A/HRC/40/31 I. Introduction 1. The present report has been prepared pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 37/16, which requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare an analytical report on the relationship between the realization of the right to work and the enjoyment of all human rights by young people, with an emphasis on their empowerment, in accordance with States’ respective obligations under international human rights law, and to indicate major challenges and best practices in that regard. 2. For the preparation of the report, and as requested by the Council, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) consulted States, United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, including the International Labour Organization (ILO), as well as the treaty bodies, the special procedures, civil society and national human rights institutions. A questionnaire was sent to relevant stakeholders, to which 32 responses were received as of the submission of the report.1 3. The report builds upon previous reports of the High Commissioner on the right to work,2 as well as on youth and human rights.3 The latter, in particular, highlights how youth experience violence, sexual violence, lack of access to sexual and reproductive health services, abuse as people on the move, and lack of political participation and education and work opportunities. 4. In the report, the High Commissioner provides an overview of the barriers youth face in enjoying their rights to access and participate in the labour market and highlights that targeted measures based on a human rights framework can overcome these barriers. II. Youth and the right to work A. Major challenges in accessing and participating in the labour market4 5. The transition from childhood to adulthood is a crucial life stage characterized by growing opportunities and capacities. Socioeconomic, legal and political environments in which young people live have a tremendous impact on the development of young people’s full potential and the enjoyment of their rights. 6. Today, the world hosts the largest generation of young people in history.5 There are 1.2 billion young people between the ages of 15 and 24, most of whom live in developing countries.6 Countries with relatively young populations have the potential of a demographic dividend if these young people can have opportunities for education and productive engagement in the labour force. However, youth unemployment is a concern virtually everywhere in the world. According to a report by ILO, Global Employment Trends for Youth 2017, young people are three times more likely than adults to be unemployed and an estimated 70 million young people were unemployed in 2017. 1 2 3 4 5 6 2 Responses to the questionnaire and other inputs are available at the following OHCHR web page: www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/ESCR/Pages/YouthRightToWork.aspx. A/HRC/37/32, A/HRC/34/29 and A/HRC/31/32. A/HRC/39/33. Based on ILO, World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2017 (Geneva, 2017). There is no agreed definition of “youth”. The United Nations has traditionally used the age range from 15 to 24 years, however, it is not used consistently. The Security Council, for example, defines “youth” as 18 to 29 years of age, others use the age range from 10 to 24 or 15 to 32. This lack of coherence can be problematic as the situation and the challenges faced by a 10-year-old are very different from those faced by a 29-year-old. For the purpose of the present report, youth does not include people younger than 15 years, and applies the most expansive understanding of the upper limit where that best serves the interest of human rights. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, World Population Prospects: the 2017 Revision – Key Findings and Advance Tables (New York, 2017), p. 10.