15 September 2015, was the International Democracy Day.
The theme for this year’s celebration was “Engaging young people on Democracy”. More than 100 young people from across the African continent commemorated the day in Nairobi, Kenya.
They were part of select group of youth leaders attending a three day consultation on “Silencing the Guns: Youth building a culture of democracy and peace in Africa.”
The consultation is convened under the auspices of the African Governance Architecture and Platform of the African Union. The young people are responding to the call by African leaders to end all wars on the continent and silence all guns by 2020 as part of the 50th Anniversary Solemn Declaration of May 2013.
The High Level Dialogue and pre-consultations are convened by the African Union in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme and GIZ.
Statement on the commemoration of the International Day of Democracy - Engaging young people on Democracy was delivered by Amb Aisha Laraba Abdullahi, Commissioner for Political Affairs.
In Africa Young people continue to innovate and lead creative ideas aimed at addressing governance challenges and deepening democracy. Strengthening governance systems and institutions as well as engendering a culture of democracy and peace guarantees inclusive development in Africa only can be sustained by the active and meaningful engagement of young people who are estimated at over 60pc of Africa's population.We must, therefore continue to effectively harness the creative energies of Africa's youth and enhance structures for them to participate, strengthen and deepen democratization in Africa.
Emerging
issues
Acknowledged
that an estimated 60% of the overall African population, Africa’s youths are at
the heart of Africa’s violent conflicts, which has in recent years, been
exacerbated by acute governance deficits which has hindered development and
triggered violent conflicts on the Continent. Conflict prevention and
post-conflict 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, efficient, effective and inclusive governance
systems.
Noted that
Africa’s greatest resource is its youthful population and that through their
active and full participation, Africans can surmount the difficulties 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 youth participation
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 offer them
the opportunity and motivation to re-integrate into mainstream society and
provide technical and financial support.
Further
noted with concern the situation of African youth, many of whom are
marginalized from mainstream society through inequalities in income, wealth and
power, unemployment and underemployment, infected and affected by the HIV/AIDS
pandemic, living in situations of poverty and hunger, experiencing illiteracy
and poor quality educational systems, restricted access to health services and
to information, exposure to violence including gender violence, engaging in
armed conflicts and experiencing various forms of discrimination.
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;
On
strengthening democratic governance to silence the guns in Africa
The AGA
Secretariat should ensure inter-departmental and multi-sectoral partnerships
with relevant African Union Organs and institutions, civil society, development
partners and media in the implementation of the AGA-YES. Such partnerships must
ensure the active involvement of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council
(ECOSOCC) of the Africa Union.
The AU
should partner and support national and regional youth structures to promote
ratification and domestication as well as assessment and reporting on
compliance of AU shared values and instruments as a key means of silencing the
guns on the Continent.
The AGA
through its cluster on Democracy should provide opportunities for young people
across the continent to participate and engage effectively with various organs
and institutions of the AU and RECs on issues of elections, parliaments,
political parties amongst others. In particular ensure the effective
involvement of young people in the pre-election processes, election observation
and post-election audits.
The AGA
Secretariat should coordinate with AU Youth Programme and partner to develop a
continental youth mentorship initiative towards strengthening democratic
governance, rule of law, constitutionalism, human rights and humanitarian
assistance.
The
Humanitarian Affairs Cluster should in collaboration with AU Youth Division,
develop a Youth Peace Corp to support emergency relief and humanitarian crisis
in AU Member States.
On Peace building and Preventive Diplomacy
The AU
should encourage and support Member States to put in place structures that
foster and strengthen conflict resolution, peace-making and peacebuilding at
national, regional and conti¬nental levels.
Member
states emerging from conflicts should make deliberate efforts to ensure that
young people participate and are included in preventive diplomacy, conflict
resolution, mediation and post conflict reconstruction and development efforts.
The AU Panel
of the Wise should proactively engage in preventive diplomacy on the basis of
efficient and effective AU and RECs early warning mechanisms.
Member
States should commit to the implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty and
accelerate efforts to eradicate small arms proliferation in Africa.
Socio-economic development for sustainable
peace
AU member
States should develop and/or strengthen national youth structures to create
opportunities for innovation, entrepreneurship, jobs and engagement in public
service.
The African
Union Youth (AUY) Program should take a lead in enhancing the capacity of young
people across the continent to effectively engage and participate in public
service and entrepreneurship.
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.
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
Requests the
AU to identify and request sitting Heads of States to champion the implementation
of Youth Pre-Consultations Recommendations “as the key contribution by the
youth to silencing the guns at the 2015 January Summit of the Heads of State.
The AU
should strengthen its communication, media outreach and citizen engagement
strategies to ensure that they are user-friendly, accessible and impact
oriented.
The AU
should partner and collaborate with young researchers and youth oriented think
tanks in data and knowledge generation, management and dissemination on
democratic governance trends, challenges, prospects and opportunities in Africa
The AGA
secretariat should coordinate the implementation of the Recommendations as well
as the AU Youth Engagement Strategy.
CONCLUSIONS
In
conclusion, participants expressed satisfaction at the quality of discussion
and called on the Africa Governance Architecture and Platform to prioritize 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.
