Instead of treating young people as a problem or threat, Graeme Simpson, Interpeace USA, recognizes them as one of the most important partners of the multilateral system in building sustainable peace and preventing violence.

The greatest guarantee of UNSCR 2250 on youth, peace, and security reaching beyond the UN headquarters is to include young people themselves. Graeme Simpson, Interpeace USA, clarifies that the marginalisation and exclusion of young people cannot be addressed without recognising the importance of their role in peacebuilding.

The resilient resourcefulness of youth-led peacebuilding efforts

Young people should be recognised as one of the most important partners in building durable peace and their innovative strategies must be advanced and invested in. They have been building critical partnerships across all boundaries on the local, national, and international level. Their resourcefulness provides an enormous opportunity to prevent violent conflict and break down some of the barriers in human rights development. The vast majority of young people is not involved in violence but in building peace, so it is necessary to stop defining them as a risk and instead acknowledge the capacities the rich and dynamic field of youth-led peacebuilding has to offer.