Nairobi 14 December 2015—UN-Habitat has hailed the UN Security Council for passing the resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security saying it was an important paradigm shift.

“UN Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security is a paradigm shift, away from the idea of young people being seen as a threat to security towards them taking leadership roles in transforming violent conflict to peaceful co-existence. The resolution calls on all stakeholders to engage young women and men as partners in this process. SCR 2250 is a ground breaking achievement. For the first in its history, the Security Council recognizes that young men and women play an important and positive role in the maintenance and promotion of international peace and security,” UN-Habitat Deputy Executive Director Dr. Aisa Kacyira Kirabo said.

In a statement, the DED said that UN-Habitat believed in the full and meaningful engagement of youth, especially those in situations of conflict. “It is estimated that a 600 million young people are living in conflict zones or fragile states, many of them in the cities and towns of the world. We at UN-Habitat engage these youth, either directly or in partnership with local and national governments, seeking to partner with them to improve their lives and that of their communities,” she said citing programmes such as the Urban Youth Fund and the One Stop Youth Resource Centres that have directly supported tens of thousands of youth in these situations, from Mogadishu, Somalia to Saana, Yemen.

She hailed the resolution saying it offered hope to the countries and communities plagued by violence; and that it was  a framework which will give hope to the many youth who are struggling to bring about peace. We at UN-Habitat know through our programmes that youth are actively engaged day to day in creating peaceful environments.

Dr. Kacyira further saluted the leadership from the Government of Jordan, who embraced the issue and elected to the Security Council, first with an open debate in April, then in the summer by hosting a Global Forum on Youth, Peace and Security in Amman, Jordan, and ultimately by assembling Security Council member around the resolution.