people and youth organisations as indispensable
partners in any peace or political processes; include them as part
of the response to tackling conflict situations as well as all major
global challenges;
15.3 allocate adequate resources to youth-led and youth-focused
organisations and networks at local and national levels so as to
ensure the sustainability of youth-inspired dialogue-building activities;
15.4 support the establishment of national coalitions for youth,
peace and security, bringing together youth-led and other civil
society organisations, relevant government entities and other partners
in order to develop national action plans, not for young people
but with them;
15.5 introduce, if they have not yet done so, democratic citizenship
and peace education into the formal school curriculum from an early
age. Such a curriculum should include, but not be limited to, relationships
and team working, empathy, critical thinking, media literacy, conflict
transformation, reconciliation, human rights education, peaceful
political participation and intercultural dialogue, so that young
people may be better equipped to understand the root causes of violence,
support peace and ensure respect for diversity in multicultural
societies;
15.6 promote a variety of perspectives in history teaching
as a means of addressing prejudice and developing mutual understanding;
15.7 foster continuous intercommunity dialogue and co-operation
among young people from different communities, and between youth
and other groups in society, with a view to overcoming the prevailing lack
of trust in youth;
15.8 consider ways of including more human rights education
and peace mediation, conflict resolution and reconciliation skills
into the curricula of military and police training programmes;
15.9 ensure compliance with obligations under international
law, including to protect youth from violence in armed conflicts
and conflict-affected areas and to ensure the rights of young people
within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind, irrespective
of their parents’ or legal guardians’ race, colour, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social
origin, property, disability, birth or other status.
16. The Assembly praises the work undertaken by the various United
Nations agencies in promoting the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda.
It hopes that they will further strengthen their efforts to bring
about a true paradigm shift in the design and implementation of
youth-inclusive peace negotiations from the outset and to ensure
that the implementation of UNSC Resolution 2250 (2015) is closely
linked to other democratic development and inclusion agendas. In
particular, the Assembly invites the relevant agencies of the United Nations
to:
16.1 reinforce efforts to collect
independent empirical data in order to properly estimate the number
of young people affected by the various conflicts in the world and
to identify serious partners among youth organisations and young
peacebuilders in conflict-affected communities;
16.2 further reflect on how to create safe spaces for young
people who are involved in peacebuilding, democracy or human rights,
in all circumstances, and in particular in the context of active
or “frozen” conflicts, or in non-democratic regimes, as well as
in conflict-affected areas and occupied territories, including to
mitigate the adverse effects that indoctrination and recruitment
campaigns have on young people.
17. The Assembly underlines that national parliaments have a significant
role to play in improving legislation and supervision, commissioning
national road maps to implement the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda, allocating
financial resources and supporting inclusive and meaningful youth
participation in conflict prevention and resolution and in the fight
against violent extremism. It calls upon the parliaments of the
Council of Europe member States to create and/or reinforce linkages
with youth, in particular by removing the barriers to youth participation
in political processes, lowering the voting and eligibility age,
developing awareness campaigns, designing new recruitment strategies,
considering specific aims or youth quotas for political parties
to enhance the selection and promotion of young candidates and learning
from the experience gained in advancing women’s political participation.
It also calls on them to value young parliamentarians as mediators
and promoters of dialogue in divided societies.
18. The Assembly resolves to continue its reflection on promoting
meaningful and structured ways of involving youth participants in
its activities, most importantly by increasing dialogue and co-operation
between the Assembly and the different youth forums that already
exist within the Council of Europe.
19. The Assembly encourages national delegations to consider ways
of ensuring that the Assembly’s voice is better heard by youth in
their respective countries and also that these young voices are
better heard within the Assembly.
