With Armed Groups on the Rise, Youth Engagement is More Important than Ever

Young people pose questions to Secretary-General António Guterres during a UN75 event with youth at the Graduate Institute in Geneva. António Guterres said despite youth engagement during this period – including in the 2016 peace process in Colombia and in shaping the Global Compact on Refugees two years later – opportunities for them to contribute remain inadequate. “The world cannot afford a lost generation of youth, their lives set back by COVID-19 and their voices stifled by a lack of participation”, he said. “Let us do far more to tap their talents as we tackle the pandemic and chart a recovery that leads to a more peaceful, sustainable and equitable future for all”. Credit: UN Photo/Jean Marc FerreBy Siobhan O’Neil and Kato Van BroeckhovenNEW YORK, Oct 7 2020 (IPS) As governments worldwide struggle to contain COVID-19, recent reports suggesting armed groups like Islamic State are resurging offer a sobering account of the many challenges that the global community now faces. Indeed, the UN Secretary-General has warned that we must not let armed groups exploit fragilities caused by the pandemic, as “like the virus, terrorism does not respect national borders.” The COVID-19 pandemic – and resulting economic fallout – has created fresh opportunities for gangs, criminal syndicates, and armed groups to instrumentalize the pandemic and grow their ranks. From calls to weaponize the virus against police officers, efforts to exacerbate the chaos being ...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Featured Global Headlines Health IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse Population Regional Categories TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news