Secretary-General António Guterres presents his first report on Youth, Peace and Security via VTC to the Security Council

Today, Security Council members held an open video teleconference meeting ‘Towards the fifth anniversary of the youth and peace and security agenda: accelerating implementation of resolutions 2250 and 2419.’ Secretary-General António Guterres presented his first report on Youth, Peace and Security, connecting the dots between the COVID-19 pandemic and the tireless contributions of young peacebuilders around the globe.

He lauded humanitarians and peacebuilders in Ghana, Colombia and Iraq on their critical work delivering supplies to frontline health-workers and maintaining critical social cohesion during lockdown. The SG called for more to be done to address challenges facing young peacebuilders, specifically for the international community to strengthen human rights protections for young activists. He made the case for increased investment in young people’s participation and organisations, stating that investment in young people’s capacities are critical to the achievement of the 2030 agenda.

Jayathma Wickramanayake, the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth made a statement along with a young peacebuilder Gatwal Augustine Gatkuoth Yul from South Sudan, founder of the “Young-adult Empowerment Initiative” (YEI) in Uganda.

Olla Al-Sakkaf, a young peacebuilder from Yemen and project coordinator in the “Youth Without Border Organization for Development,” while unable to join the VTC, made her remarks online here.