Our mandate on youth

The role and inclusion of youth in the OSCE’s security agenda goes back to the Helsinki Final Act 1975 and has been reaffirmed and strengthened several times by the participating States since then. In the Final Act, the States committed themselves “to further the development of contacts and exchanges among young people” to foster “mutual understanding” and strengthen “friendly relations and confidence among peoples.”

Nearly four decades later, the 2014 Basel Ministerial Council adopted a “Declaration on Youth”, which reaffirmed the contribution of youth in the implementation of OSCE commitments in all three dimensions of security.

The 2015 Belgrade Ministerial Council “Declaration on Youth and Security” stressed the importance of promoting the implementation of the OSCE commitments on youth.

The 2018 Milan Ministerial Council “Declaration on the Role of Youth in Contributing to Peace and Security Efforts” recognized that “youth are an important part of society” and highlighted “the role that [youth] can play in supporting participating States in the implementation of commitments in all three dimensions”.