I have the honor to make this statement on behalf of the following 43
participating States: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Canada,
Iceland, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia,
San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, the 27 EU
Member States and my own country, Norway.
Addressing security challenges effectively in the OSCE region requires
meaningful engagement with, and participation of, youth. Young people
have a vital role in supporting participating States in the implementation of
their commitments across the OSCE’s three dimensions of security. Young
people are not just future leaders — they are making a difference today.
Supporting their meaningful engagement helps to strengthen trust in
institutions and to build a stronger, more inclusive future. This contributes
directly to societal resilience.
However, many young people face serious challenges to full participation in
society. Polarization and democratic backsliding have severe
consequences for youth, and the effect of ongoing conflicts on youth
remains a matter of deep concern. Russia’s war of aggression against
Ukraine has severely disrupted the lives of Ukrainian youth and eroded
young people’s sense of security at large.
The 10th anniversary of the United Nations Security Council Resolution
2250 on Youth Peace and Security (YPS) provides a good opportunity to
underline the OSCE’s key role in including youth in the field of security. We
recall the OSCE commitments related to youth, including the 1975 Helsinki
Final Act, the 2014 Basel Ministerial Council Declaration on Youth, the
2015 Belgrade Ministerial Council Declaration on Youth and Security and
the 2018 Milan Ministerial Council Declaration on the Role of Youth in
Contributing to Peace and Security Efforts.
The OSCE Secretariat bears no responsibility for the content of this document
and circulates it without altering its content. The distribution by OSCE
Conference Services of this document is without prejudice to OSCE decisions,
as set out in documents agreed by OSCE participating States.
Building on these commitments, we strongly support the continued efforts
on enhancing the YPS agenda within the OSCE. We recognize youth as
essential partners in sustaining peace and preventing conflict. We
emphasize the importance of strengthening the existing youth related
OSCE initiatives and platforms.
The OSCE Secretariat, institutions and field operations have successfully
advanced youth inclusion through networks and activities such as the
OSCE Pool of Young Experts and Model OSCE Conferences. The Youth
Focal and Contact Points within the OSCE executive structures play an
important role in mainstreaming the agenda. We welcome the continuation
of this work.
We acknowledge the efforts of the current and previous Chairpersonships
and their Special Representatives, who have played an active role in
ensuring that youth perspectives are reflected throughout the work of the
OSCE. We recognize also the efforts by other participating States to
support this agenda. This includes the Vienna-based Group of Friends on
Youth and Security, which is an important platform for the exchange of
good practices of youth engagement across the OSCE area.
We recall the OSCE-wide Youth Conferences and Forums arranged by
previous OSCE Chairs and participating States. These events have
produced useful recommendations by youth, such as the Malaga
Decalogue produced as a result of the Malaga Conference held in 2017.Madame/Mr. Chair,
We welcome the Finnish Chairpersonship’s focus on YPS, culminating in
the OSCE-wide YPS Roadmap which is launched at the 2025 OSCE
Ministerial Council in Vienna. The Roadmap has been built upon the work
previously carried out and guided by the voices of the participants of the
OSCE Chairpersonship Youth Forum, held in Helsinki on 29-30 July 2025.
We encourage all participating States, Partners for Co-operation and OSCE
executive structures to utilize the YPS Roadmap and its recommendations
as a tool to further institutionalize youth participation and affirm youth
agency and expertise. Equally, we highlight the importance of applying the
Roadmap’s principles for meaningful youth engagement when developing
and implementing policies and activities that advance the YPS agenda.
In closing, we urge all the participating States to acknowledge youth as
important partners in peace and security. We encourage continued and
active discussion of the YPS agenda within the OSCE.