United Nations Security Council: unanimous adoption of a fourth Youth, Peace and Security resolution
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously adopted resolution 2807 (2025), urging greater youth participation, leadership in peace processes and conflict prevention on December 12, 2025.
The year 2025 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth, the first comprehensive global policy framework on youth, and the tenth anniversary of the UNSC resolution 2250 (2015), landmark text recognising young people as active partners in peacebuilding and conflict prevention.
The Council, in this fourth resolution on Youth, Peace and Security (YPS), called on all relevant actors to “consider ways to increase the full, effective, safe and meaningful youth participation and leadership in peace processes, conflict prevention, peacebuilding, recovery and reconstruction at all levels”, including through the Peacebuilding Commission. Furthermore, the UNSC decided to maintain its future attention on the topic, organising open debates to discuss the Secretary-General’s reports on Youth, Peace and Security, and urges States to consider the adoption of National Action Plans and support youth-led peacebuilding initiatives, including through engagement with civil society.
The draft text was proposed by Guyana and Sierra Leone with the intent to advance the UNSC’s engagement on YPS and promote the implementation of the existing commitments. Indeed, State supporters of the YPS feel that the Security Council attention to the agenda has been limited and inconsistent, constraining its potential to deliver sustained and meaningful youth engagement in peace and security efforts.
The first resolution on YPS is resolution 2250 (2015), in which the contribution of youth in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, and warns against the rise of radicalisation to violence and violent extremism amongst youth is recognised. The second resolution centering YPS is resolution 2419 (2018), adopted unanimously, that reaffirmed the important role that youth and youth-led civil society can play in peacebuilding and sustaining peace. Finally, the third resolution, resolution 2535 (2020) established a regular biennial reporting requirement on Youth, Peace and Security by the Secretary-General and contained provisions aimed at the mainstreaming of the Agenda into the work of the UN secretariat. Regarding the biennial reporting requirement, the states of Guyana and Sierra Leone underlined their underutilization due to the absence of dedicated discussions within the Council.