I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5851 

To require the USAID Youth Coordinator, in their role as defined by the 

USAID Youth Policy, to coordinate cross-sectoral international development efforts related to youth, inclusive of youth, peace, and security, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 

Ms. MENG (for herself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. PHILLIPS, Mr. LAWLER, Ms. 

KAMLAGER-DOVE, and Ms. SALAZAR) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To require the USAID Youth Coordinator, in their role as 

defined by the USAID Youth Policy, to coordinate crosssectoral international development efforts related to 

youth, inclusive of youth, peace, and security, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Youth, Peace, and Se5 curity Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 5851 IH

1 (1) As of 2023, there are an estimated 2.4 bil2 lion people in the world between the ages of 10–29 

3 years of age, which represents the largest number of 

4 young people to have existed in human history, with 

5 90 percent of youth (ages 15–24) in developing 

6 countries, and 1 out of every 4 young people directly 

7 affected by conflict, violence, and crisis. 

8 (2) More than 1 billion children and youth are 

9 exposed to violence each year. Failure to properly 

10 address adversity experienced during childhood (ages 

11 0–17) and youth (ages 10–29) can lead to lifelong 

12 deficiencies and compromises future opportunities 

13 for individual, community, and national develop14 ment. 

15 (3) The majority of the population in many 

16 conflict-affected countries is younger than 20 years 

17 of age, with some countries having more than 70 

18 percent of the population who are younger than 30 

19 years of age. 

20 (4) Only 2.2 percent of parliamentarians are 

21 under 30, and less than 1 percent are young women. 

22 Youth therefore remain underrepresented around the 

23 world in peacebuilding, political decision-making 

24 processes, conflict prevention, management, and res25 olution, and post-conflict resolution relief and recovVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Oct 05, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5851.IH H5851

tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 5851 IH

1 ery efforts. As a consequences, youth may turn from 

2 institutional politics as they feel their governments 

3 are not addressing critical issues they care about. 

4 (5) When we fail to effectively engage youth, it 

5 can lead to violence, instability, unrest, and irregular 

6 and forced migration. For example, Sub-Saharan Af7 rica hosts more than 26 percent of the world’s 52 

8 million refugees and internally displaced persons 

9 (IDPs), of which approximately 50 percent are 

10 youth. In Latin America and the Caribbean there 

11 are 6.3 million migrants that are under 18 years old, 

12 and most migrants from this region come from frag13 ile states with economic and political instability, 

14 where youth can be the deliberate targets of vio15 lence. 

16 (6) Adverse climate impacts, increased food in17 security and malnutrition, rising debt, growing in18 equality, price shocks and inflation, democratic re19 cession, and the continued impacts of COVID on 

20 service delivery contribute to the instability of com21 munities, disproportionately impacting the economic, 

22 educational, and security prospects of youth, and 

23 their mental health and wellbeing. 

24 (7) Digital transformation has dramatically 

25 changed industries, governments, economies, and soVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Oct 05, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5851.IH H5851

tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 5851 IH

1 cieties. Digital ecosystems, consisting of stake2 holders, systems, and enabling environments, can 

3 empower people and communities to use digital tech4 nology to access services, engage with others, and 

5 pursue economic opportunities in partner countries. 

6 Digital ecosystems also come with risks of increasing 

7 inequality, repression, and instability. 

8 Unsurprisingly, the rise of digital technology has 

9 had a profound impact on young people, raising new 

10 opportunities and challenges alike for youth, peace, 

11 and security, from youth mental health and 

12 wellbeing to online recruitment and mobilization to 

13 online peacebuilding movements. 

