Scope, Modalities, Format and Organization of the High-Level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth

A/RES/79/289View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 26b Social development, including questions relating to the world social situation and to youth, ageing, disabled persons and the family, published in 2025.

What subjects does this mandate have?

3 subjects

Anniversaries Conferences Youth

What’s in this document?

21 operative paragraphs

Decides that the one-day high-level plenary meeting to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the World Programme of Action on Youth to be convened by the President of the General Assembly shall be held at United Nations Headquarters in New York on 25 September 2025 during the general debate of the Assembly at its eightieth session, from 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., and shall consist of an opening segment, a plenary segment for general discussion, two intergenerational multi-stakeholder panels and a brief closing segment;

Also decides that the overall theme of the high-level meeting will be “World Programme of Action for Youth at 30: accelerating global progress through intergenerational collaboration”;

Further decides that the organizational arrangements for the high-level meeting should be as follows:

The opening segment, to be held from 9 to 9.45 a.m., will feature statements by the President of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General, the Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs, two representatives of Member States at the level of Head of State or Government, and two youth champions, selected in consultation with Member States by the President of the General Assembly and giving due consideration to gender balance and geographical representation;

The plenary segment, to be held from 9.45 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 2.30 to 5.00 p.m., will comprise statements by Member States, members of the United Nations specialized agencies and observers of the General Assembly; a list of speakers will be established in accordance with the rules of procedure and established practices of the Assembly and the time limits for these statements will be three minutes for individual delegations and five minutes for statements made on behalf of a group of States; with the sharing of statement time with youth representatives who are members of official delegations encouraged;

The closing segment, to be held from 5 to 5.30 p.m., will comprise summaries of the intergenerational multi-stakeholder thematic panel discussions, as well as concluding remarks by the President of the General Assembly and a youth champion;

Decides that the organizational arrangements for the two intergenerational multi-stakeholder panel discussions will be as follows:

Two intergenerational multi-stakeholder panel discussions will be held in parallel to the plenary segment, one from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and the other from 2.30 to 4.30 p.m.;

The panels will address the following themes:

Panel 1: Advancing implementation of the World Programme of Action for Youth to leave no one behind;

Panel 2: Full, effective and meaningful youth participation, at national and international levels, for the benefit of current and future generations;

Each of the two panels will be co-chaired by two representatives, one from a developed country and one from a developing country, to be appointed by the President of the General Assembly from among the Heads of State or Government attending the high-level meeting, in consultation with Member States, taking into account gender balance, level of development and geographical representation;

The President of the General Assembly may invite parliamentarians, local governments, the heads or senior representatives of relevant United Nations entities, and international financial institutions, development partners, civil society, the private sector, academia, Indigenous Peoples, older persons, persons with disabilities and community organizations to serve as speakers on the panels, taking into account gender balance, level of development, geographical representation and the representation of youth;

Requests the President of the General Assembly to prepare a concise summary of the high-level meeting and to bring the summary to the attention of Member States, relevant United Nations entities and other stakeholders;

Encourages all Member States and observers of the General Assembly and members of the United Nations specialized agencies to participate in the high-level meeting, including the panels, at the level of Head of State or Government or at the highest possible level;

Invites representatives of non‑governmental organizations with relevant expertise that are in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council to register with the Secretariat to attend the high-level meeting;

Requests the President of the General Assembly to draw up a list of representatives of other relevant non‑governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions and the private sector who may participate in the high-level meeting, including its panel discussions, taking into account the principles of transparency and equitable geographical representation, with due regard for gender parity, to submit the proposed list to Member States for their consideration on a non‑objection basis¹ no later than July 2025 and to bring the list to the attention of the Assembly for a final decision by the Assembly on participation in the high-level meeting;

¹The list will include proposed as well as final names. The general basis of any objections, if requested by one or more States Members of the United Nations or States members of the specialized agencies, will be made known to the Office of the President of the General Assembly and the requester.

Invites representatives mentioned in paragraphs 6, 7 and 8 above to participate in the intergenerational multi-stakeholder panel discussions;

Encourages Member States and members of the United Nations specialized agencies to include in their delegations to the high-level meeting, as appropriate, youth, representatives of relevant stakeholders, such as parliamentarians, representatives of civil society, including non‑governmental organizations, youth-led and youth-focused organizations, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, people of African descent, community organizations and faith-based organizations, academic institutions, representatives of workers and employers and the private sector, with due regard to gender balance;

Encourages States and international donors, as well as the private sector, financial institutions, foundations and other donors, to support the participation of representatives of developing countries in the high-level meeting, including by providing financial contributions to the United Nations Youth Fund managed by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat;

Decides that the high-level meeting shall be webcast, and encourages the President of the General Assembly and the Secretary-General to give the highest visibility to the high-level meeting through all relevant media platforms and information and communications technologies.

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