Her Royal Highness, the UN Messenger of Peace and Chairperson of
the International Humanitarian City, Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein,
wife of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum,
Vice-President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and
Ruler of Dubai;

H.E. Mr. Ahmed Humaid Al Mazroui, Chairman, UAE Red Crescent
Authority;

H.E. Mr. Ibrahim Bumelha, Cultural and Humanitarian Advisor of
H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum;

Vice President of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Humanitarian and Charity Est.;

Chairman of the Higher Committee of DIHAD and Chairman of
DISAB;

Excellencies; Distinguished Guests; Ladies and Gentlemen:

Such an honor! Such a joy! Such a privilege! To take part in
today’s meeting – on the eve of DIHAD’s 10th
anniversary!

Let me at the outset thank the President of the General Assembly
and the Permanent Mission of Belarus for the kind invitation to
take part in this important forum, made possible by the generous
assistance of The UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

Introduction

It is a great honor to be invited to this distinguished and
dynamic forum.

For the last nine years, the annual Dubai International
Humanitarian Aid and Development Conference has remained the
largest regional platform for practitioners to exchange knowledge;
lessons learned; and success stories in the field of humanitarian
aid and development.

DIHAD is more than just a “talk-shop” for global
leaders. Uniquely, DIHAD facilitates learning – it does so
through multiple opportunities for dialogue, training, networking,
and hands-on displays of technologies and information.

DIHAD is a superb reminder of the remarkable efforts of the
United Arab Emirates to stay at the forefront of cutting-edge
solutions to our most pressing challenges.

With this in mind, it is not surprising therefore that this
year, we will discuss and debate the “the role and importance
of youth”—a captivating and timely topic for the entire
international community.

With these brief words of introduction, I would like to make
three points -- reasons why governments, societies, and the global
community need to invest in the well-being and potential of
today’s youth.

I. YOUTH ARE A DOMINANT DEMOGRAPHIC REALITY TODAY

My first point is that youth are a key demographic determinant
today.

The rising numbers of young people over the past few decades
have transformed youth into a dominant demographic reality that
demands urgent focus and consideration, especially in our
development plans.

Consider the following:

• Almost 40% of our global population of 7 billion is under the
  age of 24;
• 62 countries, or nearly 30% of all the countries in the world,
  are experiencing a “youth-bulge” or youth explosion in
  their demographic structure. Within these countries, more than 60%
  of the population are under 30. Meanwhile, in the industrialized
  world, there is population stagnation; an aging, greying society
  with a negative replacement rate – a rate which if it
  continues, will produce a 50 million jobs deficit in Europe by
  2040.
• In North Africa and the Middle East alone, the number of
  persons under age thirty is expected to climb to 105 million in
  less than 20 years.

Looking at the youth cohort from this angle, it is abundantly
clear that resolving the economic and social uncertainties –
especially jobs, of today is vital to improving the productive
capacity and living standards of the next generation. And the
drivers of youth migration ensure that large-scale migration will
be a "mega-trend" of the 21st Century.

Besides demography,

II. YOUTH CONSTITUTE A CRITICAL DEVELOPMENT FACTOR

From this demographic picture, it is evident that youth are a
fundamental pillar of the development agenda.

Today, 85% of the world’s youth live in the developing
world. Truly sustainable development, therefore, will require the
dedicated efforts of all to address the emotional and material
needs of young people. There are other drivers of mass
migration:

• labour market demands
• distance shrinking technology
• digital revolution
• disasters (natural, manmade, slow onset)

IOM and the Gallup Poll recently published poll data that showed
that more than half of the youth surveyed intended to migrate.

The younger generation will require the knowledge and skills to
confront key development challenges. These include poverty and
unemployment, environmental degradation and climate change, and
access to healthcare, housing and education.

Development entails access to decent work and adequate provision
of basic services.

We must invest early on to prevent youth from remaining trapped
in situations of poverty and dependency -- and therefore co-opted
into criminality, social conflict, and patterns of violence.

It is also evident that within the development agenda, youth are
undeniably one of the key drivers of global migration.

Today, we live in a world on the move, not least of all youth.
More people are on the move today than in any other time in
recorded history: 215 million international and 740 million
internal – one billion in all – in other words, one in
every seven persons on the globe is a migrant.

Growing trade; faster and cheaper transport; and easier
communication have helped inscribe mobility in the life scenarios
of virtually every young person.

There are multi-millions of international youth migrants in the
world; there are three times this number of internal young migrants
in search of better opportunities and a higher quality of life.