14 (8) Youth and youth-led groups and movements 

15 have demonstrated the capacity of young people to 

16 play critical roles in calling for reform through, for 

17 example, nonviolent action and peaceful protests to 

18 hold governments accountable and attempt to de19 crease or prevent authoritarianism in their countries, 

20 by serving as a bridge between traditional commu21 nity values and cultural globalization, and by build22 ing diverse coalitions that advance more peaceful 

23 and democratic outcomes for their communities and 

24 countries, including— 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 5851 IH

1 (A) deescalating destructive conflict and 

2 helping prevent the spread of conflict; 

3 (B) discouraging anti-social youth mobili4 zation among peers; 

5 (C) preventing recurring cycles of violence; 

6 (D) encouraging defection from armed 

7 groups and social reintegration of ex-combat8 ants; 

9 (E) improving the effectiveness and sus10 tainability of peace and political processes; 

11 (F) improving social cohesion between and 

12 among groups, peers, and associates; 

13 (G) building resilience to violence and re14 cruitment; 

15 (H) helping to identify and improve liveli16 hood options for youth and their families, and 

17 communities impacted by crisis and conflict; 

18 and 

19 (I) contributing to improved and more in20 clusive democracy and governance. 

21 (9) Youth are critical actors and partners in de22 velopment at all levels of society. The meaningful in23 clusion of youth in the design and delivery of 

24 projects and strategies, including those focused on 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 5851 IH

1 youth, peace, and security, can contribute to better 

2 and more sustainable outcomes. 

3 (10) Preventive, resilience-based, and cross-cut4 ting youth-inclusive approaches are more effective at 

5 reducing physical and psychological violence than 

6 hard security responses and at-risk and remedial ap7 proaches, which are often counterproductive. 

8 (11) Youth who have participated in United 

9 States-supported civic engagement and development 

10 programs are less likely to participate in or support 

11 political violence. 

12 (12) Youth participation in the design and im13 plementation of community development strategies is 

14 critical for effectively reducing violence and extre15 mism, and increasing young peoples’ education, eco16 nomic opportunity and empowerment, civic engage17 ment, and positive health outcomes, which can con18 tribute to peace and stability. 

19 (13) Young people around the world, particu20 larly adolescent girls and members of the 

21 LGBTQI+ community, but also young men and 

22 boys, are disproportionately affected by all forms of 

23 violence. This includes, but is not limited to, risks 

24 associated with technology facilitated violence, such 

25 as intimidation, harassment, exploitation, abuse, 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 5851 IH

1 trafficking, misinformation, disinformation, 

2 malinformation, data tracking, and other threats, 

3 which warrant increased attention. Such risks also 

4 inhibit young peoples’ ability to participate in digital 

5 networks, democracy rights and governance and 

6 peacebuilding movements. 

7 (14) A study by PLAN International, which 

8 surveyed girls in 22 countries, found that— 

9 (A) 58 percent of respondents reported 

10 that they had personally experienced some form 

11 of online harassment on social media platforms; 

12 (B) activists attracted particular vitriol 

13 and attention; and 

14 (C) 47 percent of respondents reported 

15 that they had been attacked for their opinions. 

16 (15) The shrinking of global civic spaces facing 

17 youth, as documented in the United Nations Office 

18 of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth’s report, 

19 ‘‘If I Disappear’’, shows the complexity of the grave 

20 threats, challenges, and barriers against diverse 

21 groups of youth active in the civic space, taking the 

22 forms of sociocultural, financial, political, legal, dig23 ital, and physical. Shrinking civic and political 

24 spaces challenge the ability of youth to contribute to 

25 society effectively and meaningfully, often resulting 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 5851 IH

1 in declining trust in government institutions among 

2 youth, leading to youth directing social, civic, and 

3 political participation to informal channels. 

4 (16) Many national and international mecha5 nisms for the protection of human rights defenders, 

6 peacebuilders, and humanitarians usually apply to 

7 adults (individuals over the age of 29) excluding 

8 youth (age 29 and younger) due to their age. 

9 (17) United Nations Security Council Resolu10 tion 2250 on Youth, Peace, and Security, which was 

11 adopted on December 9, 2015, formalized an inter12 national framework to address the role of youth in 

13 building and sustaining peace and preventing con14 flict. 

15 (18) United Nations Security Council Resolu16 tion 2419 on Youth, Peace, and Security, which was 

17 adopted on June 6, 2018, calls for increasing and 

18 formalizing the role of youth in negotiating and im19 plementing peace agreements. 

