“Young People’s Participation Can No Longer Be Questioned,”
Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs Tells United Nations Civil Society Conference on Day Two
Following the first day of active discussions that reflected on the Pact of the future in the presence of the co-facilitators, senior 缅北禁地officials and governments, the second day of the 2024 United Nations Civil Society Conference began with an interactive dialogue: Looking ahead to the Summit and beyond. Moderated by Melissa Flemming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications and Mai Sami Ahmed, Save the Children, the discussion heard from panelists, with questions and comments from participants, and responses from United Nations Agencies, Philanthropy and Member States.
In opening remarks, MELISSA FLEMMING, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, welcomed everyone to Day Two, ImPACT Day. One of the innovations of the convening in Nairobi was the development of ImPACT coalitions, to be discussed this morning. Additionally, mechanisms needed to be identified to ensure that what was decided at the Summit could be implemented in practical terms. This would be discussed in the interactive dialogue.
MAI SAMI AHMED, Save the Children, said the interplay between the wisdom generated from years of experiences and the fresh insights of youth held immense potential for shaping inclusive policies. How could civil society effectively engage with intergovernmental processes to drive a positive change? It was becoming a necessity to harness the strength of civil society to chart a course towards a renewed multilateralism. Addressing the first panellist, Ms. Ahmed asked, how the voice of youth could be centred in United Nations dialogues?
FELIPE PAULLIER, Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs, said young people’s participation could no longer be questioned; they had an inalienable right to be represented when laws were adopted, budgets negotiated, and governments held to account. Their exclusion from these processes undermined their valuable contributions.? Mr. Paullier was glad that the political recognition and investment towards increased youth participation had evolved at the United Nations. The 缅北禁地Youth Strategy Youth2030 and the establishment of the United Nations Youth Office were testaments of the strong political and financial support to the youth agenda. This was due to young people pushing for change, it was not a coincidence.
However, despite the progress achieved, many young people still felt left behind. Institutions, including the UN, needed to work hand in hand with young people, and they needed to be engaged as fully-fledged partners at every step of the way. This implied acknowledging and transcending the barriers that young people faced when participating in decision and policymaking. This included: transforming social and cultural beliefs that portrayed young people as inexperienced; resourcing young people with adequate funding; and taking affirmative actions that supported the participation of young people at all levels of decision and policymaking. It was impressive that among the registered participants to the conference, 40 percent were young people.
NYARADZAI GUMBONZVONDA, 缅北禁地Women Deputy Executive Director for Normative Support, 缅北禁地System Coordination, and Programme Results, congratulated civil society. She had been born during the war in her country and knew how poverty felt. She understood indignities that came with being a rural girl; these were issues which could be resolved with leadership and commitment. She had seen girls been married off to due to poverty, while others lived lavishly. The conversation needed to shift; from poverty, to creating opportunities with the resources available in the world. As a Black African woman, her faith, cultural and gender were intertwined. Establishing 缅北禁地Women in 2010 had been a daring decision. Civil society would be at the core of the organisation. It was about fighting inequalities and non-discrimination, and rights, resources and accountability. Adolescent girls needed to be heard, and resources needed to be deployed sufficiently and sustainably.
Ms. GUMBONZVONDA then gave the floor to KAPWANI KAVENUKE, United Nations Africa Youth Leader. Ms. KAVENUKE said this was an example of intergenerational collaboration, and she hoped others could follow this example. She was advocating for meaningful youth engagement. In Chapter 4 of the Pact, there should be opportunities for additional resources for women and girls.
WILLIAM CAREW, Head of Secretariat, African Union ECOSOCC, said regional bodies played a crucial role in providing entry points to civil society. Civil society organisations could leverage regional mechanisms to monitor the implementation of global commitments and hold regional and global actors accountable. Regional bodies could serve as channels for disseminating information and fostering dialogue between civil society actors and global governance institutions. The Pact of the Future should set the base for strengthening Regional Bodies, by enhancing greater coordination and cooperation among member states and stakeholders within the region. Regional bodies should prioritize inclusive participation by ensuring meaningful engagement of civil society organizations, marginalized communities, and other stakeholders in decision-making processes.
Regional bodies should align their strategies, policies, and initiatives with global goals and frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement. By harmonizing regional priorities with global agendas, regional bodies could contribute to collective efforts to address transnational challenges and achieve shared objectives. By implementing these strategies, regional bodies could be further strengthened as part of the Pact of the future and contribute to more effective and inclusive government. A civil society platform like the African Union United Nations Economic and Social Council would continue to advocate for civil society in all decision-making process.
LIDA EMILSE PAZ LABIO, Indigenous Women Human Rights Defender, shared some different challenges facing civil society. One of these was governance for the protection of the planet. Progress had been made in terms of the global economy, in increasing poverty indices. The wealth of the earth was currently facing inequality. There was an increase in violations of human rights around the world, with women, young people and children the most affected. Indigenous peoples took care of the earth, the environment and oxygen; everything had life. They called for the Sustainable Development Goals to be more operational within different territories. Indigenous peoples should have an active presence at the Conference of Parties in Colombia. Ms. Labio applauded the United Nations for some milestones, including the Charter on the Rights of Indigenous peoples, and the United Nations declaration on indigenous peoples. The transformations which were required related to protecting life, bio diversities and economies.
