Thank you Chair / President.

Australian Foreign Minister Wong highlighted during High Level Week that we will always be better off in a world where rules and norms are clear, mutually negotiated and consistently followed. That is why Australia has been a longstanding champion of human rights. We are proud to have been one of the eight nations to draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and an original signatory. We have ambitions for a more sustainable, peaceful and stable world for future generations, in line with the UN Charter.  

Today there are 1.8 billion people between the ages of 10-24 – making up the largest generation of youth in history. They come of age in an ever more challenging environment, where the impacts of conflict, food insecurity and climate change undermine progress toward the 2030 Agenda and the fulfilment of universal human rights. It is therefore timely to reflect on the contribution youth are making to promoting human rights globally. We welcome the recent establishment of the UN Youth Office, which underscores the critical role youth are playing on human rights, peace and development.

Close to 90 per cent of the world’s youth live in developing countries, where they make up a ‘youth bulge’. Over 60 percent of the world’s youth live in our region.  It is critical to listen to their voices to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as they are the group most directly impacted if we fail in these efforts. Increasingly connected online, particularly in the wake of the COVID pandemic, young people want to contribute to solutions to global challenges and to the development of their communities. We should ensure youth can actively participate in global development discussions, which form our collective vision for minimum living standards for everyone living on this planet.

Youth are living on the frontline of climate change, with youth climate advocates like Seed, an Indigenous Australian movement for climate justice, providing a strong voice on this urgent global challenge. Youth activism is critically important in the Pacific, where climate change remains the single greatest threat to peoples’ livelihoods, security and wellbeing. We need to amplify the voices of Pacific climate activists, including in multilateral forums, to find solutions to this global challenge. We recognise and encourage initiatives that seek to do so, such as the Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General’s Young Climate Leaders Alliance.

Youth are also at the forefront of advocacy on global abolition of the death penalty. This year’s theme of the World Congress Against the Death Penalty focuses on youth. Australia recognised the key role of youth in death penalty advocacy in a side event with the International Commission Against the Death Penalty at the 50th Human Rights Council Session in June this year. The event included the firsthand testimony of death penalty survivor Sabrina Butler-Smith, who talked about the challenges of navigating the legal system as a young person. It is critically important to amplify the voices of survivors, including youth, to bring an end to this brutal and inhumane punishment. We call on all States to vote yes on the resolution we are co-leading with Costa Rica calling for a global moratorium on the death penalty at this year’s Third Committee.

Australia will continue to work for the promotion and protection of human rights through all avenues available, and seek to amplify youth voices. We look forward to working with all UN member states during UNGA77 to further the promotion and protection of human rights.

Thank you.