20 (19) United Nations Security Council Resolu21 tion 2535 on Youth, Peace, and Security, which was 

22 adopted on July 14, 2020, advocates for the in23 creased protection of youth peacebuilders at risk of 

24 violence, creates a two-year reporting mechanism on 

25 Youth, Peace, and Security, and recognizes the critVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Oct 05, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5851.IH H5851

tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 5851 IH

1 ical role of youth in mitigating humanitarian crises, 

2 such as COVID–19. 

3 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

4 It is the sense of Congress that the United States 

5 Government should, consistent with the priorities of 

6 USAID’s 2022 Youth In Development Policy— 

7 (1) apply Do No Harm principles, while recog8 nizing that engaging young people as partners in 

9 peacebuilding and humanitarian activities is critical 

10 in fragile environments; 

11 (2) promote the meaningful and inclusive en12 gagement of youth in peacebuilding and conflict pre13 vention, management, and resolution, as well as 

14 post-conflict relief and recovery efforts and proc15 esses, reinforced through diplomatic efforts and pro16 grams; 

17 (3) provide assistance to and build the capacity 

18 of youth-led organizations dedicated to advancing 

19 peace and review administrative and bureaucratic 

20 impediments to achieving this aim; 

21 (4) build on new learning and existing United 

22 States Government strategies addressing youth, 

23 peace, and security, including the Women, Peace 

24 and Security Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–68) and 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 5851 IH

1 the Action Plan developed pursuant to section 8, to 

2 ensure that— 

3 (A) there is meaningful, inclusive and equi4 table participation of diverse youth in decision 

5 making at all levels; 

6 (B) such decision making is designed and 

7 assessed in consultation with youth representing 

8 diverse identities and situations, including 

9 youth from marginalized and underrepresented 

10 groups, including young women and girls, 

11 LGBTQI+ youth, indigenous youth, and youth 

12 with disabilities; 

13 (C) ensure that the voices, experiences, 

14 and perspectives of local youth are heard and 

15 valued, and create accessible platforms for dia16 logue and participatory processes that allow 

17 them to contribute to decision making, peace 

18 negotiations, and policy development at the 

19 local and municipal levels; and 

20 (D) recognize that youth, including young 

21 women and girls, are not a homogenous group 

22 and have diverse experiences and perspectives, 

23 and ensure inclusivity by engaging and incor24 porating the perspectives of marginalized and 

25 underrepresented youth, girls, and young 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 5851 IH

1 women, including those from minority commu2 nities, indigenous backgrounds, and rural areas; 

3 (5) integrate youth outreach and engagement 

4 into relevant conflict-resolution, leadership, democ5 racy, and governance programs supported by the 

6 United States Government; and 

7 (6) include policies that are specific to boys and 

8 girls at various ages and programming in the design, 

9 implementation, and evaluation of relevant United 

10 States foreign assistance programs. 

11 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

12 It shall be the policy of the United States to promote 

13 the inclusive and meaningful participation of youth in 

14 peacebuilding and conflict prevention, management, and 

15 resolution, and post-conflict relief and recovery efforts, re16 inforced through diplomatic efforts and assistance pro17 grams that— 

18 (1) elevate and incorporate the perspectives and 

19 interests of affected youth into conflict-prevention, 

20 violence-reduction, and post-conflict peacebuilding 

21 activities and strategies; 

22 (2) increase meaningful and inclusive youth en23 gagement in program planning and policy develop24 ment related to conflict prevention and violence re25 duction, democracy and governance, and security 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 5851 IH

1 sector initiatives funded by the United States Gov2 ernment; 

3 (3) promote the safety, security, and dignity of 

4 youth in crisis, conflict, and other fragile environ5 ments; 

6 (4) provide technical and financial support to 

7 diverse youth-led groups, initiatives, and innovations 

8 working on issues of peace and security; 

9 (5) support greater access of youth-led and 

10 youth-serving organizations who are traditionally 

11 less represented in peacebuilding and conflict pre12 vention programming to United States foreign as13 sistance aid distribution mechanisms and services; 

14 (6) advance civic education in formal and non15 formal settings, increase youth civic and political 

16 participation and representation, and bolster collec17 tive action and leadership that improve democracy, 

18 peace, and security outcomes; 

19 (7) encourage partner governments to adopt 

20 plans to increase meaningful and inclusive youth en21 gagement in peace and security processes and deci22 sion-making institutions; 

