A/HRC/39/33 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted to the Human Rights Council pursuant to resolution 35/14 on youth and human rights, in which the Council requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in consultation with and taking into account the views of States and relevant stakeholders, including relevant United Nations agencies, the treaty bodies, the special procedures of the Council, national human rights institutions, civil society and representatives of youth organizations, to conduct a detailed study on the implementation of human rights with regard to young people, the identification of cases of discrimination against young people in the exercise of their human rights, and best practices in the full and effective enjoyment of human rights by young people, highlighting the contribution of empowered youth to the realization of human rights in society. 2. Pursuant to that request, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) solicited contributions and received 95 responses from States, national human rights institutions, civil society and youth organizations. 1 3. In addition to those contributions, the present report builds on the conclusions of the expert meeting on the human rights of youth, organized by OHCHR in 2013, 2 the Forum on Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law convened in December 2016 3 and the regional consultation on youth and human rights organized by the European Youth Forum and OHCHR in March 2018.4 4. In the context of the present report, the terms “youth” and “young people” are used interchangeably. II. Call for action 5. 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 hindered by violations of their fundamental rights. 6. Young people worldwide are three times more likely than adults to be unemployed, meaning that about 71 million young people are looking for work. When they do find work, they generally labour in far more precarious conditions than adults and often without equal pay for equal work. In addition, some 263 million children and youth are out of school, 5 which makes the transition to the labour market even more difficult, owing to a lack of education and skills. Many countries struggling to implement the right to education and the right to work for their young people are also anticipating substantial growth in their youth population, thereby facing a twofold challenge in the years to come. 7. In recent years, young people have increasingly been rising up worldwide, fighting for their rights and demanding political reforms and better opportunities, which leads to significant political changes in many countries. Yet their rights to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression are often poorly respected, and their participation in public life is frequently restricted to consultation exercises, rather than meaningful participation in decisions and processes that have profound implications for their future. There is an urgent need for strengthened inclusion of young people in politics and public decision-making. However, it is telling that around the world only 1.65 per cent of parliamentarians are in their 20s.6 1 2 3 4 5 6 Available at www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Youth/Pages/HROfYouth.aspx. Ibid. See www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Democracy/Pages/Session1.aspx. See www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Youth/Pages/HROfYouth.aspx. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, “Leaving no one behind: how far on the way to universal primary and secondary education?”, Policy Paper No. 27, July 2016. See www.un.org/esa/socdev/documents/youth/fact-sheets/youth-political-participation.pdf. 3