On the Internet portal of the CIS, on the basis of information from the Commonwealth countries the national lists of normative legal acts in the field of youth policy have been updated. This is stated in the message of the Department of Humanitarian Cooperation, General Political and Social Problems of the CIS Executive Committee published on the portal.
The decision to post up-to-date information was made at a meeting of the Council for Youth Affairs of the CIS Member States on October 11–12, 2021 as part of the consideration of the issue “On the development of legislation in states that determines the foundations of state youth policy”.
It is noted that documents of a strategic and conceptual nature are adopted in all countries of the Commonwealth. Last year the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Tajikistan approved a Strategy for the development of state youth policy until 2030. The Kyrgyz Republic adopted an Action Plan for 2021-2025. It will be the initial stage in the implementation of the Youth Policy Concept for 2020-2030. A special section “Youth” was included in the Program of the Republic of Armenia for 2021-2026.
The documents mentioned above have replenished the national lists of normative legal acts in the field of youth policy.
The report emphasizes that today the concepts of “state youth policy” and “youth” are enshrined in the legislation of the CIS Member States. However, there are differences in determining the age limits of this category in different CIS countries.
Basic laws in the field of state youth policy have not yet been adopted only in Armenia. In this regard, the Members of the Council for Youth Affairs recommended the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia consider the possibility of initiating the development of a draft law of the Republic of Armenia on youth policy, the report says.
The CIS Internet portal recalls the operation of the following laws:
- “On youth policy” (the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Russian Federation),
- “On the fundamentals of state youth policy” (the Republic of Belarus, the Kyrgyz Republic),
- “On youth” (the Republic of Moldova),
- “On youth and state youth policy” (the Republic of Tajikistan),
- “On state youth policy” (the Republic of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan).
It is noted that the CIS countries have also adopted a number of by-laws in the field of state youth policy aimed at solving various youth problems. The national lists of normative legal acts in the field of youth policy include the rules for the creation of a network of social service institutions “Youth house” approved in the Republic of Azerbaijan, the target state program “Affordable apartments for young families” and the state program for education of patriotism and strengthening the national mentality of youth of Tajikistan for 2018–2022 implemented in the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Tajikistan, respectively.
In addition, information on the creation, in pursuance of the Decree of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic dated October 18, 2021, a fund to support education and youth under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic has been posted.
For the first time a legal definition of state youth policy was given in the Law “On the general principles of state youth policy in the USSR” adopted in the Soviet Union on April 16, 1991. The document entered into force in all the Republics of the USSR on July 1, 1991 and was intended to strengthen legal guarantees for the exercise of rights and freedoms of young citizens as well as rights of youth organizations.
