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YOUNG GENERAL ASSEMBLY CHARTER
This Charter was written mainly by children from all parts of the world over a period of a year
at a residential meeting (The San Francisco Conference July 18-25, 1999),
and
during an internet conference (The San Francisco Conference Continued in Cyberspace January 10-March 7, 2000),
and
finalized at the First Young General Assembly Session July 21-30, 2000 at California Polytechnic High School and California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, USA. The Charter was voted into force on July 24, 2000 at 5:57PM.
and
reviewed during the Charter Review Online April 1- June 15, 2004. Revisions were adopted at the Fifth Annual Session Closing Plenary August 7, 2004
YOUNG GENERAL ASSEMBLY CHARTER
PREAMBLE
In the name of love, unity and harmony, we, as global representatives of young people, feel empowered
to step forward through the door opened for us by the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1990 World Summit for Children, the 1995 World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond, the 1998 Braga Youth Action Plan, the 1999 Hague Agenda for Peace and Justice for the 21st Century, and
to exercise and perpetuate the values of peace, liberty, solidarity, equality, non-violence, respect for all human rights, respect for cultural diversity, justice, tolerance, dialogue, reconciliation, and
to prepare young people to be well informed and responsibly active leaders in today's world and to participate in mutually respectful partnerships with all peoples and governmental institutions to build a future in which everyone has the opportunity to develop his or her human potential, and
because we are convinced of our ability to contribute to the development and betterment of the present and the future, and
to honor the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World, we create an international organization that will be a credible and recognized forum for young people to use as an instrument of international awareness to promote the Convention on the Rights of the Child so as to uphold those rights,
we therefore commit ourselves to this Charter and encourage young people of all nations and languages from every culture to assume a role in the international organization known as the Young General Assembly in order to make a world fit for children.
CHAPTER I - Purposes and Principles
Article 1 - Purposes
The purposes of the Young General Assembly are to:
1. raise awareness about world issues, children's issues, children’s needs, children’s duties, children’s
responsibilities and children’s rights;
2. demonstrate that children are valuable partners in decision-making and solution-building and are assets to
their communities-not liabilities and must be viewed as investments-not expenditures;
3. facilitate and enhance the development of leadership skills so that children can take effective action in
their own communities;
4. mobilize the world's children by working through member organizations to initiate projects to improve
the quality of life at the local level and to monitor the progress of those projects;
5. act as a consultative forum for and work in cooperation with children worldwide, national governments,
non-governmental organizations, international organizations, the United Nations and other organizations
at all levels on issues that affect children;
6. provide delegations representing the Young General Assembly to local, national, and international fora;
7. alert appropriate officials about children's emergency situations;
8. teach younger children about the Young General Assembly so they will carry on the Young General
Assembly wisely;
9. inform and engage all children in a spirit of unity and cooperation through the observance of Hear the
Children Day of Peace celebrated on the International Day of Peace; and
10. establish a network of national organizations which will share knowledge, resources and enthusiasm to
bring about a world where everyone has the opportunity to develop her or his human potential.
Article 2 - Principles
1. The Young General Assembly will operate in such a manner so as to harmoniously unite all national,
lingual, cultural, racial and religious boundaries in order to promote individual and global peace and Child
Participation.
2. The Young General Assembly is guided by and acts upon the principles of peace, justice, unity, harmony,
love/respect, cooperation and understanding throughout the world, as well as the principles described in
the United Nations Charter Preamble and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
3. The Young General Assembly and its member organizations will serve as models for children worldwide
and will advocate for Child Participation and will encourage children to be responsibly active local,
national and global citizens.
4. The Young General Assembly adheres to the definition of a child as being a person under eighteen years
of age as defined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child in matters concerning child rights and Child
Participation. In matters concerning representation and participation in United Nations activities, it adheres
to the definition of a child as a person under the age of fifteen.
