How to Involve African Youth in Peace and Security

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Africa’s population is expected to reach around 2.3 billion by 2050. About 41% of the people in the continent are below 15 years old while another 19% are youth between 15 and 24 years old. 

The Africa’s youth population is growing rapidly and is expected to reach over 830 million by 2050. It is also important to note that, youth comprise over one billion people, 600 million of whom live in violence- and conflict-affected areas. 

They also represent one-third of those displaced by conflict. Estimates of direct conflict deaths in 2015 show that more than 90 percent of all casualties occur among young adult males (UNFPA, 2015). It is quite evident that, young people are vulnerable and account for the greatest population affected by conflict.

The history of insecurity in Africa associates high youth unemployment with the numerous situations of instability on the continent such as political strife, violent extremism and terrorist activities such as Al-Shabaab in the Horn of Africa. According to the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, youth unemployment in the Horn of Africa is a widely recognized driver of displacement, migration, and violent extremism. The youths are vulnerable to violence from opposing groups, mainly pro-government and rebel armed groups, in their respective countries. It is clear that, unemployed youth are not only victims but also active participants of political instability in Africa.

So what has been done so far?

 The United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) have recognized the potential of the youth and have continually made efforts to mainstream their participation in peace and security. Their main objective this far has been to place young people at the core of initiatives for preventing or stopping activities that lead to violence.

To advance this agenda, during its 20th Youth Assembly, the UN hosted the 2017 International Youth Day with the theme ‘Youth Building Peace’. In addition, the same year the AU termed it as the Year of the Youth with the aim of harnessing the demographic dividend through investments in youth. Subsequently, the AU, through its Agenda 2063, seeks to remove all forms of systemic inequalities, exploitation, marginalization, and discrimination of young people to ensure that youth issues are mainstreamed in all development agendas. This is mainly captured in Goal 16, which – at its core – promotes inclusive and accountable governance and access to justice, as well as in Goal 10 on inequality.

Another great stride has been the Resolution 2250 (2015) by the UN’s Security Council. The resolution is the first to focus on youth, peace, and security (YPS). One of the main objectives of the UNSCR2250 resolution is to include youth as a key-actor on the peace and security agenda. Later, on April 2016, the twin resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and Security Council on the review of the United Nations peacebuilding architecture echoed resolution 2250 by stressing young people’s contribution to the inclusiveness and sustainability of efforts to build and sustain peace. 

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The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) also seeks to advance Peace and Security even if not directly to the youth. The SDG 16- aims to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development and provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels, SDG 17, talks about strengthening the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development. If these goals are attained, the youth will remain to be the greatest beneficiaries; hence, they play a critical role in their realization. 

The adoption of the sustaining peace resolutions A/RES/70/262 (2016) and S/RES/2282 (2016) sought to expand the international community’s approach to peacebuilding. These resolutions move beyond an exclusive focus on post-conflict peacebuilding, and into the realm of preventing the outbreak, escalation, continuation, and recurrence of violent conflict by addressing the root causes and potential drivers.

In spite of the numerous initiatives to include youth in peace and security, there involvement and engagement is still minimal. These initiatives fail to display the independence of the youth and their unique vulnerability and needs. Young people are often stereotyped and hipped up as a group yet their needs and challenges are diverse.

Some of the challenges faced by the youth in peace and security include:

ü  The societal view that they are the main cause of insecurity hence, they are marginalized when looking for solutions

ü  There are high levels of poor governance and corruption in most countries leaving the youth with little or no trust in the system

ü  Young people are often recruited to perpetrate violence, war, or conflict especially for political reasons, instead, of being recruited as agents of peace and security

ü  Most youth initiatives are not recognized by government, and they also lack funds to support their activities.

Even in the absence of meaningful opportunities to participate socially, politically and economically, marginalized young people are strikingly creative in forging alternative places of belonging and meaning through which to express themselves. Young people continue to participate in community initiatives and take part in peace building activities.

What’s the Way Forward?

If engaged positively, the youth can be key to reducing violence, improving security and opposing violent extremism in their countries – they are, after all, society’s most innovative and able-bodied age group. Ensuring that African youth are leaders in peacebuilding processes remains a challenge though, as cultural and patriarchal attitudes and religious barriers are not easily overcome.

First, the government and all non-state actors need to engage youth in meaningful dialogue to understand their underlying issues especially the challenges they face and the reason most of them engage in crime or conflict.

National consultations led by government, civil society and young people are a good way to collect youth input on how they wish to be the drivers of peace. It also affords to decision makers the chance to learn about peacebuilding initiatives from young people.

There is also need for meaningful engagement and inclusion of youth in decision making at all levels (Local, National and International). African youth should be recognized and allowed to participate in governance as young leaders of today, and future leaders of the continent.

Another action would be to understand sources of conflict and exclusion, leading to informed policy and interventions which identify means of addressing development needs and grievances

In appreciating the involvement of youth in conflicts and political instability, the youth unemployment question must be adequately prioritized as a key component of poverty alleviation efforts in national and global policy making. It is thus important that international and national responses to the phenomenon are adequately securitized to rally the necessary resources to address the phenomenon both in an effort to achieve political stabilization and as a response to the development needs of many African countries. 

There is need to create policies for youth that would positively contribute to peacebuilding efforts, including social and economic development, supporting projects designed to grow local economies, and provide youth employment opportunities and vocational training, fostering their education, and promoting youth entrepreneurship and constructive political engagement.

Governments need to invest in building young persons’ capabilities and skills to meet labor demands through relevant education opportunities which will improve employment and livelihoods prospects.

Peer mentorship programmers by non-governmental organizations can also enhance the chances of young people adopting peacebuilding skills. An example of a successful African programme is the Ugandan youth-led development and intergenerational mentoring project. Young people play a critical role in supporting the disengagement of their peers from violent groups, and their reintegration. Through their presence on the ground and their better understanding of the needs and local realities of disengaging youth, they may serve as a bridge between disengaging youth and the community.

Peace cannot be achieved in the absence of justice. There is need to address young people’s needs for protection, their engagement with the state through criminal justice and security institutions, and their potential for unique roles in transitional justice. A safe and enabling environment for youth peace work must be guaranteed to address young people’s protection and experiences of injustice.

In conclusion, youth should be included in initiatives aiming to address broad societal issues, and not only on “youth issues” based on stereotypes and assumptions about what youth are interested in and can speak on. (Horn of Africa CFR, p. 4)