102 \ Global Youth Development Index and Report 2016 Youth and Peace-Building: Evidence and Guiding Principles Lakshitha Saji Prelis Director, Children and Youth Programs, Search for Common Ground, and Co-Chair, Inter-Agency Working Group on Youth and Peacebuilding The international community has embraced the idea that young people can be partners for peace and agents of positive change, moving beyond youth as victims or perpetrators of violence. The most concrete evidence of this is the passage in December 2015 of the landmark United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250, which codifies the role of young people as partners in peacebuilding. It was the culmination of over five years of effort by a coalition of cross-sector stakeholders. Their collective efforts have set out a path for governments and civil society organisations to partner with young people in promoting stability and security around the world. Working with young people as partners ushers in a major shift in the way governments, media, civil society and other actors engage with conflict: away from adversarial approaches (pitching one side against the other) towards co-operative solutions (allowing parties to focus collectively on issues rather than each other). For this shift to happen, change needs to be targeted at various levels: • Change perception of self: transform from the identity of perpetrator of violence to peace- and bridge-builder. • Change perception of ‘the other’: challenge stereotypes and prejudices by giving people an opportunity to hear each other’s stories and witness one another’s humanity. • Change perception of the issues: help parties focus on the sources of conflict by increasing their knowledge and understanding of the issues. • Transform the process: model and demonstrate inclusive, participatory processes; train people to participate in them; and support the creation of new, more collaborative institutions at community, national, regional and international levels. To promote the idea of young people as partners in peace, and roll out related policy and programming, an Inter-Agency Working Group on Youth and Peacebuilding,65 composed of international organisations including the Commonwealth Secretariat, civil society stakeholders and scholars, launched Guiding Principles on Young People’s Participation in Peacebuilding in April 2014.66 These Guiding Principles articulate the ways in which young people can be made partners in peace-building. The next collective task for the world is to take meaningful action on Resolution 2250 locally and nationally. The resolution contains some concrete recommendations for the path ahead. Since the marginalisation of youth is detrimental to peace, young people must be given the opportunity to participate in decision making, including in peace processes and the implementation of such processes. Young women and men must be protected during conflict, including from sexual and gender-based violence. Youth from diverse backgrounds should be provided with adequate support in the form of policy and education so they can engage constructively in peace-building efforts. The state should promote a culture of peace, tolerance, intercultural and inter-religious dialogue that involves youth, and it must also take an active stand against acts of violence, terrorism, xenophobia and all forms of discrimination. Resolution 2250 calls for recognition of the fact that many young women and men perform nontraditional roles during conflict but need support if they are forced back into traditional roles when they have to demobilise or reintegrate into society. Investing in sustainable partnerships with youth-led organisations could be a critical factor in ensuring the success of all such initiatives. Many young people desire to be part of, and at times fight for, something greater than themselves. This aspiration of the young is sometimes exploited by criminal gangs and extremist movements but it can also be channelled into ensuring that young people support constructive narratives that sustain peace over violence. The message ‘we need you, you are strong, if you join our cause we can succeed’ can be a clarion call for transforming the youth bulge (including over 600 million young people who live in conflict and fragile settings) into a peace bulge, particularly if it is accompanied by efforts to invest in young people as partners and leaders in peace-building.