50th Session of the United Nations Commission for Social Development

The 50th Session of the Commission for Social Development- the functioning committee of the ECOSOC- was held from the 1st to the 10th of February at the United Nations Headquarters o New York USA. The Commission for Social Development is a functional commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The body is in charge of the follow-up and implementation of the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social Development and meets annually in February for one and a half weeks. It covers key social development themes such as poverty, employment and social integration and the issue of youth falls within the latter. The 50th session was of extreme importance to youth around the world since the priority theme of the session was Youth: Poverty and Employment.



I was privileged to attend this high level UN meeting as a Youth representative of Sri Lanka thanks to Global Changemakers.

This was not just about attending a UN meeting where all Nations participate but to establish a functional “Youth Delegate” program in Sri Lanka so that the process will continue and youth will be included in the decision making process of such Global Events.

Youth Delegates to the United Nations

Young people between the ages of 15 and 24 represent approximately 18 percent of today’s global population, signifying the largest youth cohort in history. They are increasingly mobilizing and impacting social policy dialogue within their communities as well as at the global level. In response, the international community has recognized their contributions and potential for greater participation by encouraging the inclusion of youth delegates in United Nations meetings and conferences.

Member States of the United Nations have long recognized that the imagination, energy and ideals of young people are vital for the continuing development of the societies in which they live.

In 1995, on the tenth anniversary of the first International Youth Year, the United Nations formally strengthened its commitment to young people by adopting a unified approach called the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY).

The World Programme of Action focuses on increasing the quality and quantity of opportunities available to young people for full, effective and constructive participation in society.

The UN

In particular, it invites Governments to strengthen the involvement of young people in international forums by considering the inclusion of youth representatives in their national delegations to the General Assembly (General Assembly resolution 50/81, paragraph 107).

This invitation has been renewed several times in subsequent resolutions (52/83, 54/120, 56/117, 58/133, 59/148, 60/2, 62/126). In its recent resolution pertaining to youth policies and programmes (General Assembly resolution 64/130), adopted in 2009, the General Assembly:

Urges Member States to consider including youth representatives in their delegations at all relevant discussions in the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and its functional commissions and relevant United Nations conferences, as appropriate, bearing in mind the principles of gender balance and non-discrimination, and emphasizes that such youth representatives should be selected through a transparent process that ensures that they have a suitable mandate to represent young people in their countries; [paragraph17]

Recognizes the need for a greater geographical balance of youth representation, and encourages Member States and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to contribute to the United Nations Youth Fund in order to facilitate the participation of youth representatives from developing countries; [paragraph 18]

Sri Lankan Youth Representative

Such is the background of the United Nations Youth Delegates program and I had been campaigning for over 2 years to establish such a program in sri lanka. As a result I was able to convince the Government to conduct a pilot program by sending a Youth representative to the 50th Session of the United Nations Commission for Social Development.

The Session

With almost one in four young workers unemployed in developed countries and the majority of young people working in the informal economy in developing countries, many of them living in poverty, the world is experiencing a youth unemployment crisis. If this crisis is left unaddressed, the achievements made in reducing poverty during past decades will be jeopardized.

The Session

 

Youth employment strategies are failing both to produce the number of jobs needed and to improve the quality of work prospects.

 

Although strategies to improve the employability of young people are necessary, they have proven insufficient to address deficits in decent work. Policies are also falling short of providing young workers with the protection and support which will enable them to fulfill their potential, overcome poverty an actively contribute to economic and social development. In order to address the youth unemployment crisis, Governments must do more to lower structural barriers to the proper insertion of youth into the labor market and encourage the maintenance of proper labor standards and wages in order to increase the income and job security of youth and reduce their vulnerability. Governments must also d more to find and motivate those young people who have given up hope of a productive future. The social, economic and political costs of a prolonged youth unemployment crisis are high. The current trend towards fiscal austerity defies the pressing need to address that crisis, which has been aggravated during the financial and economic crises. Instead, these events should be seen as affording an opportunity to address youth employment problems and increase job and income security for young workers.

To combat these issues the CSocD held discussions sharing expert opinions and country experiences to produce a best practices report. Some of the delegates expressed their opinions quite strongly;

 

“Girls seen as unworthy of investment by most” ” CSocD by # Rep of Congregation of our lady of Charity of the good shepherd\

 

“Older persons are most vulnerable to social and economic problems”- African Union

 

“Family is the backbone of society” Delegate of #Malta

 

“All member states must encourage entrepreneurial programs of youth. This is not idealist, this is realist” – Syrian Youth Delegate

 

The result

The greatest outcome of this this session is the launching of the World Youth Report for 2012. To coincide with the 5th session of the Commission for Social Development, the Division for Social Policy and Development held a launch event for its World Youth Report:  “Youth Employment: youth perspectives on the pursuit of decent work in changing times.” This event featured a panel discussion with prominent speakers such as Ms. Susana Vaz Patto, Minister Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Portugal to the UN, Ms. Gail Gershon, Executive Director, Community Leadership, Gap Inc. ,Ms. Yasmyn Camier, Youth Contributor to World Youth Report e-discussion and Senator Monthian Buntan, President of the Thailand Association of the Blind.

The World Youth Report 2011 explores the transition of young people from schools and training institutions into the labour market, a phase marking a critical period in the life cycle. The current employment scenario for young people, worsened by the global economic crisis, poses an urgent challenge with long-term implications for both young people and society as a whole. Young people themselves are crucial stakeholders in the pursuit of decent and productive work for all. Yet, too frequently, their voices go unheard and their positive and negative experiences and viewpoints unshared, particularly with decision-makers. Therefore, the World Youth Report is intended above all to explore youth employment issues mainly through the words of young people themselves around the world. The full report can be found at (http://social.un.org/index/WorldYouthReport/2011.aspx)

Personal Experience

On a personal note, this was the greatest event I had ever attended in my life. It was not just another youth or regional conference but an actual United Nations conference where ALL the countries in the world participated. The significance of the event with regard to youth around the world was also immense. And the final factor that took me beyond anything I had dreamed of was the location – United Nations Headquarters, New York, USA.

I was also privileged to meet many other likeminded people from around the global working on youth issues and made connections with NGOs that fought for youth all over the world. One such organization would be the Congregation of our lady of Charity of the good shepherd that has programs in Africa and the accounts of the difficulties and sometimes the horrors youth face in certain parts of the country were eye opening to say the least.

 

And finally the most important group of people- the Youth Delegates from other countries. These delegates were lucky to have established youth delegate programs in their countries and had a wealth of knowledge an experience. Most of them had been at the UN since the high Level Meeting on Youth last year and shared their experiences. Though I had a very limited time with this amazing group of delegates ranging from France and Germany to Bulgaria and Romania, the passion and commitment was sufficient to inspire me.

 

In conclusion, global Changemakers made it possible for me to have a voice at the Highest Level meeting on youth in the world and I hope to share my experiences with all other youth in Sri Lanka and continue my work for the betterment of youth.