"유엔 2030 개발의제 성공은 청년들의 참여(參與)에 달려 있습니다."
오준 유엔 경제사회이사회(ECOSOC) 의장이 2일 유엔본부 신탁통치위원회 회의장에서 열린 2016 ECOSOC 청소년 포럼 폐막식에서 논의된 내용과 주요 권고를 포함한 의장 성명을 발표했다.
오준 의장은 성명을 통해 회원국과 다양한 이해관계자들이 2030 개발의제 이행을 위해 청소년과 함께 노력하고 보다 포용적인 참여 프로세스를 만들어 나갈 것이라고 밝혔다.
이어 "지구촌 인구의 절반은 청소년을 비롯한 젊은이들이다. 각국 정부가 2030 개발의제 이행에 이들이 효과적으로 참여할 수 있도록 청년 기업가 정신을 함양(涵養)하고 양성평등 및 소녀 및 여성들의 역량과 의료서비스, 보건교육을 강화해야 한다고 강조했다.
오준 의장은 "평화롭고 포용적인 사회건설을 위해 다양한 정책 결정과정에 청소년들의 참여 기회가 부여됨으로써 지속가능한 개발목표 등 2030 개발의제 이행에 더욱 촉진시켜야 할 것"이라고 덧붙였다.
이번 포럼은 102개국에서 정부 대표단, 청소년 대표 혹은 일반 청소년 참석자를 파견하고 각 회원국 청소년 문제 담당 장관 21명, 국회 및 정부 고위급 인사 등을 포함 1천여명이 참석해 역대 최대 참가 인원을 기록했다.
포럼은 2030 개발의제 이행을 위한 청소년의 참여 방안을 포함, 교육, 청년 고용 및 기업가 정신, 기후변화 대응, 빈곤 및 불평등, 보건, 평화롭고 포용적인 사회 건설, 양성평등 이슈 등 2030 개발의제의 주요 목표 이행 관련 청소년의 역할 등을 논의했다.
이와 함께 청소년이 직면한 다양한 도전을 분석하고, 국제노동기구(ILO) 및 유엔 차원의 '글로벌 청년실업 문제 대응을 위한 이니셔티브(Global Imitative of Decent Jobs for Youth)'를 발표했다.
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PRESIDENTIAL STATEMENT
on the occasion of the 2016 ECOSOC Youth Forum
A key message that emerged from the 2016 ECOSOC Youth forum was the recognition that young people are not only key actors in advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, but they are also directly affected by the challenges the SDGs seek to tackle. One of these challenges is the prevailing employment crisis young people face all across the globe. As President of the Economic and Social Council, I welcome the launch of the UN system’s Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth by the ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, at the opening of our Forum. The Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth, endorsed by the UN’s Chief Executives Board for Coordination, is the first ever comprehensive UN system-wide effort to promote youth employment.
I commend the Global Initiative and its strategy, which represent a unique collaboration and partnership platform to enhance efforts by the UN system and beyond to tackle the youth employment challenge and assist Member States in targeting a crucial goal of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Through strategic alliance building, regional and country-level action, pooling expertise and enhancing knowledge, and innovative and sustainable funding modalities and resource mobilization, this Initiative aims to scale up action and to increase impact through effective, innovative and evidence-based interventions.
Our discussions at the Forum highlighted that the Youth around the world are not mere beneficiaries of the Sustainable Development Goals, but key drivers for the successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The role of young people and their organizations must be recognized as a leading one, as youth take action across all areas crucial for the implementation of the agenda, including in politics, business, academia and civil society. The following key messages and recommendations emerged from our discussions during the Forum:
• Young women and men constitute half of the world’s population, and we need to approach the issue of youth with a sense of urgency. We should not only work for youth, but work with youth to promote sustainable development.
• We need participatory and inclusive political processes for all the diverse voices of youth to be heard, in particular the marginalized young people.
• Youth unemployment continues to be one of the most challenging issues of our time with around 40 per cent of young people in the labour market either unemployed or working in poverty. The challenge is not only to create jobs, but to create decent jobs for young people.
• We must enhance the quality of education and training to meet today’s labour market needs. This requires strengthening partnerships involving the private sector and youth organizations. We also need to promote science, technology, engineering and math education, in particular for women and girls.
• We need to invest in and promote youth entrepreneurship which is considered as a key driver for young people’s economic empowerment as well as for achieving the SDGs.
• Promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls requires action on various fronts to achieve not only SDG5 but all the other sustainable development goals. We need more women in leadership positions both in public and private sector. We need to end all forms of violence against women or girls. We must unlock the full potential of women and girls to turn our societies into more inclusive, peaceful and prosperous ones. To this end, men and boys must be engaged to accelerate societal change.
• Young people need better health education and healthcare that is accessible, affordable and of good quality.
• Youth can foster the innovative use of social media and communication tools to further the call for comprehensive climate action and to follow-up on progress or lack thereof of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and SDG13. We need to promote the organization of youth-led climate change events.
• Youth engagement is imperative for the achievement of SDG16 on peaceful and inclusive societies. Youth are often those most affected by the continuation or outbreak of violent conflicts. Increased participation of the youth in decision-making at all levels is key to conflict resolution, recognizing young people as peace-builders and beacons of hope to overcome war and violence. The adoption of the Security Council Resolution 2250 (2015), which calls for increased representation of youth in decision-making at all levels for the prevention and resolution of conflict, was considered a historic step in recognizing the role and potential of young people.
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