United Nations Security Council Resolution 2419 – Maintenance of international peace and security
Resolution 2419 (2018)
The Security Council,
Reaffirming its commitment to the full implementation of resolution 2250 (2015),
Recalling its resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1889 (2009), 1960 (2010), 2106 (2013), 2122 (2013) and 2242 (2015) on Women, Peace and Security and all relevant Statements of its President,
Recalling also its resolutions on Countering Terrorism including 2178 (2014), 2195 (2014), 2354 (2017), 2395 (2017) and 2396 (2017) and the Statement of its President S/PRST/2015/11,
Recalling further its resolutions 1265 (1999) and 1894 (2009) on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict,
Recalling its resolutions 1645 (2005), 2282 (2016) and 2413 (2018) on the peacebuilding architecture and the Statements of its President on Post-Conflict Peacebuilding S/PRST/2012/29 and S/PRST/2015/2,
Noting that the term youth is defined in the context of this resolution as persons of the age of 18–29 years old, and further noting the variations of definition of the term that may exist on the national and international levels, including the definition of youth in the General Assembly Resolutions A/RES/50/81 and A/RES/56/117,
Bearing in mind the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the primary responsibility of the Security Council under the Charter for the maintenance of international peace and security,
Reaffirming the importance of promoting the United Nations’ ability to deliver on its founding determination to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war and putting emphasis on preventive diplomacy, mediation and good offices, peacekeeping, peacebuilding, and sustaining peace,
Reaffirming also the important and positive contribution youth can make to the efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security,
Reaffirming further the important role youth can play in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and as a key aspect of the sustainability, inclusiveness and success of peacekeeping and peace building efforts,
Reaffirming the importance of national ownership and leadership in peacebuilding, whereby the responsibility for sustaining peace is broadly shared by the Government and all other national stakeholders,
Reaffirming also the primary responsibility of national governments and authorities in identifying, driving and directing priorities, strategies and activities for peacebuilding and sustaining peace and emphasizes that inclusivity, including by ensuring full and effective participation of youth without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status is key to advancing national peacebuilding processes and objectives in order to ensure that the needs of all segments of society are taken into account,
Recognizing the importance of civil society, including community-based civil society, youth, the private sector, academia, think tanks, media, women, and cultural, educational, and religious leaders in increasing awareness about the threats of terrorism and more effectively tackling them,
Emphasizing the importance of a comprehensive approach to peacebuilding and sustaining peace, particularly through the prevention of conflict and addressing its root causes at all stages of conflict,
Recognizing the important contribution of an integrated approach in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,
Expressing concern over the increased use, in a globalized society, by terrorists and their supporters of new information and communication technologies, in particular the Internet, for the purposes of recruitment and incitement of youth to commit terrorist acts, as well as for the financing, planning and preparation of their activities, and underlining the need for Member States to act cooperatively to prevent terrorists from exploiting technology, communications and resources to incite support for terrorist acts, while respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms and in compliance with other obligations under international law,
Recognizing the challenges faced by youth which put them at particular risk, including gender inequalities that perpetuate all forms of discrimination and violence, and persistent inequalities that put young women at particular risk, and therefore reaffirming the commitment to the empowerment of women and gender equality,
Recognizing also the growing contribution of sport and culture to the realization of development and peace in its promotion of tolerance and respect and the contributions it makes to the empowerment of youth and women, individuals and communities as well as to health, education and social inclusion objectives,
Reaffirming the right to education and its contribution to the achievement of peace and security and further recognizing that investment in universal, and inclusive education and training is an important policy investment that States can make to ensure the immediate and long-term development of youth, and reiterating that access to inclusive, equitable and quality formal and non-formal education are important factors that enable youth to acquire the relevant skills and to build their capacities,
- Notes the independent Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security, “The missing peace” presented by the independent lead author and of the Advisory Group of Experts;
