United Nations Advocacy

A glimpse into the future...

In 2007, the focus of UNOY Peacebuilders is still on the international decade for a Culture of Peace an Non-Violence. We will advocate our recommendations to the European Union and the United Nations. Since no EU country but Portugal has co-signed the resolution for a Culture of Peace yet, UNOY Peacebuilders plans to go to Brussels, Strasbourg and Paris to lobby the EU and UNESCO. Hopefully, we will get other countries to sign as well! Our action plans will be posted on this website, so please make sure to check up on a regular basis!

Achievements of the UNOY Peacebuilders Advocacy Teams so far

For the last two years, the main focus of the Youth Advocacy Teams has been on the Culture of Peace and youth participation in decision making. The Youth Advocacy Teams (YATs) of 2005 and 2006 have achieved great successes.

In 2006, the Youth Advocacy Team met with the representatives of 67 Permanent Missions, in many cases the ambassadors themselves, as well as representatives from several organs of the UN. They managed to move the UN closer to a Culture of Peace by including an amendment to the 2006 Resolution on the Culture of Peace. The amendment includes the Culture of Peace in the mandate of the Peacebuilding Commission. The YAT also managed to increase the number of co-sponsors to the 2006 resolution from 105 to 114, gained recognition for the efforts of the youth to mobilize a change by the Ambassador of Bangladesh, and were recognized in the UN news agency Media Alert and several other official UN press releases. Finally, the Global Youth Report on the Culture of Peace was included in the high-level report of Alliance of Civilizations, and as a “decisive contribution to the Culture of Peace”, the creation of a Global Youth Leadership Fund is now on its way.

The Youth Advocacy Team of 2006 built on the achievements made by the YAT of 2005. The YAT 2005, in cooperation with Fundación Cultura de Paz, successfully lobbied for the number of signatories of the Culture of Peace Resolution to increase from 66 in 2004 to 105 in 2005. They also drafted an amendment to the resolution that was passed by the General Assembly, commending civil society and young people for their activities in further promoting the international decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence. The YAT further managed to give the World Civil Society Mid Decade Report which was compiled by Fundación Cultura de Paz and UNOY Peacebuilders more publicity. Furthermore, UNOY Peacebuilders were explicitly recognized in the speeches of the Representative of the European Union:

"The European Union pays particular tribute to the United Network of Young Peacebuilders. Their work is an example to us all and evidence of the role that civil society cab play in advancing a culture of peace."
Adam Thomson, rep. of EU, at the UN General Assembly, 20 October 2005.