Agents of Peace: Young People and Violent Conflict Youth on the Fringes of Development Professor Lata Narayan Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India A substantial proportion of young people in the world are considered marginalised and vulnerable, which means they have minimal economic, social, cultural and political rights. Marginalisation is dehumanising, leaving people with little say in the decisions that affect their own lives. Marginalised young people are often vulnerable to psychological trauma, and physical abuse and are at a relative disadvantage when accessing education, training, stable employment, healthcare and adequate nutrition. The slogan ‘leave nobody behind’ can ring hollow for this large group of young people. Marginalised youth includes street children or those engaged in exploitative labour; victims of violence or abuse (physical, emotional, sexual) and human trafficking; young people who face stigmatisation because of their identity as a member of a particular religion, tribe, caste or race; those with a mental or physical disability; rural youth; urban poor; migrants, refugees and those displaced by natural and human-made disasters; those in detention or the care of the state (the youth population in prisons, shelter homes, orphanages and remand institutions); young soldiers forced into taking up arms; socially ostracised groups such as young people in detention, sex workers, HIV-affected youth and the LGBTI community. For many young people, these forms of marginalisation are complex and multidimensional, which compounds the inequalities they experience. It is critical to emphasise that marginalisation occurs within the context of structural inequalities: the monopolisation of power, resources and opportunities by some can actively push others to the periphery of society. Youth development and they remain vulnerable to radicalisation and extremism. The youth bulge that a number of countries are experiencing can be a risk, particularly if adequate investments are not made to harness and develop the capabilities of young people. The narrative around high youth populations continues to focus on security policy and practices often focus on addressing capacity development and empowerment of the individual to help them mitigate their vulnerabilities. However, it is important to also acknowledge how the socio-economic and political context, ranging from the hierarchy of power to the laws and policies that permeate all levels of society, can contribute to the exclusion and isolation of some categories of youth. The marginalisation of a young person is not primarily a ‘deficit issue’ that can be mitigated by capacity and resilience-building programmes alone. It is also necessary to address the structural and systemic factors that propagate the inequalities in the first place. More finely disaggregated data will help highlight different forms of marginalisation and inequality faced by young people, but primary data on marginalised youth are hard to come by. The current invisibility of many youth sub-groups results in policies that are often misguided and fall short of supporting those who need it the most. At the community level, creating spaces for dialogue, building resilience, encouraging civic and political engagement through education, and exploring marginality through cultural action are some of the initiatives that can help engage and empower marginalised youth. At the national level, young people and their advocates must press for change of the structural inequalities that leave young people on the fringes of society. A large cohort of young people who cannot find ‘meaning’ in their lives will result in a frustrated ‘youth bulge’, which could become yet another source of social and political unrest across the world. and the threat of idle young people. Finding decent employment opportunities is a clear priority for most young people, but their political, social and cultural demands – their desire for democracy, peace, equality, transparency and good governance – must also be recognised as legitimate factors in the effort to build peaceful and tolerant societies. \ 101