Theme: Youth as actors of change for human rights  

Co-organisers: European External Action Service (EEAS), European Commission (DG INTPA), Human  Rights and Democracy Network (HRDN) 

Dates: The Forum will be a two-day event in Brussels, held on December 4th- 5th in Brussels.  Rationale: 

The Youth Cafe’s Executive Director, Willice Onyango, will be part of a panel discussing the “Rule of law and democracy“. Participants will focus on the specific barriers and threats that young human rights defenders face and their subsequent protection needs. The panel will zoom in on how young activists can support each other in staying safe and what partners can do to help young activists. This will be done while looking at the intersectionality of vulnerabilities and particular thematic issues. The participants will identify how national and regional protection policies and frameworks can fill the safety gaps.

Around the world, Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) and their movements and organizations challenge oppression, abuses, violations, and more generally the status quo. They collectively work for a better present and a better future, for more just and peaceful societies in which everyone is free to express themselves and to pursue and achieve their full potential. 

Youth are an essential part of human rights movements: they have the greatest interest in a better future; several issues, including for example climate change and environmental preservation can potentially have a greater impact on their lives than on any other group. Youth are particularly open to change and challenging existing social norms. 

Young people all around the world are key actors in emblematic human rights fights such as the promotion of gender equality and LGBTI rights, they are defending the right to live in a healthy environment and combating racial discrimination, corruption, extreme poverty, and social inequalities.  They are typically engaged in migrants’ rights, land rights, and promoting human rights in the digital sphere.  

Through innovative methods of action, they are pushing international, national, and local decision-makers to improve public policies.  

Like other HRDs, young HRDs face harassment, attacks, and intimidation. However, they also face particular threats and challenges. Youth engagement can be limited by exclusionary norms and structures, legal barriers, financial challenges, ill-adapted partnership models, and often vulnerable social positions in high-risk contexts. Girls and youth from vulnerable backgrounds face additional specific barriers. Young HRDs or young prospective HRDs struggle to get a seat at the table. It is often hard for them to share their lived experiences and voice their opinions with the relevant stakeholders and decision-makers. The exacerbation and deepening of social inequalities are particularly damaging to young people as it impacts all areas of their lives and curtails their potential. Additionally, other phenomena such as migration and brain drain significantly impact the potential of youth activism.

The 25th EU-NGO forum will look into different aspects of the work of young HRDs and the struggles and threats they face. In particular, it will explore the conditions and ways of working together — both as youth HRDs and with youth HRDs — that will better enable impactful engagement by current and future generations of young activists and intergenerational cooperation throughout the HRD  community. Participants will exchange with representatives of EU institutions, Member States, and other international organizations that (can) support young HRDs. 

Through interactive discussions, young human rights defenders, including those from within EU countries, will share their experiences and discuss what inspired them to activism and what barriers exist that prevent or dissuade many other young people from engaging in human rights work. How are human rights understood by young people from different parts of the world? They will also discuss what ways of working are more relevant to young HRDs and whether there are ways in which the human rights community and decision-makers can become more inclusive and open to the contributions and leadership of young people. They will share their experiences of working, inter alia, for social justice,  environmental protection, democratic accountability, and combatting non-discrimination. According to an intergenerational approach, the forum will also bring experts, activists, and organizations who work with and for the enhancement of youth participation. 

The Forum will also assess the physical, financial, and social risks that young HRDs face. 

Following the 2022 European Year of Youth and the adoption of the EU Youth Action Plan, the focus of the EU turned to implementation. The forum will allow us to reflect on how the EU can improve the protection of young human rights defenders, and promote their role as human rights and democracy watchdogs and their civic and political participation in the public sphere, including for young women.  

Objectives:  

• Support young HRDs in building a wider network by connecting them with other HRDs from different countries and regions, including the EU, and EU officials, and UN experts.

• Support networking and peer learning of young HRDs, including with inter-generational panels - involving knowledge transfer between different generations of HRDs).  

• Understand better how States and international organizations can tailor specific measures to  protect young HRDs 

• Gather inputs from young HRDs and youth associations on key human rights topics, including practical recommendations on EU external action. Identify ways to rebuild the constituency and engagement for human rights among young people and reflect on future human rights challenges and needs. 

• Awareness-raising of EU youth policies 

• Identify ways to give visibility to young HRDs, foster partnerships, and identify ways to engage with young people meaningfully in decisions affecting them. Identify ways to engage and support youth in their civic and political participation in the public sphere.  

Participants:

The Youth Cafe is delighted to participate in this event, which offers a unique opportunity for dialogue between civil society, young human rights defenders, and European institutions, including inter-generational panels.

Other participants will include (young) HRDs, members of youth associations, EU and UN experts,  and international human rights organizations.