What Works in Youth and Peace and Security

This document, created by YouthPower Learning's Community of Practice for Youth in Peace and Security, seeks to identify best practices, bright spots, and possible opportunities for their replication with a primary focus on preventing violent extremism/countering violent extremism (PVE/CVE). It operates under the hypothesis that youth engagement in positive alternatives to violence should be maximized in order for peace writ large to take hold.

On December 9, 2015 the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted an historic resol­­ution that recognizes the important role young people play in the prevention and resolution of conflict. Resolution 2250 creates the framework for nations to engage and empower youth as workers of peace through five pillars:

  • Participation,
  • Protection,
  • Prevention,
  • Partnerships, and
  • Disengagement and reintegration.

This resolution comes at a time when almost half of the world’s population is under the 24 years old, and an estimated 600 million youth live in conflict-affected areas. The resources listed under the sub-topics below relate to the five pillars from Resolution 2250.

 

This section is divided into the following sub-sections:

Promising Practices in Engaging Youth in Peace and Security and PVE/CVE

Cross-sector Peacebuilding Programs

Youth Participation and Partnerships

Disengagement and Reintegration of Youth

Issues Facing Refugees, IDPs, and Forced Migration

Preventing Gender-based Violence

Countering and Preventing Youth Recruitment into Violent Groups

Trauma and Mental Health