Human Rights principles have made it clear that rights are indivisible and interdependent. The youth's fundamental right to participation, which remains grossly violated, continues to jeopardise their enjoyment of all other rights and entitlements. For instance the youth's inability to influence the content of the education curriculum means they have little control over their preparedness for the kind of employment they would like and subsequently their enjoyment of the right to employment. Additionally and most importantly, their lack of participation in public policy/law formulation processes has put them in a lot of trouble. Their failure to participate in these processes is responsible for the institutionalization of unfavourable laws and policies that move them further away from realising their fundamental rights. By failing to engage with these policies, the youth have sold out their fundamental right to influence and shape their country's public affairs.

Poverty seems to be the sole contributor to the deplorable state facing the youth today.
Briefly defined, poverty is a manifestation of the gross violation of the people's Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Civil and Political Rights. It ranges from the lack of adequate healthy food, unemployment, quality education and healthcare to the lack of citizen's participation/influence in public affairs of their society.

Poverty is, among other reasons, attributed to the lack of good public policies and the proper implementation of the same. A lot of governments have failed to lead their nations in drawing policies that result to the desired and sustainable growth/development. On the contrary, they have given in to selfish demands of a few nations/individuals during the policy-making processes. Additionally, they have alienated the citizenry from these processes thereby reducing them to beneficiaries of inadequate and detrimental policies.