23 (8) recognize the unique context underrep24 resented and marginalized youth, including girls and 

25 young women, experience in conflict and violence 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 5851 IH

1 settings by adjusting programs and policies that per2 tain to the achievement of the strategy and policy 

3 goals of this Act— 

4 (A) to protect youth population that are 

5 especially vulnerable, including girls and young 

6 women, and to ensure their online and offline 

7 safety, security, and dignity; 

8 (B) to support their equal access to aid 

9 and development assistance; 

10 (C) to prioritize programs to improve out11 comes in inclusion, equality, and empowerment; 

12 and 

13 (D) to recognize the critical roles and 

14 agency of young people in peacebuilding, recov15 ery, and development and prioritize the inclu16 sion of underrepresented and marginalized 

17 youth in these processes and efforts; 

18 (9) recognize the unique challenges facing youth 

19 affected by conflict and violence in the areas of— 

20 (A) trauma, psychosocial, and mental 

21 health issues; 

22 (B) stigma and other challenges with com23 munity reintegration after conflict or gang asso24 ciation, such as access to education, training, 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 5851 IH

1 and economic opportunity, and a lack of access 

2 to related services; and 

3 (C) a lack of access to education, training, 

4 and economic opportunity in pre-conflict, con5 flict and post-conflict settings; and 

6 (10) recognize the unique challenges facing 

7 young people from a variety of different back8 grounds and demographics including but not limited 

9 to, race, religion, ethnicity, linguistics, and youth 

10 with disabilities. 

11 SEC. 5. USAID YOUTH COORDINATOR. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in con13 sultation with the Administrator of the United States 

14 Agency for International Development (USAID) shall re15 quire the USAID Youth Coordinator, in their role as de16 fined by the USAID Youth Policy, to coordinate cross-sec17 toral international development efforts related to youth, 

18 inclusive of youth, peace, and security. 

19 (b) DELEGATION.—At the discretion of the Secretary 

20 of State, the authority to require the USAID Youth Coor21 dinator to fulfill this role may be delegated by the Sec22 retary of State to the Administrator of the United States 

23 Agency for International Development (USAID). 

24 (c) DUTIES.—The USAID Youth Coordinator shall— 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 5851 IH

1 (1) have the primary responsibility for the advo2 cacy and integration of youth into USAID initia3 tives, oversee the youth and development policy co4 herence, support implementation and training; and 

5 serve as a senior representative on youth issues in 

6 the interagency and external community; 

7 (2) lead the development and implementation of 

8 the United States Foreign Assistance Youth, Peace, 

9 and Security Action Plan in accordance with section 

10 8; 

11 (3) lead revision, not less frequently than once 

12 every 5 years of such Plan; 

13 (4) oversee the interagency coordination as pro14 vided for under section 6, by engaging Youth, Peace, 

15 and Security policy and program experts across Fed16 eral agencies to inform the development, implemen17 tation, and revision such Plan; 

18 (5) facilitate outreach to and exchange with 

19 multilateral agencies and other youth, peace, and se20 curity stakeholders established under section 6 to in21 form such Plan, by carrying out— 

22 (A) outreach to facilitate exchange between 

23 USAID and a diverse range of youth leaders, 

24 youth-led organizations, and youth-serving or25 ganizations advancing youth, peace, and secuVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Oct 05, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5851.IH H5851

tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 5851 IH

1 rity to inform and provide recommendations to 

2 improve the Action Plan; and 

3 (B) engagement with multilateral agencies 

4 and international organizations to inform the 

5 development, implementation, and revision of 

6 the Action Plan; and 

7 (6) support, consistent with USAID’s Policy for 

8 Youth in Development, the designation of a Youth 

9 Point of Contact (YPOC) in USAID Bureaus and 

10 diplomatic overseas Mission, as selected by such mis11 sions and bureaus. 

12 (d) RESTRICTION ON ADDITIONAL OR SUPPLE13 MENTAL COMPENSATION.—The USAID Youth Coordi14 nator shall receive no additional or supplemental com15 pensation as a result of carrying our responsibilities and 

16 duties under this section. 

