Youth, Peace and Security Roadmap contributes to work on advancing inclusion

VIENNA, 4 December 2025 - The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Elina Valtonen, launched the OSCE-wide Roadmap for strengthening OSCE efforts on Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) during the 32^nd meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council today. 

The Roadmap is one of the concrete outputs of the Finnish Chairpersonship, reinforcing broader efforts to promote inclusion. Empowering youth, civil society actors, women, and persons with disabilities makes societies more resilient, advancing democracy and lasting peace by ensuring every voice counts.

From commitment to action: Youth, Peace and Security Roadmap

The YPS Roadmap marks the 50^th anniversary year of the Helsinki Final Act and the 10^th anniversary year of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250. It has been developed based on consultations conducted throughout the year, including with participants of the Chairpersonship Youth Forum that took place in Helsinki in July 2025.

The Roadmap provides OSCE structures, participating States and Partners for Co-operation a coherent framework to systematically advance the YPS agenda. It strengthens co-operation across the Organization and provides tangible options for concrete action. Its recommendations are meant to give practical guidance and inspiration, are voluntary by nature and directed at different levels of ambition.

“Across the OSCE region and beyond, young people are not waiting for change; they are driving it. From demanding climate action to standing up for human rights, youth are showing us that courage and creativity are not bound by age”, said Minister Valtonen.

In addition to the practical recommendations, the Roadmap serves as a living resource. It offers an overview of OSCE commitments and activities on the YPS agenda, while highlighting also good practices for meaningful youth engagement. The Roadmap is a living document and may be updated and expanded as necessary.

Promoting inclusion and civil society engagement during the Finnish Chairpersonship

The launch of the OSCE-wide Roadmap for strengthening OSCE efforts on YPS marks the latest in a series of initiatives introduced by the Finnish Chairpersonship to promote inclusion.

In April, Finland launched the OSCE-wide Roadmap on Women, Peace and Security (WPS). The Roadmap contains 17 concrete, tangible actions that participating States pledge to undertake in support of the WPS agenda. Already 30 participating States from across the OSCE region have pledged to take action based on  the Roadmap and its implementation will continue beyond 2025. 

In addition, the Helsinki recommendations on meaningful engagement with civil society in the OSCE were launched during the Parallel Civil Society Conference held on 3 December in Vienna. The document is a collection of recommendations that aim to support the OSCE in ensuring a more systematic, strategic and meaningful engagement with civil society actors. Amid an unstable global environment, the OSCE has the opportunity and responsibility to draw on its strengths and engage more effectively with the knowledge and capabilities of civil society.

Finland’s OSCE Chairpersonship has also promoted accessibility and equal participation through inclusion of persons with disabilities. The Chairpersonship created a checklist for organizing inclusive events in consultation with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), ODIHR’s Advisory Panel on the Political Participation of Persons with Disabilities, OSCE Conference and Language Services and Abilis Foundation, to plan and organise accessible and inclusive events.