[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4838 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4838
To support the inclusive and meaningful participation of youth in peace
building and conflict prevention, management, and resolution, as well
as post-conflict relief and recovery efforts.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 29, 2021
Ms. Meng (for herself, Mr. Curtis, Mr. Phillips, and Mr. Fitzpatrick)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To support the inclusive and meaningful participation of youth in peace
building and conflict prevention, management, and resolution, as well
as post-conflict relief and recovery efforts.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Youth, Peace, and Security Act of
2021''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) There are currently 1.8 billion young people in the
world, the largest number ever to have existed. One in 4 youth
are directly involved in and affected by conflict.
(2) Youth represent the majority of the population in many
conflict-affected countries, where on average 50 percent of the
population is below the age of 20, and in some countries more
than 70 percent of the population is below the age of 30.
(3) Around the world, youth remain under-represented in
peace building and conflict prevention, management, and
resolution, and post-conflict relief and recovery efforts.
(4) Violence impacts over 1 billion people globally each
year.
(5) Youth and youth-led groups and movements led by them
have demonstrated the capacity to play critical roles in--
(A) de-escalating destructive conflict from
spreading;
(B) preventing recurring cycles of violence;
(C) effectively encouraging defection from armed
groups;
(D) improving the effectiveness and sustainability
of peace processes and agreements;
(E) improving social cohesion and tolerance between
and among groups;
(F) building resilience to violence and
recruitment;
(G) strengthening a culture of peace and security;
and
(H) contributing to improved and more inclusive
democracy and governance.
(6) Youth are critical actors in development at all levels
of society, despite personal risks, operational challenges, and
limited technical and financial support for their work.
(7) Preventive and resilience-based approaches to youth are
more effective at reducing violence than hard security
responses and at-risk and remedial approaches, which are often
counterproductive.
(8) Youth who have participated in United States-supported
civic engagement and development programs were less likely to
participate in or support political violence.
(9) Youth participation in the design and implementation of
community development strategies is critical for effectively
reducing violence and extremism, and increasing peace.
(10) Young people, particularly girls, around the world
face the added pressure of online harassment, which limits
their ability to participate in online peacebuilding movements.
In a study by PLAN International, 58 percent of girls reported
that they have personally experienced some form of online
harassment on social media platforms, and activists in
particular attract additional harassment. In the same study, 47
percent of respondents reported being attacked for their
opinions.
(11) The shrinking of global civic spaces facing youth, as
documented in the United Nations Office of the Secretary
General's Envoy on Youth's report, ``If I Disappear'', shows
the complexity of the grave threats, challenges, and barriers
against diverse groups of youth active in the civic space,
taking the forms of sociocultural, financial, political, legal,
digital, and physical.
(12) Many national and international mechanisms for the
protection of human rights defenders, peacebuilders, and
humanitarians usually apply to adults and adolescents,
excluding youth, due to their age.
(13) United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250 on
Youth, Peace, and Security, which was adopted on December 9,
2015, formalized an international framework to address the role
of youth in building and sustaining peace and preventing
conflict.
(14) United Nations Security Council Resolution 2419 on
Youth, Peace, and Security, which was adopted on June 6, 2018,
calls for increasing and formalizing the role of youth in
negotiating and implementing peace agreements.
(15) United Nations Security Council Resolution 2535 on
Youth, Peace, and Security, which was adopted on July 14, 2020,
advocates for the increased protection of youth peacebuilders
at risk of violence, creates a two-year reporting mechanism on
Youth, Peace, and Security, and recognizes the critical role of
youth in mitigating humanitarian crises, such as COVID-19.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that the United States Government
should--
(1) promote the meaningful participation of youth in peace
building and conflict prevention, management, and resolution,
as well as post-conflict relief and recovery efforts,
reinforced through diplomatic efforts and programs;
(2) provide assistance to and build the capacity of youth-
led organizations dedicated to advancing peace and review
administrative and bureaucratic impediments to achieving this
aim;
(3) build on existing United States Government strategies
addressing youth to ensure the meaningful and inclusive
participation of youth in decision making at all levels and, at
a minimum, such decision making should be designed and assessed
in consultation with diverse, representative youth;
(4) integrate youth outreach and engagement into relevant
conflict-resolution, leadership, and democracy and governance
programs supported by the United States Government;
(5) include age- and gender-responsive policies and
programming in the design, implementation, and evaluation of
relevant United States foreign assistance programs; and
(6) build on existing United States Government strategies
addressing inclusive peace processes and peace and security
efforts, including the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017
(Public Law 115-68) and the strategy established under section
6, to ensure the meaningful inclusion and participation of
young women and to ensure coordination with this strategy.
SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It shall be the policy of the United States to promote the
inclusive and meaningful participation of youth in peace building and
conflict prevention, management, and resolution, as well as post-
conflict relief and recovery efforts, reinforced through diplomatic
efforts and assistance programs that--
(1) elevate and incorporate mainstream, the perspectives
and interests of affected youth into conflict-prevention,
violence-reduction, and post-conflict peace building activities
and strategies;
(2) increase meaningful and inclusive youth participation
in program planning and policy development related to conflict-
prevention and violence-reduction, democracy and governance,
and security-sector initiatives funded by the United States
Government;
(3) promote the safety, economic security, and dignity of
youth in conflict and other fragile environments;
(4) provide technical and financial support to diverse
youth-led groups, initiatives, and innovations working on
issues of peace and security;
(5) support the equal access of youth to United States
foreign assistance aid distribution mechanisms and services;
(6) encourage partner governments to adopt plans to
increase meaningful youth participation in peace and security
processes and decision-making institutions;
(7) recognize the unique context girls and young women
experience in conflict settings by adjusting programs and
policies that pertain to the achievement of the strategy and
policy goals of this Act to protect girls and young women's
online and offline safety, economic security, and dignity,
while supporting their equal access to aid distribution and
prioritizing programs to improve outcomes in gender equality
and their empowerment, and recognizing their critical roles and
agency in peacebuilding;
(8) recognize the unique challenges facing youth,
especially young men with regard to high mental health issues,
problems with reintegration after conflict, post-conflict
employment issues, and gender norms around masculinity; and
(9) recognize the unique challenges facing young people
from a variety of different backgrounds and demographics
including, but not limited to, race, religion, ethnicity,
sexual and gender minorities.
SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF YOUTH COORDINATOR.
(a) In General.--The President shall designate a current employee
of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
serving in a career or non-career position in the Senior Executive
Service or at the level of a Deputy Assistant Administrator or higher
to serve concurrently as a coordinator for components of overseas
conflict prevention, management, and resolution, and post-conflict
relief and recovery efforts related to youth (in this section referred
to as the ``Coordinator'').
(b) Duties.--The Coordinator shall--
(1) have the primary responsibility for the coordination of
all resources and international activities of the United States
Government appropriated or used for overseas conflict
prevention, management, and resolution, and post-conflict
relief and recovery efforts related to youth;
(2) lead implementation of the strategy established under
section 6;
(3) lead revision, not less frequently than once every 5
years, of the strategy established under section 6;
(4) establish an advisory group of experts to advise the
Coordinator on the development and implementation of the
strategy established under section 6--
(A) which shall be composed of representatives of
relevant civil society, international organizations,
and United States Government entities;
(B) of which not less than 30 percent of such
representatives shall be youth, and not less than 50
percent shall be female; and
(C) which shall facilitate exchanges between a
diverse range of youth leaders across the country to
connect youth and government officials around the world
on the youth, peace, and security agenda and use these
exchanges to provide insight and improvements to the
strategy;
(5) coordinate with relevant Federal agencies, including
the Department of Defense, the Department of State, and the
National Security Agency, the United Nations Office of the
Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth and Envoy on Children in
Armed Conflict, the private sector and relevant partner
entities as appropriate, to carry out the strategy established
under section 6 and to align current and future investments
with effective, evidence based interventions;
(6) provide direction to the design and oversight of
grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements with
nongovernmental organizations and private sector entities for
the purpose of carrying out the strategy established under
section 6; and
(7) support the designation of a Youth Point of Contact
(YPOC) in diplomatic overseas missions and United States Agency
for International Development bureaus, as selected by the
Coordinator.
