Eighth Meeting of the Open Working Group on SDGs

3-7 February 2014, UNHQ, New York

Statement by Tagaloa Morrissey, Pacific Youth Council , Niue, Speaking on behalf of the Major Group on Children and Young people*

1. Let me start by saying: We, the young people of the world, do not want to be viewed as commodities or economic investments. There must be a renewed commitment to upholding the human rights of children, adolescents and young people, particularly the most excluded groups of young people including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, drug users, refugees, rural and remote populations, indigenous young people, migrants, young people in conflict and emergency situations, young women and girls, persons with disabilities, young people living with HIV and AIDS, and children without parental care;

2. The new sustainable development framework must address inequalities, stigma, and discrimination of all kinds within and across countries and must foster an enabling environment free of all structural barriers, social norms and types of discrimination that impede the achievement of our empowerment. This could be achieved through the inclusion of an explicit commitment to gender equality, with specific targets on political, social and economic justice and autonomy;

3. There must also be attention to young women’s rights to equal land ownership, inheritance and property rights and access to economic opportunities; decent employment; eliminating gender-based violence including sexual violence; ending child, early and forced marriage; ending female genital mutilation; guaranteeing the sexual and reproductive health and rights of young women and girls and the removal of legal and policy barriers such as parental consent laws and punitive laws such as those that criminalize abortion;

4. As a young woman from the Pacific, we deal every day with the issues of social, economic and environmental development and human rights, and as young people we face the urgent realities of inequalities.

5. We applaud Pacific Parliamentarians and relevant agencies for listening to the voices of Pacific youth advocates, and for their recent bold reiteration through the Moana Declaration, of a commitment to universal human rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights and to the principle of non-discrimination.

We call on all member states to stand up for our right to be free from all forms of discrimination, stigma and inequality, at the heart of this sustainable development framework.