Jan 10, 2023
New Publication: "Youth, Peace and Security" by Paul Klahre
Paul Klahre
Youth, Peace and Security
Die Einbeziehung der Jugend in die Sicherheitsagenda der Vereinten Nationen
Young people play a long underestimated role for peace. The potential of their inclusion in the UN security agenda was recognized by the international community officially in 2015. UN Security Council Resolution 2250 (2015) and follow-up resolutions 2419 (2018) and 2535 (2020) provide the foundation for the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda. This paper makes a comprehensive contribution to understanding the normative foundations, effects and implications of the YPS agenda. First, the three YPS resolutions are analyzed in detail. The subsequent legal assessment of the YPS agenda examines the narrative of young people as peace actors with a claim to protection, a possible further development of the right to political participation of young people, as well as content-related criticism, opportunities, and mechanisms of institutionalization of the agenda. Finally, the impact of the YPS agenda on the UN system and its security architecture is examined. The analysis portrays the YPS agenda as a turning point concerning the stigmatization and lack of protection of young people. The YPS resolutions articulate the broad call for effective youth participation in conflict prevention, resolution, humanitarian work, peace processes, and political structures more generally, and provide a comprehensive toolkit of situations, forms, and characteristics of participation for this purpose. The YPS agenda strengthens sustainable, inclusive peace efforts and progressively but permanently positions youth in the UN security agenda.