9 November 1981

49th plenary meeting

Channels of communication between the United Nations and youth and youth organizations

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 32/135 of 16 December 1977, in which it adopted guidelines for the improvement of the channels of communication between the United Nations and youth and youth organizations,

Recalling its resolution 35/139 of 11 December 1980, in which it requested the Secretary-General, taking into account the views expressed by Governments, to submit to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth session, for adoption, proposals for additional guidelines, consistent with the guidelines already adopted in its resolution 32/135 and on the basis of the draft additional guidelines contained in the annex to its resolution 34/163 of 17 December 1979, as well as the suggestions of the Secretary-General in his reports to the Assembly at its thirty-third, thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth sessions,

Recalling also Economic and Social Council resolution 1980/25 of 2 May 1980 concerning co-ordination and information in the field of youth, Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General of 10 September 1981,

Nothing with appreciation that the report of the Advisory Committee for the International Youth Year contains useful proposals for the improvement of channels of communication between the United Nations and youth and youth organizations, Convinced of the need to improve the efforts of the United Nations and the specialized agencies with regard to the participation of youth in achieving the objectives of the Charter of the United Nations,

Equally convinced of the valuable contributions that youth can make in promoting co-operation among States and in implementing the new international economic order and the International Development Strategy for the Third United Nations Development Decade,

Taking note also of the valuable contribution that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization can make in the improvement of channels of communication between the United Nations and youth and youth organizations,

Bearing in mind the importance of the existence of channels of communication between the United Nations and youth and youth organizations for the proper information of youth and youth organizations and their effective participation in the United Nations and specialized agencies at the national, regional and international levels,

Convinced that the existence and the proper functioning of channels of communication between the United Nations and youth organizations form a basic prerequisite of the successful preparation, celebration and follow-up of the International Youth Year: Participation, Development, Peace,

1. Adopts the additional guidelines for the improvement of the channels of communication between the United Nations and youth and youth organizations set forth in the annex to the present resolution;

2. Requests Member States, specialized agencies and other intergovernmental organizations to implement these additional guidelines, together with the guidelines adopted in General Assembly resolution 32/135, in co-operation with youth organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council and with other youth organizations concerned;

3. Requests the Advisory Committee for the International Youth Year to promote the implementation of the additional guidelines, together with the guidelines adopted in resolution 32/135, during the preparation for and celebration of the International Youth Year: Participation, Development, Peace;

4. Requests the Secretary-General, on the basis of the reports of Member States, specialized agencies and other intergovernmental organizations as well as non-governmental youth organizations, to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-seventh session on the implementation of the present resolution.

ANNEX

Additional guidelines for the improvement of the channels of communication between the United Nations and youth and youth organizations

A. NATIONAL

1. Attention should be given to the expansion of advisory services on youth activities provided by the United Nations to Governments at their request.

2. Governments should consider the inclusion of youth representatives in their national delegations to the General Assembly and to other relevant United Nations meetings.

B. REGIONAL

3. The regional commissions should review their relationships with regional non-governmental youth organizations in order to facilitate co-operation with and among such organizations.

4. The regional commissions should pay special attention to the question of the active participation of youth in the process of development and should consider the need to co-operate closely with the international programmes of the International Labour Organisation, the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for the provision of services for and by youth with regard to employment.

5. In the context of paragraph 4 above, the Executive Secretaries of the regional commissions, within their mandates, should consider the promotion and co-ordination within their respective regions of all activities regarding the integration and participation of youth in development.

6. The regional commissions should consider the possibility of organizing regional workshops on questions relating to youth.

7. The regional commissions should, with the assistance of regional liaison officers, strengthen their co-operation with youth organizations.

C. INTERNATIONAL

8. The Administrative Committee on Co-ordination should continue arrangements for the promotion and co-ordination of activities in the field of youth and the integration of those activities into the over-all programmes of social and economic development. This could be done by, inter alia, regularly including the item concerning youth in its agenda or convening ad hoc interagency meetings on youth, or both.

9. The practice of providing internships for youth should be expanded in order to give a broad section of young people from all regions of the world the opportunity of being acquainted with the United Nations and thereby learning of its activities. Those internships should not be confined to United Nations Headquarters.

10. The Joint United Nations Information Committee should take into account the views of youth organizations representative of all regions of the world on all phases of production of United Nations publications of interest to youth and ensure the broadest possible circulation of such publications.

11. The Secretary-General should continue to strengthen and promote the relationship with, and assistance to, the Geneva informal meetings of international non-governmental youth organizations as an important channel of communication between the United Nations and youth and youth organizations.