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The CTBTO Youth Group (CYG) applauds the unanimous passing of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2419, which reaffirms the Council’s commitment to the full implementation of UNSCR 2250 on Youth Involvement in Peace and Security.
The CYG was founded a month after the passing of UNSCR 2250, and since its inception, it has proven to be a meaningful example of the power of including youth in revitalising global peace and security processes. As a group of young leaders, we realize that we will inherit the consequences of today’s conflicts and are concerned about our representation in processes that seek to mitigate violence.
While nuclear weapons testing has dramatically decreased, its bold signature on the planet is an omnipresent reminder of the perils of nuclear armament. In realizing this, the CYG strives to raise awareness amongst current – and future – decision-makers on the risks we still face due to the lack of a legally enforced ban on nuclear testing.
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), and its robust scientific and technical verification system, is a central pillar of global non-proliferation security architecture and should be respected as such. Furthermore, it demonstrates the possibility to build a universal decision-making system based on facts and mutual understanding and not on interests and ideologies.
However, the treaty’s profile must be raised so it can again be placed on the agenda of non-ratifying states and eventually enter into force. Recent developments on the Korean Peninsula provide an opportunity to strengthen the norm against nuclear testing, but such a norm must be codified and cemented by the immediate entry-into-force of the CTBT.
The creation of a safer world is an urgent task. We do not have the luxury of repeating past mistakes. It is therefore of utmost importance that young people be proactively integrated into international security decision-making.
In both aforementioned resolutions, the Council calls on all relevant actors to consider ways for increasing the representation of young people when negotiating and implementing peace agreements, recognizing that their marginalization is detrimental to building sustainable peace.
During the three years between the two resolutions, a progress study was undertaken to determine how to fulfill this goal, as well as many others. The CYG endorses the three core recommendations of this study:
- First, it is critical to invest in young people’s capacities, agency, and leadership through substantial funding support, network-building, and capacity-strengthening, recognizing the full diversity of youth and the ways young people organize.
- Second, the systems that reinforce exclusion must be transformed in order to address the structural barriers limiting youth participation in peace and security.
- Third, partnerships and collaborative action, where young people are viewed as equal and essential partners for peace, must be prioritized.
About the authors: CTBTO Youth Group (CYG) members actively engage in promoting the CTBT and its verifcation regime. By helping raise awareness of the importance of the treaty, the CYG aims to revitalize the discussion around the CTBT among decision-makers, academia, students, the public, and media. The views expressed in this statement are made in the personal capacity of the authors and not on behalf of the CTBTO or of the CYG as a whole.
The CTBTO Youth Group is open to all students and young graduates who are interested in contributing to global peace and security. Please join us! Learn More: https://youthgroup.ctbto.org #Youth4CTBT
Signatories (A-Z):
- Aaron Joshua Pinto
- Adi Pick
- Aditi Malhotra
- Agata Fernandes Swiatkiewicz
- Ahmed Al Balushi
- Ahmed Amponsah Fordjour
- Ahmed Yunisi
- Ahsan Chaudhary
- Aidyn Mukambayev
- Aldilla Ratri
- Ali Shahabi
- Anna Schaeffer
- Anna Umerenko
- Arashu Onodera
- Arthur Shirichena
- Artyom Botov
- Ayca Eda Akgun
- Baruch Malewich
- Benjamin Boateng
- Caitlin McLain
- Carlos Rodriguez
- Chak Vanthy
- Christabel Okpalefe
- Daeyoung Kim
- Daria Gerasimenko
- Didier Birimwiragi Namogo
- Emmanuel Acholla
- Fredrick Meni
- Gohar Altaf
- Grace Liu
- Haithm Alworafi
- Hamdi Sheikh
- Hamma Dit Amirou Toure
- Heng Qin
- Iddrisu Awal
- Isabella Mason
- Janice Angengo
- Jaona Andriamampandry
- Joel Obengo
- Joelle El Sawalhi
- Joelle Maga
- Jonah Glick-Unterman
- Karen Nguna Masila
- Khedidja Benkattas
- Kinuthia Mwangi
- Kwame Adu-Tekyi
- Kwangwari Marimira
- Lindsey Ricchi
- Louis Reitmann
- Lucien Manzaba
- Lydiah Kamau
- Magdalene Wanyaga
- Maral Mirshahi
- Margaret Rowland
- Marianna Arghamanyan
- Marius Jano
- Mary Dickson
- Maximilian Hoell
- Metin Dokumacı
- Michael Buechl
- Mohamed Mahmoud Mounja
- Mohamed Yunisi
- Moses Karinga
- Muhammad Abro
- Muhammad Minhaj Khan
- Muhammad Qasim
- Muhindo Kasay Georges
- Nada Taboun
- Nathalie Mayer
- Nepeina Kseniia
- Ngonyo Gandi
- Nina Yameogo
- Nir Hassid
- Olesia Pecani
- Paul Ploberger
- Peeyush Jain
- Philip Boahene
- Prince Akor
- Rakotondraibe Tsiriandrimanana
- Rana Al-Abboodi
- Rauan Zhaksybergen
- Regina Osei-Bonsu
- Rizwan Asghar
- Rosemary Anane Krah
- Sabina Begic
- Saddam Shah
- Sahil Shah
- Samuel Luyckx
- Sebastian Brixey-Williams
- Setou Ouattara
- Shizuka Kuramitsu
- Shunji Fueki
- Simon Herteleer
- Sitakanta Mishra
- Sitara Noor
- Sophie Kipkwony
- Sufian Ullah
- Sweta Basak
- Sylvia Mishra
- Uzbekov Abylay
- Yaa Prempeh
- Yasemin Korkusuz Öztürk
- Yasmin de Fraiture
- Yvonne Durowaa Ntow
- Zoe Levornik
