Where are the challenges and opportunities that the youth of the region see in the business and human development agenda 10 years from now?

Closing plenary session of 6th UN Regional Forum on Business and Human Rights in Latin America and the Caribbean

By Camila Castellanos & Donovan Ortega

We appreciate the opportunity to participate in this important and necessary dialogue. We welcome the convening of this sixth edition of the Regional Forum on Business and Human Rights, particularly the opportunity this year to hear the voice of Latin American and Caribbean youth. Today we are representing young people from the region with whom we met in a context of learning and exchange within the framework of the course "Youth, Business and Human Rights" to express our concerns and proposals.

Young people make up more than 25% of the population in Latin America and the Caribbean, we face contexts of violence and generalized impunity, where our human rights are constantly being violated. Despite the effects that business has had on the lives of thousands of young people around the world, our voices and concerns are often not considered and are even made invisible. For example, in the report on the first decade of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, there is no mention of young people, nor the way in which business activities affect the full exercise of our rights, nor how young people from different backgrounds face and contribute to this situation from their own perspectives. And most importantly, it does not mention the analysis made by young people on the direct relationship between the impact of climate change and business activities, putting our immediate future at risk.

The Forum reinforces our analysis and challenges us to contribute as young people (Afro-descendants, indigenous, urban, rural) to the agenda that will guide actions for the next decade, for which we propose a recognition of the differentiated impact that business conduct has on the exercise of human rights towards young people. This includes the comprehensive adoption of the youth perspective in the analysis and problematization of the realities we face, such as the new world of labor, access to water, the defense of territories and natural resources, and the "violence" that comes from many companies.

Likewise, business activities and their impacts have forced young people into displacement and forced migration as a response to the loss of their territories, in addition to the lack of job opportunities and the risk involved in defending human rights.

As young people we are human rights defenders, so stigmatization, criminalization and direct violence also affect us not only for being young but also for being human rights defenders. We are the target of acts that seek to silence our voices and put us at serious risk for defending our territories against the interests of large corporations.

We are also concerned about the reduction of civic space in the region and the processes of weakening democracy in Central American countries and their impact on our life projects. For example, in the face of the current health crisis caused by COVID-19, the youth have mobilized and our leadership has been strengthened. However, this has also generated greater persecution, as happened in the protests in Colombia, Guatemala, Chile, Peru, Nicaragua and Mexico.

Furthermore, in a scenario where alternatives for the construction of life projects are limited due to the different realities we face as young people, we must insert ourselves in contexts of precariousness and labor exploitation by companies that do not respect our rights; coupled with the lack of alternatives within the labor market and the dominant informality in the region that affects 60% of young people. On the other hand, the business sector has the great challenge of providing decent work alternatives for all young people that offer real opportunities for personal and collective development, both within the workplace and in the implementation of their business models in the territories and the reality of the virtual world.

Similarly, in the face of the climate crisis we are experiencing, young people have raised their voices and pointed out the urgency of addressing the effects of this crisis, which is already having its first effects, such as the alteration of ecosystems, droughts and risks to food security, situations in which young people are one of the groups most affected and where intergenerational justice is compromised.

In this framework, Latin American and Caribbean youth propose that the path for the implementation of the Guiding Principles should:

● Recognize and address the differentiated impact that business behavior has on the lives of young people, from a perspective of intergenerational responsibility.

● Generate comprehensive participation mechanisms so that young people can point out the impacts that business activity is having on their lives.

● Develop and/or propose regulatory frameworks, public policies and programs that include young people as relevant actors in the context of business activity. Particularly in actions related to human rights due diligence legislation and national action plans on business and human rights.

● Generate disaggregated data on the impacts of business projects on the exercise of young people's rights, especially in order to exercise due diligence in human rights.

● Fully respect the labor rights of young people, based on the promotion of decent working conditions, labor models that recognize the diversity of identities and realities that cross us, as well as investment to develop human talent and industries that promote sustainable development.

● Incorporate the youth perspective in the process of drafting the Legally Binding Instrument to regulate the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises.

● Implement as a priority the Escazú Agreement in the region given its relevance for the defense of our rights and access to information.

● The Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises should place special emphasis on young people for the next ten years.

We are here to start working together! Thank you very much.