Delegates: Ms. Clara Leiva Burger (21 years), Mr. Jens Christoph Parker (22 years)
State: Germany
85. Ms. Burger (Germany), speaking as the youth representative of Germany, said that the United Nations should reform its structures in order to make its processes more transparent, and that Member States should set aside their national agendas in order to act as united, rather than divided, nations.
86. The International Year of Youth generated mixed feelings, which showed not only that the United Nations was aware of the importance of youth, but also that it was not able to fulfil their expectations. The German delegation therefore called on Member States to use the remaining months of the International Year of Youth to improve their record in that regard.
87. Convinced that the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals was technically feasible, young people called on all Member States to double their efforts to that end. Clearly, the Millennium Development Goals were only an important first step towards a world where extreme poverty was found in history books rather than at the centre of international policy.
88. Young people wanted to be appreciated as equal partners and to be masters of their own destiny, participating fully in decision-making and helping to find solutions to their problems in a transparent and democratic manner.
89. Mr. Parker (Germany), also speaking as the youth representative of Germany, said that Member States should include youth delegates, selected through a transparent and democratic process, in their official delegations to all international conferences.
90. Furthermore, discrimination often deprived young people of the possibility of becoming active members of society. More than half a century since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it was unacceptable that some categories of people were still discriminated against, persecuted and even killed, solely owing to their sexual orientation.
91. Young people demanded equal access to formal and non-formal education, and more financial and structural support for youth-led organizations. They feared for their future, especially in times of crisis, and requested Member States to take action to ensure that every young person fulfilled his or her potential in his or her chosen profession.
UN Doc.: A/C.3/65/SR.1
Cite as:
UN Doc.: A/C.3/65/SR.1, 4 October 2010, p. 11, Youth Delegate Search: https://youthdelegatesearch.org/germany-2010/, doi: 10.17176/20221018-194205-0.