Fighting for Our Voice: The SDGs and Youth Rights in an Era of Shrinking Civic Space and Multilateral Crisis
As we return from this year’s High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) at the UN, one thing is clear: the fight for youth rights and youth participation is more urgent than ever to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and realise the 2030 Agenda. In a time of economic, ecological, and democratic crisis, young people are being systematically sidelined, even as governments recommit to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But as civic space shrinks and multilateralism wavers, our message is: now is not the time to give up.
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A Platform Under Pressure
The HLPF is the UN’s annual stocktaking moment on SDG progress, and in 2025, it reviewed SDGs on health, gender equality, decent work, oceans, and partnerships. Our delegation, though small in size, punched well above its weight. From high-level meetings with EU member states like Portugal, Italy, Spain, Austria, and Germany, to direct engagement with the UN Youth Office, and the Beyond GDP Expert Group, we made sure youth voices were heard, even when real commitments by member states were lacking.
In our engagements, we consistently raised our key priorities: an inclusive implementation of the SDGs at the national level, more ambition to tackle the climate crisis, a UN Convention on the Rights of Young People, safeguarding Erasmus+ and LIFE funding in the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), and ensuring youth participation in UN processes such as WPAY+30 and the Summit of the Future.
The Crisis Beneath the Surface
But underneath the formal speeches and adopted declarations lies a worrying reality: multilateralism is in crisis. Civic participation is increasingly treated as optional. The UN is facing deep and systemic budget cuts. This is not a coincidence.
A year ago, we warned that the SDGs were at risk of becoming obsolete unless governments took urgent action. Today, we see the warning signs playing out. Budget cuts are not just numbers, they reflect a broader loss of political will to prioritise long-term global cooperation and rights-based governance. Human rights are no longer the compass guiding decision-making, but too often treated as optional or secondary. When governments slash funding, as we highlighted in our recent response to the MFF proposal, they are not just reducing expenditures, but they are cutting off opportunities for young people to learn, work, and engage as global citizens and jeopardise the social and environmental transformation that the SDGs demand.
We. Say. No.
In a system where short-termism dominates, youth rights are seen as optional. We disagree.
Youth organisations are not just stakeholders, we are changemakers, watchdogs, and implementers. That's why we continue to push for accountability through tools like the Youth Test, to assess the impact of policies on young people before they are adopted; the Youth Progress Index, to measure youth wellbeing with rights-based indicators; and our call for a UN Convention on the Rights of Young People, which would legally enshrine our rights and protection globally.
The SDGs Need More Than Rhetoric
It has become fashionable for political leaders to declare support for the SDGs while underfunding or obstructing the very mechanisms needed to achieve them, all while weakening institutions and violating human rights in the process. But delivering the SDGs requires more than lip service.
In our meetings, whether with MEPs, UN bodies, or national delegates, these links were made clear. From pushing for better youth inclusion in the Pact for the Future, to advocating for tax justice and climate financing, we connected the dots between sustainability, youth rights and the SDGs.
What Comes Next
We leave the HLPF knowing that the road ahead is steep. As multilateralism fragments and political attention drifts from the SDGs, we must double down on our demands. Not just to be invited into the room, but to shape the agenda.
As one MEP told us in New York: “There is no future for the SDGs if youth are not part of it.” We couldn’t agree more.
Let’s continue to fight, not just for a seat at the table, but for a world where our rights, voices, and futures are guaranteed. Because giving up is not an option.
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