By Javier Surasky-
[Attention: this is a
longer than usual post]
This is our fifth post
analyzing the Second Revision of the Pact for the
Future (PfF, Rev-2). In the first
one, we referred to the PfF
coherence and the preamble, in the second we analyzed the reforms in Chapter
1 on sustainable development and financing for development, the third focused on Chapter
2 on peace and security, and the fourth on Chapter
3 on science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation.
This post will concentrate on
Chapter 4 of the PfF on “Youth and Future Generations.” As in the previous
chapters, this one is structured with an introductory paragraph, actions, and
decisions attached to each action. In Rev-2, the Chapter includes 4 actions and
19 decisions, being the PfF shortest segment.
To help the readers, the
text added in Rev-2 is highlighted in blue, and deletions in orange.
Chapter 4 Introduction
The UN Member States introduce this Chapter with one
paragraph centered on children and youth (§58) and another on generations (§59).
The first of them reminds us
that “Today’s generation of children and young people is the largest in
history, with most of them living in developing countries.” To fully understand
this chapter's actions and decisions it is convenient to bear in mind that,
according to the UN, “children” is every person between 0 and 14 years, and “young”
persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years.
Children and young people are considered in the PfF as
critical agents of positive change, and Rev-2, States “welcome their important contributions to sustainable
development, human rights and peace and security.”
Nevertheless, States made the point that millions of them
“are deprived of the conditions they need to reach their full potential and fulfil their human rights,
especially those in vulnerable situations, (…) in extreme poverty,
without access to critical, basic
services” and “together with future generations, they will live with the
consequences of our actions and our inaction.” Consequently, the Member States “commit
to transformative levels of investment in, and engagement by, young people at
national and international levels” (this is one of the less than 10 times
States use the word “commit” in the PfF).
On a similar page,
future generations are identified as a group distinct than children and youth,
and States decide to ensure that decision-making and policy-making today take “greater account of
the needs [previously,
“rights”] and interests of the generations to
come, and balanced with the
needs and interests of current generations” (§59).
Finally, the introduction to the chapter makes a mention
of the Declaration on Future Generations as an annex to
the Pact for the Future detailing Member States' commitments in this regard.
Chapter 4 Actions and “Decisions”
Action 37. Invest in the
social and economic
development of children and young people so they can reach their full
potential.
In Rev-1 this action was
worded as “Invest in social services for young people so they can reach their full potential,
excluding children.
Introducing this action, States “stress
the importance of investing in, and
ensuring equitable access to, essential social services for children and young people,
especially health, education and social protection, to advance their social and economic development”
(§60). However, a second part of the same paragraph refers only to youth,
stating that “to fulfil their full potential and secure decent, productive work and quality
employment, young people must have access to quality education opportunities, including in emergencies,
throughout their lives that equip them with the knowledge, skills and values
they need to thrive in a rapidly changing world.”
To make that happen, States attach many decisions:
“(a) Scale up investment from all sources in essential
social services for young people,” ensuring that their “specific needs and priorities are
reflected in national, regional
and international development strategies” and that “services are accessible to all
young persons.” Hence, Member States “request the Secretary-General establish a Global Youth
Investment platform to attract and better finance youth-related programming at
the country level.”
“(b) Accelerate efforts to ensure all young people enjoy the
highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, access to universal
health coverage, including sexual and reproductive health, and address all the challenges
faced by developing countries to achieving these goals.” Again, it is
difficult to understand why children are not included here as a different
group.
“(c) Support [previously, “build”] developing countries to
significantly increase investment from all sources in education and skills,
especially early childhood and girls education and skills, to build inclusive,
accessible and resilient education systems and life-long learning
societies that are tailored to the needs of young people today and in the
future.”
There are many relevant additions in this paragraph:
the express reference to developing countries and girls, the use of the word “investment”,
and the categorization of education and skill building as inclusive, accessible,
and resilient. However, the price paid is the deletion in Rev-2 of Rev-1
decision (d) that included some of those elements together with others that fade
out: “Support developing countries to significantly
increase investment in education, especially early childhood education,
including by ensuring policy coherence among international actors, protecting
education budgets in times of shocks and debt distress, and exploring
innovative financing opportunities.”
