Youth, Peace, and Security Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.4838 | Sponsor: Rep. Meng, Grace (D-NY)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Youth, Peace, and Security Act of 2021
This bill requires the Department of State to coordinate the development and implementation of a whole-of-government strategy to promote the inclusive and meaningful participation of youth in peace building and conflict prevention, management, and resolution, as well as post-conflict and recovery efforts.
The President must appoint a coordinator who, in addition to being responsible for leading the implementation of such strategy, is authorized to provide grants, emergency assistance, and technical assistance to eligible youth-led civil society organizations and youth peace-building implementers.
The bill also authorizes the President to provide development assistance to expand training, technical assistance, and grants managed and controlled by youth leaders.

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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