The State of Qatar has affirmed its keenness on supporting international efforts to implement youth, peace and security agenda in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2250 (2015), announcing the hosting of a high-level global conference on comprehensive peace processes, which will be held in Doha on May 29-30, 2021.

This came in a statement made by HE Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani at a session held in the UN Security Council Arria-formula: ‘Youth, Peace and Security: Capitalizing on Intergenerational Dialogue to build and sustain peace and enhance social cohesion at community levels.’

Her Excellency pointed to the participation of the State of Qatar in 2019 with Finland and Colombia in organizing the first international symposium on youth participation in the peace process, which was held in Helsinki. She referred to the main outcomes of that symposium with a policy paper entitled ‘We are Here: An integrated approach to youth-inclusive peace processes’ which has 17 important recommendations for enhancing youth participation in peace processes.

She praised the cooperation of the State of Qatar in organizing the high-level global conference with Finland and Colombia, the Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy for Youth and the Education Above All Foundation, in addition to a number of relevant United Nations bodies.

She explained that the conference aims to strengthen political will and commitment towards engaging youth in peace processes, and to present progress made in implementing the main recommendations of the global policy paper issued by the first international symposium.

Her Excellency said the outcomes of the conference will include launching guidelines to support implementation at the country level for youth, peace and security agenda, and launching a five-year strategy to promote comprehensive peace processes for youth.

She also expressed confidence that this conference will mark a turning point for the youth, peace and security agenda by generating political commitments at the national level and by promoting an enabling environment for inclusive youth peace processes to become more sustainable.

Her Excellency stressed that the issue of enhancing the participation of young women in peace processes is an integral part of the program, taking into account gender equality in all stages of preparation, implementation and follow-up of the conference outcomes.

Concluding, Her Excellency stressed that the State of Qatar, along with the participating organizers, is working tirelessly to ensure that participation in the conference includes the largest possible number of young men and women from countries in conflict, in addition to the broad participation of countries that play a mediating role in peace processes. (QNA)


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