CHAPTER II - Powers and Responsibilities
Article 3 - Powers
The powers of the Young General Assembly organization are to:
1. discuss any matters affecting children's lives and to design and distribute project plans to member
organizations to initiate to begin alleviating the issues discussed ;
2. make declarations to benefit the children of the world and distribute them worldwide;
3. propose bills and/or resolutions regarding children's rights and issues to national governments and
international organizations;
4. offer consultative services to children's groups, national governments, the United Nations and
international organizations and work in cooperation with these groups to bring about positive change;
5. enter into partnerships with other organizations operating with similar goals to advocate and lobby for a
world fit for children;
6. discuss and determine the annual budget and/or financial actions pertaining to the Young General
Assembly organization and the Young General Assembly committees;
7. encourage Member Organizations to prepare research papers on issues that affect children;
8. to call special Assembly Sessions other than the annual Assembly Session; and
9. receive and consider reports from Young General Assembly committees and member organizations as well
as national organizations, national governments, the United Nations and its agencies, and international
organizations.
Article 4 - Responsibilities
The responsibilities of the Young General Assembly organization are to:
1. conduct itself in such a manner so as to bring about respect for Child Participation in society at the
local, national, regional and international levels;
2. honor its commitments made to its Member Organizations and any other organization;
3. encourage Member Organizations to work in cooperation within a nation and across national borders;
4. compose and distribute an annual report compiled from the annual reports of Member Organizations;
5. initiate studies and research about specific global children's issues;
CHAPTER III - Structure of the Young General Assembly
Article 5 - The Assembly of the Young General Assembly
1. The Assembly consists of:
a. an Assembly of Delegates and Ambassadors; and
b. Working Committees which meet only during Assembly Sessions.
2. Assembly Sessions
a. The Assembly must meet annually.
b. Whenever possible, each Assembly Session should be held in a different country.
c. The procedures used by the Assembly are those that are decided by the Assembly.
d. The Assembly Session moderating team will be selected by the host organization.
e. Assembly Plenary Sessions will be conducted in English.
f. The Assembly Session schedule will be determined jointly by the host organization and the Secretariat.
3. Responsibilities of the Host Organization for the Annual Assembly Sessions:
a. provide information to the Young General Assembly Secretariat nine months in advance of the meeting
about the dates of the Assembly Session, the venue, and fees/expenses required of the Delegates to
cover housing costs, meals and registration; and
b. do all the tasks within their country needed to secure a safe, healthy venue and to provide the facilities
and activities that will result in a productive and successful Session.
4. The Assembly Session Agenda
a. The Agenda will be compiled by the Secretariat from proposed resolutions sent in by member
organizations up to six weeks before the annual Assembly Session is to begin.
b. The Agenda will be sent to Member Organizations within three weeks before the Assembly Session
is to begin.
5. Assembly Session Regional and National Meetings
- Each annual Assembly Session will, when possible, begin with five Regional Meetings (Africa, Asia,
Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Europe/North America/Others) as defined by the United Nations
General Assembly. The meeting organizers will strive to ensure all five regions are represented. If not,
adjustments will be made.
b. The Regional Meetings may include annual report summaries from member organizations, discussions
of the Assembly Agenda, discussions about the duties of the Session Working Committees and the
selection of Working Committee members so each Committee when possible will have representation
from each of the five United Nations regions.
c. The Regional Meetings will also include brief National Meetings so Delegates can select one
Ambassador under the age of eighteen years to represent their country when voting occurs in the
Assembly Plenary Sessions.
6. Qualifications for Annual Session Delegates
a. Delegates, selected by Member Organizations, are outstanding leaders in their organizations and have a
knowledge of English.
b. Member Organization delegations must be comprised so as to have a ratio of a minimum of two
persons under the age of eighteen for every one person over eighteen.
7. Qualifications for Ambassadors and Their and Responsibilities
- Ambassadors must under the age of eighteen when selected by Delegates at National Meetings held during the Assembly Session Regional Meetings and have a competent command of English.
b. Ambassadors can continue to hold their positions past the age of eighteen only as long as they:
i. Recruit two new Member Organizations each year of service between annual sessions;
ii. Speak about the Young General Assembly at three meetings or media events between annual
sessions and send a 500 word report in English about each meeting/event to the Secretariat to be
distributed to all Young General Assembly Member Organizations; and
iii. Even if Ambassadors do not live in their national capital city, even though difficult, they must find
some way to monitor their government’s actions concerning people under the age of eighteen about
United Nations issues and report those actions to the Secretariat in English every four months to be
distributed to Member Organizations.
8. Voting in Plenary Assembly Sessions
- Voting will be carried out only by Ambassadors under the age of eighteen and there will be one vote for each country. If there is more than one Ambassador under eighteen from a country, then the youngest ambassador will be awarded the privilege to vote.
b. Decisions will be made by at least two-thirds majority vote of the Ambassadors present.
