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GENERAL ASSEMBLY
58th Session Item 106
STATEMENT BY
Finn Myrstad
Youth Representative
New York, 7 October 2003
Mr Chairman,
A wise person once said: “You have not inherited the world from your parents; you have borrowed it from your children.”
This is important to have in mind when decisions are made at the national and international level.
- Too many young people are losing hope because the making of joint decisions to reach common solutions seems difficult.
- Too many young people are also losing hope because many people are denied their basic human rights.
- Too many young people live in conditions that deprive them from the hope for a better future.
Many of these are young people in armed conflicts.
Mr. Chairman
I am one of two youth representatives from Norway to the UN General Assembly. It is an honour for me to get the chance to speak to you, to speak in the Assembly that I consider the most important in the world. But it is sad to see that I am one of very few youth representatives in this UN General Assembly
Young people should be natural partners in decision-making. One easy measure should be to include youth representatives in delegations to relevant international fora. Not because we are the future leaders of the world, but because we are already an important part of society. The UN will become more democratic if young people are represented.
Young people do not have the time for festive words without substance. As 1/5 of the population, we should have a say in matters concerning us at the local, national and international levels. As the Secretary-General also states in the World Youth Report submitted this year: “Youth participation can lead to better decisions and outcome.” I know it will, it does already.
As an example: Involving youth organisations in Africa has lead to better and more efficient ways of increasing awareness regarding HIV/AIDS. Youth understand youth. Youth communicate with youth. This knowledge must be used when decisions are made.
Mr Chairman,
A 15-year old girl was abducted at night from her home by the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) in the North of Uganda. This was her plea:
“I would like you to give a message. Please do your best to tell the world what is happening to us, the children. So that other children don’t have to pass through this violence.”
Unfortunately her story does not stand alone. According to the World Youth Report more than 300.000 children under the age of 18 are fighting in armed conflicts world-wide. Many of them are abducted. Some are even forced to kill friends and family members. There is reason to believe that girls and young women are particularly vulnerable both as child soldiers and to other forms of abuse in armed conflict. Children must be rescued – not be victims of war.
As stated in the World Youth Report, over 2 million children have been killed in armed conflicts during the last decade. How many more have been physically and mentally injured, how many have been deprived of their material and emotional needs? I dare not think. This is a serious problem. Currently there are children and youth fighting as soldiers in 49 countries, according to the World Youth Report. We urge all parties that are making use of children as soldiers to try to solve the conflicts peacefully. Children, defined under the Convention on the Rights of the Child as being under the age of 18, should not under any circumstances be fighting or in other ways be victimised in armed conflict.
Therefore:
- We urge the countries not having done so to ratify and comply with the Convention on the right of the Child.
- We further urge countries to incorporate the Convention on the right of the Child into their national law.
- We urge all countries to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, known as “The Child Soldiers Protocol”. This protocol was a dramatic breakthrough to end the use of children as soldiers, and each country should ratify it and build it into national legislation.
- We urge all nations to support the International Criminal Court and apply the rule-of-law to fight impunity.
- We urge stricter control of illegal proliferation of small arms and light weapons fuelling conflicts. We have seen too many times how easy access to weapons can make even young children effective killing machines.
- We urge that all peace negotiations must include specific measures to demobilise and reintegrate child soldiers into society.
Mr Chairman,
Why is it so much easier to raise money for war and military budgets than for conflict-prevention and poverty-reduction? This is to me a disturbing paradox.
No wonder young people loose hope in a future of peace, co-operation and sustainable development.
We all have a great responsibility on our hands. Let us use this responsibility wisely, and act in such a way that we don’t lose hope in our selves.
Involve youth in decision-making and care for the youth in conflict areas. Support concrete measures both in resolutions on youth, but also in every document, every national policy, every international agreement you make.
Remember; “You have not inherited the world from your parents; you have borrowed it from your children.” Thank you.
Sist endret: 09.10.03