Samarkand Human Rights Web-Forum on Youth 2020: Global Solidarity, Sustainable Development and Human Rights Concept Paper (DRAFT)

GENERAL INFORMATION

The Asian Forum on Human Rights‘Outcomes of the Seventieth Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Challenges and Reality’was held in Samarkand City on November 22 and 23, 2018. The Forum’18 was held as part of the initiative of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sh. M. Mirziyoyev. The forum’s participants familiarized themselves with international practices in measuring progress within the field of human rights,while determining national comparative indicators to formulate the main tasks, directions and forms of the further development and improvement of the activities of legislative, executive and judicial branches of government,within the field of protecting the fundamental rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of citizens, and enhancing their legal culture and awareness.

The Asian Human Rights Forum was attended by representatives of international organizations including the UN, OHCHR, IOM, ILO, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the OSCE/ODIHR, the OIC, the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, the OIC IPHRC and the CIS, as well as foreign experts from 20 countries.

The Samarkand Human Rights Declaration was adopted by the participants of the Asian Human Rights Forum, and approved by the UN General Assembly on February 6, 2019, as a document of the 73rd session[1].

According to the results of the Asian Forum, it was noted that it is important and necessary for this forum to be conducted on a regular basis once every two years, in order to strengthen international and regional cooperation within the field of human rights.

In the year of the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, a “global conversation on the role of global cooperation in building the future we want” began.

As part of the UN75 initiative, Uzbekistan plans to hold a large-scale event to discuss the important and positive role of youth in sustainable development, preventing crises and ensuring gender equality, realizing human rights and building a culture of peace, which constitutes the core of the United Nations Youth Strategy ‘Youth 2030: Working With and For Young People’.

The Samarkand Human Rights Forum is a logical continuation of the Asian Forum. At the 72nd UN General Assembly, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed the development of the UN International Convention on Youth Rights. Uzbekistan has initiated work to create this document. A Draft UN International Convention on Youth Rights has been prepared, and it is planned that this document will be discussedwithin the framework of the Samarkand Forum.

The integrated approach of the Forum is to bring together representatives of state bodies, as well as those of civil society, youth organizations and national human rights institutions, in order to discuss topical issues of ensuring, observing and protecting the rights and freedoms of young people.

At all times youth have been the main resource for ensuring the progress of society. This has not been in vain, because youth is the same period in which a person has already attained an amount of life experience, as well as enough energy to translate plans into reality. That is why the state should implement a competent policy withinthe field of youth. Educated and comprehensively-developed youth are the key to the prosperity of any state.

Currently, with a global youth population of 1.8 billion, there are more young people in the world than ever before. That demographic reality creates unprecedented opportunities for social and economic progress. At the same time many young people see their potential as being hindered by violations of their fundamental rights[2].

Despite the fact that youth is the period of greatest productivity in one’s life, it is also atimewhen a person is vulnerable and needs support. This is also the reason why it is necessary to pay attention to the problems of youth at the state level.

The period of youth is defined differently within different classifications. The UN World Program of Action for Youth sets an age range of 15 to 24 years for youth^[3], which for statistical consistency across regions is applied without prejudice to other definitions by Member States.The UN Security Council Resolution 2250 on youth, peace and security defines the youth age cohort as being aged 18 to 29[4]. In the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the term “youth” refers to people aged 15 to 32 years, while others refer to the age group as being 15 to 29 years. The diversity of this approach can create problems, especially since the challenges faced by 15-year-olds are different from those faced by 29-year-olds.

The complexity of the definition is also shown at a national level, as it varies across countries and regions. According to the OHCHR report, for example, Bosnia and Herzegovina defines ‘youth’ as persons from 15 to 30 years of age, and in Canada as being persons aged 15 to 34 years of age. Honduras defines it as those from 12 to 30 years of age, Mexico from 12 to 29, and Cuba from 15 to 29. In South Sudan and Zimbabwe, youth are those aged 15 to 35 years in accordance with the definition provided by the African Youth Charter[5]. The European Commission defines ‘youth’ as being 15 to 29 years of age.

