Click here for the Youth Delegates of this year: 2010

The role of a youth delegate

The World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond calls upon Member States to:

"Include Youth Representatives in their national delegations to the General Assembly and other relevant United Nations meetings, thus enhancing and strengthening the channels of communication through the discussion of youth related issues, with a view to find solutions to the problems confronting youth in the contemporary world."

 While the role of a youth delegate varies within delegations, most youth delegates draft and deliver a statement to the Third Committee of the GA on an issue relating to, or of importance to, youth. Furthermore by cooperating with the missions of their countries and through attending a range of meetings, receptions and informal negotiations youth delegates have the possibility to give input to deliberations about youth issues at the UN GA, in particular the resolutions on “policies and programmes involving youth”.
In recent years youth delegates have been more and more effective in giving their input to resolutions. Nevertheless one needs to keep in mind that progress in UN resolution-texts is always a very slow process. You cannot expect to make great leaps at one GA, such as including entirely new and far reaching clauses. Something like that takes several years of continuous work. However, youth delegates at each GA can work towards strengthening existing phrases to the benefit of young people.

In addition to giving input to the resolutions on “policies and programmes involving youth”, the youth delegates work together to promote and further youth participation and input at the UN. They do so by organising a side event on one of the youth issues on the agenda and by lobbying delegations to include youth delegates in the future. Some youth delegates participate in the general work of their Missions by providing assistance in monitoring general debates and drafting reports. The length of time the youth representatives are based in New York ranges from one week to eight weeks.

Before departing to New York, many youth delegates conduct tours of schools, universities and youth-led organizations. On these tours, they hear the views of young people about the youth-related issues on the agenda of the GA. On their return from New York, many youth delegates again tour schools and universities to share their experiences from the GA with other young people. This serves to educate young people about the UN and international politics, as well as encourage youth to get involved with decision making processes in their own communities.