To make the decided changes possible, Member States
call to “enhancing curricula, improving
teachers’ professional development, harnessing digital technologies and
improving access to technical and vocational training to help young people contribute to their societies
[previously, “for the digital and green transitions”].
“(d) Create sustainable jobs and decent livelihoods
for youth, especially in developing countries and particularly for young women and young people in vulnerable
situations, and establish and ensure young people’s access to universal, adequate,
comprehensive, sustainable and
nationally-appropriate social protection systems.” Even in an indirect
way, this is one of the few mentions of cultural relevancy in the PfF
A new decision (e) on “empower, encourage and support young people to pursue entrepreneurship and innovation and transform their ideas into viable business opportunities” is added, and the decision requesting the Secretary-General to develop, before the Second World Summit for Social Development, “a Global Youth Investment platform to attract and better finance youth-related programming at the country level” was deleted.
Action 38. Promote, protect and
respect the human rights of all young people and foster social inclusion
and integration.
This action and their attached decisions were deeply reformed. To start,
it was presented in Rev-1 as “Promote equal opportunities for all young people, especially the most
vulnerable and marginalized, protect them from violence, and foster social inclusion and integration.”
To introduce the action, States “reaffirm
the importance of ensuring the full
enjoyment of the rights of all young persons, [including
the most vulnerable,] protect them from violence, and foster social
inclusion and integration especially the poorest, those in vulnerable situations and those facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination”
(§61). To do so, Member States decide to:
“(a) Fight and eradicate all forms of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia [islamophobia
and antisemitism], and all forms of
intolerance that impact young people and hinder their ability to fulfil their
potential, and counter
religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or
violence and promote human security.”
A new decision (b) is then added, aimed to “intensify international, regional, and national efforts
to take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern
slavery and human trafficking, and eliminate all forms of child labor.” Bearing in mind that this decision refers to legally binding
obligations, the word “intensify” is the key.
“(c) Address the challenges faced by all young women
and girls, including by combating negative gender stereotypes and negative social norms and
eliminating discrimination, all forms of violence, and harmful practices, including female genital
mutilation and child marriage. A question here is: Are there “positive”,
or at least “no negative” gender stereotypes? The addition in that regard is unnecessary.
Instead, expressly mentioning female genital mutilation and child marriage as harmful
practices is relevant due to the debates around cultural practices.
“(d) Enhance inclusion and eliminate all barriers that hinder young persons with disabilities to attain and maintain maximum
autonomy, independence and full inclusion and participation in all aspects of
life and invest in assistive technologies that can promote their full,
equal and meaningful participation
in society”. The new wording makes the decision more precise than in Rev-1.
Then, two new decisions are included under this
action:
“(e)
Address the adverse impact of climate change and other environmental challenges
that constitute threats to the ability of young persons to enjoy all human
rights, in particular the right to a clean and healthy environment.”
This is important since, as we know, the PfF does not include a chapter on environmental
issues.
“(f) Strengthen intergenerational partnerships and solidarity among generations by promoting opportunities for voluntary, constructive and regular interaction between young people and older generations in the family, in the workplace and in society-at-large.” I particularly applaud this new decision, since the elderly seem to be left behind in the PfF.
Action 39. Strengthen
meaningful youth participation at the national level.
After commending the important contributions
young people are already making to the advancement of human rights, sustainable
development, and peace and security, States affirms that they “can only [previously,
“meaningfully”] meet the needs and aspirations” by
“systematically listen to them, work with them, and provide them [previously, “give them a chance”] with meaningful opportunities to shape the
future.”
The four actions
under this action are aimed to:
“(a) Encourage
and support the establishment of mechanisms at the national level [previously,
“establish youth consultative bodies”],
where they do not exist, to
consult with young people and provide them with meaningful opportunities [previously,
“with the mandate
and the requisite resources”] to
engage in national policymaking and decision-making processes supported, upon
request, by the United Nations system.” Changes here are huge: On the one side,
according to Rev-2, the mechanisms should be established at the national level —which
is aligned with the action and could be of any kind, and not only consultative.
