UN Youth4Disarmament Forum Outcome Document officially launched at a commemorative event held at the Permanent Mission of Finland

On 11 December, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), together with the Permanent Missions of the Republic of Korea and Finland, co-hosted the event “Youth at the Nexus of Peace, Security and Disarmament: From Outcome to Action” in commemoration of the10th anniversary of the UN Security Council Resolution 2250, on Youth Peace and Security (YPS) and the 6th anniversary of the General Assembly Resolution 74/64 on Youth, Disarmament and Non-proliferation.

The event, held in a hybrid format, also marked the official launch of the Youth4Disarmament (Y4D) Forum’s Outcome Document, drafted by 30 youth leaders/experts during the first-ever Youth4Disarmament Forum held on 16–17 October 2025 at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The document outlines a series of policy recommendations to reduce nuclear risks, build trust, and advance disarmament. Proposals include the institutionalization of youth participation, AI and quantum-enabled verification tools, and the safeguarding of the space domain.

The event was opened by His Excellency Lauri Voionmaa, Deputy Permanent Representative of Finland, His Excellency Sangjin Kim, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea, and Mr. Adedeji Ebo, Director and Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. In his remarks, Mr. Ebo highlighted this event as a bridge between the Youth, Peace and Security agenda and the Youth, Disarmament and Non-proliferation agenda. He emphasized the importance of finding innovative ways to bring the two agendas together, noting that both share the same mission: placing young people, and their creativity and leadership, at the centre of peacebuilding and disarmament initiatives.

Mr. Nicolo Miotto and Mr. Ulysse Richard, participants of the Youth4Disarmament Forum, outlined the process of drafting, editing, and finalizing the Outcome Document, which was enriched by the diversity of the Forum’s participants and their perspectives. They emphasized that the document should be seen as a letter from young people and called for stakeholders to not only engage with its recommendations but with youth themselves.

This was followed by a Panel discussion elaborating on ways to put the Outcome Document into practice through a YPS and disarmament lens with Ms. Ana Palada, a member of the United Network of Young Peacebuilders and a Forum participant; Mr. Amoss Benjamin, co-founder of the youth-led organization “The Clean Cities Project” and a graduate professional of UN Disarmament Research Institute; Ms. Eleonora Markella Mantika, Policy & Planning Officer at UN Department of Peace Operations; and Mr. Brady Mabe, Legal Advisor at the International Committee of the Red Cross. UNODA’s Soo Hyun Kim, Political Affairs Officer and #Youth4Disarmament Lead, acted as the moderator of the event.

During the discussion, Ms. Mantika emphasized the need to include the voices of former youth combatants in disarmament efforts, highlighting the Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration process, in which young people transition from being perceived as a risk group to becoming peacebuilders. Ms. Palada emphasized the need for young people to be integrated into disarmament efforts not as spectators, but as active participants and stakeholders. Mr. Mabe noted the necessity of keeping Nuclear Weapons Systems under human command in accordance with the international humanitarian law perspective, and Mr. Benjamin highlighted the critical need to empower youth to drive change within their communities.

The event concluded with closing messages from the high-level speakers, who underscored the importance of institutionalizing youth engagement. As Ambassador Voionmaa noted, peacebuilding is strengthened by young people’s idealism, which serves as a driving force for lasting change.