Youth, Peace and Security: New Global Perspectives
Read the Event CoverageThe largest generation of young people the world has ever known is too often associated with violent conflict. With the December 2015 passage of Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security, the United Nations recognized the critical role of youth in promoting and maintaining international peace. On June 14, the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Inter-agency Working Group on Youth and Peacebuilding held a discussion of the resolution with the U.N. Secretary-General’s first Envoy for Youth H.E. Ahmad Alhendawi of Jordan, as well as young leaders from countries affected by violent extremism and armed conflict, and other senior experts.
Today’s generation of youth, at 1.8 billion, is the largest the world has ever known. Many of these youth are living in countries plagued by violent conflict and extremism, such as Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria. The goal of SCR 2250 is to recognize youth as partners for peace rather than solely viewing young people as perpetrators of violence—a shift in mindset that responds to the call to action of 11,000 young peacebuilders in the Amman Youth Declaration. The resolution, sponsored by the Government of Jordan, is a direct follow-up to the Global Forum on Youth, Peace and Security held in August 2015, as well as the Security Council’s Open Debate on the Role of Youth in Countering Violent Extremism and Promoting Peace held in April 2015.
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Speakers
H.E. Ahmad Alhendawi
United Nations Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth
Oscar Fernandez-Taranco
U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support
Soukaina Hamia
Youth peacebuilder and Deputy Director of Sidi Moumen Cultural Center of Casablanca, Morocco
Saba Ismail
Youth peacebuilder and Executive Director of Aware Girls and representative of United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY Peacebuilders)
Saji Prelis, Moderator
Co-chair of the Inter-agency Working Group on Youth and Peacebuilding, Search for Common Ground
H.E. Dina Kawar Closing Remarks
Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations
