Inaugural Youth Statement on Emerging Technologies

United Nations First Committee on Disarmament and International Security October 17, 2025, United Nations Headquarters in New York City, USA

MEDIA RELEASE | 17th October 2025

Co-delivered by Ana Palada from the United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY) and Yerdaulet Rakhmatulla from the Qazaq Nuclear Frontline Coalition (QNFC) on behalf of youth-led and allied civil society organizations.

See original statement here.

Your Excellency, Honorable Chair Massari, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, and fellow civil society representatives, We, youth leaders from across the globe convened through the inaugural Youth4Disarmament Forum, are deeply honored to deliver a youth-led grassroots civil society Statement on the Emerging Technologies to this Committee. Rooted in intersectional solidarity, this statement, endorsed by more than 45 individuals and organizations, represents not only the perspectives of youth but also those of historically marginalized and underrepresented voices that are systematically excluded from multilateral decision-making processes. Our participation today underscores the urgency of moving beyond symbolic representation, ensuring that the voices of those most affected by the decisions made in this chamber meaningfully inform policy.

Humanity is confronting unprecedented and interconnected polycrises. We are witnessing climate emergencies that devastate livelihoods, wars with catastrophic humanitarian harm, and profound geopolitical shifts that exacerbate global inequalities. Central to these challenges is the rapid advancement, militarization, and weaponization of emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), autonomous weapon systems, drones, and space-based platforms. While these technologies have immense potential to support sustainable development, facilitate climate solutions, and improve digital inclusion, their entanglement with nuclear and conventional weapons represents an existential threat. The
convergence of these technologies with nuclear systems could drastically reduce human oversight in decision-making, increase the risk of miscalculation, and amplify the potential for catastrophic escalation.

Emerging technologies demand governance frameworks that prioritize human rights, sustainability, equity, justice, and ethics. The application of AI systems to nuclear weapons should be halted. The acceleration of AI development places enormous demands on water, energy, and mineral resources, creating environmental risks that directly threaten the
achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

In Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of the driest regions on Earth, the development of AI infrastructure exacerbates water scarcity, directly impacting Indigenous communities that rely on these resources for agriculture, livestock, and daily life. While the benefits of digital
infrastructure are often captured by global markets and multinational corporations, the environmental and social costs are disproportionately borne by local communities.

The concentration of technological power within a few corporations further risks perpetuating digital colonialism, where economic benefits are extracted from sensitive regions without justice or reciprocal value. Populations, particularly youth from the Global Majority, are placed in vulnerable situations and face systemic exclusion from decision-making on technologies that will shape their futures. In response, we demand UNGA implement human rights protections, ensuring that AI and emerging technologies are designed, governed, and deployed transparently, inclusively, and with accountability, especially when integrated with nuclear or other high-risk systems. These principles must be intersectional and intergenerational, recognizing the differential impacts of technology on marginalized communities, and ensuring that governance mechanisms actively prevent harm while promoting equitable benefits.

Youth have a unique role to play in addressing these converging challenges. We bring creativity, foresight, and lived experience to conversations that have traditionally been dominated by technical experts and established policymakers. Youth-led networks can act as knowledge brokers, bridging local realities with global governance processes. By integrating youth perspectives, we can ensure that disarmament policies are responsive not only to security imperatives but also to human rights, environmental stewardship, and social justice.

We recognize and celebrate the milestones set by UN Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security, General Assembly Resolution 74/64 on Youth, Disarmament and Non-proliferation, and UNSCR 1540, which addresses the proliferation risks of emerging
technologies. These instruments provide a strong foundation for youth engagement in peace and security, emphasizing the importance of inclusion, accountability, and multilateral cooperation. We also strongly support ongoing UN initiatives on AI governance, including the
2024 UN Resolution on safe, secure, and trustworthy AI systems for sustainable development, that calls upon all Member States and, where applicable, other stakeholders to refrain from or cease the use of artificial intelligence systems that are impossible to operate in compliance with
international human rights law or that pose undue risks to the enjoyment of human right. We also support Objective 5 of The Pact for the Future, endorsed by 193 Member States, and we welcome the launch of the Global Dialogue on AI Governance. These efforts signal recognition that emerging technologies must be governed with foresight, inclusivity, and a commitment to human security.

