At the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, the United Nations Youth Office, in collaboration with the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, UN Women, and United Nations Population Fund, officially launched the Core Principles for Meaningful Youth Participation in Intergovernmental Processes and Across the Work of the United Nations.
The initiative forms part of broader efforts to strengthen youth engagement globally, ensuring participation is rooted in inclusion, equity, and shared decision-making. The launch also underscored the critical role of young women and girls in shaping meaningful participation frameworks.
Opening the event, Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed urged young people to actively use the Core Principles as tools to hold leaders accountable. She emphasized that the real impact lies in implementation, encouraging youth to engage institutions in translating the principles into action.
She was joined by key global figures including Diene Keita, Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs Felipe Paullier, EU Ambassador Hedda Samson, and youth representative Natalia Tsukuyama.
Speakers highlighted ongoing institutional commitments to youth inclusion. UNFPA is piloting a Youth Marker to track investments in young people, while the European Union has established mechanisms such as the Youth Sounding Board to integrate youth perspectives into policymaking.
Additionally, the EU’s Youth Empowerment Fund aims to address chronic underfunding of youth-led organizations.
Paullier stressed that meaningful youth participation introduces innovation and constructive tension within institutions.
“When young people participate meaningfully, they bring fresh ideas and urgency that challenge traditional systems,” he said, describing it as “creative friction” that drives progress.
Despite growing recognition of youth as key contributors to peacebuilding, climate action, and human rights, participation in global decision-making spaces remains uneven and often limited.
Developed under Action 37(d) of the Pact for the Future, the Core Principles seek to address these gaps by providing practical, rights-based guidance that promotes inclusive, safe, and accountable participation.
Youth advocate Daphne Frias emphasized that the Principles respond to longstanding demands for genuine power-sharing. “This space belongs to us too,” she said, challenging the notion that youth should feel privileged merely to be included.
The discussion also featured Rui Vinhas, Patricia Kavinya, and Angélica Jácome, who explored practical ways governments and UN bodies can better support youth leadership.
A recurring theme throughout the event was the interconnectedness of youth participation and gender equality. Speakers stressed that removing structural barriers remains essential to ensuring that young women, girls, and marginalized groups can fully engage in decision-making processes.
The launch marks the beginning of a new phase, with stakeholders calling for sustained commitment to implementation. As Tsukuyama noted, the success of the initiative now depends on collective action to turn principles into practice.