This thesis, entitled "The reasons & motives that led to the intensified attention of international organisations to the youth question in 1980s and 1990s", tries to approve the following hypothesis: "the /'easons that led to the intensified attention of international organisations to the yo 11th question in 1980s and 1990s resulted from a neJvparadigm which prioritised the element of human resources development (HRD) in development process ".

Therefore, the thesis discusses the course of changes in youth-related activities and programs from the establishment of League of Nations to now in general and the course of changes in Development paradigms and youth activities in UN system from 1960s up to the year 2000 in particular. According to the youth concepts and definitions and the description of UN system and youth organisations as well as explanation of the United Nations development decades, this research compares the youth-related activities of international organisations with the priorities, which were recognised in four UN development decades. .In other word, the reader of this thesis will find that the changes in development paradigms, which led to the HRD as the dominant paradigm in 1990s, have caused the international organisations to intensify their attention to the youth as a large part of human resources..In this perspective, the young human resources would be an opportunity for development, not a problem facing development process. In order to approve the main ry~othesis, the contents of all youth- related resolutions, recomhIendations, declarations, and other instruments adopted in UN system as well as other youth activities of UN organisations, programs and agencies have been compared with the characteristics of each decade of UN Development decades. .In this comparison the contents of UN adopted instruments have a harmony with the characteristic and objectives of UN development decades. For instance, these adopted instruments in " 1990s, includes some issues related to youth HRD, such as youth participation in development and in decision-making process, youth productive employment, youth education, and youth health.

 Youth, International Organisations, Four Development Decades, HRD .