2012-saiia-young-leaders-declaration-7c8bd8cccf6fdbad.pdf

The 2012 SAIIA Young Leaders Declaration is a statement negotiated by South African youth at the 1st South African Institute of International Affairs Young Leaders Conference. The document outlines youth-led recommendations for the international community, the African continent, and the South African government across three primary themes: climate change and sustainable development, universal education, and the reform of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

• The declaration calls for the international community to engage in establishing Sustainable Development Goals following the Rio+20 Conference and to reaffirm Millennium Development Goal 7, which focuses on ensuring environmental sustainability. It specifically advocates for increased participation of African youth in sustainability negotiations, including the Conference of the Parties and the Commission on Sustainable Development.
• Regarding Africa, the youth urge the continent to address the dependency of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) by targeting aid at vulnerable citizens, condemning resource exploitation, and creating climate change and disaster management programmes designed in collaboration with women, children, youth, people with disabilities, and indigenous peoples.
• The document proposes several environmental and economic reforms for the South African government, including a gradual shift from non-renewable to renewable energy and the creation of a "Corporate Environmental and Social Responsibility" policy. This policy would require businesses exceeding a specific turnover to contribute a percentage of their turnover to environmental initiatives.
• To improve global education, the declaration supports the UN Secretary-General's Education First Initiative priorities: putting every child in school, improving education quality, and fostering global citizenship. Specific recommendations include increasing scholarships, promoting feeding schemes in South African schools, and standardising universities across Africa to allow student interchange, similar to models used by MERCOSUL and the European Union.
• The youth propose a comprehensive reform of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to address regional under-representation. This includes restricting the veto power to matters under Chapter VII of the UN Charter (excluding Article 41) and creating a 'third category' of membership consisting of four member states serving five-year terms: two from Africa, one from Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), and one from the Asia-Pacific.
• The declaration specifically urges the South African government to bid for one of the proposed new African seats in the UNSC's Third Category, citing the country's economic and political stability.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (n.d.). 2012-saiia-young-leaders-declaration-7c8bd8cccf6fdbad.pdf. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/2012-SAIIA-Young-Leaders-Declaration.pdf

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. 2012-saiia-young-leaders-declaration-7c8bd8cccf6fdbad.pdf. n.d. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/2012-SAIIA-Young-Leaders-Declaration.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=2012-saiia-young-leaders-declaration-7c8bd8cccf6fdbad.pdf |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/2012-SAIIA-Young-Leaders-Declaration.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairsnd2012saiiayoungleadersdeclaration7c8bd8cccf6fdbadpdf, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{2012-saiia-young-leaders-declaration-7c8bd8cccf6fdbad.pdf}}, publisher = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/2012-SAIIA-Young-Leaders-Declaration.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }