General Assembly Session 50 meeting 43

The Acting President

This morning, the General Assembly will hold the third of its plenary meetings devoted to marking the tenth anniversary of International Youth Year.

I now call on Ms. Adelina Covo de Guerrero, Vice-Minister for Youth of Colombia.

Ms. Covo de Guerrero (Colombia)

I have the honour to address the General Assembly on behalf of the Colombian Government and the Ibero-American Youth Organization and, first of all, to transmit the greetings of Colombia's young people and their concern for promoting the policies needed for the harmonious development of Latin America's young people and the world's.

We can only be gratified by the demanding environment of this summit, which is in harmony with the current phase of development challenges and the gravity of the issues that are now being tackled by the countries of the world.

The best occasion to redefine the new directions taken by countries in search of development, peace and equality is that which is offered today by the United Nations on its fiftieth anniversary, which has struggled tirelessly for a better world Organization and has made efforts creatively readapt its policies to the new realities that prevail in modern society.

Drawing closer to the realities with which the world's young people live and identifying our responsibilities and our role in resolving the various issues that confront us represent perhaps the most important challenges of this great event.

It should be the constant preoccupation of Governments to devote the necessary importance and priority to the needs of young people.

In Latin America, young people are an object of great concern. In our continent we have more than 90 million people aged 15 to 24, a number which will grow to 105 million by the year 2000. This challenge has both rural and urban dimensions; 63 million of these youngsters live in the cities, and 27 million in the countryside. Among urban youth, the working class, now numbering 25 million persons, is of particular significance. Together with the 11 million rural poor, there are 36 million young people living in poverty, a figure which will grow to 42 million if the trend is not reversed.

Young women constitute an important part of subgroups among the young, and their presence will be even greater in the urban environment, particularly in the working class.

This situation, like that of the migratory movements of the youth population in the region, are of great concern. But I wish to draw particular attention to the condition of inequality that affects the youth population. This reality has been characterized by taking into account criteria such as the poverty line according to young people's income levels, their purchasing power and their access to social goods and services.

Colombia's young population represents 27 per cent of the total population of the country, or about 10 million Colombians. Of these, 67 per cent live in urban centres and 33 per cent in rural zones. Approximately 45 per cent of Colombia's young people live in poverty which, for 18 per cent, is extreme. This serious situation is manifest in the increasing restriction of opportunities for effective social integration for youth in national development.

Again, figures enable us to describe this situation. Although in Colombia great efforts have been made in order to extend secondary school availability, only 47 per cent of the population of student age have access to the education system.

There are similar problems with the access of young people to the labour market. In general, the integration of youth into the world of work is characterized by high unemployment levels -- more than twice that of the national average -- resulting from the prolonged search for work by young people entering employment for the first time. These levels are higher for young people from low-income families.

This situation is aggravated by the paucity of official assistance available to young people, which is indicated by the fact that the population sector aged 12-24 does not constitute for government agencies a clearly defined social sector as a beneficiary of programmes and services.

Owing to the specific historical conditions of our society, we can say that it is among the young that all the factors of violence are most dramatically condensed and expressed, making young people the protagonists of scenarios of greater conflict. Sadly, in our country, injury and violence are the main factors of morbidity and mortality among young men.

Narcotics trafficking and its social, economic and cultural impact on the young are matters of great concern for the Government and society of my country. This impact can be seen in high drug consumption rates, the stimulus to illicit riches, the participation of young people in illegal drug production, cultivation and marketing, the involvement of young people in violent systems and activities such as assassination, or the economic support provided by speculative drug capital, which discourages a culture of productive labour and stimulates violence. As a result, some 50 per cent of the persons accused of crimes in our country are young citizens.

There are, however, areas in which young people are making proposals and in which they are positive social actors. We have found great efforts being made by youth groups and organizations engaged in the search for the social and political recognition to which they are entitled, and for effective integration into national development. These efforts are often ignored by society, and have no impact beyond the immediate neighbourhood or frame of reference.

It is for these reasons that addressing the problem of overcoming poverty and the drugs issue, with young people as the primary object, our major preoccupation as a Government is to bring the general proposals of the National Development Plan creatively into line with the specific needs of Colombian youth.

The "Social Jump", the National Development Plan of the Government of President Ernesto Samper, the collaborative product of all Colombia's active social circles in search of a great domestic commitment to the present and the future, thus fulfilling the mandate of our political Constitution.

As an integral part of the "Social Jump", the Minister of National Education, in collaboration with the project Education: A National Proposal, is coordinating a deliberation and discussion process which, through seminars, assemblies, workshops and other means of discussion and negotiation culminating in regional forums, will lead to national consensus on the National Accord for Education. All those who participate in the local and regional forums and in the education departmental boards will be able to participate in the 10-year education plan.

The objective of the 10-year plan is to construct, with public participation, a longer-term education policy defining norms and agreeing on educational goals and purposes for the next 10 years. It will take into account prior national and regional consultations with trade unionists, teachers, students, parents, business leaders and governmental and non-governmental organizations. We will involve the whole country in converting education into a goal shared by all. From that deliberation, there should emerge very concrete commitments in each sector, which should respond to youth in this important area of development.

The Vice-Ministry for Youth, which coordinates Colombia's Youth Policy with the current Government's social policy, sees young people as political and social beings with rights and duties. For this reason, the Ministry's work focuses on the consolidation of young people's full exercise of their citizenship and the development of public policies aimed at guaranteeing that their needs are met and their interests given voice. In this regard, the guidelines of the Youth Policy of President Samper's Government are oriented towards guaranteeing comprehensive attention to the population of young people, intersectoral action by the State, specially designed policies and programmes, promotional actions founded on the strategic potential of youth in the area of development, the diversity of young people's world as a guide for establishing legitimate policies and the constant search in all our work for equity between male and female.

The Vice-Ministry for Youth focuses its actions on two central areas: integration and development of programmes for the young sector of the population, aimed at the implementation of social policy in areas such as education, health, recreation and sports, culture, employment and housing; and the consolidation of support programmes for regional institutional development, the organization and participation of young people, development of legislation and specific programmes for preventing problems such as drug addiction, AIDS, juvenile delinquency and violence.

Five years before the end of the century, new generations are living in a world full of international information. In this information framework, cooperation is a factor in knowledge, culture and peace, and today it must move ahead as a factor in the training of youth from all continents, as well as in meetings and exchanges between Latin American youths and those of other continents and between youths of the various countries of our continent.

Within this framework of initiatives, the actions we have been developing with the Latin American Youth Organization have been integrated with regional programmes of action for the development of youth in Latin America. The priority areas being addressed include education, employment and job training, health, participation and public institutions, integration and regional cooperation. Also, in conjunction with the National Youth Institute of Chile and under the umbrella of the Latin American Youth Organization, we have proposed to implement training schools for local youth agents in order to build a common framework for the operation of programmes and policies aimed at youth.

Overcoming barriers in economy, science and technology helps everyone, but especially young people. The same holds true for culture, and despite all the differences between countries and continents and the uniqueness of each one, there is much in common between life in Africa, Asia, Oceania, Europe and America.

Consolidating the common features and deepening our understanding of what binds us together, thus expanding the exchange of cultural values between youths of different countries and continents, is a task that is not only feasible, but also essential in order to build of a more harmonious and unified planet for the twenty-first century. We in Colombia dream of a just and prosperous world, a world within the reach of children and youths.

The Acting President

I wish to call the attention of all members to the fact that we have a long list of speakers. None the less, owing to the grave financial situation of the United Nations, the afternoon meeting must be adjourned at 6 p.m. I therefore appeal to all speakers to be brief so that all the participants, some of whom have come here especially for this occasion, can speak within the time allocated for today's meetings.

I now call on the representative of Canada, Ms. Isabelle Poupart, Youth Delegate.

Ms. Poupart (Canada)

On the tenth anniversary of International Youth Year, I have the privilege and pleasure to share with the General Assembly some of Canada's perspectives and policies on youth issues.

