UNAOC held its annual Group of Friends Ministerial Meeting last Friday, 22 September 2017, at the UN Headquarters Trusteeship Council Chamber, with the theme “Youth Engagement: The Nexus to Building Inclusive Societies and Sustaining Peace.”
Read remarks by: UNAOC High Representative | UN Secretary-General | President of the General Assembly
Remarks of the
High Representative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations
H.E. Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser
at the UNAOC Group of Friends Ministerial Meeting
22 September 2017 | UN Headquarters Trusteeship Council Chamber
Your Excellency, Mr. Antonio Guterres, The UN Secretary General
Your Excellency ,Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, President of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly,
Your Excellency Mr. Maevlut Cavusoglu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey
Your Excellency, Mr. Fernando Garcia Casas, Secretary of State of Spain for International Cooperation & Ibero-America & the Caribbean
Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you all for joining us in today’s Group of Friends meeting.
It would be stating the obvious to say that Youth have always been our main target audience in terms of our programming activities. And youth will continue to be a key participant across all of our 4 pillars.
I will go straight to the theme of today’s meeting.
Yesterday, we were briefed on the Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security at a Ministerial Meeting co-chaired by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Jordan Minister and Norway. UNAOC is a member of the Steering Committee for the Study. I was very pleased to hear it has advanced since United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250 was adopted.
In that context, I would like to highlight two methods that have already been identified as a way forward. The first : is to support and enhance youth-led peacebuilding, and the second : is to address funding challenges for youth-based peacebuilding practices.
I believe 2 of UNAOC initiatives focused on youth are an example of these methods in practice. The work of our youth beneficiaries is proof of the important role young people can play in preventing conflicts and sustaining peace.
The Youth Solidarity Fund was established in 2008 as a response to calls by youth-led organizations on the importance of establishing funding mechanisms for young people. Since then, 57 youth-led and youth-based organizations have received funding to implement projects promoting intercultural and interfaith dialogue. These projects were completed in 30 different countries. They directly impacted almost 80,000 beneficiaries by the end of 2016.
Allow me to tell you briefly about some of the youth-led organizations that, thanks to the generous support of the Governments of Finland and Spain are currently receiving support from the Youth Solidarity Fund for projects to build inclusive societies.
- In Morocco, the ‘Bridge to Coexistence’ project uses a trave ling caravan to showcase the work of migrant artists. By creating a space for artistic expression and dialogue, the project aims to break stereotypes, reduce xenophobic incidents and promote the social inclusion of migrants.
- The Integrated Community Development Initiative engages 5,000 youth in the in Nakivale refugee camp and surrounding districts in Uganda. The project forms peacebuilding clubs to foster mutual respect and create long-term positive relationships between different communities.
- The ‘Together for Peace’ project works along the common border of India, Bhutan and Nepal. Young people are engaged in learning creative skills like filmmaking and storytelling. They use film as a medium to analyze, understand and address hostilities in the border area, with the hopes of sustaining peace.
- The ‘Culture of Dialogue Versus the Language Of Hatred’ project harnesses the growing potential of radio and media networks in South Sudan. Journalists, young women and local leaders, will receive media training on how to deliver messages of peace and tolerance.
- Camp for Peace Liberia engages young people in sustained initiatives that minimize violent conflict, both during and after the 2017 electoral period. This highlights the positive role that youth can play in sustaining peace.
- In Afghanistan, Cooperation for Peace and Development seeks to build cultural diversity hubs in girls’ high schools throughout Kabul. Students are engaged to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
- With the support of the Youth Solidarity Fund, Aware Girls is working to localize UNSCR 2250 in Pakistan. Their project seeks to make provincial-level peacebuilding processes more inclusive of youth and to create more policy level support for youth-led peacebuilding initiatives
Guided by the principle that youth are key actors to achieve and sustain peace, UNAOC launched “Young Peacebuilders” in 2016 as regional programme designed to enhance the positive role young people play in issues of peace and security and support the growth of networks of young peacebuilders who are equipped with the tools to address stereotypes, prejudice and polarization in order to build more inclusive and peaceful societies particularly within their communities. As such, it responds to recent international policy recommendations outlined in the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security.
A pilot edition of Young Peacebuilders was successfully implemented in West Africa in 2016.
Thanks to the support of the regional government of Extremadura in Spain, UNAOC, with the local collaboration of Generations For Peace, is currently working on the implementation of a regional chapter focused on the Middle East and North Africa.
