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Ambassadorial level meeting on Youth, Peace and Security

Who Martin Bille Hermann, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Denmark to the United Nations
Who Martin Bille Hermann, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Denmark to the United Nations
When 07.06.2023

Check Against Delivery

 

Excellencies, Mr. Chair, distinguished briefers,

                                                                            

Young people are working for peace across the world: From bridging divides within communities to advocating for climate action and bringing relief to those in need during crises. We are in urgent need of young people’s agency for peace.

 

Meaningful participation and engagement of youth is key to sustaining peace. I would like to highlight three areas of action.   

 

Firstly, Denmark has seen the positive impact of partnerships with and meaningful participation of the diversity of young people at the local and national level as well as in multilateral fora. This includes youth sounding boards at Danish embassies, to the Danish Minister for Development Cooperation and Global Climate Action’s own International Youth Panel and to our eight youth delegates to the UN.

 

Secondly, regional frameworks and action plans can accelerate the implementation of the youth, peace and security agenda. I thank the briefers for sharing the examples of the recent initiatives under the League of Arab States and ASEAN. Such regional frameworks create momentum and inspiration for action at the national level. Indeed, peace and security can be promoted through frameworks that are well-resourced, context-specific, developed with youth and have national ownership.

 

Thirdly, while we reflect on the potential at the regional level, we may also consider if we take sufficient action in New York. The Peacebuilding Commission can leverage its rich experiences from supporting young people’s participation in peacebuilding to further advance the youth, peace and security agenda within the UN system. Excellencies, I would like to suggest, we use the advising and bridging role of this Commission to call-to-action on the implementation of the youth, peace and security agenda. This could take the form of a letter to the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly.

 

Finally, youth must be a concern and priority at the heart of any agenda for transformational change. I would like to conclude by asking the briefers: how can youth, peace and security be mainstreamed in regional frameworks, policies and programmes, beyond youth-specific initiatives?

 

I thank you.