Since International Youth Year, 10 years ago, we have witnessed significant progress. More children now survive to become healthy adults: we have halved the rate of infant mortality, and we are on the verge of eradicating some of the diseases that most threaten children's health.

None the less, young people face challenges that did not exist 10 years ago. The world's population is currently growing by about 90 million annually, and between 1995 and 2015 approximately 1.847 billion additional children and young people will be added to the population of the Earth. This means there will be a dizzying increase in the number of young people in need of education, training, jobs and a future.

On top of that, we are living in a period of dramatic transformation in the world of work. Young people today are being called upon to adapt more rapidly than ever before to changes on political, economic and social fronts. Change has become our collective constant. This reality puts enormous pressure on young people the world over, who are expected to prepare for a future that even futurists are unable to foresee.

Canada considers that the international community must do more to respond to the needs of youth, particularly their special needs in making the transition from school to work. We must pay more attention to education and training for those who will be entering the work force in the next 20 to 30 years.

The Rio Conference on Environment and Development, the Vienna Conference on Human Rights, the Cairo Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Conference on Women all addressed very serious issues facing youth. In the coordinated follow-up to those Conferences, neither Governments nor the United Nations must forget the importance we attach to issues affecting young people. My country hopes that the Commission for Social Development will continue to play a key role in this regard and that it will provide a forum for addressing youth issues, that it will further the study of the situation of the young and, above all, that it will collect, synthesize and refine societal indicators of their situation.

Ms. Poupart (Canada)

Young people are the world's finest resource. We bring to life and to work ideas and energy, innovation and hope, dreams and ambitions. Countries, supported by the international community, must create an enabling environment in which we may meet our potential and participate in our countries' development. In particular there is a need to focus on the many barriers to full equality faced by young women.

If our hopes and dreams are betrayed, then we may see significant increases in poverty, unemployment and marginalization among the young, problems that can result in crime, substance abuse and domestic instability. We also recognize that far too many young people today die in wars or suffer as refugees or displaced persons.

In Canada, we recognize a responsibility to help guide young people through these turbulent times. But we realize that this is not something government can do alone. We are firm believers in the power of partnerships, convinced that it takes the commitment and cooperation of parents, educators, employers and young people to meet the challenge.

In Canada, our vision stems from the simple but profound philosophy that everyone should have safe homes and safe streets, full employment opportunities, and fair and equitable treatment at home, at school and on the job.

Canada believes it is essential that young people be able to become participants and contributors to society. In Canada we help equip young people with skills, and help open the doors to free and full participation by young people in our country's future.

Ms. Poupart (Canada)

The Government of Canada has initiated policies and instituted a series of youth initiatives aimed at empowering young Canadians to discover their own potential to be part of the solution, so they can face the future with confidence. Before establishing these programmes, the Government consulted extensively with youth. Based on that input, the Government developed its Youth Employment and Learning Strategy. Its main components include Youth Service Canada, Youth Internship Canada, Student Summer Job Action and the Canada Student Loans Programme.

We are also proud of our efforts to help youth at the international level. Canada initiated the World Youth Leadership Training Summit, held here at the United Nations last summer. That summit provided youth from around the world the chance to come together and to focus, as agents of change, on their responsibilities and goals. In this context, we will welcome enthusiastically new initiatives on youth within the United Nations system and on the part of the relevant institutions.

Canada endeavours to offer meaningful educational and work opportunities to young people so that they may contribute to the workplace, the community, our country and soon, we hope, to the United Nations. By engaging Canada's young people in learning and work experiences, we are forming solid citizens who will be able to work for our country's -- and this planet's -- future. We are developing the workforce necessary to meet the challenges of a global economy, and producing the next generation of national and international leaders, parents and citizens. At the root of that revolution are teenagers and young adults who are turning the tide, working for a better tomorrow.

This celebration of the world's youth is confirmation the revolution has begun. Building on this momentum -- person by person, country by country -- we will undoubtedly recreate our global community in a way that not only mirrors our own dreams and hopes, but achieves our vision for our youth and our future.

The Acting President

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