The active role of young people as agents for peace has gained recognition over the last decade. This departure from the traditional international security narrative, which often casts young people as victims or perpetrators in conflict-affected regions, represents a significant shift. The passing of the United Nations Security Council Resolution [UNSC] 2250 (2015) on Youth, Peace and Security, and its subsequent resolutions 2419 (2018) and 2535 (2020) later referred to as the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda (YPS), stand out as a landmark in moving forward this fresh conception of the youth (United Nations Security Council [UNSC], 2250). As the first international policy framework recognising the youth's positive role in upholding and advancing international peace and security, the YPS Agenda takes a comprehensive approach, going beyond the tendency to view youth solely through a security or victimhood lens. To do so, this approach identifies five key pillars to act on: participation, protection, violence prevention, partnerships, and disengagement and reintegration (UNSC, 2020a).

In particular, the pillar of participation underscores the importance of involving young people1 in the peace-making process. Recognising that the enduring success of a peace agreement hinges on its acceptance or rejection by the succeeding generations, their socialisation during the peace process, and their perceptions of its achievements (McEvoy-Levy, 2001: 5), youth engagement becomes key for sustaining peace (UNSC, 2020a). Recent research emphasises that "the inclusion of young people during all phases of peace processes likely increases the sustainability of the agreements" (Altiok & Grizelj, 2019). However, despite their evident stake in these processes, the formal participation of young people in peace negotiations remains strikingly limited (Simpson, 2018).

This paper examines the YPS Agenda's call to enable youth engagement in peace-making architectures. It directs its focus to Euro-Mediterranean conflict settings, specifically on the post-Arab Spring scenarios in Yemen and Libya, both characterised by unsuccessful political transitions to democracy (Szmolka, 2017). The central theme revolves around the active participation of young people in the respective peace-making processes within these conflict-ridden countries. After having mapped out their level of engagement, a critical dimension of the analysis involves the examination of the European Union's (EU) institutionalisation level of the YPS Agenda. Given the EU's prominent role as a YPS global advocate, the brief aims to formulate targeted policy recommendations to enhance the integration of the YPS Agenda, particularly in relation to youth participation in the Euro Mediterranean conflict settings.

To do this, I first outlined youth formal engagement in conflict-resolution efforts in Yemen and Libya by analysing how the youth is being integrated into relevant peace-making documents and initiatives. Later, I assessed the level of YPS institutionalisation under the EU framework by meticulously mapping events and policy developments specifically connected to the YPS Agenda between the years 2015 and 2023. Finally, in recognition of the EU's significant influence and its collaborative engagement with the United Nations (UN), a primary mediator in the region's peace-making efforts, the formulation of final recommendations targeting the EU's architecture seeks to contribute to a more effective and comprehensive approach to youth involvement in conflict resolution initiatives in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

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