17 SEC. 6. COORDINATION. 

18 To advance coordination for cross-sectoral inter19 national development efforts related to youth, inclusive of 

20 youth, peace, and security, the USAID Youth Coordinator 

21 shall— 

22 (1) serve as the focal point for intra agency and 

23 interagency coordination of youth, peace, and secu24 rity initiatives between USAID and other United 

25 States Government peacebuilding offices, entities, 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 5851 IH

1 and partners including the Executive Office of the 

2 President, the National Security Council, the De3 partment of Defense, the Department of State, the 

4 Peace Corps, and the Millennium Challenge Cor5 poration, and the US Institute of Peace; 

6 (2) support an interagency working group fo7 cused on the harmonization of the United States 

8 Foreign Assistance Youth, Peace, and Security Ac9 tion Plan established under section 7 with ap10 proaches and key learning from existing peace and 

11 security strategies, such as the United States Strat12 egy on Women, Peace, and Security and the Global 

13 Fragility Act, and leverage learning other relevant 

14 policies and strategies to inform the Action Plan’s 

15 approach, such as USAID’s Digital Strategy the 

16 USG Global Strategy to Empower Adolescent Girls; 

17 and 

18 (3) engage multilateral agencies and other key 

19 youth, peace, and security stakeholders from the im20 plementing community, youth-led organizations, and 

21 the private sector to help inform the development of 

22 the Action Plan, including by— 

23 (A) engaging the multilateral community 

24 in a call to action to help inform and surface 

25 key evidence, data, and measurement indicators 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 5851 IH

1 to track youth in development and youth, peace, 

2 and security programming; and 

3 (B) engaging youth-led and youth-serving 

4 organizations and networks to inform youth en5 gagement in the Action Plan. 

6 SEC. 7. UNITED STATES FOREIGN ASSISTANCE YOUTH, 

7 PEACE, AND SECURITY ACTION PLAN. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act, the USAID Youth Coor10 dinator, in coordination with the USAID Administrator 

11 and the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Defense, 

12 shall coordinate the development and implementation of 

13 the United States Foreign Assistance Youth, Peace, and 

14 Security Action Plan to accomplish the policy objective de15 scribed in section 4, which shall— 

16 (1) consistent with the goals, priorities, and ap17 proach of the USAID Youth In Development Policy, 

18 identify barriers and opportunities to meaningfully 

19 integrate and engage diverse youth in the full pro20 gram cycle of interventions that are relevant to 

21 youth, peace, and security (e.g., youth-led research, 

22 assessment, and consultation; program design and 

23 implementation; monitoring, learning, and evalua24 tion); 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
19 

•HR 5851 IH

1 (2) prioritize funding programs that build the 

2 assets, agency, and capacity of youth engaged in 

3 peacebuilding, violence prevention, mediation, nego4 tiation, and peacekeeping, at the community level 

5 and through meaningful youth participation in deci6 sion making and in formal spaces and institutions; 

7 (3) ensure that capacity-building and youth en8 gagement programs take a systems-based and inter9 generational approach by engaging key institutions 

10 and stakeholders. such as peers and peer mentors, 

11 family and community members, educators, religious 

12 leaders, and policy leaders; 

13 (4) encourage the development of youth-inclu14 sive reconciliation, disengagement, and reintegration 

15 programs; 

16 (5) support inclusive education with a focus on 

17 mother-language and cultural pride, and context-spe18 cific critical thinking skills, relationship-based and 

19 skill-building learning, and conflict resolution; 

20 (6) through the USG’s geographical reach, ex21 perience working with vulnerable children and youth 

22 on the ground, existing partnerships and themati23 cally linked programs, and USAID’s Digital Strat24 egy as a vehicle, address diverse forms of digital 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
20 

•HR 5851 IH

1 harm to children and youth, learn from these experi2 ences and continue to strengthen interventions; 

3 (7) utilize and promote safe and accessible dig4 ital platforms and networks to strengthen and pro5 mote youth dialogue and participation in 

6 peacebuilding efforts; 

7 (8) specifically address the impact that the 

8 growing digital ecosystem play in— 

9 (A) achieving or impeding the inclusive 

10 and meaningful participation of youth in 

11 peacebuilding efforts and political processes; 

