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Review of the documents on young people’s access to rights and non-discrimination: A Desk Research Study

The research data suggest the main experiences of discrimination reported by young people occur in the field of education and employment/occupation and that young people are more sensitised to discrimination and violation of human rights than older citizens of the EU. Nowadays the situation of young people and potential for realising their aspirations and enjoying a fruitful and fulfilled life is challenged by economic, social, environmental and health problems, and by COVID-19 pandemic. Young people are facing restrictions in access to education, high unemployment rates, scarcity of leisure and sport activities and forced dependency upon parental family. These are magnified by pre-existing social inequalities. In such a context youth access to rights should be in focus both on a document-analysis level and studies of real-life situations of young people. Analyses presented in this paper aim at carrying out a literature review of the selected documents on young people’s access to rights, including analysing how discriminatory practices faced by young people are addressed on the grounds explicitly outlined in Art. 14 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950) or any other form identified in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. The key document examined in this paper – CM/Rec(2016)7 Recommendation on young people's access to rights – provides a framework that would eventually lead to fulfilment of youth rights, irrespective of their age, gender, disability, social, national, religious or minority status, political affiliation. Desk analysis of more than 40 documents, several research studies and numerous online sources, indicates that development at the end of the last millennium brought new powers for combating discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnic origin, religion or beliefs, disability, age or sexual orientation, especially in the year 2000 when several important milestones were reached with regards to raising awareness on the importance of protecting human rights and tackling discrimination. Looking at the possible impact of the Recommendation on Young People’s Access to Right on more recent policy documents, it can be said that the countries of the Council of Europe have not reached the milestone, as youth access to rights and the importance of tackling discrimination are not fully incorporated in all policy documents issued on the European level.

Youth, access to rights, discrimination, pandemic

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