Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- "The adoption of a single International Convention on the Rights of Youth is felt more acutely than ever." This was noted during the Samarkand web-forum "Youth 2020: Global Solidarity, Sustainable Development and Human Rights."

During the two-day forum on human rights (on 12-13 August 2020), opinions are voiced about the need for active participation of young people in democratic processes. This provision, along with others, is enshrined in the draft Convention on the Rights of Youth, which is discussed during the forum by an authoritative expert community.

“Older generations should involve young people in all spheres of society and society as a whole,” said Georgy Tsereteli, Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE PA).

Speaking on 12 August at the opening of the Samarkand Web Forum on Human Rights, he stressed that "young people are underrepresented in most national parliaments and, as a consequence, in the OSCE PA."

“Recognizing this, our Assembly has called for increased international cooperation to promote youth policy dialogue, capacity building and the exchange of best practices. At the beginning of this year, we created a network of young parliamentarians, which is designed to provide all the tools and resources of the OSCE PA to help these young leaders to reach their full potential,” G. Tsereteli said.

He also noted the importance of the fact that during the pandemic, the organizers of the Samarkand Forum, dedicated to youth rights issues, managed to bring this project to life.

The fact that the forum was able to organize and hold "at such a critical moment, when the health and economy of cities and people around the world are under serious threat, as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic," the Secretary General of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) said in his greeting. Muhammad Reza Majidi.

“The main issue on our agenda today is focused on human rights with a special emphasis on the rights of youth,” said the head of APA, stressing that today “young people aged 15 to 25 make up almost 50 percent of the world’s population”.

“Youth is the future of any democracy. Today’s youth are the leaders of tomorrow, and this can already bring new ideas for solving world problems,” said Muhammad Reza Majidi. In this regard, he expressed gratitude to the President of Uzbekistan for his initiative put forward during the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly on "the development and adoption of an international convention on the rights of youth."

According to the head of APA, "undoubtedly, this is a long-awaited initiative, since the adoption of a single international convention on the rights of youth is felt more acutely than ever."

“As stated in the preamble of the draft Convention, youth is seen as one of the main human resources needed to achieve development goals and is the main vehicle for social transformation, economic development and technological progress. Indeed, a truly inclusive society must create the necessary conditions for youth to participate in social, economic and political development. Otherwise, the negative impact of the digital age will manifest itself as a result of the rapid development of modern technologies that will rapidly change lives, jobs, education, expectations and opportunities, while at the same time global youth unemployment will rise,” the head of APA said.

According to him, “it is imperative to channel the energies of young people into activities that lead to tangible benefits and contribute to the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and other strategies. Future success will depend on the engagement of the younger generation at national, regional and global levels.”

The active activity of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the field of human rights, a clear example of which is the Samarkand Forum, was noted in his greeting by the Chairman of the Executive Committee - Executive Secretary of the CIS Sergey Lebedev.

“We all understand that youth is our future. But not only the future. We acknowledge the important and positive contribution of young people to the cause of peace and security, economic and social development, humanitarian activities,” said Lebedev.

The national key organizer of the Forum is the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan, represented by the National Center for Human Rights and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Samarkand Forum is supported by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UNHCR Regional Office for Central Asia, the UN Country Team, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the OSCE Project Coordinator in Uzbekistan, the ... F. Ebert and other international partners.