Remarks by H.E. Mr. Mher Margaryan, Permanent Representative of Armenia At the side event “Leaders For Peace, One Year Later: Towards A Global Leaders School”

05 դեկտեմբերի, 2019

Mr. Moderator,

I would like to thank the Permanent Mission of Italy and Rondine Cittadella della Pace for this important initiative, which we welcome and support.

The upcoming anniversary of the UN Security Council Resolution 2250 is an important opportunity to reflect on the progress of the member states and to scale up the efforts of international community in promoting meaningful participation of young people in promoting peace, tolerance and dialogue.

The young people in Armenia represent a very vibrant and active part of our society. Young men and women played a key role in democratic transformation in Armenia throughout the peaceful Velvet Revolution in May 2018 by fully exercising their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in non-violent manner.

Today, the government of Armenia is placing significant priority on the promotion of inclusive participation of youth, in political and public life, most importantly, at the decision-making levels. A remarkable progress has been achieved in terms of empowering young leaders and currently the composition of the government, the parliament, as well as the regional authorities in Armenia, is very illustrative in this regard, with a very high level of representation of young people.

It gives me particular pleasure to welcome the presence of one of our young leader- parliamentarians at today’s meeting, Ms. Maria Karapetyan, a deputy of Armenia’s National Assembly and a member of the Board of Directors of Rondine.

Dear friends,

Attempts to restrict the fundamental freedoms of expression and movement of young people or to impede their dialogue and interaction, in particular, in conflict situations, result in the deepening of dividing lines and can further lead to the most serious manifestations of intolerance, such as hate crimes and atrocities on ethnic and religious grounds. Promoting divisive narratives and ethnic profiling at the educational institutions result in radicalization of youth and such practices should be resolutely condemned at all levels. By contrast, education policies that aim to promote human rights, dialogue and inclusion represent an important tool for the prevention of radicalization of young people, fostering understanding of the cultural diversity and tolerance towards different religions and cultures.

We firmly believe that young people can play a key role at all stages of conflict resolution, particularly, in promoting dialogue and confidence-building across the dividing lines. In this regard, we acknowledge the important work carried out by the Rondine Cittadella della Pace aimed at empowering young people to raise their voice for peace, non-violence and reconciliation. Track II initiatives, such as the “Leaders for Peace” global campaign, can become a platform for interaction between young people affected by conflicts. Inclusive engagement of youth, in particular of those residing in conflict areas, in such initiatives can be instrumental in promoting humanization through dialogue.

In conclusion, I would like to once again welcome today’s event, which Armenia has cosponsored and look forward to insightful deliberations.

Thank you.

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