12 and 

13 (B) radicalization and recruitment; 

14 (9) include youth in assessments of United 

15 States peace and security initiatives; 

16 (10) encourage government partners to ensure 

17 inclusive participation of youth in formal peace and 

18 political transition processes, including in national 

19 dialogues; civic engagement and political participa20 tion; reconciliation; and other political processes re21 lated to peace and security; and 

22 (11) assist youth to create a more secure envi23 ronment in which youth actors may better carry out 

24 their work in peace and security in relation to the 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
21 

•HR 5851 IH

1 Action Plan and promote the physical and psycho2 logical recovery of young survivors of armed conflict. 

3 (b) REGIONAL PLANS.—Such Plan shall include spe4 cific implementation issues and considerations to be made 

5 in consultation with each regional bureau of USAID and 

6 the Department of State as part of the ongoing planning 

7 processes within USAID, including relevant Country De8 velopment Cooperation Strategies and Joint Regional 

9 Strategies. 

10 SEC. 8. DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE TO EXPAND TRAINING, 

11 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND GRANTS MAN12 AGED AND CONTROLLED BY YOUTH LEAD13 ERS. 

14 (a) YOUTH, PEACE, AND SECURITY FUND.—The 

15 USAID Youth Coordinator is authorized to establish a 

16 grant program through an implementation mechanism as 

17 determined by the Youth Coordinator, using amounts 

18 from the Youth, Peace, and Security fund made available 

19 pursuant to paragraph (3), may provide grants, emer20 gency assistance, and technical assistance to eligible 

21 youth-led civil society organizations and youth 

22 peacebuilding implementers who seek to achieve— 

23 (1) peacebuilding; 

24 (2) improved economic security; 

25 (3) community violence intervention; 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
22 

•HR 5851 IH

1 (4) conflict and crisis management; 

2 (5) conflict resolution and people-to-people rec3 onciliation; 

4 (6) post-conflict relief recovery, and rebuilding 

5 efforts; 

6 (7) assistance for individuals facing immediate 

7 legal and safety concerns due to their participation 

8 in any activity described in paragraphs (1) through 

9 (5); and 

10 (8) any programming based on a positive youth 

11 development approach. 

12 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 are authorized to be appropriated $5,500,000 to carry out 

14 this section. Amounts appropriated pursuant to the au15 thorization of appropriations under this subsection may be 

16 referred to as the ‘‘Youth, Peace, and Security Fund’’. 

17 SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 

18 In this Act: 

19 (1) CONFLICT.—The term ‘‘conflict’’ in this Act 

20 is understood as an inevitable aspect of human 

21 interaction, and present when two or more individ22 uals or groups pursue mutually incompatible goals. 

23 ‘‘Conflict’’ is a continuum. When channeled con24 structively into processes of resolution, conflict can 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
23 

•HR 5851 IH

1 be beneficial; however, conflict can also be waged 

2 violently, as in war. 

3 (2) CONFLICT PREVENTION.—The term ‘‘con4 flict prevention’’ is understood as deliberate efforts 

5 to disrupt likely pathways to the outbreak, esca6 lation, or recurrence of violent conflict and promote 

7 peaceful, resilient communities. 

8 (3) DO NO HARM.—The term ‘‘Do No Harm’’ 

9 refers to taking measures that ensure our efforts 

10 and interventions do not put any individual or group 

11 at increased risk of harm. As the legal, political, and 

12 social context for diverse youth is challenging in 

13 most countries where youth, peace, and security ac14 tivities occur, our engagement with youth and their 

15 communities should be done thoughtfully as it can 

16 raise their visibility and potentially put them at risk. 

17 (4) INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT.—The term ‘‘in18 clusive development’’ is understood to mean the con19 cept that every person, regardless of their identity, 

20 is instrumental in transforming their societies. De21 velopment processes that are inclusive yield better 

22 outcomes for the communities that embark upon 

23 them. 

