Working with and for youth in vulnerable situations

About the partnership

In 2021, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) joined forces with Education Above All and Silatech to kick off a partnership focusing on human rights of youth: ‘Working with and for youth in vulnerable situations including conflict, violence, and insecurity’.

The partnership aimed at empowering and mobilizing young people, and particularly those in vulnerable situations, to stand up for their human rights. To do so, the partners worked together with young people, youth-led and youth-focused organizations, to develop and disseminate learning resources on human rights knowledge, skills and advocacy.

In the initial pilot phase and by the end of 2022, key outputs of the partnership included:

• The establishment of a Youth Advisory Board
• A series of youth consultations at regional and/or country-level
• The development of a tool on youth and human rights

Youth Advisory Board

A Youth Advisory Board consisting of ten young people from different countries and regions was established in early 2022 to provide input and feedback on the overall project direction and focus, and to ensure youth participation throughout the process. The Youth Advisory Board concluded its mandate with the completion of the first phase of the project in December 2022.

More information on the Youth Advisory Board members is available here.

Youth consultations

A series of online youth consultations took place in May-June 2022 at the regional and country level in order to engage with young people on the topic of youth and human rights. More information regarding the consultations is available in the Concept Note. A report from each consultation is available below.*

• Western Africa (regional consultation) | 20 & 24 May | Report (English)
• Uzbekistan (national consultation, offline/in-person) | 26 & 27 May | Report (English)
• Europe (regional consultation) | 30 & 31 May | Report (English)
• Guatemala & Latin America (national & regional consultation) | 2 & 9 June | Report (English) – Reporte (Español)
• Middle East and North Africa (regional consultation) | 9 & 14 June | Report (English)
• Eastern & Southern Africa (regional consultation) | Report (English)

*Disclaimer: the consultation reports summarize key discussion points and topics raised by participants, and do not reflect the official positions of OHCHR, Education Above All or Silatech.

The outcomes from the consultations fed into the development of the Youth Rights Advocacy Toolkit.

Youth Rights Advocacy Toolkit

The Youth Rights Advocacy Toolkit, aimed at empowering young people to stand up for their human rights was developed through consultations with young people, including the partnership’s Youth Advisory Board.

The toolkit is primarily intended for use by young people and youth activists, including young human rights defenders and young peacebuilders, as well as youth-led, youth-focused and youth-serving organizations.