YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN SOCIETY'S DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGE AND RESPONSIBILITY, SAYS PRESIDENT OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Press Release
GA/8972

YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN SOCIETY'S DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGE AND RESPONSIBILITY, SAYS PRESIDENT OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Assembly Begins Commemoration of International Youth Year; Under-Secretary-General for Policy Coordination Says Young a `Global Priority'

Offering youth the opportunity to participate in the development of society was the greatest challenge and the greatest honour the international community could afford them, as well as its greatest responsibility and finest reward, the President of the General Assembly, Freitas do Amaral (Portugal) told the Assembly this morning.

The President's remarks opened the Assembly's commemoration of the tenth anniversary of International Youth Year. The Assembly is eventually expected to adopt the world programme of action for youth towards the year 2000 and beyond, the final text of which is still under negotiation.

The Under-Secretary General for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development, Nitin Desai, speaking as the representative of Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, said the needs of young people were a global priority and called for more advocacy for youth and for a renewed commitment on the part of the international community. He added that of the approximately 1 billion young people in the world today, 85 per cent of them lived in developing countries, where access to education was limited and they faced unemployment and poverty.

The representative of Spain, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said the implementation of the world programme of action for youth to the year 2000, was ultimately the responsibility of governments, but the young should be involved at all levels. With regard to that programme, the representative of the Russian Federation said it was balanced, since it set forth the interests of youth across the world.

Illiteracy, poverty, drug abuse, AIDS and crime were among the main afflictions of youth in developing countries, the representative of Burkina Faso said. The representative of Ecuador, speaking on behalf of the Rio

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Group, warned the international community that neglecting youth in developing countries could result in a deterioration of the family as the nucleus of society.

Statements on the tenth anniversary of International Youth Year were also made by the representatives of Sri Lanka and Marshall Islands, as well as a representative of the Austrian Youth Council.

Also this morning, the General Assembly adopted, without a vote, a recommendation from its General Committee that items entitled "Implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for equality, development and peace" and "Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights" be added to the agenda of the fiftieth session. The item on the Women's Conference will be considered directly in plenary and the High Commissioner's report will be considered as a sub-item under agenda item 112 in the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, Cultural).

The Assembly also decided, without a vote, to authorize the following working groups to meet during the session: the open-ended working group on the question of equitable representation on and increase in membership of the Security Council; and the ad hoc open-ended working group on the Agenda for Development; and the high-level open-ended working group on the financial situation of the United Nations.

Also this morning, a minute of silence was observed due to the death of Kenneth Dadzie, a former Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

The General Assembly will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue its discussion on the tenth anniversary of the International Youth Year.

Assembly Work Programme

The General Assembly met this morning to consider inclusion of new agenda items on the Beijing Women's Conference and the United Nations Commission for Human Rights, as well as commemorate the tenth anniversary of International Youth Year.

The recommendations for inclusion in the agenda of the fiftieth session items entitled "Implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace" and the request for the inclusion of the additional sub-item entitled "Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights" under item 112 on human rights questions, are contained in the report of its General Committee (document A/50/250/Add.1).

The Assembly also had before it a letter dated 19 October 1995 from the Chairman of the Committee on Conferences (document A/50/404/Add.1) requesting authorization for three working groups of the Assembly to meet -- those on membership of the Security Council, the Agenda for development and the financial situation of the United Nations -- subject to the condition that those meetings would be accommodated within available facilities and services.

With regard to International Youth Year, the final text for the draft world programme of action for youth to the year 2000 and beyond which was considered by the Economic and Social Council yesterday, has not yet been agreed upon (see Press Release ECOSOC/5629 issued 25 October).

New Agenda Items

The President of the General Assembly, DIOGO FREITAS DO AMARAL (Portugal), informed the Assembly of the death in London yesterday of Kenneth Dadzie, a former Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). He described Mr. Dadzie, the fourth Secretary- General of UNCTAD, as an outstanding international civil servant who demonstrated during his long and very distinguished career the highest intellectual and diplomatic skills. He expressed the Assembly's sympathy to the Government of Ghana and to Mr. Dadzie's family.

