dgtrends youth pre forum final recommendations

8/11/2019 DGTRENDS Youth Pre Forum Final Recommendations

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Recommendations

from the Second Youth Pre-forum to the Annual High

Level Dialogue on Democracy, Human Rights andGovernance in Africa

Nairobi, Kenya 15 - 17 September, 2014


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1. From 15 - 17 September 2014, two hundred (200) young people, male and female, representing youth-led

organizations and movements from across the globe, as well as AU Member States, young members of parliament,

private sector, civil society organizations, researchers and development partners met in Nairobi Kenya to addressthe rising impact of conict on the socio-economic development of the continent, its impact on Africas increasing-

ly youthful population, and to examine and recommend through a youthful perspective, practical solution needed

to silence the guns in Africa.

2. The Conference was aimed at providing and presenting a framework for the eective engagement of young

people in democracy, elections and governance activities on the Continent towards the building of a culture of de-

mocracy and peace on the Continent. Also the forum examined the situation of youths as perpetrators, belligerent,

and victims of conict and the need to harness their energy toward mitigating and curbing the rise of conict onthe continent;

3. Organised by the Africa Governance Architecture in the African Unions Department of Political Aairs

with technical and nancial support from the United Nations Development Programme, GIZ and Infonet Africa,

the Youth Consultation was convened as part of the build up to the High Level Dialogue on Democracy, Human

Rights and Governance to be hosted under the patronage of President Macky Sall in Dakar, Senegal in October

2014. The Forum provided young people the space to impart, contribute and inuence the discourse on how their

passion, energies, insights, creativity and innovation can be harnessed to the building of a culture or democracyand peace in Africa to bring an end to conicts on the Continent

4. Following exchanges on current policies and practices with regard to the role and impact of youth in crisis

and post conict peacebuilding and peace consolidation processes in Africa, participants of the Regional Youth

Consultation on Silencing the Guns in Africa noted the following issues.

Introduction


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5. Acknowledged that an estimated 60% of the overall African population, Africas youths are at the heartof Africas violent conicts, which has in recent years, been exacerbated by acute governance decits which

has hindered development and triggered violent conicts on the Continent. Conict prevention and post-con-

ict reconstruction as well as developing strategic interventions that are aimed at silencing the guns in Africa

by 2020 must be rooted on sturdy, resilient, participatory, ecient, eective and inclusive governance systems.

6. Noted that Africas greatest resource is its youthful population and that through their active and full

participation, Africans can surmount the diculties that lie ahead; In particular Article 11(2) of the African

Union Youth Charter provides that Each State Party shall [] take the measures to promote active youthparticipation in society including; guaranteeing the participation of youth in parliament and other decision-

making bodies, facilitate the creation or strengthening of platforms for youth participation in decision-making

at local, national, regional, and continental levels of governance; give priority to policies and programmes

including youth advocacy and peer-to-peer programmes for marginalised youth, such as out-of- school and

out-of-work youth, to oer them the opportunity and motivation to re-integrate into mainstream society and

provide technical and nancial support.

7. Further noted with concern the situation of African youth, many of whom are marginalized frommainstream society through inequalities in income, wealth and power, unemployment and underemployment,

infected and aected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, living in situations of poverty and hunger, experiencing

Emerging Issues


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illiteracy and poor quality educational systems, restricted access to health services and to information, exposure to violence

including gender violence, engaging in armed conicts and experiencing various forms of discrimination.

8. Acknowledged the exceptional eorts of young people across the continent in contributing to peacebuilding and con-

ict prevention eorts through various programmes and initiatives contributing to the sustenance of a peaceful democratic

governance space.

9. Appreciated the need to provide platforms for active engagement and involvement of young people in democratic

governance decision making at national, regional and continental levels.

10. Recalled that regional and international obligations and commitments at global and regional levels address youth

empowerment and inclusion in governance and economic policy making and implementation processes;


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A. On strengthening democratic governance to silence the guns in Africa

11. The African Union (AU) should partner and support national and regional youth struc-

tures to promote ratication and domestication as well as assessment and reporting on compli-

ance of AU shared values and instruments as a key means of silencing the guns on the Continent.

12. The African Union Commission (AUC) should ensure inter-departmental and multi-sec-

toral partnerships with relevant African Union Organs and institutions, civil society, development

partners and media in the implementation of the Youth Engagement Strategy. Such partnerships

must ensure the active involvement of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC)

of the Africa Union.

