AWiB’s board member Sewit on the move

Sewit Haileselassie

Board member

The UN Security Council Resolution 2250 , which was adopted in December 2015 referencing the Women, Peace and security agenda, acknowledges that today’s population of youth is the” largest the world has ever known”. The resolution also expressed concern that youth are the most adversely affected by armed conflict while also recognizing the role that young people play in peace building; acknowledging that to involve young people in the peace building process, they must in turn be recognized as stakeholders. The resolution calls for “inclusive and youth friendly policies” to tapped into the potential of youth today in order to build sustainable peace and economic development.

THE UNSCR 2250 recognizes the important and positive role that young people play in the promotion of global peace and security. Resolution 2250 requests the Secretary-General “to carry out a progress study on the youth’s positive contribution to peace processes and conflict resolution, in order to recommend effective responses at local, national, regional and international levels”, and to present the results of the Study to the United Nations Security Council and Member States.   The UN Secretary-General appointed (August 2016) an independent lead author, Graeme Simpson, to develop the Study, as well as an Advisory Group of Experts, including 21 scholars, practitioners and young leaders. As an independent report, it will document young people’s positive involvement in sustaining peace and will identify innovative practices on the ground.

The Progress Study models this intent through an inclusive and participatory methodology. Young people must be given an opportunity to substantively contribute to the discussions on peace and security issues in their communities, and to identify solutions for – and indicators of – progress for the YPS agenda. As of October 2017  seven regional consultations with youth from civil society were held, involving youth from 157 countries as well as country focused-research was completed through 14 country case-studies and over 120 focus group discussions with “hard-to-reach youth;  20 thematic papers were developed.

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