The General Assembly then adopted without a vote the recommendations of the General Committee to include agenda items entitled "Implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace", which will be considered directly in plenary, and "Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights" which will be considered as a sub-item under agenda item 112 in the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural).

The Assembly also decided, without a vote, to accept the recommendation contained in a letter from the Chairman of the Committee on Conferences

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authorizing the following working groups to meet in New York during the fiftieth session of the Assembly: the open-ended working group on the question of equitable representation on and increase in membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Security Council; the ad hoc open-ended working group on the Agenda for Development; and the high-level open-ended working group on the financial situation of the United Nations.

International Youth Year

In an opening statement on International Youth Year, the President of the Assembly said that to offer youth the opportunity to participate in development and renewal of society was the greatest challenge and the greatest honour the international community could afford them. It was also the international community's greatest responsibility and its finest reward.

He said that the international community was gathered to reflect on the problems confronting youth in order to advance the common historic purpose started in 1985 during the International Youth Year. "We are here to build upon the positive processes created since the adoption by the General Assembly in 1985 of the Declaration on the Promotion among Youth of the Ideals of Peace, Mutual Respect and Understanding Between Peoples."

Investing in the youth today enabled them, as individuals, to fulfil their lifetime potential, he said. The benefits to young men and women could be counted in terms of individual achievement and self-development. Governments needed to develop policies and invest in programmes which provided their young men and women with opportunities to participate fully in the nation's economic and social development.

NITIN DESAI, Under-Secretary General for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development and speaking as representative of the Secretary- General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, said that there were around 1 billion young people in the world today and they often had problems different from society at large. Given that situation, it was not always easy to find one core issue that bound youth together. Youth was a passage from childhood to adulthood. To make that passage easier was the focus of youth activities.

The value of the contribution of youth to society could be maximized when their views were heard, he continued. Almost 85 per cent of the world's youth lived in developing countries, where access to education was limited. The imbalance between education and the needs of the workplace were also high in those societies, as was youth unemployment. To address the unemployment of youth, the focus should be on new jobs for youth, not just on existing jobs.

Youth also frequently constituted a significant proportion of displaced persons and refugees, he said. Exploitation and violence was also a problem affecting young women. A large population of rural youth lacked the benefits of social development and a large number of youth lived in poverty. In

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addition, the disruption of the family had a negative impact on youth.

The concern of the United Nations with youth had been given expression through the International Youth Year. The year provided an opportunity to articulate a programme on youth. Representatives of the United Nations were working to provide the necessary support for the objectives of the year. Non-governmental organizations had played a vital role in articulating the views of young people. The needs of young people were a global priority and a new sense of cooperation between the United Nations, Member States and the non-governmental organization community was needed.

ROSA ESCAPA (Spain), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said the estimated world youth population of more than 1 billion constituted the major human resource for development of society. The young, particularly the 85 per cent of them living in the developing countries, experienced difficulties relating to poverty, opportunities for education, training and employment, and health facilities. Rapid change could also be a cause for such problems as increased juvenile delinquency, drug abuse and crime.

The European Union held that the goals of the world programme of action for youth to the year 2000 would promote the ability of the young to contribute to society, she said. Implementation of the programme was ultimately the responsibility of governments, but the young should be involved at all levels. The future of Europe depended on the participation and involvement of its almost 60 million young people between the ages of 15 and 25. Cooperation on youth issues in the European Union were circumscribed by the concept of "active citizenship." All recent major United Nations conferences had devoted attention to the specific needs of youth. Follow-up on those conferences should provide the framework for future activities and should be integrated into the global perspective.

MARTIN KARGL, of the Austrian Youth Council, said that today the young felt responsible for holding up and spreading the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations. They wanted to participate in building their own future, and had to be recognized as the partners of governments. The reform process in the United Nations should include the participation of non-governmental youth organizations. In Austria, youth were increasingly involving themselves in the political decision-making process. Activities included the European youth campaign against racism, xenophobia, anti-semitism and intolerance; national and regional children and youth parliaments; and the HOPE '87 programme, which involved job creation and training, including efforts on behalf of young people disabled during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He hoped the United

Nations would continue to be a place where youth organizations had a voice, so that youth could still trust someone over 50.

