Focused discussion on identifying ways and means of more meaningful engagement of youth in the work of the General Assembly

Follow-up to the report of the Secretary-General entitled “Our Common Agenda”

Focused discussion on identifying ways and means of more meaningful engagement of youth in the work of the General Assembly

Tuesday, 30 August 2022, at 3:00 pm

Economic and Social Council Chamber, United Nations Headquarters

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, in his report entitled “Our Common Agenda” (A/75/982), calls for a renewal of solidarity across generations, particularly with younger generations, and puts forward a number of concrete recommendations to further that objective.

Paragraph 47 of the report includes a proposal recommending that the “Envoy on Youth will prepare recommendations for more meaningful, diverse and effective youth engagement in UN deliberative and decision-making processes for the consideration of the General Assembly, the Security Council and ECOSOC and their respective subsidiary bodies. This will be done in consultation with the world’s young people.”

The SG’s Envoy on Youth has been invited to provide recommendations on youth engagement in the UN processes for consideration by Member States, and a focused discussion during the seventy-sixth session of the General Assembly on identifying ways and means of engagement of youth in the work of the General Assembly convened by the PGA has been announced.

The focused discussion will serve as a platform for Member States and relevant partners, in line with resolution 76/6, to share views on youth engagement vis-à-vis the work of the General Assembly. The meeting on 30 August 2022 will be followed by a series of broad consultations to be conducted by the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth (OSGEY), including with youth organizations and representatives in line with paragraph 47 of “Our Common Agenda” report, to inform the drafting of the recommendations to be put forward for consideration of Members States ahead of the Summit of the Future.

Please note:

Representatives of NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC in possession of valid UN grounds passes are invited to attend.
Civil society representatives are welcome to intervene by pressing the microphone button at the appropriate time.

Detailed information, including the Concept Note and Programme can be found at: un.org/pga/76/2022/08/19/letter-from-the-president-of-the-general-assembly-focused-discussion-on-youth-participation-at-the-ga

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity, please email the vice chair at susanneseperson@gmail.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Children’s Rights-NY, please visit childrightsny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@yahoo.com or bknotts@uua.org.

Multilateralism & Multi-stakeholderism: Where does accountability for the corporate sector fit in?

Join this UNGA76 side event exploring corporate influence across the United Nations System, and identifying ways in which civil society and all actors can resist corporate influence with a view to build a more accountable and equitable system that operates in the interests of people and planet, rather than profit.

Register: bit.ly/AccountabilityForCorporateSector

Speakers will include:

Moderator: Barbara Adams, Global Policy Forum
Cai Yiping, Development Alternatives for Women (DAWN)
Emilia Reyes, Campaign of Campaigns/Equidad de Genero
Debbie Stothard, ALTSEAN / Steering Committee of Corporate Accountability Working Group at ESCR-Net

Some guiding questions:

How can pushes for inclusivity have unintended consequences for enhancing corporate influence across the United Nations system?
How do states and governments use PPPs and the idea of multistakeholderism to obfuscate responsibilities to their populations?
How can corporations be held accountable to Human Rights mechanisms and international law?
What changes are needed to transform the way in which the UN System is funded to reduce or combat corporate capture of decision-making?

This event will be recorded and uploaded to the Women’s Major Group YouTube Channel. Interpretation will be available in French and Spanish.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Major Group, please visit ngomg.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit congocsd.wordpress.com.

76th Session of the UN General Assembly

The 76th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 76) will open on Tuesday, 14 September 2021. The first day of the high-level General Debate will be Tuesday, 21 September 2021.

As more information becomes available, it will be posted here: sdg.iisd.org/events/76th-session-of-the-un-general-assembly-unga-76

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CoNGO Notes: For information about the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the UN (CoNGO), and its commitment to the ideals and objectives of the United Nations, see www.ngocongo.org.

UNGA76