RESOLUTION 2535: AFFIRMING THE VITAL ROLE OF YOUTH IN PEACE AND DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES
In 2017, I packed my bags and traveled to Rwamagana district in the Eastern province of Rwanda. I was going to attend my first ever boot camp, which I was excited for, from the day I registered. The camp is called Critical Thinking for Peace. The primary mission is to cultivate and empower a movement of the next generation of proactive citizens and peacebuilders. As future leaders, they taught us how to employ critical thinking and compassion to solve some of the most pressing challenges in our lives and respective communities. In all honesty, that is when I came to know the real meaning of the word ‘peace’.
Through the different insightful sessions from various speakers, I realized that ending a conflict or a war does not necessarily bring peace and that the mere absence of war is not peace. I later come to know that peace demands humility and sacrifice from all. It requires the will to comprehend the root causes of conflict and to seek solutions to them.
I was introduced to the concept of being an active citizen in my community. When the facilitator introduced ‘active citizenship’, my thoughts gravitated to labeling it as politics. To my surprise, it was more interesting than politics, and more importantly, I got to know that I did not have to be in a leadership position to play my role in the advancement of the community. Understanding that engaging in the decision-making process helps me to build a foundation for the future I want to see, stirred something inside of me. I wish you could have seen me, right after the camp!
Since the rise of human civilization, people of different communities have undergone conflicts; some are protracted and destructive in nature and have resulted in gross human rights violations. Many nations have intensified efforts towards managing these conflicts, but this will not be fully achieved if the youth are not involved in such movements.
According to the Oxford Research Group from 2016, youth ought to be considered as agents of positive peace, since peace sustainability in our communities is hinged on their involvement.
What does it need for youth to play a vital role in building peace in their communities? For me, I have noticed the power in understanding the diversity across youth populations and the localized context critical for revealing comprehensive solutions that suit their needs. There is a need to engage youth in the decision-making process. If youth are placed at the center of the transformation, it is imperative also to engage them in decision-making processes.
During the camp I mentioned above, I was told to be a positive disruptor to boost my community’s continuous development. But how can I disrupt old systems, policies, and others, if I am not positively engaged in such conversations? On the side of governments and other bodies, this strengthens the point of providing safe spaces for youth and being active citizens on the youth’s side to participate in the decision-making process.
It is a two-sided effort. Engaging in the decision-making process in my community, empowers me to influence the decisions that affect my life, equips me with the knowledge and understanding of the political, social, and economic context to make educated decisions. It is now more than ever where we can challenge existing structures.
I believe that it is imperative to engage youth in developmental considerations to enhance peace sustainability in our communities. If that is done, young people will have the ability to display opinions and share thoughts on participation, accountability, partnerships, and capacity building in the setting of transformative sustainable development agendas that are always in favor of our country’s future development hence having peaceful communities.
Robert Mugabo
Management student at the African Leadership University
MATERIALIZING YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN PEACE AND DECISIONMAKING PROCESSES
Despite broad agreement that youth engagement is important in forging sustainable peace and development, young people are often not given the opportunity to participate in public discourse and decision-making. Youth make up more than half of the population in many countries, but they often find themselves intentionally excluded in many processes that have an impact on their lives. Due to their perceived lack of skills and experience, they often find it difficult to gain the respect of officials and meaningfully engage in political activity, which could otherwise lead to positive change in their communities.
Today it is becoming increasingly important that, rather than seeing young people as agents of conflict and destruction, they are seen as agents of peace, intercultural and interreligious dialogue, and advocates for social cohesion in their communities.
In 2015, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously adopted Resolution 2250, which urges Member States to increase the representation of youth in decision making at all levels. In July 2020, the UNSC also underlined the vital role of youth in building peace, unanimously adopting the Resolution 2535 (2020). According to a press release about the meeting, the UNSC “called on all relevant actors to increase the inclusive representation of youth for the prevention and resolution of conflict, as well as in Peacebuilding, including when negotiating and implementing peace agreements.”
Despite such strong commitments, youth around the world still face a number of issues, like unemployment, depression, limited education opportunities, gender-based violence and political manipulation among so many others, which deeply affect their confidence and capacity to participate in policy and decision making processes.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that approximately 16 million girls aged 15 to 19 years and 2.5 million girls under 16 years of age give birth in developing regions. This leads to high school dropouts; severe trauma; lack of livelihoods and job opportunities; stigma and rejection from family, peers, and community. Such factors prevent these youth from exercising their full potential in the political, social, and economic development of their communities. It is therefore imperative to note that the absence of youth voices makes it difficult to design policies and programs that adequately respond to their needs, particularly in post-conflict contexts.
However, youth continue to be victims of political manipulation and conflicts in some countries, while in others, youth have been given an opportunity to play a commendable role in varied spheres of their nations. For example, in Rwanda the legal, institutional and policy frameworks are in favor of youth participation in policy and decision-making processes. The Rwandan Constitution of 2003, as reviewed in 2015, provides a special seat for youth in parliament. Article 75 (3°) allocates two deputies elected by the National Youth Council (NYC). Also, the Government of Rwanda has established the Ministry of Youth and Culture, and fully functioning National Youth Council with committee structures from the national level to the local government level down to the village level.
There is a political will to empower youth to take up leadership positions. Every year, the President meets youth through the “Meet the President” forum, where he urges them to prepare themselves to take on leadership responsibilities. “You are the ministers, Presidents and leaders of tomorrow. Rwanda expects a lot from each of you. Now is the time to prepare for that role. It is now, it is you.” President Paul Kagame said, on August 19, 2018. Just as they have been greatly mobilized, youth in Rwanda demonstrate the willingness and commitment to contribute to the development of their country.
For example, a majority of youth are contributing their efforts, by establishing youth peace clubs and associations, starting up
campaigns in their respective communities, creating new jobs, communal activities, taking up leadership positions, among others. As the country grappled with COVID-19, youth actively engaged in the fight against the spread of the pandemic, as volunteers.
In a bid to amplify the role of youth in peace, policy and decision making, there is a strong need for local leaders to develop strategies and approaches to include youth in the planning, implementation and evaluation of programs rather than sporadic mobilization of youth when they need their support. Non-state actors ought to document and advocate for issues affecting youth’s participation in decision-making and peace programs. There is a need for continuous capacity building of youth, such as mentoring schemes and opportunities for community service, which can enable youth to become leaders and actors for constructive change.
Youth are called upon to be responsible and to take up initiatives to solve issues in their communities, like establishing income-generating activities, volunteering, and participating in national programs. Also, awareness needs to be raised among families on the role of youth participation in socioeconomic transformation, so that parents can effectively educate their children about their rights, roles, and responsibilities.
National, and international instruments on citizen participation in democratic governance should be widely disseminated, so as to ensure that all citizens, especially youth, understand the need for their meaningful involvement in Peacebuilding, political, social and economic spheres.
Celestin Nsengiyumva
Head of programs – Never Again Rwanda