On the other hand, the decision to provide them with resources is deleted.
“(b) Consider establishing intergenerational dialogues
to build stronger partnerships between individuals
of different age groups, including youth, and between governments
and youth.” Now, the decision is not only to build partnerships between state
and non-state actors but also between persons of different ages.
“(c) Address the
challenges and remove the barriers that prevent full, meaningful and equal participation of all
youth, including for young women, youth with disabilities, and other individuals or groups in vulnerable
situations in national policy and decision-making, and improve the
representation of young people in formal political structures, especially young
women [previously, the decision referred to participation “in
social, economic, political and public
affairs”]. The relevant modification lies in the now broad
reference to persons and groups in vulnerable situations, with a specific
mention of youth with disabilities, and the specificity brought by the term policy
and decision-making.
The last part of the paragraph,
referring to improving youth and particularly young women participation in
formal policy structures was part of Rev-1 decision (d), deleted in Rev-2, that
also included the decisions of “removing legislative or
policy barriers that directly or indirectly prevent young people from running
for public leadership positions.”
Rev- decision (d) is about providing “accessible and transparent funding [previously, “flexible funding”] and
capacity-building support for youth-led and youth-focused organizations.”
Two decisions in Rev-2 are eliminated form Rev-2:
“(e)
Strengthen the meaningful and inclusive participation of all youth in conflict
prevention and resolution, peacebuilding, peace processes, post-conflict
processes and humanitarian action.”
“(g) Report on progress made on these matters at the 2025 High-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth, and its follow-up.” This action deletion is worrisome since it established an action implementation follow-up path.
Action 40. Strengthen meaningful youth participation at the international
level.
Welcoming
the progress in promoting the meaningful engagement of youth in the United
Nations, its Member States declare their determination to “accelerate” [previously “build on”] this work “by ensuring more [“systematic”] youth engagement in intergovernmental processes and across the work of
the United Nations system, and by increasing the representativeness, effectiveness and
impact of youth engagement at the Organization.
Without introducing important reforms in Rev-1, decisions
linked to this action in Rev-2 are presented as follows:
“(a) Ensure [“the
systematic”] meaningful, inclusive and
effective engagement of young people in United Nations relevant [previously, “all United Nations”] intergovernmental bodies and processes, taking into account the principles
of equitable gender and geographical representation and non-discrimination.”
“(b) Encourage
the inclusion of youth, including youth delegates [previously, “include youth
delegates”] in national delegations at [relevant] intergovernmental discussions in the General Assembly and its
subsidiary bodies, the Economic and Social Council and its subsidiary bodies [previously, “functional
commissions”], the Security Council and [other
relevant] United Nations
conferences.”
“(c) Revitalize and raise awareness of [previously, “invest in”] the United
Nations Youth Fund and
encourage contributions to boost the participation of youth
representatives from developing countries in the activities of the United
Nations.”
“(d) Request the Secretary-General to continue to develop
[“in close consultation with Member States and young
people”], core
principles [previously, “a global
standard”] for meaningful, representative, inclusive and
safe youth engagement in relevant intergovernmental
processes and across the work of the United Nations, for the
consideration of Member States.”
Considering decisions (a), (b), and (d), we can expect
to see debates on the “relevancy” of youth participation in future meetings and
string works at the UN.
Conclusion
The actions and decisions in this chapter are now more
precise than in Rev-1. However. The issue of youth engagement “relevancy” in
specific discussions can become a seed for future attempts to exclude young
people from participating in UN work. Besides, as we have seen in previous chapters,
many references to funding are deleted, bringing concern on how decisions implementation
will be funded.
Despite some mentions of children, this part of the
PfF is clearly focused on youth. To be fair, children were not included in the
action wording, so this chapter is not about them. As a result, children's
rights, roles, and opportunities fade away and they are at high risk of being
left behind in the PfF.
Last but not least, regarding future generations that
are expressly considered in the action framing, differently from children, we
only can say that there is no reference to that group in any decisions included
in this chapter, and we will know the real extent of Member States commitments
with future generations only when the Declaration for Future Generations, an
annex to the PfF, will be adopted.
