Youth & Political Protests
Bringing youth concerns during political protests to the international level
Led by
The Millennials Movement, in cooperation with other youth organizations
Scope
National (Colombia); International (United Nations)
Stakeholders targeted
- Youth-led organizations
- United Nations entities, e.g. the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth
Youth rights in focus
- Right to participation, with a focus on civic engagement
- Right to freedom of opinion or expression
- Right to freedom of peaceful assembly
Main objectives
- To identify the main issues facing young people in Colombia in the context of protests, and convey them to key UN stakeholders
Key outcomes
30 young people from Colombia shared their views and concerns through a series of youth hearings, contributing to a summary compilation shared with youth representatives at the UN
Success factors
Providing a safe space for young people to express themselves freely, while giving the opportunity to all participants to contribute
Challenges
- Lack of information about how to address human rights violations for youth
- Lack of knowledge and integration of human rights by youth affected by different types of human rights violations
- Limitations of online-only events; reaching young people without internet access
Lessons learned
- Providing a safe space is critical
- Follow-up and continuity
- It is important to have capacity building on the options available to submit information on human rights concerns or violations for youth