This diversity of approaches reflects the reality that young people are a mobile and heterogeneous group of individuals, rather than one representing a specific age group.

In reality, “youth”, instead of being a fixed age group, functions as a cultural concept based on the sociocultural context and perceptions of different communities, defined differently in different areas - in the justice system, in the labor market, in the education system, and in the family. It is because of the variability of this concept that even the UN, when it comes to implementing youth policies and strategies at the national level, uses a more flexible approach to the age range and the definition of ‘youth’ than is accepted by the Member State.

The rights of youth imply the use of the fundamental rights and freedoms of young people. These rights are rights that everyone should enjoy, but some of which have been denied because of young age. This phenomenon is also often called ‘ageism’. Ageism affects young people directly through legalized age restrictions, but, more importantly it has an imperceptible effect through negative attitudes, beliefs, prejudices and stereotypes about young people, thereby depriving them of the opportunity to exercise their due rights.

Globally youth participation and representation in institutional political processes and policymaking is low compared to that of other age groups. Young people are not proportionately represented in political institutions, such as in parliaments, political parties and public administrations, thereby fueling disenfranchisement and distrust in formal structures, electoral processes, leaders and policymakers. Legal barriers and others faced by young people in running for public office represent a major obstacle to the promotion of youth participation, particularly in political processes[6].

Less than 2 per cent of parliamentarians worldwide are under the age of 30. According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), young people are underrepresented in parliament for several reasons.Firstly the minimum age required to run for office is often higher than the minimum voting age, requiring a wait in some cases until 25, 35 or even 45 years of age. This is especially true in the case of upper houses, which tend to establish a higher eligibility age.

The results show that where “young” is defined as being under age 30, very few young parliamentarians are elected. The proportion of under-30 parliamentarians exceeds 10 per cent in only five countries, beingNorway, Sweden, San Marino, the Gambia and Finland[7].

There are initiatives around the world that support young people. Adoption of the Security Council resolution 2250 (2015) on youth, peace and security was an important milestone in recognizing the need for youth to take an active role in making and building peace. General Assembly Res. 70/127 of 17 December 2015 and the Human Rights Council resolution 32/1 of 30 June 2016 on youth and human rights has also called for mainstreaming youth rights. The importance of youth rights as a cross-cutting issue was further highlighted in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and youth-related commitments made in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development. In November 2016 the UN Human Rights Council organized a Forum on Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law on the theme ‘Widening the democratic space: the role of youth in public decision-making’.

The progress study on youth, peace and security[8]reflects the positive role that young people can play in maintaining peace. This role was again highlighted during the open debate in the Security Council on Youth, Peace and Security, and at the high-level meeting held on peacebuilding and peacekeeping in April 2018.

The participation of young people in the peacebuilding process is very significant, ranging from the local to the global level and from the early stages of conflict to post-conflict reconstruction, as well as in various forms of violence (for example, conflict, crime, gender-based violence and terrorism).

Governments, UN agencies, National Human Rights Institutions and non-governmental organizations are actively implementing a wide range of initiatives and best practices to empower young people and support their rights at the international and national levels.

The IPU calls on parliaments to encourage the greater participation of young people in political life, including through the creation of a Forum for young parliamentarians.  The ‘Not too young to run’ Campaign, led by the UN Youth Envoy in partnership with UNDP, OHCHR, IPU, the youth initiative to expand and strengthen advocacy, and the European Youth Forum, is based on the premise that if a person is old enough to vote, that person can stand for election.

The global initiative for decent jobs for young people, launched in 2016 under the leadership of the ILO, brings together UN agencies to expand country activities to promote decent jobs for young people through evidence-based activities, knowledge and multi-stakeholder partnerships which contribute to achievingSustainable Development Goals and targets related to youth employment.

The global partnership for education is a multi–stakeholder partnership and funding platform that aims to strengthen education systems in developing countries, and works with youth activists at levels ranging from local to global.

Every year International Youth Day is celebrated on August 12, and each year it is dedicated to a specific topic. As part of the celebration of this day, young men and women around the world are invited to hold events to attract public attention to the problems and situations faced by young people in their country.

