The United Nations' Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda ensures and demands the protection and recognition of young people's roles in peace and security. This article focuses on why domestic YPS implementation is needed with the rise of social justice activism by young people in North America.
The rise of youth activism and youth leadership in social justice movements has given a space for the global political agenda to challenge traditional approaches to "peace and security" frameworks. This includes challenging pre-conceived notions of YPS - and its policy frameworks - as a 'foreign' agenda by North American and other Western countries. We argue that this global shift in youth social justice activism demonstrates the need for critical domestic implementation and policy priorities for the YPS agenda within traditional donor- or Western- States, using Canada and the United States as case studies.
This article argues the need to prioritize local co-development of peacebuilding approaches to ensure context-specific and culturally relevant peace efforts. With the recognition that local populations remain primary actors within conflicts, it is argued that international peacebuilders must work with locals to ensure effective peacebuilding efforts. By applying a gender and humanitarian approach to peacebuilding analysis, in both theory and practice, this article offers an alternative, complementary approach to the ‘local-turn’ theory in contemporary peacebuilding. The application of international peace and security frameworks – such as Women, Peace and Security resolutions – informs this piece and offers proven successes for collaborative and local partnerships in building effective peace.
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