A new report by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, titled Youth Activism: From Systemic Exclusion to Real Participation, challenges the widespread perception that young people are apathetic or disengaged from political and democratic life. Drawing on consultations with young activists and information from more than 100 countries, the report shows that children and young people are actively responding to corruption, abuse of power, growing inequality, failures in public service delivery and the erosion of fundamental freedoms.
Their engagement takes many forms, from protests, student organising and community initiatives to policy advocacy, digital mobilisation, art and informal networks of solidarity. The report emphasises that youth activism is not simply a reaction to individual events, but often reflects a deeper crisis of trust in institutions and the continued exclusion of young people from formal decision-making. At its core, young people’s mobilisation expresses a demand for accountability, justice, inclusion and a meaningful role in shaping their own future.
Serbia is recognised as one of the countries in which major youth-led protests emerged in 2025. The report highlights student plenums as an example of horizontal and democratic decision-making, while also drawing attention to the pressures, risks and institutional retaliation faced by young activists.
The report raises serious concerns about the treatment of youth activists in Serbia. It states that authorities allegedly used an acoustic weapon against peaceful protesters in March 2025, threatened to prosecute those speaking about the incident and failed to investigate it. It also describes how “the boundary between student activism and high-stakes State security was deliberately blurred”, citing campaigns to intimidate students and the alleged ill-treatment of detained secondary school protesters.
Student activists were also threatened with losing the academic year, while supportive teachers faced wage cuts. At the same time, strong public expectations placed an excessive burden on young people to change society.
The report stresses that young people cannot be held responsible for social transformation while excluded from formal decision-making and calls for genuine power-sharing, protection from retaliation and independent investigations into rights violations.
The full report is available HERE.