A/HRC/34/46 accessible institutions that functioned fairly and impartially. In that regard, he recalled the role of young people as key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, including goal 16, to promote peaceful and inclusive societies, access to justice for all and effective, inclusive and accountable institutions at all levels, leaving no one behind. 8. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights recalled that honest, effective, democratically operated and responsive Governments was one of the top priorities for today’s younger generation. He stressed that a society that did not fully respect everyone’s equal right to participate was fundamentally unsound. He emphasized the importance of the protection of fundamental rights, such as the right to freedom of opinion and expression, to ensure that State institutions were accountable and grounded in service to the people. He regretted that younger generations were not adequately represented in political institutions such as parliaments and in political parties and public administrations, thereby fuelling disenfranchisement and distrust in formal structures, electoral processes, leaders and policymakers. The High Commissioner stressed the need to help young people regain trust in formal structures and to remove barriers to their meaningful participation. He further called for concrete action in response to youth’s concerns, and emphasized that the contribution of young people was vital to providing an adequate response to current challenges; they needed to stand up for others, be the voice for the common good, and act to support inclusion, equality and human dignity for years to come. 9. Mr. Alhendawi invited participants to reflect on how young people understood democracy today and why the most engaged generation in history was not given adequate access to politics and policymaking. Politicians tended not to prioritize the issues that mattered to youth, as young people were trapped in a vicious cycle of political marginalization; large proportions of the young did not vote, while the majority of people over the age of 65 did. That contributed to young people’s withdrawal from a system that often did not represent them, leading to even greater levels of distrust, and even lower voter turnouts. Legal and other barriers faced by young people in running for public office represented a major obstacle to the promotion of youth participation, particularly in the political process. He urged that the narrative with regard to young people be changed to address youth “rights” rather than youth “issues”; that would address those concerns more accurately and acknowledge the related human rights obligations to be fulfilled by duty bearers. He also reflected on the recent advances made in the relevant normative framework, such as Human Rights Council resolution 32/1 on youth and human rights, Security Council resolution 2250 (2015), the importance of youth rights as a cross-cutting issue in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and youth-related commitments made in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development. He expressed the hope that the Forum, the first United Nations meeting to focus on widening the democratic space by strengthening youth participation, would offer an opportunity for frank discussions and would result in concrete recommendations to support the international community in advancing young people’s rights worldwide. 10. Mr. Mukashev emphasized that the skills, energy and ideals of young people were vital for strengthening democratic institutions and building inclusive societies without discrimination. He stressed the importance of protecting and respecting human rights and creating a conducive environment to allow youth to thrive and develop their potential, contribute to strengthening democratic institutions and build inclusive societies. He reminded government representatives of their role in mobilizing resources and ensuring that young people’s issues received specific institutional attention, and welcomed the increase in recent years in the number of policies focusing on youth and the establishment of dedicated youth structures at the national level. Such policies and structures contributed to creating the conditions for increased participation of youth in public life, including in shaping the 2030 Agenda, and in the work of international organizations, including through 4