A/HRC/40/31 56. With regard to work, States have pledged in the Sustainable Development Goals to create conditions for sustainable, inclusive and sustained economic growth, shared prosperity and decent work and to work to build dynamic, sustainable, innovative and people-centred economies, promoting youth employment and women’s economic empowerment, in particular decent work. 41 57. In relation to education and its role in promoting the realization of the right to work by building a skilled workforce, targets 4.3 and 4.4 aim, respectively, to ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education and to increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship. 58. As observed above, the widening gender gap that persists in education and in employment affects youth enormously. The achievement of Goal 5 on gender equality and women and girls’ empowerment (particularly targets 5.4, 5.5 and 5.a) in the realization of the rights to education, health, social security, decent work and political participation would be essential in promoting youth’s empowerment. 59. In considering the relationship between the realization of the right to work of youth and the implementation of relevant targets of the Sustainable Development Goals, it is important to recognize that these goals and targets, if implemented according to States’ obligations under human rights law, can be a useful framework to guide and assess States’ efforts in this area. B. United Nations initiatives 60. To respond to the challenges faced by youth, the Secretary-General identified working with and for young people as one of the Organization’s priorities. The recent United Nations Youth Strategy, 42 designed in close collaboration with the SecretaryGeneral’s Envoy on Youth, confirms that the priority areas for youth are participation in public affairs, access to quality education and health and decent work. A tool launched for the implementation of the Youth Strategy is the new multi-stakeholders partnership platform called Generation Unlimited, which aims to ensure that every young person is in quality education, learning, training or employment by 2030. The partnership 43 platform focuses on three key areas: secondary-age education; skills for learning, employability and decent work; and empowerment. 61. On the issue of decent work, the ILO-led Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth, the first comprehensive United Nations system-wide effort for the promotion of youth employment worldwide, was launched in New York in February 2016. It brings together the United Nations and other key global partners, including businesses, academic institutions and youth organizations to maximize the effectiveness of youth employment investments and assist Member States in delivering on the 2030 Agenda.44 62. In December 2017, ILO produced the Guide to International Labour Standards and Rights at Work concerning Young People,45 a tool that aims at helping decision makers and practitioners at national and local levels to appreciate the diverse dimensions of the youth 41 42 43 44 45 For more information see the OHCHR report on the relationship between the realization of the right to work and the implementation of relevant targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (A/HRC/37/32). “Youth 2030, Working With and For Young People” (New York, September 2018). The partnership includes, among others, the President of Rwanda, the World Bank Group President, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union, the Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, and the Chief Executive Officer of Unilever and a Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Children’s Fund. See www.ilo.org/global/topics/youth-employment/databases-platforms/global-initiative-decentjobs/lang--en/index.htm. See www.ilo.org/global/standards/information-resources-and-publications/publications/ WCMS_613959/lang--en/index.htm. 11