This is a nutshell how UNAOC engages youth, empowers them and provide them with tools that can help them build inclusive societies and sustaining peace.
To conclude, I would like to encourage the membership of the Group of Friends to come forward and support more project activities led by youth who are not only holding our future in their hands but also our present.
I thank you.
Remarks of the
United Nations Secretary-General
H.E. António Guterres
at the UNAOC Group of Friends Ministerial Meeting
New York, 22 September 2017
I thank all of you for your support for the Alliance of Civilizations.
I thank the Alliance itself for its efforts to promote tolerance and mutual understanding.
That work is especially important as we witness, in too many places, rising sectarianism and extremism, divisive political appeals and the scapegoating of refugees and minorities.
My country, like so many others in all regions, is the product of many influences – and we are richer for it.
The Alliance came into being at a time when some historians and other commentators were predicting a so-called clash of civilizations.
I must confess I was always puzzled by such a fixed view of human identity.
When people clash, it is almost never over civilization. Rather, other factors are at play – discrimination, competition over resources, a lack of jobs and opportunities, and other grievances. Identity is often a proxy for these issues but is rarely at the core of the dispute.
As we look ahead, perhaps we should be thinking of this initiative more and more as in the context as diverse people coming together to uphold the values of the UN Charter.
I welcome your focus on youth — today and throughout the Alliance’s programming.
Young people are crucial for achieving sustainable and inclusive development. And they are critical for building and sustaining peace.
Our challenge is to engage, equip, educate, employ and above all empower them to fulfil their aspirations while contributing to the common good.
We need to teach not only skills but also the values of peace, tolerance, pluralism and global citizenship. Values are not inherited; they have to be taught.
In the same spirit, let us remember that today, as a result of migration, commerce and communications, all societies are becoming more multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious.
This diversity enriches us. But if we want diversity to be a success, we need to invest in social cohesion.
The Alliance has done just this, throughout its existence. I encourage you to support its valuable work. Thank you very much.
Remarks of the
President of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly
H.E. Mr. Miroslav Lajčák
at the UNAOC Group of Friends Ministerial Meeting
New York, 22 September 2017
Mr. Secretary General, Excellencies
It is my great pleasure to join you at this meeting. The Alliance is an important platform for building peaceful and inclusive societies with a focus on youth.
Allow me to share with you some thoughts.
A focus on people means building inclusive societies.
A focus on people necessarily entails building inclusive societies with youth fully engaged.
There can be no solution to conflict without young people. Youth involvement is critical to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement. And a decent life for all, includes a decent life for all young people.
Worldwide, 73 million young people are unemployed. Creating opportunities for young people will prevent them from succumbing to radicalization. Idle hands means trouble.
My 2nd point: the role of youth in sustaining peace and preventing conflict
Youth involvement is the key to achieving lasting peace. If we want to change the way we approach peace, if we want to put prevention at the center of our efforts, we cannot succeed without youth.
Young men and women are disproportionately affected by armed conflict. We need a special focus on their protection – but, importantly, also on their participation in conflict prevention and mediation.
The Sustaining Peace resolutions make a clear call for increased participation of youth in peacebuilding efforts. Let this not be just words on paper.
Young voices must be heard. I will give them a platform to speak their minds at the landmark High-Level Event on Sustaining Peace in April.
I will launch a roadmap for Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace, which will include a series of activities where youth can show how they are true peacebuilders and agents for change.
Make no mistake: there are far more young people working for peace than fuelling conflict.
And the involvement of young people in peace and prevention is gaining traction across the board. In this regard, I welcome the appointment of the Secretary General’s Youth Envoy.
Youth involvement in the Sustainable Development Goals
We must mobilize youth for Sustainable Development, including to achieve Goal 16 – peaceful, just and inclusive societies.
There are over 20 youth specific targets. We need to work to translate these Goals into a language that young people understand. If young people cannot see themselves in every word of the Agenda, we have failed them.
And my fourth point: Youth dimension of migration
A high number of migrants and refugees are young people.
However, we must not see young people through the binary lens of victim or perpetrator. Rather, they are the innovators and leaders of today and tomorrow.
They are the ones creating apps linking newcomers with host communities. They are community activists. They are the true bridge-builders.
In conclusion, let me reiterate my readiness to cooperate with you in promoting youth throughout the 72nd session. In the coming months I will highlight youth, education, inclusion and prevention of radicalization. Let us together build bridges to the future.
I thank you.