Securing future for today’s youth

Today has been declared International Youth Day by the UN which will herald the International Youth Year running up to August 12, 2011. No doubt it is the present youth that will be in the forefront in attaining the UN Millennium Development Goals. Hence the pride of place given to youth by the world body.

The UN defines youth as those between the ages of 15 to 24. Youth represents 18 percent of the global population of 6.2 billion people. It says 87 percent of youth who live in developing countries face challenges brought about by limited access to resources, healthcare, education, employment, training and economic opportunities.

True, but what has the UN done to alleviate these conditions of the youth population in poor nations. By revealing the above statistics the UN has admitted there is inequality in the treatment of youth in the third world countries. But what has it done to ensure an equitable distribution of resources that would benefit its member states in the developing world.

Today, there is glaring imbalance in the distribution of wealth between the rich and the poor countries which has had an impact on the youth population of the latter.

Therefore the first thing to be addressed by the UN is for a more equitable distribution of resources which would not only curb youth unrest and rebellions that would be an indirect threat to world peace but also draw the youth population into more productive endeavours that would help the UN achieve its Millennium Development Goals.

But from what we see, the UN has only being paying lip service to matters concerning the world’s youth. If not, how can it remain silent at the large scale destruction of the lives of youth in the countries bombarded by multi-national forces?

It is well-known that these military strikes were deliberate acts by powerful countries to maintain their hegemonistic designs on third world nations about whose youth UN is weeping buckets today.

What steps has it taken to stop the large scale human destruction that is being carried out by the powerful members of the UN in parts of world under the guise of promoting peace, democracy and human rights.

While the UN has proclaimed International Youth Year, how many youth are being slaughtered on a daily basis in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Hasn’t the World Body enough influence to reverse this trend and protect the lives of the world’s youth population from decimation, by calling a halt to this deliberate genocide.

It is useless weeping for the youth of the third world if the UN is unable to assert itself and make a constructive effort to bring about world peace. This in turn would stop the annihilation of the youth. Its primary duty is to make the world a safer place to live in for the youth. It is only then that problems such as poverty, unemployment, lack of access to resources etc. could be tackled more effectively.

Hopefully, this International Youth Year will see a complete overhaul of the hitherto adopted policy of the UN in taking care of the world’s youth. It should also do much more in tackling the issues of child labour and exploitation of youth. The World Body should strive to create the right climate to enable the youth of the world to blossom out with their own initiatives.

In Sri Lanka too International Youth Year no doubt will be launched with all the trappings associated with such events. But what has become of our own youth? Today our universities which are supposed to produce the cream of the country’s youth are racked with violence and unrest.

We have also lost a sizeable segment of the flower of our youth to a destructive war. President Mahinda Rajapaksa should be lauded for putting an end to this destruction of lives of the country’s youth population.

But stability is yet to be achieved where our youth are concerned. There is a large army of youth who are adding to the unemployment figure every year whose expectations have to be met. They should be found gainful employment to ensure for them a secure future.

For youth forms the backbone of the country’s development and prosperity. Thus urgent attention should be paid to address their grievances. This is more so in the context of Sri Lanka entering a new phase in her post independence history where new challenges are bound to emerge.

Events such as International Youth Year should move beyond a mere cosmetic exercise. More tangible steps should be taken to empower our youth.

The country has seen the devastation wrought by two insurrections and a debilitating ethnic war, all due to the failure of successive regimes to address youth aspirations. Today’s youth are not taken in by outward shows. They need solutions with substance that would secure for them a productive future.

The end of the war has thrown up fresh challenges for the Government to provide our youth with opportunities to blossom out to their full potential.

Hopefully it will take up this challenge with due seriousness, lest it repeats the mistakes of the past. The commencement of the International Youth Year today may well provide an ideal starting point.