Youth at the Negotiating Table a Decade After UNSCR 2250: Advancing Meaningful Inclusion in Peace and Security

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) Agenda, established by UN Security Council Resolution 2250. Yet, a decade on, youth remain underrepresented in formal peace negotiations and mediation processes. Independent UN reviews underline persistent structural barriers to meaningful participation and call for stronger integration of human rights approaches, as well as more systematic attention to contexts of migration and forced displacement in YPS implementation.

Co-organised by the Global Youth Caucus on SDG16, the Migration Youth and Children Platform (MYCP), the Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY), the International Association of Youth and Students for Peace (IAYSP), and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), this workshop provides an interactive space to explore pathways for strengthening youth inclusion in peace and mediation processes.

Through a negotiation simulation rooted in a migration-affected scenario, participants will assume roles such as youth representatives, mediators, representatives of displaced communities, and other civil society actors. The exercise will surface practical insights on challenges, opportunities, and strategies for inclusive consultations, while expert inputs and facilitated reflections will link the discussion to real-world mediation and humanitarian contexts.

The session is linked to the development of MGCY’s YPS Toolkit for Negotiators and Mediators. Lessons from the discussion will inform the toolkit’s guidance and training components, equipping institutional actors to embed youth perspectives in peace processes and advance more inclusive and rights-based outcomes.