Global youth unemployment rate at all-time high, UN labour agency reports

The global youth unemployment rate is at a record high and is expected to climb even higher as the year progresses, the United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) announced today. According to a new report, of the world’s 620 million economically active youth between the ages of 15 and 24, 81 million were out of work at the end of 2009, the highest number ever.


The youth unemployment rate climbed from 11.9 per cent in 2007 to 13 per cent in 2009.
Such trends, the report noted, will have “significant consequences for young people as upcoming cohorts of new entrants join the ranks of the already unemployed.”
ILO warned of a possible ‘lost generation’ of young people dropping out of the labour market, “having lost all hope of being able to work for a decent living.”
The agency forecasts that the youth unemployment will reach 13.1 per cent this year before declining to 12.7 per cent, cautioning that youth unemployment rates have been more sensitive to the global economic downturn than those of adults.
Further, it said, the recovery of the job market for young men and women will probably lag behind that of adults.
In developing economies, home to 90 per cent of the world’s young people, youth are more vulnerable to unemployment and poverty. In 2008, nearly 30 per cent of all of the world’s young workers were employed but remained mired in extreme poverty in households surviving on less than $1.25 per day.
“In developing economies, crisis pervades the daily life of the poor,” said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia.
“The effects of the economic and financial crisis threaten to exacerbate the pre-existing decent work deficits among youth,” he added. “The result is that the number of young people stuck in working poverty grows and the cycle of working poverty persists through at least another generation.”
The new report found that unemployment, underemployment and discouragement can have a negative impact on young people in the long-term, compromising their future work prospects.
The cost of idleness among youth, it said, is that societies lost their investment in the education of young people, while governments receive fewer contributions to social security systems and must boost spending on remedial services.
“Young people are the drivers of economic development,” Mr. Somavia stressed. “Forgoing this potential is an economic waste and can undermine social stability.”
The current recession, he said, provides an opportunity to reconsider how to tackle the serious obstacles young people face when they enter the labour market. “It is important to focus on comprehensive and integrated strategies that combine education and training policies with targeted employment policies for youth.”
The report was launched to coincide with the start of the UN International Year of Youth, under the theme “Dialogue and Mutual Understanding.” The Year seeks to further the ideals of peace, respect for human rights and solidarity across generations, cultures, religions and civilizations.
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Global youth unemployment rate at all-time high, UN labour agency reports

UN Recognizes RP as “Serious Ally and Partner” in Integrating Gender Perspective in Peacekeeping Work

At the launching of the Guidelines in Integrating the a Gender Perspective into the Work of the United Nations Military in Peacekeeping on August 9, the United Nations recognized the Philippines as a "serious ally and partner," with the Undersecretary General for Peacekeeping Operations noting the presence and contributions of Filipina peacekeepers deployed around the world.

Undersecretary General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy praised the Philippines for "taking its role seriously in peace consolidation and for recognizing the importance of women as valuable partners in peacekeeping."

Speaking after the launch of the guidelines and a roundtable discussion on integrating gender perspective into the work of the United Nations military in peacekeeping operations here, Undersecretary General Le Roy said "The Philippines does not need to be convinced of its (integrating gender perspective) value.  We are thankful to the Philippines for its contributions to peacekeeping and in the efforts to integrate gender perspective in our peacekeeping work," added Roy.

Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations Libran N. Cabactulan welcomed USG Le Roy's statement and stressed anew the Philippines' commitment to integrating gender perspective in peacekeeping operations.

"Women have played an important role in peacekeeping around the world and we take pride in our female peacekeepers' contributions.  The guidelines issued by the UN will certainly help us move forward in our own gender integration efforts with our peacekeepers," Permanent Representative Cabactulan said.

The Guidelines issued by the UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and the Department of Field Support (DFS) seeks to support practical translation of existing mandates on women, peace and security among UN military peacekeeping personnel.

The Guidelines are intended to inform force generation goals in line with specific operational requirements for the selection and deployment of male and female military personnel, pre-deployment preparations and training of military personnel.

The Philippines sends peacekeeping troops and police to eight of 19 UN Missions.  68 Filipino women peacekeepers are present in Philippine troops serving in UN Missions in Haiti, Darfur, Golan Heights, Liberia, Sudan and Timor Leste.

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UN Recognizes RP as “Serious Ally and Partner” in Integrating Gender Perspective in Peacekeeping Work

UN agencies look to world’s youth to find solutions to global problems

United Nations agencies, peacekeeping missions and officials around the world marked the start today of the International Year of Youth with concerts and public forums and a call to celebrate the potential of the next generation to solve the problems of today. Speaking at the launch of the Year, as well as celebrations today for International Youth Day, senior UN officials said the estimated 1.2 billion people aged between 15 and 24 deserve greater attention from policymakers and governments.

“Young people have the energy and motivation to propose innovative solutions to today’s global challenges and the aspiration and tools to build bridges of dialogue across cultures,” UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General Irina Bokova said in a message marking International Youth Day, which is observed every 12 August.
She appealed for stepped-up public investment in youth, noting that the current global downturn has made the world more insecure for young people, especially those from vulnerable or marginalized groups.
“Youth policies that promote equity and directly engage young people must be strengthened,” Ms. Bokova stressed. “Development assistance policies should be better geared to address youth’s needs and concerns.”
The World Food Programme (WFP) has enlisted young people in its campaign to end world hunger, with more than 1 billion people are currently chronically hungry.
“You are the generation that will end hunger,” the agency’s Executive Director, Josette Sheeran, said at a seminar in London last month. “In the future, we want our grandchildren to ask us what hunger and starvation were.
For its part, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is hoping to employ the tremendous energy, imagination and initiative to promote peace and development.
The agency said that poor young people living in rural areas can help to feed the world’s population as tomorrow’s farmers and producers, but cautioned that they are also among the most vulnerable members of society.
“We should remember that these young women and men, with their hopes and dreams, hold our planet’s future in their hands,” IFAD President Kanayo F. Nwanze said. “Helping them gain access to investment and financial services means empowering them to start and expand businesses.”
He pointed to unemployment as a major problem that youth face, stressing that underemployment and outright exploitation are often harsh facts of life for young people in rural areas.
“In order to make a real difference to the lives of these young women and men, governments and development agencies must invest in agriculture and boost economic growth in rural areas,” Mr. Nwanze underscored, calling for increased resources for education, empowerment and access to finance.
The UN’s peacekeeping missions are also getting involved in the launch of the International Year.
The joint UN-African Union mission in Darfur, known as UNAMID, is organizing a concert for the youth of the war-ravaged Sudanese region. Entitled Together as One, the event will showcase the music of internationally-renowned Sudanese musicians Omar Ihsas and Nancy Ajaj.
Meanwhile in Timor-Leste, the UN mission there, UNMIT, took part in the opening of a National Youth Forum allowing young Timorese to share their visions of the future and their aspirations for their country.
“This event is about you, your lives, your opportunities, hopes and dreams,” Finn Reske-Nielsen, the acting Special Representative of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, told participants. “So, too, is the International Year of Youth. “Use these platforms well. I can assure you, the UN is listening and will hear your voices.”
The UN first marked the International Year of Youth in 1985. A decade later, the General Assembly adopted the World Programme of Action for Youth, setting a policy framework and guidelines for national action and international support to improve the situation of young people.
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UN agencies look to world’s youth to find solutions to global problems