The International Young Christian Workers (IYCW) stands alarmed by the global rise of far-right ideologies. These movements threaten democracy, attack the rights of marginalized communities, and undermine decades of hard-won social progress. Across countries, we observe increasing precarity for young workers, scapegoating of migrants, rollback of gender and LGBTQIA+ rights, and weakening of international institutions and civil society.

This policy paper, presented by the International Young Christian Workers (IYCW) and delegates of the Public Forum held on May 2, 2025, articulates a collective youth-led agenda for achieving a Just Transition. Amid escalating climate, labor, and economic crises, young people—especially women, informal workers, unemployed youth, and migrants—are disproportionately affected yet remain largely excluded from formal decision-making. Rooted in lived experiences and ethical commitment, this document outlines core principles, identifies urgent challenges, and presents actionable policy demands aimed at governments, international institutions, and civil society. It emphasizes youth as essential stakeholders in forging equitable, sustainable futures.

The International Young Christian Workers (IYCW) strongly condemns the military aggression, foreign intervention, and the reported kidnapping of the Head of the state of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, carried out by the government of the United States of America on 3 January 2026.

These actions constitute a grave violation of international law and of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter, including respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence, and the right of peoples to self-determination. The use of military force, combined with the unlawful seizure of a head of state, forms part of a broader pattern of escalating aggression in the region, including reports of U.S. forces killing civilian fishermen and subsequently labeling them as criminals without evidence or due process. Such extrajudicial violence against civilians undermines international norms, threatens global stability, and fosters a climate of fear, impunity, and human rights violations.

In Paraguay, thousands of young people face a reality marked by unemployment, informal work, job insecurity, and lack of access to technical training or higher education. Many live in peripheral neighborhoods where informality, forced migration, violence, and state failure prevail. They find themselves without clear prospects, with few tools to build a dignified future, without support networks or guidance, without spaces for organization, but with the will to cope and tackle these realities.