A/HRC/RES/48/12
religion or belief, freedom of movement, as well as in living free from violence and gaining
access to legal aid, in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Recalling also General Assembly resolutions 74/270 of 2 April 2020, 74/274 of 20
April 2020, 74/306 of 11 September 2020 and 74/307 of 11 September 2020, and Human
Rights Council resolutions 44/2 of 16 July 2020 and 46/14 of 29 March 2021, and the
statement by the President of the Council of 29 May 2020,2
Recalling further its resolutions 32/1 of 30 June 2016, 35/14 of 22 June 2017 and
41/13 of 19 July 2019,
Acknowledging that the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and
Beyond sets out a policy framework and provides practical guidelines for national action and
international support for the advancement of youth,
Recalling the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, in which it is stated that
all human rights are universal, indivisible, interrelated, interdependent and mutually
reinforcing, and that all human rights must be treated in a fair and equal manner, on the same
footing and with the same emphasis,
Recalling also the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on universal health
coverage, held in New York on 23 September 2019, and reaffirming its political declaration,
entitled “Universal health coverage: moving together to build a healthier world”, 3
Encouraging States to effectively implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development, and reaffirming the need to develop and implement strategies that give young
people real opportunities to enable their effective and meaningful participation in society,
free from discrimination on the basis of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status,
Taking note with appreciation of the report of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights, in which she provided an overview of the international and regional
human rights framework applicable to young people and described the challenges and
discrimination encountered by them,4
Noting with appreciation the launch by the Secretary-General, in September 2018, of
the United Nations Youth Strategy, entitled “Youth 2030: working with and for young
people”, to address the needs of young people and to fulfil their potential as agents of change,
Taking note with appreciation of Security Council resolutions 2250 (2015) of 9
December 2015 on youth and peace and security, and 2535 (2020) of 14 July 2020, in which
the Council underlined the important role that young people have had in the promotion of
peace, sustainable development and human rights, and the importance of their active, full,
meaningful and inclusive participation in relevant decision-making, in particular in the civic
and political spheres, and of the implementation of the youth and peace and security agenda,
including in COVID-19 response and recovery efforts,
Recognizing the important role of youth volunteer movements and communities
around the world, which have made significant contributions in helping during the COVID19 pandemic and in overcoming its consequences,
Bearing in mind that today’s generation of young people is the largest the world has
ever witnessed and that young people participate in decision-making processes to ensure that
their challenges and potential are addressed by policy, and therefore encouraging States to
make further efforts to ensure the respect, protection and fulfilment of all human rights for
all young people, including all economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights, given that
lack of participation and opportunity has adverse consequences for communities and
societies,
2
3
4
2
A/HRC/PRST/43/1.
General Assembly resolution 74/2.
A/HRC/39/33.