UN Women commits to better include youth in the discourse on peace and security

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Hosted by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Global Forum on Youth, Peace and Security brought together academics, international community leaders and young people from around the world to debate a new international agenda on youth, peace and security. Inspired by the progress made by gender equality activists under the framework of women, peace and security, which since 2000 has resulted in – inter alia - seven Security Council resolutions, the Secretary-General’s 7 point action plan on women and peacebuilding and tangible progress in the area of women’s engagement in conflict resolution and post-conflict recovery, the forum sought to spur movement toward a global consensus on the importance of youth engagement in conflict resolution and peacebuilding.

As a key partner in the global peace and security agenda, UN Women’s Regional Director for Arab States, Mr Mohammad Naciri,  participated in a panel on ‘Youth, Peace and Security: unlock the potential for conflict prevention and peacebuilding’. Moderated by Ms. Alaa Murabit member of the UN Women Global Civil Society Advisory Group, the panel focused on the role young girls can play in fostering the culture of peace and their contribution on strengthen social cohesion.

'What we see is that your generation has been far better at breaking down gender barriers than mine or the ones before. Young people are inclusive, curious, passionate – and it is this passion, this curiosity and this vision we need as we move forward' noted Mr. Naciri in his opening remarks. Recalling international commitments to ensure women participation in peace keeping, peace building and negotiation processes such as the Beijing declaration and UN Security Council Resolution 1325. Mr. Naciri reaffirmed UN Women’s commitment to supporting the youth movement to better include the voice and instances of youth at all levels of peace and security engagement, making reference to the UN Women regional efforts to work with youth-based community led initiatives.

"We cannot have peace without including the generation that comes next’’ concluded Mr. Naciri, recognizing the importance of new ideas, new thinking – in particular when addressing inequalities – in the global discourse on youth, peace and security.

UN Women commits to better include youth in the discourse on Peace and Security