QUNO NY Programme Assistant, Sadhbh O’Driscoll, delivered a statement on behalf of the Friends World Committee for Consultation during the ‘Torchbearers for the SDGs’ youth consultation on August 11, International Youth Day. The consultation was hosted by the United Nations Envoy on Youth and the Major Group for Children and Youth. The theme of the consultation was Meaningful Youth Engagement and the 2030 Agenda.

Throughout the consultation, participants highlighted a range of issues faced by young people and how youth movements are pushing forward progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In her statement, Sadhbh focused on three points essential to achieving the meaningful engagement of youth at the UN: promises made must be fulfilled; the importance of accountability; and the need for inclusion. The statement stressed that the UN must go beyond simply consulting youth to involving them in policymaking. She went on to highlight that, in order to cultivate trust and faith in multilateralism, young people must be supported to play an active role in the monitoring and implementation of recommendations proposed in UN reports on youth engagement. 

QUNO New York welcomes these opportunities to uplift the voices of young people and looks forward to engaging with future UN youth processes as we move into United Nations 78th General Assembly session this September.

You can watch the full meeting here. The intervention begins at 56:37.