Stronger youth movement, stronger democracy
Youth all around the world are standing up for democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of law. They are organized, courageous and peacebuilders. Through their work, they expand the democratic space in the OSCE region.
At the same time, despite their efforts, the democratic space continues to shrink regionally and globally. According to the V-Dem Institute at the University of Gothenburg, there are only 32 liberal democracies left. The OSCE has a crucial role in supporting the youth movement to strengthen democracy in the region.
The support, priority and protection from the OSCE is crucial for the youth movement in the region. Youth organizations face a myriad of consequences for their engagement depending on where they are active. In some countries, youth can hold their governments to account for their commitments without fear of retaliation, while in others, they are forced to hide.
The shrinking of democratic space has been going on for many years. It consists of many small steps, which at first might seem insignificant, but it is all those small steps which allow for the big steps to happen. We need to support the youth movement by monitoring how the shrinking democratic space is affecting youth organizations. The OSCE does this through its field operations that provide support through dialogue and consultations with relevant youth stakeholders. However, we need to monitor the shrinking space of the youth movement more closely.
The youth movement needs to be prioritized and youth included in the OSCE political agenda, more money needs to be allocated in the budget and more commitments decided at the ministerial council and the parliamentary assembly.
We need to show that prioritizing the youth movement is necessary to the youth, peace and security agenda. This could be done by establishing a cross-dimensional youth action plan that takes into account the politico-military, economic and environmental, and human dimensions of security. It could also be done by setting up a permanent consultative expert panel, consisting of free and independent youth organizations who comment on proposals and advise on steps forward related to youth, peace and security.
The youth, peace and security agenda needs to be mainstreamed throughout the work of the OSCE and participating States need to be held accountable to the joint commitments they have made. This includes mainstreaming the agenda in the field missions’ work, producing monitoring reports on states’ implementation of commitments, and enabling easy access to financing for youth organizations. There needs to be a culture of zero tolerance towards states infringing on the democratic space, with proper follow-up on monitoring reports and consequences for states that do not uphold their commitments.
It is not a coincidence, ad hoc or by mistake that the democratic space is shrinking. The youth movement, and civil society as a whole, have always been at the frontline of the democratic struggle. The OSCE has a close relationship with civil society and needs to continue that work by developing further support, priority and protection of the youth movement. Civil society is a union that represents the voices of the people and holds state powers accountable in a system of checks and balances. We, as the OSCE, need to do all that we can to expand and uphold our strong commitments to human rights, democracy and the rule of law. With the support of the OSCE and through state’s upholding their commitments, youth organizations will continue standing up for and strengthening democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of law for all.