The discussions and Outcome Document from the Youth4Disarmament Forum provide actionable recommendations and form the foundation of our proposals today. In that spirit, we urge the Committee to:

• • Implement the policy recommendations and proposals from the inaugural Youth4Disarmament Forum’s Outcome Document, namely:- Institutionalize purposeful youth participation;
    - Invest in youth capacity building and education
    - Structure multi-stakeholder engagement to bridge policy and technical
    communities.
  • Establish justice- and justice-centered governance frameworks for emerging
    technologies, ensuring transparency, inclusivity, democratic oversight, and accountability.
  • Ensure youth leadership and engagement in intergovernmental discussions,
    conferences, and working groups on emerging technologies and nuclear disarmament,
    including permanent representation on relevant bodies.
  • Prioritize accelerated and inclusive governance of AI and other emerging technologies
    amid ongoing UN reform, ensuring that ethical, environmental, and human rights
    considerations guide global standards.
  • Create a UN Special Rapporteur for AI and Human Rights.
  • Foster intersectional frameworks that incorporate underrepresented groups, ensuring that policies reflect the lived realities of those most affected.

Excellencies, the future of peaceful applications of emerging technologies—whether advancing climate solutions, promoting digital inclusion, or supporting sustainable development—will determine not only global security but also the daily lives and futures of future generations. Youth are ready to engage meaningfully, not only to imagine better alternatives but to work hand-in-hand with Member States, international organizations, and civil society partners to design policies grounded in human security, justice, and ethical responsibility.

By integrating youth voices and intersectional perspectives into policy frameworks, we can ensure that emerging technologies serve humanity broadly, rather than entrenching existing inequalities or creating new forms of vulnerability. Our commitment is clear: youth are not passive stakeholders but active partners, ready to co-create governance frameworks that safeguard peace, protect rights, and foster equitable access to the benefits of technological advancement.

We thank the Committee for this opportunity to contribute to these critical discussions, and we stand ready to continue collaborating to ensure that emerging technologies, particularly those intersecting with nuclear systems, are governed in a manner that is sustainable, just, and inclusive for all. Thank you.

ENDORSED BY

1. JASA
2. Roberta Bojang, Union pour la Nouvelle Génération Africaine et Européenne (UNGAE)
3. United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY)
4. Luiz Bispo, World Citizens Association of Australia
5. CAIDP – Center for AI and Digital Policy
6. Nuclear Truth Project
7. The Nuclear Resister
8. beHuman
9. Joel Naoki Christoph, 10Billion.org
10. Leigh Ford, Snake River Alliance
11. International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)
12. International Peace Bureau (IPB)
13. International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW)
14. Physicians for Social Responsibility, U.S.A.
15. Dina Tawfik, Lund University
16. Pax Christi International
17. Youth Fusion
18. Dr. Deepshikha Kumari Vijh, Executive Director, Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy
19. Nuclear Information and Resource Service
20. Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF) and its youth initiative, Reverse The Trend:
Save Our People, Save Our Planet
21. Dhesarme - Brazilian Action for Humanitarian Disarmament
22. Valeria Madrigal, YLFer and Founder of DisArmed Project.
23. San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace
24. Conseil Consultatif de Jeunes
25. Western States Legal Foundation
26. Juan Camilo Montoya Díaz - UNAOC Peacebuilder and YLFer
27. Occupy Bergen County i
28. Mustafa Umut OZBEK (Türkiye) - World Youth Network (A Nuclear-Free World Powered
by Youth)
29. Vrede vzw (Belgium)
30. Middle East Treaty Organization (METO)
31. Tabitha Wangechi - Digital Rurals Foundation, Kenya
32. Aigerim Seitenova, QNFC – Qazaq Nuclear Frontline Coalition
33. Kelvin Gakuna Kamau - Musician | Entrepreneur Founder of Ticket Mojo ltd; Director
Art's 4 Impact Foundation, Kenya
34. Isabella Galeano Carvajal - Pace University International Disarmament Institute
35. Tayyaba Khurshid - Research Officer, Center for International Strategic Studies AJK
36. Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, US. DISARM/End Wars
Committee
37. Siri Jansson, working group member (WG3) Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear
Disarmament
38. SGI – Soka Gakkai International
39. World Without Weapons, a Latin American youth network for nuclear disarmament
40. Ana C. Salgado Garza (Mexico), YLFer
41. Encode Intl. Network
42. SPADO Youth Network
43. Stop Killer Robots
44. Yorgo El Moubayed, Program Coordinator, iGEM Foundation
45. The Millennials Movement
46. Women’s Network for Peace, Germany / Frauennetzwerk für Frieden e. V.
47. International Student/Young Pugwash
48. Peace Boat
49. Jord Nguyen, AI safety Vietnam
50. Marshallese Educational Initiative
51. Youth for Privacy
52. Nyuklia Eureka (African Youth for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons)
53. Amputee Self-help Network Uganda (ASNU)
54. AiXist | Consortium for AI & Existential Risks
55. Mines Action Canada
56. Dr. Sean Howard and Dr. Tammy Bernasky, Cape Breton University, Canada