The Youth and Peacebuilding

Categorised Youth 

There is a manner in which the youth have been categorised when it comes to conflict and peace issues. For far too long young people have been cast away as either the perpetrators of violence or its victims. Why is that? I think we need to rethink the role of the youth in peace practice. We need to create systems that can exert positive energy and guide the young people in the path of non-violence and peacemaking. In young people lies the energy that can sustain world peace. Unfortunately that energy is either under-utilized or utilized negatively.

Youth Peacebuilders 

But there are a number of young people too, involved in active peacebuilding in the world today. The world needs to come to the realization of important contributions that young people make in countering violent extremism and supporting peacebuilding efforts around the world. They are not always violent; indeed they are not all of them violent. Unfortunately the world rarely recognizes their efforts; it largely appears only to be counting the negatives. By so doing there is a slow death of the motivation of young people who are already tirelessly working towards a stable, secure and sustainable world. Nations must stop this slow death and collectively search and find the youth, recognize their efforts and support them to realize their potential in serving the cause of peace.

Resolution 2250

In the spirit of the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2250, UN member states should now put in place robust and pragmatic strategies to ensure progressive political, financial, technical and logistical support to the youth. These efforts should be directed at enabling and sustaining participation of the youth in peace efforts, in conflict and post-conflict situations. All those involved in the planning for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration during post conflict recovery and reconstruction should put into consideration the needs of the youth affected by armed conflict. Even those that have been actively involved in combat must not be viewed as strayed and irreparable hence condemned. On the contrary, there should be deliberate corrective efforts to move them from violence to non-violence; from active combat to active peace building. They can be reformed and the energies they deploy in war and violence can be re-channelled to peace consolidation, security and stability. Their stories and experiences should be used to inspire hope and change as opposed to desperation and hopelessness.