A/HRC/35/7
report on the obstacles young people faced in accessing their rights. Guidelines should
be made available to States on a human rights-based approach to youth policies, and
the voices of young people and their organizations should be taken into account in the
universal periodic review. Furthermore, a joint statement should be made by the
human rights treaty bodies on the rights of young people.
35.
Panellists recalled that relevant national measures and policies concerning
youth must be in line with international human rights standards, including with
regard to the accountability of duty bearers. It was important to ensure that young
people were actually listened to, as token participation did not enable the building of
citizenship. There was not a gap in the human rights framework, but rather shortfalls
in implementation and monitoring. Steps were needed to strengthen and coordinate
existing efforts in that respect.
36.
The moderator concluded the discussion, noting that the challenges that young
people faced were multifaceted and required integrated, comprehensive responses
from States, international organizations and other stakeholders. The panel discussion
had demonstrated that the protection and promotion of young people’s rights and
well-being must be among the international community’s highest priorities. Young
people faced many challenges, including a lack of respect for their rights to life,
health, education and freedom of conscience, and discrimination on the grounds of
sexual orientation, in addition to a lack of employment and adequate education. States
had both a practical imperative and a moral obligation to pay greater attention to the
issues facing youth and to work with them to define concrete measures to address
those challenges.
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