9. Assembly Session Working Committees
a. The title of each Working Committee at annual sessions shall be determined by the participants at the
annual sessions.
b. Each Working Committee at annual sessions will have a Moderator, Peace Maker, and Scribe. Other
positions may be added.
c. Working Committees may be added, deleted or sub-divided by the annual session participants
according to the requirements of the annual Assembly Session Agenda.
d. It is the task of the Working Committees to discuss Agenda issues delegated to the Committee and/or
related other issues that further the work of the Committee, design project plans to alleviate the
identified issues, and write the conclusions in the form of resolutions to be presented for discussion and
vote in an Assembly Plenary Session.
e. All resolutions to be presented to the Assembly Plenary Sessions by a Working Committee must be
approved by at least two-thirds majority of the members of that Working Committee.
Article 6 - Permanent Committees of the Young General Assembly
In the absence of sufficient representation and resources to operate full committees, the Secretariat will, in the interim, establish alternative structures in order to carry out the duties of each permanent committee.
1. Executive Committee
a. Executive Committee members are selected at annual Assembly Sessions.
b. The Executive Committee of the Young General Assembly organization is comprised of people under
eighteen years of age with a knowledge of English. Whenever possible, the Executive Committee will
be gender balanced and have at least one representative from each of the five United Nations regions.
c. One or two Executive Committee members are from the Secretariat.
d. The Executive Committee will make decisions on planning and policy and the decisions needed for the
organization to carry out its purposes when the Assembly is not in Session.
2. Finance Committee
a. Finance Committee members are selected at annual Assembly Sessions.
b. The Finance Committee of the Young General Assembly organization is comprised of people
over eighteen years of age with a knowledge of English. Whenever possible, the Finance Committee
will be gender balanced and have at least one representative from each of the five United Nations
regions.
c. One or two Finance Committee members are from the Secretariat.
d. The Finance Committee duties are to:
i determine the necessary financial arrangements and requirements;
ii propose the annual Young General Assembly organization budget;
iii arrange for auditing and any necessary financial consultation with experts; and
iv devise for future financial arrangements.
3. Special Issue Committee
a. Special Issue Committee members are selected at annual Assembly Sessions.
b. The Special Issue Committee of the Young General Assembly organization is comprised of people
of any age over twelve years of age with a knowledge of English. Whenever possible, the Special Issue
Committee will be gender balanced and have at least one representative from each of the five United
Nations regions.
c. One or two Special Issue Committee members are from the Secretariat.
d. The Special Issue Committee duties are to:
i promote, and publicize Hear the Children Day of Peace activities worldwide;
ii compile reports about Hear the Children Day of Peace activities to be sent to the Secretariat by
December 1st each year;
iii communicate frequently with Young General Assembly Member Organizations and encourage
them to establish links of partnership with national governmental officials and report about such
activities to the Secretariat by December 1st each year;
iv stay informed about the calendar of governmental reports to be made to the Committee on the
Rights of the Child in Geneva.
v. send notice to Young General Assembly Member Organizations as many months as possible in
advance of their government's reporting date in Geneva so Member Organizations may compile a
report from the children's viewpoint about the status of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in their country.
vi send copies of these national reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child and to the Young
General Assembly Secretariat and remind the reporting organizations to present report copies to
their national government officials
vii alert appropriate officials and organizations about children in crisis.
4. The Assembly will establish any other permanent committees that it decides are necessary to accomplish its
goals.
Article 7 - The Young General Assembly Secretariat
1. The Young General Assembly Secretariat will act as a liaison between the Young General Assembly and the United Nations.
2. The Secretariat will be the microphone for the Young General Assembly and the communications center for
all its activities.
3. The Secretariat will work with the Executive Committee, Finance Committee, Special Issue Committee and
any other ongoing committees established.
4. The Secretariat duties are to:
a. receive and respond to communications;
b. compile the Young General Assembly Annual Report;
c. participate in the Executive Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Special Issue Committee;
d. keep Young General Assembly records;
e. organize the Agenda of the Assembly of the Young General Assembly from proposals sent in by
Member Organizations;
f. work in cooperation with the organization hosting the annual Assembly Session to arrange the Session
schedule and help the Session to run smoothly;
g. keep the Member Organization roster up to date; and
h. do any other tasks needed to help the Young General Assembly achieve its purposes.