24 (5) MEANINGFUL YOUTH ENGAGEMENT.—The 

25 term ‘‘meaningful youth engagement’’ is defined as 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
24 

•HR 5851 IH

1 an inclusive, intentional, mutually respectful part2 nership between youth and adults whereby power is 

3 shared and respective contributions, including young 

4 people’s ideas, leadership, perspectives, skills, and 

5 strengths, are valued. 

6 (6) PEACEBUILDING.—The term 

7 ‘‘peacebuilding’’ is understood as a range of efforts 

8 at the community, national, and international levels 

9 to address the immediate impacts and root causes of 

10 conflict and violence before, during, and after it oc11 curs. 

12 (7) RESILIENCE.—The term ‘‘resilience’’ in this 

13 Act is understood as the ability of people, house14 holds, communities, countries, and systems to miti15 gate, adapt to, and recover from shocks and stresses 

16 in a manner that reduces chronic vulnerability and 

17 facilitates inclusive growth. In conflict and violence 

18 prevention, resilience often refers to protective struc19 tures (personal, group, institutional) that buffer in20 dividuals from the effects of adverse experiences. 

21 (8) VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘violence’’ in this 

22 Act is understood as the intentional use of physical 

23 force or power, threatened or actual, against another 

24 person or against a group or community that results 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
25 

•HR 5851 IH

1 in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, 

2 death, or psychological harm. 

3 (9) VULNERABLE.—The term ‘‘vulnerable 

4 youth’’, ‘‘vulnerable populations’’, or other such 

5 iterations referred in this Act means a group of peo6 ple are vulnerable to situations or conditions, such 

7 as those situations and conditions presented during 

8 conflicts or instability. It is not meant to define any 

9 group as having vulnerability as inherent to their 

10 identity. 

11 (10) ACTION PLAN.—The term ‘‘action plan’’ 

12 means the United States Foreign Assistance Youth, 

13 Peace, and Security Action Plan developed pursuant 

14 to section 8. 

15 (11) USAID.—The acronym ‘‘USAID’’ means 

16 the United States Agency for International Develop17 ment. 

18 (12) YOUTH.—The term ‘‘youth’’ means indi19 viduals who have attained 10 years of age and have 

20 not attained 30 years of age. 

21 (13) YOUTH COORDINATOR.—The term ‘‘Youth 

22 Coordinator’’ means the individual designated by the 

23 Administrator pursuant to section 6 to coordinate all 

24 cross-sectoral international development efforts re25 lated to youth. 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
26 

•HR 5851 IH

1 SEC. 10. REPORTS. 

2 (a) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

3 the date of the submission of the United States Foreign 

4 Assistance Youth, Peace, and Security Action Plan re5 quired under section 7, the USAID Administrator shall 

6 submit to Congress a report that describes the status of 

7 the implementation of such Plan. 

8 (b) CONTENT.—The report required under subsection 

9 (a) shall— 

10 (1) contain a summary of such Plan as an ap11 pendix; 

12 (2) describe the progress made in implementing 

13 such Plan; 

14 (3) identify the indicators and measure results 

15 over time, including disaggregated data on YPS 

16 grant funds obligated to support children and youth 

17 and their meaningful engagement in United States 

18 foreign assistance programming, as well as the 

19 mechanisms for reporting such results in an open 

20 and transparent manner; 

21 (4) contain a transparent and detailed account22 ing of USAID spending to implement such Plan and 

23 related activities; 

24 (5) describe how such Plan leverages the United 

25 States peace and security programs; and 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS
27 

•HR 5851 IH

1 (6) assess the increased access of youth-led and 

2 youth-serving organizations to grants provided by 

3 USAID. 

4 (c) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—For the 6-year period 

5 beginning on the date of the submission of the initial re6 port required under subsection (a), the USAID Adminis7 trator shall submit to Congress a report on the status of 

8 the implementation of such Plan, the progress made in 

9 achieving the elements described in section 8(a), and any 

10 changes to such Plan every other year since the date of 

11 the submission of the most recent prior report. 

12 (d) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—The 

13 information referred to in subsections (a) and (b) shall 

14 be timely made available on the public website of USAID 

15 in a consolidated, downloadable, and machine-searchable 

16 format. 

Æ 


tkelley on DSK125TN23PROD with BILLS