On Wednesday, October 17th, I had the opportunity to attend (and participate in) the presentation of the Youth Report companion of the Machel Study 10-Year Strategic Review to the UN. The Youth Report is a culmination of work by GYAN in partnership with UNICEF, UNFPA, and other NGO partners that presents the voices of youth from conflict-affected areas. Their thoughts and ideas were collected as a key contribution to the Machel Review through a series of focus group discussions and an online questionnaire. Capturing the voices of some 1700 young people, the group discussions included children and young people who have experienced conflict themselves, with many of the participants speaking about how their own lives have been affected. The report itself is written in first person, much different from any other UN report, and highlights significant elements of a child's life in conflict.

The Machel 10-Year Strategic Review is an assessment of the work done since the initial study of the effect of armed conflict on children by Graca Machel. This study brought about the position of the Special Representative to the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict (SRSG-CAAC), and several intiatives by UN agencies, NGOs, governments and regional organizations for concrete action. The 10-Year Strategic Review provides the findings of the current SRSG-CAAC, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, during several visits to conflict areas, and including recommendations for future action as well. One important suggestion is the participation of youth in decision-making. The presentation of the Youth Report is an important element in the Strategic Review, and reinforces the need for youth voices in the ongoing discussion on armed conflict.

The Youth Report was presented by four young people from conflict-affected areas, and included presentations from the sponsoring member state, Norway, the SRSG-CAAC, Radhika Coomaraswamy, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Ms. Hilde Johnson, and the Deputy Executive Director of UNFPA, Ms. Mari Simonen. Well-attended despite the conflicting Stand-Up Against Poverty! program that same morning, the moving presentation featured readings from the report by the youth participants, and a corresponding slideshow. Copies of the Youth Report were available and the young people had the chance to meet and take photos with the high-level representatives from the UN organizations.

However, the difficulties and problems facing the presentation of the Youth Report may be more evocative than what was actually said and presented. The team working on the presentation faced several obstacles; first and foremost, they were barred from presenting to the General Assembly alongside of the Strategic Review. In addition, the difficulties in bringing youth from conflict countries was indicative of the refusal by many states to acknowledge the significance of youth voices at the UN. It was quite disheartening to learn of young people refused visas to travel to New York and present their report. In addition, the work to censor the words of the young people demonstrated the inability of UN organizations and delegates to truly listen to these voices. The demands presented at the end of the reading, a crucial element of the Youth Report, unfortunately, will go unheeded as long as their voices remain suppressed.


Read the Youth Report, and endorse the demands of the young people by signing the online petition.

Yesterday I attended a discussion on the theme “Protecting Migrants from Trafficking and Forced Labor” organized by the U.S. Department of State and Human Rights Watch at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. I haven’t been to the U.N. so far with GYAN, but this discussion still felt properly official – lots of security, flags galore, obnoxious constant camera flashes. The two speakers were Ambassador Mark P. Lagon, the director of the Office to Monitor & Combat Trafficking in Persons at the U.S. Department of State and Kenneth Roth, the Executive Director of Human Rights Watch. They each spoke about the current vulnerability of migrants to physical and sexual abuse, labor abuses and forced labor, exploitation, and discrimination. This was followed by a question and answer session during which attendees could make statements, announcements, and ask questions. Those attending included representatives from various N.G.O’s, U.N. departments, and even a few diplomats.

I was definitely the youngest person in attendance, which is disappointing as young people, and especially young women are particularly vulnerable to this kind of exploitation. About 30% of global migrants are youth, many of whom are successful and whose remittances are an important financial benefit for the development of their home countries. However many migrants are exploited, amounting to forced labor/slavery and human trafficking, often with little to no legal protection. The United States State Department estimated that out of all those trafficked across international borders each year, approximately 80 percent are women and girls and up to 50 percent are minors.

One of the first questions asked was about how NGOs could better address these issues as governments themselves seem unwilling to confront them. The point made was that nations do not want to admit abuses occur, and often officials are unwilling to confront other nations about the abuse of their citizens for fear of losing emigration privileges and remittance money. The U.S. ambassador said he was supportive of the United Nations trying to convince member nations to respect, work with, and see NGOs as legitimate agents for positive change. His comments reflected the constant debate on UN - Civil Society Relations

In answer to this same question, Kenneth Roth discussed possible plans of action to counter this unwillingness to address the issue. What he suggested was that a regional group of nations could be formed as a block, so that nations with less bargaining power could not be singled out. This would give them greater leverage power to win protections for their citizens abroad, as well as protect them from the possible repercussions of raising the issue. I was delighted by this idea, the obvious strength of networking and communication to promote shared goals.

Mr. Roth ended on an interesting note. Central to protecting the rights of migrant workers and indeed to the success of the 21st century, is a shift in the way we see human migration. He said that as globalization will only increase human migration across the globe, continuing to see a person’s movement across national boundaries as a potential merit for being thrown in prison will continue to erode international human rights and global stability. A person’s location should never deprive them of their rights. Finally he recommended a major task for the next generation of young people to be redefining the rights of migrants and easing the human and economic costs of migration.