CEDAW/C/GC/40 B. Effective youth leadership conditioned by parity 16. Young people have proven to be vital stakeholders in contributing to human rights, sustainable development and peace and security, and the importance of their representation in decision-making has been underlined by States. 29 Young people are recognized as critical agents of positive change, fulfilling their own potential and ensuring a world fit for future generations in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Pact for the Future. However, gender inequality betwee n girls and boys, young women and young men compromises their role in constructing a better world. Furthermore, existing approaches to youth engagement often view young people as a homogeneous group, reinforcing social norms and structures that perpetuate inequality. A transformative approach to young people’s engagement is required to reach parity in decision-making for current and future generations. Parity is essential to ensure that young people can build a peaceful, equal, inclusive and sustainable world that responds to their demands, implements their rights, ensures youth co-leadership and intergenerational solidarity, and enables them to anticipate and overcome crises. C. Intersectionality and the inclusion of women in all their diversity in decision-making systems 17. Under the Convention, States parties must address discrimination against women that intersects with other forms of discrimination, including newly emerging forms of discrimination. In its general recommendation No. 28 (2010) on the core obligations of States parties under article 2 of the Convention, the Committee clarifies that intersectionality is a basic concept for understanding the scope of States parties’ obligations, a concept further clarified in general recommendation No. 33 (2015) on women’s access to justice and No. 35 (2017) on gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19. The Committee consistently issues recommendations to address intersecting and evolving forms of discrimination, including in relation to decision-making roles, and has also issued general recommendations No. 18 (1991) on disabled women, No. 27 (2010) on older women and the protection of their human rights, No. 34 (2016) on the rights of rural women and No. 39 (2022) on the rights of Indigenous women and girls, in all of which it calls for equal and inclusive decision-making. To ensure truly inclusive decision-making systems, women in all their diversity, with particular attention to young people as guarantors of the sustainability of parity, need to be the leading forces in legislation, strategies, policies and programmes aimed at realizing this right. D. A comprehensive approach to decision-making systems across spheres 18. Decision-making spans various interconnected spheres. In its general recommendation No. 23 (1997) on women in political and public life, the Committee clarifies that States parties’ obligations under article 7 cover all areas of political and public life. Article 8 further guarantees women’s rights to represent their governments at the international level and participate in the work of international organizations. A joint reading of articles 7 and 8, alongside articles 5 and 9–16 elucidate an expansive approach to women’s representation in all decision-making systems. This aligns with __________________ 29 8/29 The Pact for the Future, General Assembly resolution 79/1; Human Rights Council resolutions 32/1, 35/14, 41/13 and 51/17; Security Council resolution 2250 (2015); and General Assembly resolution 76/137. 24-20036