United Nations and Youth
NYCI is campaigning for youth representation at the United Nations.
Participation in decision-making is a priority for NYCI and the UN's agenda on youth. One form of youth participation at the United Nations has been through the inclusion of youth delegates in a country's official delegation to the United Nations General Assembly and various functional Commissions of the Economic and Social Council. Unfortunately Ireland does not have a UN Youth Delegate but NYCI will continue to lobby the Irish Government on the issue.
For more details about youth on the agenda of the UN and young people's participation in the UN see Youth and the United Nations.
On 15th March, the UN General Assembly decided to hold a two-day high-level meeting on youth on 25-26th July at its headquarters in New York. The event will be based on the overarching theme of dialogue and mutual understanding, and will aim to result in a concise action-orientated outcome document. Plenary meetings and roundtables will focus on strengthening youth cooperation on issues such as social integration, poverty eradication and sustainable development. The Assembly also recognised that the International Year of Youth, which began in August, represented an important opportunity to bolster government investment in youth and the international community's commitment to address youth-related challenges.
The resolution adopted by the Assembly also called on Member States to “pay due attention” to the Millennium Development Goals, the World Programme of Action for Youth and other relevant programmes, as well as to consider including young people in their delegations for the event. Speaking on behalf of the European Union, Krisztina Anita Kovacs (Hungary), said youth - including from non-governmental organisations and youth-led organisations - should be adequately represented during the meeting, and governments should transparently select and include youth representatives in their delegations. She urged that youth be given adequate time to speak in order to draw attention to their concerns, problems, and challenges.