2. Calls on all relevant actors, to consider ways to increase the inclusive representation of youth for the prevention and resolution of conflict, including when negotiating and implementing peace agreements, to take into account, the meaningful participation and views of youth, recognizing that their marginalization is detrimental to building sustainable peace and countering violent extremism as and when conducive to terrorism;
3. Recognizes the role youth can play in conflict prevention and resolution;
4. Reiterates the importance of Security Council missions taking into account youth-related considerations including, as appropriate, through consultation with local and international youth groups;
5. Calls upon all parties to armed conflict to comply strictly with the obligations applicable to them under international law relevant to the protection of civilians, including youth, including the obligations applicable to them under the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and additional protocols thereto of 1977 and urges Member States to consider specific measures, in conformity with international law, that ensure, during armed conflict and post conflict, the protection of civilians, including youth;
6. Also calls upon Member States to comply with their respective obligations to end impunity and further calls on them to investigate and prosecute those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other egregious crimes perpetrated against civilians, including youth;
7. Reaffirms that states must respect, promote and protect the human rights of all individuals, including youth, within their territory and subject to their jurisdiction as provided for by relevant international law and reaffirms that each state bears the primary responsibility to protect its populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity;
8. Urges Member States to protect youth from violence in armed conflict, and urges all parties to eliminate all forms of sexual and gender based violence as well as human trafficking;
9. Recognizes the role of youth in promoting a culture of peace, tolerance, intercultural and interreligious dialogue that aims at discouraging their participation in acts of violence, terrorism, xenophobia, and all forms of discrimination and reiterates that efforts to counter terrorist narratives can benefit through engagement with a wide range of actors, including youth and youth-led civil society;
10. Recognizes that youth and youth-led civil society can also play an important role in efforts to peacebuilding and sustaining peace;
11. Reaffirming states’ obligation to respect, promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of all individuals, including youth, and ensure equal access to justice and preserve the integrity of rule of law institutions; and foster an enabling and safe environment for youth working on peace and security;
12. Calls upon Member States, to protect educational institutions as spaces free from all forms of violence, and to ensure that they are accessible to all youth, including marginalized youth, and take steps to address young women’s equal enjoyment of their right to education;
13. Stresses the importance of creating policies for youth that would positively contribute to peacebuilding efforts, including social and economic development, supporting projects designed to grow local economies, and provide youth employment opportunities and vocational training, fostering their education, and promoting youth entrepreneurship and constructive political engagement;
14. Urges Member States to consider, as appropriate, how their political, financial, technical and logistical support in conflict and post-conflict situations takes into account the needs and participation of youth in peace efforts;
15. Recommends the Peacebuilding Commission to include in its discussions and advice, ways to engage youth meaningfully in national efforts to build and sustain peace;
16. Urges the Secretary-General and his Special Envoys to take into account the views of youth in relevant discussions pertinent the maintenance of peace and security, peacebuilding and sustaining peace, and to facilitate the equal and full participation of youth at decision-making levels, paying particular attention to the inclusion of young women;
17. Also urges appropriate regional and subregional bodies in particular to consider developing and implementing policies and programs for youth and to facilitate their constructive engagement;
18. Expresses its intention, where appropriate, to invite civil society including youth-led organizations to brief the Council in country-specific considerations and relevant thematic areas;
19. Encourages relevant entities of the United Nations, Rapporteurs and Special Envoys and Representatives of the Secretary-General, including the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, to improve their coordination and interaction regarding the needs of youth during armed conflicts and post-conflict situations;
20. Requests the Secretary-General, where appropriate, to consider including in his reporting to the Security Council information on the progress made towards participation of youth in peace processes, including disarmament, demobilization and reintegration processes and interlinked programmes such as community violence reduction;
21. Recommends that the Secretary-General consider internal mechanisms to broaden the participation of youth within the work of the United Nations;
22. Requests the Secretary-General to submit, no later than May 2020 a report to the Council on the implementation of this resolution and of resolution 2250;
23. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
Adopted by the Security Council at its 8277th meeting, on 6 June 2018.