13. The AUC through the AGA cluster on Democracy should provide opportunities for young

people across the continent to participate and engage eectively with various organs and institu-

tions of the AU and RECs on issues of elections, parliaments, political parties amongst others. In

particular ensure the eective involvement of young people in the pre-election processes, election

observation and post-election audits.

14. The AUC through the AGA Secretariat should coordinate with the AU Youth Programme

and partners to develop a continental youth mentorship initiative towards strengthening demo-

cratic governance, rule of law, constitutionalism, human rights and humanitarian assistance.

15. The AUC through the Humanitarian Aairs Cluster should in collaboration with AU

Recommendations


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Youth Division, develop a Youth Peace Corp to support emergency relief and humanitarian crisis in AU Member States.

16. AU Member States should invest in eorts aimed at empowering young people to play more active roles at the na-

tional, regional and continental levels on democracy, elections, human rights and governance in Africa.

17. AU Member States should implement various commitments on civic education and participation particularly inschool curricula to nurture a democratic successor generation.

18. Youth led and oriented organisations should develop programmes and initiatives aimed at popularising, ratication,

domestication and implementation of the AU Shared Values instruments across the Continent.

B. On Peacebuilding and Preventive Diplomacy

19. The AU should encourage and support Member States to put in place structures that foster and strengthen conictprevention, conict resolution, peace-making and peacebuilding at national, regional and continental levels.

20. AU Member States emerging from conicts should make deliberate eorts to ensure that young people participate

and are included in preventive diplomacy, conict resolution, mediation and post conict reconstruction and development

eorts.

21. The AU through the Panel of the Wise should proactively engage in preventive diplomacy on the basis of ecient

and eective AU and RECs early warning mechanisms.

22. AU Member States should commit to the implementation of various commitments on arms proliferation including

the Arms Trade Treaty and accelerate eorts to eradicate small arms in Africa.

23. Youth led and oriented organisations should upscale advocacy on issues of child soldiers, rape and harassment of


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women in conict situations and other ills that aect young people in conict situations.

24. Youth led and oriented organisation should be empowered and capacitated in providing conict prevention, peace

building and conict resolutions skills to young people, women and children.

C. Socio-economic development for sustainable peace

25. AU Member States should develop and/or strengthen national youth structures to create opportunities for innova-

tion, entrepreneurship, jobs and engagement in public service.

26. The AU through the Youth (AUY) Program should take the lead in enhancing the capacity of young people across

the continent to eectively engage and participate in public service and entrepreneurship. The Africa Union Youth Vol-

unteer Programme should be capacitated to provide platform for structural engagement of young professionals in Africas

development process.

27. The AUC through the AGA platform should institutionalize and broaden the youth pre-consultations to the High

Level Dialogue to include capacity strengthening and training in leadership, public service and entrepreneurship. Further

to this, the AGA Youth Engagement Strategy should focus on advocacy, capacity building as well as knowledge generation

and management to improve the capacities of young people to contribute to building a culture of democracy and peace in

Africa.

28. The AU should encourage Member States at a political and technical level to make greater investments in science,

technology and innovations to spur sustainable economic development and peace.

D. Implementation Mechanism and Follow up

29. Requests the AU to identify and request sitting Heads of States to champion the implementation of Youth Pre-Con-


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sultations Recommendations as the key contribution by the youth to silencing the guns at the 2015 January Summit of the

Heads of State.

30. The AU should strengthen its communication, media outreach and citizen engagement strategies to ensure that they

are user-friendly, accessible and impact oriented.

31. The AU should partner and collaborate with young researchers and youth oriented think tanks in data and knowl-

edge generation, management and dissemination on democratic governance trends, challenges, prospects and opportunities

in Africa

32. The AGA secretariat should coordinate the implementation of the recommendations as well as the AU Youth En-

gagement Strategy.

33. Youth led and oriented organisations should support and constructively engage with the African Union through the

AGA Platform for the implementation of the pre-forum recommendations and the AGA Youth Engagement Strategy.


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34. In conclusion, participants expressed satisfaction at the quality of discussion and called on the Africa

Governance Architecture and Platform to prioritise the implementation of the various recommendations

from the meeting. The AGA Secretariat is also requested to ensure that the conclusions are implemented in

a participatory and inclusive manner.

35. Participants expressed their immense gratitude to the African Union Commission, The United Na-

tions Development Programme, the GIZ and INFONET for convening and hosting the meeting and for the

warm hospitality accorded during the stay in Kenya.

Conclusions


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African Governance Architecture

,Department of Political Affairs

African Union Commission

P.O.Box 3243, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Tel: +251 11 551 7700

www.au.int

dgtrends youth pre forum final recommendations

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