Article 8 - Member Organizations
1. Membership in the Young General Assembly is open to any organization in any nation in which
people under eighteen years of age have a major voice in the organization's executive decision-
making.
2. Member organizations agree to uphold the Young General Assembly Charter and to:
a. devise ways of reaching children throughout their nation to distribute Young General Assembly Project
Plans, initiate projects and monitor their progress;
b. support children in presenting their views themselves on issues that affect children and set up
opportunities for them to do so in an appropriate manner;
c. assist child members to present Hear the Children Day of Peace activities on the International Day of
Peace and report about these activities to the Young General Assembly Special Issue Committee by
December 1st each year or be dropped from the Young General Assembly;
d. develop partnerships with other organizations and serve as a liaison between the government and its
child citizens and report to the Special Issue Committee on these activities;
e. end delegations to annual Assembly Sessions of which two of every three persons in the delegation are
people between the ages of twelve and eighteen, and no delegation will be sent without a person
between the ages of twelve and eighteen, one member needs to speak English well and all others have
actively participated in the Member Organization's activities;
f. complete an annual report in English about the Member Organization's Young General Assembly
activities/projects and send the report to the Young General Assembly Secretariat to arrive before
December 1st each year or be dropped from the Young General Assembly;
g. participate in writing national reports about the status of the implementation of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child in their country when called upon to do;
h. educate children about child rights;
i. develop skills in children that will guide them towards a lifelong path of responsibly active citizenship
at all levels.
j. keep the Young General Assembly Secretariat informed as to any changes in the Member
Organization's contact information.
Chapter IV - The Role of Youth in the Young General Assembly
Article 9 - Youth
1. The Young General Assembly adheres to the definition of a youth as being a person between the ages of
eighteen and twenty four in matters concerning child rights and Child Participation. In matters concerning
representation and participation in the United Nations activities, it adheres to the definition of a youth as a
person between the ages of fifteen and twenty four.
2. At the international level youth can serve as:
a. meeting facilitators;
b. mentors and guides for those between the ages of twelve and eighteen;
c. fund raisers for international travel and conference fees;
d. members of the Finance Committee;
e. members of the Special Issues Committee;
f. interns at the Secretariat;
g. liaisons between the United Nations and the Young General Assembly;
- initiators and directors of research on children's issues: and
scribes.
3. At the national level youth can serve as:
a. project facilitators and monitors of the projects;
b. organizers and writers of national reports, collectors of data and research;
c. producers of Hear the Children Day of Peace events;
d. liaisons who set up appointments with government officials and facilitate the interaction with children
ensuring the children get an opportunity to speak for themselves;
e. investigators of new government policies and programs affecting children and passing the information
on to children nationwide;
f. chaperons for children as they travel;
g. fund raisers for their organization’s projects;
h. agents who organize press conferences and create publicity;
i. teachers of informative workshops about the areas included in the Young General Assembly's
responsibilities;
j. organizers of events and programs to recruit new participants for the Member Organization; and
k educators to prepare delegates under age eighteen attending annual Assembly Sessions of the Young
General Assembly.
CHAPTER V - Amendments to the Young General Assembly Charter
Article 10 Amendment Proposal
1. Any Member Organization in good standing for at least one year may propose, in writing, addressed to the
Secretariat no later than three months prior to the annual Assembly Session, that an amendment be made to
the Young General Assembly Charter.
2. Any Ambassador may seek leave to propose an amendment to the Young General Assembly Charter
during an annual Assembly Plenary Session. Leave is granted if the proposal is supported by a simple
majority of Ambassadors present.
Article 11 Amendment Approval and Commencement
1. A proposed amendment will be discussed in an annual Assembly Plenary Session.
2. Any proposed amendment will be approved and come into effect with a two-thirds majority vote of the
annual Assembly Session Ambassadors.
3. Approved amendments will come into immediate effect unless otherwise stated.
4. A proposal for a Charter Review at any annual session may be made to the Executive Committee by any
Member Organization in good standing for at least one year.
CHAPTER VI - Commencement of the Young General Assembly Charter
This Charter will come into effect when confirmed by a two-thirds majority of the votes of annual Assembly Session Ambassadors.
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