Delegates: Ms. Karine Rusaro Utamuliza, Mr. Aloys Ntezimana (25 years)
15. Ms. Rusaro Utamuliza (Rwanda), speaking as a youth delegate, said that participation of African youth in the international dialogue on development was still very limited, including in the Committee’s current discussion on youth issues. Rwanda, whose people were still healing from the 1994 Tutsi genocide, offered a promising example of policies and programmes aimed at mainstreaming youth into development plans, based on the framework provided by the Government’s Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy and the Millennium Development Goals.
16. Mr. Ntezimana (Rwanda), speaking as a youth delegate, said that the long-term goal of the Rwandan Youth Sector Strategic Plan was to empower youth to participate in the sustainable social and economic transformation of the country. Medium-term goals included creating a supportive policy environment for youth and enhancing their productive capacity, in line with the broader vision of transforming the agrarian economy into a knowledge-based economy, creating a productive middle class and fostering entrepreneurship.
17. Poverty, unemployment and health-related challenges were major constraints to youth [*4*] development and threatened political stability, while policy planning and implementation needed improvement. The support of the international community in addressing such issues was of critical importance. He called on Member States to develop a programme for youth from least developed countries aimed at building their entrepreneurial education and providing them access to loans; assist least developed countries in establishing national centres for the transfer of technology and scientific knowledge; and to support the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and implementation of the Rwandan Youth Sector Strategic Plan. Lastly, the establishment of a new United Nations agency on youth could play a decisive role in addressing pressing issues affecting this group throughout the world.
UN Doc.: A/C.3/66/SR.5
Cite as:
UN Doc.: A/C.3/66/SR.5, 4 October 2011, p. 3, Youth Delegate Search: https://youthdelegatesearch.org/rwanda-2011/, doi: 10.17176/20221018-193913-0.