OSCEs Parlamentariske Forsamling 2020-21
OSCE Alm.del Bilag 47
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Highlights from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
Meeting with Young Political Leaders
1
Call for Action
–
Helsinki +50 Process
Thursday, 27 May 2021, 14:30
–
17:00 CEST
Main points discussed:
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The meeting allowed the participants to share their understanding and vision for the
involvement of young people in multilateral decision-making mechanisms such as the
OSCE, with a view to developing a common strategy.
The participants agreed that the inclusion of a youth perspective is not only a national
matter but also a global issue that requires collective action. They emphasized the need for
change within multilateral frameworks such as the OSCE and the importance of political
will from the international community.
It was also underlined that in addition to those changes in the multilateral framework,
young people need adequate resources and the recognition that they should play a more
prominent role.
The topic of youth inclusion was also linked to the issue of effective democracy, as no
strong and sustainable democracy can be founded without youth participation. The model
of deliberative democracy was mentioned, as a way to reach youth more effectively.
Participants highlighted the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on young people and its role
in revealing the fragility of youth, particularly in terms of youth unemployment, job
quality, and access to social services.
At the same time, the Covid-19 crisis also brought to the fore the role young people play
in bridging intergenerational dialogue and building intergenerational solidarity through
innovative ideas and communication technologies.
Climate change was identified as a key topic for the agenda of an international cooperation
platform like the OSCE. It was also stressed that youth could play a crucial role in all the
three dimensions of security, including environmental and economic security.
Lack of trust has been identified by participants as one of the most significant obstacles to
the effective inclusion of young people. In fact, there was a perception that in an
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The Highlights from the OSCE PA Call for Action - Helsinki +50 related meetings are not intended to be official
conclusions, nor an exhaustive list of all issues raised during the debate, but rather a compilation of points recorded
for possible future reference. As this compilation is not exhaustive, any comments or suggested additions are
welcome.
 OSCE, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 47: Invitation - OSCE Parliamentary Assembly follow-up meeting with Young Political Leaders - 28 September 2021
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organization like the OSCE there is an insufficient level of implementation of the notion
of youth inclusion when it comes to the design and follow-up of broader strategies and
individual policies and measures.
One of the most detrimental consequences of this is a lack of employment opportunities
for YP in organizations like the OSCE. Participants mentioned the difficulty to get a paid
internship, or any entry-level job for young people. This led to the question of how to
facilitate the entry of young people into policy- and decision-making mechanisms.
Examples of initiatives at national level mentioned included the Law on Youth in
Macedonia and a HCNM’s project in Georgia (paid internship for young representatives of
minorities). It was suggested that such initiatives could be replicated in other countries.
The challenge of defining youth was pointed out by the participants, in particular regarding
age groups. The OSCE Advisory on Youth explained the absence of a working OSCE
definition, and the role of parliamentarians in changing legislation in this regard.
General suggestions:
1. Promote a
paradigm shift,
as a result of which institutions should promote new youth
policy aimed at addressing young people’s issues:
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These policies should be based on proposals designed for and with the youth.
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Youth should be considered not as victims nor as simple consumers of security, but
as key partners.
2. Encourage the
establishment of co-decision mechanisms or co-management systems
involving the youth.
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They should be given not only voice but also real decision-making capacity.
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Young people need to be penholders in decision shaping mechanisms and have a
say on the agenda of the organization.
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Participants put forward the system of the Advisory Council on Youth of the
Council of Europe as an example of co-decision making mechanism, which could
serve as an inspiration to establish a similar system to include youth perspective in
policy making at the OSCE level.
3.
Capacity building
was identified as a key area where the OSCE could better promote
youth participation in decision making.
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in particular through training, education programs in different areas and topics of
the OSCE, scholarship, creation of a youth advisory group, or youth networks,
summer academies/schools (the OSCE Academy in Bishkek was mentioned in this
regard);
4. Some participants also suggested that young people should not overlook the more
traditional ways to enter the decision-making process:
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to vote and get elected, to belong to a political party. Existing methods should not
be disregarded.
 OSCE, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 47: Invitation - OSCE Parliamentary Assembly follow-up meeting with Young Political Leaders - 28 September 2021
5. In addition to working on new reforms and initiatives, it was deemed important to better
communicate on what is already being done, to increase
the visibility of the initiatives
for
youth the OSCE is already implementing at all levels.
Suggested initiatives at OSCE PA level:
1.
Establish and promote the OSCE youth parliamentary forum
called by the PA during
the 2018 Berlin Annual Session and discussed during the young parliamentarians meeting
in Washington DC on Washington D.C. on 3-4 February 2020.
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Main goal: provide a formal space of participation of young people in the OSCE
PA’s decision-making
process and effectively allow
co-decision shaping and
making.
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The example of IPU’s forum of young parliamentarians, which meets yearly to
discuss the agenda from the youth perspective, was mentioned.
2.
Running for office in the OSCE PA decision making bodies
was suggested as a
complementary solution for young parliamentarians to be directly involved in the OSCE
PA decision-making mechanism.
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The PA SG announced the vacancy of some positions in the Bureau and encouraged
young parliamentarians to try to run for key positions, for instance in the Bureau,
thus influencing its policies by providing a youth perspective.
3.
Establish a platform for experience-sharing and networking
to effectively connect
youth across the OSCE area.
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In that regard, the establishment of a youth platform/network was suggested, to
allow the politically active youth of the OSCE to share ideas and experience in
legislation, to increase direct contact between young parliamentarians from
different countries.
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The question of the participation modalities of such a platform remains open: it will
be for the parliamentarians to decide on whether such a platform should be open
only to young parliamentarians or also to all other young politicians, thus becoming
more of a civil society forum.
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It was also highlighted that creating such platforms would not be enough: they need
in addition to have a clear role, resources, and trust.
4.
Foster synergies between the governmental and the parliamentary
side of the OSCE
on youth issues. To improve this synergy, two main ideas were put forward:
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Promote more cooperation between the OSCE’s Group of Friends on Youth and
Security and the OSCE PA’s work.
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Appoint an OSCE PA Youth Special Representative, as a counter part to the
existing OSCE Special Representative, and keep the youth issues high on the
agenda.
5. Next step: organize a follow-up meeting after the summer break on the suggestions put
forward and how to turn those ideas into concrete initiatives and actions in the OSCE
network.