The ‘Young Leaders for Sustainable Development Goals’ initiative brings together 17 youth representatives with recognized authority in leading efforts to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, there is a growing number of initiatives to increase the participation of young people in the high-level political forum on sustainable development, and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

At the regional level the Organization of Islamic Cooperation held the Sixth international seminar of the OIC-IPHRC on the theme ‘Importance of Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Youth for Building Peaceful Democratic Societies and Sustainable Development’ on October 7-8, 2019.

The event was organized by the OIC-IPHRC, the Government of Uzbekistan, and OHCHR. It was attended by members of the IPHRC, international experts from OHCHR, the African Union, the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), the Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICFY), the Council of Europe Advisory Council on Youth, representatives of the OIC Member States and Observer States, National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) of foreign countries, and representatives of embassies of the OIC Member States, international organizations in Uzbekistan, representatives of the houses of Parliament, ministries and agencies, national human rights institutions, civil society institutions, and youth organizations from 23 countries.

The final session of the seminar saw the adoption of the final document-the Tashkent Declaration on the Rights of Youth in OIC Member States[9].

SUMMARY OF THE SAMARKAND FORUM ON HUMAN RIGHTS -

CONTEXT AND AIMS OF THE FORUM

The main goal of the Samarkand Forum is to discuss improvements on existing international and regional instruments and mechanisms for the protection and promotion of youth rights, as well as the role of youth in the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the UN World Program on Human Rights Education.

During the Samarkand Forum plans were also made to discuss the draft Convention on the Rights of Youth, which is a new document reflecting the specific rights of youth that are necessary for recognition in the modern world. The existence of an international document of this kind will attract the interest of states in youth issues around the world. The allocation of individual rights for young people will help provide targeted assistance.

EXPECTED RESULTS:

• Objectively analyze the scope of existing international and regional instruments and mechanisms for the protection and promotion of youth rights;
• Identify key issues that young people face in order to fully realize their rights, and examine the impact of current policies and programs related to youth;
• Develop ways and means to improve legal, administrative and policy frameworks with specific recommendations for integrating the rights of young people in all public policies that enable them to make a significant contribution to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals;
• Recommend specific programmes and measures for the implementation of human rights education for youth.

Organizers of the Forum:

National key organizers of the Forum:

The government of the Republic of Uzbekistan, represented by the National Center of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights.

International partners:

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the OHCHR Regional Office for Central Asia, the UN Development Programme, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the OSCE Project Coordinator in Uzbekistan, and other international partners.

Participants

The forum involves about 200 participants, including local and foreign experts, representatives of parliaments, the judiciary, law enforcement agencies, state coordinating bodies for reporting and follow-up, national human rights institutions, youth organizations, civil society organizations, representatives of the media, and representatives of international and regional organizations.

Logistics

Date and location

August 12-13, 2020, Samarkand (via videoconference)

Working languages

Uzbek, Russian and English.

Contact information

National Center of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights:

● Email: info@nhrc.uz / nhrc@mail.ru,

● Phone / Fax: (+ 998 71) 23310 97; 233 12 11

Website:www.asianforum.uz

OVERVIEW OF THE SAMARKAND FORUM

The work of the Samarkand Forum on Human Rights is aimed towards identifying the main ways to implement and improve work within the field of ensuring the rights of youth.

Part I: Development of International Standards for Youth Rights

The United Nations has long recognized that the creativity, ideals and energy of young people are vital for the further development of the societies in which they live. Member States of the United Nations recognized this in 1965, when they endorsed the Declaration on the Promotion among Youth of the Ideals of Peace, Mutual Respect and Understanding between Peoples.[GA1] 

Two decades later, the United Nations General Assembly observed the ‘International Youth Year: Participation, Development and Peace’. It drew attention to the important role young people play in the world, and to their potential contribution to development.

In 1995, on the 10^th anniversary of the International Youth Year, the United Nations strengthened its commitment to youth. It adopted an international strategy, the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond, which attracted the attention of the international community and directed its efforts to addressing the challenges that young people would face in the newmillennium.

