Delegate: Mr. Mattia Zanazzi (24 years)
19. Mr. Zanazzi (Switzerland), speaking as a youth delegate, said that 2012 marked 10 years since Switzerland had joined the United Nations. He was happy to see youth included among the priority areas of the Five-Year Action Agenda of the Secretary-General. The appointment of a special adviser for youth and the creation of youth volunteer programme and action plan would give a voice to young people around the world.
20. The year 2012 was also the twentieth anniversary of the original Rio Earth Summit, whose outcome document had stressed the importance of education to sustainable development, and the twentieth anniversary of the adoption by the General Assembly of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. For minorities, access to education was often limited by discrimination, economic conditions and geographic location. The United Nations World Programme of Action for Youth promoted education based on mutual respect and tolerance. Education was one way for minorities to overcome disadvantage and become contributors to the community. The United Nations needed to act to fulfil the promise of the 20-year-old Rio Declaration to the youth of the world.
UN Doc.: A/C.3/67/SR.2
Cite as:
UN Doc.: A/C.3/67/SR.2, 24 December 2012, p. 4, Youth Delegate Search: https://youthdelegatesearch.org/switzerland-2012/, doi: 10.17176/20221018-193815-0.