Admirably, youth are fueling some of the primary benefits of
migration – remittances, and knowledge-sharing between
localities, regions, and nations. Young workers also face serious
risks and some of migration’s greatest dangers, even along
the migration routes.

III. YOUTH ARE A DECISIVE LABOUR MARKET FACTOR

This brings me to my third point regarding youth mobility in
search of jobs. The question governments most often ask me is: can
you help us find jobs for our youth?

The global economic crisis continues to have a profound impact
on the jobless and underemployment of youth: for example:

1. Youth are three times more likely to be unemployed than adults,
   with young women by far the most disadvantaged and vulnerable
   within the current economic climate.
2. There is a gross lack of jobs and turgidly slow job creation in
   the developing world, combined with unfulfilled employment
   opportunities in aging industrialized countries; and
3. Simultaneously, in this period of global economic crisis, legal
   opportunities to migrate are being restricted; borders are being
   closed amidst a rising tide of anti-immigrant sentiment. Many young
   people leave their homes –often along precarious
   transportation methods – to take on jobs that are often
   described as "dirty, dangerous and difficult."

In some North African countries, for example, IOM surveying has
found more than three-quarters of youth state their intention to
migrate at any cost, but with little or no information on the
details of their journey or work in place of destination. More and
more youth are thereby driven into the hands of traffickers –
youth too often move without social safety nets and lack any
awareness of their rights.

From Egypt to the Philippines, IOM's flagship "safe migration"
programming – assisted voluntary returns -- has helped
thousands of young people to avoid from potential avenues of
exploitation – this is done through pre-departure
orientation; information campaigns; training; and the provision of
positive alternatives to migration.

The risks and vulnerabilities associated with mobility reach
their highpoint during crisis situations, such as natural or
political disasters – disasters in which the dreams and
desires of young laborers are dashed and their very safety and
protection endangered.

For example, during last year's crisis in Libya, IOM and UNHCR
assisted more than 229,000 mostly young male migrant workers to
flee the outbreak of conflict in one of the region’s largest
migration destinations.

The unfortunate reality is that most of these youth returned to
face in their home country the same joblessness that drove them to
Libya in the first place, with billions of dollars lost in
remittances to a countless number of families.  In the
Sahel region of Africa, some 3 million people are now directly
affected by the Libyan crisis because of lost remittances.

In Chad alone, the return of migrant workers decreased
remittances by a staggering 57%, imparting harsh consequences for
national food security and household economic stability.

As the search goes on for solutions to provide decent work and
to direct youth towards productive civilian lives, we must not
forget that youth are also a "demographic gift" to their societies,
a resource and catalyst for innovation and social change.

The Arab Spring has illustrated that youth’s demographic
dominance often unleashes youthful energy and innovation against
political marginalization and unfair treatment.

I mentioned earlier the Digital Revolution as a key driver of
mass migration. The Digital Revolution has spawned social media.
Facebook and Twitter – were both founded by youth. Social
media have given young people a voice like never before, helping
them to articulate their needs and mobilize to attain their
rights. 

Many young people are passionately driven by the political,
economic, and social circumstances in which they live. They spend
endless hours working to tackle current and future challenges.

For example, it is not uncommon to see youth filling IDP camp
manager positions -- actively taking the responsibility for
coordinating the daily provision of water, shelter, food, health
and education to tens of thousands of displaced persons.

I recall how impressed I was to see young volunteers for the
Tunisian Red Crescent working diligently to provide assistance to
tens of thousands of migrants fleeing the Libyan conflict.

Moreover, we know that young people often take leadership roles
to create or run NGOs; others commonly serve as community leaders,
peacebuilders, and role models in conflict-torn neighborhoods and
villages.

Even in newly arrived migrant families, IOM has often witnessed
the youngest family members as the most influential in facilitating
integration by acting as translators or cultural mediators.

Finally, in my own Organization, the 30 percent of staff under
the age of 30 have time and again demonstrated exemplary bravery
and dedication to our humanitarian responses and development
programmes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the issue before us is how to provide an enabling
environment to address the legitimate needs of youth, especially
those linked to their patterns of mobility.

Youth deserve our protection and assistance in making the full
transition to adulthood.

Youth are demanding that we, the International Community, make
greater efforts to recognize their overwhelmingly positive
potential and contribution– it’s time we listen to
youth and combine our efforts to protect and empower youth, and
give youth a voice in determining their course for the future.

In summary, youth are a dominant demographic reality; youth are a
critical development determinant; and youth are a decisive labour
market factor.