CHARLOTTE REEVES, Global Engagement Lead, World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), said WBA was a global non-profit organization which assessed the 2000 most influential companies on their performance towards the Sustainable Development Goals, Paris Agreement and other global agendas. The data and insights showed where companies stood, but these assessments were only relevant if they were being used by other to push for change. For instance, just 29 restaurant and food services assessed served 300 million people every day. They had 300,000 restaurants in 169 countries, employed 7 million people directly and reached 70 million more through their supply chain including small holder farmers. Unfortunately, companies were not scaling up the Sustainable Development Goals. The data strongly signalled that the global agendas were not being felt strongly enough for businesses. This was where the opportunity for coalition building came in; if there was clarity from the Pact for the Future and from the Global Digital Compact, on the expectation of business responsibility, people were more empowered to act.
DANIEL PERELL, Conference Experts Sub-Committee Co-Chair and Baha'i International Community, said civil society was wonderful, diverse and vibrant. The systems that underpinned society were not working well. The ImPACT Coalitions arose from a desire to ask the most basic questions of “why” and “to what end”. The objective was to find an area of shared concern related to the transformation of global governance and to see how this could be advanced. They did not seek to replace the systems in place, but hoped to reduce duplication, and were required to align with the United Nations Charter. The goal of the ImPACT Coalitions was to leave the conference with three key elements: a shared area of work; a shared set of ‘asks’ for global governance reform to advance the work; and a plan of engagement geared to the Summit of the Future and beyond.
Mr. Perell said the Summit of the Future and the Conference should be an opportunity to ask whether societies and structures were being built on the right foundations. The future needed to be built with an eye towards wisdom. Progress was the improvement of governance structures in both effectiveness and trustworthiness. The aspiration for the ImPACT Coalitions was to understand how actions plans could be developed to pool shared knowledge and find creative ways to bring together different perspectives. At the Civil Society Action Days in September, those ImPACT Coalitions that had found fertile soil could come together again and continue their efforts. The 20 Coalitions today were chosen for their subject matter diversity and their potential to make a difference, which was the key aspiration.
Speaking from the floor, participants said civil space and resources were shrinking across the globe. The Summit of the Future needed a clear mandate, amended to the country teams of the United Nations; they should support civil society. How could youth become involved in other 缅北禁地spaces, to promote more civic engagement? What was the role of civil society for older persons? How could the 缅北禁地and civil society create a policy which could facilitate a United Nations Convention on Older Persons? One speaker said that in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a genocide was taking place and a war of aggression was accumulating. Women had been raped, including pregnant women, and there were many human rights violations taking place. Another speaker implored the audience to support paid period leave for female employees. An additional speaker called for help; civil society in Kenya was dead now; they needed the help of the United Nations to save the country.
In response to the questions, United Nations Agencies, philanthropy, and Member States, said it was vital to harness the potential of regional organisations, align the corporate agenda with the global agenda, and involve scientific communities, academia and local governments. It was not about altruism, but about enlightened self-interest. It was risky not to do these things; the future of multilateralism depended on it. The question was whether member states would be able to muster the political will to make a difference. The chances of this would be greater if civil society were able to press governments to live up to the moments that the Summit of the Future represented. The Summit of the Future needed to serve as a catalyst for action across multilateral spaces. The United Nations also needed more capacity. The new Secretary-General needed to be set up for success, so that when she took office, she would have the capacity to make change. The Summit of the Future needed to shift the conversation, and if this could happen it would be remembered.
One speaker said the future needed to be inclusive, green, just, and equal. The urban population was young; in sub-Saharan Africa approximately 44 percent of people were under 15 years old. There needed to be a special and structured status for local and regional governments, before the main political bodies of the United Nations. The world was rapidly changing and going through a policy crisis, planetary emergency and a trust crisis. The Summit of the Future hoped to find new and better ways for civil society and the United Nations to work together, to fulfil the sustainable development goals. The Summit of the Future was a unique opportunity to pave the way towards a more effective and inclusive multilateral system. The Pact for the Future needed to ensure representation of under-represented countries, particularly the Global South. There needed to be a more efficient Security Council which corrected historic injustice, including Global South representation.
Another speaker said that youth were not just to be represented; they needed to participate. The process leading up to the Summit should be used to build trust and find common ground on reforming the multilateral system and delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals. Gender equality needed to be at the heart of a commitment for the future. It was important to maintain the focus of the future. There needed to be solutions to the global challenges of our time. Key institutions needed to be reformed, and civil society had a major role to play in the path of the future. Marginalized groups needed to be included. The meaningful participation of civil society would be supported in the preparations of the Summit of the Future and beyond.
In closing remarks, Ms. FLEMMING thanked respondents for the insightful dialogue.
Now it was time for the ImPACT coalitions to fully develop. It was hoped that these coalitions would be a lasting legacy of the conference, as well as the Summit of the Future process.
Ms. AHMED thanked everyone for the interactive dialogue. She was honoured to share a platform as a young person, overcoming barriers like language and funds. 50 percent of the global population were young people and 70 percent of them were living in African countries.
Mr. PAULLIER quoted the Secretary-General, who had said “we would not be able to solve the problems of our grandchildren, with a system designed by our grandparents.”
Ms. GUMBONZVONDA said as a woman living with disabilities, the Pact for the Future was about true inclusion and non-discrimination for all. There needed to be more invested in human security than military security. The inclusion and participation of women and girls was essential.
Mr. CAREW said the role of civil society was crucial, and they should be seen as a complimentary partner. They should not be seen as an opposition to the government.
Ms. LABIO, called for increased access for youth to education.
Ms. REEVES said there needed to be consistent approach around institutional reform. Civil society were key to holding institutions accountable.
Following the interactive dialogue, the 20 ImPACT coalition Sessions took place. A full list of the sessions can be viewed here.
