コモン・アジェンダのフォローアップ：総会業務に対するより有意義なユース・エンゲージメントに係る会合における木村大使ステートメント

Thank you, Mr. President.
 
I would like to commend your initiative and the efforts made by the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, Ms. Wickramanayake, and her office.
 
I would like to take this opportunity to state the following three propositions.
 

1. Firstly, the voices of youth should be heard in a more institutionalized way, including within the Youth Forum under the ECOSOC. I believe that we can institutionalize the participation and engagement of youth in intergovernmental spaces if we can take stock of more good practices. At the UN, we should consider how we can develop these experiences and make the best use of the existing Youth Forum.

 

2. Secondly, at the informal meeting of the GA to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the UN Volunteers Programme and the 20^th anniversary of the International Year of volunteers on December 2nd last year, we listened to a passionate speech of an International UN Youth Volunteer who stressed that volunteerism is an entry point for youth to contribute to the advancement of the SDGs. We should have more opportunities to hear the voices of youth volunteers. Creating an opportunity to exchange ideas with the UN Youth Volunteers working in different UN Organizations could also be an efficient way to incorporate their voices in the decision-making process of the UN.

 

3. Lastly, youth engagement has been an essential element of the ongoing preparations for the upcoming Transforming Education Summit (TES). We believe that the outcomes of the TES will be a driving force to realize meaningful changes for future generations by reflecting the voices of youth, which should inform the recommendations to be made by the Envoy on Youth.

 
We look forward to continuing working with the Secretary-General’s Envoy and her office to advance this important agenda.
 
Thank you very much.