A/HRC/34/46 Reference was made to the regional experiences in Latin America and Africa and to the Ibero-American Convention and the African Youth Charter, and to the potential benefits of a youth-specific binding instrument provided that such an instrument comprehensively addressed the fast-evolving challenges and needs of today’s young generation. 67. The possibility of establishing new mechanisms to strengthen the protection of the rights of youth at the international level was also discussed. Participants referred to the possibility of creating a dedicated new special procedure of the Human Rights Council. Reference was also made to a possible joint general comment on the rights of youth to be adopted by human rights treaty bodies. Participants were of the view that, aside from any new mandate, mechanism or instrument, more efforts should be deployed to make better use of existing human rights monitoring mechanisms, including by mainstreaming youth rights in the work of those mechanisms and by strengthening the implementation of States’ human rights obligations at the national level. It was also suggested that the Council should consider requesting the submission of a report containing an in-depth analysis of the obstacles faced by young people in the exercise of their human rights. It was also recommended that guidance be developed for States regarding the adoption and implementation of rights-based approaches to national youth policies. 68. Participants acknowledged that the United Nations had made good progress in making youth rights visible across the system, including through the creation of the mandate of the Special Envoy of the Secretary General on Youth and the adoption by the Security Council of resolution 2250 (2015). Nevertheless, much more needed to be done, for instance, with regard to the establishment of a youth delegate programme in all countries and the systematic inclusion of youth delegates in States’ delegations to the various United Nations organs and bodies. That would be particularly important for engaging and obtaining the support of older generations of decision makers in ensuring that youth rights were a priority in the United Nations system, as “youth speaking to youth” would not be likely to change anything. Participants agreed that the Human Rights Council should offer more channels and entry points for the voices of youth, particularly in the light of its mandate as the main body responsible for the global promotion and protection of human rights. In that context, participants welcomed the panel on youth and human rights that had been held during the thirty-third session of the Council. B. Recommendations 69. International and regional intergovernmental organizations should ensure that their member States’ legal and policy frameworks guarantee the effective promotion and protection of the human rights of youth, including the inclusive, full and effective participation of youth in decision-making. 70. States should guarantee the right of young people, individually and in association with others, to unhindered access to, and communication with, international bodies, in particular the United Nations, its representatives and human rights mechanisms. They should create the conditions to support the participation of young people in regional and international forums and, in particular, their engagement with regional and international human rights mechanisms. This should include the removal of barriers to their meaningful participation, such as undue restrictions placed on the sources of funding of youth associations and overly restrictive legislation on freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, and freedom of movement. 71. States should consider creating mechanisms to ensure effective and meaningful participation of youth in the work of the Human Rights Council, including through youth consultative mechanisms and the participation of youth in relevant discussions, 17