Overall, young people today are better off than previous generations, but many are still severely hindered by a lack of education, poverty, health risks, unemployment and the impact of conflict. The World Youth Report 2003 provides an overview of the global situation of young people. The first ten chapters focus on the priority areas of education, employment, extreme poverty, health issues, the environment, drugs, delinquency, leisure time, the situation of girls and young women, and youth participation in decision-making as identified by the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY) adopted by the General Assembly in 1995. The remaining five chapters address some of the newer issues that were later identified as additional priorities for youth and were adopted by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 2003
Provides information on the Biwako Framework that was adopted in 2002. The document sets out a draft regional framework for action that provides regional policy recommendations for action by governments in the region and concerned stakeholders to achieve an inclusive, barrier-free and rights-based society for disabled people. The regional framework for action explicitly incorporates the millennium development goals and their relevant targets to ensure that concerns relating to disabled people become an integral part of efforts to achieve the goals