Statement by Mr Erik Thijs Wedershoven, Youth Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the 60th General Assembly of the United Nations

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Mr President, honourable delegates,

It is with great honour and gratitude but also with equally great concern that I address you here today.

“Messieurs les membres et responsables d’Europe, c’est de votre solidarité et votre gentillesse que nous vous crions au secours en Afrique. Aidez-nous, nous souffrons énormément…”

This plea is from a letter written six years ago by two boys from Guinea, Yaguine Koita and Fodé Tounkara. It was found with their dead bodies in the landing gear of a plane en route to Europe on the second of August 1999. The boys had embarked on a dangerous journey in an attempt to flee from danger in the hope of a brighter future. Risking their lives seemed a better option to them than staying home. I find their courage and despair as moving today as I did when I myself was a boy growing up in the safety of the Netherlands.

The world today offers hardly more opportunities to young people than it did to Yaguine and Fodé. UNHCR informs us that more than 20 million young people are fleeing from the same danger – the lack of prospects. Their despair becomes easier to understand when we realise that almost 90 million young people are unemployed – young people who make up more than half the world’s unemployed. Imagine the obstacles 500 million young people entering the workforce over the next 10 years will face. Young people with little opportunity to earn a living.

These sobering statistics, together with Yaguine and Fodé’s cry for help, compel me to draw your attention to the problem of youth unemployment.

 Denying young people their rights – like the right to decent work or the right to seek and express their sexual or cultural identity – places our future at risk. This is a question of human dignity and world security. Increasing employment opportunities for young people not only confronts the primary concern of young people throughout the world but also contributes to more sustainable, equal development. MDG 8 seeks to develop and implement strategies designed to create decent and productive work for young people and is one of the quick wins for achieving the MDGs. Youth employment is also a priority area in the World Programme of Action for Youth.

We are not asking that you sign new agreements or declare new intentions. But we need you to act. Governments alone cannot do the job but must cooperate with micro-financing institutions, entrepreneurs, civil society and last, but certainly not least, young people themselves.

ILO research indicates that young entrepreneurs have a significantly higher than average success rate and a positive track record in paying off micro-credit loans. The UN proclaimed 2005 the international year of micro-credit. Young people should be a target group for micro-finance projects and institutions.

Several initiatives inspired me last year. Like the Youth Employment Spark* project – a youth-led network for young entrepreneurs which helps young people to learn from one other and inspire others to take positive action.

Such examples are proof that the MDGs are within reach and that young people themselves, if given the chance, have a great deal to contribute.

Mr President, I would like to underline the importance of having more youth delegates at this session of the General Assembly than ever before. Not only are we experts on issues of concern to young people. We are the best placed to explain decisions taken and to bring positive messages to our peers at home. I would like to thank the member states which give young people opportunities for meaningful participation. And I urge the member states to include youth representatives during all relevant discussions of the General Assembly and other fora.

Young people call on member states to:

-promote initiatives to increase universal access to financial services, including micro-credit, and support networks for young entrepreneurs;

-learn from and support important global initiatives like the Youth Employment Network and the Youth Employment Summit;

-translate UN resolutions, such as the World Programme of Action for Youth, into National Action Plans and implement them.

“Donc, si vous voyez que nous nous sacrifions et exposons notre vie, c’est parce qu’on souffre trop en Afrique et qu’on a besoin de vous…

” I can only hope that I have contributed to ensuring that Yaguine and Fodé did not die in vain.

Can we act as an international community, hold ourselves accountable for the many great promises and resolutions made here, restore our faith in this institution and have hope for a better future? Yes, we can. We, the young people, stand ready to do so.

 Thank you.