In December 1999, the General Assembly, in its resolution 54/120, approved the recommendation of the World Conference of Ministers for Youth (Lisbon, 8-12 August 1998) to declare 12 August as being International Youth Day. Every year International Youth Day, dedicated to a new annual topic, assists in drawing the international community's attention to youth issues and celebrating the potential of youth as a partner in today's global society.

In December 2009, marking the 25th anniversary of the first International Youth Year, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the resolution 64/134 which proclaimed the year beginning 12 August 2010 as the new International Youth Year. The Assembly called on governments, civil society, individuals and communities around the world to support the year's commemorations at local and international levels.

Part II: Youth Rights and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

By 2030, being the target date for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which are on the 2030 Agenda, the number of young people in the world is projected to increase by 7 percent. Because young people are more likely to require more just, equitable and innovative opportunities and solutions in their societies, the need to address the multifaceted challenges faced by young people (such as access to education, health, employment and gender equality) is becoming ever more acute.

Youth can become a positive force for development if they are given the knowledge and opportunities they need to thrive. In particular, young people should receive the education and skills necessary to contribute to the development of a productive economy, and they need access to a labour market that can take them into the labour force.

The main principle of the 2030 Agenda is the commitment that "no one will be forgotten". The Sustainable Development Goals are intended for all countries, all peoples of all ages, and all societies. The universal nature of the 2030 Agenda implies that the interests of young people should be taken into account in all goals and targets. At the same time, youth issues are specifically mentioned in the following four areas: youth employment, adolescent girls, education and sport for peace. In addition, it was recognized that young people are agents of change and are entrusted with the task of unlocking their own potential and building a world fit for future generations.

The well-being, participation and empowerment of young people are key factors for sustainable development and world peace. Achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda requires strong and inclusive partnerships between youth and all stakeholders in order to address the development challenges youth face (such as unemployment, political exclusion, marginalization, access to education and health, and others), and to recognize the positive role of youth as a partner in promoting development and maintaining peace.

While all Sustainable Development Goals are crucial for youth development, the latest edition of the World Youth Report has indicated that their achievements in education and employment are fundamental to the overall development of youth.

Part III: Human Rights Education for Youth

Education is one of the fundamental rights of youth throughout the world. Sustainable Development Goal 4 calls for inclusive and equitable quality education and the promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all. To achieve this, concerted efforts are needed to ensure that young women and men have access to free, fair and quality education, as well as training opportunities tailored to their needs.

The Human Rights Council, in its resolution 39/3 (27 September 2018), decided to make youth the focus group of the fourth phase of the World Programme for Human Rights Education, with special emphasis placed on education and training in equality, human rights and non-discrimination, and inclusion and respect for diversity with the aim of building inclusive and peaceful societies, and to align the fourth phase with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and specifically with target 4.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals, taking into account the synergy between the various concepts and teaching methods mentioned therein.

In addition, it is recommended that states develop comprehensive and Sustainable National Action Plans for Human Rights Education and Training, allocating resources specifically for these purposes.

In December 2011, the General Assembly adopted the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training. This Declaration is disruptive in nature, as it is the first document specifically dedicated to HRE.Therefore it is a valuable tool for promoting and disseminating information on the importance of HRE. The Declaration states that“Everyone has the right to know, seek and receive information about all human rights and fundamental freedoms and should have access to human rights education and training”andthat“Human rights education and training is essential for the promotion of universal respect for and observance of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, in accordance with the principles of the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of human rights”. The Declaration also contains a broad definition of HRE, which includes human rights education, through these rights and in support of these rights.The Declaration gives states primary responsibility to “promote and ensure human rights education and training” (Article 7).

In paragraph 20 of the Samarkand Declaration, it is noted that“the youth is identified as the target group for the fourth stage of the UN World Programme for Human Rights Education, to cooperate with educational institutions, civil society institutions, youth organizations in the field of education and training on equality, human rights and non-discrimination…”.