On 18 April the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect and the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations in New York co-hosted an event entitled, “Applying an Intersectional Lens to Youth Vulnerabilities to Atrocities.” In situations where populations are at risk of mass atrocity crimes, identity — including race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability, among others — can expose certain groups within a population to further marginalization, discrimination and oppression. In many cases it is not one singular identity that makes individuals especially vulnerable to targeting, but rather the many intersecting layers of who they are as a person. Young people represent a critical cross-section of identity — the vulnerabilities they face based on age may compound the risks presented by their other identities. Moreover, although youth actively participate in global movements addressing issues of relevance to peace, justice and human rights, their perspectives are commonly reduced or excluded from formal decision-making spaces, creating additional barriers to confronting the multidimensional risks youth face. There is growing recognition that the failure to address complex social identities can obscure or deny the human rights inherent to all. This one-hour event will explore how young people with intersecting identities and experiences with discrimination and atrocities can inform and shape atrocity prevention, mitigation and response. The conversation will focus on the unique risks they face and the strategies policy makers need to employ to expand the inclusion of youth perspectives, in all of their diversity, in decision-making at the national, regional and multilateral level to prevent and address the commission of atrocities.

The event featured opening remarks from Ambassador Hedda Samson, Deputy Head of the European Union Delegation to the UN; Elkhandaa Fahad, young leader for the rights of persons with disabilities in Sudan; Bianka Rodríguez, Executive Director of COMCAVIS TRANS; Saide Memtimin, Treasurer and Administrative Manager at the Uyghur Youth Initiative; and Tamara Altibi, Human Rights Specialist at the Youth Advisory Panel in Palestine. The event as moderated by Savita Pawnday, Executive Director of the Global Centre for R2P.