Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A Group of Friends for Youth Rights has been established at the UN headquarters in New York at the initiative of Uzbekistan, Dunyo news agency reported.

Yesterday, a presentation was held, timed to coincide with the launch of the Group of Friends for Youth Rights, with the participation of the envoy of the Secretary General for Youth Affairs Jayatma Vikramanayake, the leadership of the Permanent Missions of over 70 member countries, as well as experts from the UN structural units.

The group united 22 states - Azerbaijan, Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, India, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Morocco, UAE, Oman, El Salvador, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan.

Opening the event, Bakhtiyor Ibragimov, Permanent Representative to the UN, noted the increasing number of challenges faced by young people. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated all existing systemic problems and disproportionately affects young people. In this regard, investing in youth empowerment will lead to more equitable societies and positive social change. All of this can be effectively accomplished through a youth-friendly international legal instrument that will integrate existing mechanisms, embrace new elements and encourage effective implementation.

For these reasons, in his speeches at the 72nd and 75th sessions of the UN General Assembly, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized the importance of strengthening multilateral cooperation in the field of social support for the younger generation and proposed to develop an International Convention on the Rights of Youth - a single international legal document aimed at formation and implementation of youth policy, protection of the rights and interests of youth.

The call of our head of state is reflected in the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Youth and Human Rights, which emphasizes the need to “renew and strengthen the commitment to the implementation of youth rights” and “take all necessary measures to ensure that young people were able to exercise their rights without discrimination”. Among the measures that most effectively promote youth rights, the High Commissioner supported the consideration of the possibility of adopting an international instrument on youth rights.

The convention will make a huge contribution to the creation of a common space with common values, will help expand opportunities for self-realization of young people, will contribute to the formation of socio-economic, legal, institutional conditions and guarantees for the social development of youth, and reveal their creative potential in the interests of the whole society.

UN envoy for youth affairs Jayatma Vikramanayake expressed her sincere gratitude to Uzbekistan for its leadership in encouraging and supporting youth, promoting such a significant topic - the rights and freedoms of young people.

She said that over the past few years, Uzbekistan has truly managed to create a solid platform for ensuring the participation of young people in the life of the country, expanding their socio-economic opportunities. In her words, Tashkent is at the forefront of the implementation of the approved in 2018. UN Youth Strategy 2030, which is happening “at an accelerated pace”.

Jayatma Vikramanayake stated that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the existing systemic problems of young people and will still have a serious impact on young people in the coming years. At the same time, in her opinion, the current situation opens up new opportunities for sustainable recovery and the achievement of more ambitious goals.

Permanent representatives of Oman, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, Algeria, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, Costa Rica, Kiribati, El Salvador, Tajikistan and experts from diplomatic missions of Afghanistan, India, Colombia, Morocco, UAE, Turkey and other countries, who spoke during the event, welcomed the creation of the Group friends for youth rights. They highly appreciated the leading role of the Uzbek side in promoting youth themes within the UN. They expressed their conviction that the new platform will be instrumental in intensifying discussions on youth topics, as well as promoting the Convention on the Rights of Youth.