(c) Restriction on Additional or Supplemental Compensation.--The
Coordinator shall receive no additional or supplemental compensation as
a result of carrying out responsibilities and duties under this
section.
SEC. 6. STRATEGY.
(a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the
USAID Administrator, shall coordinate the development and
implementation of a United States whole-of-government strategy to
accomplish the policy objective set forth in section 4, which shall--
(1) prioritize funding programs that provide training and
technical assistance to youth engaged in peace building,
violence prevention, mediation, and negotiation and
peacekeeping to the extent practicable;
(2) integrate youth consultation in program design and
implementation as assessment criteria within the procurement
process during the United States foreign assistance and
acquisition application process;
(3) create standards for collecting and analyzing age and
gender data for the purpose of developing and enhancing early
warning and response systems for conflict, mass violence, and
atrocities;
(4) support youth peace builders to participate in
communities of practice and virtual mentorships programs aimed
at improving monitoring, evaluation, reporting, and program
management capacities;
(5) encourage the development of youth-inclusive
transitional justice and accountability mechanisms,
disengagement, and reintegration programs;
(6) support inclusive education with a focus on context-
specific critical thinking skills, socioemotional learning, and
conflict resolution;
(7) identify and address barriers through age-disaggregated
analysis to youth participation in programs described in
paragraph (1), improve program design and targeting, as well as
recommending any necessary changes to procurement regulations,
with a focus on communication technology, that may currently
impede youth participation or the meaningful inclusion of youth
in peacebuilding efforts;
(8) specifically address the impact that expanding internet
connectivity, private sector platforms, and emerging
technologies play in achieving or impeding the inclusive and
meaningful participation of youth in peacebuilding efforts;
(9) include youth in assessments of United States peace and
security initiatives;
(10) support the use of quotas for the direct and gender-
equitable participation of youth in all phases of formal peace
and political transition processes, from prenegotiation to
implementation, including in national dialogues, constitution-
making, transitional justice, and other political processes
related to peace and security; and
(11) facilitate an inclusive and safe environment in which
youth actors are provided adequate protection and support from
violence to carry out their work in peace and security in
relation to this strategy, as well as promote the physical and
psychological recovery of young survivors of armed conflict,
including those with disabilities and survivors of sexual
violence in conflict.
(b) Agency-Specific Plans.--The strategy shall include specific
implementation plans from each relevant Federal agency that describes
the anticipated technical, financial, and in-kind contributions to
integrate the strategy into ongoing planning processes.
(c) Regional Plans.--The strategy shall include specific
implementation plans and consideration in consultation with each
regional bureau within the United States Agency for International
Development, the Department of State, and the Department of Defense as
part of ongoing planning processes, including relevant Country
Development Cooperation Strategies and Joint Regional Strategies.
SEC. 7. DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE TO EXPAND TRAINING, TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE, AND GRANTS MANAGED AND CONTROLLED BY YOUTH
LEADERS.
(a) In General.--Section 252 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
(22 U.S.C. 2211a) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (5), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(7) assistance to expand training, technical assistance,
and grant management managed and controlled by youth
leaders.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Definition.--In subsection (a)(7), the term `youth' means
individuals who have attained the age of 18 but have not attained the
age of 30.''.
(b) Youth, Peace, and Security Fund.--
(1) In general.--The Coordinator is authorized to provide
grants, emergency assistance, and technical assistance to
eligible youth-led civil society organizations and youth peace
building implementers who seek to achieve the following:
(A) Peace building.
(B) Conflict prevention.
(C) Conflict management.
(D) Conflict resolution.
(E) Post-conflict relief and recovery efforts.
(F) Assistance for those who require immediate
support in the face of legal and safety concerns due to
their participation in the activities described in
subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E).
(2) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out
this subsection. Amounts appropriated pursuant to the
authorization of appropriations under this paragraph may be
referred to as the ``Youth, Peace, and Security Fund''.
SEC. 8. YOUTH DEFINED.
In this Act, the term ``youth'' means individuals who have attained
the age of 18 but have not attained the age of 30.
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