LUIS VALENCIA (Ecuador), speaking on behalf of the Rio Group, said youth problems could not be disjointed from the economic and social problems of mankind. The greatest percentage of youth population was found in developing

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countries -- 84 per cent in 1995, which would increase to 89 per cent by 2025 -- and their main problem was poverty. They lacked job opportunities, education programmes, recreational centres and health services and drug addiction and illiteracy were increasing.

"Our countries consider that when economic and social issues deteriorate, they may endanger the young's physical, intellectual and emotional development, threatening survival", he said. Living with social disadvantages, the behaviour of the youngsters could result in a profound deterioration of the nucleus of society, the family. Educational programmes played an important role in avoiding such a phenomenon. Those programmes should be oriented towards the promotion of human rights, peace and respect among nations, as well as the protection of the environment.

LAKSHMAN KADIRGAMAR, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, expressed regret that children as young as 10 years old were involved in wars. He welcomed the world programme of action for youth to the year 2000 and beyond, since it provided a good framework for improving the situation of youth worldwide. Young people, together with national governments and grass roots organizations, needed to develop appropriate and viable partnerships in order to solve their problems.

With the opening of his country's economy, his Government had implemented policies to rectify the imbalance between the labour market demand and the output of the educational system, he said. Vocational training programmes had been implemented that were geared at assisting the expanding private sector, where the bulk of the future employment opportunities were concentrated. In addition, a programme called "Samurdhi" had been established, which was designed to activate the entrepreneurial potential of the young poor. Through that programme, poor young people were given the opportunity and the resources to become entrepreneurs by utilizing local- market potential and appropriate technology.

SERGEI ORDZHONIKIDZE (Russian Federation) said that youth were the most dynamic strata of any society. In his country, young people had been the greater part of the 26 million victims of the Second World War. He hoped all States would take into account the errors of the past and safeguard today's young, giving them the benefits of a world without xenophobia, racism and intolerance. The programme before the Assembly was balanced and he hoped differences on would be overcome and it could be adopted.

Work in the area of youth in Russia came under the national programme of Work on Youth, he continued. The young in Russia were usually the first affected by such problems as unemployment. A set of laws was being promulgated on such issues as prevention of child neglect, juvenile delinquency, drug abuse and drug trafficking. However, international cooperation was also needed. Russia remained open to cooperation in the area of youth on the national, regional and international levels.

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NEIJON R. EDWARDS (Marshall Islands) said that her country had a very high population growth rate. As a result, the majority of the population was under fifteen years of age. That was bound to cause future problems since social and economic opportunities would have to be provided. Marshall Islands also had a large population of displaced victims of the nuclear testing carried out in the 1940s and 1950s. Although the victims received some compensation, those funds were insufficient to rehabilitate their lands, provide necessary medical care and compensate for personal injuries.

A youth policy had been instituted in her country to educate and socialize its young people from an early stage, make them feel part of the larger community and encourage them to be active participants in the development of society, she continued. Earlier in 1995, a Pacific Youth Week was launched, which covered areas like population education, family planning and suicide. Participants included representatives of at least 10 youth groups. Marshall Islands also recently enacted legislation to strengthen its commitments under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

She said that basic education was mandated in her country's constitution and a 10-year plan for education policy had been prepared to encourage community-based education. More schools were being built in rural areas to reduce urban migration. In addition, secondary education was now mandatory, while a scholarship programme provided assistance to youth wishing to pursue higher education.

ABLASSE OUEDRAOGO (Burkina Faso) said in the wake of the world's various ills, hope and anxiety for youth existed together. Illiteracy, poverty, drug abuse, AIDS and crime were among the main afflictions of youth. It was clear that in improving the situation of the young worldwide, their cultural and ethnic diversity needed to be considered. Policies to improve the education and health services of the youth had been implemented in his country. Youth needed to work together with their elders for the betterment of their future. He supported a follow-up of the world programme of action for youth and suggested that the Commission for Social Development create a division for youth to assure continuation of the programme of action.

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