Informal Interactive Dialogue between the Security Council and the Peacebuilding Commission on Youth, Peace and Security
This afternoon (9 December), Security Council members will hold an informal interactive dialogue (IID) on youth, peace and security (YPS) with members of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC). Council member Slovenia is organising the meeting, at which Awa Dabo, Director and Deputy Head of the Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO), is the anticipated briefer. The PBC’s chair, Ambassador Ricklef Beutin (Germany), and its vice chairs (Brazil, Japan, Morocco, and Poland) are expected to participate in today’s meeting.
Slovenia has circulated a concept note ahead of today’s meeting, which says that the IID offers an opportunity for joint reflection between the Security Council and the PBC on how to translate existing commitments on YPS into concrete action over the coming decade. According to the concept note, the meeting aims to identify practical ways to scale up and support young people’s contributions to peace, address the structural barriers they face, strengthen national ownership of implementation of YPS provisions, and leverage synergies across the YPS and women, peace and security (WPS) agendas.
Today’s meeting takes place on the tenth anniversary of resolution 2250 of 9 December 2015, the first thematic resolution adopted by the Council on YPS. Spearheaded by Jordan, it recognised the contribution of youth to the prevention and resolution of conflicts. The Security Council subsequently adopted two additional resolutions on the issue. Resolution 2419 of 6 June 2018 urged stakeholders to take young people’s views into account and facilitate their equal and full participation in peace and decision‑making processes at all levels. Resolution 2535 of 14 July 2020 included operational provisions aimed at promoting and institutionalising the implementation of the YPS agenda by the Council, UN entities, and member states. Among other matters, the resolution introduced regular reporting on YPS, requesting the Secretary-General to submit a biennial report to the Security Council on the implementation of resolutions 2250, 2419, and 2535. (For more background, see our 16 April 2024 What’s in Blue story.)
The PBC has played an instrumental role in advancing the YPS agenda, including through promoting youth participation in peacebuilding processes, encouraging support for youth-led initiatives, integrating youth perspectives into its discussions and outcomes, and providing policy and operational recommendations on YPS. Over the years, the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF), including through its Youth Promotion Initiative, has invested in youth-led and youth-inclusive programming, advancing political participation as well as safety, security, and protection for young people.
In 2021, the PBC approved a Strategic Action Plan on Youth and Peacebuilding to guide and monitor the Commission’s efforts to support and mainstream youth engagement in peacebuilding in line with global YPS commitments. The plan focuses on five core areas: advocacy, advice, coordination, partnerships, and progress monitoring. The PBC follows up on implementation through an annual written assessment that evaluates progress against these focus areas. To date, the Commission has produced two written assessments of the Strategic Action Plan, with the most recent report covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2023. This assessment reviewed 52 outcome documents issued by the PBC and found that approximately 81 percent of them (42) advocated for strengthened engagement with youth and youth-led organisations.
The PBSO, in partnership with the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), UNICEF, and the Climate Security Mechanism, commissioned the 2025 PBF Thematic Review on YPS, which was led by the UN University’s Centre for Policy Research. The review outlines programmatic best practices and lessons learned on youth participation in peacebuilding, drawing on examples from 41 PBF-funded projects spanning 33 countries and territories between 2018 and 2022. Among its recommendations, the review highlighted the importance of adopting more flexible and locally driven funding modalities, integrating socioeconomic dimensions across youth peacebuilding programming, and prioritising YPS commitments that ensure the meaningful inclusion of diverse groups of young people.
Member states have consistently reaffirmed their commitment to the YPS agenda across various intergovernmental processes. In the Pact for the Future, the outcome document of the 2024 Summit of the Future, member states committed to taking concrete voluntary measures to increase the inclusive representation of youth in decision-making at all levels in conflict prevention and resolution efforts. They also requested the Secretary-General to carry out the second independent progress study on youth’s positive contributions to peace processes and conflict resolution by the end of the UN General Assembly’s 80th session (that is, by September 2026).
On 26 November, the Security Council and the General Assembly adopted twin resolutions on the 2025 UN Peacebuilding Architecture Review (PBAR). The twin texts, adopted at the Council unanimously as resolution 2805, urged efforts to ensure the full, effective, and meaningful participation of youth in the design, monitoring and implementation of peacebuilding efforts at all levels and encouraged all financing stakeholders to increase coordination and collaboration with youth on financing national priorities. They also called for further strengthening of the partnership between the Security Council and the PBC and better use of the Commission’s advisory role, including through convening IIDs. Slovenia served as the Council’s co-facilitator on the twin resolutions, together with Egypt as the General Assembly’s co-facilitator. (For more information, see our 24 November What’s in Blue story.)
While meaningful progress has been made in advancing the YPS agenda, momentum has slowed in recent years, resulting in gaps in both implementation and political commitment. The absence of structured mechanisms for youth participation in Security Council deliberations, combined with limited and inconsistent attention to the agenda, has constrained its potential to deliver sustained and meaningful youth engagement in peace and security efforts. Additionally, the Secretary-General’s biennial reports submitted pursuant to resolution 2535, which provide critical insights and guidance for advancing the YPS agenda, remain underutilised due to the absence of dedicated discussions within the Council to consider their findings and recommendations. In recent years, there has been limited interest among Council members in addressing the YPS agenda as a stand-alone issue. When it does arise, the agenda is often subsumed within broader thematic debates or referenced only in specific country situations, rather than being treated as a cross-cutting priority.
Against this backdrop, the concept note poses several questions to help guide the discussion at today’s meeting, including:
- What examples of youth-led peacebuilding and conflict prevention initiatives can inform future Council and PBC engagement?
- How can the Council and the PBC better recognise and scale positive youth contributions to peace, reconciliation, and social cohesion?
- How can youth be better supported in transitions from conflict to peace, including access to education, livelihoods, psychosocial support, and community acceptance?
In her remarks, Dabo may reflect on how the PBSO has been working to embed youth perspectives more systematically across peacebuilding initiatives, drawing on lessons from recent engagements and country contexts. She may highlight persistent obstacles undermining progress, referencing insights from the PBF’s thematic review, and emphasise the importance of strengthening youth-inclusive monitoring frameworks. Dabo might also highlight the value of closer cooperation between the Security Council and the PBC in ensuring that youth priorities are integrated into peacebuilding strategies, encouraging more coherent approaches that bring together national authorities, UN entities, and youth-led organisations. She might underscore the need for more inclusive policy processes and stronger alignment between the YPS agenda and broader peacebuilding and development frameworks.
Several Council members are likely to underscore young people’s vital role in conflict prevention and resolution. Members might also emphasise the importance of promoting the role of youth and women in peace processes, including through their increased participation in political decision-making. They may highlight the underlying factors inhibiting the participation of youth in peace and security efforts, such as displacement, political exclusion, and lack of educational and employment opportunities. Council members might also encourage better engagement between youth and the UN system and stress the importance of sustaining political momentum for youth inclusion. They may also discuss ways to support youth involvement in peacebuilding efforts, including through capacity-building and provision of financial support for such initiatives.
Member states may discuss their efforts to promote the YPS agenda in their national capacity, as well as through their involvement in regional organisations. Council members might also encourage better engagement between youth and the UN system and stress the importance of revitalising political momentum for youth inclusion. Some members may further call for the Security Council to consider the YPS agenda more regularly in its formal meetings and to invite more young people to brief the Council, thereby ensuring sustained engagement and improved progress in advancing the agenda.
Some members may also express support for a draft resolution on YPS, which was authored by Guyana and Sierra Leone. The draft text was put in blue this morning, but a vote had yet to be scheduled at the time of writing.
