Vietnamese youth speaks at Conference on Disarmament session
For the first time, a representative of Vietnamese youth has attended and delivered a speech at a special plenary session held by the Conference on Disarmament (CD) on the occasion of the International Youth Day (August 12).
The Vietnamese delegation to the event, held both in person at the UN headquarters in Geneva and via videoconference, also included representatives of Vietnam’s permanent mission in Geneva.
The session on youth and disarmament, initiated by Canada – the current President of the CD, aimed to improve youth’s awareness of the importance and significance of disarmament.
It saw the presence of Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Under-Secretary General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs; Jayathma Wickramanayake, the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth; four representatives of the Youth Champions for Disarmament – Youth4Disarmament Initiative from Canada, Uganda, Lebanon, and Vietnam; and youth representatives of the Republic of Korea, the Czech Republic, France, Japan, Belgium, and Australia.
Via videoconference, Phung Trang Linh, a student from the Hanoi-based Foreign Trade University and one of the 10 champions of the Youth4Disarmament, gave a speech on youth participation in disarmament.
She affirmed young people’s numerous contributions to disarmament affairs, pointed out certain difficulties and challenges to young people’s engagement in disarmament, and proposed some solutions.
She stressed that young people around the world, including in Vietnam – once a war-torn country, are well aware of the value of peace and wish to help protect the future.
Linh expressed her hope that the youth’s effective participation in the time ahead will help build an effective disarmament mechanism, thus contributing to global peace, security, and sustainable development.
The CD is the only global multilateral negotiation forum on disarmament with 65 member states that represent almost all regions and groups of countries in different levels of development.
Vietnam took part in CD meetings for the first time in 1993 and became a full member in 1996.
The Youth4Disarmament is an initiative launched by the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs in 2019 with a view to connecting the youth in different geographical regions with experts to learn and discuss the UN’s works and current challenges to international security. It has chosen 10 outstanding youths from 6,515 candidates, who are from the UK, Lebanon, Germany, Nigeria, Egypt, Uganda, Turkey, Canada, South Africa, and Vietnam.
